GETTING AN ODD JOB- PROS AND CONS ( Anne-Charlotte-3°4)

On the one hand, I think it's a good thing for students to get a part-time job after school for they can earn some extra money to pay for their studies for example. Indeed, some schools that have a good reputatin are very expensive and parents can't always pay all the fees.
By working, those students get some extra money to buy clothes and books, for example. So, they can feel responsible and less dependent on their parents.
Students from poor families can help their parents to pay the rent and the taxes.
On the other hand, having a part-time job can present many drawbacks. Indeed, if a student works too much or too late, he won't be fit enough and will feel tired the following day. Therefore, he won't be able to attend the classes or to study properly.
As a consequence, his results may get worse and worse and in the end, the student might fail at his exams.

STUDENTS AND PART-TIME JOBS (Andréa - 3°4)

As for me, getting a part-time job after school is a good thing because it allows you to become autonomous and responsible. For example, you have to make decisions and you mustn't be late. You earn your own money, therefore you needn't ask pocket money to your parents and it shows you how difficult it is to earn money.
I reckon that having a part-time job is a great experience for the future since it enables you to discover what working life is like.
Nevertheless, you must be careful not to neglect your studies. Having a part-time job means being tired and having less time to do one's homework. Moreover, you have less time to devote to your hobbies too, like going to the cinema, going shopping....
To conclude, although having a part-time job presents some inconveniences, I am positive that it's a very good experience.

WORKING AS A SHOP ASSISTANT ( Francisco -3°4)

I'm going to tell you about the training course I went on two months ago in Décathlon. It was a great experience which gave me an insight into the job of a shop assistant.
I worked from monday to friday for a week. My bosses made me learn my job really well. On the first day, they knew how to put me at ease and it really helped me to work. I worked in the department of team sports and in there, you can find outfits to play soccer, rugby, baseball, handball and basketball.
During the first day, my bosses asked me to put away the balls, the shoes, the socks and the sports bags. I was allowed to take an hour and a half off to have lunch and get some rest. In the afternoon, I advised the customers. This is what I did during the whole week.
I really enjoyed my training course as a shop assistant.

My TRAINING COURSE WITH AN ARCHITECT ( Camille L. 3°5)

From november 26th to 30th, I went on a training course with an architect.
The firt day was stressful. When I arrived in front of the building, it looked as if there was no door ! I eventually found it ! I didn't know if my boss would be nice, but, as soon as I got there, he gave me a warm welcome. Unfortunately, I saw him only on the first day.
After that, two very friendly people took charge of me. They made me do some plans for a hotel in Arcachon. It was such an iteresting activity ! They asked me what I wanted to do later on and why I wanted to do that. A lot of people were working on their computers. Meanwhile, I was writing down my comments on my report card. Then , the secretary called me to ask me if I could try to type the text of a conference. How annoying ! Nevertheless, as I had nothing else to do, I did it.
Later on, my boss let me make a model of a movie theatre in Arcachon, even though I had no experience. What a fascinating activity ! But it is so complicated ! And it took lots of time...
During my training-course, I had to take notes, photocopy some documents and interview some people on their jobs.
On the last day, I went to see the computer designers make 3D films from computer generated images. Isn't that strange and difficult !
To finish with, I had to fill in a questionnaire on my week there which was a very good experience ! It confirmed my choice of career even if this job is difficult ! I do like it !

MY TRAINING COURSE ON AN OYSTER FARM ( Victor F. 3°6)

When you're in 9th grade in France, the school requires you to go on a one-week training course so as to find out wht working life is like.

I did my training-course on the peninsula of Le Cap Ferret, near Bordeaux. It was in a business of oyster farming named "Les Parcs du Nonoît". I don't want to become an oyster farmer but I like strenuous jobs. However, I enjoyed my training course because it didn't take place in an office but outside and that's why I chose this job. During my training-course, my boss let me help him to do a lot of activities. I worked nearly all the time on the barge and on the oyster farm to collect and sort the oysters. I almost fell overboard. I caught a mild cold, therefore on the next day, I wore a raincoat. The Wednesday was a very rainy day.
I think this job is very difficult because oysters farmers have to get up according to the high tide and low tide. This is an exhausting job !

SAFE BLOGGING ( Alexandre B. 3°6 )

Let me give you a few pieces of advice to blog safely.

- First of all, you should be as anonymous as possible. You shouldn't give any personal information like your family name, the name of your school or your personal address ; otherwise someone might try and locate you and it may be dangerous.
- You should check the comments on your blog regularly as a blog is interactive and the readers might read the comments. Some of these comments might be negative or degrading, so you should delete them.
- You shouldn't post embarrassing photos on your blog because someone might download them and share them with anybody. If a parent or a teacher sees the photos, you might feel embarrassed or even get into trouble with a future employer.
- You shouldn't lie about your age because someone might think you're older than you really are and it might be a problem.
- You should control who can visit your blog by making a friends' list and limiting the access only to people you know and trust.
- You should avoid meetings with unknown people met on the net because the person might not be who he says he is.

NEW YORK CITY BALL DROP 2008

Attending the New Year's Eve Ball Drop in Times square is one of the most famous New Year's celebrations in the world.

People have been celebrating New Year's Eve in Times Square since 1904 but the first ball drop didn't happen until 1907. For 100 years, the ball has been dropped from One Times Square every year, except in 1942 and 1943 due to wartime restrictions on lighting in New York City.

As the ball drops from One Times Square, beginning at 11.59 p.m on New Year's Eve, there are normally more than one million people in Times Square, not to mention the millions watching the ball drop on nationwide and watching TV from around the world. Once the ball drops, 1 ton of confetti will be released over Times Square.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !! ( Mrs SAULIERE )

The famous fireworks in Sydney harbour / AUSTRALIA.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL !
As soon as the clock ticks 12 o'clock, gone are the 365 days and here comes the New Year packed with all excitement and fun. New Year is an event to celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of the other. New Year is a time to look for new inspirations and motivations, to achieve what remained unachieved in the passed year, to set new goals and to make new resolutions. New Year celebrations vary from country to country and culture to culture.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA is one of the first cities to celebrate the New Year in the world and it's one of the best places too. What makes New Year in Sydney special is the variety of fireworks. You can see the sky dazzling with more than 80,000 fireworks lit near the Sydney Opera House. Over 1 million people gather around Sydney Harbour every year for the celebrations. The fireworks last 15 to 20 minutes and they can be seen from 16 km around Sydney. No less than 300,000 tourists come on tours to Australia every year just to have a glimpse of the famous fireworks.
The other main attraction of the New Year in Sydney is the Sydney New Year Beach Party with people coming and enjoying bonfires on the beaches.

To see an enlarged photo of the Sydney fireworks for 2008 see the following link :

http://www.panoramas.dk/New-Year-2008/sydney-new-year.html