Homework

I’m a student from class 4 at Elzendaal College. On this school we learn to work hard to achieve your goal and get the best results. Everyday, since the first grade, we have a lot of work to do. I’m going to tell you about my experience with homework and studying.

For every subject we have to learn a lot. Each lesson we learn something new and afterwards we have to remember it so we can use it. I used to do all my homework, but nowadays I can’t make it anymore. There’s too little time and too much pressure. So now, I only make the homework which is absolutely necessary.
There’s no one who tells me I have to do my homework. I tell it to myself. I feel better when I finished my homework, it feels like I have achieved something. And honestly, I really learn from it. I always try to finish all the work at once, so I don’t have to worry about it later. This isn’t always working because it’s too much, or my concentration is fading. Then I take a short break. I listen to music, watch TV or read a book.
I usually start doing my homework right after school. Mostly I’m busy the whole afternoon. It takes a lot of time and effort. After I finished, I’m very tired. So when I’m done, usually around 6 o’clock in the afternoon, I do something that I like. I try not to be busy with school the rest of the day.

Kara Drexler
4Vb

University/College

What are three big differences between your university/college life so far and your high school days?

I chose the subject college with the question: ‘What are three big differences between your university/college life so far and your high school days?’ I have not yet been participating the whole student life actually because I am still in high school but I still chose this subject because I found it interesting and one of the reasons why I go to high school for me is to reach college in the end.

But what do I expect from going to university? First of all it is going to be a whole lot of different not just for me but also for my family and other students. Because where I live there are not many (in my case) universities around. So if you move over you have got start over again with the community life. You usually do not know anyone out there; you have to search for a room and make sure you will be able to enter. That means your notes have to be at least high enough and sometimes you even have to do an entrance exam or intake conversation or so.

When you than have officially been admitted, you move over (in most cases) and your first lesson or introduction camp has finished you usually start to build up connections. One of the most enjoyable times in your life has begun. For me the most learning aspect is likely to be that you also just learn how to live and care for your self the whole day long. I guess it will be an amazing time and I already look forward to it even while I still have to entire years of high school in front of me.

Joris Claessens
4Vd

Olympics

The first Olympic games were held more than 2500 years ago. Greek men came to the city Olympia in Greece. They needed to sport to train for wars and to honour the gods, so they played athletic sports. Slowly the Romans got more power in Greece. In 393 the Olympic games were banned. In 1896 Pierre de Coubertin established the modern Olympics.
The last Olympics were the winter games held in Vancouver in 2010. Our country won three gold, one silver and three bronze medals. Seven of those medals were for speed skating and the other one was for snowboarding. So our country is very good at speed skating.
The next Olympics are the summer games in London in 2012. The Netherlands is interested to organise the Olympic games in 2028. The main city could be Amsterdam or Rotterdam. In the summer of 2021 the IOC will announce which city will organize the Olympic Games of 2028.
The sports I like to watch during the Olympic Games are speed and figure skating during the winter games and gymnastics, athletics and volleyball during the summer games.
I think it is very sad that there are players who are using drugs. This is a very negative thing for the Olympics. The players should be very happy that they are so good in a sport and that they are allowed to go to the Olympics. Then they shouldn’t screw it up by using drugs. But the Olympic Games stay very important because it is something almost all countries in the world are participating. Now it has become also a tradition so I think it will continue for a very long time.

Evelien Jansen

Terror

People who want to achieve something like the Taliban who want that America leave Afghanistan use terror. One of the actions of terrorists that I remember was the one on 9/11 in America on the twin-towers and the bombing of the London metro on the 7’th of July. To prevent terror every government should always be looking for terrorists in their country. I am not afraid to travel when there can be a terrorist attack because when you travel on the road wit your car you have a bigger chance to die then that a terrorist attack kills you. The terrorists think that they can only reach something with scaring the people and the government. Another way of terrorism is that the terrorists make a letter and in that envelope they put a deadly virus and when you breathe it in you will die. I think terror is only justified if terror is used against you. The airline travel is because of the terrorism more secured and there are more policemen on the airfield. I think that America is winning the war on terrorism because they have killed Osama Bin Laden and they have a track of the new leader Al Swahiri or something like that. I also think that because the Americans have driven the Taliban from Afghanistan and Pakistan. The countries that everybody think they hide terrorists are Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.

I did never have a personal experience with a terrorist or a terrorist action.

Maarten Mosch

Migration

Migration

Even though I have a Dutch passport, I still consider myself a foreigner as I was born in Singapore. The definition for foreigner given by the dictionary is: One who is from a foreign country or place. But to become a foreigner, you have to migrate. A subject which always creates discussion, especially when it comes to politics. But why do people migrate? And does migration cause problems?

People mainly migrate for money. My parents immigrated to Singapore in 1990, because my dad got a job there. Sixteen years and three kids later, my parents immigrated back to Holland, yet again for a job. This is very common. But something that is also very common is for people who have less, to immigrate to countries that are seen as wealthy. They see it as an option to find a job, but that’s almost never as easy as they had hoped. It’s tough to get a job, especially with the economy that we have these days, and for people with a low, or even no education, the search for a reasonable job can take years, or never even end.

But migration doesn’t only happen for work. There are also people who migrate for fun. Because they don’t enjoy living in their own country, or are just ready for something new, an adventure of some kind.

As you can see there are many different reasons to migrate. And though it doesn’t work out for everyone, most people seem to be content with their decision.

Sasha Brouwer

4vd

Healthy lifestyle

I think everybody in our society has some problems with his body, some are too fat and others are to thin. It's not easy to life a healthy life, because we are being distracted every time by all sorts of food. If you walk through the supermarket, you see very much fast food, many crisps and much chocolate. I think many people want to become thinner, but they don't know how to do it, because they don't want to give up their nice food and drinks. Some people think that if they don't eat breakfast, they will lose weight. That is not true, because breakfast is the mosst important meal of the day. Breakfast helps to start up your stool.

I think that becoming obese is a growing problem in the Netherlands. Every day more people get obesity. Our country counts many children with overweight. The number of people having obesity is increasing. It's caused by the high well-being in Holland. One of the most efficient ways to lose weight in my opinion is to eat certain meals a day. You shouldn't eat too many sweats. But you can also eat less fast food.

Another aspect of living healthy is sporting much. You have to move at least 2 times a day 30 minutes. It doesn't matter which sort of sport. Addictions like smoking and drinking too much alcohol are very bad for your health.

So the conclusion is eat healthy food and eat not too much. You also have to exercise enough.

Remco van Ginkel

If I could be an animal, I would be a...

If I could be an animal, I would be a Phoenix. A Phoenix is a mythical bird that is a fire spirit with colorful feathers and a tail of gold and scarlet. According to some legends the tail is purple, blue and green. A phoenix lives 500-1000 years. Near the end it builds a nest and both burn to ashes. A new, young phoenix will arise from the ashes and will live as long as its old self. Of course phoenixes don’t exist, but they are told in the mythologies of the Chinese, Egyptians, etc.
I first thought of other animals like: mermaids, unicorns, griffins, a dragon, etc. But a mermaid is half human, half fish so that’s not really an animal. A unicorn is too girly and a griffin isn’t as cool as a phoenix. The choice between a dragon and a phoenix was hard, because I found a dragon awesome too. The phoenix won from the dragon, because of his abilities.
Although it doesn’t exist, it would be fun to be one. You can fly and reborn again. I would love to fly. You would be free and see the most beautiful views. It’s also said that the cry of a phoenix is like a beautiful song. If I could cry like a beautiful song, I would cry forever.