The excitement continues...

November 2, 2008

Lots of Things to Tell You

Cathy, Great!! It has been very special to me working in this project as it is so meaningful. I know that here in Bahia, neither private schools (that are the best ones) nor the majority of the private English institutes do a tech job like ours!!!

I am very, very excited with everything we have done! As a matter of fact, I have tried to use some new web tools and I think they'll be good for us. For instance, I found a site called esnips. I found it very nice because we are able to send people a personalized e-mail inviting them for reading a text, for example. It is possible to read a text with images and post a comment afterwards. I know we can do it via blog, but I think it would be a new tool we would use. I will send you an esnips e-mail about election in Brazil and I would like you to tell me what you think about it...

my address is: http://www.esnips.com/user/escolaparque

Last Wednesday, I used the google translating tool with my students. I asked them to translate your students' blog comments by using

http://translate.google.com.br/translate_t#enpt

It was an excellent experience because it is too practical. Your students can use it and immediately they will have the text 80 % translated into a good English! The only thing we have to pay attention is not to use slangs, subordinate sentences, abbreviations and long clauses. If we write in a simple way and using short sentences, they are to be well translated. i am very happy with this and if you have a look at our blog, you will see that my students have written more now, as you have asked, and yours are able to translate everything just using the links provided there. Isn't it wonderful? My students can use Skype, blog, Orkut, Esnips, just using this translating tool!


(Next year, I want to work with high school students because they are more responsible and would fit your students' age and grade)


I will try to do my best to send you the article as soon as it is published. If they put the article online, Ill give you the address or send it to you via e-mail. I can also scan it if necessary and upload it to Orkut. Let's wait for it and then I will find a way to send it, ok?


My students and I miss your students!! We have two weeks without seeing each other!!!
As I had told you, I work at 4 different public schools and yesterday and today we had our Halloween at 2 of them. they both are in a town near Salvador! It was "A Halloween Gymkhana". Students had to do lots of activities regarding halloween. Please ask your students to see the photos of such Halloween parties at Orkut, ok? See our halloween gymkhana was:


1st - They read in class the history regarding Halloween; I did so to avoid students seeing Halloween as just a folklore or something evil;

2nd - I gave them a list of things they would have to do for our gymkhana:

a) A student of each classroom should answer questions on halloween history;
b) each classroom were supposed to bring:
the biggest and most beautiful Jack'o'lantern;
the most beautiful cake decorated with halloween characters
the most beautiful halloween broom
the most beautiful couple of a witch and a vampire
a kettle full of candies, sweets
the most beautiful halloween puppet
a performance using Michael Jackson's Thriller
a "spoon and a lemon" race wearing a monster's fancy
the most frightening or hunting halloween shout
a "fashion show" in which students have to wear a fancy of
a pumpkin
a broom
a black cat
a bat
a candy (Can you imagine a fancy of a candy?)


I would say to you that this Halloween is very creative, and this fashion show is very amusing. I told my students yours would see them at Orkut. So, please, ask them to see the photos and ask them about their impressions. The schools involved have students from the 5th to the 8th grade and all of them love Halloween! --Tyrone