The Speedo 12/19/06 - 2/1/07

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
It is the last week of classes before the holidays and everyone is getting excited. Some people are traveling, some people are visiting their families. However you spend the holiday, make sure to stay in good spirits and enjoy your time with your loved ones.

CHECK OUT MORE PICTURES FROM THE CHRISTMAS PARTY:
(thanks to Darren for sharing his photos)















CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

Christmas is celebrated all around the world - but different cultures celebrate in different ways. Take a look at how various countries spend their holidays:


IRELAND~
It is tradition to leave mince pies and a bottle of Guinness out as a snack for Santa.

SPAIN~
Papa Noel delivers his presents by climbing up balconies. On January 6, the three wise men come to visit and also leave gifts for the children.

MEXICO~
Children sometimes leave their shoes out instead of stockings.

NORWAY~
On Christmas Eve, a bowl of porridge, "nisse" is left in the barn for the gnome who protects the farm.

SWEDEN~
On Christmas morning, churches are lit up entirely by candles for the Christmas service.

ITALY~
On the evening of the day after Christmas, children are visited by a good witch named Strega Buffana. She flies around Italy on a broom and leaves treats for good children and coal for naughty children.

NEW ZEALAND~
It is the middle of summer at Christmas time. Instead of a hot drink Santa often gets a cooling beer as a snack on Christmas Eve.


AUSTRALIA~
Santa's sleigh is pulled by eight white kangaroos.

SAY MERRY CHRISTMAS IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE:

There are 6,800 spoken languages in the 200 countries of the world. 2,261 have writing systems, and the rest are only spoken out loud. Here are a few different ways to say Merry Christmas if you travel around the globe:


Afrikaner (Afrikaans) ~ "Een Plesierige Kerfees"
Argentine ~ "Felices Pascuas"
Bohemian ~ "Vesele Vanoce"
Brazilian ~ "Boas Festas"
Chinese (Cantonese) ~ "Saint Dan Fai Lok"
Danish ~ "Glædelig Jul"
Dutch ~ "Vrolijk Kerstfeest"
English ~ "Merry Christmas"
Filipino ~ "Maligayang Pasko"
Finnish ~ "Hyvaa Joulua"
French ~ "Joyeux Noël"
German ~ "Froehliche Weihnachten"
Greek ~ "Kala Christouyenna"
Hawaiian ~ "Mele Kalikimaka"
Hebrew ~ "Mo'adim Lesimkha"
Icelandic ~ "Gledileg Jol"
Indonesian ~ "Selamat Hari Natal"
Irish ~ "Nollaig Shona Dhuit"
Italian ~ "Buone Feste Natalizie"
Japanese ~ "Kurisumasu Omedeto"
Korean ~ "Sung Tan Chuk Ha"
Lithuanian ~ "Linksmu Kaledu"
Malay ~ "Selamat Hari Natal"
Maori ~ "Meri Kirihimete"
Norwegian ~ "God Jul"
Romanian ~ "Craciun Fericit"
Peruvian ~ "Felices Fiestas"
Portugese ~ "Boas Festas"
Slovakian ~ "Vesele Vianoce"
Spanish ~ "Feliz Navidad"
Swedish ~ "God Jul"
Welsh ~ "Nadolig Llawen"



CHRISTMAS JOKES!
Have a laugh as you share some of these jokes with your family over the holidays :)

As Santa would say, Ho ho ho!!!

Q: What did Adam say on the day before Christmas?
A: It's Christmas, Eve.

Q: What did the gingerbread man put on his bed?
A: A cookie sheet

Q: What kind of ball doesn't bounce?
A: A snow ball!

CHRISTMAS VOCABULARY!!!
Learn some words associated with December 25th:

Mistletoe~ This is often hung from the doorway between 2 rooms. If someone stands under the doorway, it is customary for another person to kiss him or her!

Christmas ornaments~ These are the decorations put on a Christmas Tree

White Christmas~ A Christmas with snow!!!

Stockings~ Socks that you hang up on the fireplace or wall, ready to be filled with presents on Christmas morning

That's it for this year! Everyone at SPEED CALLAN wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year! We'll see you back in class in 2007!

The Speedo 4/12/06 - 11/12/06

CLUBS, CLUBS, CLUBS - SO MANY CLUBS

In the run up to Christmas we've got lots of fun and exciting clubs happening and also the Christmas party - All the teachers would be delighted if you could join us for a few festive (christmas) drinks! - SEE THE POSTERS IN SCHOOL - MORE DETAILS ON THE BLOG TONIGHT!!

HELLO AGAIN!

Hello students. It's me, your editor, Dean. I took a break from writing the Speedo last week and left things in the hands of the lovely Jamie but now I'm back!

Now I'm sure she did a great job but I know you all probably have one 'burning question' (a question you very much want to ask)

"WHERE WAS CHUCK?"

Well Chuck is back this week too and I will bring you not one, not two but three facts and pictures of the great man.... keep reading for more information!

A (Long) Look at Chuck

As there was a lack of Chuck last week I bring you a 'chuckfest' this week. On the right you will see that Chuck Norris is now giving 'Private Lessons' Wow! Just imagine that!! Getting English lessons from Chuck! You wouldn't dare get any questions wrong. It would be a great way to learn English!

CHUCK FACT #1

'Bill Gates lives in constant fear that Chuck Norris' computer will crash'

To the left you can see a picture of Chuck as the 'forest warrior' A forest is a big place with lots of trees and animals. This is a great film in which Chuck Norris kills a whole forest!

CHUCK FACT # 2

'Chuck Norris once had a heart attack - his heart lost'

In our final picture (see right) we can see a biblical (from the bible) saying - 'an eye for an eye'. However, I really don't think Chuck Norris will be giving his eye to anybody, do you? Chuck looks much younger here and is yet to develop his beautiful beard.

Chuck Fact #3

'The saddest moment of a child's life is not when he realizes that Santa Claus isn't real but when he realizes that Chuck Norris is'