A surpreendente história de uma simpática viúva, uma herança choruda e um belo papagaio, contada por uma das maiores escritoras do século XX.
O Coordenador da Biblioteca Escolar,
professor António Bento
Categoria: Autores
Shared Speeches – Atividade do Clube de Debate
No passado dia 18 de novembro, 4 alunas do curso de Ciências e Tecnologias da turma A, do 12º ano comparecerem na aula de Inglês dos seus colegas da turma A, do 11º ano do mesmo curso, para partilhar quatro discursos com a duração de cinco minutos cada, sobre o tema aglutinador, umbrella topic, Multicultural Interactions. Sob os títulos All different, all equal; From Portugal With Love; Voices for Human Rifhts e A Blindfolded World , os discursos tocaram pontos fortes e temáticas atuais que são comuns aos conteúdos programáticos de 11º e 12º ano. Para além de uma óbvia partilha de saberes, de promoção da excelência e da promoção para uma cidadania ativa entre os mais jovens, esta atividade conseguiu, não só uma articulação vertical entre anos de escolaridade, como uma articulação horizontal ao nível dos conteúdos lecionados, tendo ainda como preocupação cumprir alguns dos objetivos traçados no PAA do agrupamento. No final dos discursos houve lugar a discussão salutar que certamente deixou mais ricos aqueles que tiveram a coragem de fazer ouvir a sua voz.
The speeches:
Multicultural Interactions: All Different, All Equal
Fotos: João Pinheiro
Texto: 12º A
Clube de Debate
UMA AULA DIFERENTE NA IGREJA MATRIZ DE MAÇÃO
No dia 25 de novembro de 2016, os alunos do 11ºC – Curso Profissional de Técnico de Saúde e de Cozinha – partiram, na companhia da professora Clara Neves e da Diretora de Turma, professora Helena Antunes, rumo à Igreja Matriz de Mação, na aventura de descobrir algo mais sobre o Sermão de Santo António aos Peixes, obra que se encontram a estudar nas aulas de Português. E, para ajudar os alunos a perceber um pouco melhor as sábias palavras do grande Padre António Vieira, ninguém melhor do que o pároco Amândio Mateus.
Sentados, em redor do púlpito, os alunos ouviram explicações sobre a vida deste célebre orador português que nasceu a 6 de fevereiro de 1608 em Portugal. Mas por que seria Vieira tão conhecido? Seria pela sua vasta atividade profissional?
De facto, Vieira foi uma das mais influentes personagens do século XVII em termos de política e oratória. Ao longo da sua longa vida, não só foi padre, como também escritor, pregador, professor de retórica, diplomata, conselheiro e confessor da corte, tendo-se destacado como missionário jesuíta em terras brasileiras. Nesta qualidade, defendeu incansavelmente os direitos dos povos indígenas, combateu a sua exploração e escravização, promovendo a sua evangelização. Defendeu também os judeus e a abolição da distinção entre cristãos-novos (judeus convertidos, perseguidos na época pela Inquisição) e cristãos-velhos (os católicos tradicionais).
Paralelamente a uma atividade tão multifacetada, a notoriedade de Vieira ficou-se também a dever, quer no seu tempo, quer nos dias de hoje, à riqueza e profundidade dos seus sermões, entre eles, o célebre Sermão de Santo António aos Peixes. Neste sermão, perante a indiferença do auditório, Vieira dirige-se aos peixes, à semelhança do que fizera Santo António. Elogiando as virtudes dos peixes e criticando os seus vícios, Vieira pretendia, porém, criticar duramente os colonos do Maranhão que exploravam e escravizavam os índios no Brasil. Terão os homens percebido o caráter alegórico das suas palavras? O que é certo é que três dias após ter proferido este sermão, Vieira embarcou ocultamente para o reino, evitando assim possíveis represálias, sob a proteção do rei D. João IV.
Os alunos puderam ainda ouvir alguns excertos do Sermão de Santo António, lidos de forma eloquente e sabiamente comentados pelo Pároco Amândio Mateus. Seguidamente, também os discentes foram convidados a desempenhar, por momentos, o papel do Padre António Vieira, lendo ao público partes do seu sermão, a partir do púlpito. Foi um dos momentos mais apreciados e, obviamente, aplaudido por todos!
Finalmente, os alunos tiveram a oportunidade de ter nas suas mãos e folhear volumosos livros antigos, repletos de sabedoria, cujas folhas de papiro, amareladas pelo tempo, continham textos manuscritos em latim, rodeados de belas iluminuras, evocando o tempo em que Vieira compunha os seus sermões.
Através desta pequena aventura, os alunos ficaram a saber algo mais sobre a vida e obra do nosso Imperador da Língua Portuguesa, celebrizado em todo o mundo pela sua coragem de dizer a verdade sobre os vícios da sociedade do séc. XVII, dificilmente admitidos pelos homens e pela própria Igreja do seu tempo. Quatro séculos decorridos sobre a sua morte, a mensagem satírica e moralizadora dos seus sermões permanece atual e universal, sendo Vieira considerado um grande ativista dos direitos humanos.
Ao padre Amândio Mateus um reconhecido agradecimento pelas descobertas que nos proporcionou!
Cristiana Carias, 11ºC
e Profª Clara Neves
Escritora Daniela Rosário na EB1 de Mação
A escritora Daniela Rosário estará presente no dia 24 de outubro, da parte da manhã, para sessões de leitura com os alunos do Jardim de Infância e 1º Ciclo, na Biblioteca Escolar da escola do 1ºciclo do Ensino Básico.
A equipa da biblioteca escolar,
António Bento
Opinião: migrações
Vagas de migração
As vagas de migração são um problema que afeta a Europa. Vem muita gente de África maioritariamente da Síria. Estima-se que só este ano 350 mil migrantes tenham atravessado o mar Mediterrâneo.
Muitos migrantes escolhem a Europa para começarem uma nova vida, mas será só com essa a sua intenção?
Muitos dos ditos refugiados podem ser vítimas inocentes da guerra no seu país, outros podem aproveitar a travessia do mar Mediterrâneo entre outros para acederem à Europa a fim de porem em prática atentados como pode ter sido o que aconteceu em França na sexta-feira dia 13 de novembro de 2015.
Foi encontrado um passaporte que passou por uma ilha grega e apareceu em França. Contudo, este facto é aleatório e nada prova.
Para concluir, estas campanhas para ajudar os refugiados e trazê-los para a Europa podem ser um meio para trazer terroristas/jihadistas e se os atentados forem cada vez mais frequentes os países podem tomar
medidas contra os terroristas, podem entrar todos em guerra e assim pode começar a 3ª guerra mundial.
Ana Catarina Dias, 9ºA
“The Keyword? – Integrity.” by Leonor Bento – Discurso apresentado na Competição Nacional no British Council
Foto de Rosa Walpole, Leonor no Salão Nobre do British Council, Lisbon
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen
The Second World War, the end of colonialism, our own Revolution of 1974, the Arab Spring – what have all these world events have in common? – That’s right. You’ve guessed it – people wanted to live in a democracy, they wanted to live better, to see their human rights respected, they wanted to live in peace, they wanted future generations to have a future, a good future. So how can we explain the turmoil our world is in today?
Churchill once said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all others. Is it possible, then, to improve this form of government in order to create a fairer society?
In my speech today I’d like to show you that democracy is like a code and the keyword to crack this code is integrity. – Integrity is like a master key that opens all doors and grants access to the reality of true values, which will guide the young adults of today in planning a successful future.
For me, integrity represents quality or wholesomeness and is therefore a synonym for honesty, righteousness, impartiality. Integrity is a fundamental value, but, unfortunately, it is often ignore nowadays. I can actually say that the abyss between what many people say and what they do is something I consider worthy of study, be it in economy, politics, education or science, as the consequences of this abyss are dire for all humanity as we have been witnessing recently.
Integrity is challenging and difficult to practice in a world full of misunderstandings and conflicting values. In order to help you understand my point of view and successfully share what I believe in, I leave you with a few questions for reflection:
* Are our actions in agreement with what we say?
* Are we the type that says “do what I say, but don’t do what I do” ?
* Can we listen more than we talk and respect other people’s point of view?
Well, to be a person with integrity, we cannot fluctuate according to the moment or the situation in which we find ourselves, just to satisfy our own interests. In doing so we wouldn’t be respecting the law, rules or regulations that apply to our lives and to our society, and very likely we would be harming those around us. Such actions and behavior would – or should not leave us at peace with our conscience. Living in democracy is living on equal terms with our fellow citizens.
As a young citizen who wants to contribute to the transformation of this world that calls itself “modern”, I feel the need to leave behind the hype imposed by this consumerist, seductive and highly competitive society of ours, and I refuse to become an untrustworthy person, who only thinks of others as competitors. I definitely will not erect barriers all around me, which would generate a real island, and make me think I don’t need anyone to achieve my goals. – I want to share my goals with all the other citizens. To that end, I once again advise the correct utilization of the keyword – integrity.
This keyword creates ties, builds bridges, leads to excellence, requires sharing life experiences and challenges and these are what will bring about universal peace, love, respect, freedom, humility, equality. These are simple words but very important values that don’t interfere with religion, with origin, with color or level of education. These values make me realize that integrity depends on the obvious and provides us with happiness.
After reading a scientific article from Harvard University, I concluded that happy people are 85% more productive than unhappy people. This makes me think about my own and other people’s attitudes, opinions, decisions and values. I want to opt for joy and not surrender to sadness and concern, so I will never forget the keyword: INTEGRITY.
Integrity is the keyword to unravel the intricacies of democracy and make it the best form of government for all people, in all nations, in our entire world. Integrity is my hero.
Let’s worship a hero – let our hero be integrity.
Thank you.
Sílvia Ramadas, Departamento de Línguas, Agrupamento de Inglês
“The various shades of integrity” by Inês Pereirinha – Discurso apresentado na Competição Nacional no British Council, Lisboa
Foto de Rosa Walpole, Inês Pereirinha no Salão Nobre do British Council
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen
(smiling)
Grandparents are wonderful, aren’t they? They tell us the most wonderful stories and we learn so much from them. My grandfather once told me that the first English word he had learnt, when he was about 6, was the word STOP. Of the thousands and thousands of words in the English vocabulary – (as if asking him personally) why that particular word, Grandpa? (short pause)
He explained –(short pause) many years ago the international authorities thought it was a good idea that the stop road sign was made universal, irrespective of the country or the language people spoke. It was a question of safety first. So, on the roads of our Portuguese speaking country there appeared this road sign in English indicating stop – and all drivers, despite many of them not speaking a word of English, were left in no doubt as to what this sign meant – (short pause) STOP or accept the consequences. That was the rule –(short pause) ( with emphasis; pronouncing every word clearly and slowly) the unequivocal rule. (short pause)
In my speech today – I’d like to show you that, quite unlike our road sign and its unambiguous meaning, integrity has many meanings, it can have many interpretations, and that’s why it does need rules. Even if we all stand by our values and by what we believe in, we can’t ignore the fact that values differ from person to person, from culture to culture.
Let me come to my first argument – everywhere we go, there are rules, if we are in a classroom we have to be quiet and if we´re not, we get expelled from it. Even in this competition, we have rules – this is a five-minute speech, not a 2 or 3-minute speech, otherwise we’ll lose points, nor is it a 6 or 7-minute speech, otherwise (looking towards David Evans, smiling) this gentleman sitting at this desk will tell you – in no uncertain terms – to finish your speech, – whether you have come to the end of your argument or not. So this is how society rules, – with rules. (short pause) Why would integrity be any different?
Secondly, if we say that integrity has no need of rules then we are saying to all people that what they believe in is true and they should keep fighting for what they believe in and by doing that you´re pretty much telling a terrorist to keep killing innocent people because that´s what they stand for. We just can´t stand for what we want, we have to stand for what is right, (short pause; stressing the word universally) what is universally right. We are a global village, are we not? So we should share global values.
If a classroom has rules, it becomes a quiet place where learning can take place, where everyone respects everyone else, and if it doesn´t then it will be a chaotic mess and we, world citizens, don´t want our world to be a chaotic mess, a place where human dignity is ignored, where so much suffering is inflicted by some human beings on other human beings.
That´s why rules are needed. By applying rules to integrity, our freedom of speech may be reduced, – yes – but if that´s what it takes to keep everyone safe then it’s a price worth paying.
Thirdly there´s also the case of physical integrity. If we say that integrity has no need of rules, we are saying that it is okay for anyone to insult someone or even put other people’s lives at risk, just because they are (listing different things, so stressing each one clearly) poor, or fat, or old, or low achievers, or need a wheelchair to move about, or are destitute refugees fleeing from war, destruction, death. (short pause)
To quote Thomas Jefferson,- nobody can acquire honour and integrity by doing what is wrong. So we need rules to enable everybody,- no matter what language they speak,- what religion they profess,- no matter where they come from or where they are going to – we need rules to make sure everybody is able to tell right from wrong and to choose what is right.
Rules and the responsibilities they entail are the ties that bind us. The safety of every world citizen is of paramount importance. As Edward Kennedy once said, integrity is the lifeblood of democracy – so let universally, democratically defined rules be the underpinning principle of our world democracy.
Ladies and gentlemen,- I’ve shown you that integrity has many meanings. I’ve also shown you how important it is that we have rules – (slowly, stressing every word clearly) universally shared rules – to define and to set the boundaries of what integrity means – what is allowed and not allowed, – what is honourable and not acceptable, – what is righteous and downright immoral.
If we want to preserve our most precious jewel – (with emphasis; speaking clearly) our human dignity – rules cannot be ruled out.
(short pause)
Thank you.
Sílvia Ramadas, Departamento de Línguas, Agrupamento de Inglês
“Will corruption be our downfall?” by Ana Antunes – Discurso apresentado na Competição Nacional no British Council
Foto de Rosa Walpole, Ana Antunes no Salão Nobre do British Council, Lisboa
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Abraham Lincoln once said that Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. I do agree with Lincoln on this. You only need to look at what is happening in our world today to realize that the most corrupting thing in the world is power.
Nowadays, we live in a world where almost everywhere we can see people complaining about how corrupt their political systems are. These situations happen mostly because the voters trust the integrity and honesty of the people they choose to be their governors.
But how can we trust someone’s integrity if there are so many interpretations of the word integrity?
For example, being a person of integrity means, among other things, always thinking about everyone and trying one’s best to make decisions so as not to harm anyone who doesn’t have anything to do with those decisions. But for many politicians all over the world, being a person of integrity can be mean trying their best to have always more and more power and money, even if they have to short-change the taxpayers. Greed is the means to an end. People who pursue a greedy life try to inflate their egos and perceive the value of their lives by measuring it against financial gain.
Unlike many years ago when this only seemed to happen in the developing countries, today it seems to happen in most countries, whether they are democracies or not. –Amazing, don’t you think? Corruption is not only stealing money from taxpayers, corruption is also hiding important information from us, the taxpayers, such as how our taxes are used.
Corruption is a form of dishonest or unethical conduct by a person entrusted with a position of authority, often to acquire personal benefit, and integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral values and principles.
So, for corruption not to be the reason of our downfall, we need to make sure that honesty and moral principles, also known as integrity, are prevalent at all times and in all dealings between people, regardless of the position they hold. Integrity goes hand in hand with honesty, and for there to be honesty, people have to be accountable for their actions.
Our present difficulties are mostly of our own creation, so we need to regulate integrity in order to safeguard the rights of every single citizen and put an end to corruption which generates inequality and deprivation.
It’s my belief that integrity has to be defined by rules to prevent these situations in our government and society in general, otherwise we will eventually succumb to a financial crisis and maybe to our own downfall.
The point I want to make is that freedom and democracy are perfectly reconcilable with obedience to the rules, as long as these rules are democratically set up and they safeguard that which we honestly and conscientiously as a nation believe to be for the permanent interests of our country and all its citizens.
In many cases power doesn’t corrupt people, people corrupt power and use their privileged positions to make personal gains. Corruption is perhaps the greatest threat to our liberal societies and it is every citizen’s duty to unite against corruption. If we do, we will have more chances to put a stop to it and create a better, fairer society.
We cannot let corruption be our downfall as a nation.
So, I appeal to you – let’s not waste any more time arguing about what a good, honest citizen should be. Be one. Our nation is counting on you.
Thank you.
Sílvia Ramadas, Departamento de Línguas, Agrupamento de Inglês
Semana da Leitura
A biblioteca escolar contou na Semana da Leitura com o apoio, a disponibilidade, a colaboração do diretor, José Almeida da sua direção, do Agrupamento de Língua Portuguesa, docentes da escola sede e docentes do 1ºciclo e Jardim de Infância do agrupamento de escolas Verde Horizonte, para promover atividades destinadas a todos os ciclos de ensino numa perspetiva transversal e interdisciplinar. As sessões decorreram num ambiente descontraído, cordial, de motivação de curiosidade dos alunos com vários tipos de perguntas aos vários intervenientes. No fim das sessões, os escritores deram uma sessão de autógrafos.
A Equipa da Biblioteca Escolar
António Bento
Semana da Leitura
Já falta pouco para a nossa Semana da Leitura, que este ano irá decorrer na primeira semana de fevereiro. Como sempre, organizada pela Biblioteca Escolar, com o apoio do Diretor e da sua direção, do Agrupamento de Língua Portuguesa, dos docentes da escola sede e dos docentes do 1ºciclo e Jardim de Infância do agrupamento de Escolas Verde Horizonte de Mação.
De seguida apresenta-se o programa:
A equipa da biblioteca escolar,
António Bento
VERDE HORIZONTE on-line 