The Speedo 22/5/07 - 29/05/07

The Speedo returns...

Hello lovely students and how are you enjoying the lovely warm weather?? We are in the middle of a 'heat wave' (a time of very hot weather) and I know sometimes it's difficult to concentrate in lessons but do your best!!

Lee and Dean's Beer and Film Club

Dean and Lee will be holding another beer club next week on Tuesday night (29th May) In room 8 - Come along and join us for some beer tasting and a good film... watch out for the posters and we will confirm the choice of film later!!! It will be fun!!

GAZZA's ROCK CLUB

Don't miss Gazza' legendary Rock Club - It's on Friday night (25th May) Starting in room 8 and ending... who knows?? He'll have all your usual favourites and rock and roll fun!

Word of the Week: Frank

‘Frank’ is, firstly, a man’s name, as in Frank Sinatra (see right)

However, we can also use frank as a verb. It means to mark a letter to show that the posting cost has been paid (see right).

Finally, to ‘be frank’ with someone means to be direct and honest. E.g „do you like my new shoes?” „To be frank, they look stupid and they make your feet look too big"

Idiom of the Week

'TO RIDE SHOTGUN'

To ride shotgun means to go in the front passenger seat of a car. It comes from the old wild west in America when the man with a shotgun sat next to the driver. If several friends want to go in a car together, the first to shout shotgun gets to sit in the front seat!

The Speedo 15/05/07 - 22/05/07

Hi everyone, are you are enjoying the beautiful weather lately. We hope you had a great time at Pub Club last Friday night at Celtic. And in case you missed it, Lee brought down the house on Tuesday night at Karaoke by singing Queen "We Are The Champions". (to bring down the house means to excite the crowd with an amazing performance). Special kudos to some students from Halifax, Ania and Yatsek, who sang their very first English song at Karaoke!!!! You sounded great!

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Upcoming Events:

Wednesday, May 16th @ 7:30pm

Dean's Lecture on WORK IN THE UK!

...come and learn from Dean how to find a job and work in the UK. He will give advice on CVs, travel, and how to look for jobs.

Friday, May 25th @ 7:30pm

Gary's famous ROCK CLUB!

....Meet at SPEED for a Rock Quiz and then go paint the town red! (to paint the town red means to have a fun night out at the pubs).

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IDIOMS OF THE WEEK: CATS!

Idiom 1: Cat got your tongue? ~~something you say to someone when you're annoyed because they won't speak. "Well, has the cat got your tongue? I'm waiting for an explanation."

Idiom 2: A fat cat~~ an impolite way of referring to someone who is very rich and powerful. "Look at that fat cat in his expensive suit, he's just another rich businessman from Zurich."

Idiom 3: It's raining cats and dogs! ~~ something that you say when it is raining very heavily. "It's raining cats and dogs out there!"

Idiom 4: Let the cat out of the bag...~~ to tell people secret information, often without intending to. "I was trying to keep the party a secret, but Piotr went and let the cat out of the bag."

Idiom 5: While the cat's away the mouse will play... ~~ when the person in authority is absent, people will not do what they should do. "Do you think it's wise to leave the children alone for so long? You know, while the cat's away... "

Idiom 6: Look what the cat dragged in....~~ an insulting way of saying that someone has just arrived, suggesting that they are ugly and badly dressed. "Well, look what the cat's dragged in. Did you make that dress or borrow it from your mother?"

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A LOOK AT CHUCK!

Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried. Ever.

(Look at CHUCK KNOCK OUT A KANGAROO!)

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JOKE OF THE WEEK:

Question: How many politicians does it take to change a lightbulb ?

Answer: Two. One to change it, and another one to change it back again.

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Cartoon of the WEEK!

This Cartoon is a pun (something that has 2 MEANINGS).

1- RAINING cats and dogs (it is raining outside)

2- REIGNING cats and dogs (they are the king and queen)

The Speedo 24/04/07 - 1/05/07

Hello everyone! We hope you are enjoying the beautiful Spring weather - it is warm and sunny! Read below for some new idioms about SPRING! Hopefully you have plans for rest and relaxation during the holiday week - enjoy and we'll see you in May!

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THANK YOU to everyone who came to Jamie's lecture on American slang - it was a HIT (a hit means it was popular)! Students learned lots of slang phrases that are used in everyday English, especially in song lyrics (words) and movie dialogues (talking). A quick sample of what the students learned:

NOUNS -

Crib – your house
Bling – shiny jewelery with lots of glitter and sparkles
Dawg – a friend

Hood – neighborhood, the area where you live

Hoopty - an old car
Mula – money

VERBS -

To bounce – to leave

To boogie – to dance
To check out – to look at, to watch
To hook up – to give something to someone

To chill - to relax

ADJECTIVES - These words ALL mean excellent, impressive, trendy, very nice:

Tight
Wicked
Sweet
Hot * also means stolen
Sick
Dope
Fly
Ill
Phat

GREETINGS:

Yo
What’s up --- wasssup --- sup
How’s it going?
How ya doing?
What’s the word?
What’s kicking?

SAMPLE SLANG IN USE....

Terri: YO Lee, how was your weekend?

Lee: WASSUP! My weekend was DOPE! I went to a FLY BASH with my DAWGS! What did you do?

Terri: My weekend was SWEET. I didn’t have any MULA so I stayed at my CRIB because I wanted to CHILL.

Lee: That sounds PHAT!

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Upcoming Events:

TONIGHT - Lee and Dean's BEER AND FILM night

Watch a film and taste beers from all over the world! The students pick the movie and Lee will pick the beers :) Come and enjoy a good film with your teachers and students.

WHEN: Tuesday, April 24th @ 7:30

WHERE: @ SPEED CALLAN

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SPRING IDIOMS!

Idiom #1 - to SPRING TO LIFE - to suddenly become active.

Dean: I was trying to start my car, when suddenly it sprang to life without warning!

(The paradigm of spring is: spring, sprang, sprung)

Idiom #2 - To SPRING TO MIND - to appear suddenly or immediately in your thoughts.

Jamie: I was trying to think of a good song to sing at Karaoke, when suddenly Tina Turner SPRUNG TO MIND!

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Joke of the Week!

Student: Would you punish me for some thing i didn't do?

Teacher: no, of course not.

Student: good, because i didn't do my homework.

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A LOOK AT CHUCK!

Chuck Norris is the only person that can punch a cyclops between the eye.

(A cyclops is a monster with only ONE eye!)

The Speedo 17/04/07 - 24/04/07

Dear Students,

Welcome back to the Speedo Blog... We hope you all had a nice Easter and that you are looking forwards to the final few months of Callan Clubs and fun. We've got plenty of things coming up so keep your eyes on the blog, newsletters and notices in the school.

Dean and Lee's Beer and Film Club

Tuesday 24th April - 7.30pm - Room 8

Join Dean and Lee for a film and tasting of international beers next Tuesday night in Room 8. Lee will be looking after the Beer and Dean will be choosing the film. We hope the film will have beer in it but we're not sure yet... It will be a suprise!

Jamie's American Slang Lecture

Thursday 19th April - 7.30 pm - Room 8

As we all know, Mr Callan is an Englishman and, as a result, all the idioms and slang phrases in the Callan books are from the UK... So now is your chance to join Jamie and find out how the Americans do it! Learn new words and phrases to use in the good old U S of A with Jamie... 'Ride on Cowboy!'

A Look at Chuck

Here is this week's beautiful picture of the Chuck and he is modelling his very own trademark jeans... The Chuck Norris Action Jeans! These jeans are worth more than the average Callan teacher earns in 14 years :( I wish I could buy some!

"Death once had a 'near Chuck Norris' experience"

Idiom of the Week - 'Use your Loaf'

This idiom means that you should think carefully before doing something. Use your head!!!

A 'loaf' is a whole bread, not cut into pieces (or slices). There are 2 theories of where this idiom came from. First, in the war, soldiers used a loaf of bread to confuse the enemy. They put a loaf on the end of their gun and held it up above the side of the hole they were hiding in so it looked like a head and the enemy would shoot at it... they could then shoot the enemy! Alternatively, it is 'cockney rhyming slang' for 'head'... loaf of bread = head!

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Q: What's back and white but red all over

A: A penguin with sunburn!

OR

A: A nun in a food mixer ;)

The Speedo 10/4/07 - 17/4/07

Welcome back after the Easter holiday! The school was closed on Good Friday on and Wet Monday... and many of the teachers went away over the holiday. Terri, Lee, and Dean took a trip to Bratislava, Slovakia, and Jamie went to Budapest, Hungary! Gary went to a traditional Easter weekend with his Polish family. Many of the other teachers stayed in Wroclaw and celebrated with their loved ones. All in all, it was a great weekend for everyone. We hope you had a wonderful time with your family!!!!

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UPCOMING EVENTS:

Don't miss GARY'S ROCK CLUB!

WHEN: Friday, April 13th @ 19:30 (7:30)

WHERE: @ SPEED Callan, then go to a ROCK CLUB

Listen to your favorite bands and rock the evening away with Gary and his tunes! Take the newest rock quiz and hang out with Gary (wearing his famous leather pants) and friends. It will be a fun night! Make sure to sign up with the secretaries!!!!

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Idioms of the week: FUN FOOD IDIOMS

Idiom 1: The big cheese

The big cheese is an important person, a leader

"As the Lead Teacher at SPEED, LEE is the BIG CHEESE!

Idiom 2: Bring home the bacon

To bring home the bacon means to earn money for your family

"I work so many hours because I have to bring home the bacon!"

Idiom 3: Cool as a cucumber

To be as cool as a cucumber is to be very calm, not nervous or anxious at all.

"Dean wasn't worried about his driving test, he was as cool as a cucumber"

Idiom 4: Nutty as a fruitcake

To be as nutty as a fruitcake means to be CRAZY!

"After Jamie drinks a Pepsi, she is as nutty as a fruitcake!"

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~~FUNNY ANIMAL SOUNDS~~

Have you ever wondered what sounds animals make in English? Look no more, read this list and see if you can identify every animal:

Bees buzz; they go bzzz.
Birds chirp; they go tweet tweet.
Cats mew; they go meow.
Chicks go peep peep.
Cows low; they go moo.
Crows caw.
Cuckoos go cuckoo.
Dogs bark; they go bow wow or arf or woof.
Donkeys bray; they go hee-haw.
Doves coo.
Ducks quack; they go quack quack.
Frogs croak; they go ribbit.
Geese honk.
Hens cackle and cluck.
Horses neigh or whinney.
Hyenas laugh.
Lions roar.
Mice squeak.
Owls hoot; they go hoo.
Pigs grunt; they go oink oink.
Roosters crow; they go cock-a-doodle-doo.
Sheep and goats bleat; they go baaah.
Turkeys go gobble gobble.
Wolves howl.

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JOKE OF THE WEEK:

QUESTION: What asks no questions but demands an answer?

ANSWER: A doorbell or a phone!

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A LOOK AT CHUCK!

Did you know.... When Chuck Norris gives you the finger, he's telling you how many seconds you have left to live.

The Speedo 20/03/07 - 27/03/07

Hi Everyone! Welcome to the first day of Spring! Thanks everyone for coming out to our St. Patrick's Day Pub Club at Celtic. We had over 50 people there, dancing and drinking green beer! Ok, well there wasn't any green beer... but we did have fun! Thanks to Eric and Darren for planning such a fun night. We also had a good time at March's Karaoke month in Guinness Pub. If you weren't there, you missed Terri singing Eric Clapton and Jamie singing Tina Turner!

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Upcoming Clubs and Lectures:

Gary's Lecture on.... London!

Friday, March 23rd at 7:30pm

Some topics Gary will talk about:

• London coffee houses
• Financial London
• Mysteries
• Brutal London
• Work in London
• Tourist London
• Cockney slang

SIGN UP WITH THE SECRETARIES!!!!

And Next week~~~~

THE FIRST EVER - SPEED CALLAN PUB CRAWL!

(to crawl means to move forward slowly, usually on your hands and knees, like a baby before they walk)

Saturday, March 31st, with Lee, Jamie, Dean, and everyone!

We will go to 9 pubs in one night! Free SPEED tee-shirts to everyone who comes.

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Vocabulary of the Week: SPRING

Puddles- a small pool of water from the rain

Kite- a paper or cloth tool that flies in the air, held to the ground by a string. Best used on a windy day

April Fool's Day- a day for pranks and tricks, the first of April

Daylight Savings Time- change clocks, set them ahead one hour. we say "spring forward".

Idioms of Spring!

Idiom 1: not a spring chicken

A spring chicken means young. Not a spring chicken means you are getting old!

Example:

Terri: C'mon Dad, let's play one more game of pool.

Dad: I have to go home and get some sleep. I'm no spring chicken anymore!

Idiom 2: be full of the joys of Spring

To be full of the joys of Spring is to be very happy.

Example: "Dean bounced into the school, full of the joys of spring."

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A LOOK AT CHUCK!

Did you know... Chuck Norris gave Mona Lisa that smile?

The Speedo 13/03/07 - 20/03/07

Dear Students,

Welcome to this week's edition of the Speedo. At the end of the week we have our big SAINT PATRICK's DAY PARTY!

FRIDAY 16th MARCH - 10p.m - CELTIC PUB

THERE WILL BE A SPECIAL PRIZE FOR THE PERSON WHO WEARS THE MOST GREEN AND IF ANYBODY BRINGS A DOG, DRESSED UP LIKE THIS ONE, I WILL BUY THEM A BOTTLE OF VODKA!!!

Word of the Week - 'Fluff' and 'Belly Button'

Fluff is a mystery of life and we can get pieces of fluff on our clothes, on our furniture etc. 'Fluff' is a name for any little bits of material or matter that collect where we don't want them to collect.

'Fluff' can also mean 'something of little value' and it is used in England in quite a sexist way. A man can call his girlfriend 'my bit of fluff' but this is generally used when she is much younger than he is and he doesn't treat her as a serious girlfriend, just someone to have a bit of fun with! Not very nice!

'Fluffy' is also an adjective meaning soft and we would use it to describe things like little, fluffy baby rabbits or soft clothes, towels or pillows etc

Your belly button is on the front of your stomach (belly is another word for stomach) and when you were inside you mother, before you were born, you were connected to her by the 'umbilical cord'. When the umbilical cord is cut of at birth, you are left with a 'belly button'.

Also, there are 2 different types of people in the world. 'Innies' and 'Outies'. I am an 'inny' like in the picture below, so my belly button is more like a hole. Some people have belly buttons that stick out of their bodies... Uggghhhh!!

BELLY BUTTON FLUFF

If we combine belly button and fluff we have 'belly button fluff'. This is mysterious fluff which grows or collects or appears in our belly buttons, even when we wash them every day. Scientists have done experiements and decided that it mainly comes from clothes and body hair so women have less belly button fluff than men! You lucky girls!

Where does it come from?

The word 'goodbye' is used everyday in England by millions of people. We use it when we are leaving people. The word is actually a 'contraction of the phrase 'God be with you' In the old days English people often said 'ye' instead of 'you'. So that's where it comes from!

A LOOK AT CHUCK

Today I have found a picture of the young Chuck Norris, before he grew his amazing beard. I have shaved my face today in honour of Chuck as he once was!

If you spell Chuck Norris wrong on Google, it doesn't say "did you mean Chuck Norris", it simply says "run whilst you still have a chance"