I hope you all had a great summer!!! But now it's time to go back to school...so here you have a song to start practising your English and welcome you back! You can watch the first video and see how much you can understand with the help of the cartoons...and then you can sing along with the lyrics in the second video. Enjoy!





Now try to translate the lyrics!

We're Going to be Friends
by The White Stripes 

Fall is here, hear the yell
back to school, ring the bell
brand new shoes, walking blues
climb the fence, books and pens
I can tell that we're going to be friends

Walk with me, Suzy Lee
through the park and by the tree
we will rest upon the ground
and look at all the bugs we found
then safely walk to school
without a sound

Well here we are, no one else
we walked to school all by ourselves
there's dirt on our uniforms
from chasing all the ants and worms
we clean up and now its time to learn

Numbers, letters, learn to spell
nouns, and books, and show and tell
at playtime we will throw the ball
back to class, through the hall
teacher marks our height
against the wall

And we don't notice any time pass
we don't notice anything
we sit side by side in every class
teacher thinks that I sound funny
but she likes the way you sing

Tonight I'll dream while in my bed
when silly thoughts go through my head
about the bugs and alphabet
and when I wake tomorrow I'll bet
that you and I will walk together again
cause I can tell that we're going to be friends

30th January - School Day of Non-violence and Peace

The "School Day of Non-violence and Peace", founded in 1964 and also known as World or International Day of Non-violence and Peace, is a pioneering, non-state, non-governmental, non-official, independent, free and voluntary initiative of Non-violent and Pacifying Education,

which is now practised in schools all over the world and in which centres of education, teachers and students of all levels and from all countries are invited to take part.

It advocates a permanent education in and for harmony, tolerance, solidarity, respect for human rights, non-violence and peace. It is observed on January 30 or thereabouts every year, on the anniversary of the death of Mahatma Gandhi.

Its basic message is: "Universal Love, Non-violence and Peace. Universal Love is better than egoism, Non-violence is better than violence, and Peace is better than war".

MAHATMA GANDHI

This is the song we learnt and sang in class today. 1st ESO students did a great job! Now you can all watch this video and sing along with the lyrics, as part of our celebration of the International Day of Non-violence and Peace, which will take place on Friday, 28th January at the school. Enjoy!

...and this is the song we're going to sing in 3rd and 4th ESO, I hope you like it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

This is the song they sing in English speaking countries to celebrate the start of the New Year. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, people get together, they hug and kiss each other and sing along...and by the way, they don't eat any grapes, that's a Spanish tradition! The lyrics come from a poem by Robert Burns, a Scottish poet. He wrote it in 1788 in Scots, one of the ancient varieties of English, so it is quite difficult to understand, but here you can find the modern English version to help you, and more information about the poem and the author:

Auld Lang Syne

Martin Luther King

At the end of September we will visit an exhibition on the life of Martin Luther King (1929-1968), leader of the African-American civil rights movement.
Here you can read a short biography:

King was born on 15 January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was a Baptist minister, his mother a schoolteacher. Originally named Michael, he was later renamed Martin. He entered Morehouse College in 1944 and then went to Crozer Religious Seminary to undertake postgraduate study, receiving his doctorate in 1955.

Returning to the South to become pastor of a Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, King first achieved national renown when he helped mobilise the black boycott of the Montgomery bus system in 1955. This was organised after Rosa Parks, a black woman, refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man - in the segregated south, black people could only sit at the back of the bus. The 382-day boycott led the bus company to change its regulations, and the supreme court declared such segregation unconstitutional.

In 1957, King was active in the organisation of the Southern Leadership Christian Conference (SCLC), formed to co-ordinate protests against discrimination. He advocated non-violent direct action based on the methods of Gandhi, who led protests against British rule in India culminating in India's independence in 1947.

In 1963, King led mass protests against discriminatory practices in Birmingham, Alabama where the white population were violently resisting desegregation. The city was dubbed 'Bombingham' as attacks against civil rights protesters increased, and King was arrested and jailed for his part in the protests.

After his release, King participated in the enormous civil rights march on Washington in August 1963, and delivered his famous 'I have a dream' speech, predicting a day when the promise of freedom and equality for all would become a reality in America. In 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1965, he led a campaign to register blacks to vote. The same year the US Congress passed the Voting Rights Act outlawing the discriminatory practices that had barred blacks from voting in the south.

As the civil rights movement became increasingly radicalised, King found that his message of peaceful protest was not shared by many in the younger generation. King began to protest against the Vietnam war and poverty levels in the US. He was assassinated on 4 April 1968 during a visit to Memphis, Tennessee.
(From www.bbc.co.uk)

Find out more about Martin Luther King here:

Biography MLK

You can also watch his famous speech "I Have a Dream" (March on Washington, August 28, 1963) here:

Now listen to this beautiful song by the Irish band U2. It was inspired by MLK.



And finally, you can also listen to other songs inspired by the figure of this great man:

Songs inspired by MLK

Sing in English!

Enjoy this beautiful song and sing along with the lyrics!



Now try it without the lyrics!