SAINT PATRICK´S DAY

Paul, one of the language assistants at our school is Irish... So... Why not take advantage of his good old memories of Saint Patrick´s Day! 

March 17th is a day for fun and festivities in many countries, and it's a day to celebrate being Irish! It's Saint Patrick's day, the day of Ireland's Patron Saint. Across the world on this day, you'll see people and places becoming green. Buildings are colourfully decorated with lights and people wear any green clothes that they can get their hands on.

One of the biggest celebrations on this day is the Saint Patrick's day parade. The parade features anything and everything Irish, and community groups such as schools, bands, football teams and generally anything local are often seen marching or taking part in them. This can be quite an exciting event for kids, and I remember my own childhood experiences of sitting on top of my Dad's shoulders to get a good view of the passing floats (the streets are normally quite crowded so being able to get on someone's shoulders provides an excellent view point!) Firemen in the parade often throw handfuls of lollipops into the crowd and people dressed as mischievous leprechauns often spray water from water guns at onlookers. As people get older, the focus of Saint Patrick's day tends to move away from the parade and more towards sitting down with friends in a local pub and enjoying a good Irish pint of guinness, Ireland's favourite beer. 

So next Saint Patrick's day put on some green and let's celebrate the Irish!

And here's a short video about the history of Saint Patrick himself:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xOqWT2tk9Js

Happy Saint Patrick's day!

WORD OF THE WEEK: WISHY-WASHY

Wishy-washy

The definition of wishy-washy is someone or something uncertain, indecisive and wavering, or someone who cannot make up his mind. 

An example of a wishy-washy person is someone who says yes to an invitation, and then no, and then that he will think about it.

He is just so wishy washy because he won't tell that girl what he wants in their relationship.

SAYING OF THE WEEK: YOU CAN´T MAKE A SILK PURSE...

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear*

When someone tries to improve a person or an object that cannot be changed, this saying is often used. In Spanish there is a similar saying… Can you guess what saying it is?  Yes… Aunque la mona se vista de seda...

*adult female pig´s ear

BOOKS TO GET HOOKED ON

Paul Jennings´Funniest Stories is a collection of short stories where the universe of children and teenagers makes up enjoyable plots that appeal to young and old readers. Adolescents who blindly rely on magic lipsticks to capture girls´ attention, teenagers that take their revenge on obsessive parents… Jennings´ mastery of simplicity and vocabulary are crucial to the success of his hilarious stories.

Paul Jennings

About Paul Jennings

by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers

Paul Jennings was born in England in 1943. He emigrated to Australia when he was six and grew up in suburban Moorabbin in Victoria.

After leaving university, Paul worked as a teacher of disabled and socially deprived children for six years and then as a speech pathologist for four years. Following this he became a lecturer in special education and then Senior Lecturer in Language and Literature at the Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education.

In 1989 he moved, with his second wife Claire and family to Melbourne and became a full-time writer. His writing has a distinctive style. It is fast moving, highly improbable, humorous and strongly plotted, and has very modern characters.

Paul Jennings

Paul had wanted to write since childhood as a result of happy escapism into the world of books. However, after the rejection of one of his stories which he submitted to Women's Weekly at the age of 16, Paul shelved his ambitions until his late thirties, when his first book Unreal! was published in Australia in 1985. Since then, Jennings has not looked back and has published a novel, The Gizmo, and several other collections of short stories such as Uncovered!, Unbelievable! and Quirky Tails on which the Australian TV series, "Round the Twist," is based.

Paul Jennings is particularly concerned with making reading interesting and fun for children instead of a chore. Apart from writing, Jennings spends a considerable amount of time and energy visiting schools and speaking at conferences and seminars, particularly on the subject of encouraging children to read. Paul Jennings is Australia's biggest-selling author, having sold 2.35 million books across 19 titles in Australia alone. In 1992 he received the Golden Puffin Award for being one of Australia's largest-selling authors.

"Many people ask me, 'What's it like to be a writer, Paul Jennings?' Well, it's a great life. I don't think I would want to do anything else. I get an enormous amount of mail from all over the world. I always think how lucky I am that people like my stories so much that they take the time to let me know. That's really great”.