Spanish Political Mess

Last 20th December 2015, Spain celebrated the first political election with Felipe VI as king of the country. Everyone was so interested in the results as the country has suffered one of the worst recessions in its history. The government was led by Partido Popular, with its president, Mariano Rajoy, the current president of the country.

But he was sure those elections were going to be so hard to get as the population has a bad opinion on its political party, complaining about all the money they stole, all the pain they produced over people and more and more things. Other political candidates were:

• PSOE, the greatest rivals of PP, with its president, Pedro Sánchez.
• Ciudadanos, with Albert Rivera.
• Podemos, a new party on Spanish political scene, with Pablo Iglesias.

Everyone knew there was going to be a president but eventually, political parties didn't come to an agreement as the results weren't in favour of any of them. Since then, they have spoken several times about building a new government but reaching no conclusion. Elections will have to be repeated to see who the "owner" of the Spanish goverment is. Everything started as Andy Bordón explained in his post, you can see it pressing this link: POLITICAL SECTION

CMI-ESO Students Ready for School-Trip

ESO Students at CMI can't wait for the coming trip. Cuenca and some small villages around are going to be their destination. Students together with their teachers will travel around the area having fun and enjoying a lot of different activities in a wide range of fields, scientific, sport, adventure, culinary, artistic or cultural. Nobody is expected to get disappointed with such an interesting offer.

You must not miss our CMI News page, where you will find every detail about the trip, including some very helpful tips and general advice for the trip. We will keep you up to date.

2016 Maths Olympics Ready to Go

Maths Society of Education Al- Khwarizmi is organising the Maths Olympics for the current year. Only the best among the best in the Valencian Community are called to participate.

This year, María Inmaculada School has got many students who were very interested in taking part in this activity, but eventually only the best maths students have been chosen.

We have brilliant maths students to participate this year, for example: 4º of ESO has got what we call in Spanish two maths machines, they are Alfonso M. A. and Pablo C. M. and 3º of ESO has got excellent students as well, they are Isabel M. C., Andrea C. G. and Paula G. A (In the end Paula has been called to substitute Pablo, who had his ankle twisted a couple of days ago). Another eight students from Primary and Secondary education complete this incredible Maths Team who will represent us.

This year the Maths Olympics first round in Valencia will be held in Salesianos School at Avda. de la Plata, 10 on April 16th.

The students were selected by Maria Inmaculada´s Science Department taking into account the best grades on Maths up to now throughout the school year. Everybody in the school is happy with the final election because they think these boys and girls are excellent students indeed.

If you are interested in reading more about tha Maths Olympics you can visit our Science Department web page. Anyway, as soon as possible, we will provide you with further details on the event in our CMI News section. To start with, here you are an interview with Alfonso, a brilliant student who has always been very fond of maths.

Q - How did you feel when Paco told you that you were going to participate in 2016 Maths Olympics?

A - I felt very proud of myself and I think that is a good opportunity to show how much I know.

Q - What do you think the tests will be like?

A - Of course they will be difficult. This is not my first time and I can remember how hard they were. 

Q - Do you think you are ready for all types of questions?

A - I will try to do my best, enjoy and, of course, to get the higher mark I can.

Q - Thank you very much Alfonso, and good luck! Everybody at school supports you and the whole team.

A - You are welcome and thank you for your support.

American History X on at CMI

Last March 23rd our students in 3rd and 4th years of ESO could attend and watch the 1998 American terrific film directed by Tony Kaye. I am quite a bit sure it made an impact on most attendants to the show but not due to the violence we, human beings, are able to spread around us, but because of the powerful message that comes crystal clear stright-forward to the viewers' minds: violence is no longer the way. violence brings nothing else but violence. I very much recommend you to go on reading through our freelance partner Elisabeth Mellinas's review on the film in our Culture Page.

The Martian: A Double Review

Have you already seen The Martian? It has become one of my favourite films (and not because I am quite friki or a geek). I love this type of films because they show in an easy way, difficult ideas about technology or how the NASA works... Everybody can understand what is happening, and these films make children ask after new things. You do not need to be a NASA expert to enjoy the film.

I would like to explain you how I felt while I was watching the film, but I do not how to do it. It is just that when I am watching it, I can't stop enjoying every second, and I find very interesting the way they try to survive in Mars, in a very difficult situation, the chemical reactions that they make. To sum up, how they use all their knowledge. I found it difficult, I mean, I find difficult to survive alone in Mars, another planet where no one has lived before and where things are very different: there is no oxygen, no water..., you can't have a shower regularly, and the food is limitated. How can a human survive in these conditions? Well I won't tell you the end of the film, so if you want to know how the film ends, you will have to watch The Martian. This question makes me think about the Universe, about life in another planets, if a human can live alone in Mars, maybe some other creatures are living in other parts of the Universe and we don't know about them yet. 

Although it is a good film, I noticed that not everything was right, there were some 'mistakes' which even made the film more attractive but  eventually a bit less realistic.

How much do you know about Mars? Here is a short test in Spanish about Mars, just try:
 http://www.muyinteresante.es/ciencia/test/

by Eve Chancosa

My dear Eve is right about everything she has said, but there is always a clear line that separates our brains, you will see it (not just because of the fact that she is very very intelligent).

I have watched The Martian twice and I have always felt the same way. I love this film not just because of the chemistry, physics and biology (I love the way they taught us how important it is to know everything in science), apart from that, it is so funny and I think that it is what I really love. The main character, Matt Damonn, is in Mars alone, with a 0,0000009℅ (this percentage is not real, for if the flies) of still living, but it is funny. How can such a tragedy be funny? It let me know how strong a person is when fighting to keep alive. I love it, not only because I am a little bit friki (I swear you it is just a little bit), but because of the feelings, the thoughts and because when I watch these kinds of films I want to do it, I want to go into the space, and because I realise how little we are in the universe, that is the reason why I can't think about us being the only ones who are living here.

You may be interested in this funny, but hard, scinetific test in English. Just click on the picture at your left, print it or send us the answers. You may get a small present if you manage to have them all right.

by Andy Bordón