The Life and Adventures of Lazarillo de Tormes

The life and adventures of Lazarillo de Tormes was written in 1554. It is a very famous anonymous Spanish picaresque novel. The plot talks about the life of a child called Lázaro de Tormes, and the many owners he had. This book criticizes the religious society of the time it was written, like priests, squires and noblemen, I think this was the reason why the Spanish Inquisition forbade it.

The book is presented as seven letters to an unknown person, in each letter it explains how he lived with each owner. The author expresses all of his misfortunes with humoristic mood, this made me laugh a lot during the reading, it is a bit sad at the start but with the time his luck gets better.

I find it very interesting that we are not sure about the author of such an important book like this one. There are some theories but there is nothing confirmed. I enjoyed it, it is not only a novel of the classic Spanish literature, it is a novel of classic universal literature, and I think everyone should read it at least once, because it makes you think how our society has evolved and the hypocrisy of the people back in that time.

Teaching English Essentials

Teaching English to very young children can be challenging. The first time Lucía walked into a kindergarten, she knew it wouldn’t be easy, but even so, she really wanted to keep going. 

Nowadays, children are being educated in so many different ways, and our questions don’t stop going on around our heads... How do children learn? How could we increase their curiosity? How can we help them to remember, understand or improve their knowledge? What can we do to guide their communicative English skills? What should we teach first, then?

Lucía provides us with a number of tips and considerations so that we can figure out the answers to these questions. Go to our Learn English page and read through this interesting article

Kabrina's Awards

A group of 4ESO students joined to deliver a number of awards to people who were thought to deserve special recognition in a particular field and inventions which were worth pointing out as outstanding because they had made a difference to change the world we are living in. 

The awards included in the present article were given in the fields of Technology, Medicine and Human Rights. If you cannot wait to know more about it, go to our culture page.

International Women's Day

The first International Women's Day celebration was held on the 19th of March in Germany, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland because of the fight for equality between men and women. 

8th March was institutionalized in 1975 by the United Nations.

It has been a very important issue during the 20th century to bring to light the existing differences between both sexes such as salary, male power in the marriage, etc. There have been a lot of strikes and we have achieved prominent changes in politics and laws: in the 80s, the law in which women were free to choose to break away the marriage was approved and not a long time ago, women were free to open an account in the bank.

Nowadays, feminism is a basic concept, but there are a lot of countries where women are killed for not obeying their husbands, where only boys have the right of education while girls take care of the children and the house... In these countries, women are not allowed to claim for their rights and show their opinion.

I think we have to take action in order to change this injustice because women's rights are also men's rights, I mean, we are all humans and Human Rights are Human Rights in every situation, in every country and with every sex.

By Carmen A.

Margarita

Margarita is one of my favorite places, it´s a beautiful island located southeast of the Caribbean Sea, northeast of Venezuela, north of the Araya peninsula of Sucre state, with a population close to 98.000 people. This island is surrounded by beaches; these beaches are characterized by their great beauty and quality, both sand and water. Among the beaches to visit on Isla Margarita there are all kinds of beaches, with waves and without waves, with cold and more temperate water, where you can do water sports such as surfing, scuba diving, windsurfing and kite surfing. But there are also monuments such as the Church of the Valley, the Castle of the Assumption or the fort of Juangriego. There are also parks like Parque el Agua, Laberinto tropical, Diverland. You can take a tour of the mountains, a horseback excursion in Cabatucan on the Macanao Peninsula, or visit the national park of La Restinga, where you can take a boat ride through the mangroves. If I were you, I would go to Margarita soon, because it has something that catches you, the people are friendly, with a great tourist attraction, although right now it isn´t a good time to go, because of the situation in the country.

By Isabella R

Mexico, land of colours

I have always wanted to visit Mexico because it is one of the most popular destinations in the world and it looks attractive to me.

Mexico is in Centre America and it is best known for its green landscapes and its magnificient ancient cultures. Colours, clothes and food are also amazing. That is why a lot of tourists can´t help visiting Mexico. Actually, millions of them visit the country every year. People of all ages can have a great time there. It has got beautiful beaches, with clear blue waters that reflect the spectacular places that you can find by the seashore. Mexico City, its capital, is also astonishing. It has got a lot of inhabitants, the people are very friendly there. They have lots of customs and they live them deeply. Take the Day of the Dead for example. It is celebrated on November 2nd or All Souls Day. 

This celebration is so special for this culture that they celebrate it with dances, songs or with art. They even spend a whole night next to their relatives' tombs or graves in the cemetery and have dinner with them.

I know Mexico is quite a bit far away and that it must not be very cheap to get a flight to go there but, still I hope I can visit the country one day, together with my sister and my whole family. That is one of my dreams.

A letter to a friend.

"You must be strong and carry on".

Sometimes it is hard when you know that people you love so much is going through some hard moments. I believe that to be one of the most difficult issues in life because you feel you can't do anything to fix them. Anyway, I wanted to do something, I knew I had to, so I found this way: writing and expressing my sympathy, When everything seems to fall down, reading words of sympahy and love makes you feel relieved for a minute, it is a bit of a puff of fresh air that makes you strive and go ahead, it is kind of a light beam in your darkest moments. Sooner or later, you will probably be one of those people, actually you may be one of them right now and that is why I kept on writing...

Read more in the Opinion Section.


                                    

My Experience, my new school

 Sometimes I think I am in my old school, but when I look at my new classmates, it´s different. The first day is so strange, you are the new one, and you must make some friends, or you may be alone for the rest of the year.

The first image, is quite different, but you must react, you must interact, ask some people, and make some new friends, open your heart wide open and trust the new people around you. That does not mean you must forget your former mates and teachers. I think it's important to keep in contact with them, at least with the few ones you once felt comfortable with. Reality, however, is very clear... it's not easy to become the new one but. ... who tells you there are not more of us, new boys and girls, around?

On the other hand, I must say my new teachers are very friendly, and I feel very comfortable in their lessons. All books are very similar to 4 of E.S.O, but when I opened my Math´s book, I got very scared, eventually it was not that horrible. And then it is Philosophy, it´s quite a bit strange but I like it, and it´s the same in ICT.

My favorite class is Biology, most of my personal questions are about the human race, it is something that calls my attention very much and I like that.

Finally, it is  Chemistry, deep in my mind I am very worried, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Nytrogen, Ammonia NH3..... and everything that surrounds us, I am having my first exam very soon but it seems to me I can´t reach everything and I'm afraid my final mark will depend on Ternary Compounds, but it´s all right, I just need to work hard and revise my notes from last year. 

Edinburgh Dream

Well, after a long long time, here I am again! I was asked to talk about my experience out of my country, in Edinburgh (Scotland); so I said yes, but, at first I did not know what to write. I have been there for two months, so I did not feel like writing something like a diary. Then I realised that when you travel you often change your lifestyle somehow, so this is what you all are about to read in a moment.... just if you happen to visit our great page Around the World. See you!!!

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Here we are again! I cannot wait to watch that wonderful spectacle which is such a celestial firework display known as the Perseid meteor shower.

A meteor takes place when a tiny piece of rock, no bigger in size than a grain of sand, crashes into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at a very high speed. The friction causes the meteor to burn up creating a brief streak of light across the sky. Hundreds of meteors strike the Earth every single day, but, fortunately, they are not big enough to reach the ground. If the space rock is big enough to survive its journey through the atmosphere and make it to the ground, then it is known as a meteorite, which can be really dangerous depending on its size and the place where it hits the planet’s surface.

At certain times of the year, as the Earth orbits the Sun, it passes through the debris left by the tail of a comet. The comet may have passed many years before but those debris will remain in space across our path. When the Earth passes through the trail we see an increased rate of meteors or a meteor shower. The meteors will appear to radiate from a particular constellation and therefore it is named after that constellation.

The most prolific of all the meteor showers occurs from about 4th until 15th August when the Earth goes through the debris left by comet Swift-Tuttle. As the meteors appear to stem from the constellation of Perseus, then the shower is known as the Perseids. Up to 80 meteors per hour can be usually seen during the peak period on 11th – 12th, but this year astronomers are predicting over 200 meteors per hour because our planet is expected to pass through a high density region of debris.

You do not need any special equipment to watch the shower, just find a dark area away from any light pollution, make yourself comfortable, and look up into the sky, mainly towards the Northeast horizon, although you can see meteors anywhere in the sky. After midnight on 11th August is expected to be the best time to admire such a beautiful scene. The darker the sky and your viewing area, the more meteors you will be able to see…

…and if you do see a shooting star, be sure to make a wish… it is said they always come true.

Inside EuroCup 2016

The Eurocup is an international championship where the best European national teams compete to see who the best is. When the tournament started in 1960, it was called the European Nations Cup but as times went by, the name changed into EuroCup. This football event is celebrated every 4 years in different countries in Europe, in this case, it took place in a number of cities in France. During the tournament, 51 matches were played, starting with a group stage and ending with the big final. Although Spain was one of the favourites to win the championship, the national team couldn’t beat Italy in the round of 16, a huge shame as it will be remembered as the end of one of the best eras in football history. However, it wasn’t all about football in France… 

If you are interested in reading the whole article written by our Sports Editor, go to our Sports Page.

The Truth about Teachers & Students

Another school year goes by. Time to think in depth about it, no hurries now, just a stream of  feelings that need to be sorted out... Some of them were hidden or postponed because of the whirl of events during the year, some others are on the surface, still running high.
Some people claim we, teachers, are kind of privileged species, they think we work as if we were just part of an assembly line, not worrying about the product, not a hint of awareness, no further acquaintance... and then even fuss over the extent or length of our holidays. I must say they are right...we are a privileged kind but let me quite disagree about the reasons.
We are lucky to meet a lot of different kids in our lives, smile and laugh together with them, watch them grow up and turn into teenagers, witness their achievements and their disappointments, take a share of their worries and enjoy their success.
The kids themselves make us get involved in their own upbringing, we have no choice, it is a challenge that cannot be missed, a silent pledge of allegiance that cannot be broken. Our duty and vocation is to do our best on their benefit (which is also ours), even when we look or sound too demanding at first or at the moment we make a decision or assess their learning processes. We are so fortunate to teach them because at the same time we are also taught, we also learn from every step forward together and that makes us feel younger inside and keep a young mind forever regardless of our outer look.
Nevertheless, it is not always that easy. We are happy to welcome a new group every other year, new kids, new joy, but nobody told me we were supposed to be ready to watch them go. No doubt these are the hardest times. You sadly realise you will hardly see most of them again except for the occasional meetings or venues where former students gather. It is true that some of them, those who were able to get the gist of our work over the years while they were still at school, will try to stay in touch and keep an emotional link, a link which in the most cases seem to be meant to vanish in space and time. In spite of this fact.. we will always remember those days when they got ill or a broken leg, when they had a superb mark in a test, when they felt down in the dumps because of any failed friendship, when they had fun in our lessons, when they enjoyed a school trip and felt on the top of the world on their graduation day, we will not forget those times when they entrusted us with their rich and varied concerns, and just this is enough to make us feel good again and go on with our lives at school and a smile on our face.
Well I think enough reasons have just been presented here to say that we, teachers, are privileged people indeed so we must celebrate it. That is what we do from time to time and very especially at the end of a school-year, as you can see in the picture. Fortunately, we have reached another end of year alive, which, by the way, could not have been possible without the support of quite a few sensitive parents and the restless and fruitful cooperation among teachers ourselves. But, above all, thanks to our students.....

New Technologies, New Addictions...

Nowadays people can't accept a world without telephone. This is just the effect of technological development, in a short time they (technologies) have become kind of a friend to everyone. Now, we are all in front of our smartphone having fun through social networks or just playing video games, a few years before it was absolutely different. May we return to those days?

To know about the pros and cons, read our new article written by our Managing Editor in our Opinion section. Then you can write a comment in this post about this issue.

CMI Graduation of G'00

This is my last post as a CMI student, and I dedicate this post to our graduation class. This day was celebrated last Thursday, it was so exciting and unforgetable. We cried a lot, because it was the last ceremony in our school and now we are going another way, we are saying GOODBYE, however this is not our last word.

The main part of the ceremony was held in the church, and after that we went to school, and this was the special moment, we walked up the stairs with our teachers and, they put the graduation band over our shoulders. Read more about it in CMI News.

Go Ireland!

What a great evening for the Irish National Team! Ireland are into the last 16 of the European Football Championships.

Ireland played a fantastic game last Wednesday, they got to beat Italy, one of the favourite teams to win the championship. The Irish Team performance was so high and intense that Italy could do nothing but to accept their eventual defeat at the Irish brave attitude. You only had to look at any Irish player's T-shirt, covered with mud, to realise there had been a ferocious battle on the field that reminded us of that another battle brilliantly pictured by Mel Gibson in Braveheart.

Next coming challenge is France, nothing proves to be impossible for this amazing Irish group of players. Go Ireland!
If you are interested in reading for further details, go to our SPORTS page.

12 ways to say `I Love You´

Love is the weirdest feeling, because it is kind of abstract art...

 ... so difficult to say I Like You or I Love You. 

... as if this feeling had two different faces,... 

Then, it is up to you to decide...

The quotes above are some pearls you will find in this article. Our reporter and present CMI News Editor tries within this post to dive deep into emotions and holds there are infinite ways to express them. Get into our Opinion page.
We are really looking forward to reading an extended second article, Geo!

Unequal world is not an equal world.

It is well known in the world that sexism is still a big problem in our society. You may be wondering how this is possible in our times. Well, unfortunately, there are some people who think like that, people like the Turkish president whose words have proved an outdated way of thinking. Sexism is a dangerous enemy in hundreds of thousands of women's lives, this is the reason why all of us have to fight, because we need to feel confident that we will succeed in pushing through equal opportunities, to be equal in dignity and rights, to have an equal world.

To know more about this fight, read the whole article in our Opinion Page.

Playing with our future

Two of the main pillars of our society are education and health, and just in them investment is not increasing. This means the State is not betting on their future.

However, we are suffering the waste that a second election means. If they are not even able to agree on reducing the expense on ballots, how will they manage to make more important decisions?

I am 16, but this does not prevent me from understanding this situation, which all that produces in all of us is disappointment and lack of motivation. What sense will our effort make when, further on, nobody pays attention to our concerns for being the age we are?

We are trapped at a point in which we are forced to make decisions about our future, that means that they consider us mature enough, but on the other hand, we are not considered to be mature enough to give our opinion about who we should be governed by. (article published in El Mundo).

Culture Week at CMI, Come in!

Tomorrow we are starting our culture week!!!

Every year CMI celebrates a culture week, which is a special celebration or event for us all. This event was born over ten years ago.

The culture week is going to be held in June this year sharing part of its calendar with the Science Exhibition at school. During the next week students will participate in a lot of competitions, such as; drawing posters for school, writing stories, and the kids in primary have created short comics or even recorded short films and interviews.

Last year, the topic was Light because 2015 was the Year of Light. I really liked that topic, but this year the main topic is the World of Cervantes and the other character is Shakespeare.

In addition, ESO students have done their best to sing their favourite songs, because next Tuesday afternoon a great show will be held: Let's Sing 3 - Sports Edition  where the best songs, which have passed into the Finals, will be tuned and shown in one of the funniest venues you can ever attend. Most teachers also dare to record a song and then students must find out whose song each one is.

Finally, on Friday morning, around midday, lots of awards will be delivered to recognise and acknowledge students´ efforts on different assigments and languages as for example: theatre, short stories, poetry, rap, photography, narrative essay, posters, etc. and, of course, Let's Sing awards, the most expected awards for ESO. They are my favourite because every single student in ESO at CMI sings one song, and after the English and Music teachers have graded them, a special jury must make a decision on finalists and winners in both categories 1/2 ESO and 3/4 ESO.

This is my favorite festival because it seems to me that everybody in school enjoys a great deal, even though I am also very excited and nervous for this year, because we, 4th ESO, organize the DIVERJOCS, which is another core  activity at CMI Culture Week, I think this is a wonderful traditional celebration at CMI that most students will never forget.

For further details on activity schedule enter our CMI News page.

A TRIP IN TIME

If I could turn back to the past, I think I would go to the moment when I broke my right ankle. Somehow I guess that everything that has happened to me is because of destiny, but, actually, I am a bit confused about what to think or believe. If I could change the circumstances that took me to get a broken ankle, what would my future be like now? I can hardly know. Now I have already accepted that my ankle was broken and now I do not have any need to go back in time. So... What a question is that about changing your past!, 

If you do think you would change anything if you could travel back in time, tell me what it is or write a comment to ask for a piece of advice. Who knows? You may get an unexpected answer or solution to your biggest worries.

Read more in our Opinion Page ... we may make you think about the issue.