ble, turn off the water when we’re brushing our teeth and especially stop doubling plastic bags in the supermar-ket… Let’s imagine, in Switzerland we can’t have plastic bags at all any-more. Everybody goes to the super-market with his/her own bag… so why not do that everywhere? We should not think that spending one day at an event like Earth day will make us “green.” Going to one event is not enough. It doesn’t excuse you from not being environmentally con-scious in your every day life because every day is earth day.

Every year, every month and finally everyday that passes make the envi-ronment question more and more important. In my opinion, all of the demonstra-tions and events organized around the environment are really good, of course. It still reaches and convinces people to be more responsible. How-ever, I also think that we have al-ready spoken enough about this in comparison to what we have already done. Nowadays everybody should know the fundamentals of sustainable development and the respect of our environment and now it should be-come apart of our education and our behaviour without real restraint and

this no matter where we come from or our social-level. Indeed, we should not forget that to be more responsible and to stop wasting our valuable resources will allow us, at first, to save money. Unfortunately, the best way to reduce our deleterious effects is for every government to impose stronger re-strictions or taxes to make the people become really concerned. Now is the time to act more responsibly. With that, I really think that it is well worth it to be a little less lazy and recycle our garbage, turn off the light when we go out of the room, use the public transportation when it’s possi-

In April we celebrated Earth Month. The students discussed diverse ways in which we could take active steps to make our everyday lives cleaner and greener.

April / May Volume 1, Issue 4

K A P L A N A S P E C T , E M P I R E S T A T E N E W S L E T T E R

Views from above 63 floors up

Earth Month…?? Earth Day EVERY Day By Odile Vulliamy

teencheckup.com

www.thedailygreen.com

saferenvironment.wordpress.com

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/09/23/peter-gibson-street-art/

The planet reached, in 2008, the mark of six billion people. And this enormous human contingent will have to search for survival in a world where the deterioration of the environment is a present fact and a painful reality. This is evident in big cities. Will the man of the age of the modernity be prepared for the challenge to decide the ambient disequilibrium and to assure a minimum quality of life? Apparently simple tasks, as to where to place garbage, are today great challenges for the world. The administration of the garbage already is today one of the great-est concerns in urban centers. The environmental institutions and entities have divulged frightful numbers on the subject.

Recycle! It’s possible to recycle many things, including glass, paper, plastic, textiles, and electronics. A study conducted by the Technical University of Denmark found that in 83% of cases, recycling is the most efficient method to dispose of household waste. Every year, the United States generates approximately 230 million tons of garbage - about 4.6 pounds per person per day. In April we commemorate the month of the Earth. Wouldn’t this be the chance to make something for the world? Simple attitudes and behaviors can save the planet!

The Planet Needs Us BY Mariana Franceschinelli

The month of April is known nation-ally as “Earth Month”. During this month, many people raise aware-ness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment and how recycling, planting trees, and being eco-friendly in your everyday activities can help and keep the environment we all live in a clean and healthy place. We can all help make the Earth healthier by doing little things that can make a big difference. These things not only save you money but also help the environment. The tips below were taken from the BetterHomes.com website: Install a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL). It is the quickest, easi-est way to save energy and money. Unlike incandescents, CFLs convert

most of the energy they use into light rather than heat. They use about 75% less energy and last about 10 years longer. Unplug Things That Glow. Shut off your TV and computer when you are not using them. Recycle Old Electronics. The Con-sumer Electronics Association cre-ated mygreenelectronics.org to help people find a recycling resource in their area. The site also provides a list of electronics, from laptops to baby monitors that are easier on the environment and your energy bill. When doing Laundry, Do Full Loads. Whenever you wash just a few clothes or dishes at a time rather than waiting for a full load to accumulate, you're wasting water, power, and money.

Borrow instead of buying. Bor-row from libraries instead of buying personal books and movies. This saves money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new books. Get Some Fresh Air. Walk to work or school on a sunny day. Enjoy the weather and all the beautiful things you don’t see when taking public transportation. Reuse bottles for water. Fill up your water bottle from a tap. New York has some of the cleanest tap water and it not only saves you money but it tastes great. Shower with a bucket. Use the water from your shower to water your flowers and lawn. These are just a few things you can do in your everyday life to “Go Green”.

was full of ‘euphoria’. Younger and older performers created heaven-sent harmony together. On the stage, especially during the instru-mental performances, many things happened. Unfortunately, those who go to a large concert hall can’t see various happenings on the stage. Smaller concerts, on the other hand, could provide more impressive and exciting performances. Our ears and eyes, for instance, could catch all the things performers did in this concert. You would definitely find such a concert exciting and intriguing. One of the most impressive things was that I could ‘feel’ the breathing of brass instrument performers. Urgent inhaling and powerful exhal-ing made the concert more vivid and more energetic. Not only that, but I could see a trombonist pressing a

Spring Chamber Music Festival Jan 2009 BY Jihwan Moon I went to the Manhattan School of Music to see a music concert. With few people, the concert started. At any rate, the concert room was much smaller than I had expected. Nobody accepted to leave the room during a performance. To begin, there was classical vocal Music. There were two songs throughout the concert. Of all the performers, the second singer espe-cially seemed the most absorbed in her performance. Sometimes, I could feel her emotion had merged with the song even if I could not understand the lyrics of the song. Extra explanation by the director was helpful for me to understand chamber music. Enriched with music, the entire room

tap. ‘Gushing’ out of their instru-ments, only water could affect the quality of sound. What a priceless experience it was! Oh god, I really look forward to seeing another concert. No need to worry, the school holds the music festival throughout this weekend. Just, by all means, I will go to the concert tomorrow. Happily, Beetho-ven and Mendelssohn's music will be played. Music tells us everything about life.

Tips for a Clean Environment By Tommy Kielmanowicz

Spring Chamber Music Festival Feb 2009 BY Jihwan Moon Korean students also per-formed at the concert. A feel-ing of pride as a Korean surged through me. Playing piano, violin and cello, Korean students performed excel-lently. Luring people into heaven, the harpist also made the whole concert awash with beautiful sound. Arousing thunderous applause from the audience, today’s concert ended. Never will I forget this concert, and I really appreciate KAPLAN for letting me know about this

Music Reviews

Photo by Jack Vartoogian / Front Row Photos

http://www.msmnyc.edu/

benbierman.com

For more info on summer performances go to; http://www.msmnyc.edu/

When I was teenager, I used to watch all kinds of movies which most of them had NYC as a back-ground. All of these movies, as well as the news on the television or internet, showed me the best part of the city and also the expensive places in NYC. For me it was like a dream and I always wanted to come here. Whether as a vacation or for studies, I just wished I could feel how it was to be in NYC - The Capital of the World. In the movies and the series the people had an easy and exciting lifestyle. They lived in big beautiful apartments that had amazing views of Central Park. Can you imagine how I felt when I arrived here in NYC and stayed the first few weeks in the Bronx?! I almost felt as if I were in a police movie... But I wanted to be in the series "Sex and the City,”

one of my favorites. Everything that I had learned about NYC is true; I know that there is all of this glamour but not for me and for most people who live here. It's like two totally different worlds. On the other hand, I could see and feel the real life in NYC: the dirty subway; the beggars who live here; unclean sidewalks; stranger’s manners; the fact that the people not care about the other one and not respect oldest people. I don't know if I had high expecta-tions... I just know that NYC is no longer a dream for me, now here is a real place. And even then, I love it!

In Rosa’s Intermediate Class, stu-dents discussed the meaning of success and the ways in which success could be measured. Check out some of the responses be-low… I think that there is a unique mean-ing of success. Each person has their own recipe for this. For me, success is connecting personal and professional achievements. In gen-eral, I think that a successful person is one that can reach his/her goals. Success is very subjective. I think that we can measure a person’s success when he/she is happy. I think that work is very important in life because you can develop your abilities and construct good things in

the world that will help other peo-ple. However, we cannot live only for work because we need to do other activities. We need to enjoy life like spending time with family, friends, etc. In my opinion, it is much better to work to live and enjoy work than it is to live to work.

Juliana Bermudes Real success is both personal and professional success. If I want real success, I have to find the “middle ground.” The difference between “live to work” and “work to live” is this…People who live to work concentrate on their job only. Even on holidays! It is sometimes hard for them to care for their family and they don’t have other hobbies. People who like this seem to be

upset and disappointed when they retire from their job. However, they are good at their job and have more abilities and strengths than those who work to live. But do they really want that? On the other hand, people who work to live, their job is just one course of their life. They enjoy their life when they are off and can spend time with people, travel, or do something similar that is more important than work. There are advantages and disadvantages; I guess it depends on the person. I think the best way to find a middle ground.

Ji Young Lee

I think that people who work to live are very unhappy people because they don’t love their work and are working just for money. A person must love what they are doing if they want to be happy. There is big difference from live to work. When you are in school, you must be pretty sure to find your own job if you want to be happy and have a healthy life. The meaning of success is when you work hard, all of your life and finally reach all of your goals or make it to the top. Maybe you start your own company, maybe you have a great family and that means you deserved it.

Kamilla Shumskaya

CHANGING PERSPECTIVES By Rafaela Figueirdo

Student discussion on International Education...

How do you define International Education? My definition of International Education is education that goes with the time. Globalization in all parts of our life is going on, for example, in science, economics, trade and so on. In the past people from Germany worked in Germany, people from Spain worked in Spain, now it doesn't matter from which country you are from, you work internationally. Maybe you grew up in Brazil, graduate in the USA and later you work for a company in France. Countries work together, they don't use and buy only things they produce themselves, and they import and export a lot. Everything is possible, that's why I think education should prepare you for a life in which everything is possible. That's why education in foreign language and education in art and culture of other countries, give you the skills which can help you to understand other nations. And International Exchange is for me a tool which supports international education, which helps the students to see and to understand other culture.

KimDang

International Education is teaching and research concerning other cultures and languages, training of specialists and the America's public's general understanding of the peoples of other countries.

Cigdem Kuru I think International Education is an experience which everyone must to have access to. This experience based in education is the best way to learn and teach all about other countries. Also, I guess this can be a great cause and effect of globalization. In a global world, the mix of language and culture is necessary and we need experience to understand and break down all of the cultural barriers of the world.

Rafaela Figueirdo

Student Voice

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