Spring - Edition 31

MAY 2017

NEWSPAPER EDITORS: Aitor Lameiras, Patricia Freitas & Mariya Oblap

Since it's our last school year we feel very happy to be part of this project and to give our last contribution to this school and mostly for the English subject. We definitely will miss school and all the good things we have been provided with all these years. It has been the place where we could grow expressing our opinions, thoughts, and dreams and this newspaper is full of them.

This year, Spring will be about many interesting topics that today affect our lives in many ways. Also, as usual, it is going to answer the question: Why English? The importance of this unavoidable global language. You definitely will like to read this year's edition and be part of this amazing project that is so useful for all of us.

As a class, we would like to wish you all a good reading and we hope this newspaper to be as enjoyable to all the readers as it was for us to participate in it and also that it should give a clear vision about the way students see the world.

The class: 12th I

Choices define our future and, therefore, we have to be wise when making a decision.

One simple decision can change our life, so we must be intelligent and responsible enough to choose what is best for us. At the end of last year, we were asked to choose two more subjects and choosing English was an obvious choice for both of us. Although this simple choice doesn’t seem that big of a deal, we assure you it will have some kind of impact in your life, on a personal and professional level.

The main reason most students choose English in the 12th grade is because it is an easy subject that can give you good grades and, consequently, increase your average grade. Nowadays, English comes easier to teenagers because we are influenced to learn it from a very early age. The books we read, the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the celebrities we follow, the TV shows we obsess over and mostly social media – giving the fact most of the content of the internet (50%) is, in fact, in English – make us learn English almost unconsciously. We suddenly become fluent in English just because of how much it surrounds us.

We also choose English based on the prospect of finding a job. Unfortunately, finding a job in our country nowadays is rough and demanding and, as so, to find a job, you’re either good or you’re not. Knowing the global language can definitely help you to be better. If you can speak the global language, you can communicate in any part of the world and, therefore, work anywhere and travel anywhere. With emigration increasing, more and more people are trying to learn English, knowing it will upsurge their professional performance and also their range of opportunities.

Furthermore, we all have this aspiration to travel around the world. English can help you easily get by when exploring a whole new country with a different language and culture. It helps you adapt to a country’s way of living temporarily and get to know more about its rules, traditions and beliefs.

To summarize, we think it’s safe to say that English has become part of our way of living and it is almost mandatory to learn it because it will help us succeed. In a world like ours today, a world where we are all connected due to globalization, we need English to help us strengthen relationships with other people and broaden our horizons.

Catarina Teixeira and Diana Ferreira, 12º I

English is a fascinating language that seems to steal tons of easy words from other languages, adapt them to their own and create an enormous mix of languages from all over the world, but I’m not here to write about Britain’s theft habits, I’m here to convince you to study English or to give an idea to what you are missing out by not doing it.

To be honest, I’m not the right person to talk about why you should choose to study English since I do not study it whatsoever and kind of just picked it up from games and movies to the point where it practically became my mother tongue (honesty is always good right?). The good news however is that if I can do it, so can you!

No matter what you want to be as an adult, English will affect it somehow or another. Want to be a scientist? Well I hope you’re not planning to go to a conference in Germany speaking Portuguese because if so your dreams will be very short-lived. Air-Plane Pilot? All the little buttons and levers will be in English. Engineer? I really doubt there are engineering manuals in Portuguese and if there are you’ll still need English to work in wherever you’re going to work.

English will stalk you throughout your entire life so you can either stubbornly deny its existence and give up plenty of good work opportunities or you can learn it and admit it’s one of the greatest things ever invented.

But if you have difficulties in learning English, I’ll give you the advice no teacher ever gave you: PLAY VIDEO GAMES! Why? Because they teach you English, teach you how to pronounce words in English, they will subconsciously teach several grammar rules because you’ll be hearing and reading how to use that word in that context and (best of all) you learn it while you are having fun.

It will however require you to be stubborn to learn, if you just put Portuguese subtitles you’ll not be learning anything (in fact you’ll just be destroying your knowledge of Portuguese since all Portuguese subtitles are Brazilian Portuguese, which will not help you with any exams).

In short, English will open lots of lovely paths for you which would either be infuriatingly hard or non-existent with you just knowing Portuguese and it’s not only an easy language as it also gives you an excuse to give to your parents to “waste” money on buying video games.

João Alexandre Carvalho, 12º D

Convincing somebody to choose English for the 12th grade is, surely, a huge task. The simple fact that we’re talking about a foreign language, creates some kind of ‘fear’ in people’s minds.

This fear only exists because those people never faced the bull in the eyes, believing in themselves and not in the usual story of ‘it is too difficult for me’. There’s nothing impossible in this world as long as we fight our hearts for it. If you really want to dominate a language, you will do it, period. You just need to stop saying (and believing) that it is too difficult to be done.

Generally, people underestimate the power of dominating the English language. There are so many ways that we can use that knowledge in our favour that I can’t even name them all. If you want to watch that video or episode but there are no available subtitles in Portuguese; if you want to speak with the locals in other countries; if you want to read articles in international websites… it’s a neverending enumeration. One of the best things about this subject is that you’re not always learning completely new stuff like you do in other subjects. Once you get the fluency of the language, you’ll realise that all the exercises throughout the year are all about improving your knowledge here and there. You just need to remember that the initiative of doing things like watching movies and videos without subtitles must come from you. Dominate the language and you’ll see that the language won’t dominate you.

João Macedo, 11ºK

Nowadays, the English language has a very important role in our world, making it the most spoken one, even if other languages are trying to take over. This happens due to how big the technological world has grown, leading us to the one-way road to be able to speak it.

It is common sense that this language is a daily essential in our lives whether we refer to the business world or our personal life. In my opinion, English is the easiest language to learn due to its simple grammar and similar words from other languages. Since I was little, I used to go on holidays and listen to other children speaking in English, which made me fall in love with the language. When I was six, I started learning it and quickly got the pronunciation of words.

Throughout the years, the only thing I wanted was to know the language as a whole and that was

something that I was very proud of. I must say, comparing it to other languages, English is extremely captivating and one of the easiest and funniest to be taught and learnt. This in only possible to be stated due to the variety of music and TV shows available.

We have a lot of hit songs in English, which makes it easy and enjoyable to listen and to remember the lyrics.

In our global world, someone who doesn’t know how to have a conversation in English is more likely to have serious difficulties in finding a job. This is one of the strongest reasons to be a fluent English speaker.

As far as Portuguese native speakers are concerned, English is already a big part of our daily lives and, as we see on the TV news, our president and other members of the government have to speak to other countries’ leaders in English, for example, in the United Nations. A lot of job interviews ask for this skill as well, whether you are a waiter, a musician or a security guard.

In conclusion, we can say that English is, without any shadow of a doubt, a global language and totally fundamental nowadays.

Ana Maria Faria, 12ºI

I believe that 12th grade English lessons are very helpful. Not only do they help us on improving our language skills but above all they help us on raising our grades. After all, we have to keep in mind that University is right around the corner…

Most people don't think that they are important, thinking that listening to music or watching movies are enough to improve our knowledge but I believe that our lessons are more important. Firstly, because it develops our accent as well as our vocabulary even more than when we watch movies and it also improves our listening technique, more than when we listen to music. And that is so because there's always

professional help for the ones who have any difficulties in learning but even for the most advanced ones there’s always 'room' to be better and become more fluent.

These are the main reasons why I believe that having English in the 12th grade is in fact the right choice.

João Nuno, 12ºD

I entered this school with the intention of doing the 12th grade in the vocational course of "Technician in the management and production of Textile and Clothing”.

I chose this course because I always had a fall for fashion and I was also very curious to learn what processes were used in the manufacture of clothing until they reached us (consumers).

Today I can say that, in addition to some difficulties that I have been through, I was able to do the three-year course with good results, with great teachers, who were always ready to help, and made some friendships that are very important to me.

Fafe Secondary School has all the necessary equipment and well-prepared teachers for you to complete your 12th grade successfully, as it happened with me and with many more students who have passed through here.

They were three unforgettable years with people I grew up with and I really learned a lot of important things that I know will be useful in my future.

Inês Filipa Magalhães Oliveira, 12ºP

How can people hate each other so much? Is it possible to hate each other so much as to kill innocents?

War is like a storm, it sweeps everything ahead, even the most vulnerable like kids and no one can stop it. This year, many people have died in terrorist attacks without even believing what was going on.

Parents became childless, grandparents were left without grandchildren and children without their parents.

Is this all fair? Is it fair to condemn children to death? Is it fair to condemn elderly to death?

They were simply caught up in the middle of a war at that hour, that minute, that second.

Although many of the children who died did not even know what the war was, that was terrorism.

It seems like there's always got to be a reason for a war, either by religion or by hatred.

Always a disguised reason.

We should all put ourselves in the shoes of the people of Syria and imagine the suffering, the despair. And hopefully this that has happened will not generate a third world war, otherwise all of us will all be caught by the storm without any pity.

Therefore, it is best to enjoy every second with the people you love because you never know when it will be your last.

Mariana Silva, 12º P There is no doubt that war is evil. It is death, chaos, and destruction. It is the greatest catastrophe that can befall human beings. It brings merciless slaughter and butchery, disease and starvation, poverty and ruin.

But although war is evil, we must recognize the fact that it is a necessary, inescapable evil. A glance at the past history of the world will show war has been a recurrent phenomenon in history. Clashes of arms have always occurred.

something thrilling and full of excitement and he fights in order to get an outlet for his accumulated energy.

The heart of the matter is that fighting is a natural instinct.

It also appears that if peace were to continue for a long period, people would become sick due to monotony of peace and seek war for a change.

Man is a highly dynamic creature and it seems that he cannot remain contented merely with works of peace. He wants

All in all, one must admit that war has its good side. It spurs men to heroism and self- sacrifice.

It is an incentive to scientific research and development. War is obviously an escape from the lethargy of peace. It is a sad and cruel truth, but that’s the way it is.

Anonymous, VOCATIONAL COURSE OF COMMERCE

As cities grow and lifestyles change, the homes we decide to live in will change as well. In fact, we are already starting to see unique housing alternatives.

So, when I am asked how I imagine the home of the future, I can see a space full of technology. I imagine a large house, with an innovative and sophisticated architecture, technological equipment to facilitate all the tasks we need to do and I idealise a highly secure home.

I think that in the future the houses will be prepared for any need of the human being.

However, I guess that everybody’s home is the reflection of his/her personality, and unfortunately, I just think the houses will be very similar and colourless.

On the other hand, due to the excessive amount of electronic devices, people will become much more sedentary and their interactions with other people will be reduced. This will be an extremely difficult problem to overcome, and this will still have major impacts on people's health, such as obesity and eyesight diseases.

To conclude, I think that the home of the future will bring with it a lot of improvements for the human being, such as reducing the use of natural resources, because I am convinced that in the future all houses will have the means to obtain energy from sustainable form.

Ana Beatriz Novais, 10ºE

Technology is an important part of our everyday lives.

We use smartphones/iPhone, laptops, printers, tablets, pen drives, CDs, DVDs etc., so, technology became essential for us and has developed a lot in the last 15-10 years.

When I was younger, mobile phones didn’t have so many functions, they were very basic, actually. Making, receiving phone calls and sending texts were the most common things we could do with them.

Now, we can surf the net. Many teenagers are connected to social media all the time.

People can also send and receive mails, take and send photos, play games, listen to music and talk to others. We are always connected to our friends because of our smartphones.

TV sets used to weigh a lot, now they are called LCDs, Plasma TVs, Ultra HDs, OLEDs: they are very thin and light.

Nowadays we can connect our modern TV sets to the net, in order to watch films and play online games. They have inputs for pen drives, therefore, we can see the photos, watch the films and videos that we

have saved in our pen drive, on our LCD or Ultra HD. In fact, when people buy a new car, it has a GPS system, which is a good help for drivers. We can insert our pen drives in the front panel and listen to our favourite music. Cars have electronic sensors, which beep if we are too close to an obstacle.

Some cars even park by themselves, which is really great. Electric cars are becoming more and more popular (unfortunately, they are still more expensive than cars running on diesel and petrol).

Technology makes our lives easier and is good for our society. It is evolving very fast, so maybe in the future we will have robots at home, washing, cleaning and cooking. I really hope that teletransportation will become possible in a near future. I would love to travel instantaneously to my favourite holiday destinations without spending endless hours at an airport and then on a plane, who knows?

As far as technology is concerned, anything is possible!

Beatriz Freitas, 11ºA

Everywhere we go we see publicity and propaganda and we have been clearly affected by those. They influence our daily lives by making us think in a certain way. For example, in shoe advertisements, they say it’s the best shoe in the world, making you want to buy them.

However, not all information is true. Of course there is true information, but most of it is used as a marketing tool. On the other hand, they influence our actions and the things we will buy. For example, people are prone to buy a product with an important brand than with an unknown one. In my case, I am not a brand person. I have a simple life with my simple things, you know?

I don’t need to be in fashion or buy expensive things to be happy. To sum up, everywhere you go, it’s all about brand and publicity, but if you act like everybody else, you will not stand out. So, be yourself and wear whatever makes you feel comfortable, not what others tell you .

Bruno Gomes, 11ºK

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We all have the key to knowledge, the key to learn all the things that happen around the globe. As we know internet does most of the work with the help of social networks like Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and YouTube, together with a long list of similar applications, it keeps showing us the good and the bad things that go on everywhere at every moment.

Because of how ordinary this whole “there’s everything online” is, sometimes we are not quite aware of that privilege.

It’s pretty awesome how fast we learn about things miles away from where we are. “What happened while I was sleeping?” “I just wanted to “have a break” from the world for a few hours and now, there’s already a bunch of things that everyone is getting hyped about.” - We all had those moments and this is when we understand that there’s so much more than here, there’s so much more outside we haven’t even heard of. But because everyone gets a free opinion on the internet and the social networks are so fast, we learn a bit more every time we access to it, thus increasing our knowledge and making us able to stand for ourselves and create our own opinion.

Viral videos, series, bands, dances, animes, movies, are a few examples of how fast the internet works, because in a matter of hours we can be up to speed on the craziest things happening on the other side of the world like for example

the “Cash Me Outside How Bout Dat” girl that everyone went crazy about. And the things that happen online are amazing, I mean nowadays there’s a group of amateur people spending their time and patience creating subtitles for our favourite anime or series, from Japanese, English, Korean, Norwegian to any language and that’s something most of us are thankful for.

Music can also be spread around the globe very quickly, there’s a different genre for every taste and if yesterday you were listening to Queen, AC/DC, Pink Floyd or Radiohead, or dancing to “Macarena”, “Dragostea Din Tei” (that catchy Maya Hi Maya Oh song) or the “Asereje”song, today you could be listening to songs that come out on that exact day or minute you are waiting for, and dancing to them with new types of dances that no one from the “good old days” knew about, and if we ask them, they’ll say that that’s not dance nor music, just trash and noise.

Everything is connected, what happened years ago and what is happening now, what we learn and how we learn it, it can all happen with the click of the mouse button and the fact that we are the first generation to get to grow up with this privilege is something breathtaking and so important that I feel like sometimes we take it for granted as we are so used to it just being there for us to us

Carolina Moreira, 12º I

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The electronic superhighway is the backdrop for this thriller that focuses on the travails of a reclusive hacker, Angela Bennett, who works out of her home in Venice, CA for the Cathedral Systems Company. After six years of hard work, Angela prepares to take a much-needed vacation, but just before she leaves, a co-worker sends her a new Internet program that allows her to access highly classified government files. Later, as the colleague flies down in a private plane to visit her, the plane mysteriously crashes. Though a few more strangely connected tragedies ensue, Angela decides to continue on with her vacation in Mexico. There she encounters a suave British computer whiz, Jack Devlin. At first he seems to be interested in her, but it is later revealed that he really wants that useful Net program. Angela is almost killed, but she faces a fate which is almost worse than death when she discovers that someone on the Net has stolen her identity. Her visa is stolen and replaced with another. When she finally gets home, her house is for sale, and worst of all, she discovers that she is wanted by the police.

Jack is behind it all. If he catches her and steals the disk, all of the government's computer security systems will be compromised.

In my opinion the film isn’t very interesting. The theme is very important to be talked about, but the concept of the film did not convince much. The truth is that we can’t expect too much from a film produced in the 1990s. At that time there were not as many features as there are today, but there are still some details that could have been solved at that time, such as sound, which overlaps the voice of the actors.

As for the unroll of the story, I found it not very interesting either. Despite the constant action, the story is very monotonous, and easy to understand who was to blame early on. For these reasons I assess the film with only two stars.

Ana Beatriz Costa, 10ºE

GM foods, a.k.a. genetically modified food is a reality we all face every day, and it’s a common topic for any discussion, whether it is formal or informal.

First things first: GM food is any type of food that had its genomic data modified, in order to increase its lifespan, to make it look better or even taste better.

This is a topic that brings a lot of ethical problems to the mix, because, just like in cloning, a lot of people think scientists are playing the role of God, and are trying to change the things that should remain natural.But right now, keeping the ethical speech in standby, Genetically Modified food has its pros, and it has cons too.

Starting off with its pros, a major advantage is that it increases the food production all around the globe while lowering the cost of it. This can bring down one of the biggest problems humanity faces nowadays: hunger. Modifying the food’s genome can also allow crops to grow up in hostile climates, as well as pest and disease resistance. With this, farmers will stop having bad years, in which food production decreases and it has huge consequences.

Last but not least, food can start tasting better and its nutritional values can be altered so it is healthier while tasty.

But we’re not always in cloud 9. In fact, there is a lot of controversy in this type of topic. For instance, even though science is a hard working area, and scientists that work on this kind of high risk jobs are regularly very careful, a lot of people don’t trust them – which in my opinion is somehow wrong. On the other hand, one of the biggest issues involving society and any scientific development is the religious culture that opposes this improvements, because what is done is unnatural, and they think such thing shouldn’t be done. Afterwards, this would accentuate the difference between developed countries and countries in development, because they would need GM seeds and chemicals, and they would get even more dependent on those countries. In the fourth place, an accident could cause GM foods to go out of control, being accidentally cross-bred with some wild species, and cause a major concern in people’s safety. The last spot, finally, was kept so for being the most important aspect, in my opinion: genetic modifications could be applied on bad purposes: we could modify a virus gene, making it more resistant, change it so it could mutate and spread worldwide more easily; basically, we would turn this into a biochemical weapon. And that could kill millions of people, even billions.

Actually, there’s a game designed with that background scenario, but, who cares, right?

Overall, I think the pros are heavier than the cons, because of the problems we could solve.

It would be so great for everyone that we might eradicate world hunger! Wouldn’t that be amazing? Imagine this, every single person having at least one meal every day, I would love to see that, it would fill my heart with happiness. So, I think we should invest on this kind of improvement, by any means necessary. But it’s not up to me to decide it, well, maybe in the future, but it is up to humanity. The sooner, the more effective!

Vasco, 11ºG

Global warming is one of the biggest and ignored problems of the world.

People seem to never wonder themselves why it is so hot all of a sudden, or where the smoke of their car or the factories goes to. That’s all in the air that we breathe every day.

People don’t realise or care that global warming is harmful to our environment and it is destroying our vegetal and animal population, melting our icecaps, which in turn provokes a rise in the sea level, causing other widespread damages. However, there are solutions to this world wide problem. There are many scientific reasons for global warming but the main cause is the human

overpopulation that are turning the Earth a hard place to live.

There are people in this world who just expect for other people to attempt to fix global warming and for everything to become normal again. There are also people who don't believe global warming is real, and thus treat it as if it's nothing. These people use that as an excuse and

a reason not to help, usually because they are lazy and don't feel like helping but it seems like they don't know that it's also their Earth, the planet we all live in. And probably the people you can blame for this is the government.

They may send out commercials about stepping up and helping global warming or even trying to recycle and helping the community.

However, they aren’t doing anything themselves, not for real. I think that if everyone helped and started to change the way we live we would save the poor animals that are suffering, our environment and us people, turning the planet a better place to live.

Francisca Teixeira, 12ºO

We all know that our planet is changing because of us and we all know that it is changing for the worse but very few people are making an effort to change this problem.

In my opinion, and considering mankind’s way of thinking, our planet is doomed. If we keep going in this path, there will be no return. I really hope that, by some miracle, humans change their way of thinking and actually do something to save themselves because the planet doesn´t need us, we are the ones who need this planet and we have to take care of it. I believe that all the dominant species like dinosaurs, in the past, and humans in the near future have to become extinct but we don´t need to die out of our sheer stupidity.

We can change, we can save ourselves but only if we work together.

All in all, God empowered us with the possibility of making choices and we should make those choices not only to help ourselves, but to help the entire world.

Tiago Sampaio, 11ºG

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The documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" performed by the US former vice president, Al Gore, has emerged in order to promote reflection on the current state of Earth's climate and how people, through their attitudes, contribute to the destruction of the planet.

This shows us that the emission of gases from the atmosphere is caused by humans and this is increasing more and more. It also shows us how the Earth's atmosphere is slim, and essential to our planet.

However, with high carbon dioxide emissions its thickness has increased. For these reasons, there is a global warming that has several consequences: rise of the average level of the sea waters and the temperature of the water in the whole planet. Al Gore reports that global warming is a political, economic issue, since it is intrinsically linked to industrial development.

“The solution to this problem lies in the attitudes we take, be it big or small. It is clear that each country has its policy and each policy has its way of thinking and trying to solve environmental problems, but often it is not enough to help Nature and prevent environmental aggression, and as such, it is necessary the collaboration and help of each citizen.”- Al Gore In conclusion, the main focus of the documentary is global climate change, storms, hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes, floods, droughts, melting of the Arctic glaciers, thus emphasizing the global crisis. For Al Gore we are all responsible for the climate changes, since the human being is filling the atmosphere with pollution.

Carolina Xavier 11ºH

What can be said about Native Americans that hasn’t already been said by Donald Trump?

Why everything since Trump’s views on different cultures shouldn’t be taken seriously?

Anyhow, Native Americans (or what’s left of them as you will read later) are a fascinating population that lived like men on the Neolithic Era, just surviving in America, with the occasional war that usually ended with skinning and tomahawks in faces (every culture has its share of bloody history, I mean just look at Germany), until one fateful encounter with a sailor by the name of Christopher Columbus, who happened to find America (arguably since its said the Vikings found it like 400 years before him).

That was the catalyst, Columbus’ discovery started what’s known to Native Americans as the “500 year war” or “Holocaust” or “Senseless Slaughter” (choose your favorite) which resulted (and this is to those of you who thought Hitler or Genghis Khan was the greatest mass murderer in history) in the death of 90% of the Native American population which would round to about 95 million (give it or take a few million) which is more than the double of the amount of deaths caused by Genghis Khan and 15 times the amount caused by Hitler.

The European Conquest shattered many Native communities through warfare, foreignbrought diseases, forced relocation, etc… very few actual communities survived, in short, Europeans basically wiped them (and most of their culture) out.

Inequality kept going against them until 2010 (they gained the basic human rights that year).

Which begs for the question: How are they nowadays? Well they’re not being butchered (not in plain sight anyhow) but they’re not exactly a lot better and since too much paper would be used to write it all down I’ll just leave you a few statistic facts: Native American communities have a poverty rate of 43.2% (about 3 times that of the entire United States) and an unemployment one of 60%.

Native women are 4 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted in their life than women of other races. Twenty-two percent of Native children suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder — a rate of PTSD equal to that found among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

Native Americans are often unable to vote because there are no polling places anywhere near them. Suicide is the second most common cause of death for Native youth aged from 15 to 24 Oil and natural gas extraction threaten the original lands of natives.

João Alexandre Carvalho, 12º D

It is difficult to give an opinion on this subject. On the one hand, I can’t resist a tasty steak, shrimp or even fish. However, I read a text that made me think, it said the following: "Did you know that pigs like

parties in the belly, and that chickens like to nestle in human arms? Did you know that geese cease to eat when a loved one dies, and that when a cow is separated from its offspring, they call each other? Did you know that fish feel pain, and that lobsters can live for over a hundred years? We do not like to see animals mistreated, and we cherish our pets, but sometimes we forget that other animals also feel, like to be treated well and want to live." Oddly enough, I got seriously confused on this subject, why on earth is there any reason for us to both love and eat animals?

Ana Beatriz Gonçalves, 11ºG

Being a vegetarian is something really debated nowadays. And we may ask ourselves: why? Because we can’t eat any meat or fish and we have to reduce a lot in everything that has some component of animal origin. Well, of course that if we all became vegetarians, it would be better for the environment, and, of course, for our health. However, to someone who have always eaten meat that is not that easy to do!

Nonetheless, vegetarianism would reduce the carbon dioxide released from fossil fuels, that are often needed to prepare meat meals and would also reduce the consumption of water as plants consume less water than animals. Vegetarianism would also be good for our health because cholesterol, heart diseases, lack of vitamins, carbohydrates, fiber (components that meat doesn’t have enough) would not be a problem anymore! We would be really healthy and maybe live longer! Animals would benefit from that too, of course! They would not suffer as prisoners in crowded places, with all those chemicals being given to them, they would not be killed in mass scale to be on someone’s table at meal time!

So, why aren’t we all vegetarians? I think that it is because flavour matters! People that are not vegetarians can’t imagine living solely on greens and fruit! We must admit, whether we like it or not, the worst things taste better. Maybe to vegetarians it is exactly the same, but changing a lifestyle, a way of thinking is really difficult!

All in all, I believe that each one should choose what he or she wants to be because being a vegetarian or not, has its pros and cons like everything in life, but the choice should come from the values and thoughts of each one. "

Ana Margarida Soares, 11ºG

Nowadays, there are many people who have made the decision to become a vegetarian for several reasons, but that may raise the question: should we all become vegetarians? To be able to answer that we need to learn what the pros and cons of being a vegetarian are.

The pros are the following: it is a diet with a reduced consumption of saturated fats, which means being a vegetarian reduces the risks of hypertension. In addition, removing red meat from your diet can help prevent diseases such as some cancers. A vegetarian diet even improves bowel functioning because of the high consumption of plant fibers.

On the other hand, cutting meats and other animal foods from your diet increases the risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, which can cause anemia. In addition, the vegetarian diet can lead to deficiency of calcium, iron and, mainly, proteins, which leads to the weakening of the bones and difficulty to gain lean mass.

In short, being a vegetarian has pros and cons, so each one of us has to weigh the pros and cons of making such a decision.

Sérgio Costa, 11ºG

If I were responsible for controlling all of our technology, I would shut everything down, because we would have a shot to save our planet, because we would have a chance of going back, while we have time, before destroying a beautiful planet called Earth. You can compare Earth to a 5 year-old who keeps giving lollypops to everyone while a really nasty bully keeps punching him. The bully is the fascinating mankind as we know it, we keep destroying a total miracle that kept us alive for thousands of years, but now that is coming to an end. As the Earth continues to get really sick, the "godfathers" keep not giving a damn about our planet and this really makes me upset because we could save Earth if everyone started noticing the harm that we do to our sweet home. You can ask yourself if you want to keep living in our paradise called Earth while we still have a big path that is going to totally be worth it, as we still have time to save our home.

Dinis Dias, 11º G

A few years ago it was impossible to travel to the moon and we did it, it was impossible to create electricity and someone did not quit and did it.

So, who says that we cannot do the impossible? If not today, someday it will certainly happen, we are the only ones responsible for our acts and ambitions. We are the ones who decide. If someone said it is impossible to do something, prove them wrong! Show them what you are made of! Believe in you, in your dreams.

Don't say "I can't"; say "I'll do it". Never say "it's impossible"; say "it will happen and I'll be the one who will do it". The future and those words are in your hands. Use them nicely.

Mariana Novais, 11º C

Well, I don't know if it could be possible, because it's an imagination, something not real, but this is my dream world.

A perfect world is a world that we don't need rules, because everyone will act correct by their own will. I think this is a maximum for living in society. I want a world that values the genre equality and eliminates stereotypes. And now, maybe the most unreal part, everyone will listen to good music, and pop would be banned; only rock and roll all night and party every day! And all the death legends of rock could live again. I'm dreaming a lot!

But the most important part is that in my world the educational system will take away all the pain from the kids, it's like Japan system. For example, if the kid really wants to be a doctor and she has a vocation for that and her grades aren't the best, no matter, she will graduate and she will be an amazing doctor. I left the best part to the end and maybe the most painful for me: in my world, my favourite band My Chemical Romance, will come back and never break up again until the end of their lives.

So, that's my perfect world, a small part of what I want.

Oh I almost forgot, no dismal days, no suicidal people, no islands of violence behind our eyelids, because we all will be very, very, very happy!

Eva Castro, 10ºB

I’m going to talk about the ideal future, or what my world would look like. In fact, there are things in our world that we do not like and would like them to be otherwise and I believe everyone thinks so.

In my utopia there will be for example: - The absence of pollution, that is to say, people will use means of transport that pollute the environment less.

- In my world the homeless will have institutions to feed them and help in their needs.

- For street animals there will be shelters to provide food and water.

The school will be less demanding and more interesting in the knowledge we students acquire.

Finally in my utopia people will have the same rights without any differentiation or discrimination.

In conclusion, my world would be like this, perfect, however there are things we can do to bring it closer to the ideal and small things do not cost anything and can really make a difference.

Daniela Durães, 10ºB

Hello, today I’m going talk about my utopia, about the future of the world, my idea of a perfect world.

It’s hard to imagine a future perfect world with all of the madness that’s happening right now.

But probably a perfect world for me would be one without war, hunger, ill people and all of those things. But I know it won’t happen. People will always have diseases and war won’t stop as much as we want it to.

So I dream a little less. A perfect world would be one where girls and boys have the same rights, the same education, and the same opportunities. A perfect world would

be a place where women don’t have to be scared to go to the street. A place where I can wear what I want without fearing men will understand that as a permission to harass me.

A perfect world would be a place where I don’t need to be scared to make choices or to be confident without being told I’m bossy or full of myself. A world where I won’t be judged for my choices of clothing, music, political views, religion, race or any other thing that can make me look different from most people.

A perfect world is somewhere I can be me without worrying.

Filipa Novais, 10º B

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Well, we all have dreams and we constantly complain that the world is what it is. However, when we are going to think about it, it is a bit complicated to idealize the perfect world.

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For me, I imagine an ideal world where: People will be kind, understanding, sociable, respectful and honest; The world will be peaceful, with happiness, love and peace, then we would live in a world without suffering, without hunger, without wars and without crime; The world will have all the solutions to diseases;

At the level of transport, we would use means of transport that wouldn´t provoke pollution, we would walk more, ride a bicycle, or even a horse, thus appreciating what the nature offers us; At the school level, students will have the possibility to choose the subjects they identify with and are necessary for their future career; The days of the week will be divided, so that we will have the same number of hours devoted to school and other activities; the moments of evaluation won’t be as heavy as they are today because we need time for ourselves.

Concluding, my world will be mostly just, true and happy.

Beatriz Durães, 10ºB

I could write about any humanitarian such as Angelina Jolie who fights for refugees or about Malala who fights for education or even Martin Luther King who defended race equality, but today I will write about a very important person to me, my grandmother. She placed more emotion and dedication in her cause than any other famous person. She isn’t famous for being a great singer or actress but for being a powerful woman.

My grandfather died very early and in a world of poverty she raised eight children on her own. She worked day and night just to provide food for everyone. There were nights that the only thing that filled her stomach was the relief of her children going to sleep with something in their stomachs. This was her greatest cause and ambition, is spite of all the difficulties, she managed to raise her family and I

can say that she succeeded, because nowadays they are all great men and women, good, kind and happy people.

This life full of sacrifice and sweat was recognized even by other people such as a local newspaper that interviewed her.

I chose my grandmother because for me there´s no bigger humanitarian cause than taking care of your own family.

The biggest prize that she ever received was the pleasure of having the family together and increased throughout time.

She still lives in the same home where she defeated all shadows.

Carla Costa, 12ºI

Throughout the years, many people have fought for a better world and for a better society, whether by fighting against male chauvinism, racism, discrimination, corruption or rights; and their main goal, most of the times, is to achieve equal rights for everyone.

The person that I'll be writing about is Marilyn Monroe, a well-known 60's actress and model, famous not only for casting in movies and modelling for magazines, but also for becoming a major sex symbol. During her career, Marilyn became more and more successful.

Being a sex symbol around that time was a big deal as women were very reserved and showing off their feminin features would generate judgments and that was seen as shameful. Women started to look up to her and standing up for what they wanted, because in the 60's women barely had the most basic rights. Women were treated like inferior beings with no independence whatsoever, and the sad truth is that they had no other option than to accept it, because they couldn't express their opinions and even if they did, their voice wasn't heard, and it meant nothing.

All this leads us to wonder: "If the human rights are universal, why aren't women free as well?" Why would a gender dictate what we can and what we cannot do? And that's what Marilyn stood up for; women started to embrace the feminin body and realise that they actually have a lot more to offer the world. She influenced women to protest and to fight for themselves, so that they would get their own rights and become independent people who had the right to work, to drive and could wear sexier clothes, not having to hide their feminin features and being proud of themselves. Marilyn died in 1962 at the age of 36 years old, but her 36 years of existence completely changed the world, and despite her death, tributes still happen all around the world, so we can still see her face everywhere.

We women, have a power that we didn't know we had due to the fact that we were being kept in a cage where we didn't know what we were capable of. We are much more than a gender, we are equal and free, and we should be proud to say 'I am a woman and I matter" because we had a long time fighting to be where we are now, and all this shows us how strong and how independent we truly are.

Ana Catarina Pereira Cunha, 12º I

In my opinion, human rights are crucial to a peaceful life in society and in interactions with people. We are all born the same way and we all die the same way, so why shouldn’t we treat everyone equally? The hatred we see every day on TV and newspapers or even right in front of our eyes has been making me sad and angry. That’s why I’m thankful for the activists who tried and still do to make this world a better place.

Rosa Parks is one of those people. Born in 1913 in the USA, she had to face the consequences of growing up a black woman. It all started the day she was riding the bus. Back then, buses had two sections: one for black people and another one for white people. Rosa was sitting in the coloured section when the bus driver demanded she gave up her seat to a white person since the section for white people was already full. Tired of giving in, Parks refused to give up her seat and, therefore, she was arrested for civil disobedience.

This determined lady is now known, several years later, as the first lady of civil rights and an international icon to activist of racial segregation. Rosa was awarded and acknowledged all over the world and organized and worked with some of the most prestigious names in the human rights fight such as Martin Luther King.

For me, Rosa Parks is a reference and even though she didn’t do anything as huge as Gandhi or Mandela, she still contributed a lot for nowadays society. In my point of view, the simple act of standing up for yourself is a huge step in the expression of your rights and opinions.

Actually, standing up for yourself may even be the first step to living in a place where we are allowed to speak up and voice our thoughts. Rosa Parks is, without any doubt, someone I look up to because of her braveness, courage and determination, something every men and women should have in themselves.

Diana Ferreira, 12ºI

On April 18, 2017, a new collective labour contract was established for the footwear sector between APICCAPS (Portuguese Association of Footwear, Components, Leather Goods and their Substitutes) and FESETE (Federation of Trade Unions of Workers) in the presence of Vieira da Silva, Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, whose main consequence is the average increase of 3.45% in wages for the approximately 39 thousand workers.

Studies show that women who perform the same function as men have an income that is not the same as that of men, as well as the professional classification which is the crucial factor in distinguishing different workers.

But why do women earn less than men? The answer to this question is actually related to discrimination against women, which, despite the new measures implemented against it, is still present.

A good example of the above assertion is that some companies left open positions instead of hiring a woman with children because they reflected on the idea that the woman might be absent from work to meet the child's needs, some are made redundant for racial, ethnic, religious and even age-related discrimination, for an older woman may be particularly vulnerable to unfair treatment in the labour market.

Even though it is still not the case of every woman, and it is important to put ourselves in their position and prove that the embarrassment that some of them may have is extremely vicious against any woman’s reputation and dignity, the proportion of women holding positions as policy-makers, senior officials or senior management is seen as an indication of the quality of jobs women nowadays have access to and the progress made in reducing discriminatory barriers.

Thus, this recently established contract will abolish gender discrimination in wage terms, serving as a model to be followed by so many other sectors of work, but also by society as a whole.

Lisandra Pinto 12ºI

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The film “Hidden Figures” was nominated for the Oscars, so I predicted it was a great movie to watch someday. When I decided to give it a shot, I did not regret it…

I loved it!

This film is a great way to learn about NASA’s story and the huge minds that were behind such important missions, which led the human race to the space and the moon.

As film characters there is Katherine, Dorothy and Mary, who all had something in common: they were African-American women living in a world full of prejudice.

These women helped to calculate the flight trajectories for Project Mercury and other successful missions to the space.

They were highly intelligent, but since they were both black and women, the opportunities for them to shine in any job (in the 60’s) weren’t many. This film shows us how segregation used to exist and the way it affected people’s lives, how it ended up being a barrier for people to live freely, happily and in harmony.

I highly recommend this film, plus you will learn a lot about history, since these three women really did exist and helped us to know more about the space and hope.

Bárbara Lobo, 12º I

This is an amazing video made by Prince Ea and it is, in a very clear way, about racism.

Firstly, in the video Prince says he isn´t Black.

He has a name, which isn´t black and he isn´t a person defined by his skin but by his soul. During the video we can see a lot of people born in very different countries with different cultures but that doesn´t make them different from each other.

Prince says it more than once that people are not labels and that´s a big truth because we all have a name which isn´t black, white, Indian, or whatever. For example, when “we” hang out with our friends and see a black person we normally say he is Black but NO he isn´t Black, he is a person just like us and his skin can’t define the person he is or the way society sees him.

Personally I learned a lot from this video and for sure I will change my attitude from now on.

André Lemos, 11ºG

The world we live in today is full of problems, there’s no doubt in that. We currently have problems with war, with politics, with economy, with the environment and I could go on for ages since, unfortunately, there are too many problems to state. However, in my opinion, the biggest problem the world is facing, the problem which creates all the other problems, is society itself.

In the few years I have lived as a teenager, as a person who is capable of understanding most of the issues we are currently facing, I have tried to find the roots of the problems and I always come to the same conclusion. It all starts with society, it all starts with us.

The war, for example, is happening because there is a confrontation of interests and points of view. We learned from the previous generations that the best way to solve problems like this is through the word, through pacific arguments. We say that the human being has evolved, yet we keep behaving like wild animals, resorting to violence to resolve our issues. The worst part is that the human being used his intelligence, a gift, to build guns, bombs and other instruments that can hurt and kill others. How vile can a person be to take the life of someone else? How vile can someone be to be capable of destroying homes, to make people want to leave their own countries?

Society has also decided to define what is right and what is wrong, giving us no chance to decide for ourselves. Society keeps meddling in our business, even if indirectly, and the worst part is… we actually listen to it. For example, society has defined beauty standards and it idealized beauty in such a way that it almost became something unrealistic. Young girls and boys try to live up to these defined expectations, believing that only that way will they be accepted, will they be considered beautiful. It became something so unrealistic and it is so hard to catch up to these expectations that there had been cases of girls who starved themselves, changed their hair, over exercised, started to wear makeup just because “boys liked that” (as if we were supposed to care about that) and basically lived their lives thinking they weren’t enough just because society told them so.

I see society as a ghost. It haunts us, it interferes in our decisions indirectly, it follows us everywhere, manipulating our thoughts. But you know what? My parents always told me not to believe in ghosts. I choose not to believe in society, I choose not to be influenced by unrealistic expectations, I choose to think, I choose to be good and I choose not to believe in the Ghost Society.

Diana Ferreira, 12º I

Nowadays our society is becoming a consumer one due to the fact that technology and economy are increasing and they want to sell their products, so we have to think about the advantages and the disadvantages of that.

On the one hand we have some advantages in having a consumer society like a great offering of a big variety and quantity of products in the market and also a better standard of living. The first one is a good advantage because we can choose whatever we want based on our choices which makes our lives easier. Also, another advantage is that the economy gets better, as a consequence the country gets more money and invests it in some services that we need.

On the other hand there are a lot of cons of a consumer society. One of the worst is that we are wasting natural resources and this is unacceptable, as our descendants won’t have what they need to survive. Another drawback is the development of a throwaway culture associated to a bad conscious and irresponsibility.

Worst of all, we have become a materialistic and selfish society, as we are giving a false value to objects and we are not giving the correct importance to environment issues.

To sum up, we need to impose some rules in order to avoid the cons of being a consumer society and reflect about them so as to create a steady balance. But also having in mind that we have to continue evolving technology and the economy to get perfect products in a better way as well as a controlled one.

Rui Filipe Costa, 11ºG

The issue on whether or not to open borders to immigrants has always been a favourite point of discussion in today’s society and, personally, I don’t think we should open them.

It’s true, immigrants should be helped but a country, any country, does not have the right to help people at the expense of their own population. The native people will lose a lot of privileges like job/university vacancies and (my personal favourite) immigrants of other customs and beliefs are prone to create conflicts over the differences between them and the other people, which is something really fascinating, isn’t it? A country is kind enough to take you after you are left homeless, foodless, etc.… and what happens? You have the gall to complain that that country’s culture is not like yours and therefore should be changed. Sorry but if that’s what you think, you do not deserve any sort of help. As much of a bad person Putin may be or considered to be, I completely agree with him on this one, if you want help from a country you need to adapt to that country’s culture not the other way round, most countries have difficulties with their own population, they most certainly do not need more people to add problems.

In short, I strongly believe that countries should not open their borders. The beloved human hypocrisy brings so many complications that it’s just not worth it.

João Alexandre Carvalho, 12º D

With the flow of refugees from the Middle East in the last few years, many countries have struggled against it and even closed their borders.

Of course that opening our doors to refugees would have its benefits like having younger and hardworking work force that will pay more taxes and therefore bring richness to the country. Our culture would also be richer. And ultimately we would be doing the right thing.

But, on the other hand, the coming of so many people brings issues that are hard to solve. Among so many people there can be some terrorists. Plus, there won't be

enough jobs for all. Not to mention the fact that the country may not be able to support so many people.

In my opinion we should save as many people as we can. We must do the right thing, but we must also be careful so everyone can live in peace.

Albino Gonçalves, 12º D

Same love is a song that is about what it is like to be gay and the way that society sees gay people. For me the most important part of this song is “And God loves all his children / Is somehow forgotten “. We don´t need to think twice to understand the depth of these words.

This means that we are all equal whether we are black, white, gay, or whatever. Other words that got my attention are “Call each other faggots behind the keys/Of a message board”. This means the easy way that society puts gay people down is behind the computer even though sometimes they don´t even know the person. I have a name for that and it’s cowards.To sum up this is a very deep song highlighting one of the greatest problems of society.

Personally I like this song a lot and it used to be my favourite some years ago because it´s very cool and at the same time it teaches us that we are all equal.

André Lemos, 11ºG

Well, in my opinion brands are one of the most hateful things in today's society. I totally disapprove of people being happy for getting robbed right under their noses while spending large amounts of money on clothes that are illegally made by children only because some "big boss" wants to sell cheap clothes with pricey stamps in order to fill his pocket. Buying specific brands in order to fit in sounds stupid.

But the worst is the importance given to brands by our society. People even get into fights over clothes on sales! They don't seem to realise how stupid they are on preferring clothes that they don't even really like just for the sake of being trendy. I personally think that we are not evolving, instead of it we are walking in the absolutely wrong direction, because even

monkeys care more about feeling good than looking nice to others. Last but not least, there’s the advertising society, which is focused on only selling stuff that we really don't need. But, hey, there is someone wearing the clothes from that brand! Teens need to be wearing exactly the same as their friends because if they're not like them they will feel unfit, and because we are "brainwashed" to follow the crowd.

All in all, to me these are the thing that really makes me believe that there are some people who are "overrated" on naming themselves as thinking beings.

Dinis Dias, 11º G

Lately, we hear more and more people talking about cloning and how beneficial or harmful it can be.

On the one hand, women that are infertile can have their own babies with the help of this technique by implanting the cloned embryos into their bodies; not to mention human cloning can also be used to grow organs or repair tissues and damaged organs. For instance, human cloning can be used to clone livers and be used in liver transplants as well as in kidney’s.

On the other hand, cloning would have to be monitored as there could always be somebody trying to use it for their personal needs and also there is a high risk of miscarriage, deformity or debilitating conditions and unsuccessful attempts. Likewise, gene diversity is always lost in the process.

To sum up, cloning, like in all cases, has pros and drawbacks, but I don’t think it would be so bad if we started cloning humans as long as people were not cruel to them.

Débora Santos, 11º K

“Theatre is a form of knowledge, it should and also can be a means of transforming society”.

For some people the theatre is a simple narration of a plot, which is not completely wrong, but for other people (like me) it is much more than that. As August Boal once said: “Theatre is a form of knowledge, it should and also can be a means of transforming society”. And let’s focus on this…

But sadly, what do we have nowadays in our country? We have few actors, recorded music and even less viewers. And if they want to have a full theatre they market the story with the goal of winning sponsors (it’s like a cycle).

Which leads me to ask where is art in that?

Do you remember August Boal’s quote?

It’s always good to know the origin of things, so how was theatre born?

“Theatre is a form of knowledge; it should and also can be a means of transforming society”. What can they teach us with market stories?

And how can society be transformed if they don’t go to the theatre anymore?

(Think about that).

It first appeared in Greece with the purpose of entertaining people in the celebrations that were made in honour of the theatre god: Dionisius. They had many actors on stage, a choir and especially many viewers.

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Maria João, 12º D

‘In the shadows’ is a rock music, written by The Rasmus, that conveys the idea that the poetic subject will not give up until he finds what he wants: ‘a cure for this cancer’. He says he feels down and ‘disconnected’ and he has been watching, waiting, searching and living ‘in the shadows’.

I really liked this song: the lyrics, the rhythm and the singer. I consider the lyrics strong enough, because they convey a striking message and the singer has a powerful voice that suits the rhythm.

Beatriz Nogueira,10ºE

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This text is about the character Charlie from the film “The perks of being a wallflower” Dear new friend, My name is Charlie and I am fifteen years old. For me, being an adolescent is not easy. However, I have been changing this opinion since I met some funny people (but don’t worry I will tell you everything). It’s a hard, boring and stressful phase of our lives. It’s the time of our life when we find out who we really are, what we are made of and the problem is that a small mistake is enough to change our whole future…

This year is my first year in high school… To be honest, at the beginning, it was a nightmare to me because I didn’t know anyone, basically, I didn’t have friends, I was alone all the time, looking at the emptiness.

Time passed and I met some fantastic people: Patrick, Sam, Mary Elizabeth and other friends of them that now are my friends too… At present, I am more confident, sociable and participative both in conversations between friends and in class…Like other humans, I also make my own mistakes… I am not perfect!

“Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody”.

Sometimes I found myself thinking of Sam, her beauty, how she acts… she is a good girl.

And I guess I realized at these moments that I really loved her. My new friend told me I am a wallflower because I see things, I keep quiet about them and I understand them.

“So I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we will never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.”

I know these moments will just be stories someday…

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It shows a distant relationship between a dad and his son.

The son is disappointed, tired, confused, frustrated, but, especially, determined to leave. So, the father gives him some advice like: to relax, to think a lot, to marry and, most important, to be happy. This was supposed to help his son to make good choices in life, when he won't be around anymore.

Jéssica Freitas n°14 10°E

Ana Catarina Salgado, 10º E

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The song "Counting Stars" by One Republic is a song about a boy who is suffering for love, because he gave too much importance to money, as shown in line “Said, no more counting dollars”. This begins to demonstrate his sorrow for being separated from the girl whom he likes, saying that he often thought what could have been, perhaps the effort that they have never done and has prevented them from being happy and this subject has left him so low that he can’t sleep.

This song shows how love is confusing. Although it is a good feeling, it can cause great pain as in this case. The singer says he is very confused, he doesn’t know if he is doing the right thing, considering that everything is wrong.

Drugs and alcohol are also spoken of as ways to soothe the pain, something that makes you stay alive. He knows that this is a wrong attitude but at the same time, it makes you feel well.

Finally, the singer states that one will only learn the lesson when mistakes have been made and when we are suffering.

I really like this song.

Joana Lopes 11ºI

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The song “What if?” by Coldplay is about a reality common to all human beings, the indecision and doubt that we have to face every day.

Through metaphorical questions, the singer asks what life would be like if everything that makes us humans didn’t exist. If there was no light, if there were neither right nor wrong, if there was no time, would we still be the same person? Would we still make the same choices?

However, Chris Martin only wants us to see that we worry too much about things that don’t deserve so much attention. The singer intends to show that people fear the unknown and sometimes they end up missing out on wonderful things in life because fear incapacitates them of trying.

Coldplay is one of my favourite bands, and I really enjoy listening to their songs because they are very inspiring and they always hold really beautiful messages. However, I am forced to say that this song is a little bit difficult to understand, perhaps because of the complexity of the lyrics.

On the other hand, I quite liked the melody and rhythm of the song because it gives us good vibes, although they aren’t extremely intense.

Ana Beatriz Magalhães Novais,10ºE

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“ The song “Englishman in New York” by Sting is a song from 1987 however, it continues being very "popular" these days.

The lyrics are about an Englishman who is in New York and feels like an alien. All his deeds, tastes, and attitudes are different from those around him. Nevertheless, he defends that you should "Be yourself, no matter what they say". In a second part, the author talks about American society and the subjects of that time.

In my opinion this song is quite interesting and appealing. I like this song because it's calm, it has a good rhythm and curious lyrics.

The song “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys, whose lyrics were inspired by New York, describes the essence of this city.

Through these lyrics, we are able to understand that New York has a lot of rush and noise due to the variety of people and cultures.

The singer also refers to the importance that this city has on a global scale, since it is a “stage” for great movies and concerts.

And, although she admits that there is wickedness in this city, Alicia Keys concludes that New York is the city of dreams, where

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Luana Pereira Gomes ,10ºE

you can do whatever you wish and you can be who you always wanted to be because those streets “will make you feel brand new” and the “big lights will inspire you”.

In my opinion, this is a great song. Once again, this isn´t the genre of music that I usually listen to, but I can say that I grew up listening to this song and I became a huge fan of this classic. I really enjoy the lyrics because there are a lot of references to places in New York and there are a lot of inspiring quotes and we start believing in our dreams with much hope and happiness like Alicia Keys said “If I could make it here, I could make it anywhere.”

Ana Beatriz Magalhães Novais,10ºE

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It’s about being always ready to help those who need us, because one day these people will play an important role in our lives.

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I love this song because of the lyrics and because Bruno Mars is one of my favourite singers.

Maria João Barros Freitas nº21 10º E

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The song "Count on me" by Bruno Mars is about someone who will always be available to help someone else.

Avril Lavigne wrote the song "Touch The Sky". This song is about the feelings of the singer.

At first, she feels sad, lonely, depressive and worried about her future. However, throughout the song she begins to feel better because she met a young man who helped her to "carry the big old world." Now, he means everything to her, he is her life.

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“ The song “First Day of My Life” by Melanie C. reports the hopes and goals of a better life after the singer had suffered a heartbreak (I guess). This song is about the pursuit of a meaningful life goal, which ends when this search makes you find love, feel alive for the first time, breaking the chains

and fleeing from pain, this being the first Day of your life.

I like this song because it has beautiful lyrics as well as a nice rhythm, and because it brings me a lot of memories of when I was younger because it used to be heard on the radio.

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“ The song by Michael Bublé "Haven't met you yet" is a very positive song. It is about a boy who has suffered a lot of heartbreaks but still believes that one day he will find the perfect girl for him, thus he will "fight" to find her...

The purpose of the song is to show and explain that we should never give up, we should be positive! Everything is going to be alright!

Catarina 10°E

Eduarda Ferreira nº10 10ºE

Luana Pereira Gomes ,10ºE

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The song “Trouble” written by the British band Coldplay is about "softer emotional themes", including apologies, unrequited love, and longing that left the singer heartbroken.

Firstly, the singer admits that he had said stupid things as well as he had done mindless things to his beloved person. However, he admits that he never meant to cause her trouble because he had done those things without thinking and, probably, that is why he is feeling tangled up in a spider’s web.

In this context, the spider's web has a metaphorical meaning: the problems of the singer that were caused for his own bad behaviour.

Coldplay is one of my favourite bands ever. I always appreciated their songs and since I was a ‘little baby’ I remember listening to them and loving all of their music. And the song “Trouble” isn’t an exception.

I think the lyrics of this song are extremely deep and I think they are very realistic with all their metaphors. In this time of our lives – adolescence – we, teenagers, make a lot of mistakes.

Sometimes we hurt our beloved person, who isn’t necessarily our boyfriend or girlfriend, but it is our family and friends. We hurt them, although we never meant to do it and when we realise what we have done, sometimes, it is too late. Because of that, we start to feel guilty and all our problems start to connect to each other, creating a ‘web spider’.

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I think that Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, expresses perfectly the powerful meaning of the lyrics and the melody played by the rest of the band fits in perfectly as well.

In my opinion, this is one of the best songs that has ever been created!

Ana Beatriz Magalhães Novais,10º E

During the first term of the English lessons, we saw two movies which are closely related to the issue of consumerism.

The first one is called “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and the main character is Rebecca Bloomwood, a girl totally addicted to purchases. Her favourite hobby is shopping all day, purchasing more and more.... Everything that has to do with fashion makes her feel happy. The big problem is that Rebecca takes this taste very seriously to the point of becoming a compulsive consumer, incurring on a lot of debts.

After losing her job, Rebecca goes to work for a financial magazine, listening to the financial problems of each person while trying to forget her own financial situation. Work in this magazine is just a temporary solution to pay her bills and at the same time it’s a way to get in the fashion magazine Allet.

The second film “The devil wears Prada” has as main character Andrea or Andy, who ends up getting the job that “a million girls would die for”. Miranda is the boss and Andy is her personal assistant. However, Andy is badly treated by Miranda, who forces her to work hard. With this situation, Andy ends up gaining a lot of style and money and knows many important people but loses a lot of friends and even her boyfriend.

At the end of the film, Andy is interviewed by an important magazine, the New York Mirrow, making her dream of becoming a journalist come true.

I really enjoyed watching these films because they help us to realize that money and material goods are not the most important things we have in our lives, but rather, family and friends.

The film I am writing about is “Instinct”, which is about Human Rights being disrespected, as well as animals’ and nature’s.

One of the important issues that “Instinct” brings up is that our perspective of life may not be accurate. For instance, the concept of “freedom” is too subjective, which means you may think you are a free person, however when you have another person next to you, either the person’s freedom is not respected by you or your freedom becomes shorter. Unfortunately, individuals are not concerned with other individuals’ freedom.

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Sabrina Silva 11ºI

hide inhumane conditions put to vulnerable insane people, not even trying to find a fair solution.

I highly recommend “Instinct”, a film that teaches the way for humankind to overcome selfishness and egocentrism allowing us to transcend to a much better inter-species love.

I believe that humans should stop subdueing other living species, killing and endangering other living beings only for the sake of power. Whatever is considered a menace, we eradicate; or even whatever shows some valuable feature, we steal and kill. This is definitely NOT THE WAY!

Moreover, this film reveals the rotten side of societies, as the stablished powers Francisco Melo Ribeiro, 12ºC

The movie "devil wears Prada" is about a young lady, named Andrea but her friends often call her Andy. Andrea is an aspiring journalist who has recently graduated from Northwestern university.

Despite the fact that she doesn't appreciate fashion, she gets a job being the personal assistant of Miranda Priestly, chief of Runway fashion magazine.

At First, Andy doesn't show commitment towards her job but with the help of her friend Nigel she starts learning her responsibilities and begins to dress more stylishly to show her effort and commitment to the position. When she meets a writer named Christian Thompson, who helps her with her career and starts spending a lot of time with Miranda, problems arise in her relationships with her friends and also her boyfriend Nate. After some time Miranda is impressed by Andy and allows her to bring " The book" to her house. Afterwards, Miranda starts challenging Andrea with some things to know what she is capable of, for example when she asked Andy for the unpublished Harry Potter book for her two children and if she didn't find a copy, she would be fired. Fortunately, Christian got the copy for her.

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Also Miranda invites Andy to come to Paris with her instead of Emily, who was hit buy a car. When she tried to tell Nate that she was going to Paris, he got mad and they started arguing and broke up. Already in Paris, Miranda opens up with Andy telling her about her divorce. After spending the night with Christian, she discovers his plan to replace Miranda with Jacqueline as editor of Runway. Later, Miranda announces that it is Jacqueline and not Nigel who will leave Runway for Holt. Both Andy and Nigel were very disappointed at Miranda. Andrea did not understand how she could do that to Nigel.

In the end of the movie, Andy gives up her job in the magazine and gets a job as a journalist, she also gets back together with her ex-boyfriend Nate.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this movie as it showed me a new perspective of fashion and I have actually learned many things, for example: you can have everything in life but you will never be happy if you are not surrounded by true friends, true family and also true love.

Fashion is not everything and neither is money because they don't buy your friends, family or love, only you can find your own path towards happiness.

Inês Martins Pereira 11 I

Fafe, 15th October, 2016 Dear Mister Headmaster Mario Giordano, I am writing this letter on behalf of my class, to thank you for the invitation to the first Project meeting. We were very excited when we received your letter and it is an honour for us to attend this meeting.

After reading what you have written, we became very interested in knowing the host country that will receive us. In our opinion, this project is very important for us, as we will have the opportunity to get to know different people and traditions. Travelling abroad allows us to get to know a different culture in a way we could not otherwise hope to be able to and interacting with many new people would give us a chance to see the world differently.

We also would like to know about our host families and schedules and a little bit more about the plans when we land in Italy.

We truly appreciate your invitation, thank you.

Yours faithfully, Class 10ºE.

Hi, Moni!

I´m Luana, I’m fifteen years old and I’m a student of “Sciences and technologies”. I live in Portugal. I email you because I read your e-pal message and I found it interesting. I would like to do an eTandem partnership with you.

I speak Portuguese, because it’s my native language, and I speak French too, which I learned talking to my family and writing at school. Now I would like to learn to speak German and go on with English. I know nothing about German, English I had lessons since eight years old. I would like to be a doctor who travels around the world to help those in need. So I need to talk a lot of languages. I am free on Wednesdays, Thursdays and at weekends in case you are interested to contact me from this email to fix up a time for a meeting.

Bye for now, Luana Gomes,10ºE

Changing is always hard. But because it is hard, it does not mean it is bad. Sometimes a change is necessary, whether we want it or not.

There is a man, Stephen Hawking, who once said “intelligence is the ability a human has to adapt”. I would not limit intelligence to just this, but it is a good start and I do agree with him. In order to survive, we have to adapt to several situations. It does not matter if it is a change for better or worse, but we have to undergo transformations so we can more easily adapt to our “new world”.

Changes can require a lot from you. Though they may also be simples ones and if that is

the case, you do not have to concern a whole lot. Perhaps, when you are going through changes, you will lose some things so you can gain others. But that is just how life works: we sacrifice a good or a person in hope we can maintain or win something. It can happen that it is not worth it: this is the time when disappointment gets to you.

However, it is part of our lives. We get surprised the moments we least expect to and you become sad because of an act which is supposed to make you happy. This is the way life works. In my opinion, our path should include diversified actions, feelings, emotions, people, etc. Of course, there are things which no one deserves. In this sorts of situations, we reflect about life and how everything can change in an instant. Maybe it`s fate, maybe it`s our fault.

I guess we will never know.

Changing is always hard. But it also is what makes the world run and continue to live.

We are part of it. It may seem unlikely, but every single one can change something, for little it might be. Let´s hope we choose the right change…

Hugo Rafael, 10º A

The exact motivation I have to write this is the one I have for everything related to school. But anyway, let’s get going!

It’s already been a little over half a year since me and my fellow colleagues made the BIG leap from basic school to high school, or from the 9th to 10th grade. And I believe most of my friends would agree with on this: it’s as crappy as it can get!

I guess everyone had high expectations for the new world we were about to enter. After all, new school, new year, a lot of never seen before faces, it was exciting! That excitement quickly faded away…

Firstly, the school buildings. Yes! Blame me all you freaking want, but I have to talk about this because it’s one of the major letdowns of this school! We complained a lot about our old school conditions (I think everybody does!). So we’re hoping the new school would have a lot of technology and really nice facilities. But fortunately, unlike my pals, I kind of knew what was coming due to my mother bringing me to that school from a young age…, so as the good friend I am…, I warned them not to have high hopes.

They ignored me, but after a week or two, they definitely agreed with me. Yes, yes, I know! The school will be renovated but it really was a heavy blow in what we’re looking forward to. But not the heaviest!

Not even close!

Next, the difficulty level. You know in your favourite series where a villain appears and he is really strong capable of destroying a house with an energy blast? Good, let’s classify him as “House-buster” tier.

The good guys defeat him, but then on the next season a new badie appears and he is completely OVERPOWERED! Instead of blowing houses, this guy destroys the entire planets!! He belongs to the “Planet-buster” tier.

Where am I trying to get with this? Well, Imagine the 9th grade as the “House-buster” bad guy.

And now imagine the 10th grade as the “Planet-buster” OP bad guy! That’s what we are up against now.

The gap between each’s year difficult level is humongous (This word is such a funny way to say huge aha)!

It’s like the distance between the Earth and the Sun! Last year whenever you had a test, you would just pick up your books the day before, study one or two hours and you would have 99% out of 100 and a 5 out of 5 at the end of the term. Now, if you do that you’ll also have a 5 at the end of the term… out of 20!

So we got to work our asses off to have good grades. And like the difficulty level wasn’t enough, to make things worse we have something big on stake… our futures. Because our futures depend on what grades we have now and believe me, that puts a lot of pressure on us!

Actually, I’m starting to realize that I only talked about bad things! … Little voice inside of my head: “But Lupe! Is there even anything good in all of this?!”… Yes yes, there is. It will sound cliched as “FiretrUCK”, but it’s a little magical thing called: FRIENDSHIP. It’s true! Possibly the only good thing about this transaction from one grade to the other is the insane amount of new people you meet, befriend with and even fall in love for! For example, I’ve met more friends this school year, I think…, than in the previous 9 years of school! And considering we spend a total of 31 hours and a half trapped inside four walls… sitted on a chair… looking at a board… listening to boring adult… (Yes I know it’s really sad!) and only 2 hours and 20 minutes (yes I did the math) on break time socializing per week, the number of new people we meet is absolutely amazing!

To sum up, this jump from one grade to another is not the best thing in the world… oh, who am I kidding…, this is a living hell!! But even this hell can have such good things, such as the sweet 2 hours and 20 minutes of break time we have and all the great people we meet that make that horrible place known as a school at least a little bit entertaining!

My name is Lupe and until next time, See ya!

João Lucas,10º A

Students are the future of a nation and it’s the responsibility of the country to give them a proper education. From the oldest to the most modern schools, teaching and learning methodologies have been changing. As such, there should be a debate on whether a system of grading teachers by students should be introduced in schools to improve the learning and teaching environment.

If the system of grading teachers by the school students is introduced, both the teachers and the administration of the school will know about the performance of the teachers. It will also give them some insight into the minds of the students and observer if the teachers are being able to make the students understand their lessons. It will be a method to evaluate if the class atmosphere is contributing to the students’ learning as well as their level of satisfaction.

Besides that, it will encourage the good teachers to continue their endeavor and keep them motivated furthermore it will lead them to adapt the best teaching methodologies and attitude towards students.

However, are students really qualified to do these evaluations? Students, especially kids, are young and inexperienced. They are, most likely, not able to judge correctly if a certain teacher is good or not for them. A student’s opinion on a teacher might depend on the amount of homework they give, how easy the tests are, if they are strict with grades, their appearance, and many other things that appeal the students and make a teacher a “favorite”. Many other bad consequences can be pointed out, from misuse of the “power” given to the students to their own interests to teachers changing their attitude to be the favorite.

To conclude, even though a system where students evaluate their teachers could, overall, improve the quality of teaching, their immaturity makes it unreliable. If ever introduced, this system should be taken care of with utmost caution.

Pedro Miguel, 11º A

Nowadays it is common to think that if you don’t go to university you are not smart or you don’t have any idea of what to do with your life. As Shelby Foote said “a university is just a group of buildings gathered around a library”.

First of all, going to university is very expensive. If you are not a top student, you have to pay books, accomodation (if you are far away from home), and tuition fees.

Secondly, if you go to university, you will be spending at least 3 years being dependent on your parents and you may think you can party every day, but I don’t think everyone is able to do that and graduate.

Furthermore, if you have the knowledge, or maybe if you already have a good job offer that you like, or your father has a company and you have your future guaranteed, you don’t need to go to university And last but not least, the people who go to university aren’t better than the others who don’t.

For example, I know a person who didn’t go to university because it was too expensive, while a friend of hers who was a bad student and used to copy on tests by the other, nowadays is graduated by a private university, and is a teacher on a primary school, whereas the smart one is working in a factory, and that isn’t fair.

Only go to university if you want, don’t let the others tell you what is better for your future.

Jorge Ribeiro, 11º L

Today we are here to talk about a very important subject: school technology.

It’s important to mention that this subject can greatly change the school environment.

At the beginning of this year we made a survey to the students about school technology and we have come to the conclusion that most schools were unsuccessful due to the lack of technology.

We received many complaints, namely the fact that computers were in poor conditions, the data show were old, the lessons were boring...

And you guys are wondering why?

Because most teachers cannot teach using only books...

Students find classes quite tiring without technology- this is the second failure.

This leads us to take action, for example install interactive white boards, create interactive art classes, use more technology in classes, set cinema days...

All in all, let’s make a good budget for technology spending and make it a success!

Patrick Teixeira, 11º F

Students are faced with a backwards, old-fashioned system of teaching in all areas of learning and there is no exception to this when it comes to the teaching of the world’s most important language: English.

English should in fact have a privileged role in learning as it is the language we will most likely have to speak if we want to achieve even mildly significant accomplishments in life.

But still, we are faced with a retrograde, stuck-in-the-mud system that manages to simultaneously jeopardize the learning of good students and hurt the average student’s English level.

But why can’t we find significant improvements in a student’s English level over what should be time enough to develop at least a basic understanding and at most a complete mastery over a second language, that all things considered is not that hard to learn?

Is it the student’s fault? I hardly think so, as even in exceptional classes where students are willing to learn, they will not develop a good accent, a good grasp of sentence structure and are stuck with an exceptionally underdeveloped vocabulary.

It seems that to fully learn English one needs to turn to extracurricular activities such as English Institutes when this should be the function of the actual school system.

Is it the teachers’ problem? It’s hard to say as there is a wide variety of teachers and their methods differ wildly as well. But as there are plenty of teachers who actually devote time and energy into teaching students, it only seems logical that it’s not entirely their fault.

So, what is it? It’s a lot of different things, the curriculum, teacher-student traditional relationships, lack of incentive among many others.

So firstly we should address the curriculum. What can we do to improve it? Well, English curriculum should be about everything as much as it should be about English itself. It should contain a vast amount of different topics useful for learning English and useful for dealing with life. And I’m not talking about the usual wishy-washy same-old topics on global warming or gap years, I’m talking about actual life discussions and useful things to our development and our life as adults. Whether it’s politics, economy, science, not overly complicated topics, but not brain-numbingly simple ones either. Something that has enough character to captivate students and still is simple enough for them to grasp.

There should also be a breaking of the norm in what concerns to the usual teacher-student relation, and by this I mean that in order to learn a language, there shouldn’t necessarily be a formal relationship between a student and a teacher, as the majority of what constitutes a language are idioms, informal speech and even jargon. The focus shouldn’t be on teaching grammar, but rather, on teaching to speak, while still covering grammar and formal speech.

Grammar is important no doubt, but what’s more important is the ability to use this grammar and form cohesive sentences, and to use these sentences to fully communicate.

What about incentive? Are students encouraged to learn English? Well, to put it simply, no. But this is a somewhat simple problem to solve. The only thing teachers need to do is reinforce the actual importance and significance of what they are teaching, and then, students will care, the same way students care about maths or physics because they’ll need these topics.

I am in no way saying that such simple measures can completely solve the problems with the teaching of English, but at least they might help, and in doing so, help create a generation of students that will be able to keep up with the marvels of the western world as English holds the key to the gate that separates us from the rest of the world.

Tiago Antão 11º A

I am against the evaluation methods on schools, because I don’t think that the way we are evaluated is correct, by the fact that not every student feels confident and calm to solve tests and exams.

We have classes for 2 or 3 weeks and we have to apply all of that information in 90 minutes. I think that is not right because our work should be made and evaluated everyday by doing some summaries of the subject matter to show the teachers whether we know it or not. Beyond that, some students have nervous breakdowns, anxiety and school traumas because even though they study a lot, they don’t achieve the goals they wanted, a lot of them end up giving up and lose themselves.

Students spend many hours at school. First, they are obliged to do the high school and then if they want, they can go to university, where the methods are equal.

So the evaluation methods in school should change, because it isn’t one test of 90 minutes that is going to decide our grade, sometimes we know the content but the test goes wrong.

So students shouldn’t do test or exams, because we have to come home every day after school and study even more. That is taking us time to spend with our families or having some time to relax. I think that we should have that time for ourselves and this is the reason why the Portuguese method isn’t right. For example, there are several countries were the classes are only in the morning and the evaluation is based on other ways.

Portuguese authorities should think about the results of the current method and, above all, on the student’s lives because they are forced to study for the tests and the results aren’t what they expect them to be.

This leads them to not entering where and in what they want but on whatever they can, letting them be unhappy with the jobs they will have in the future.

Students are the future, let’s help them grow.

Luana Ferreira, 11º F

The last book I read was “Game of Thrones” from George R. R. Martin.

It is based on a kingdom and in what happens within it. There are many characters from different houses. The house Stark from Winterfell is one of the most important ones. The Stark family is composed by Eddard (the father); Catelyn (the mother); Sansa and Arya (daughters); Bran and Rickon (younger sons); Robb (the oldest son and heir) and, finally, Jon Snow (bastard of Eddard ). They are a very close family but when their father is called to the king`s presence and he names him his hand (his helper in what concerns the realm) everything changes, they are all caught in a web of lies and traitors.

This book is about alliances and war. However, there are also some romantic moments. George R. R. Martin writes wonderfully, mainly because he makes us live the moments as characters cry when something bad happens to them and laugh at their adventures and tricks to misguide other characters.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone, even to those people who don´t like reading. The story is really amazing, we get addicted, so in the blink of an eye, you`ve read 835 pages. Pages that include fantasy, mystery, intrigue and of course adventure. It is also educational due to the fact that it doesn`t take place in our century. People who study history or that want to know more about the past can do it in a fun way.

Unknown,11º E

All over the world are so many minds that haven´t changed a bit when it comes to women rights.

“You already conquered so much” is what men say but this is far from the truth.

Let’s start by talking about politics. In addition to representing the minority in political positions, there are a lot of women that haven’t the most basic right related to politics: the right to vote.

For example, in Saudi Arabia women voted for the first time in December of 2015. Now, can someone explain me why? Do you think it is because we are less smart so that we aren’t able to make a decision like this? If you think so, you better start changing your mind.

Actually, women are more intelligent and some studies show that we have a higher IQ. But society teaches us to shrink ourselves, to make ourselves smaller.

Furthermore in the world of work are some inequalities. Firstly, of the working age women only 47% are working but 72% of men in the same situation have a job. Secondly, women work as much or more than men and still receive lower wages. For example, as administrative assistants we receive less 7% than men. Society tells us we can have ambition but not too much, that we should aim to be successful but not too successful, otherwise we will threaten the men.

I also have to talk about marriage. About 700 million of the women living today have married before turning 18, and 250 million of those women did it at the age of 15. Because we are females we are expected to make our life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Nowadays marriage can be a source of joy, love and mutual support but why does society teach girls to aspire to marriage and doesn’t teach boys the same? Girls are raised to see each other as competitors not for jobs or accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men.

In addition to what I mentioned before, women continue to be seen as the weaker gender that’s why they are often victims of violations. For this reason, we cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are.

All over the world some feminists try to achieve the social, political and economic equality of sexes but this isn’t an easy job. Feminism began to be spoken around the 19th century as the first movements took place. The main goal was to achieve political power; however, feminists like Margaret Sanger began campaigning for women's sexual, reproductive, and economic rights by then. Two centuries have passed and some of us still haven't got those rights; that’s why I say it isn't an easy job.

We are smart enough to make some millions, strong enough to bear a child and then get back to business, that’s what everyone should remember.

To sum up, I would like to quote G.D. Anderson, "feminism isn't about making women stronger.

Women are already strong. It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength".

Bruna Bastos, 11º L

All my life I’ve lived in a country where women and men were equal.

As a child I didn't really think of that, so I thought women and men were equal all around the world, but as I was growing up I started realizing things and I realize that even though in my country men and women are equal, in several countries women are discriminated because of their sex. The female is seen by the traditional manners: being born to do housework, to stay home cleaning and a male is made to work. But why can’t a woman work and a man stay home?

I see my mom and dad at home, they both work and when it comes to housework, my mom cleans and my dad cleans, too!

Feminism is not what some people think; feminism is not like sexism, where they put men above women. Feminism is about equality between sexes. Feminists defend that males and females should have the same rights, the same opportunities and earn the same money for the same job.

I'm happy to see that not just women are supporting feminism but also men are doing it. This year there have already been several demonstrations involving children, teens, adults and elders to fight for a better life of women and men all around the world.

But there is not just discrimination between sexes; there is also discrimination between the same sex, race, height, weight and appearance. And we are the ones who are doing so, so why don't we stop?

My dad says that I can't change the world, but we can, so why don't we start today?

Beatriz Coelho, 11º F

As you all know, we live in a world that suffers from a constant loss of values aggravated by the appealing culture of the easy way (or easiness). That is what I want to talk about, because we are confronted with many situations that reveal this precisely.

Every day we hear of war, of conflict, of social tensions, of hunger and disease, but still the world continues to prefer to go down the path of corruption. The few opportunities for dialogue are completely destroyed by armed conflict, which shows that the world does not seem to want peace.

Today, we are living sharply one of the great attacks on peace (the terrorism). Never say that this type of war has religious, political or economic origin, because it is only a war of interests.

In the past few days, a story has been published revealing Donald Trump's nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. Is the world going mad? That's the only explanation! Human life is losing its dignity by destroying peace and destroying its values. Money becomes a God. No religion anymore, to give way to "money worship". Wealth begins to speak louder than feelings.

Could it be that at the time of our parents and grandparents, people did not live happier even though they had nothing? Be alert! Let us not be influenced by the culture of facilitation!

During this year, in which Portugal awaits the important visit of the Pope, let us together build Peace. Let us together restore the values of Humanity. Believe that it is possible.

I believe!

Bruno Pinto, 11º L

At the present time, our school facilities are being assaulted by a recurring problem: the incorrect recycling of trash.

It is clearly visible that our school is plentiful of trash cans/bins. However, the amount of rubbish that lies upon walkways, sticks under tables, or simply effortlessly laying in patches grass is astonishing, to say the least. The only reason for this problem to exist is plain laziness from the school's students and/or staff.

The abhorrent amount of humane waste is composed of plastic bags (that are used to hermetically seal snacks), yoghurts, juices, bubble gums, cans and cigarettes.

The devastating majority of these obnoxious waste products aren't biodegradable. Even though the cleaners try their greatest to collect the products, some of them may infiltrate water drainers and be, therefore, unreachable. A bigger problem are cigarettes. Besides massively decreasing the life span of a regular human being, the combination between patches of grass and halflighten fags may turn out harmful. Another worriment are bubble gums. Tables and chairs are filled to the brim with them, which is not only disgusting, but also unsanitary.

This problem can be easily solved, provided there is the will to do so.

Diogo Freitas , 10º G

To make an omelette you will have to break some eggs.

Many successful men and women will commonly use this expression to tell you how they reached their current position. After all nothing can be accomplished without taking a single risk.

Despite that being true, people have the misguided idea that any sort of accomplishment will take nothing more than a little bit of luck on a single decision. It simply doesn’t come to their minds that to achieve greatness in life it will take an uncountable number of risks, which if not taken carefully, might lead you to even worse situations than the ones you were in previously.

Now you might be asking yourself: « If risks can either result on my success or my downfall, what kind of behaviour should I have towards them? » Well, it really depends on what kind of person you are and the context you are in.

Let’s give you an example: Imagine a father and a son. The father has a candy box on his room. Once a week, the son is given a candy by the father. Now imagine you were the son and you were faced with the possibility of receiving only one candy per week the rest of his life, or risk it and try to steal the candy box and have all the candy he wants.

What would you do? Would you keep having that one candy per week? Or would you risk it and would try to steal the candy box?

This is only a fictional problem, a metaphor, but it is perfect to illustrate the questions you would ask yourself before taking or not taking a risk.

Getting back to the candy box problem, before you decide how you will approach this situation there are a few questions you need to ask yourself.

How do you feel about what you are getting from life right now?

This question is the first that needs to be asked. Do you feel happy given your current situation?

Or do you want more form life than what you are receiving? If you are happy then there is no sense in risking, but if you don’t find yourself an accomplished man based on how you currently are, then maybe risking it would be a wise decision.

If you risk it and everything goes wrong, are you ready to accept that fate?

This is the question you will ask yourself if you are not happy with your current situation. You have to make sure that what you have now is just as bad as what you will receive if you risk it all and it goes wrong. This will help you determine how far are you ready to go in order to get the best out of something.

Having said this, I shall ask you: Are you like me, would you break the eggs to make an omelette, or are you totally satisfied with what you have at the moment and you would keep the eggs intact?

João Pedro Félix, 11º C

This was the first article I wrote to this mythical old newspaper that has been following so many students and this helped me get a feeling that I was doing something productive and helpful for our school.

Taking this into account, in this article I’ll talk about a problem that is common for so many of us as students, which is knowing what our future in the society will be like in a couple of years.

Nowadays working may be the most important activity that we do for our community, representing the key for our integration, but this operation may seem really annoying unless we discover our vocation and our interests.

In order to achieve success, not only professionally but also as citizens, it is necessary to feel fulfilled and this feeling comes, firstly, from our calling.

"But what is my vocation?" some may ask.

Well, firstly It is necessary to ask yourself "What would you do for the rest of your life even if you weren't paid for that, because the goal isn't becoming just another rich man/woman but a citizen that loves what they do and gives the attention and the love to their family.

It is also important to mention that we may be too young to realize our vocation and face this huge issue, but freedom of choice was granted to us and we can always change our plans any place any time in order to achieve the true meaning of happiness.

Accordingly, always remember that, as far as we know, this is our only life, so we should enjoy it without wasting time with stuff that doesn’t make us feel fulfilled.

Hugo Azevedo 11ºD

Vincent Van Gogh once said: “If you lost money, you lost little.

If you lost your honour, you lost a lot.

If you lost your courage, you lost everything.”

Today I will talk about courage.

But after all what is courage?

It is the firmness of mind to face difficult situations; it is the quality of one who has greatness of soul and nobility of character, that is, the capacity or virtue to act despite fear and intimidation.

Courage is present in every moment of our lives. It means moving forward despite the uncertainties and doubts.

For example: it takes courage to open a company in a country with unstable economy but as people say “Nothing ventured, nothing gained".

Courage can also mean showing kindness to others, even if they are unknown.

For example: imagine that you see a boy drowning in the sea but with courage and even putting your own life at risk, you dare to save him.

Being courageous is being able to overcome our own fears.

For example: a teenager is being teased by his passion for dancing, however, the teacher asks him to dance in front of colleagues and with courage he dances, ignoring possible mocks.

Courage is also a representation of love.

For example: your house is on fire but your dog is there and you courageously come in and save your dog.

In conclusion, just like van Gogh said if you lost your courage, you lost everything because without courage you cannot do anything in life beyond being a coward. Courage is the basis of everything, of love, of goodness, of bravery and of the most important: of overcoming yourself.

Rute Castro, 11º C

Nowadays, the image is becoming more and more important in our lives. A good image sometimes can be a point of decision; for example in a job interview. If the employer has to decide between several equally qualified applicants, he will look for other aspects to decide.

But, it’s not only about how we dress. There are many other aspects that define our image, too.

Think about the way you present yourself: -

How is your physical appearance?

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Do you have self-confidence?

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Do you look somebody in the eyes when you speak to him?

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Do you have a firm handshake?

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How do you behave when you sit on the table?

All that, and much more is what defines your image.

Often the true image of a person isn’t visible in the first moment. Therefore it happens that we get the wrong impression, may it be good or bad. However, there is a true saying: “There is no second chance for a first impression”. That’s why we should always take care of our image.

Francisco Stenmaier, 11º C

Have you stopped to think how the world would be if everyone was the same? If there weren’t different opinions and goals?

The world would be monotonous and confined only to stereotyped things. There would be no diversity of jobs, no diversity of music, no diversity of food; basically there would be no diversity of everything that is normally diverse. And this is what makes people´s choices, the personalities that captivate every personal taste, the way people see the world, an open mind ready to accept criticism and compliments, a disposal and creativity to be able to make something new.

We have to follow our own path, make the best choices for our welfare, for our future and with this I may be asking you to be a little bit selfish and leave behind everything that doesn’t lead you forward. But this is true, we came to the world alone and we are going to die alone too, no matter how cruel will be our passing and how many people will be in our funeral. We will only be remembered for the things we have done, for the mark we have left here, whether in the heart of a person or in the evolution that we have made and helped others.

So why follow the ideas of others? We have to be innovators, we have to let other people know a different world, and we have to make the difference!

We can’t let ourselves get beaten down only because something went wrong or didn’t happen as we planned, and this is what makes a strong person: recognize where you failed and try to do better. We can’t be satisfied with what we have but there is also a limit of ambition, so we have to be ourselves, we have to expand our horizons without crushing the horizons of others.

Nothing prevents us from being big and if we can’t be, we can at least be big in someone’s life, make a better day to someone without asking anything in return.

Let’s be out of the ordinary, let’s have a goal and just stop when we have reached it and with another in our mind. The difference between who we are and who we want to be is in what we do.

Let’s create strong personalities and charm people, let’s occupy a place and be special in this world.

Let’s be different!

Beatriz Vaz, 11º C

DIOGO PIÇARRA

27 October 03 November

MATIAS DAMÁSIO

20 May

27-Coliseu do Porto, Porto 03-Coliseu de Lisboa, Lisbon.

20-Coliseu do Porto, Porto

SHAWN MENDES

10 May

MEO Arena, Lisbon

ANSELMO RALPH

12/20 /24 May

GUNS N’ROSES

02 June

NOS PRIMAVERA SOUND

8-10 June

12-Cine-Teatro Joaquim de Almeida, Montijo 20-Casino de Espinho, Espinho.

24-Casino Estoril, Estoril Passeio Marítimo de Algés, Oeiras Porto

RICKY MARTIN

09 June

Meo Arena, Lisbon

ARIANA GRANDE

11 June

Meo Arena, Lisbon

EDP BEACH PARTY

30 June- 1 July

Matosinhos

SUMOL SUMMER FEST

30 June- 1 July

Ericeira

NOS ALIVE

6-8 July

Lisbon

SUPER BOCK SUPER ROCK

13/14/15 July

Parque das Nações, Lisbon

SOUND WAVES

29 July

MEO SUDOESTE

1-5 August

Jardim do AncoradouroPraia de Esmoriz, Ovar Zambujeira do Mar

DAVID CARREIRA

15 September

JOHN LEGEND

14 October

Feira de São Mateus, Viseu MEO Arena, Lisbon