Black Friday

• Black Friday always occurs on the day after Thanksgiving. It is the last Friday of the month of November.
• Black Friday is not a national holiday, although many employers give their workers this day off work in addition to Thanksgiving Thursday.
• Black Friday is also known as ‘The Day After Thanksgiving’.
• It’s believed that Black Friday originated in Philadelphia in the early 1960s.
• The name supposedly originates from the moment in the year when retailers begin to turn a profit, and so go from their takings being in the ‘red’ to in the ‘black’.
• Since about 2005, Black Friday has always been the busiest shopping day of the year.
• In recent years, Black Friday has become less important as shops choose to offer discounts over the whole of November and December, and not just on Black Friday.
• Many retailers open their stores from 4 or 5am to entice customers in to get the best deals. Some stores, including Target and Macy’s, open at midnight on Thanksgiving.
• Some retailers even open on Thanksgiving Day itself. This day has become known as ‘Black Thursday’ or ‘Gray Thursday’ by some.
•  

CHRISTMAS ALL OVER THE WORLD

Christmas Island is the first place on Earth to enter into a new year, followed by New Zealand, and a tiny bit of Russia, but Sydney, Australia is the first large city to welcome the New Year, smack in the middle of their summer, often with a bonfire on the beach, as of course, their weather allows it. The magnificent fireworks display on the landmark harbour is a famous event of the continent.

Fifteen hours later, New York celebrates with the drop of the crystal ball at Times square, with a bevy of freezing celebrities trying their best to sing in the misty weather..
The last city to hit the divide in time is Honolulu, Hawaii.
In China and some other Asian countries, the New Year celebration does not fall on the same date each year, but is always somewhere between January 21 and February 20, and depends on the movements of the moon and the sun. The next one will be on January 31, and will start the Year of the Horse. Traditional red lanterns will hang from front doors and the family celebration includes a copious diner and an exchange of red envelops containing money.

Ethiopia has a totally different New Year’s Day
Ethiopia is the only country in the world that hasn’t adopted the 12-month calendar that is sometimes referred to as the Gregorian calendar. Ethiopiauses the Coptic Calendar, which has 13 months, of which 12 are comprised of 30 days each, and a 13th month at the end of the year that has 5 days (or 6 days, if it’s a leap year). The result is that Ethiopia celebrates the New Year on September 11

In Korea, New Year’s Day is your birthday
In Korea, everyone’s birthday is New Year’s Day, regardless of the day anyone was actually born. Plus, the day you’re born, you’re considered to be 1 year old, so no matter what day you were born, you will be considered 2 years old on the first New Year’s Day of your life. Thus, if you are born on December 31, you will be considered 2 years old the next day.

In Japan, if it’s Christmas, you’re eating KFC
It’s a time-honored tradition to eat fried chicken on Christmas in Japan. Starting in 1974, Kentucky Fried Chicken got in on the action by asking the people of Japan to show thanks for Christmas by enjoying a bucket of KFC. People in Japan order up their finger-licking-good Christmas chicken months in advance—to the tune of about 3,000,000 orders of KFC each year.

If it’s Christmas in Peru, consider the first rule of Fight ClubMartin

Takanakuy is a festival that is held every Christmas Day in the Chumbivilcas Province of Peru. The festival consists of dancing and fist-fighting, whether to settle old conflicts or simply to display their manhood.

On Christmas in Ecuador, keep gifts to a minimum
For the most part, children in Ecuador don’t expect to be showered with gifts on holidays. Rather, they tend to get one or two gifts selected especially for them. And not because they’re naughty or nice, but just because they’re loved.

If it’s New Year’s in Thailand, bring a towel
Thailand’s New Year celebration, Songkran is a beloved nationwide celebration where water fights go on for days. Literally, three days. The name comes from Sanskrit and means transformation. Before water guns ever were a thing, the Thai people went to their local temples to engage in spiritual cleansing. They still head to their temples to bathe sacred Buddha statues for good luck. But along the way, it’s a party atmosphere as everyone’s dousing everyone else in water.

New Year’s Eve = Toss a Toaster Day in Johannesberg
On New Year’s Eve, residents in a small neighbourhood in Johannesburg, South Africa, collect old appliances, carry them up to apartment building rooftops and toss them down to the streets far below.

New Year’s Eve = Destroy a Dish Day in Denmark
In Denmark, folks ring in the New Year by shattering dishes across the doors of houses of their family and friends. This is true in the Netherlands too. We assume (or at least, hope) that the dishes are ones the New Year’s revelers don’t mind losing because smashing a dish is pretty much irreversible.

New Year’s Eve = Stuff Your Face Day in Spain
In Spain, the New Year’s tradition for good luck revolves around grapes. If you can manage to stuff 12 grapes in your mouth at midnight you’ve achieved good luck for the next year.

 Santa may have had some work done
Santa has changed quite a bit since his days as the actual person who became St. Nicholas. That guy was a Greek man born in the third century AD, and was a “fiery, wiry, and defiant defender of church doctrine” who nevertheless became a patron saint of children around the year 1200. Scary at first and sometimes seen carrying a rod (which he would “spare not,” as it was threatened by parents), St. Nicholas began the transformation in 1822 into the plump, red-cheeked, jolly, reindeer-sleigh-driving gift giver that he remains today, thanks to Clement Clark having described him as such in his poem, The Night Before Christmas.

By the end of the 1800s, the image of St. Nicholas (say it out loud: Saint Nick Claus…Santa Claus) had become standardized as a large adult man, dressed in red with white fur trim, venturing out from the North Pole on a reindeer-driven sleigh, and benevolently keeping an eye on children everywhere, making certain they’re not naughty, but nice.

Boxing Day has nothing to do with prize-fighting
Boxing Day is an English tradition the day after Christmas. It got its name because it’s the day on which families would literally “open the box” (the alms box) to the poor. Traditionally, every church in England had an alms box, into which people would place money intended for donation. The box was opened on Boxing Day, and the contents were distributed to those less fortunate in the parish. The tradition continues today. Don’t miss these 11 tips for dealing with holiday stress and anxiety.

There are three most covered Christmas tunes
Some Christmas songs never seem to get old. Of the 24 most-covered Christmas songs, none has been covered fewer than 7,000 times. The top three are:

Silent Night: Written in 1818, there are 26,496 versions

White Christmas: Written in 1940, there are 20,721 versions

Jingle Bells: Written in 1857, there are 19,080 versions

                                    MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Parades have also become an integral part of the holiday in cities and towns across the United States. Presented by Macy’s department store since 1924, New York City’s Thanksgiving Day parade is the largest and most famous, attracting some 2 to 3 million spectators along its 2.5-mile route and drawing an enormous television audience. It typically features marching bands, performers, elaborate floats conveying various celebrities and giant balloons shaped like cartoon characters.

Beginning in the mid-20th century and perhaps even earlier, the president of the United States has “pardoned” one or two Thanksgiving turkeys each year, sparing the birds from slaughter and sending them to a farm for retirement. A number of U.S. governors also perform the annual turkey pardoning ritual.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/nov/23/barack-obama-pardons-turkey-video

Boxing Day

Boxing Day got its name when Queen Victoria was on the throne in the 1800s and has nothing to do with the sport of boxing.

The name comes from a time when the rich used to box up gifts to give to the poor.

Boxing Day was traditionally a day off for servants, and the day when they received a special Christmas box from their masters.

The servants would also go home on Boxing Day to give Christmas boxes to their families.

The day also has religious connections and is celebrated as Saint Stephen's Day in Ireland and the Catalonia region of Spain.

In some European countries - such as Hungary, Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands - Boxing Day is celebrated as a second Christmas Day.

 

St Patrick's day

It is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.
The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland,^[3] and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general.^[5] Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, cèilidhs, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks.

 Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland,^[10] Northern Ireland,^[11] the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (for provincial government employees), and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora around the world, especially in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival.^[12]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mfxh-VHbF6FxH0maeN_tWkMrQBkpZfY1/view?usp=sharing

A FEW WORDS ABOUT St Patrick

It is known that he was raised near a village called Banna Vemta Burniae but its location cannot be identified. It may have been lowland Scotland but is equally likely to have been Wales, which was under Roman control at the time.
Patrick's real name was probably Maewyn Succat. His father, Calpornius, was a Roman-British army officer and a deacon.
Despite this family involvement in the church, the young Patrick was not a believer. His life was ordinary, and completely unexceptional, until the age of 16.

The kidnapped shepherd

The young lad was kidnapped, along with many others, by Irish pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. According to his autobiographical Confessio, which survives, the next six years were spent imprisoned in the north of the island and he worked as a herdsmen of sheep and pigs

During this period, he became increasingly religious. He considered his kidnapping and imprisonment as a punishment for his lack of faith and spent a lot of time in prayer.
After a vision led him to stow away on a boat bound for Britain, Patrick escaped back to his family.
There he had a dream that the Irish were calling him back to Ireland to tell them about God. This inspired him to return to Ireland as a priest, but not immediately. At this point he didn't feel adequately prepared for a life as a missionary. His studies took him to France where he was trained in a monastery, possibly under St Germain, the bishop of Auxerre, and he dedicated this period of his life to learning. It was some 12 years before he returned to Irish shores as a bishop sent with the Pope's blessing.

Colour green Everybody has to wear green to attract good luck.	Shamrock It is the Irish clover. It became the symbol of Irish identity during the English invasion.
The Leprachaun It means “The little buddy”	The Snake St. Patrick climbed up the Croagh Patrick Hill made escape all the snakes of the Island.
Corned Beef Together with cabbage, it is the traditional meal.	Irish music Queen Elizabeth I banned the Celt music under death penalty.
The Irish Flag In 1995, the Irish government started a campaign to bring tourism to Ireland on St Patrick’s Day.	Irish dance During the English dominion, the Irish started to dance in the streets on St. Patricks Day to show their national identity.
Boston It was one of the first cities in celebrate a St. Patrick’s Day parade: 1737!	New York It was the first city to have an official Saint Patrick’s Day Parade organisation.
Chicago In 1962, they started dyeing the river in green to celebrate St Patrick’s.	International Saint Patrick’s day is celebrated all over the world: left, right and centre!
Colour green It represents the Irish landscape and the Emerald Isle.	Shamrock St Patrick used it to explain the Celts the Holy Trinity: Father, Holy Spirit and Son.
The Leprachaun They are also known to keep the gold pot at the end of the rainbow.	The Snake It represents the way St Patrick put an end to Paganism in Ireland.
Corned Beef Before the Great Famine, it wasn’t beef, but bacon.	Irish music Bag pipes and drums remind the people their Celtic origins.
The Irish Flag It is present in most of the symbols of the festivity.	Irish dance They don’t move the arms a lot to represent the oppression they suffered.
Boston Nowadays, more than 40 thousand people celebrate St Patrick there.	New York Catholic Irish were the last members of society at the time. They were represented in cartoons as drunk monkeys.
Chicago The first time they dyed the river, it lasted green for seven days.	International There are thematic parties all over the world. Last year, we held an Irish traditional celebration at the harbour in Barcelona.

What should you do to help your students develop good online practices?

As a parent and/or teacher you are probably trained to start forbidding your children from chatting with strangers. Hence, many teachers are concerned with teaching their pupils not to chat with strangers, in particular strangers online. While it is easier to convince younger children not to, teenagers will likely resist a ban on chatting with online strangers from their life. This situation has to be handled with diplomacy, with plenty of opportunity to discuss the issues and inherent dangers without arousing either their curiosity or sense of rebellion in doing something they have been told not to do.
The following mnemonic might be of SMART help, when talking to your children/pupils:
S for “safe”: Be careful what personal information you give out to people you do not know.
M for “meeting”: Take precautions when meeting up with people you have only chatted to online. Tell someone where and when the meeting is due to take place. Stay in public places and do not agree to anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
A for “accepting”: Be careful when accepting attachments and information from people you do not know they may contain upsetting messages or viruses.
R for “reliable”: Always check if information is from someone reliable; remember some people may not be who they say they are.
T for “tell”: Always tell a trusted adult if something or someone online is making you worried or upset.
For further information have a look at the SMART Crew guidance and activities, developed by Childnet International.

How to respond to inappropriate posts and images?

Sexting seems to be an issue which is constantly in the news. It is defined as the exchange of sexual messages or images, and creating, sharing and forwarding sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images through mobile phones and the internet. Research suggests that sexting is becoming commonplace in the lives of teens today. The ubiquitous nature of technology and, in particular, mobile devices means that most young people have a camera and this means that they can take photos whenever they want and, sometimes, mistakes can be made. In most countries, there are legal consequences for sexting and, in most cases, a naked image of someone under the age of 18 is classed as an illegal image or a child sexual abuse image.
Schools need to ensure that they provide opportunities for young people to talk about the challenges that they face online and sexting is clearly one of them.
Actions that should be taken into consideration, include:
Ensuring that sexting and the school’s approach to it is understood by everyone and reflected in the child protection policy.
Providing opportunities in the school for children and young people to be able to talk about and discuss issues such as sexting.
Providing training and updates for staff so that they are aware of the risks and challenges posed by sexting.
Providing information for parents as appropriate, and recognise that they are likely to be shocked if they find out their children are involved in sexting.
For further information and advice, have a look at the resources and services of Childline.
In addition, check the guide of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety.

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying – also called online bullying – is a very complex issue. It can be defined as any behaviour that repeatedly makes someone feel upset, uncomfortable and/or unsafe. This is usually deliberate, and can take forms such as verbal, indirect and physical.
It can be an extension of face-to-face bullying, with the technology offering the bully another route for harassing their victim, or can be simply without motive. It can occur using practically any form of connected media, from nasty text and image messages using mobile phones, to unkind blog and social networking posts, or emails and instant messages, to malicious websites created solely for the purpose of intimidating an individual or virtual abuse during an online multiplayer game. Moreover, (cyber-) bullying can also be done through isolation or exclusion (i.e. someone posts content and no one likes or comments on it).
Cyberbullying differs from other forms of bullying in several ways: it can invade the home and personal space of the victim, the potential size of the audience is much greater, upsetting messages or images can be spread at great speed, and there is difficulty in controlling and/or removing anything posted or circulated electronically. Also, because of its faceless nature, there is often a perceived anonymity to cyberbullying. This can lead to people becoming involved in activities that they wouldn't dream of in the real world, whether as the perpetrator or as a bystander.

eSafety for kids

https://www.betterinternetforkids.eu/

How old do you need to be to open a Facebook / Twitter / Snapchat account?

'Why can't I go on Facebook?' - The question many teachers will face at some point, that's if you haven't already. With the huge number of social media sites available it can be difficult keeping track of what your pupils can use and when. Recent figures show that 78 per cent of children under the age of 13 have at least one social media account, which is the minimum age restrictions for most social media sites. Even with age restrictions in place, many children push their parents to open accounts before they are old enough.
To learn more about the different privacy and safety features of today's most popular applications, used by children and young people (and adults), click here.

How should I behave when communicating with other people online?

All online communities have their own codes of behaviour, sometimes called community guidelines. In eTwinning for example there is a Code of Conduct for all registered users. It is very important that members know and follow the netiquette to create a good working climate and ensure everyone feels safe. In most cases, they are just common-sense rules, good manners and other good practices normally observed in any social interaction. However, it is important to take into account that we are communicating online and we miss very important pieces of information, like tone of voice, gestures, etc. Therefore, it is very easy to misunderstand what others say or take words out of context.
Useful references:
1. eTwinning has its own netiquette rules, have a look at the eTwinning Portal. Available here.
2. Take a look at the guidelines and rules of behaviour implemented in some of the most popular online communities nowadays:
a. Facebook
b. YouTube
c. Twitter
d. Instagram
e. Snapchat
3. Also have a look at the research from Kent County Council.
4. In addition, have a look at the Better Internet for Kids guide to online services, which aims to provide key information about some of the most popular apps, social networking sites and other platforms which are commonly being used by children and young people (and adults) today.

20 November-Universal Children's Day

Every child under the age of 18 has rights. These are things that allow you to live a full life and allow you to live to your fullest potential. Every child around the world has the same rights as you.
Right: the things that allow children to live to their fullest potential
Need: the things that are absolutely necessary for all children to have or be able to do to live a happy and healthy life
Want: the things that are nice to have but are not necessary for a full life
 On 20 November 1959, the United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.^[9] The United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November 1989 and can be found on the Council of Europe website.^[10]The UN General Assembly adopted the Convention and opened it for signature on 20 November 1989 (the 30th anniversary of its Declaration of the Rights of the Child).^[6] It came into force on 2 September 1990, after it was ratified by the required number of nations. Currently, 196 countries are party to it,^[1] including every member of the United Nations except the United States 

 

https://libraryresources.unog.ch/UDHRforchildren/activities

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/childhood-adolescence/national-child-day/activity-kit.html

Halloween 2VYL

Halloween 1

Europe Day 9 May

https://gr.euronews.com/2019/05/08/what-is-europe-day-and-is-anyone-celebrating

Cultural heritage

https://europa.eu/learning-corner/cultural-heritage-detectives_en

St Patrick song

St Patrick ppt

https://www.scribd.com/presentation/401619872/t-c-255231-Ks2-St-Patricks-Day-Powerpoint-English-Ver-5-1

Refugees and Art

Refugee rights

St Patrick's Quiz

ST. PATRICK DAY’S QUIZ

“Irish Quest”                                   

  1. In Ireland, what does the color green stand for?

       a) Spring           b) Countryside            c) Hope

   2. What colors are on the Irish flag?

   3. Where was St. Patrick born?

      

    4. What did St. Patrick do?

      a) He was a great explorer.     B) He was a missionary.       C) He was a war hero.

  5. What is St. Patrick best known for?

   a) Driving the snakes out of Ireland        b) Leading the country to war      c) Discovering Ireland

   6. What is March 17th?

       a) St. Patrick's birthday       b) The day St. Patrick died       c) None of the above

   7. What symbol stands for St. Patrick's day?

  8.  What is a shillelagh?

       a) Leprechaun's outfit           b) Wooden pipe         c) Short, stout, oak club

 9. According to legend, what should you never do if you catch a leprechaun?

  a) Kiss him            b) Take your eyes off him              c) Tell your friends

10. Where in the US, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by an attempt of coloring a river of green?

11. How did St. Patrick get to Ireland?

12. What was St. Patrick given name?

a)Archie Barllow                 b)Felix Abbot                  c) Maewyn Succat

13. When st. Patrick was a slave what was his job?

14. In the past what was the color that represented St Patrick ?

15. When somebody doesn’t wear green on st. Patrick’s Day what happens?

a) pinching          b) spitting         d) kicking