B1 class's magazine

 I'm lucky enough to live in Thessaloniki, a city that has lot of exciting attractions and places, which are worth visiting. There are so many cosmopolitan and exciting places in Thessaloniki that it's hard to choose only 2.

One place that is geard towards teenage tourists is the Cosmos Mediterrenian centre. In this stunning, enormous place you can find great bergains and really cool cafes to hang out with your friends. If you aren't the shopping type, Cosmos provides you with the opportunity to watch the latest block-busters around the world at centre's cinemas.

The second place that should't be missed is the Noesis Planitarium, where you can watch spectacular views inspired by state-of- the-art technology. There you can also visit the famous technology museum, where you can play unique games, based on science and chemistry.

Both these magnificent places offer you a unuque taste of life in Thessaloniki. They are two of the most amazing attractions where you definitely won't get bored.

Efi

     In today’s society a knowledge of computers is necessary and students should know how to use one. But should all homework assignments be done on a computer and sent by email to the teacher? In my opinion, sending your homework assignments by email is much easier, but might not be practical if you don’t have Internet access. Also, you may lose everything you’ve done so far if there’s a current blackout.

     Sending all your homework assignments by email has a lot of advantages and disadvantages, too. Students can make their assignments look good and it’s much easier for teachers to receive work. Also, students can improve their knowledge of computer technology. One more benefit of doing your homework online, is that it doesn’t take loads of time to write. On the other hand, not everyone has a computer at home and it is pretty difficult to stop children from copying from the Internet. Also, students need to practise writing by hand to prepare for written examinations. Last but not least, doing all your work on the computer may hinder your eyesight, too.

     In conclusion, I believe that giving your homework assignments straight to your teacher is better than doing it online. As I see it, schools should avoid giving a lot of homework online. A possible solution would be to do many exercises in class either with a computer or not, so that all students can improve their computer skills. Also, it would be better to give homework in class and not online, as students might lose their work.

"…and you have to send me this exercise until next Friday!!"

"Where can I find that exercise?? Uh oh!!"

"My exercise is ready!! Yes!! …oh, no!! I forgot to save it!! Tomorrow is Friday, I have no time to write it all over again!!"

Zeta

(Blog : http://yeshal.clubefl.gr)

    I’m lucky enough to live in Buakhaga, Shueo. The area I live has lots of exciting Christmas attractions. With more than one million visitors every year, Shueo is the most worth visiting country in the world with loads of places to discover!

     One place that is a must for tourists is Gefu, also known as “Christmas-land”. In this part of the city there are  so many Christmas shops, that it’s like being in a Christmas Paradise! You can easily find the most fashionable Christmas clothes and shoes in great bargains! With more than a million shops, you will never get disappointed that you didn’t find the perfect Christmas present you needed. The strangest fact about this place is that it is even open in summer, selling Christmas stuff!

     The second place that shouldn’t be missed while visiting Buakhaga, Shueo is Maheti-Suriano. The thing that makes this part of the city special is its unique “Santa’s Factory”, where you can see Santa’s elves preparing your Christmas presents right before your eyes! Here, you can also talk to Santa Claus, learn Mrs Claus’s special recipe for Christmas chocolate cookies and even ride one of Santa’s reindeer! Some people call it “All Children’s Favorite Christmas Place” because more than ten million children visit it every year! Admission is very low, so every year more and more tourists are coming to this enchanted place!

     Both places give you a taste of Christmas time in Buakhaga and shouldn’t be missed. There are no tourists who got disappointed because they didn’t have fun while visiting these places.

Zeta

(Blog : http://yeshal.clubefl.gr)

         It was another bitterly cold and frosty December night in the North Pole. A frozen blanket of snow lay deep and crisp on the ground. Jack Frost had visited every home and had etched magnificent spiral patterns into every glass window. It really was the harshest weather that anyone could ever remember and it was two days until Christmas!

       Santa Claus was extremely busy adding the finishing touches to his Christmas preparations. He was shortly about to deliver thousands of wonderful Christmas presents to many excited children from all over the world. His elves were beginning to load masses of shiny gifts onto his sleigh and his brave reindeer were practicing their final manoeuvres before the big day. Everything was coming together nicely; Santa was very pleased with his team.

       The big day was already here. It was the 24th of December! Now, everyone could hear children singing the carols in every neighborhood. They were all so excited! "Santa will bring us gifts!" said a kid to his friend. "I don't think so…I had a fight with my mother yesterday, I'm not sure if I'll get a present this year" said the other one.

       Things weren't that nice in Santa's house. The elves had panicked! "Oh, no!", "Please, someone help us!", "What are we going to do now?"… They couldn't believe their eyes! Rudolph had just broken his leg, while playing hide-and-seek with Machi and Danica, two other reindeer!! He couldn't ride the sleigh, now! "Ho ho ho… what has happened here?" Santa cried. "Santa! Santa! Come here, quickly!!" an elf shouted. Santa started running towards Rudolph. "Oh, no! Now, how are we going to give children their Christmas presents we've been preparing for so long? Dorina! Take Rudolph to the nearest hospital! Take Aspasia with you, too! Make sure he will be okay." Santa said, totally shocked.

       While Dorina and Aspasia were on their way to the "North Pole's Frozen Hospital", Efi, Santa's best elf, realized that there were 1O presents missing!! "You must be kidding me!" Santa Claus whispered. He couldn't believe what was happening!! Nothing was okay! Rudolph had broken his leg and there were also many presents missing… At night they had to deliver the presents to children all over the world. Everyone would get disappointed if their Christmas Tree was empty on Christmas Day!

       Santa decided to find the thief. He wore his dark, detective-suit and his lucky hat and went out of his house. "Bill and George, come with me. I need you in this mission…" he said. Bill and George felt so proud of themselves! "We are important! Yay!!!" they shouted. "Shh… Miss Claus is sleeping! We should do this silently. Come here now, without singing this time". They were ready to catch the thief!

       Before they started their search, Bill saw something near an iceberg. “Can you see thoes footprints over there?” he said, “I think they will bring us closer to the thief!”. “You’re right! Let’s do this!!” George cried and they all followed the footprints.

     At the same time, Rudolph was at the hospital. The “North Pole’s Frozen Hospital”. Dorina and Aspasia were sitting at the… “reception room” waiting for Rudolph to bandage his injury. “He is okay for now, but we’re not sure at all if he can fly tonight.” a nurse said, in a sad voice.

     The cold wind was howling and almost everything was frozen. Santa, George and Bill were on their way to the thief, when, all of a sudden, it started to rain! The footprints were slowly disappearing from the ground and it was extremely difficult to see them now. Luckily, the footprints stopped in front of an enormous, wooden door. Bill said that they should knock the door to ask the housekeeper if he/she saw someone running in Santa’s lucky costume, holding loads of presents. Unfortunately, George was afraid to knock on the door, because he was afraid of haunted houses and ghosts. So, they had no choice. Santa knocked nervously on the door. A woman, who looked like a witch, opened the enormous, wooden door grinning widely. “Hello! What are you looking for?” she muttered. “Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!! You see, someone has stolen about ten gifts from my sack! Now, ten children will get very disappointed finding nothing under their wonderful Christmas trees! Have you seen anyone in my lucky costume running this way, holding brightly wrapped gifts?” Santa asked the woman. She kept smiling for a while, but in just a few seconds she apologized for her terrible mistake. “Ohh.. I’m so sorry! I did it.. I saw your elves preparing some fantastic ballet shoes for Aspasia and a new, awesome tennis racket for Efi that I couldn’t believe my eyes! I thought it would be alright, as your elves can make new presents easily, but  I didn’t know it takes so much time! Now I wasn’t able to bring them back, but it’s okay you can take your gifts back now. As for your lucky costume, here it is. I’m sorry I did it! I will never do this again, I promise!” said the witch close to tears. Santa took his stuff back, smiled at her and asked her her name. “Maria! My name is Maria and I’d love to take my Christmas present this year… Please!” she replied while she was wiping her tears.

     They agreed for Maria’s Christmas present in no time and started running back home to check everything else they needed was ready. That is if the sleigh was freshly painted, if the gifts were all covered with colorful paper and most importantly if Rudolph would be able to fly!

     At home, Mrs Claus was still sleeping and all the elves were watching their favorite Christmas movie, “Rudolph Get Well Soon!”. “Hey! We have no time for movies now! Efi! Count the presents for one last time. Evaggelia! Check if the sleigh is still wet or able to fly and Lena! Oh.. where is Lena?” Santa cried. “Here I am! Sorry!!” she replied, with her mouth full of Mrs Claus's chocolate cookies. “I want you to call Dorina and Aspasia and ask them about Rudolph. Will he fly tonight, or we will use the flying carpet instead of reindeer?” said Santa.

     Santa felt his heart pounding fast. Aspasia and Dorina had forgotten their mobile phones at home! Oh, no! Fortunately, in a couple of minutes his elves came back with Rudolph. He was better now and the nurse said that he could fly tonight but not any other time during those days- at leat not until his leg was fine. Santa felt so proud of his team! The sleigh was dry, there were no presents missing and Rudolph would fly all over the world for one more time. In other words, they were ready for the best presents delivery ever!

     This year, everyone took their Christmas gifts on time. Every house was full of smiley faces and laughters. It was the best Christmas in history!

Zeta

(Blog : http://yeshal.clubefl.gr)

     Nowadays, the majority of teenagers spend most part of their day using a mobile phone. However, some spend too much time with their phones and cannot even leave home without them! So, should High Schools ban mobile phones?? In my opinion, no High School should forbid students from bringing their cellphones to school.

     On the one hand, if students bring phones to school and use them during lessons, they cannot concentrate, as the phone provides too many distractions. Another problem is that students who use their phones disturb the other students in class. In this situation, students could hand in their phones to the teacher at the beggining of the lesson. Another solution for this problem is that students can switch off their phones before entering the classroom. I think this is more practical, as they can contact their parents during school breaks and then concentrate more on their lessons without feeling worried or nervous.

     On the other hand, phones are part of modern life for young people and provide important benefits. For instance, teenagers can stay in touch with their friends by texting or going to Facebook and other social networking websites. Also, with smartphones students can go online to find the information they need for their schoolwork. In addition, if a child doesn't have – or even doesn't know how to use- a mobile phone, they can easily be laughed at by other students and labelled "nerds" or "old-fashioned". This may have a negative impact on teenagers' social life and affect their relationship with their peers.

     As I see it, banning students from using mobile phones isn't the best solution to handle the problem. Teachers can just ask them to switch them off at the beggining of the lesson, so that students can participate in class without disturbing anyone. If students still use their phones too much at school, then in my opinion, the best solution is asking students to leave their cellphones at home. This way, they won't get in trouble and they can focus on their lessons more easily.

Zeta

(Blog : http://yeshal.clubefl.gr)

  Nowdays, most young people spend part of every day using their phones. But some spend so much time on their phones either by going online, playing games or sending text messages that they can't even be at school without their phones. So what should High Schools do? Should they allow students to bring their phones to school since phones are part of modern life or should they ban students from bringing their cell phones to school? In my opinion, phones are necessary and students can't be without them even at school.

  On the one hand, if students bring phones to school and use them during class time they cannot focus on their lessons  as the phone provides too many distractions. In this case, students must be careful not to depend on their phones a lot or use them during the school lessons. Another problem is that students who use their phones disturb their classmates. I understand why a young person must have his phone with him since they may need it at the end of the lesson, but in class they must have their phones switched off.

  On the other hand, phones are part of modern life for young people and have several advantages. For instance, teenagers use their phones to stay in touch with their friends by texting or going on Facebook. Also, phones are necessary for students, especially in case of emergency. If students live far away from school, how can they contact their parents if something happens? What I believe is practical to do is to allow students to bring their phones, but only use them during the breaks. This way, students won't annoy or disturb anyone!

  In conclusion, taking mobile phones away from students is not the best way to solve the problem. In my opinion, students should bring their phones to school, but teachers should make use students use their phones in moderation! 

Aspasia

 I was looking forward to the trip, but it nearly ended in disaster. I was travelling to Italy alone, on a damp chilly night, but I was in a great mood.

 In the morning after the sun lit up the empty sky, I decided to go for a walk. As I was walking through the city, I caught a glimpse of something shining near the antique market. It was a purse, full of rusty diamonds. I decided to pick it up but I soon realised  that I had made the wrong decision.

 It was then that I realised somebody had been following me all the time until I reached that exact road. Trembling with fear I started running. To my horror he started running too and he was much faster than me. My stomach turned to ice when I heared him shouting angrilly  – Give me this purse or you will be cursed for the rest of your life! Of course I didn't give it to him but I was frozen to terror and close to tears.

 Just at that moment, the police finally arrived and took the stranger man away to the police station. This experience was totally frightening. I had forgotten all about it in two weeks, until I thought I saw a familiar face in the crowd one day…

EFI

  The moment Jane opened the car's door, she realized she had made a terrible mistake. She was still wearing her slippers!

     Jane went out of Mark's car totally embarrassed. Bright morning sunshine shone into the church. She nervously walked next to Susan. She looked gorgeous! Her wedding dress was white, like those small crystals she was gazing at in the sky when it snowed. Her sandals fitted her perfectly. She was like a princess, without a crown. "Jane!" Susan shouted. "Come here! I've been for you!". "Sorry I'm late, I had a problem with.." said Jane. But she didn't finish her sentence because of Susan's interruption. "It's okay, don't worry. Have to go now, sorry. By the way, you look beautiful!". Jane's face turned beet red with embarrassment. "Thanks.." she whispered. The only thing she wanted was to dig herself a hole and hide in it. Fortunately, Susan didn't see her feet.

     Right before the wedding started, Ann, one of the bridesmaids, saw Jane's cute slippers. "Jane!", she cried, "Come with me". Jane was shocked. She followed Ann to her car, where she gave her a pair of sandals. "Wear them quickly!" said Ann.

     Although Jane's toes hurt for a month-because of the two sizes smaller sandals, she enjoyed the wedding so much, she nearly forgot about her slippers incident!

Zeta

(Blog : http://yeshal.clubefl.gr)

Hi Kelly,

Great to hear from you!! It's my pleasure to help you with your school project.

First of all, in my school the sport we play the most this term is volleyball. My school has got a gigantic basketball court, where we put a volleyball net when we play matches. We all enjoy playing volleyball!! Our PE teacher has already shown us how to play correctly and safely, so we are all ready to try to beat each other!!

You also wanted to know how students benefit from playing volleyball. Well, in my opinion I think there are no disadvantages to playing volleyball or any other sport for that matter. You feel fresh and active. Team sports make you more sociable and most of the times more competitive too. Also, you don't just benefit physically. If you play sports, you do better at all the other school subjects and you increase your self-discipline. So, why not play volleyball for less than thirty minutes a week and benefit so much without really trying hard??

I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, drop me a line!!

Kisses,

Zeta

(Blog : http://yeshal.clubefl.gr)