St. Nicholas Newsletter www.stnicholas.com.br │ December II - 2009 Student Council organises donation collected by St. Nicholas School community Upcoming events December Yasmin Younes, Year 11 Tue 15th, Wed 16th and Thu 17th Year 10 and 12 Mock exams Thu 17th Last day for Infant pupils at 15:15 Fri 18th Last day for Junior pupils at 12:00 Last day for Senior students at 14:00 January 2010 Thu21st and Fri 22nd Year 10 and 12 Mock exams Tue 26th and Wed 27th Year 10 and 12 Mock exams TRIPS Year 9 Ice Skating Do not forget! School starts for pupils on Thursday 28th Poliana, who works in the Infant School, has created a beautiful project in a favela in Taboão da Serra where every Sunday morning she removes all the chairs of a small church, kindly lent by its owner, for a different section of the public to frequent the space: children and adolescents from the neighbourhood. From 8.00am to 11.00am, 22 children and 8 teenagers who come from very, very humble homes go to the church to do activities planned by Poliana, mainly arts and crafts like painting and drawing. She also teaches them religion and helps the teenagers to know what is right and wrong, taking into consideration the complicated life they have to experience. Some of them are extremely unfortunate and have harsh family problems. These children also receive a large snack made by her, which, in some cases, is all they will eat for the day. Poliana, alone, tries to help them as much as she can, with an open heart and wonderful work. She sometimes takes the teenagers for a pizza night out to get to know them well and she regularly makes all of them get involved with music and instruments so they can have fun and have a connection with something positive and tranquil, away from their difficult lives. During Christmas, Poliana, along with her mother, will prepare a large supper for the children and their parents to go to and she will give all the children presents. Poliana has been working alone on this project for a long time and she has put a lot of her own money into material and snacks and a lot of devotion towards the children of this creche. But the place is extremely small for the large number of children and it lacks necessities like tables and materials. The government has been trying to look for a better and larger location for them, so more and more children can frequent it, but this is still pending. Until they don’t get the new place, Poliana will continue with her outstanding passion and her amazing enthusiasm to change the lives of these children. Student Council representatives, along with Senior School Student Council coordinator, Mr. Anderson Costa, visited the project on Thursday, December 10th. We were all impressed with the work and devotion of Poliana and the love the children feel for her job. All of them look forward to the Sunday morning activities. The Student Council will consider providing assistance for her project next term. Junior Rock Bands Rock Band Heroes! On 10th December the year 4, 5, 6 pupils presented their bands. They worked hard in their lunch time and break to prepare for the rock bands that everybody enjoyed. It was really great with all their music and talent. All of them played really great and everybody was clapping and cheering for all the hard work they did. They made these presentations just for you. They all ROCKED!!! by Shreya Bangera and Carolina Gattaz Year 4X The Infant School had a great time yesterday, December 10th, watching the Junior Rock Band concert. From Tiny Tots 2 to Year 2, children danced and had a lot of fun! Thanks Junior Bands for inviting us! You guys rock! EMERSON FITTIPALDI ACELERA NA ST. NICHOLAS Mr Anderson Costa Duas vezes campeão mundial de Fórmula 1 e campeão de Fórmula Indy. Não é pouco para um esportista que se propôs a ser piloto de automobilismo aos cinco anos, quando foi levado, pela primeira vez, por seu pai, ao autódromo de Interlagos. Chama a atenção de qualquer um a determinação a atingir seus objetivos estabelecida por ele. Se levarmos em conta que o automobilismo é um esporte que envolve alto grau de risco e elevada produção de adrenalina, logo somos inclinados a imaginar que aquele garoto de cinco anos seja um vencedor agitado e rápido em seus atos fora das pistas. Foi esta, talvez, a maior surpresa que os alunos do Senior School tiveram ao conhecer, no Assembly do dia 2 de dezembro, o garoto que já sabia o que seria desde os primeiros anos de vida. Emerson Fittipaldi, um dos maiores nomes do automobilismo mundial de todos os tempos, esteve no Hall de nossa escola para conversar com os alunos sobre sua carreira, os desafios que teve que enfrentar e os sucessos que conquistou. Sua presença leve e calma, somada ao seu falar tranquilo e apaixonado, contrastaram com a velocidade que Emo (como é conhecido fora do Brasil, ou Rato, seu apelido em seu país natal) demonstrou nas pistas por onde correu. Ele trouxe a miniatura de um carro de Fórmula 1 e explicou aos alunos, em detalhes, a aerodinâmica de seu design. Também mostrou e deixou os alunos segurarem o capacete que ele usa e apresentou o macacão a prova de fogo que os pilotos têm que usar. No início de sua apresentação, Fittipaldi mostrou um vídeo com imagens de suas corridas e títulos e depoimentos de outros pilotos a seu respeito. Ele teceu elogios a seu ídolo Juan Manuel Fangio, comentou o prazer que foi, para ele, poder correr ao lado de nomes como Allain Prost, Nick Lauda, Nelson Piquet e Ayrton Senna, entre tantos outros inesquecíveis. Mostrou, ainda, um comovente momento em que aparece na tela o Beatle George Harrison (alguém aí já ouviu falar nele?) cantando uma versão de “Here comes the sun” para Emo, em que diz ”Here comes Emerson” e fala das praias do Brasil e de nossa deliciosa caipirinha. O Assembly foi, sim, rápido e corrido (como não poderia deixar de ser). Mas a lembrança deixada por Emerson na St. Nicholas School ainda vai dar muitas voltas e fará muitos pit stops em nosso veloz e eterno circuito acadêmico. Wacky Week Junior Student Council: A Term of Achievements Mrs Yu It has been a very productive term for this academic year’s first set of Student Council representatives. Without a doubt, it was busy, but it was also absolutely a very rewarding and enjoyable learning experience for everyone. This term, the Junior Student Council operated differently. Instead of teachers leading and preparing for the meetings, representatives of both Year 6 classes took turns preparing the agenda, taking down minutes, and publishing articles in the Newsletter. They were very reliable and efficient with their leading roles. We were also lucky to have a number of active contributors whose ideas kept everyone busy the whole term. Highlights of the term: • August– Student Council Breakfast and first visit to ACOMI in August •September – Peace Day •October – Book Drive and Book Sale and Halloween themed Casual Clothes Day •November – Delivering playground equipment to ACOMI and Christmas Drive •December – Christmas visit to ACOMI and Creche Nova Esperança Congratulations to this term’s representatives for their fantastic ideas, generous contributions and outstanding achievements! You have proven yourselves responsible and caring leaders and excellent role models of the school community! New books and DVDs in the library! The Library has received new books and DVDs! You can see an updated list of new titles from the Library regularly! Just open the “Intranet” page, click on “Library”, top left, on “Aquisições do mês” or “New in Library”. Last week the house captains and vice-captains organised Wacky Week. Everyday at break time there was a fun race for each year group. On Monday Year 3s participated in the Bursting Balloon race. Results: 1st place Cambridge, 2nd London, 3rd Oxford. On Tuesday Year 4s had Spoon Scramble, an egg and spoon race. Results: 1st place: Cambridge, 2nd London, 3rd Oxford. Last day! Reminding that all loans must be returned to the library, by Wednesday 16th December. As the term is coming to the end, could you please return all the Library materials until the last day of School? On Wednesday it was Year 5’s turn and they had the Munching Marshmallows. Results: 1st Place Oxford, 2nd place Cambridge, 3rd Place London. Errata Finally on Thursday it was year 6’s turn to cover their faces with flour. Results: 1st place: London, 2nd place Cambridge and 3rd place Oxford. We would like to apologise for some mistakes in the previous newsletter issue. We would like to thank all the students that participated and made the event so enjoyable!! We would also like to congratulate our organised and enthusiastic house captains and vice-captains. Overall results • Language Corner had two instructions. 1st 2nd 3rd Cambridge London Oxford • Language Corner’s winners names were wrong. The correct would be: Sreya (3Y), Carolina, Shreya, Arissa, Beatrice (4X), Lucas and Raveena (4Y), Charlotte and Se Yun (5Y), Catarina, Sarah and Natalia (6X), Sally and Pedro Camargo (6Y). Universidade e Carreira Um profissional com habilidades manuais e especialista no tratamento bucal das pessoas. O trabalho de um odontologista vai além da definição dessa primeira frase. Trabalhador da área de saúde, um dentista deve ter formação humanista e estar atento ao bem-estar do paciente para lhe oferecer o tratamento adequado. “Para ser dentista, é preciso gostar de lidar com pessoas, porque ele não trata só do dente, da boca, ele trata do paciente como um todo”, define Luciano Artioli Moreira, presidente da Associação Brasileira de Cirurgiões-Dentistas (AbcdBrasil). Há 19 especialidades reconhecidas pelo CFO. De acordo com o conselho, a maioria dos profissionais se especializa em ortodontia, implantodontia, prótese e ortopedia funcional dos maxilares. Essas áreas concentram o maior número de atendimentos no país. Entre as tendências do mercado destacam-se a odontogeriatria, devido ao envelhecimento da população, a odontologia estética e o atendimento voltado a pessoas com necessidades especiais. Caiu no vestibular História (FUVEST) A Revolução Francesa eliminou privilégios do Antigo Regime, difundindo os princípios de Liberdade, Igualdade, Fraternidade. Napoleão Bonaparte adotou medidas que violaram aqueles princípios. Comente duas dessas medidas. Um desafio de matemática (FUVEST 2010) Uma pirâmide tem como base um quadrado de lado 1, e cada uma de suas faces laterais é um triângulo equilátero. Então, a área do quadrado, que tem como vértices os baricentros de cada uma das faces laterais, é igual a: Carreira: Odontologia O curso é de tempo integral e sua duração varia de quatro a cinco anos de acordo com a universidade. Segundo as diretrizes do Ministério da Educação , 20% da carga horária total deve ser destinada a estágios curriculares. A maioria das instituições de ensino possui clínicas para que seus alunos possam aplicar o conhecimento teórico recebido sob supervisão de professores. Nas entidades públicas, há atendimento gratuito para a população. Antes de ter contato com os pacientes, os estudantes aprendem as técnicas em laboratório usando manequins de bocas. Na maior parte das universidades, o primeiro ano da graduação é destinado a disciplinas básicas como microbiologia, biociências, genética, imunologia, patologia, entre outras. A partir do segundo ano do curso, os estudantes já começam a ter disciplinas práticas e a atender pacientes. Na Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), as disciplinas teóricas e práticas são integradas e o atendimento St Nicholas na Fuvest Gostaríamos de parabenizar ao exaluno Marcelo Poles Jannuzzi, por ter sido aprovado para a segunda fase do vestibular da Universidade de São Paulo (FUVEST - USP), para o curso de Engenharia. by Mr L. Anderson clínico também. “Os alunos fazem todos os procedimentos e interagem com professores de várias áreas da odontologia”, explica o coordenador do curo, professor Enilson Antonio Sallum. De acordo com os professores, para ser um bom profissional, o estudante deve continuar sua formação após a faculdade e se atualizar sempre, pois os tratamentos se modernizam ao longo dos anos. “Tem que estudar muito o resto da vida, ler todo dia, fazer cursos e acessar a internet”, diz o coordenador do curso da UFPR, Jayme Bordini Júnior. Fonte: globo.com Os melhores cursos são oferecidos pelas seguintes instituições: • UNESP (São José dos Campos, Araraquara e Araçatuba) • USP (SP, Bauru e Ribeirão Preto) • UNICAMP (Piracicaba) • Leopoldo Mandic (Campinas) Palestra – As novas tendências dos Vestibualres Respostas do Número Anterior As respostas do número anterior estarão na próxima edição. Alunos do Year 11 e 12 assistiram à palestra do Prof Eber, coordenador do Curso prévestibular Intergraus – Pinheiros, sobre as novas tendências dos vestibulares e a atual situação do ENEM (Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio) para a entrada em universidades brasileiras. a) 5/9 b) 4/9 c) 1/3 d) 2/9 e) 1/9 Campo dos Sonhos It was a great experience for everyone and the children learnt all about the importance of recycling, how a water wheel can be used to produce energy, how organic fertilizers are made and their importance to our health as well as how coffee is made in the most natural way possible. We were really pleased and impressed by the children’s interest and the questions they asked. From the November 11th – 13th Year 4 went on a trip to Campo dos Sonhos as part of an introduction to our new unit ‘What’s in the Bin?’. After working all day they had their free time and an opportunity to ride horses, cycle on bikes, go on the ‘pedalinho’, swim in the two pools or relax in the Jacuzzi and obviously the boys played lots of football! They were also very excited about our night walk around the forest using lanterns they made from tins and candles to shine the way. They also got to feed animals and milk a cow. At the end of our trip we planted a tree. It is the fifth tree St. Nicholas has at the hotel. The trip was a success and the students learnt a lot and had a great time! Well done Year 4! Senior English Fortress Food I want to go to Fortress F. F for food, that is. It is the paradise of whoever likes to eat a lot. It all starts with the candy corridor. sure you’re using a big bowl! Pour in a cup of anger. Add 100ml of the purest impatience you can find. A teaspoon of fear would be good. One whole kilometre with walls covered in candy boxes. There is chewing gum the size of a golf ball, gummy bears of colours from magenta to dark blue, chocolate bars of all shapes and sizes and towers of marshmallows. Sweet, soft marshmallows. There is also the hamburger house. Hamburgers: delicious, juicy, awesome hamburgers. There are hamburgers with cheese, hamburgers with lettuce, chicken hamburgers, green hamburgers, sweet hamburgers, hamburgers as tall as a house, hamburgers as small as your finger nail. Some even say there are triangular Put that in the oven. After 10 minutes it should be ready! Now get a bowl full of kindness. Pour in a spoonful of sweetness and a dash of bitterness. A filled cup of laughter and a jug of clumsiness should be added. Blend it all together. Remove the bowl from the oven and pour the blended mixture on top. A bag of joy will make it more special as well as a pound of dreams and 20ml of resentment. Place it all on the table and pour in a whole jar of love. Best served with cooked tears! by Calu Malta (Yr 8) hamburgers. And finally, the best of all… The chocolate milk swimming pool. Some people drink from it, others swim in it; that milk can cheer up even the saddest, loneliest person in the world. In the fortress there are many wonders that could make you go crazy and never leave the palace. Some say it’s real, some call it a legend, but those who went in, never came out. by Ivan Falsztyn (Yr 7) *** A Recipe for Calu Malta Ingredients: A spoonful of happiness 50ml of surprises A cup of anger 100ml of impatience A teaspoon of fear A bowl of kindness A spoon of sweetness A dash of bitterness A cup of laughter A jug of clumsiness A jar full of love A bag full of joy A pound of dreams 20ml of resentment Method: Begin with a spoon full of happiness. Mix it together with 50ml of surprises. Make *** Year 9 students have been studying John Steinbeck’s novel, “Of Mice and Men” in their English lessons. Steinbeck focuses on the theme of dreams in his novel and students were asked to write about their own hopes and dreams for the future. Hopes and Dreams Every person in the world has various hopes and dreams. Hopes and dreams might be related to education, health, happiness, careers and leisure. They may be as simple as results for tests and as complex as travelling worldwide. Furthermore, hopes and dreams are important because they give us an aim to achieve during life and give us motivation to live our lives with enthusiasm. around the world or in Europe. A particular country I would adore visiting is Greece and this is for three main reasons. Firstly, my surname has a Greek origin, therefore part of my family is Greek and centuries ago they have lived there so I would love to learn about the place and the culture of where my family has once lived. Secondly, I was always fascinated with the Greek mythology and it would be spectacular to visit the monuments and landmarks dedicated to Greek gods and goddesses, for example Athena’s sanctuary, Poseidon’s temple and The Parthenon, Athena’s most famous temple. Thirdly, it would be a unique experience to find out about a new culture, marvelous tourist attractions and new types of food, such as unusual salads for example the “horiaktiki salatas”. Additionally, I would like to do this trip when I turn 15 years old with my sisters or another family member. In Greece, I hope to visit Athens because there I will not only learn about mythology, but also about the Olympic Games. For this dream to become reality, I will have to be willing to be a hard worker and have motivation to achieve it. Thirdly, I have the dream of visiting Disney World once more. Last year, I travelled to Orlando, Florida and I had the opportunity to visit Disney World and see the stunning views it provides. A highlight of that trip for me was the castle in Magic Kingdom, since its beauty amazed me. At night, you can notice that the castle changes colour because of the lights that shine upon it. Furthermore, there is a firework show called “Wishes” and it is amazing to observe because the fireworks dance in the sky like professional dancers do on a stage. From my point of view, Disney is a place which I will never regret visiting as all ages are entertained. Moreover, all of the attractions in the parks are extremely well planned and, in my opinion, it is a magical and perfect place. There is a slogan for Disney World which says: “Where dreams come true” and actually it is the place where one of my dreams will come true. Fortunately, this dream will be fulfilled in 2010, as my family has already booked this trip. Firstly, I have the dream of having a career which is related to Biology and the environment. This is because Biology is a subject which I enjoy and I am concerned with the environment nowadays. In addition, I would like to have this career because of the possibility of discovering cures to fatal diseases, for example cancer and AIDS, and therefore helping people who suffer from these diseases. Moreover, I will be passionate about this career because it will give me an opportunity to protect the environment which is presently being damaged. This dream may be achieved by having a high quality education, possibly studying overseas in the U.K or U.S.A, and attending an excellent university, hopefully Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Brown or USP. Finally, I have the dream of becoming a contemporary or lyrical dancer. Since I am a quiet and tranquil person who does not speak much, I require another manner of expressing myself and I think dancing is the solution as it is something I enjoy. In addition, I have chosen these dance styles because they are not aggressive and the movements are gorgeous and fascinating. This dream might be fulfilled by practising to the best of my ability and by taking advantage of every lesson. Secondly, I have the dream of travelling By Stéphanie Beeby (Yr 9) In conclusion, I think that everyone should have dreams and work their hardest to achieve them. I hope that everyone’s dreams are fulfilled, however, in order for that to happen, we need to be willing to fight for them and we must never give up. Sports Mr Moss Junior Inter House Swimming Gala A fine array of swimming talents and abilities were on show in an excellent morning of house representation and competition in the first solo Junior House Swimming Gala. The Gala, such a prominent event in the school Sports calendar, was well supported by an impressive number of parents, family members, cameras and variety of Infant/ Junior staff and Snr House representatives contributing to the many successes of the morning. Over 135 pupils/swimmers from the Jnr School in all years competed in a 32 races that included all the recognised stokes, an open house relay and a staff relay. One 6 year old standing record of 20, 03 was broken by Luiza Perez in the Yr4 Front Crawl at a time of 19, 88. Also London took the honors off last year’s winners Cambridge in the staff relay. Quarters, Minutes and Points The Yr3/4 House competition was extremely tight as only 2 points difference separated 1st from 3rd place. Cambridge notably having more influence this year. But Ms Philip’s Oxford challenged the houses’ depth of ability, consistency, numbers of competitors and top places all the way but it was to be the green of London’s morning. Led by Mrs. Borges, London ended Oxford’s run of over 3 yrs as title holders and were crowned Junior Inter House Swimming Gala Champions of 2009/10. On behalf of the PE Department a massive thanks to all members of the St Nicholas community and the Head of Houses for their support, time and contribution before and during the event. Congratulation to London and we look forward to The Senior House Swimming Gala in April/May. Game 1 - St Nicholas 40 x 18 St Pauls Game 2 - St Nicholas 44 x 26 St Pauls With Theo’s scoring heroics, it’s easy to proclaim him the star of the two games. For me, though, there wasn’t a single St Nicholas player who proved to be more valuable than any other. It was the team’s excellent defense and transitional play that won both games, and everyone deserves commendation here. This was a team that was positive and committed to the goal of performing and competing to the best of their collective ability. Game 1 - St Nicholas 18 x 24 St Pauls Game 2 - St Nicholas 18 x 20 St Pauls LANGUAGE CORNER Dedé Toffoli ?? ? Prepositions can be tricky! Complete the sentences below with the correct prepositions and give your answers to Mrs. Toffoli (ESL). You may win an R.O.A.! by - on - in - for 1. Did you do it ____ your own? Yes, I like working _____ myself. 2. She couldn’t talk to me, she was _____ such a hurry. 3. Did he do it _____ purpose? No, he broke the plate ______ accident. 4. It is more expensive because it’s made ______ hand. 5.They traveled to Germany ______ business. 6. I’ve seen it everywhere! ______ TV, ______the radio, ______ all newspapers. 7. She found the poem ______ chance ______a book _____ Shakespeare. 8. I usually go to school _____ foot but if it’s raining I go _____ car. 9. He’s over there, working _____ the computer now. 10. What a lovely day to go _____ a swim! Name: ________________________________ Year: _____________ Last issue’s winners: Sreya (3Y), Jun and Arissa (4X), Rick (4Y), Saketh (5X), Se Yun (5Y), Catarina and Sarah (6X),Pedro Camargo (6Y), Nodoka and Yoon (Y7) Credit goes to all the girls, too, for two games well played and all their hard work after a dismal performance at Alphaville. The team is a work-in-progress, and have improved their effectiveness of passing, shooting and general skill and discipline. Clearly, St Nicks girls still have work to do but pride can be taken in St Nicks leading both entire games until the last 5 minutes of each fourth quarter. With both teams evenly and competitively matched, both games were enjoyable and showed definite improvements by all girls individually and collectively. Think Green Mrs Vassellucci Don’t Let Being Away from Home Stop Your Recycling Efforts! You are no stranger to recycling. You sort your garbage. You compost your kitchen scraps. You have very little trash. You recycle all the things you can in your home. And then the realisation hits: you’re going out of town. What to do about the recycling while you’re away? Summer vacation is upon us. Don’t let your vacation or trip away from home stop you from recycling. Here’s what you can do to help plan for recycling while you’re out of town. Reduce Before You Even Start Recycling Bottled water may be convenient while we’re on the go during the summer months, but consider eliminating your consumption of bottle water by buying recycled and reusable containers to reduce waste. It costs nearly 7 times as much water to manufacture and transport a single bottle of water produced and bottled for you than it does for you to refill your own reusable water containers. By using your own bottles, you avoid the waste, reduce the cost, and avoid having to recycle in the first place. Call Ahead to Find Local Recycling Options Most communities have some access to recycling. Check city websites where you’ll be traveling or telephone city offices to find out what kind of recycling is available in the city you’ll be visiting. Be specific about what you’re looking for. Are you looking for general recycling for paper, metal and plastic goods while you’re vacationing? Ask if there are drop off locations or recycling bins within city centers. If you’re going camping, call ahead and ask what kind of recycling is available where you’ll be. Many state park systems are implementing recycling to help with local wildlife and waterway protections. Keep your camp site clean and recycle those resources. Remember to ask about composting vegetable scraps from your cooking too! Don’t let your vacation stop you from helping our planet! Have an enjoyable and safe trip and happy 2009! Sharing Christmas with ACOMI and Creche Nova Esperança Giovanna Pedrinola sandwiches, chocolates and juice. We also played a game called ‘pass the parcel’ and the kids loved it! And we really appreciated having Mr. Carlos going with us and singing Christmas songs with us for the kids. We also presented them a Christmas play and they didn’t stop laughing and having fun. And then we gave them their presents and they were super happy. It was a very special, fun time for us and for them. On December 11th, the members of the Junior Student Council visited ACOMI and Creche Nova Esperança to deliver the toys and the Christmas presents that were collected during the last Casual Clothes Day. First, we went to the Creche and took lots of food, like panettones, muffins, You can enjoy this artwork on the Student Council display board next to the reception area. Thank you everyone for your support, contributions and donations! We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! While we were at the creche, Gabriella Iannoni and Maria Eduarda Oliveira dos Santos went to ACOMI with PTA representative Mrs Teresa Santiago also to deliver toys, presents and some Christmas goodies for the kids there. They also delivered a first aid kit that was donated by one of our parents, Mrs Maria Joana Verças! In return, ACOMI gave us some delicious cookies, home baked bread and some artwork done by the children who go there. Commemorations, celebrations and fun events around the world Action Committee / International Committee December 24th – Christmas Eve, the night before Christmas Day, is observed by Christians around the world with special meals with family or friends, giftgiving, and for Catholics, a midnight mass. 25th – Christmas Day is a commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and modern traditions include the display of Nativity scenes, Holly and Christmas trees, the exchange of gifts and cards, and the arrival of Father Christmas or Santa Claus on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Popular Christmas themes include the promotion of goodwill and peace. 26th – Boxing Day is a public holiday celebrated in the United Kingdom, Canada and most other Commonwealth countries, or alternatively on the next weekday after Christmas. Different countries have different ways of celebrating this holiday, but many of them observe the day with postChristmas sales and various sporting events. 26th Dec to 1st Jan – Kwanzaa is a week-long Pan-African festival primarily honoring African-American heritage, observed almost exclusively in the United States of America. Activities for the occasion include candlelighting, pouring of libations, and a feast and gift-giving on the last day. 31st – New Year’s Eve is celebrated with family gatherings and parties to mark the end of the year and to welcome the new one. Many cultures use fireworks and other forms of noise making as part of the celebration.