Newsletter # 1 • Daytona, Florida, USA • June/23/2014
Carta do Phil
Hi folks!
Eu e o Magdal gostaríamos de dar as boas-vindas ao curso Phil Young’s English
School Daytona 2014.
O grupo chegou bem. Como as coisas mudam, neh!? Por todos terem hoje celulares
e outros aparelhos para se comunicar, é quase impossível encontrar telefones públicos
ou aparelhos fixos em alojamentos estudantis aqui nos Estados Unidos.
Após sentirem o peso das malas, acrescido de compras no Wal-Mart, nossos alunos
conheceram o nosso edifício residencial, o "Apollo Hall", um dos mais novos edifícios
do campus, as salas de aulas e todas as demais instalações que vamos usar no nosso programa.
Os alunos participaram da reunião de orientação. Além de conhecerem todo o grupo que trabalha no
programa, ouviram uma palestra sobre segurança com o Coordenador de Prevenção de Crimes da Embry
Riddle Aeronautical University, William Sands.
I'll be writing little things to you students, parents and colleagues during this course. Speaking of writing, this
little school newsletter will be much better if most of it is written by you students. Write something, anything,
and get your teachers to help you correct it. Then send it to us, with, or without, a photo taken by you, and of
you, and we will be proud to publish it. You yourself will feel good seeing something written by you being
published, and it will give great pleasure to your parents and friends, and make them proud. Plus, you'll learn
something getting it corrected. It doesn't have to be long - make it short if you'd like. Make it easy. I think it
might be fun for some of you. Also, if any of your teachers, administrators and "pais" would like to contribute
something to Phil News, please do. It will be a pleasure for us to publish it. Just send it to:
[email protected]
Esperamos que todos aproveitem muito essa chance de estar juntos - alunos, professores e "office staff".
Esperem ver as lágrimas que provavelmente irão cair no jantar de despedida e novamente na chegada de
volta no Brasil. O grupo já esta começando a ser uma "família".
Boa sorte e um grande “abrasso”,
Phil
Do You Know Where You Are?
There have been all kinds of research projects done, to see how much general, basic knowledge many
students these days do not have…studies about the so-called educational crisis. It’s interesting to note that o
grandíssimo Darcy Ribeiro said, “It’s not the educational
crisis…It’s the plan!” Claro, neh, it’s easier to control
people who don’t know much. One of the studies
revealed that 55 percent of American college students
tested could not identify, among ten dots on a map of the
United States , New York City . Fazer o que, neh?
Anyhow, here is a map of the United States , with Florida
augmented. By the way, Alaska is not “under” California
!!! And Florida goes from Georgia to Key West , which,
by the way, is only 90 miles from Cuba .
Here’s a little task for y’all…find out what latitude
Daytona Beach is on and what major city in Brazil is on
(or near) a similar latitude South of the Equator, and tell your teachers.
Daytona Beach
By Gerson Brandão Couto *
History
The area was once inhabited by the Timucuan Indians, who lived in fortified villages. War and
disease, however, would decimate the tribe. Florida was acquired from Spain by the United
States in 1821, although permanent settlement was delayed until after the Second Seminole
War from 1835 to 1842. When the Civil War ended, Florida experienced a boom in tourism.
The city was founded in 1870 and incorporated in 1876. It was named for its founder, Matthias
D. Day. In 1886, the St. Johns & Halifax River Railway arrived in Daytona. The line would be
purchased in 1889 by Henry Flagler, who made it part of his Florida East Coast Railway. The
separate towns of Daytona, Daytona Beach and Seabreeze merged as " Daytona Beach " in
1926, at the urging of civic leader J.B. Kahn and others. By the 1920s, it was dubbed…
"The World's Most Famous Beach"
Daytona's wide beach of smooth, compacted sand attracted automobile and motorcycle races beginning in
1902, as pioneers in the industry tested their inventions. On March 8, 1936, the first stock car race was held
on the Daytona Beach Road Course. In 1959, William France created Daytona International Speedway to
replace the beach course. Automobiles are still permitted on the beach, although now only at slow speeds on
“The World's Most Famous Beach ”.
The city and its beaches, lined with hotels, motels, condominiums and houses, attract over 8,000,000 tourists
each year. In a wide variety of price ranges, hotel and motel rooms are typically plentiful except during special
events. Daytona Beach has high security around its main hotel locations, with multiple cameras filming hotel
and beach areas. It is one of the few places in the world where a family car can be driven on an ocean beach.
Most other driving beaches require 4-wheel drive or other special equipment.
Cars racing on the beach at Daytona Beach
Daytona International Speedway
During motorcycle events (Bike Week and Biketoberfest), several hundred thousand bikers from all over the
world visit the greater Daytona Beach area. While the city is often associated with spring break, the efforts of
the local government to discourage rowdiness, combined with the rise of other spring break destinations, have
nearly ended Daytona's former preeminence as a spring break destination.
Special events that draw visitors to Daytona Beach include:
· Speedweeks (Daytona 500 NASCAR race, Rolex 24 sports car race, and others)
· Coke Zero 400, NASCAR race on or around July 4 (Traditionally called the Pepsi 400 or Firecracker 400)
· Daytona Beach Bike Week ,Daytona 200 motorcycle race in March
· Biketoberfest in October
· Turkey Run car show and events during Thanksgiving weekend (Traditionally called the Turkey Rod
Run)
· Black College Reunion (BCR) (date varies)
· Spring break (date varies, usually the first and second week of March)
Daytona Beach is also home to the headquarters of NASCAR, Grand-Am, International Speedway Corporation
and the LPGA.
Culture
Daytona Beach is located roughly at the southern end of the cultural South, so its culture has remained
somewhat Southern. The architecture and style of its older homes and buildings and speech of its older,
locally-born inhabitants leaves no doubt as to its cultural Southern roots.
The Museum of Arts and Sciences is the primary cultural facility for Daytona Beach and Volusia County. Other
museums located in the city include the Southeast Museum of Photography and the Halifax Historical Museum
. The Museum of Arts and Sciences is actually a collection of museums and galleries and includes the Klancke
Environmental Complex, the Cuban Museum, Root Family Museum featuring one of the largest Coca-Cola(R)
collections in the world, the Dow American Gallery and the Bouchelle Center for Decorative Arts which
together form what is probably one of the finest collections of furniture and decorative arts in the Southeast.
The city to the north ( Ormond Beach ) includes the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and the city to the south (
New Smyrna Beach ) includes the renowned Atlantic Center for the Arts, which also boasts several museums
and galleries making this region of central Florida something akin to Orlando 's Cultural Coast .
Shopping
· Volusia Mall, 1700 West International Speedway Blvd; is
the largest shopping mall in Daytona Beach . Anchored by
Sears, JC Penney, Macy's, and Dillards.
· Bellair Plaza , 2429 North Atlantic Ave. Bellair Plaza is
located on the west side of North Atlantic Avenue (A1A) in
Daytona Beach. Bellair is anchored by Bealls, Publix, Ruby
Tuesday, and Walgreens.
· Ocean Walk Shoppes, 250 North Atlantic Ave. Open-air
shopping center, located in the heart of the beach area.
Ocean Walk Shoppes in Daytona Beach
· Daytona Beach Flea Market, 2987 Bellevue Ave.
Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the flea market opens its stalls to sell anything and everything including
jewelry, produce, clothing, sports equipment and toys. Free parking and free admission.
· Riverfront Marketplace, Beach Street . A group of shops, restaurants and museums that lines Beach Street
and the few streets surrounding downtown Daytona Beach . Across the street is the Saturday Farmer's Market
on City Island (next to the public library), the oldest of its kind in Florida .
· Belnova Plaza
· Daytona Mall
· Nova Village Market
· Pelican Bay Shopping Village
· Promenade Shopping Center
· Wal-Mart Super Center
· Volusia Square Shopping Center
· Volusia Point Center
· Volusia Point Center
· Shops at Beville
* Gerson Brandão Couto has been a teacher at Phil Young’s/Champagnat for eight years. He has
taught all levels, from Beginning to Advanced. His interests include Astronomy, History, Politics, Music
(he plays the guitar) and Sports (basketball). He has been married to his wonderful Brazilian wife,
Elissa, for over eight years, and they have two sons. They live in Campo Largo, a city in the metropolitan
area of Curitiba .
Pictures
Sempre que possível, publicaremos fotos dos nossos alunos em Daytona. São fotos da viagem e das
primeiras atividades na universidade.
Embarque grupo em Curitiba.
Movie Session
When? June 23th, monday at 7:30
Where? Fountain Room at the Student Village
The trials and tribulations of a compulsive writer, Melvin Udall... After
his homosexual neighbor is brutally beaten, he is entrusted to the care
of the neighbor's dog. He also has a difficult relationship with a waitress
to add on top of that. What develops is a weekend trip/triangle between
these three individuals, and together they learn the true meaning of "the
sunny side of life".