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Public Primary School of N. Potidea

Chalkidiki, Greece

Our English Newspaper

Issue 1

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Festive British and

American Customs

An Interview with

the Headmistress

A day in my life

Our Multicultural

Class

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 A day in my life

My name is Konstantina. I am ten years old. I get up at 7.35.

Then, I always watch TV for a while. Then, I go to school.

At school, we learn Maths, English, History, Language,

Geography and PE. School starts at 8.10 and it ends at 2.00.

When I get home from school, I do my homework. I play with

my friends and with my pets, a dog and a cat. I like reading

tales with witches. I also like playing computer games. In the

evening I watch some TV and at 10.00 I go to bed.

My name’s Christopher. I get up at 7.30 in

the morning and I get ready for school. I

brush my teeth, I wash my face and I havebreakfast.

After school we eat lunch and I do my

homework. In the afternoon, I play with my

friends at the park.

Every Monday, Tuesday and Friday I have

kick boxing practice. At 10.00 I go to bed.

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HALLOWEEN

HALLOWEEN

Halloween is a celebration observed in a number of countries on 31

October. According to BBC Online,  it is "widely believed" that many

Halloween traditions originated from the ancient Celtic harvest festival

Samhain,  and that this Gaelic observance was Christianized by the early

Church.  Samhain and other such festivals may have also

had pagan roots. Some, however, support the view that Halloween began

independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising),

attending Halloween costume parties, decorating,  carving

pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns,  lighting bonfires, apple

bobbing and divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, 

telling scary stories and watching horror films.  In many parts of the

world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including

attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead,

remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular

celebration. Some Christians historically abstained from meat on AllHallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain foods on

this vigil day, including apples, colcannon, potato pancakes and soul cakes. 

BRITISH AND AMERICAN CUSTOMS

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THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in Canada andthe United States. It was originally celebrated as a day of giving thanks

for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Thanksgiving is

celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth

Thursday of November in the United States. Several other places around

the world observe similar celebrations. Although Thanksgiving has

historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been

celebrated in a secular manner as well.

United Kingdom 

The Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving does not have an official date in the

United Kingdom, however it is traditionally held on or near the Sunday of

the harvest moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. Harvest

Thanksgiving in Britain pre-dates Christianity when the Saxons would

offer the first sheaf of corn to fertility gods. When the harvest was

finally collected, communities would come together for a harvest supper.

When Christianity arrived in Britain many traditions remained, and today

Harvest Thanksgiving is marked by churches and schools in late

September/early October (same as Canada) with singing, praying and

decorating with baskets of food and fruit to celebrate a successful

harvest and to give thanks. Collections of food are usually held which are

then given to local charities which help the homeless and those in need.

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CHRISTMAS TIME

Christmas (which means "Feast day of Christ") is a Christian holiday that

refers to the birth of Jesus (whom Christians believe is the Son of God),

and a cultural holiday for non-Christians.

The day known as Christmas Day is celebrated on the 25th day of

December. It is one of the most important days of the year for

Christians, along with Easter when the death and resurrection of

Jesus are celebrated. The season of preparing for Christmas is

called Advent and begins on a Sunday about four weeks before Christmas.

The Christmas Season (called Christmastide) ends on January 6 or the

Twelfth Day of Christmas, in which Epiphany  is remembered.

Christmas is celebrated all over the world, as a religious holiday or as a

time of celebration by Christians and non-Christians alike.

The traditions are different from country to country, but they nearly

always include a feast, giving gifts or cards, and enjoying church or public

festivities such as singing Christmas carols and songs. Santa Claus is atradition in many countries of the world.

Christmastime, as it is often called, is in the winter of the Northern

Hemisphere, at a time when there were already ancient festivals. Some of

the traditions that are used for Christmas are older than Christmas, or

come from other non-Christian traditions such as Yule. Modern traditions

of Christmas often focus on the giving of gifts.  The season for retail

stores to sell gifts, food, greeting cards, Christmas trees, 

and decorations begins the day about a month before Christmas Day.

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NEW YEAR’S EVE 

In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, the last day of the year, is

on December 31. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated at

evening social gatherings, where many people dance, eat, drink alcoholicbeverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the new year. Some

people attend a watch night service. The celebrations generally go on past

midnight into January 1 (New Year's Day).

Samoa and parts of Kiribati are the first places to welcome the New Year

while Baker Island, in the United States, is among the last.

Greece

New Year's Eve in Greece has many traditions. During the day, children

sing the New Year's carols to be given money or treat. Then, it is time to

have family lunch or dinner. In the evening, people cook a pie named

"King's pie” (Vassilopita ), which is a cake flavored with almonds. Following

tradition, they put a coin wrapped in aluminium foil inside the pie.

During the family dinner, the hostess puts some of her jewelry in a plate

and serves it in the side of the table, as a symbol of the coming year's

prosperity. After the dinner is over, the dish is not washed until the nextday. The reason for that is that Saint Vassilis (Greek Santa Claus) is

awaited during the New Year's Eve and it is considered common courtesy

to leave some food for the traveler who visits the house to bring the

presents during the night.

When midnight arrives, the families count down and then they turn off all

the lights and reopen their eyes to "enter the year with a new light".

After the fireworks show, they cut the "Vassilopita" and serve it. The

person that gets the wrapped coin is the lucky person of the day and he is

also blessed for the rest of the year. Gifts exchanges may follow.

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Students: Hello! Thank you for letting us do this interview.

So, how long have you worked as a teacher and how long as

a headmistress?

Headmistress:  I’ve been working in Education for 29 years,

for the last 5 as a headmistress in the Primary School of

Potidea.

S: Do you like your job? Is it difficult?

H: I love my job. I have wanted to become a teacher since I

was a little girl. Being a headteacher is not easy at all. It’s a

position with a lot of responsibilities, so I have to take care ofeverything.

S: we would like to know a few things about you. What

subject do you like teaching the most?

H: I like teaching my students. It’s the happiest part of my

day. I prefer teaching Art, as I love being creative with the

children.

S: What’s your favourite colour? 

H: I can’t choose. I think all of them. (HA, HA) 

S: What’s your favourite food? Do you like sweets? 

H: My favourite food is pastitsio and I like sweets a lot but I

try to have a balanced diet.

An Interview with our

Headteacher

Mrs Rallia Adamidou

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S: Where do you live? Have you always lived in the same

place?

H: I currently stay in Moudania, where I was born. However, I

have been in several places in Greece, like Thessaloniki and Kos

and also in Germany, where I worked as a teacher for five

 years.

S: Are you married? How many children do you have?

H: Yes, I am and I have two children. My husband is a

teacher, too.

S: Do you have any brothers and sisters?

H: Yes, I have a brother and a sister.

S: What school did you go to as a pupil?

H: I graduated High school of Moudania, then I studied in

Thessaloniki and recently I got my Master’s Degree from theUniversity of Nicosia.

S: Do you like English?

H: I like English, as I generally find all languages interesting.

I speak English well, but I speak German much better.

S: Do you like our school? Will you stay here forever?H: I love our school!!! I do my best so as to keep a peaceful

and beautiful atmosphere for both students and teachers. Of

course I don’t want to leave our school. I ‘d like to stay here

and try for the best!

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In our class, there are students of different

nationalities, so we decided to learn a few things

more about each one of these countries.

ALBANIA

Capital: TiranaPopulation: 2,893,005

Currency: Lek

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country

in Southeastern Europe.  It is bordered by Montenegro to the

northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the  Republic of Macedonia to the

east, and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast onthe Adriatic Sea to the west and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It

is less than 72 km from Italy,  across the Strait of Otranto which

connects the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.

OUR MULTICULTURAL CLASS

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GEORGIA

Capital: Tbilisi

Population: 3,729,500

Currency: Georgian Lari

Georgia is a country in Eurasia,  located on the

crossroads of Eastern Europe and West Asia.  Nestled between

the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus mountain ranges,  it is

bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north and northeast

by Russia,  to the south by Turkey and Armenia,  and to the

southeast by Azerbaijan.  The capital and largest city is Tbilisi. 

Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres, and its

2015 population is about 3.75 million. Georgia is a unitary, semi-

presidential republic, with the government elected through

a representative democracy. 

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RUSSIA

Capital: Moscow

Population: 144,192,450

Currency: Russian ruble

Russia , also officially known as the Russian Federation, is

a sovereign state in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-

presidential republic. At 17,075,400 square kilometres Russia is the

largest country in the world, covering more than one-eighth of the

Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is the world's ninth mostpopulous country with over 144 million people at the end of 2015.

Extending across the entirety of northern Asia and much of

Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a

wide range of environments and landforms. From northwest to

southeast, Russia shares land

borders with Norway, Finland,Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, 

Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea

of Okhotsk and the U.S. state of Alaska across the Bering Strait. 

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AUSTRALIA

Capital:  Canberra

Population: 23,996,500

Currency: Australian dollar

Australia  , officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, is

an Oceanian country comprising the mainland of the Australian

continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It

is the world's sixth-largest country by total area.  Neighbouringcountries include Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to

the north; theSolomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east;

and New Zealand to the south-east.

For about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the

late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous

Australians, who spoke languages grouped into roughly 250 language

groups. After the European discovery of the continent

by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed

by Great Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal

transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January

1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the

continent was explored and an additional five self-governing crown

colonies were established. On 1 January 1901, the six

colonies federated,  forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Since

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federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal

democratic political system that functions as

a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional

monarchy comprising six states and several territories.  Thepopulation of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated

in the eastern states and on the coast.

GREECE

Capital: Athens 

Population: 10,955,000 

Currency: Euro

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Greece ,officially the Hellenic Republic  and known since ancient

times as Hellas , is a country located in southeastern Europe. 

According to the 2011 census, Greece's population is around 10.8

million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followedby Thessaloniki, which is commonly referred to as the co-capital.

Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, 

and Africa. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it

shares land borders with Albania to the northwest,

FYROM and Bulgaria to the north and Turkey to the northeast.

Greece consists of nine geographic regions: Macedonia, Central

Greece,  the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus,  the AegeanIslands(including the Dodecanese and Cyclades), Thrace, Crete,  and

the Ionian Islands. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, 

the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the

south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean

Basinand the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in

length, featuring a vast number of islands,  of which 227 are

inhabited. Eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with MountOlympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres.

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Our little reporters:

  Sotiria Baveli

  Ergi Biba

  Martha Chrysouli

  Margarita Gialabouki

  Konstantina Gregoriou

  Christopher Kaloudis

  Arsenia Kelegouri

  Evi Lioliou

 

Anna Marla

  George Mikiashvili

  George Moschou

  Kostas Pritsi

Our special thanks to our sixth graders who helped us a lot:

  Asimina Bako

 

Chrysi Chrysouli

  Anieza Gegi

  Fabio Haidari

  Eva Kelegouri

  Sylvana Leka

  Charalambos Loukas

  Alexia Nikokiri

  Philip Sotiriadis

  Maria Sotiriou

My warmest congratulations to both my fifth and sixth graders who

worked so hard for this issue. I’m really proud of you!  Keep up the good

work! We’ve got the second issue coming up… 

Ms Vasso Moussiou (Teacher of English Language and Literature)