1st Parents Meeting & Thirst, the Quarrel for Water

Estimados Alumnos y Padres de Familia,

Este sábado 5 de Septiembre tendremos nuestra 1a Junta con los Padres de Familia, en el horario de 12 a 1 p.m. Les pido atentamente traer firmado el apartado correspondiente de la hoja del reglamento.

Esperamos contar con su presencia.


To our students:
Check the material that I'm sending you within this week:
1) Naturalization Test Questions: This is only additional information for your reference. There is nothing to worry about because there is NO quiz about this material.
2) "Water Privatization Fiascos" Case Study: Read it to have a background for our activity on Saturday.

My USB was damaged during the storm, so I'm still missing some of your e-mails, but I'm leaving this documents avaiable at the following links:

http://rapidshare.de/files/48263278/Naturalization_Test_Questions.doc.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/48263298/Fiascos_1_.pdf.html

(Just click in the FREE button of the download-type and then type the letters asked by the server, you are a no premium-user).

If you have trouble downloading these materials write me an e-mail or to any of your classmates, remember that I reply as soon as I can.

Regards,

Jaime

Starting a New Civilization

Because it took us a bit longer to finish both, the TOEFL and the 1st quiz, our homework will be to finish the class activity scheduled for this session: Starting a New civilization.

Originally, this was a team activity, but now is an individual homework.

a) Instructions: To write a 1-page survival plan considering an specific shelter with the avaiable survivors (both were assigned to your team).

b) Rules: You must choose 6 people among 7 of your survivors (6/7). You are allowed to "draft or exchange one of your survivors with any other of your choice from this list:

Avaiable Shelters
1) You are a nonsedentary society heading for the cold climate of Alaska or the sunny beaches of Mexico.
2) Your group hides in an old iraki bunker
3) You live happily inside a large american shopping mall
4) You live in a big, 2-floor country house in the middle of nowhere
Optional: 5) Costco

Avaiable Survivors
1) A U.S. marine that will not give-up his weapon (male, age: 25)
2) A judgeful (biased) priest
3) A journalist from a popular celeb-gossip magazine (female, age: mid-20's)
4) A thoughtess (carless) nurse
5) A naughy (bad-behaved) 13 yr. old boy from CIDEB
6) A cook with a huge appetite
7) A very rude but funny clown
8) A philosopher with existential attitudes and trends
9) An atheist scientist (female, age: 41)
10) The leader of a trade union (male, age: 33)
11) A mother with a strange obsession with good manners: (age: 46)
12) An old wise man in a wheelchair (male, age: unknown)
13) A young-pregnant woman
14) A young anarchist (male, age: 19)
15) A blind woman that knows to play the piano and is not willing to star unless she keeps her dog
16) An indigenous peasant that does not speak your language
17) A tradesman with hard trading skills
18) A government bureaucrat with bad reputation
19) A sometimes arrogant English Teacher
20) A very enthusiast homosexual willing to help in anything
21) An arbitrary but brilliant businessman
22) A very moody-temperamental manager from McDonald's
23) An easy-going (perhaps even too relaxed) mediator
24) An engineeer with a sever obsessive compulsive disorder
25) A pretty girl with no concern in anything but the Jonas Brothers (age: 16)
26) A charismatic leader that is too sensible to failure
27) An intellectual with liberal and feminist tendencies (female, age thirty-some)
28) A self-restrained carpenter with no interest in involving with others
Optional: 29) Chuck Norris, 30) a Muslim priest, 31) a dangerous runaway from prison and former member of the MS (Mara Salvatrucha)

When you are done, answer apart from your survival plan the following questions:

1) For each of your survivors, answer:
Character "X"
Reason in favor of survival
Reason against survival
Decision of commitee (Yes/No)

2) With the chosen people, what type of leadership do you think your group is most likely to have (liberal, authocratic, demmocratic)? Why?

3) Which people are likely to become the leaders of your group? Which the followers? Why?

4) Based on your description, what type of prejudices did you have towards the people? Do you think those beliefs are fair or detrimental for your group decision?

Vocabulary for this lesson:

shelter: a structure that provides protection.
self-restrained: self control, reserved.
obsesive compulsive disorder: characterized by obsessions and compulsions.
vaccine: a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease.
trade union: a society of workers formed to protect and improve their working conditions, payment, etc.

References:

Types of leadership explained: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAaRtnDRkIQ
Obsesive compulsive disorder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPFQMRx2l3Y


UPDATE: You will have your 1st oral quiz this Saturday 29th, I will make random questions and you will speak for 3 or 5 m at least to the audience. The teacher and his staff will provide you later a feedback.

15/08/2009 Hooked on the Net

PAPÁS: LA CLASE PASADA SE LES HIZO ENTREGA A LOS ALUMNOS DE LAS HOJAS QUE CONTIENEN EL CALENDARIO, LOS HORARIOS, EVALUACION Y REGLAMENTO. POR FAVOR, LES PIDO DE LA MANERA MÁS ATENTA QUE CUANDO LO LEAN LO FIRMEN Y ME LO DEVUELVAN EN NUESTRA PRIMERA JUNTA (05 o 12 SEP) fecha for confirmar.
PONGO TAMBIEN A SU DISPOSICION MIS DATOS PARA ESTAR EN CONTACTO CUANDO ASI LO DESEEN, ESPERANDO TAMBIEN PODER CONOCER LOS SUYOS.

Lic. Luis Jaime Guerra
hoogdalem@gmail.com

Dear students,

1) "Story about my life"
Your homework for this week is to write a 1-page story using and underlying the vocabulary from Hooked on the Net: to come out, to turn in, to crave, hooked-on, cold turkey,to lose track of time, willpower, to become cut off from, to cut down on, to drag away, withdrawal, all-consuming, detrimental.

• This is the first assignment to evaluate your English skills.
• Please, avoid senseless content.
• Handwritten, NOT typed.
  
• If you were absent to this session ask someone from our class to share the meanings with you or look them in your english dictionary.

2) 1st Quiz
With the worksheet and the examples from the contest, you have enought material to study these vocabulary for our 1st Quiz.


3) On this session, we will have our first TOEFL practice, you don't need to prepare nor study to take this test. It's only a practice to measure your english proficiency until today. Make your best effort.

Have a great weekend.

Jim

08/08/2009 Alternative Beliefs

Hi people. This is your first assignemt for this saturday. Please read and follow the instructions!

Instructions: Answer to the following questions. For each question explain your reasoning in a paragraph, avoid "yes/no" type answers. Hand in this homework in one page, handwritten.

1) Alternative Beliefs Questions. This homework is done by everyone.

1. Do you think there is intelligent life in other planets?
2. Some people claim to have seen UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) such as flying saucers. Do you believe in them? Why or why not?
3.What is your opinion of people who say that they can communicate with spirits? Would you like to take part of a session?
4. Would you ever visit an astrologer for a forecast of how your life will run in the future?
5. What does your star sign tell you about your personality and your compatibility with other people?
6. Do you believe in other forms of fortune telling such as palmistry, tarot cards, reading teacups, etc?



2) Shipwreck! Questions. This task is only for the students stranded (left) on the ship: Katia Amaya, Manuel Celestino, Valeria Mildred Mendoza, Israeli González... etc. I expect from you both homeworks. Missing any of these tasks will be considered as incomplete.

1. How were the decisions made in my group?
2. How did I feel about the decisions? Do I think it were fair?
3. Were people in my team (including me) straight and honest? Have all of them exposed true reasons to survive?
4. How is this exercise like our English Course? In other words, what relationship has with our class?

Questions? Write me an e-mail.

Regards,

Jim

08/08/2009 Welcome

Hi people... welcome to our blog. During the following months, your duty is to be aware of the assignments that I'll be posting in here.

Questions or comments regarding the tasks? Share them with your classmates in this space or via e-mail to me at: hoogdalem@gmail.com

Don't forget to take your time to do the assignments, I'm busy during the week as well.

Jim