Hello everyone! This blog has been created by Irene Giannitsi who is a teacher of English at the Senior High School of Konitsa. Anyone interested in learning about the school’s projects and activities the students are taking part in, is more than welcome. Enjoy your visit!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

How about some poetry?

Several students of our school have agreed to write poems inspired by the poems written and sent to us from our pen pals in Pryor, Oklahoma. After following the instructions of Ms Perkins, the teacher of Pryor High School, I am proud to edit some of the poems written by us. Enjoy reading them.

The -ation poem

I love my nation
and my location.
It's my inspiration
and my motivation.

I express my admiration
through this situation.
I got this invitation
to spread the reputation
of our civilization.

---Effie Vaggeli, Markella Kallinteri, Zoe Lytou A1










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I am

I am a black hole
An empty bottle
Empty of feelings
Full of memories 
and scars from future
I am a whisper
The voice of a man
A lonely and weary man
Who's trapped now and forever
By his careless imagination
I am a torn diary
The diary of a pretty girl
She keeps her thoughts
I'm sorry -it's unbelievable
She tried to kill herself
I am a lover
The dreamy person you want
Your friend, your hero, the killer.
The blood shards froze in me
To condemn your dishonesty
I am nothing
You're still in coma, trying 
To shatter an insignificant fear.
My waxes put the absence out
As icons unfold in smoke 
And I loathe...

---Mary Kavelidou B1


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I was told to write a poem.
Something like yours.
Then it will be easier to make myself known to you
The things that I write are all true.

 Well, before I start I want you to know that I did my best.
I'm a blue-eyed and brown-haired girl, 
thin, not tall but not short as well.
I was born in Konitsa and when I was a baby
I lived for 6 months in Germany.
When I became 4 or 3 years old I went to
the kindergarten and then to school.
It's been almost 11 years now and I haven't finished it yet.
Hard and tiring but exciting and interesting.

When I get older I have one goal
I want to become a psychologist.
I also love animals. 
I love my friends as well.

I'm really sorry for this.
I'm sure this was the worst poem you've ever read! :)

--- Rania Koloka A1
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Boring is my name, never thought it that way
this is hell i'm living, wonder how it is in paradise...
Born in this place with other kids
sitting in a chair listening to "chains"
This is like a puzzle never knew who i am
getting bigger and bigger is the way you understand...
Things here are smooth there's gotta be a mistake
so many people leaving town for strange reasons
don't listen to anyone just do what ur heart tells u
This is the life we live in and especially for me
Boring is my name:)


---Vagelis Gratsounas C1

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All around different face I see...
some are sad but others are carefree
some are troubled but others are free...
we can all do something. Only we...

Problems are a lot
but life is short
so we must give life a shot...

You're not alone
Oh, child, don't be afraid
You're not alone.
Life is cruel 
but all you have to do is fight.
Because if you fight, you can win.
And giving up your hope is not the thing.

---Evridiki Kiritsi A1









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Things about me

My instructor said,
Go home and write 
a page tonight
And let that page come out of you
Then, it will be true

My name Christina, I am fifteen, born in
Athens but I didn't go to school there
I went to school in Konitsa
I have two brothers and one sister
and I live with my family in Konitsa

My hobbies are watching TV, hanging out
with my friends and riding a bike
I like to sleep, read, learn and work.
My favorite celebrations are 
Christmas and Easter.

This is my page for English.

---Christina Fotou A2


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Thoughts In The Revolving Sky

Our Teacher Told Us To Write A Poem
So Here I Am, Sitting In Front Of MyPc
Writing Something That Comes FromThe
Heart... So Here It Goes

In This World Of Lies The Truth It Means Resistance
You Raise Your Guns And We Raise Our Voices
Though You Ignore Us And Still Trying To Convince Us
That There Is Still Hope We Know You Again Are Lying

I Am 16 Years Old And Still I Can Understand Your Lies From A Mile Away
I Think That You Are Stunned After Seeing The Truth With Its Real Form
You Can Scream All You Want But Nothings Gonna Change.

You Are Still Trying To Turn Us Into Robots Of The New Society
That You Are Creating Without Our Permission But We Will Not
Be Your Little Puppets, We Are Finally Free.

So You Are Screaming, Aiming And Firing At Us
But In The Very End Our Blood Will Drown You Flame Of Greed.

---Chris Vasalos A1



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Ms Giannitsi said to us

to write a poem, not an ass
Try to make it come from you
just to be true
I'll try to make it cool
bu not to fool

Here it goes!!!
I don't know what to write
because I don't know how to rhyme
Well, I'm 16 years old
but not too tall
I have short hair
and my life is up in the air
I like my life 
without a strife
My goal is to become a doctor
just to protect the poor
My dream is to travel around the world
'cause I like to be unrolled

---Angelika Exarchou A1

 









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The thin line

There is a thin line between
War and Peace, a line where
no one knows when they
are standing on it.

A lot of  Nations crossed
that line and were eaten
by the Mouth of War
Became orphans, adopted
by the field of battle.

A lot of Nations became 
greedy, and then the
desire for domination showed up.
Domination consumed them
and then called 'em friends
Manipulated them and drove 
them to total annihilation.

What is out there?
What happens after you take the decision?
The decision to cross the line,
War or Peace? Heaven or Hell?
I have crossed that line and I know
that out there is...

---Chris Vasalos A1


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Our teacher asked us to write a poem
And this is mine.
So, let's keep going

It's kinda hard to rhyme.
Considering your language is not like mine
But that's just something I can put
aside and try my best to rhythm and rhyme.
I think living in a village is certainly better
And that's why I live in Konitsa for as
long as I can remember.

I share a room with my sister as well
And we don't always get on too well.

As you already know I have 2 older brothers
as well and that's something I have to bear.

Oh, I'm just kidding I love them all 'cause
they are my siblings, that says it all.

I love my mom and dad too
I think you've figured I'm kind of a 
family person, just like you.

I agree with you about the whole age
thing. There are temptations but nothing's foreseen.
So just keep trying and you will see that
temptations can be "deceived".
And I'm so sorry about your aunt
I know that losing someone can be SO hard
I lost my grandma and my grandpa and
that is something I wish I wouldn't remember.

---Zoe Lytou A1



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My teacher said
"Today I want you to go home
tear a page and hold a note
put your thoughts on it
and express your feelings.
Then you will have a poem".
So, I'm gonna give it a try
but if I can't make it I'm not gonna cry.

Well, I'm Christine and I live in Konitsa,
a small village in the middle of nowhere.
You can see there every day
green lushes, mountains and rivers all the way
The whole landscape is awesome.
Breathtaking in a word
and I never get bored.

As for me, well, what can I say?
I like listening to music, seeing movies,
hanging out with friends,
sleeping and drawing.
I love sports and animals,
my family and my friends.

So,this is my poem
and I know it's really bad
probably the one most awful you've ever had
and I'm sorry
but you don't have to worry,
I can express my feeling in other ways.

 ---Christine Christia A2

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Poem  for English course

Write a poem
my english teacher say
mmm, about me, greece,
but more about myself.
From Konitsa to Oklahoma.

Born in Germany where my greek
father met my german mom,
Normal for me, strange for the
germans. In the age of 10 my
whole world fell apart. No more
germany, now we are just greeks.
Pretty strange start in a strange country. They 
don't know you but they wish you a good morning.
In Germany a f***ing Greek, in Greece a 
f***ing German. Also pretty strange but who cares.
New house, new school, new friends. But I found
my paradise, Konitsa. Blue sky with some white
soft things on it, huge mountains with a lot of
green and the greatest for the last, my friends,
who love me like I am. I don't need to be
someone else.
But back to myself, not very 
tall but neither short, about 1,80cm
Blue eyes like the sea and black
hair, which is usually "Greek"!
Shy at the beginning, outgoing when 
you know my.

Just me, myself and I!


----Kiriakos Misiakoulis A2



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As for the poem
Thank you very much
You don't have to tire
I think that's enough!
It's not so difficult to rhyme
All you have to do is to try!

---Effie Vageli (to her US pen pal)


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The 16 years poem

16 years have passed since the day I was born
Nobody takes care about how old are they
Except me. 16 years have passed and still
the world is like a dark valley tha I have 
to face. Life with Music. Life on road. 
Life with excitement! But still there are
lots of things yet to be revealed.

16 years have passed and it feels like
1 hour. Me and Myself are passing through
the valley of Life, Hard or Easy we don't care
because the road is changing like the weather
The only constant is the rain.

The life is begging me to stay still but I can't wait
16 years have passed and it's time to push the pedal
through the floor, This will be the best ride.

--Hellyeah--
---Chris Vasalos A1

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Introduction

Let's get this trip started dear, let's start the ndless
walking to the path of our desire, as our shadows
are still behind us, cuddling each other, and as you're
still whispering to me words of apology.


I
I never said I'm alive.
The wind was blowing
Bringing those dark clouds over me.
The burning flower poisoned my rottern body
Suddenly I found myself in a different dimension.
But you're trying to escape. Crawling.
Away from me dear?
It's too late...
I shut my eyes as I lay down slowly.
Your words torture me.
Your silence'
Just another one blade
That crosses my mind.

I will stay loyal to a lunatic
Till those drunken, idle violins refuse to writhe!


II
Let me say I never was alive
The sun descended to the dawn.
Finding pleasure only with my pain
A horrible war burst out between us.
I finally found myself in my own world
In this very field, behind the golder tree.
In the depth of the outbreak of a bitter melody.
You smell the ground and taste my sins.
As I'm drinking your thoughts through a filthy mirror.
Sacrificing my dying breath to find the burried  sanity.
But I never meant to stop walking dear!
I long to hear your screams
Coming from a soul's innocent lament.
Don't you know that I'm afraid?
Did you forget that I'm alone?


Your blood is still flowing
To the crimson ending of a tragedy...




---Mary Kavelidou B1


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Untitled


For centuries mankind is living
on earth, but, although earth is
giving everything, human
is trying anything to destroy
Her.


Like a parasite, is sucking
all life from earth, but 
he will also die in the end.


When will the human race
usderstand its suicidal
intention? Is this the 
horrid truth that will be
revealed in the point of 
no turning back?


Is human a suicidal god?
Is it time to start respecting earth
Or we will face her Wrath?


---Chris Vasalos A1


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My own journey in poetry
is a journey in the past 
and here it goes.


I am going to be 38 in July
and time for me seems but to fly
I live in a place that I loved
at first sight,
a place that lacks the sea which
is my life,
my life in blue, my life in
texture, my life in
colour and in motion,
my Eternity.
Yet, the place I live in, I loved
it for its river that leads
to the sea,
there,
far behind those high snow-capped mountains
that block my horizon
but make me see through
them and beyond them.


I am going to be 38 soon
but I still enjoy looking at 
the clouds racing in the sky,
at the sun playing hide and seek,
at the seagulls,
white spots in a blue background,
cawing,
searching for food,
searching for God.
I am sitting there
watching my life go past my eyes,
a wave crashing the rocks,
kissing the pebbles,
caressing the shells,
mumbling
and then receding.


This is an image in words.


---Irene Giannitsi



I need to thank my students for responding positively to that idea of writing their own poems, poems that have proven to be really insightful and creative.

Saturday, April 09, 2011

Hello Russian pen pals!

Students of the Senior High School of Konitsa are writing letters to pen pals from Samara region, Russia. We thank their teacher Yulia Kastrina for this correspondence and we're greeting them.


Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Monday, April 04, 2011

Trivial Questin 10!

10.What is the hardest rock?

Trivial Pursuit! Answer 9!


'As X as Y' similes usually compare someone or something with some property of an item that is well-known to exhibit that property.


As white as a sheet

Meaning

 to be very pale, usually because you are frightened or ill

Example

She was trembling all over and was as white as a sheet.


As quiet as a mouse

Meaning

 to be very quiet

Example

She was as quiet as a mouse. I didn't even know she'd come in.



As good as gold

Meaning

Well-behaved and obedient.
if a child is as good as gold, they behave very well

Example

The children were as good as gold today

As old as the hills

Meaning

if something is as old as the hills, it has existed for a very long time

Example

Difficult relationships between parents and children are nothing new: the problem's as old as the hills.

Origin

The phrase derives from the Bible, Job 15 7. It was alluded to in Miles Coverdale's Bible, 1535:
Art thou the first man, that ever was borne? Or, wast thou made before the hylles?

As fit as a fiddle

Meaning

Very fit and well.

Origin

Of course the 'fiddle' here is the colloquial name for violin. 'Fit' didn't originally mean healthy and energetic, in the sense it is often used nowadays to describe the inhabitants of gyms. When this phrase was coined 'fit' was used to mean 'suitable, seemly', in the way we now might say 'fit for purpose'.
be as fit as a fiddle  (British, American & Australian) also be as fit as a flea (British & Australian)

Example

My Dad's nearly eighty now but he's as fit as a fiddle.

As deaf as a post

be as deaf as a post  (British, American & Australian informal) also be as deaf as a doorknob/doornail (Australian)
to be completely deaf


Example

 She's 89 and as deaf as a post

As easy as pie

Meaning

Very easy.

Origin

 How though, are pies thought to be easy? They aren't especially easy to make. The easiness comes with the eating. At least, that was the view in 19th century America, where this phrase was coined. There are various mid 19th century US citations that, whilst not using 'as easy as pie' verbatim, do point to 'pie' being used to denote pleasantry and ease. 'Pie' in this sense is archetypally American, as American as apple pie in fact. The usage first comes in the phrase 'as nice as pie', as found here in Which: Right or Left? in 1855:
"For nearly a week afterwards, the domestics observed significantly to each other, that Miss Isabella was as 'nice as pie!'"
Mark Twain frequently used just 'pie' to mean pleasant or accommodating: In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1884,
"You're always as polite as pie to them."
Example
You make everything sound as easy as pie, George

As dry as a bone

Meaning

to be extremely dry 
Example

I don't think he's been watering these plants - the soil's as dry as a bone

This poster has been made by the students of C1 class of KSH Angeliki Kita, Agni Vagena, Mahi Vagena, Panagiotis Kitsatis and Elena Lytou.

The winner of the ninth question is:
1.Marianthi Kavelidou (6)