OUTUBRO - MIBE

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OUTUBRO - MIBE

 Mês Internacional das Bibliotecas Escolares

Durante o mês de outubro, as bibliotecas escolares estão em festa.

Visita-nos!

WRITERS' CORNER #42

On behalf of the English department, I would like to thank and congratulate ALL the writers on this ‘corner’ - students and teachers alike - for such outstanding work. A special THANK YOU to our very special students ! 👌

We willl be back in 2020/2021 to show ESEQ’s great writing skills again!

Carla Moreira

WRITERS' CORNER #41

“Immigration is not the cause of racism; it is its cure.”

For years people have accused immigration of being the cause of racism in the world. Those who say such things argue that the mixture of cultures, ethnicities and religions is bound to generate conflict; and that if there is ever to be an end to racism, there has to be an end to immigration.

I, however, think that the proposition is incorrect. Immigration has done nothing but bring people together. When people are presented with new cultures, they learn, they adapt, they grow and they are more likely to accept different things. Immigration is not the cause of racismo - racists are the cause of racism; people with narrow perspectives are the cause of racism; lack of experience with other cultures is the cause of racism. If anything, immigration is the cure for it. The mixture of cultures, ethnicities, and religions has created a wonderful world of diversity, one of cooperation among people who are different.

I vouch for immigration and its potential not only to end racism, but to push the world forward as well.

Duarte Araújo, 11.º I

WRITERS' CORNER #40

Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard, then succeed on purpose.  (G.K. Nelson)

Dreams don’t work unless you do.  (John C. Maxwell)

At this point in my life, being in a stage in which I have to decide what I want my future to be like, it is not only the job that I want that matters. For me, the most important thing is how that job is going to give me personal fulfilment and provide me the success that I aim to achieve.

That being said, I believe that success is only possible if we give hard work much higher consideration than the success that lies in the finish line. As John C. Maxwell said, “Dreams don’t work unless you do”, and if this quote sticks with you throughout your career, your work ethic and your persistence will be majorly enriched. However, you shouldn’t be too ambitious or too unambitious, simply because it is thanks to that ambition that your dreams become goals, which will eventually be accomplished.

From my perspective, if I’m not doing my best at something and I’m not working more than everyone else in the room, then it isn’t worth doing it at all. That is why I long for a career that is always changing for the better, mostly due to my evolving skill and adapting ability - because, as people often say, luck requires a lot of work.

Mariana Reina, 11ºH

A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. (Colin Powell)

I never dreamt about success. I worked for it. (Estee Lauder)

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. (Tim Notke)

The statements perfectly illustrate the challenges of the current job market.

Colin Powell's statement shows that if we have a dream, we need to work very hard to achieve it and we can't be unproductive people waiting for it to “achieve itself” like magic. This illustrates our reality since the current job market is a "hard place to enter" and if you have a dream, you need to work harder than all the others to have your place.

Estee Lauder's mentions that you can't be successful if you don't work for it. Nowadays, everyone dreams about being rich and successful, but only the strong and the hardworking ones can be it because they have given their best to a major cause.

Today, having a talent is quite ordinary; everyone has, at least, one. Therefore, if you don't work way harder than the others, your talent won't beat anyone else's talent. That reality is illustrated in Tim Notke's statement. 

To sum up, all these statements have one thing in common, and that is hard work. In the current job market, if you want to be the best and stand out from the crowd, you need to work very hard so that you can achieve your goals and, eventually, become very successful.

Adriana Pereira, 11°L

Bearing in mind the trends shaping the job market, how work-ready are you?

How can you stand out from the crowd these days?

As the years go by, the job market is shaped by trends that can change every year. For example, being a youtuber started as a trend many years ago and, even though I don´t agree with it, many people consider it a career.

In general, these trends are more and more connected with technology - from making videos for Youtube, as I have mentioned before, to working over your cellphone. Bearing in mind the types of trends that exist nowadays, I personally think that I am relatively ready for work. Like all other teenagers, I spend a lot of time on my phone or on my computer and it brings a lot of advantages because we learn more and more everyday.

To stand out from the crowd these days, I have to do something that no one has done before and, although that may not seem hard,  coming up with such ideas is really difficult.

In conclusion, to stand out and become successful in life, you have to work hard and think about things no one else does because, in some way, almost everyone wants to succeed too.

Sabine Bieltz, 11º J

WRITERS' CORNER #39

The future lingua franca

Francisca Moreira, nº21, 12ºJ

English is, no doubt, the worlds current lingua franca. Having millions of speakers all over the world, it is thanks to English that we can communicate with each other no matter where we are. However, can we really say that it will remain the lingua franca in the future?

As far as I’m concerned, that is quite unlikely and there is a myriad of reasons why.

On the one had, technology is becoming more and more advanced. Nowadays, we can already translate an entire web page with a simple click into in our native language. So, it’s not that unbelievable that one day we’ll be able to translate, in real time, what other people are saying.

On the other hand, the US is slowly being removed from it’s role as the world’s most powerful nation, as the emergence of China as an economically powerful nation is steadily spreading Chinese around the world.

Finally, technology is no longer an “English only” world. Gadgets and apps are now available in many different languages and, as such, people no longer need to know English to be able to use them.

To sum up, it’s only a matter of time until English is no longer needed as the lingua franca. The world is constantly changing and evolving and, therefore, so is the lingua franca.

WRITERS' CORNER #38

The European Union: pros and cons

Viviana Vilaça Gomes Cruz, nº22, 12ºJ

The basic principles behind the European Union are maintaining peace among the twenty-seven member states, cooperation for mutual benefit and common external action.

The benefits of the Eu are undeniable: free movement of labour and capital, which have helped create a more flexible economy and enabled people to live and work wherever they wish in Europe; people travel freely across national frontiers, making trade and tourism easier and cheaper; with the help of the Erasmus programme, many students have completed part of their studies in another member state; and the EU’s commitment to reduce its global warming emissions has been essential for a better environment.

On the other hand, one of the biggest disadvantages of the EU has to do with financial difficulties. Some EU member nations need to use tax payers money to fund financially unstable states, when those funds could be used to develop their own countries. Another disadvantage is the fact that EU institutions have too much power. They have taken away the right of individual countries to make their own decisions about political and economic issues.

I think the main negative aspect is really the fact that people have a slim chance to make their voices heard.

In my opinion, Brexit was a big mistake and the British will regret it. Despite the disadvantages, the EU has changed Europeans’ lives for the better. That’s why I am for the maintenance of the EU with a single currency, open borders and a single market.

WRITERS' CORNER #37

Sad Generation

Margarida Freitas, nº12, 10ºL

Being a child or a teenager in the 21^st century is completely different to what it was like in our parents’ generation. Honestly, I don’t think there are any similarities.

First of all, nowadays, kids and teenagers face lots of problems like bullying, stress, low self-esteem and peer pressure. Our parents didn’t have these issues because there was no social media! Social media is the main reason why teenagers have these problems, Many times, they try to overcome their problems all by themselves which can lead to depression or even suicide.

Besides all of this, I think social media has also made teenagers and kids less active and happy. Childhood should be about playing sports, climbing trees and running outside. However, nowadays, kids just watch TV and the only games they play are online games.

On the other hand, in our parents’ generation, teenagers would stay in the garden playing games and doing sports until the sun went down. Teenagers weren’t concerned about whether they had trendy clothes or top mobile phones. They just wanted to hang out with true friends!

In my view, our parents’ generation is definitely happier than ours. There were less problems and everyone had fun!

WRITERS' CORNER #36

Being a teacher during the pandemic: a personal account.

Íris Seixas (English teacher at ESEQ)

It’s the 19th of May and as I’m driving to school I’m hit by an uncharacteristic bout of anxiety. At first what I’m feeling doesn’t make any sense to me, after all I was a student at ESEQ and in recent years I have had the joy of teaching at this school. As I sit in my car and wait for the gates to open, I notice the employee at the gate who he is wearing a mask. Suddenly, everything falls into place.

It’s the second day of class after three months of lockdown. Everything has changed in this period of time due to Covid-19. Everyone had to stay at home and only went out for the bare essentials. No gatherings or outings were allowed. ESEQ, like all the schools in the country had been closed. Both teachers and students were required to very quickly adapt to e-learning. No more classrooms filled with up to thirty students. All classes would take place from home. Tasks would be allocated, including articles/texts to read, grammar worksheets, listening exercises, videos to watch and comment on, just to name a few. All these would be corrected, commented on and returned to the students via various tools, including Zoom and Google Classroom. Initially, all of this proved to be a major challenge. Both teachers and students were required to almost instantly adapt to this new form of teaching and learning. This took resilience and flexibility. It was demanded that teachers be able to captivate their students and keep them motivated via e-learning. This was not always an easy task, even though teachers in the last few years have been using different types of tools in their classrooms. However, solely using e-learning was a novelty and it required quick adapting and transfiguration. Students were expected to be more autonomous and in charge of what and how they learnt.

Now that the school year has come to an end, I believe it’s time for teachers, students and the teaching community, in general, to draw conclusions from this entire process. I think there are both advantages and disadvantages to be considered. In my opinion, not everything concerning e-learning should be forgotten once the new school year begins. I believe that as a teacher e-learning enriched my teaching experience. Do I prefer being inside a classroom, being able to be face-to-face with my students, undoubtedly. However, I want to be able to take full advantage of tools, such as Zoom and Google Classroom in the future if I choose to. In my opinion, with these students became more autonomous and independent concerning their learning. However, this does not mean that some students were not left behind, some unfortunately were, either for not having technological equipment, internet access or the digital skills required.

It is important that we walk away from this entire process with important lessons, given that it is not clear if in the near future we will once again be in lockdown and be forced to rely on e-learning. Come what may, I believe that both the teachers and the students at ESEQ know how to adapt and transform hardship into an enriching learning experience, as we have proved ourselves capable of. 
Hats off to us all, teachers and students alike.

WRITERS' CORNER #35

Students were asked to write an advice letter to teenager who feels very anxious because he/she doesn’t know what career path to choose.
What now?

Bruno Silva, 11ºM, nº5

Hi Zac,

I heard that you are feeling anxious about not knowing which career path you should take and I hope this letter helps you make up your mind.

First you should look at your hobbies and the things you like and feel comfortable doing, after that you are half way there. Next you should take a look at your grades and see which subjects you like the most. Afterwards you should join both answers and try to arrive at a conclusion.

I’m going to give you my opinion as well. I know that you like science and you are fascinated by the human body. I also know that you are a great student when it comes to maths and science, so my suggestion is that you should become a doctor or something that involves science and the human body.

I really hope that you find a career that you love and identify with. When you arrive at a conclusion, mail me back so I get to know which path you took.

Bye for now

Bruno

WRITERS' CORNER #34

Students were asked to write an advice letter to teenager who feels very anxious because he/she doesn’t know what career path to choose.

What career path to choose?

Tiago Novais, 11ºM, nº26

Hey John,

How are you? I recently heard you don’t know yet what career path you want to follow in the future. And you know what? I want to help you with that.

So first you should think about what type of things you like. Maybe you like science but you don’t want to be a scientologist or a scientist. That’s okay because you might like other different jobs related to that subject.

What do you want? One thing is liking something, another thing is wanting it.

Maybe you want to study in Porto or Lisbon or even in Coimbra. Maybe you want a challenge and study something you find to be hard or tricky.

Last but not least, talk to your family and friends and ask their opinion on the subject. It may not be the most relevant thing to do but at least you will know what they think.

Hope you make a good choice,

Tiago

Writers’ Corner #33

Two roads diverge ...

There she stands,

cunningly observing

in a myriad of thoughts

as if in a permanent struggle

against her inner self.

Human condition is so intricate!

Lots of questions, sometimes a feeling of emptiness, 

strong shivers down the spine, and then “the choice”,

most of the times a choice for life.

We need people who dare, regardless of the consequences, 

the criticism of those who rule their lives based on trivial details.

Challenge life never forgetting you are a limited edition, and that`s what

makes you UNIQUE:

Unforgettable, Noble, Incredible, Queenlike, Unafraid!

Reflections, Ana Andrade

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Writers’ Corner #32

My Best Friend

When I came to this class, I looked very nervous. Everything was new for me. I am feeling slightly better now because I made many friends - friends who make me happy. Like everything good in life,  good friends are of great eminence.

Recently, I have made a friend that looks like me! I don’t mean her appearance, but her personality. It is very similar to mine. She is my lost sister! She is very kind and introverted, but she is a great friend. She helps me with my personal problems. These problems were torturing me - they were torturing my body and my head! And she, my new friend, helped me with some pieces of advice. 

I am better now and I owe her everything. Thanks, my friend!

Lisandra Braga, 10.º N

Writers’ Corner #31

My Best Friend

I don't have a best friend but I will imagine one. 

For me, a best friend should be someone fun and interesting. Someone I can spend hours talking to about my problems and the way I see the world. I would like someone that can be there for me for life because best friends are one big piece in our story. A best friend ought to be a person that loves you for what you are and you should love hm/her in the same way.

Summing up, a best friend should be friendly, nice and generous because when you have a person that importante, nothing can put you down.

Érica Correia, 10º N

Este mês andamos a ler

Sinopse

Na Lisboa de finais dos anos noventa, um jovem escritor em crise vê o seu caminho cruzar-se com o de um grande escritor. Dessa relação, nasce uma história que mescla realidade e ficção, um jogo de espelhos que coloca em evidência alguns dos desafios maiores da literatura. 

A ousadia de transformar José Saramago em personagem e de chamar Autobiografia a um romance é apenas o começo de uma surpreendente proposta narrativa que, a partir de certo ponto, não se imagina como poderá terminar. José Luís Peixoto explora novos temas e cenários e, ao mesmo tempo, aprofunda obsessões, numa obra marcante, uma referência futura.

Writers’ Corner #30

“Immigration is not the cause of racism; it is its cure.”

Keeping in mind that racism is still one of the biggest problems of today´s society, we surely have to take multiculturalism and migration into account in order to try to end it.

   I have to start by expressing that I couldn´t agree more with the sentence above. I truly believe that, if we want to solve the issue of racism, we need to be aware that it is by communicating and socialising with people from different backgrounds that we will be able to do so. Thus, immigration, which can be wrongly considered to be one of the factors that cause racism, is actually its solution. That being said, we can verify that, since immigration almost forces different cultures to get together, it can deeply increase tolerance and respect for each other and also create new customs and traditions resulting from the mixture of very much the same cultures.

   All in all, the term “immigration” shouldn´t be given a negative meaning, but, instead, should be considered the cure or solution to racism and overall discrimination.

Mariana Reina, 11.º H

Writers’ Corner

Dear ESEQ students,

Writers’ Corner is back to showcase and share our English students’ great writing skills!

The School Library Blog will keep on publishing  examples of good creative and critical thinking in the English language. It will also keep on showing that writing and reading can be very enjoyable experiences.

Join us in the Writers’ Corner and get the most out of it!

Teacher Carla Moreira