Our Class 2007

Visit our class blogs: Our Class 2005 , Our Class 2006 and Our Class 2007. You will find lots of new activities and links to all the students' blogs, where they write some of their work.



I've deleted all comments from last year on Our Class (2004). New students will be able to do the activities on this blog (without looking at the answers!). We can talk about how to write the answers in class.

See you very soon!

St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney

MEC Glossary

ESP: English for Specific Purposes
MEC: Multicultural Education Coordinator
acting: doing a job for a definite period of time usually to stand for another person who holds the position in a permanent basis.
a range of: a variety of
appropriate: suitable for, adecuate
currently: at the moment, in this period in time
ISLPR: an international measuring scale to assess a person's English level in speaking, listening, reading and writing
NESB: people of non English background
mainstream course: general, for every one, not only for NESB students
tutorial support: small study groups with a teacher who provides additional help
to vary: to change
demand: asking for a service to be provided
study pathways: the sequence of courses a person wants to follow

Tsunami

We are all on holidays from our course, but I know that all of the students in our class are thinking of the the thousands of people affected by the tsunami.

I was sent a very good article on what to do to help by Intrepid Express, an online travel magazine. Read what they say:

Here are some ideas for ways that you can help...

• Ask your company to make a corporate donation.
  
• Organise an employee event.
  
• Spread the word and ask your friends and family to donate - you could always have a BBQ and put a donation jar on the table.
  
• Change your email signature to include a link to tell people how to donate.
  
• Print some donation forms and have them handy for whenever it comes up in conversation.
  
• If you belong to a club or group, mobilize them to raise funds for a tsunami relief appeal.
  
• Distribute brochures at your local library, doctor's office etc.
  
• Contact local charities and volunteer to work in call centres or do administrative tasks.
  
• If you want to volunteer to help out in the regions affected, please contact registered aid agencies as the relief needs to be coordinated and they will be able to advise if there are any vacancies. Your country's volunteer agency may be setting up a registry of organisations seeking in-country support, but language skills are normally considered a pre-requisite.
  
• Aid agencies are working around the clock in an effort to find homes for orphans in their local communities. Adoption is considered a very last resort and the least positive alternative for the children, so you may want to consider sponsoring a child or donating to organisations that are specifically focused on the needs of children, such as Plan and Save the Children.
  
• If you are travelling to Thailand, you can donate suitable clothing, sheets and blankets. The government has set up many collection sites and a number of companies have donated transport to get the goods down to the South. A huge thanks to the passengers who have already donated a lot of goods.
  
• Blood donations - there has been a huge response throughout Thailand, so for the time being supplies are sufficient. But if travelling in other affected countries they may be in need of blood donors.

They have set up an appeal (asking for money for a charity) on The Intrepid Foundation- Asian Tsunami Appeal

You can go to this site Understanding Tsunamis at Discovery School and have a look at videos that explain how tsunamis are formed.

Happy New Year

My friends took this photo of a possum
that they found in their garden on New Year's Eve.

Happy 2005 !

If you feel like reading a bit about the terrible disaster affecting so many countries near Australia, you can go to this blog: Tsunami Help . They have news, links to charity organisations asking for help, etc.

Christmas Webquest

Merry Christmas and a peaceful 2005! Australian map from Wendy's homepage

If you get bored these holidays, try this interesting webquest (click on the title above).
If, on the other hand, you feel a bit lazy, just click here and explore different parts of the world and how they celebrate Xmas. You could go to my country, Spain, and find out what "the Mass of the Rooster" is or what "hogueras" are.
You could also read about your own country (in English!) and tell us about some of its traditions for this time of the year.(Write in comments)

For those of you who don't know about Christmas in Australia, go to this interesting site, Christmas in Australia, and read about many different aspects of an Aussie Christmas.

Update

......................................

• Have a look at photoguess . Kalpana wrote the answers and guessed the one nobody knew (number 4). Read my message to her.
• The recount you wrote about our excursion is ready. You'll find it in To Parramatta by boat
• I posted the photo of the vine framing the verandah. It's nice, isn't it? Although this time the photos are a bit fuzzy.
• Try to do the exercise on the Parramatta river. See who write a good description and gives a good explanation on the differences.
• You can read about more countries and cities (Egypt, Alexandria, Jordan, etc) in Students' Hometowns or Countries and More Students' Hometowns or Countries .
• Have a good three weeks with Sally and the other students.

Cheers, Rosa