Brainstorming News, Issue no 1

Brainstorming News

Welcome

Issue no.1, June 2009

H

ey there! How are you? If you are reading this, then you just got our magazine. Lucky you! I hope you will enjoy reading it, and have at least the fun we had when we wrote the articles. This started as a Projects Abroad initiative, one that is supposed to teach the teenagers the basics of journalism. We really like the idea.

The writers are Cristina Batranu, Teodora Matei, Lavinia Nica, Ioana Vaduva, Robert Cernea and Razvan Idomir. We are classmates and work together for this project.

Enjoy!

Visitors in Our School Did you know that our school is part of a project with people who come from other countries? Well, if you don’t, I must tell you about it. Projects Abroad is a worldwide organization, offering different opportunities to experience life in other countries.

Meet the Team My name is Cristina, I’m 13 years old and I love dancing; I think that’s the reason why I wrote about sports. Bye!

My name is Teodora Matei, I’m a very friendly person and I enjoy travelling to other countries and meeting new people; this is why I write for our travel section.

My name is Lavinia Nica and I’m a spontaneous person. I love to live for the moment and enjoy every second of my life; that’s why I am part of this project.

My name is Ioana-TeodoraVaduva. I am the editor of this magazine, and I also wrote an article about Projects Abroad.

I’ve loved doing this project and now Journalism has become a passion.

My name is Robert, I’m 14 and I’m very passionate about science. That’s maybe the reason I chose to write an article about science. Have a good day!

My name is Razvan Idomir; I’m a simple guy who likes movies, and chatting about them.

Sarah (far left) and Paula (far right) with the magazine’s team

There are thousands of volunteers from all over the world, most of them young college students. Sarah Bottomley is British and Paula Millar, Canadian. They are both Projects Abroad volunteers. Both of them are studying journalism, and also writing in their schools’ magazines.

Romania is the first country Sarah came to volunteer in. She found out about Projects Abroad through her University in Chester. First of all she wanted to go to Mongolia to teach journalism there, but postponed it in the end. She told me that she doesn’t know what made her change her mind, so, she chose Romania. She’s always loved traveling and this gave her ”a chance to get to know more people and another language and culture, which is something that is very difficult to do in just a week on holiday.”

Paula’s first country to explore with Projects Abroad is Romania.

She’s always loved journalism, and her favourite area is International News. “During my second year at university, I joined my school's newspaper, The Cord Weekly, and have been a staff writer for the International Section ever since. Next year will be my fourth year and I will be the International Editor at my school paper.” She found out about Projects Abroad by accident, when she was looking for "journalism internships abroad." The reason she chose Europe is that it represents an area of interest for her. That is why the Projects Abroad Romania journalism placement seemed the perfect fit.

In my opinion, Projects Abroad is a very interesting organization, and, like Sarah said, is a very good way to visit the world, and get to know other people from other countries.

by Ioana Vaduva

School Events

Thoughts before the Prom

Sometimes I catch myself thinking of fairytales and how everything goes just perfect in them. In Cinderella’s story she was an ordinary girl who found her “Prince Charming” at a ball where she wasn’t even invited.

Travel

But that’s not the point. The point is that she had confidence in her as long as she wore a beautiful dress. Even though I haven’t had my first prom, I know it will be magical. Only one year parts me from it, the 8th grade prom. Every night, before I go to sleep I think how my dress will look and the first thing that comes in my mind is a red dress. Then, I try to picture the guy that will dance with me on the empty dance floor. Why empty? Because everyone will stand still and watch the perfect couple dancing to the rhythm of a beautiful love song. That’s the way I see my special night. I was curious to see how other people picture it so I asked some 8th graders how they see their prom.

“Prom…Finally we got here. Dresses, music, food, the last hours spent with the teachers. I wish it could all continue next year but that’s impossible. That’s why I wish that our prom will be very special. I hope that my friends will wear comfortable but at the same time elegant clothes. About the music, it will be awesome if it will be classic but also a bit of punk, rock and pop. It will be fun to watch the Miss and Mister contest because we will have the chance to admire and appreciate the coolest kids in school. This will represent the last of our activity in the school, that’s why we hope there won’t be any drinking or fighting problems.

Even though it will be a sad event we are waiting anxiously for it.” ( Nastase Andreea, 8C) “I think the prom will be great. I hope there will be a lot of fun and also very good music. Something you can dance on, of course. About the clothes…well, I think the boys will wear suits and the girls will wear a dress or something close to. There's going to be a lot of food, drinks and people, so it's almost impossible to get bored. I really hope it will be awesome and I hope we'll have no regrets about it!”

(Anonymous, 8A) So, as you can see, people are very excited about the prom. I can’t wait to live this great experience. I just have to wait another year to go to my own prom.

by Lavinia Nica

Summer Holiday Fun

Summer is a few steps away and you don’t have a plan for your holiday? Let me share with you some ideas. When they hear the word “travel”, many people think of having fun or being free and spending lots of money on comfort. There are many places in the world which attract many tourists every year. People usually go to the seaside or in a mountain resort. Italy, Greece, Spain and Croatia are some of the famous places to go on holiday. There are many interesting monuments for the ones who like history. Great photos can be taken in these countries. The architecture is different from ours. Relaxing on a beach with a cocktail near you seems an ideal vacation for those who just want to have fun and forget about everything.

This summer I am going to Greece. I think it is a peaceful place where you can enjoy the sun and the blue sea. Last year in April our Math teacher, Mrs. Bajan, organized a trip to France. This country is really great. There were lots of museums: we visited Versailles,

Louvre and we climbed the Eiffel Tower. We also went to Disneyland Park, where we saw lots of Walt Disney’s characters. France is a really beautiful and interesting country where you can spend your summer.

In Romania there are also many places you can go to. You can visit the beautiful cities in the country like Cluj, Timisoara or Sibiu. In Maramures, there are lots of monasteries known for their beauty and the peaceful places which surround them.

Going on holidays can be very fun if you choose the right place. Whoever you go with, your family, your friends or your colleagues, the vacation will be a success because you find out about new cultures and you meet people from different countries. You can improve your historical or geographical knowledge by visiting many interesting and famous places. Wherever you choose to go I hope you will enjoy your holiday.

by Teodora Matei

Science

Did You Know?...

by Robert Cernea ...That the monster called “Nessie”, never existed? Nessie is an all time favourite myth. It became a legend when people started to take photographs and films of “her”. Well actually, we must admit that everything was a bluff...but why?

Everything started with that photograph. It is a well taken photograph, but after years of research, we finally have the answer. The photo was taken by the well known “Surgeon”.

Everyone knew him as a very honest person, and a very loyal one. A long time ago, someone tried to make a joke, and he wanted to reproduce the existence of “Nessie”. He bought a toy submarine, he put it in the loch, amd threw a rock in the water, so it was the perfect joke. He took a picture and he convinced “The Surgeon” (Robert Kenneth Wilson) to say that he took the image. Known as a very good man, everybody believed him.

But after a very well struck research, the scientists found out the answer. The answer? Simple, put in the nearby river a toy submarine, dump a rock, take a picture, make it with a program to look a little bit older, and there you have it. A Loch Ness monster photo.

The scientists wouldn’t give up so easy, so they started research. Could it be the last plesiosaurus in the world? The answer was negative. It couldn’t be possible, after the evidence that they found. Then, a huge fish? No. The biggest fish recorded on this lake was about 50 centimeters, and after all it is a kind of an accumulation lake, so it’s nearly impossible for “Nessie” to live without enough food. After all, ‘it’ is a huge monster, is not it? They took responsibility, and

then they went to Scotland. After one week of research there was nothing. No monster, no ”Nessie”, nothing. So all these things put together were the proof of the inexistence of any monster. They proved that it is impossible for a monster of those dimensions to resist so much time, and live with a small number of fish as food. We had the answer, but why did he do this? Why did Robert lie like this? Maybe to make a legend, or just to make a funny joke; we will never know.

But one thing is clear; Nessie was a myth,that existed for a long time. It was entertaining to believe that maybe there is a monster, but now, everybody will take that how they want.

by Cristina Batranu

I recall with nostalgia when I met for the first time the notion of sport. I was five years old, and the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia was on TV. I remember it like it was yesterday: how fascinated I was following the progress of our gymnasts, especially the champion Maria Olaru, who fascinated the spectators with her movements and precision. With my eyes glued to the TV, I tried to imitate the moves, to walk with the music, but I tumbled with fun, making my parents have a really good time. Then I got a passion for sports.

My curiosity for this has grown along with the passing of the years, enriching my knowledge. Throughout history, the Olympics games have stopped armed conflicts to promote a culture of competitiveness and fair play.

I then found out sports was beneficial to health and harmonious development of children. It also has an important role in therapeutic gymnastics recovery. It replaces medical treatment and so. Practicing sports enforces character, inducing the increase will of perseverance, spirit of competition, the fair-play attitude, but also the spirit of teamwork, the collective integration of modesty, self-respect and self-growth.

I have written about All these qualities with my schoolfellows in mind. In my school, sports teachers guide us to have a healthy life and develop harmoniusly.

Sport is like a God who came down from Olympus, the Greek Gods’ house, and who gives health and youth.

Thinking of my sports teacher, Mrs. Camelia Niculcea, I realize she gave sports the power to transform people: one of my colleagues participates in all our games with passion, involvement, and enjoying every moment.

I believe that life is like the Olympic games; a competition in which we learn the values of keeping ourselves active and healthy and of teamwork.

Sports

Sport - the God of Beauty and Health

Movie review

I Just Saw ‘Saw’

by Razvan Idomir Recently, I wanted to get my greedy hands on a dramatic, thrilling movie: my choice was the Saw series. Said and done: God bless the guy that invented internet shopping.

Yeah, it’s pretty awful to start out with a not so academic movie, but I really think that this one is of epic proportions.

“Saw” is a horror, mystery and thriller type of movie. It was released on 29 October in USA. I want to mention the writers of this thrilling story, which I consider to be insane and at the same time, geniuses. They are James Wan and Leigh Whannell.

The movie starts with a man waking up in a bathtub.

Soon, he realizes that he is caught in a chain and that he was not alone in that room. The other person that is in there turns the lights on, only to discover that he and the other man are chained and cannot escape. The bad thing was that in front of them seemed to be a man that had his brains spilled on the floor and had in his hands a gun and a cassette player.

They both had a cassette and they listen to them. Eventually, they find out that a guy that the police called Jigsaw kidnapped them. He organized scenes, where he tested people, pulling them to torture themselves. Why was he named Jigsaw? Because he cut a piece of skin from his victims in the shape of a Jigsaw piece. And why did he do all this? Because he wanted people to treasure their life, even though this meant going through torture.

During the movie, you are made to think that a doctor, interpreted by Henry Gale (Benjamin Linus from LOST), is the one who made all these cruelties. In the final moments of the movie you discover that the person was no other than … Well, you should discover for yourself.

The message of the movie is that you should treasure your life, and is delivered to us a little bit brutal, but it is pretty worth it, don’t you think? After all, it’s a movie.

If I would have to rate this movie I would give it an 8.5, just because of its extreme violence. I hope you will enjoy this movie as much as I did, as there are still many things that I have not told you.

Joke! collected by Robert Cernea

www.projects-abroad.org

This magazine was created with the help of: Simona Buzea - English Teacher Alexandra Ichim - Projects Abroad Journalism Coordinator Sarah Bottomley - Projects Abroad Volunteer Paula Millar - Projects Abroad Volunteer

After being examined by a doctor, a man learned that he did not have very much time left to live. Without any hope he asks the doctor how much time he has left.

“Ten”, says the doctor.

“Ten what? Years, months, days?”

“Nine, Eight, Seven...”continues the doctor.