ABC Student News: Recycling Campaign

IGCA Team is promoting Recycling at school this month. Next monday (Monday 22nd) we will be celebrating Recycling day at school and everyone who has bought the Water Bottle, will be able to wear a green t-shirt to celebrate this day.

If you want to help with this Recycling Campaign, buy the water bottle and wear a green t-shirt on monday. Also, bring Recycling materials this friday because the class with more Recycling materials will have a Pizza Party next friday.

Little by Little we will make a difference

Posted by: Ingrid Orellana

ABC Student News: Curious Facts

Blue M&M's might be able to treat spinal injuries, scientists say

Researchers have been testing the effects of a compound called "Brilliant Blue G" on lab rats. The compound is a blue dye found in blue M&M's that gives them their distinctive color.

The researchers injected rats with spinal injuries with Brilliant Blue G. The compound improved recovery and reduced the lesions that came along with the injury. The way it worked is that the compound blocks another chemical that causes more cell damage during an injury, thus reducing the "secondary spinal cord damage" that the chemical causes. The result? The rats with spinal injuries that received treatment with Brilliant Blue G were able to walk again, while the control group rats that weren't treated were not. 

Now, before you start picking out blue M&M's to put into your first aid kit, it's important to note that the dye was only effective 15 minutes after sustaining the injury, it has to be absorbed intravenously, and one of the side effects is that the rats' skin turned blue.

Written by: Camila Vega 

ABC Student News: Book Review

Erin Dionne - Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies

Rating: 5 stars!!!

Although I would recommend this for some younger female readers, I do admit it’s a fun read for the rest of the school girl population. If I didn’t make it clear before, there is absolutely no doubt that this book is aimed for girls – starting with the fact that the book’s central character is a 12 year old girl struggling through the infinite drama that is “pre-pubescence”; and the fact that this 12 year old girl is also trying to get out of a beauty pageant by losing weight. [I think we just lost some of the boys!] But, if you’re a boy - you’ve made it this far, what’s a couple of more lines? So… as said before, the book is basically about a slightly overweight 12 year old girl who is basically entered into a beauty pageant for “Husky Peaches”, against her will. So, as her last desperate attempt to get out of the pageant, she decides to lose weight in order to be disqualified from the pageant. The book transcends from her decision to lose weight to her actual procedure to do so - as many other things go on in her life throughout the book.

The Critic’s Corner: Bravo Erin Dionne, Bravo… Maybe it’s a biased opinion, but if I was Dali I’d artistically twirl my mustache at both its ends in admiration of the ART! Just saying… Not that it’s a perfect book but the way in which its unique plot harmoniously intertwines with its witty style deserves my round of applause. The fact that you can actually relate to Celeste [the central character of the story] – no matter who you are - and the fact that it’s Celeste that narrates the story throughout the whole book, immediately connects you to her world and makes you part of the book. In other words, Dionne’s attempt to connect the reader to the novel gives the reader a solid perspective of the story and also leaves the reader with no doubt on her mind on what the writer meant. So, next time you’re looking for a fun read, I’d recommend this book! Remember me when I say that after you finish this book: your review won’t vary much from mine.

Written by: Celina Milla

ABC Student News: International News

If Napoleon Bonaparte was alive, how would he react to these news?

 France and England have recently agreed to join their armies to cut costs down.

London, UK - During the past 2^nd of November, new treaties on defence and nuclear joint were signed by two of Europe’s nuclear powers, England and France, despite the fact of being enemies in historical battles such as the one in Agincourt and Waterloo.

After having signed the agreements along with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, current prime minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, stated: “ Today we open a new chapter in a long history of co-operation on defence and security between Britain and France.”

On one of the two treaties, both heads of state committed their armies to work “more closely than ever before”, by setting up a “combined expeditionary force” of 5, 000 soldiers from both sides, as well as agreeing to share at least one aircraft carrier at sea between them. On the other treaty, both countries agreed to increase co-operation on “nuclear safety” during the next 50 years. This nuclear treaty will involve the establishment of a centre in the UK for the development of testing technology and another one in France to carry out the actual nuclear testing.

The ultimate goal of such treaties, Sarkozy and Cameron said, was “to save millions of pounds without undermining national sovereignty”.

Will these old rivals actually be able to work together in an attempt to prevent future nuclear wars and cut costs, or will this strategic move lead to yet more tension? Let’s hope for the best.

By: Gerardo Blandón

ABC Student News: Curious Facts

Gadsby: A Story of Over 50,000 Words without Using the Letter "E"

Gadsby: Champion of youth is a 1939 novel by Ernest Vincent Wright. The plot revolves around the dying fictional city of Branton Hills, which is revitalized thanks to the efforts of protagonist John Gadsby and a youth group he organizes.

The 136-page novel is written as a lipogram and does not include words that contain the letter "e". The novel's 50,110 words don't contain a single "e." In Gadsby's introduction Wright says his primary difficulty was avoiding the "-ed" suffix for past tense verbs. He focused on using verbs that don't take the -ed suffix and constructions with "do" (for instance "did walk" instead of "walked"). Scarcity of word options also drastically limited discussion involving quantity, pronouns, and many common words. Wright was unable to talk about any quantity between six and thirty. Wright used abbreviations on occasion, but only if the full form is similarly lipogrammatic, such as with "Dr.", and "P.S.". Wright "blacked" the E key of the typewriter with string, so as to forbid E-words that might slip in... and many did try to do so. Wright's book inspired other "lipogrammatic" works, including the famous novel A Void, which doesn't use the letter A.

Written by: Camila Vega

ABC Student News: Media Influence

Media Influence

What did magazines all had in common last summer? All of the issues released in May, June or even July had one thing in common. Many of these articles were titled as: The Best Suit for Your Body Type, The Year's Hottest Suits, Create Your Own Suit, Get a thin body in just 10 days – you get the idea right?

In spite of the summer theme, each magazine promotes sunless tanning and safe sun exposure, which is a good thing. The bad thing is? Advertisements and the way, we as teens are influenced by these adverts and these ideas that are being promoted.

Adverts seem to be featuring LOTS of skinny, tall and “perfect girls” nowadays. Other than that, all of the magazines were loaded with fashion and beauty advice, each featured several true life stories from the merely humiliating to the terrifying stories that people tell, then we had the stories from celebrities and their careers, boyfriends/girlfriends, piercings, etc. Last but not least, each had its own section devoted to “boys”. Not FOR boys, you understand, ABOUT boys. How to talk to them, approach them, rate them, understand them, date them, and dump them.

So, basically the porpoise of this is to understand that we are unique people and each day the media is bombarding us with ideas of how love, life, family, relationships and many others should be. What we, as teens should do is try to not be influenced by these ideas firstly because as Irene C.Kassorla once stated, we should “have control of the authorship of our own destiny.  The pen that writes our life story must be held in our own hand”, so next time you read or watch an advert keep in mind that these are just trying to sell ideas, but you are the one who will decide whether to believe it or not

Written by: Ingrid Orellana

ABC Student News: United Nations Celebration

The video above was produced by the IGCA team at ABC and it summarises valuable information on the UN celebration that was held today at school

Posted by: Ingrid Orellana

ABC Student News: Editorial

NOT enough streets for so many holes

Of the five taxes charged into the gasoline of the Salvadorian drivers, one of them is to cover the costs of the FOVIAL, but I think that the citizens have enough arguments to tell that what they told about the money charged for the FOVIAL costs isn’t true, but a mere lie. After all this past raining months and days we can confirm that the streets have had damage and some even started to sink, but the FOVIAL isn’t there when it happens, they only do something when this problems becomes public in the news, then they go and solve the problem.  Many of the streets have suffered damages which are ignored by the FOVIAL completely, but then my question is, if the FOVIAL doesn’t use the money for solving the road network problems, then for what do they use it? Does the FOVIAL even have the money, or is the government using it for something else? If we continue this way in no time we will have to expand the streets to give more space for the holes to expanse! Nearly every street in El Salvador has holes nowadays. Some people say that the FOVIAL has distorted their duty, to reconstruct and improve the road network, they receive 66millions yearly, but some says that that isn’t enough, but I think people wouldn’t care to pay a little more if the FOVIAL REALLY did their job.

Written by: Paola Soundy

ABC Student News: International News

THE ‘REAL’ ORIGIN OF HALLOWEEN

Halloween is round the corner, there are only 2 days left for one of the most popular celebration in North America and Europe to take place; and although in our country many do have the concept of the modern celebration, homogenization has not be influential enough to propagate the epidemic celebration in every Salvadorian home. However, the different believes around the origin of Halloween rose 220% this week between adults and children all over the world, perhaps to settle and debate on the different points of view of cultural or religious believers.

Although nowadays Halloween consists for the youngest on tricking and treating around streets to ask for enormous and delicious candy as an award to their fun and complexed costumes; the truth is that around the 800’s when this tradition arose it did not have that meaning but certain accepts were in fact similar to those practiced today.

Originally, the festival came from the Celtic holiday Samhain which means summer's end, and celebrated the end of fall and the beginning of winter. This day also marked the Celts' version of the New Year — and the time, they believed, when the dead came back to roam the earth. 

Ancestors were honored, but evil spirits were warded off by lighting bonfires and wearing costumes to hide from them. Turnips carved with faces got placed in windows to scare off the unwelcome undead. People would go "a-souling," and in exchange for food and drink, pray for a household's dead relatives. In Scotland, spirits were impersonated by men wearing all white with veiled faces. Sound familiar?

The entire tradition was a clash between this Celt tradition and the Roman Catholicism tradition of Feralia which consisting in honoring their deaths – and which is still celebrated on November 2^nd all around Christian nations, including ours – and which is now called All Saints Day. In the middle of the 19^th century Irish immigrants brought Halloween to American and it expanded and was transformed to now produce over $2 billion for all candy producers in the United States.

Written by: Fabiola Wollants

ABC Student News: International News

Chilean miners RESCUED!

Santiago, Chile, October 14^th- After more than two months of being buried under the Chilean desert, the last of the 33 trapped miners was pulled to safety, ending with what seemed to be an everlasting ordeal faster than anyone expected.

By: Gerardo Blandón.

At 9:56 p.m. (local time), Luis Urzua, the miner’s shift commander, who with his fellow workers survived since the past October 5^th entombed 700 metres under a Chilean mine, was rescued last and brought to the surface of ‘Esperanza (Hope)’ Camp. As the miner’s chief who demonstrated great leadership skills for the 17 agonizing days it took for rescuers to reach them, Urzua was received at the top with interminable applauses and jubilant cheers.

“We have done what the entire world was waiting for," he told Chilean president Sebastian Piñera right after being rescued. “The 70 days that we fought so hard were not in vain.”

Urzua, as well as his fellow miners, thanked Mr. Piñera and the drilling mining companies for making the rescue possible, yet the whole Chilean community expressed their gratitude to Urzua for having been such a great captain whilst the workers were trapped underground, always being  protective of his fellow miners.

As the news spread that the last miner was finally rescued, various presidents of Latin-American countries and from all over the world managed to contact President Piñera to congratulate him for the success of the rescue.  Such stunt will go down in history and hopefully serve as a lesson to mining companies on a global scale to give more protection to their miners.

Written by: Gerardo Blandon

ABC Student News: University of Notre Dame

Recently we had the pleasure of having the University of Notre Dame du Lac, which is simply known as Notre Dame. It’s a private Catholic University located in Indiana, United States. This university was founded by Father Edward Sorin back in 1842, and was an all-male institution; it wasn’t until 1972 that the university started enrolling women.

At Notre Dame they are organized into different departments, colleges and schools, they are: School of Architecture, College of Arts and Letters (which is the oldest, established in 1842), Mendoza College of Business, College of Engineering, First Year of Studies, The Graduate School, The Law School and the College of Science. Notre Dame is well known for their sports programs, they currently offer football, basketball, tennis, fencing, soccer, cross country, golf, hockey, swimming and diving.

In terms of costs, Notre Dame’s estimates student expenses for international students for the academic year 2011-2012 being of $54,800. Therefore it’s important to keep in mind that year after year the expenses increases. However, Notre Dame does offer financial aid, which you can find more on this on the link below:

http://financialaid.nd.edu/prospective/international_student_financial_aid.shtml.

Notre Dame’s early action application deadline is on November 1^st, and its regular application deadline is on 31^st December. Some of the required examinations are SAT I: Reasoning Test (1390-1490 on Critical Reading and Maths only) or ACT (32 – 34). The university encourages their prospective students to apply through Commonapp, however if you want to print your application and mail it to them, feel free to do so. The TOEFL or IELTS is needed too.

But, if you’re interested on going to study in Australia, there are three University of Notre Dame campuses. They are located in Fremantle, Broome and Sydney.

For more information you can visit the website of University of Notre Dame:

v  University of Notre Dame USA : http://www.nd.edu/

v  University of Notre Dame Australia :  http://www.nd.edu.au/index.shtml

Written by: Cindy Cordova

ABC Student News

ABC student news
Last week (27th September to 1st October)
This Friday 1st October was the end of civic month celebrations (various assemblies took place). And we all celebrated ‘Kids Day,’ the LRC staff was giving out sweets to all students who showed up. The 29th September was the PAES examination for grade 12th.

Upcoming events
This 7th of October is the PK curriculum night. 9th of October will be Empowerment Day for grade 11 but this could change ,many of the 12th grade prefects will be doing at their SAT examination, so if this date is moved it will be the following Saturday, 16th of October, this event will take place on school from 8:30 -3:00 pm. 

Written by: Alejandra Zelaya

ABC Student News: Editorial

Articulo – Editorial
México.- “Mujeres Trabajando juntas: Impulsando la Perspectiva de Género en la Agenda Legislativa”

En México las mujeres se han unido y han hecho movimientos feministas internacionales y los acuerdos de esto se ha dado a nivel mundial. Las legisladoras mexicanas están logrando el avance de las mujeres por las reformas del marco jurídico. El objetivo de esta reforma es corregir el rumbo y las estrategias para lograr la erradicación de la desigualdad. Esto aunque no parezca es muy común en muchos países, por ejemplo en El Salvador se ve mucho esto ya que las personas que llegan a puestos de vice presidentes en adelante en las empresas son generalmente hombres, y raras veces ha habido mujeres en el puesto de presidente de una nación. Las legisladoras quieren que la igualdad sea más allá que ideologías hacia la igualdad ya que no es justo que haya una diferencia marcada entre el hombre y la mujer cuando estamos igualmente capacitados para la mayoría de trabajos. Esto solo se podrá lograr con unidad y la solidaridad de todas las mujeres, ya que a pesar que se decreto la igualdad para ambos géneros hace mucho tiempo, eso no es completamente cierto porque aun nos diferencian desde niños con el rosado y el azul, y que las niñas son débiles, y los niños fuertes, etc.… esto que inculcan desde pequeños a los niños es incorrecto ya que están creando esa desigualdad y diferencia entre ambos emocionalmente. Yo opino que está muy bien lo que estas legisladoras mexicanas piensan hacer para México, y creo que los otros países deberían actuar así, ya que en muchos países existe el machismo, y en otros como en El Salvador, muchas oportunidades están limitadas por nuestro género.

Written by: Paola Soundy

ABC Student News: School News

Peace One Day

We have been celebrating Peace One Day now for decades, and every time our community does this, the whole school seems to unite in peace and selfless fun! This organisation is known worldwide and it has seemly had a huge impact on our school. This year, our student council presidents decided to give out white ribbons symbolising this commemorative day. With this, representatives walked the ABC hallways asking for donations and remembering why Peace One Day is truly about. You could feel the smiles and the tranquillity all through the student body, and it was beyond doubt  one of the best feelings one can experience and share with others. Congrats, everyone! It’s not just a day but one whole year full of peace in the ABC!

ABC Student News: University Information

Study in France

Last Saturday 26^th September, the “Alliance Francaise” of El Salvador offered a conference about studying in France in their facilities, for any student that wants to achieve a higher education in France.

During the conference it was said that there are around 3500 educational institutions, between public and private.  They offer “licence”, “master” and “doctorat”.  In France school starts in September and it’s recommended that the student starts to organize paper work with a year in advance. For all foreign students that aren’t European and want to study in France, they need to contact with the French embassy of El Salvador, in order to obtain further information and how to obtain a visa. There is also a website for scholarships available for students, which is http://www.campusfrance.org/en/index.htm. This website is in three languages: French, English and Spanish, making it simple to understand. It’s easy to use depending on what you’re looking for, there’s plenty of information ranging from: finding the course you want, to grants, to reasons why to study in France and information on studying and living in France.

If you’re thinking of studying in France most universities will ask you for the Diplôme d’études en langue française (DELF) level B2, as this will show that you have a solid French level in order to attend school in France. You can take this exam in the “Alliance Française” here in El Salvador, it costs $100 to take the exam and the passing mark is 50 out of the 100 points. However, there is the possibility of studying in France and having your classes taught in English, you can find more information in the website of campusfrance.org, where there’s the option of searching for universities in France that have programs taught in English (http://www.campusfrance.org/fr/d-catalogue/programs_taught_english/programs.html).  

For more information you can visit:

CampusFrance for Central America  (www.ameriquecentrale.campusfrance.org),

French Embassy (www.ambafrance-sv.org, info@ambafrance-sv.org)

Alianza Francesa de San Salvador: (www.afelsalvador.com, biblioteca@afelsalvador.com)

Written by: Cindy Cordova

ABC Student News: Noticias Nacionales

Sindicalistas cierran instalaciones de Medicina Legal

Miembros del Sindicato de Trabajadores del Instituto de Medicina Legal mantienen cerradas varias sedes de la institución en todo El Salvador. Sin embargo, se informó que ya han establecido una mesa de negociación con un magistrado de la Corte Suprema de Justicia con el objetivo de llegar a un acuerdo y finalizar con el cierre.

La medida comenzó hoy a las 8:00 de la mañana, cuando se impidió que personal de la institución saliera a realizar levantamientos de cadáveres en la sede central, ubicada en San Salvador, así como en las de Santa Tecla, Chalatenango y San Vicente.

Según notificaron, como primer punto exigen la destitución del actual director de Medicina Legal, Mario Alfredo Hernández Gavidia.

En segundo lugar, se quejan de la sobrecarga laboral que experimentan en todas las sedes regionales, lo cual se suma a las deficientes condiciones de infraestructura y equipo.

La tercera petición va encaminada a lograr que el bono navideño que reciben los empleados del sector justicia sea de $1,000 para todos los trabajadores.La medida continuará hasta que los sindicalistas obtengan una respuesta favorable de parte de los magistrados de la Cortes Suprema de Justicia.

El Salvador cerró fin de semana con 19 homicidios

En los tres primeros días del mes de Octubre, ya se registran 32 homicidios, un promedio de 11 por día. Hasta el día de ayer se totalizaban 3,051 salvadoreñas y salvadoreños asesinados en 2010. El recién pasado mes de Septiembre, la policía informó sobre una sensible reducción en el promedio diario de asesinatos, cuando se contabilizaron siete por día.

Jóvenes en apoyo a la comunidad

Son dos proyectos excepcionales y novedosos. Ambos nacieron en instituciones educativas que son parte del proyecto de Servicio Social Estudiantil de LA PRENSA GRÁFICA.

Radio Halcón es el proyecto de una emisora web que dirigen dos estudiantes de tercer año de bachillerato del Instituto nacionall Simón Bolívar (INSIBO), de San Salvador.

Xoami es el grupo musical formado por alumnos de bachillerato del Complejo Educativo de Ciudad Delgado.

Una radio para expresarse

Saúl Heriberto Navarro y Erick Alexander Beltrán son dos estudiantes de tercer año de bachillerato del Institutonacional Simón Bolívar, que ocupan su tiempo libre para manejar y programar una radio en internet llamada Halcón. El objetivo que estos jóvenes buscan es transmitir programas donde los estudiantes de la institución y demás radioescuchas tengan la oportunidad de expresarse, retroalimentarse y escuchar temáticas de interés social, educativo y cultural.

MINED enseña a estudiantes sus derechos ante la criminalidad

Autoridades del Ministerio de Educación (MINED) y representantes del Ministerio de Justicia y Seguridad Publica presentaron esta mañana a estudiantes de los Centros Escolares San Simón y Antonio Najarro, del municipio de Mejicanos, el programa de” Educación Legal Popular”.

De acuerdo con autoridades del MINED, este proyecto busca dar a conocer a los alumnos sus derechos frente a la ola de criminalidad que agobia el país.

Mejicanos es unos de los municipios del gran San Salvador que afronta de manera más recrudecida los flagelos de la violencia.  El pasado 20 de junio registró uno de los hechos más violentos cuando pandilleros quemaron una unidad del transporte colectiva con sus pasajeros a bordo, dejando como resultado 14 personas fallecidas.


Written by: Julia Navarro

ABC Student News: Book Review

Margaret Peterson Haddix – The Missing Series: Book 1 “FOUND”

Even though its cover might fool you into believing it’s yet another airplane sabotage story, there’s actually more to this book than you might think.

The Plot: An unknown airplane lands on an airline’s gate, without being noticed by the airport’s radar or personnel. Besides its unbelievably mysterious appearance at the airport, there’s more: no pilot, no flight attendants and no adults for that matter, just… babies. Undoubtedly, a bizarre beginning for Haddix, but a very unique attempt to keep the reader hooked until the book ends. Chapter 2 continues with the story, 13 years after the event. It introduces us to the lives of a 2 new characters: Jonah and Chip, interestingly both 13 and even more interestingly Jonah is openly adopted. Could they somehow be linked to the airport’s bizarre mystery?

The Critic’s Review: The book carries an unbelievably strong story and it never fails to give the reader that urge to keep on turning those pages. However, somewhere in the middle of the story reading becomes an unbelievable nuisance with every turning of the page. Why? The story is too focused on the process to finding the solution that… well… nothing happens. It’s a good way to keep the suspense going, and eventually something does happen in the story, but to keep the reader waiting that long for the story’s solution without any action whatsoever? Having said that, though there is a moment towards the middle of the book in which the reader fights the urge to close the book, *SPOILER* there is an unbelievable ending to this book as a prize for those who just kept on flipping those pages until the very end. Also, did I mention there’s a moral to this story?

Moral: NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER.

ABC Student News: International News

Chile: Miner’s might get rescued this weekend

The 33 miners that are currently trapped underground since more than two months ago under the San José gold and copper mine in the North of Chile might get rescued over the course of this weekend.

With the drilling done so far, drilling mining company Geotec has managed to dig up to 464 metres deep down the soil, leaving the company with only 160 metres to reach the refuge where the 33 miners are at the moment. Thus, Geotec’s President, Pedro Buttazzoni, has currently announced that his team expects to reach the miner’s refuge in a matter of three or four days, even though the Chilean government planned to rescue the miners in mid-October.

The notable progress done so far by Geotec seem to point to the idea that the Chilean miners might get saved before the initial expected rescue date, which was at the end of this year, near Christmas. With Buttazoni regarding the rescuing of the 33 miners during the next few days as ‘perfectly possible’, a sense of jubilation began to arise amongst the anxious crowd gathered at Camp Esperanza (Hope) – the community that has sprung at the surface of the mine conformed by the families of the miners, emergency services, and fellow construction workers.

After 60 days of torture, the 33 miners trapped 2,300 feet underground since a rockslide on August 5, as well as their families and friends, grasp to the idea that the end to what seemed to be an everlasting ordeal will soon come to an end.

A sense of joy took over the miner’s families and friends as they heard the good news. It all points to the idea that the rescue is near.

Written by: Gerardo Blandon

ABC Student News: Curious Facts

How Much Weight Can One Human Hair Hold?

From Rapunzel to the Hair Club Men, hair holds a prominent role in culture and society. But the story goes deeper. Some scientists believe that different kinds of hair evolved for different reasons, such as curly hair to keep people cool in warmer climates and straight hair to keep those in colder climates warm. In fact, so much of your body heat escapes from your head that it is no wonder that hair plays at least some part in keeping your body warm. But how much weight can your hair actually hold?

Dr. Frederic Leroy estimates that a head of human hair (about 150,000 strands) is strong enough to support the weight of two full grown elephants; that’s twelve tons! Even a single hair can support a surprising amount – 3 ounces (which is like a travel-sized bottle of shampoo). If a human were to attempt to climb a rope of human hair like in the fairy tale “Rapunzel,” it is estimated that a 63 lb person could climb a 90-foot tower! 

Pound for pound, hair is as strong as Kevlar, so enough hair could stop bullets and arrows. One woman reported that her hair weaved deflected a bullet that could have killed her! 

Written by: Camila Vega