SAY NO TO TOBACCO EVERY DAY

As part of our IELTS writing topic this week, smoking was one of them under the big umbrella of health and sickness. Today marks the "World No Tobacco Day" which is observed on the 31st of May of every year.It is a yearly campaign organized by the WHO to enlighten the public of the dangers of smoking.

Here are some sobering statistics from the WHO tobacco-free website:

* There are more than one billion smokers in the world.
* Tobacco use kills 5.4 million people a year — an average of one person every six seconds — and accounts for one in 10 adult deaths worldwide.
* Tobacco kills up to half of all users.
* Tobacco use is a risk factor for six of the eight leading causes of deaths in the world.
* 100 million deaths were caused by tobacco in the 20th century. If current trends continue, there will be up to one billion deaths from tobacco use in the 21st century.

For those of you who use tobacco, these alarming statistics might be a wake up call for you to quit smoking . It is time you kick off the bad habit.

The year in a snapshot

The image on the left is a word cloud that was created based on IAT DXB Grade 11 English Blog. It summarizes the highlights of this academic year by selecting the most frequently used words published by your teachers on the blog.

Make a list of the most important words that you have learned in your English class this year and create your own word cloud using http://www.wordle.net/ or

http://www.tagxedo.com/. This is an easy and fun way to review for the exams.

Print your word cloud off and give it to me. I will put it up on the bulletin board :)

Ms. Rehab

The IELTS Listening Test

The IELTS Listening Test

As you have reached Section 4 of Listening, he’s a recap of the entire Listening Section of IELTS.

The IELTS listening test is around 30 minutes long. There are four sections of increasing difficulty and about 40 questions. The first two sections are on topics of general interest.
Section one is a dialogue (2 speakers), section two a monologue (1 speaker). Sections three and four have an education or training focus. There will be a short lecture and a discussion involving 2, 3 or 4 people.
You will hear the sections once only, but you have 10 minutes at the end of the test to transfer your answers from the question booklet to the answer sheet.

Ms Ida

HEALTH AND SICKNESS

"Health is not valued until sickness comes".
One German proverb quotes" Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper".

You might probably say "I'm not a morning person" but there are some who are.Rushing through your morning chores before heading to work or to class early in the morning leaves no time to have a proper breakfast and as such leaves us feeling that the most convenient thing to do is skipping breakfast.The availability of quick processed food like doughnuts "to grab and go" or a quick cheese croissant from EMARAT makes us less compelled to prepare a proper breakfast.
I have often seen a lot of my young gentlemen munching on "Pringles", chocolate tubes or seeds in the morning.How healthy do you think is that? All of us need a combo of good proteins, carbs and good fats which ignites our morning energy and can last with a healthy snack and lunch till the end of our working day.

BREAK/FAST as the name suggests means breaking our fast from a long sleep cycle.Research has proven that people who who eat breakfast tend to gain less weight than people who skip it.
So start planning to have a variety of healthy and substantial breakfast portions before heading off to school.


Jinan BASMA

Health and Sickness Vocabulary

Health and sickness is the last topic we are going to focus on this year. As we start this new theme, invest some time in getting to know the words presented in the flash cards below.

If you haven't used Quizlet flash cards before, watch this short tutorial to find out all the great features offered by this website, which will help you not only study the words, but play games and take tests as well. Click here for the tutorial.

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Study these flash cards | Study health flash cards

New rules: Crackdown on school canteens

School canteens in Dubai have just a few days to wipe junk food off their menus as authorities ban chocolates, chips and soft drinks to curb the rising menace of obesity among children.



Dubai: Chocolates, chips, soft drinks, even milk and yoghurt with artificial flavours will soon disappear from school canteens in Dubai as new stipulations on healthy foods come into effect this academic session.

XPRESS can reveal that guidelines to this effect were finalised by the Dubai Municipality and the Dubai Health Authority recently and will be issued to the schools any day now.

"The guidelines are meant to encourage healthy eating habits among children by giving them the right options," said Shaima Mohammad Al Tenaiji, Senior Food Studies and Surveys Officer, Food Control Department, Dubai Municipality.

School surveillance

The move follows a surveillance of schools and catering establishments by the authorities amid growing concerns over obesity and lifestyle-related diseases among children, she said.

Outlining the new rules, Wael Ahmad Bani Odeh, Enlightenment and Education Officer, Dubai Municipality, said all canteens - and lunch boxes - will now be required to ensure a balanced diet that contains all necessary nutrients. Accordingly, they will have to cover five food types comprising cereals, dairy products and fats, vegetables, fruits, meat and poultry products.

The stipulations are in keeping with the Food Pyramid 2010 and consist of a colour gradient system of different food groups where specific quantities are recommended for specific age groups across kindergarten, elementary, intermediate and secondary levels, he said.

For example, the requirements under orange gradient foods covering grains like bread, cereals, rice and pasta range from six to 11 portions (one portion = 30gm or half a cup) while red colour groups comprising fruits range from two to four portions of fruit, juice, whether fresh, frozen, canned or dried, he explained.

The guidelines are very specific on the content of the permitted foods, he said. For example, juices served must have a natural nectar content between 30-50 per cent, just as breads offered should preferably be made from wheat or whole grain, with the proportion of added sugar in starch foods not exceeding, 6gm/100gm.

At least three types of fresh seasonal fruits should be provided every day. Meats should be lean and skinless, while dairy and fat products should be low fat. Only pasteurised and UHT milk prepared from fresh milk (or processed) will be allowed, he noted.

What's in, what's out

Permitted foods

* Carbohydrates : Wholegrains such as wheat, corn, barley, bulgur wheat
* Vegetables: Dark green vegetables like spinach, radish, watercress, celery, parsley and others
* Fruits: Variety of seasonal fruits
* Dairy and fat products: Low-fat or fat-free varieties, milk and yoghurt with natural fruit
* Meats, poultry and fish: Meat, poultry, fish, after removing the fat and skin. Lentils and beans can be added as an alternative to meat in soup

Banned foods



* Soft drinks.
* Energy drinks
* Milk and yogurt with artificial flavours
* Chewing gum
* Lollipops
* Candies with dyes and sugar
* Pure chocolate
* Pofak
* Chips
* Foodstuffs containing monosodium glutamate
* High-fat foods such as burgers and other fried foods

Small changes bring big returns for school

Environment initiatives save Jumeirah institute Dh235,000 per year

• By Emmanuelle Landais, Senior Reporter
• Published: 00:00 May 18, 2011

Dubai: A private school in Jumeirah has saved more than Dh235,000 in a year by making small changes around its premises to save on electricity and water use.

Al Ittihad Private School, Jumeirah Branch, used to see its summer electricity and water bill top Dh130,000 before sensors and timers were installed to control consumption.

The school, which caters to 1700 students from kindergarten to grade 12, used 18.5 per cent less electricity and 20.3 per cent less water with the automated devices.

Watering a lawn manually would take up to 45 minutes and unknown gallons of water. Today irrigation timers switch on sprinklers using treated effluent water for up to 15 minutes twice a day.

A special line pipes in treated sewage water from Al Aweer sewage treatment plant specifically to water large green areas — a norm at golf clubs and parks around the city.

"Our target was to reduce the electricity and water use to benefit society, the environment, and our bill," said Aziza Qaziha, activity coordinator at the school.

Award for conservation

Qaziha has been at the school since it was built 12 years ago. This is the first year such initiatives by the student body and the school have been rewarded by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) through the "Conservation Award — For a Better Tomorrow 2010-2011".

Tenth grader Aseel Al Bassam, 15, from Saudi Arabia, is part of the Eco-Rangers club, and with co-members Mariam Al Shami, 12, and Alia Al Zaabi, 15, from the UAE and Huda Baghdady, 15, from Egypt, they strive to raise awareness at home and at school.

The school has a five year plan to go green with solar water heaters for the swimming pool, said Nihad Saeed Al Shamsi, the school director. In the meantime the light bulbs have been changed to energy efficient ones, the taps have low-flow faucets and anyone caught littering will have the Eco-Rangers to deal with.

Savings

Al Ittihad Private School, Jumeirah, managed to save Dh235,744 in one year after installing sensors and timers on air conditioning units, lighting and irrigation systems.

CO2 saved: 326,333kg, electricity saved: 500,344 kwh, water saved: 2,015,944 gallons

(c) Gulf News

Interview tips

Most of you are scheduled for interviews this week with both local and international companies. This week is also flagged as our "project week". Since we are covering interview skills, questions and answers, I will shower you with a few tips that will come in handy.

- Prepare for the interview ...That is what we are doing in class.You can always browse the web for further information about "taking interviews"
- Watch video tutorials.
- Dress appropriately
- Make sure you arrive on time.
- Maintain your calm
- Reveal what you know about the company.
- Always follow-up with a thank you note reiterating your interest in the position.

I wish you all luck in your forthcoming interviews. Make it an enjoyable experience.

Your teacher,
Jinan Basma

You have what they want!

A recent report in Gulf News 'Technical Skills are the Future' stated that "for every university graduate the UAE produces, it needs 10 people with vocational skills to successfully grow and sustain its future economy." This is exactly what ATHS is preparing you for. Acquiring applied technology skills leads to a great path and a promising future.

As you practice for the internship interview project this week, bear in mind that you should focus on the technical skills that you acquire as a student at ATHS. By highlighting these skills in your resume and during the interview you will get many opportunities to stand out as a unique candidate with exceptional qualifications.

For more tips on preparing for interviews, please visit the following webpages:

Interview Tips for Students & BBC student life Interview Tips

Internship Interview Essential Questions & Sample Answers

The Value of Doing an Internship

I'm looking forward to receiving your interview questions and watching your interview videos.

Ms. Rehab Ragab

Summary Completion Task


This week you are learning a new reading task called summary completion. Remember the following tips while doing it.

The summary will contain a number of gaps. All of the information in the summary will be contained in the reading text, although the words used will be different. You will also be provided with a list of words to use to fill the gaps. There will be more words than gaps. These words have been chosen so that only one word will be suitable for each gap (the answer) but other words may appear suitable (distracters).

Your task is to complete the summary using one word from the list for each gap. Because the summary is a paraphrase of the reading text (rather than an edited version), you will need to have a good understanding of the overall meaning and main points of the section summarised, rather than a detailed understanding of the text.

What is being tested is your ability to:
• skim the text for information
• paraphrase the original text

Towards Tomorrow! Emirati Inspirations at TEDx Al Ain

Have you ever watched a TED talk online (http://www.ted.com/)? TED conferences are ones that aim at spreading great ideas. Last saturday, I attended my first TEDx event at Al Ain Municipality in Al Ain (TEDxAlAin). In addition to all the fantastic ideas that were shared, I was mostly inspired by the Emirati youth from UAE University and Abu Dhabi University.

The young Emirati men and women were in charge of everything that was happening. I believe more than 200 people attended the event and the organizers were able to network with every single one of them as well as maintain the flow of the sessions and the time professionally. I was approached by some of the UAEU and AbuDhabi University students during the breaks, who introduced themselves as the Networkers. They asked me about my opinion and told me a lot about themselves. I admired their manners, English language skills and braveness.

Moreover, I admired all the success stories of Emirati achievements that were discussed at the event, such as manufacturing aerospace products and building the first Arabic-speaking humanoid. TEDxAlAin sessions were streamed live and you can access them online in a few days at http://tedxalain.com/

Managing your time for IELTS Reading

I believe that IELTS is a lot more than a language proficiency test. Many skills are involved when you take the IELTS exam such as critical thinking, the ability to analyze data and most importantly your ability to manage your time. As we have been having reading practice this week, I noticed that many of you needed more time than necessary to complete the tasks on time. So, you need to work on your time management skills by practicing. Try to time yourself every time you do an IELTS reading or writing task. It will be great if you keep a log for this purpose. You will be surprised at how better you will get!

Here are some tips on IELTS time management techniques:

Time Management – IELTS Reading Test from Tips 4 IELTS blog.

IELTS Reading - Time Management from Dominic Cole's IELTS blog.

Enjoy reading :)

The importance of summaries

A summary is like a “ribbon” that neatly ties all the ideas together, leaving no loose ends of any part of a plot. A summary should not leave you hanging at the end of your reading.
You will need to write summaries all the time. Whether you are writing a sales letter, a blog post or a business email, you will need to provide a summary. Try to go back to your previous writings, and see how they could be improved.

Our target objective this week is Reading again, but this time it will be a different and not” so easy” question type. It is called “summary completion”.

HOW CAN YOU ADDRESS THIS QUESTION?
Common in both the Academic and General versions.
a summary with some missing words/phrases.
Sometimes there is a selection box for you to choose your answers.
Usually, you will have to answer with NO MORE THAN 3 WORDS (FROM THE TEXT NOT THE BOX)
To answer this question, you will need to identify the topic and quickly find it in the text.
Usually, the missing words have synonyms in the text. Locate the synonym and you can spot the answer.



Reference: http://www.myielts.org/2010/05/03/ielts-reading-summary-completion/

How To Attempt YES/NO Questions In IELTS Reading?

Here are a few tips:

• If the meaning of question statement matches 100% with the discussion in the passage, the answer is yes.
• If the meaning of the question statement contradicts the discussion in the passage, the answer is no.
• If there is no discussion in the passage for the question statement, the answer is NOT GIVEN.

Watch what you eat!

Are you a "king of greens?"Are you an advocate of a healthy lifestyle?Do you read labels on food product during your supermarket visits?Have you stopped for a moment and thought about the food you are eating?

If yes?Have you heard of the term "GM food"?



There has been a global debate about the effects of genetically- modified food. Is it harmful?Is it healthy?How can we avoid eating GM food? What are the advantages and disadvantages of GM food?
Below is a link to an article on GM food. I would like you to go through it as it helps develop your background knowledge about this topic. It is an important topic in both IELTS reading and writing.

http://www.healthyeatingclub.org/info/articles/genefood/GMO.htm

Your teacher,
Jinan Basma

Genetically Modified Foods - Vocabulary Study

Vocabulary from IELTS Express Intermediate Coursebook and Workbook Unit 7

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