To new beginnings...

choice of the best books, songs and films that came out last year. There will also be a few words on Chinese New Year and some weird festivals celebrated in January and, of course, a few treats for both, students and teachers, as well. Finally, what is January without New Year's resolutions? You'll find quite a few inside and ours is very simple: to be even better in 2014. The last two pages are devoted to one of the best professional experiences we’ve ever had - 1st State Conference for English Teachers in Pula. It is impossible to summarize all of it - you really should have been there.▪ I.P.

Nelson Mandela 2

Events of 2013 4

DIY 5

NY’s Resolutions 6

eTwinning 7

PULA 8

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

ISSUE

09/14

Another year gone by. Whether it's been good or bad - we'll leave up to each and every one of you to decide. However, whether it's been a significant one of not, is out of question. 2013 was the year Sparkles© was born, which was the greatest novelty in our professional world. We've provided a safe haven for all those aspiring to be writers and given a chance to everyone to show us what is going on in their schools. Some of you have seized the opportunity, others haven't. We'll do our best in the future as well to prove to you it is worth your time and effort. This issue of Sparkles© pays tribute to Nelson Mandela who passed away in December since we believe the rare few have left such a trace in the fight for human rights, freedom and democracy. We also bring an overview of 2013 - the key events from our perspective and your

January

2014

Monthly newsletter for and by English learners and teachers

Editors:

Maja Ivanović, prof. Komercijalna i trgovačka škola Bjelovar

Irena Pavlović, prof. mentor Srednja škola Čazma

email: sparkles.newsletter@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sparkles.newsletter

DID YOU KNOW?

CHINESE NEW YEAR

CONTRIBUTORS TO

THIS ISSUE:

Ivan Lukovečki, cartoon artist

Silvije Devald,

eTwinning Ambassador

for Croatia

Martina Šturm,

Senior advisor, Education and

Teacher Training Agency

Izabela Vujučić Capar,

Administrative school Zagreb

Vedrana Dujnić Petrač,

High school Čazma

At Chinese New Year celebrations

people wear red clothes, decorate with

poems on red paper, and give children

lucky money in red envelopes. Red

symbolizes fire, which according to

legend can drive away bad luck. The

fireworks that shower the festivities

are rooted in a similar ancient custom.

Celebration continues with the lantern

festival held on the fifteenth day of the

first lunar month. People hang glowing

lanterns in temples and carry lanterns

to an evening parade under the light of

the full moon. In many areas the highlight of the lan-

tern festival is the dragon dance. The

dragon—sometimes a hundred feet

long—is typically made of silk, paper,

and bamboo. Traditionally the dragon

is held aloft by young men who dance

as they guide the colourful beast

through the streets. ▪ I.P.

The new Chinese year 4712 begins on

Jan. 31, 2014. It is the longest and most

important celebration in the Chinese

calendar. Each month Chinese begins

on the darkest day of the month as

they are reckoned by the lunar calen-

dar. New Year festivities traditionally

start on the first day of the month and

continue until the fifteenth, when the

moon is brightest.

In China, it is customary to take weeks

off to prepare for and celebrate the

New Year. The year to come will be

the year of horse. Why? Well, legend

has it that in ancient times, Buddha

asked all the animals to meet him on

Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and

Buddha named a year after each one.

He announced that the people born in

each animal's year would have some of

that animal's personality. Those born

in horse years are cheerful, good with

money, perceptive, witty and talented.

In 1958 he married a social worker Winnie

Madikizela and they had two daughters. The couple

divorced in 1996. When he and his colleagues were

acquitted in the Treason Trial he went underground

and planned a national strike.

He also helped to establish the armed wing of the

ANC. In 1962 using the adopted name, he left South

Africa secretly and travelled around Africa and visited

England to gain support for the armed struggle. He

received military training in Morocco and Ethiopia.

He was arrested in a police roadblock and charged

with leaving the country illegally and inciting workers

to strike.

He was convicted and sentenced to five years

imprisonment which he began serving in Pretoria.

“He no longer belongs to us, he belongs to the ages.” Barrack Obama, December 5, 2013

Page 2

THIS MONTH’S BUZZ

Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Mvezo, Transkei, on

July 18, 1918. His father died when he was 12. At

primary school in Qunu his teacher Miss Mdingane

gave him the name Nelson, in accordance with the

custom to give all school children “Christian” names.

His university studies were cut short when he was

expelled for joining a student protest but he

completed his BA by correspondence and graduated

in 1943. He registered to study to get a degree in

law, but didn't graduate until 1989 while in the last

months of his imprisonment, he obtained an LLB

through the University of South Africa.

He only joined the African National Congress in 1944

when he helped formed the Youth League. In 1944 he

married Evelyn Mase and they had two sons and two

daughters one of whom died in infancy. They divorced

in 1958. In 1952 he and 19 others were convicted for

their part in a civil disobedience campaign and

sentenced to nine months hard labour suspended for

two years. With a two-year diploma in Law he started

the first black law firm.

He was arrested in a countrywide police swoop in

1955, which led to the 1956 Treason Trial. He was in

the last group of the acquitted in 1961.

If you are interested in having a lesson about Mandela, visit the DOTSact workspace and find the ideas and

teaching materials.

http://moodle.dots.ecml.at/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=209

Page 3

In 1963 he joined ten others on trial for sabotage in

what became known as the Rivonia Trial. Facing the

death penalty his words to the court at the end of

his famous ‘Speech from the Dock’ became

immortalized:

“I have fought against white domination, and I have

fought against black domination. I have cherished

the ideal of a democratic and free society in which

all persons live together in harmony and with equal

opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for

and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for

which I am prepared to die.”

In June 1964 he and seven others were convicted

and sentenced to life imprisonment. His mother

died in 1968 and his eldest son Thembi in 1969. He

was not allowed to attend their funerals. He was

finally released in February 1990.

In 1993 he and President FW de Klerk jointly won the

Nobel Peace Prize and in 1994 he voted for the first

time in his life.

On 10 May 1994 he was inaugurated South Africa’s first

democratically elected President. On his 80th birthday

in 1998 he married Graça Machel, his third wife. He

stepped down in 1999 after one term as President. He

continued to work with the Nelson Mandela Children’s

Fund and established the Nelson Mandela Foundation

and The Mandela Rhodes Foundation.

Nelson Mandela never wavered in his devotion to

democracy, equality and learning. Despite terrible

provocation, he never answered racism with racism.

His life has been an inspiration to all who are oppressed

and deprived, to all who are opposed to oppression and

deprivation. He died at his home in Johannesburg on 5

December 2013 at the age of 95.

adapted from

http://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography

In February Pope Benedict XVI resigned and was succeeded by Pope

Frances a month later. Pope Frances became the most prominent per-

son in 2013, suggesting a new era for the Catholic Church. A few days

after the resignation, meteorites injured hundreds in Russia. The Chely-

abinsk meteor that hit the Southern Ural region had the speed almost

60 times the speed of sound and its light was brighter than the Sun.

Apart from the tragedy, this has great scientific importance and is bound

to be followed by many conspiracy theories. Margaret Thatcher died at

87 in April and Nelson Mandela at 95 in December. With the two of

them passing away, the world is bereft, having lost some of the most

prominent political figures of the 20th century. Scientists successfully

cloned human stem cells, thus offering hope to numerous patients

around the world. Autumn witnessed the US government shutdown,

proving that money really makes the world go round and before the end

of the year China Moon Rover landed on the Moon.▪ I.P.

Major World Events in 2013

As promised… You had fun with some Christmas tasks, so we’re

presenting the winner!

Page 4 STUDENTS’ CORNER

Late December and early January are the

time to look back at the year that has just

gone by and think about the events that

made it memorable. In our bleak world

chances are people will only think of the

negative things that happened, forgetting

those beautiful moments that took our

breath away. Anyway, some events are

more important than others on the great

scale and we have to think about them as

well. A great example of such a retro-

spective is Google Zeitgeist with exten-

sive lists of people, things and events

most commonly mentioned in 2013.

Here's the list of things we believe can be

dubbed major world events in 2013. Let

us know if you agree.

THE BEST OF 2013—

YOUR CHOICE

BOOK

Dan Brown, Inferno

SONG

Justin Timberlake, Mirrors

Rihanna & Mikky Ekko, Stay

FILM

We're the Millers

In England, Christmas is more important

than Easter or Guy Fawkes Night.

For young people in England, Christmas

Eve is a time for going out with friends.

On Christmas morning, there is a sermon

for practicing Christians. Roast turkey is

a typical main course on Christmas day.

Christmas pudding is a typical dessert.

If you stand under the mistletoe, the

host has to kiss you. Young children hang

their stockings for Santa to fill with pre-

sents. People leave refreshments for

Santa. Jingle Bells is a popular Christmas

song. The day after Christmas is called

Boxing Day.

1 Father Christmas and Santa Claus are

two names for the man who brings chil-

dren presents at Christmas.

2 Most families have a small pine tree – a

Christmas tree – which they decorate with

baubles.

3 Santa Claus puts the presents for chil-

dren into their stockings.

4 In Great Britain, children open their

Christmas presents on Christmas morning.

5 Christmas dinner usually consists of

roast turkey, roast potatoes and Christmas

pudding.

6 Christmas pudding is a sweet dish made

with dried fruit.

7 What do we call special songs sung at

Christmas? Christmas Carols

8 It is very prestigious to be number 1 in the

British pop charts at Christmas.

Bob Geldof’s Band Aid made it in 1984 with

a song to help the starving of Ethiopia. The

name of the song is Do they know it`s

Christmas?.

By: Petra Dragojevic 1.B

DIY— A book of love...

You’ll need it soon enough! Page 5

CHECK IT OUT! Have you heard this? Have you seen this? Have you read this?

Tribute is the debut album by John

Newman, a young English singer and

musician. It was released in the UK

on 14 October 2013. The album

includes the singles "Love Me

Again", "Cheating" and "Losing

Sleep"." All the songs peaked on the

UK Singles Chart and soon became

hits all over the world. The unique

timbre of John's voice makes his

songs recognizable from every

verse, and the music and lyrics

make you want to dance. We love

it! ▪ M.I.

One Hundred Names, the new

novel from the bestselling author

Cecelia Ahern, tells us a story about a

journalist whose career is being

destroyed by scandal and she's faced

with losing her mentor and friend.

Before her friend dies she asks her

what the one story she always wanted

to write is. The answer lies in a

mysterious list of 100 names with

nothing to explain what the story is

or who the people are. She has to

track them down and meet them to

find out how they’re all connected. ▪

M.I.

The Butler is a historical fiction

drama directed by Lee Daniels.

Loosely based on the real life of

Eugene Allen, a waiter and butler

who worked for the White House

for 34 years, the film stars Forest

Whitaker. In 2008, an elderly Cecil

Gaines recounts his life story, while

waiting in the White House. As Cecil

Gaines serves eight presidents during

his tenure as a butler at the White

House, the civil rights movement,

Vietnam, and other major events

affect this man's life, family, and

American society. Amazing cast! ▪

M.I.

It's just a deck of regular

playing cards with holes

punched in them, held

together with two key rings. But inside are

w r i t t e n a l l t h e

wonderful things you

want your loved one to know...

Try it out!

NEW YEAR`S RESOLUTIONS

NEWS FROM SCHOOLS

DECEMBER—THE MONTH OF GIVING AND HELPING

The students and teachers of High school Čazma raised

funds by selling their hand-made Christmas decorations

and jewlery to help an 8th grader suffering from

muscular dystrophy get a special

vehicle to be able to attend

school. The whole town

participated to help this worthy

cause.

A New Year's resolution is a promise that you

make to yourself to start doing something good

or stop doing something bad on the first day of

the year. Apparently, the tradition is very old: the

ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods

at the start of each year that

they would return borrowed

objects and pay their debts. The

Romans began each year by

making promises to the god

Janus, for whom the month of

January is named. Medieval

knights took the "peacock vow"

at the end of the Christmas

season each year to re-affirm

their commitment to chivalry

while many Christians prepare

for the year ahead by praying

and making these resolutions.

But the concept, regardless of creed, is to reflect

upon self-improvement annually. Not a bad one,

we may add.

Lea Matošević

1 Everyone will get what they deserve.

2 Devote more time to myself.

3 Don`t waste time on irrelevant people.

4 Don`t panic.

Maja Bundović

1 Get a driver's license.

2 Learn more for school and graduation.

3 Take my homework more seriously.

4 Spend more time with my family and

friends.

5 Get out more.

6 Start exercising.

Marija Jurina

1 Read the Holy Bible

(this time all 1026 pages).

2 Force myself to study.

3 Try not to drive myself crazy.

4 Stop being so addicted to movies and

read a book for a change.

Nives Pleše

1 More studying.

2 Less partying.

3 Stop being such a lazy person.

4 Help people more than I usually help.

Of course, if there's a day to celebrate New

Years and to make resolutions for the upcoming

year, then there should be a day to ditch those

resolutions. That day is celebrated on January

17th. The reason is simple: New Year's resolu-

tions are never easy to ac-

complish. If they were, we

wouldn't need special

preparations to stick to

them. So, for the majority,

New Year's resolutions are

hanging heavily over their

heads. They have become a

burden, and perhaps were

not such a good idea after

all. (The others, those lucky

few who stick to them even

after Epiphany are well

along the way to accom-

plishing them.) If you belong to the first category,

if you haven't accomplished, broken, or given up

your New Year's resolutions so far, January 17th

is your chance to get out from under them. ▪ I.P.

Commercial and trade school Bjelovar bought and

collected food and other household supplies and made

packages for underprivileged families whose children

attend the school and

delivered those packages to

their homes. Many of those

families wouldn’t have been

able to celebrate Christmas

otherwise. Page 6

Page 7

eTwinning projects offer a new

environment for teaching. Pupils are

encouraged to communicate with their peers

from other European countries, they do the

work at home or online, learn about European

cultures and learn in an informal way. Using a

computer for learning, especially with younger

learners is something new and attractive and

they gladly take part in such projects.

Apart from helping to enrich your

teaching, eTwinning also provides an array of

CPD opportunities for teachers: there are

learning labs, groups and professional

development workshops available to all

eTwinners and an annual conference for

winners of national prizes for best projects. ▪

S.D.

www.etwinning.net

– a European Dimension in the Classroom

eTwinning is an Internet portal started by the European Commission in 2006 with the goal of promoting online European cooperation in education using foreign

languages and ICT tools.

The portal functions on three levels:

Portal, Desktop and Twinspace. The portal is a

rich resource bank with numerous examples

and incentives for cooperation. The Desktop

serves as a social network; you set up a profile,

search for prospective project parners, keep a

list of professional contacts. The Twinspace is a

work area, a place to publish your project

work, check the progress of the project and

collaborate with your parners. A feature that

differentiates eTwinning from anything else is

that it a safe online environment; all teachers'

identities are verified by their national agencies

and all pupils there have been invited by their

teachers.

TEACHERS’ CORNER

Education and Teacher Training Agency

organized a State Conference for English

Teachers entitled Development and

improvement of professional competences

of English Teachers, which lasted from

January 7 to 9, 2014 in Pula. The aim

and the guiding principle for the

organization of the Conference was to

enable the participants to expand their

knowledge and skills in teaching the

English language beyond the practical

and methodological competences they

already have.

Apart from the three plenary lectures -

TEFL in Croatia today: Something old,

something new, something borrowed,

something blue, Stres učitelja i nastavnika

and Kako čovjek uči?, participants were

given a choice among eight workshops

to pick four to attend. The topics were

diverse - Rad s učenicima s teškoćama u

učenju, Prezentacijske vještine, Stvaranje

uvjeta za poticanje i razvijanje kritičkog

mišljenja, Vještina slušanja govora, Njega

glasa i izgovora, Hrvatski jezik za svaki

dan, Listen to my body talk, Građanski

odgoj u nastavi engleskoga jezika - which

gave everyone a chance to find

something for themselves.

PLENARY LECTURES

Stres učitelja i nastavnika prof. dr.sc. Majda Rijavec

Kako čovjek uči? mr. Predrag Pale

TEFL in Croatia today: Something old, something new, something

borrowed, something blue prof. dr. sc. Jelena Mihaljević

Djigunović

I would like to take this opportunity

to share my gratitude for moral and

practical support in organizing this

three-day event to Irena Pavlović and

Maja Ivanović. Girls, you’re the best!▪

M.Š.

Martina Šturm, prof. Senior Advisor, Education and

Teacher Training Agency

I was so happy to have the opportunity to attend State Conference for English Teachers in Pula from 7 to 9 January

2014. Apart from attending three great plenary sessions,we had the chance to participate in 4 different workshops (among eight) and these are the ones I have chosen.

I couldn't have started better; the first one

was “Njega glasa i izgovora“ by dr. sc. Gabrijela Kišiček who showed us some

excellent exercises which can improve our voices and help us save the most precious

tool for our job. I enjoyed all the tasks and it was really funny when we had to repeat different tongue twisters.

Then I joined many others who chose

another workshop called “Stvaranje uvjeta za poticanje i razvijanje kritičkog

mišljenja“ held by Eni Surić Faber. This teacher's workshop was also very useful

because it refreshed our memory when it comes to critical thinking. I loved working in groups, discussing humanistic approach in education, comparing our school system

with what we read during the workshop.

The third workshop “Hrvatski jezik za svaki dan“ was something

completely different and according to the latest Croatian

ortography. After this workshop I know what (not) and how I have to write in Croatian – I'm greatful to

you, (should I put a comma here?!) Nikolina Huđber Mesar!

And the last workshop just beautifully brought it all to a

perfect end: Irena Pavlović and Maja Ivanović, both English teachers in secondary schools put

a lot of enthusiasm into their workshop “Listen to my body talk“.

Working in groups, acting and enjoying it all – we went through

accepted non verbal behaviours and those we should try to avoid.

Once again all my colleagues proved not only to be just teachers but actors,

singers, players, mimers and much more as well. I only hope we'll all meet

soon again. ▪ I.V.C.

There were three lectures and eight workshops organized for us to attend, but there was time for only four workshops, so we had to choose. I chose the following: Working with pupils with learning disabilities, Presentation skills, Voice as a nonverbal sign (voice care and vocal exercises) and Citizenship education in the teaching of English. Working with pupils who have learning disabilities was a

very interesting and motivating workshop. The lecturer, Jadranka Bjelica, reminded us of our impor-tance in the classroom and how great our influence on our students is. She talked a lot about class management and the right kind of communication – assertive one. She stressed the fact that we should look at our students with learning disabilities as challenges, not problems, and we were given a handout with motivating strategies when

working with children who have learning disabilities and another one with the symptoms of dyslexia and some general advice on how to work with them. Presentation skills was an impressive workshop held by Željka Kamenov. In a very dynamic and interesting way she taught us how to give successful presentations. She warned us of the five biggest mistakes people make in their presentations, like too much information, no clear message, a lecture which is too long… We heard about the qualities of a good presentation and got a handout with the tips how to be successful in our presentations.

Gabrijela Kišiček had a very useful workshop where she talked about voice as a nonverbal sign and showed us how to take care of our own voices. She convinced us we had to do it in order to: prevent vocal disorders, achieve better communication and better expression and because of aesthetics. She showed us we could do it by working on our awareness of voice, knowledge of voice production, good vocal techniques and vocal hygiene.

Then we all stood in a circle and tried some vocal exercises. We were also given handouts with those exercises so we could do them at home. The last workshop I attended was Citizenship education in the teach-ing of English held by Jasna Kraljić Cmrk. She talked about her school which is in the experi-mental programme introducing citizenship education into our school programmes. She also talked about how we, as teachers of English, can and should do it with our programmes and through our classes. We worked in groups and made a lesson plan with a topic related to citizenship education. This lecturer as well gave us a detailed handout with examples of how to integrate citizenship education into English classes and all the useful resources. ▪ V.D.P.

1st State Conference for English Teachers in Pula

TEACHERS’ CORNER