Public Primary School of N.

Potidea
Chalkidiki, Greece
Our English Newspaper
Issue 1

Festive British and

American Customs

An Interview with
the Headmistress

A day in my life

Our Multicultural
Class

A day in my life

My name is Konstantina. I am ten years old. I get up at 7.35.

Then, I always watch TV for a while. Then, I go to school.

At school, we learn Maths, English, History, Language,
Geography and PE. School starts at 8.10 and it ends at 2.00.
When I get home from school, I do my homework. I play with
my friends and with my pets, a dog and a cat. I like reading
tales with witches. I also like playing computer games. In the
evening I watch some TV and at 10.00 I go to bed.

My names Christopher. I get up at 7.30 in

the morning and I get ready for school. I
brush my teeth, I wash my face and I have

breakfast.
After school we eat lunch and I do my
homework. In the afternoon, I play with my
friends at the park.
Every Monday, Tuesday and Friday I have
kick boxing practice. At 10.00 I go to bed.

BRITISH AND AMERICAN CUSTOMS

HALLOWEEN
HALLOWEEN
Halloween is a celebration observed in a number of countries on 31
October. According to BBC Online, it is "widely believed" that many
Halloween traditions originated from the ancient Celtic harvest festival
Samhain, and that this Gaelic observance was Christianized by the early
Church.
Samhain and other such festivals may have also
had pagan roots. Some, however, support the view that Halloween began
independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.
Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising),
attending Halloween
costume parties, decorating,
carving
pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns,
lighting bonfires, apple
bobbing and divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions,
telling scary stories and watching horror films. In many parts of the
world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including
attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead,
remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular
celebration. Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All
Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain foods on
this vigil day, including apples, colcannon, potato pancakes and soul cakes.

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving

Day is

national holiday celebrated

in Canada and

the United States. It was originally celebrated as a day of giving thanks

for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Thanksgiving is
celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth
Thursday of November in the United States. Several other places around
the world observe similar celebrations. Although Thanksgiving has
historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been
celebrated in a secular manner as well.

United Kingdom
The Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving does not have an official date in the
United Kingdom, however it is traditionally held on or near the Sunday of
the harvest moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. Harvest
Thanksgiving in Britain pre-dates Christianity when the Saxons would
offer the first sheaf of corn to fertility gods. When the harvest was
finally collected, communities would come together for a harvest supper.
When Christianity arrived in Britain many traditions remained, and today
Harvest Thanksgiving is marked by churches and schools in late
September/early October (same as Canada) with singing, praying and
decorating with baskets of food and fruit to celebrate a successful
harvest and to give thanks. Collections of food are usually held which are
then given to local charities which help the homeless and those in need.

CHRISTMAS TIME
Christmas (which means "Feast day of Christ") is a Christian holiday that
refers to the birth of Jesus (whom Christians believe is the Son of God),
and a cultural holiday for non-Christians.
The day known as Christmas Day is celebrated on the 25th day of
December. It is one of the most important days of the year for
Christians, along with Easter when the death and resurrection of
Jesus are celebrated. The season of preparing for Christmas is
called Advent and begins on a Sunday about four weeks before Christmas.
The Christmas Season (called Christmastide) ends on January 6 or the
Twelfth Day of Christmas, in which Epiphany is remembered.

Christmas is celebrated all over the world, as a religious holiday or as a

time
of celebration by
Christians
and
non-Christians
alike.
The traditions are different from country to country, but they nearly
always include a feast, giving gifts or cards, and enjoying church or public
festivities such as singing Christmas carols and songs. Santa Claus is a
tradition in many countries of the world.
Christmastime, as it is often called, is in the winter of the Northern
Hemisphere, at a time when there were already ancient festivals. Some of
the traditions that are used for Christmas are older than Christmas, or
come from other non-Christian traditions such as Yule. Modern traditions
of Christmas often focus on the giving of gifts. The season for retail
stores to
sell
gifts,
food, greeting
cards, Christmas
trees,
and decorations begins the day about a month before Christmas Day.

NEW YEARS EVE

In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, the last day of the year, is
on December 31. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated at
evening social gatherings, where many people dance, eat, drink alcoholic
beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the new year. Some
people attend a watch night service. The celebrations generally go on past
midnight into January 1 (New Year's Day).
Samoa and parts of Kiribati are the first places to welcome the New Year
while Baker Island, in the United States, is among the last.

Greece
New Year's Eve in Greece has many traditions. During the day, children
sing the New Year's carols to be given money or treat. Then, it is time to
have family lunch or dinner. In the evening, people cook a pie named
"King's pie (Vassilopita ), which is a cake flavored with almonds. Following
tradition, they put a coin wrapped in aluminium foil inside the pie.
During the family dinner, the hostess puts some of her jewelry in a plate
and serves it in the side of the table, as a symbol of the coming year's
prosperity. After the dinner is over, the dish is not washed until the next
day. The reason for that is that Saint Vassilis (Greek Santa Claus) is
awaited during the New Year's Eve and it is considered common courtesy
to leave some food for the traveler who visits the house to bring the
presents during the night.
When midnight arrives, the families count down and then they turn off all
the lights and reopen their eyes to "enter the year with a new light".
After the fireworks show, they cut the "Vassilopita" and serve it. The
person that gets the wrapped coin is the lucky person of the day and he is
also blessed for the rest of the year. Gifts exchanges may follow.

An Interview with our

Headteacher
Mrs Rallia Adamidou
Students: Hello! Thank you for letting us do this interview.
So, how long have you worked as a teacher and how long as
a headmistress?
Headmistress: Ive been working in Education for 29 years,
for

the last 5 as a headmistress in the Primary School of

Potidea.
S: Do you like your job? Is it difficult?
H: I love my job. I have wanted to become a teacher since I
was a little girl. Being a headteacher is not easy at all. Its a
position with a lot of responsibilities, so I have to take care of
everything.
S:

we would like to know a few things about you.

What

subject do you like teaching the most?

H: I like teaching my students. Its the happiest part of my
day. I prefer teaching Art, as I love being creative with the
children.
S: Whats your favourite colour?
H: I cant choose. I think all of them. (HA, HA)
S: Whats your favourite food? Do you like sweets?
H: My favourite food is pastitsio and I like sweets a lot but I
try to have a balanced diet.

S: Where do you live? Have you always lived in the same

place?
H: I currently stay in Moudania, where I was born. However, I
have been in several places in Greece, like Thessaloniki and Kos
and also in Germany, where I worked as a teacher for five
years.
S: Are you married? How many children do you have?
H:

Yes, I am and I have two children.

My husband is a

teacher, too.
S: Do you have any brothers and sisters?
H: Yes, I have a brother and a sister.
S: What school did you go to as a pupil?
H:

I graduated High school of Moudania, then I studied in

Thessaloniki and recently I got my Masters Degree from the

University of Nicosia.
S: Do you like English?
H: I like English, as I generally find all languages interesting.
I speak English well, but I speak German much better.
S: Do you like our school? Will you stay here forever?
H: I love our school!!! I do my best so as to keep a peaceful
and beautiful atmosphere for both students and teachers. Of
course I dont want to leave our school. I d like to stay here
and try for the best!

OUR MULTICULTURAL CLASS

In our class, there are students of different

nationalities, so we decided to learn a few things
more about each one of these countries.
ALBANIA

Capital: Tirana
Population: 2,893,005
Currency: Lek
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country
in Southeastern

Europe.

It

is

bordered

by Montenegro to

the

northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the

east, and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on
the Adriatic Sea to the west and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It
is less than 72 km from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which
connects the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.

GEORGIA

Capital: Tbilisi
Population: 3,729,500
Currency: Georgian Lari
Georgia is

country

in Eurasia,

located

on the

crossroads of Eastern Europe and West Asia. Nestled between

the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus mountain ranges, it is
bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north and northeast
by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the
southeast

by Azerbaijan.

The capital and largest

city is Tbilisi.

Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres, and its

2015 population is about 3.75 million. Georgia is a unitary, semipresidential republic,

with

a representative democracy.

the

government

elected

through

RUSSIA

Capital: Moscow
Population: 144,192,450
Currency: Russian ruble
Russia , also officially known as the Russian Federation, is
a sovereign state in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semipresidential republic. At 17,075,400 square kilometres Russia is the
largest country in the world, covering more than one-eighth of the
Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is the world's ninth most
populous country with over 144 million people at the end of 2015.
Extending across the entirety of northern Asia and much of
Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a
wide range of environments and landforms. From northwest to
southeast, Russia shares land
borders with Norway, Finland,Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland,
Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia,
and North Korea. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea
of Okhotsk and the U.S. state of Alaska across the Bering Strait.

AUSTRALIA

Capital: Canberra
Population: 23,996,500
Currency: Australian dollar
Australia , officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, is
an Oceanian country comprising the mainland of the Australian
continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It
is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring
countries include Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to
the north; theSolomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east;
and New Zealand to the south-east.
For about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the
late

18th

century, Australia

was

inhabited

by indigenous

Australians, who spoke languages grouped into roughly 250 language

groups. After

the

European

discovery

of

the

continent

by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed

by Great Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal
transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January
1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the
continent was explored and an additional five self-governing crown
colonies were

established.

On

January

1901,

the

six

colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Since

federation,

Australia

democratic political

has

maintained

system

that

a federal parliamentary
monarchy comprising six

stable liberal

functions

as

democracy and constitutional

states

and

several

territories.

The

population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated

in the eastern states and on the coast.

GREECE

Capital: Athens
Population: 10,955,000
Currency: Euro

Greece ,officially the Hellenic Republic and known since ancient

times as Hellas , is a country located in southeastern Europe.
According to the 2011 census, Greece's population is around 10.8
million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed
by Thessaloniki, which is commonly referred to as the co-capital.
Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia,
and Africa. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it
shares

land

borders

with Albania to

the

northwest,

FYROM and Bulgaria to the north and Turkey to the northeast.

Greece consists of nine geographic regions: Macedonia, Central
Greece,

the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus,

the Aegean

Islands(including the Dodecanese and Cyclades), Thrace, Crete, and

the Ionian Islands. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland,
the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the
south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean
Basinand the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in
length, featuring a vast number of islands, of which 227 are
inhabited. Eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount
Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres.

Our little reporters:

Sotiria Baveli
Ergi Biba
Martha Chrysouli
Margarita Gialabouki
Konstantina Gregoriou
Christopher Kaloudis
Arsenia Kelegouri
Evi Lioliou
Anna Marla
George Mikiashvili
George Moschou
Kostas Pritsi
Our special thanks to our sixth graders who helped us a lot:
Asimina Bako
Chrysi Chrysouli
Anieza Gegi
Fabio Haidari
Eva Kelegouri
Sylvana Leka
Charalambos Loukas
Alexia Nikokiri
Philip Sotiriadis
Maria Sotiriou
My warmest congratulations to both my fifth and sixth graders who
worked so hard for this issue. Im really proud of you! Keep up the good
work! Weve got the second issue coming up
Ms Vasso Moussiou (Teacher of English Language and Literature)