UK'S TOP YOUNG SCIENTIST!!

Science in this world is being developed every single day. Scientists invent or discover to make our lives more qualified and easier. And a lot of scientists won prizes, awards after their great inventions. Now it is the new generation's turn.

A seventeen-year-old school girl Kirtana Vallabhaneni won the National Award of Science because of her research project aimed at identifying the harmful cells that cause pancreatic cancer! She was awarded the prize at The Big Bang Fair at Birmingham' NEC.

It is very good to have those young scientists who make a very good contribution to the humanity and world.

Here is the link for those who are willing to read the article!!!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-17414965

See you next week!
x
Sena :)

HALF TERM!

Hi Everyone! :)

It is already February and March is coming soon! I cannot believe that nearly 2 months of 2012 has already passed. I am now on Half Term holiday and I am back in Turkey which is usually sunny (but yesterday it rained!). I am going back to school on Saturday and looking forward to be back in England. I really missed that cold weather.

2012  has already started to fill and overload its event list by the tragic death of Whitney Houston, the political problems in Syria, growing economic crisis... I hope nothing worse will happen. I want to see an amazing world which is full of positive developments and smiling faces. But I know that only Pollyanna can think that everyone would be very happy or a world without evil. It is just a dream. However, people should motivate themselves and they should find a way of looking at life in a positive and a realistic way. I personally found a simple way of it: Reading quotes of some well known philosophers, politicians, artists, writers, poets, scientists... I would like to share some of them with you and wish everyone a very good half term! I know that most of the students in the UK will have school exams right after the holiday. I wish them luck and hope these quotes will motivate you! :)




Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe




A wise man is superior to any insults which can be put upon him, and the best reply to unseemly behavior is patience and moderation.
Moliere 




A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.
Oscar Wilde

I will continue to post some interesting quotes as I find them! Have a lovely half term and best wishes to you :)

x

Sena 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

:) 2011:)

Bye bye 2011! Thank you for all of the success stories, amazing events and new technologies that you have included. We learned our mistakes and will not make those mistakes again. World is getting older and getting more experienced. We , people, are lucky to be the witness of all of these success stories.

However there were tragedies; deaths, catastrophes, revolutions, depths... These terrifying events also influenced all of our lives.

2011 WAS FULL OF DRAMA WHICH IS MADE UP OF HAPPINESS AND SADNESS. NOW IT IS TIME TO TURN A NEW BLANK PAGE CALLED 2012. BUT LETS REVIEW WHAT HAPPENED IN 2011. CHEK OUT THE VIDEO DOWN BELOW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAIEamakLoY

I WISH YOU A GREAT 2012 WHICH IS FULL OF SUCCESS AND HAPPINES!!

SENA :)

After a long long break.....

After a LONG LONG break I continue writing on my blog with a great passion and excitement! I spent my first term in my Gorgeous Independent High School in Buckingham. Michaelmas Term is over and right after Christmas break I have 3 AS Modules in January. These modules create the base of my A levels and they are the easiest modules in my course; therefore I really have to get good grades!

Generally A Levels require very hard work and instead of memorizing tones of facts; pupils are expected to use the knowledge to do application, analysis and evaluation. And these skills are the HIGH LEVEL THINKING SKILLS!!!!!!!!! And for all subjects including the science subjects, students have to develop these skills. Lets think Turkey's education system; most of the Chemistry students were expected to know the atomic number of at least 20 of the elements. WHEREAS IN THE UK YOU HAVE THE PERIODIC TABLE IN FRONT OF YOU IN THE EXAM!!!!!! And ....there are Calculators...

When I learned the difference in this system I said to myself "Did I learn that whole bunch of irrelevant facts for nothing?' the answer is "No". But for A Levels "Yes". Therefore I felt I was struggling in the first 2 months of school. Still I am getting used to the system but it is improving! I got invitations to the Headmaster's Supper and got Merits from my teachers. Also one of the benefits in an independent school is the extracurricular. I am in the Chapel Choir as a soprano and I performed in various concerts this term, including two Carole Services (Junior & Senior). Singing lessons were amazing! I aim be a grade 8 singer in the end of this year. I wish everyone a great Christmas Break! Looking forward to write again!

Sena :)

The Hunger Games

Hello Everybody!

It is great to be back in my blog and write after weeks later. I hope everyone is about to finish their summer readings. Every year and term new book series are being published. Some of them became bestsellers and be filmed. After Harry Potter and Twilight series, there is another block-buster series coming based on a novel named "The Hunger Games". I read that book a few months ago and loved it. It is glad to hear that The Hunger Games is going to be filmed and we are going to watch it in 2012. Suzanne Collins (the author) must be really proud of herself right now. If I were in here shoes, I would feel the same! :) 

Here is a quick summary of the book: It is the story of survival from a big competition, if you stay alive you will be the winner; if you die you will lose the competition. Do you want to know the name of this big contest? If you do, you should simply read the title of the book. Of course we have a protagonist: She is Katniss Everdeen. And guess what: She will participate into the contest (otherwise the story will not be occurred) and will fight against greed, hunger and ambition. She will do that just because she is a compassionate sister. (You will see why I write this sentence).

Lets Talk about the film! :D 

I hope the director Gary Ross will do a great job. The film is going to be released on 23rd March 2012. (You have a long time to finish the book, so don't panic :D) The producer of the film will be Nina Jacobson.

Katniss Everdeen is going to be played by Jennifer Lawrence who was the Academy Award 2010 Best Actress Nominee because of her performance at the film named Winter's Bone.  Even she was 20 she did a great job!

Here is the promotional poster of the film:

The Hunger Games can be a good summer reading too!!! Please spend your last summer days efficiently! :D 

Have a Marvelous summer!

High School Education Systems (All around the WORLD)

:D

Education, Education and Education... If you ask the meaning of "Education" to someone who lives somewhere in the world I am sure he or she will have something to say about it and will know how important it is. For example in my country (Turkey) I know some families which neither drink nor eat anything but pay for their children's education.  Even though "Education" is universal, there are many differences about this notorious learning system country by country OR time period by time period. When I wanted to make a research about a country the Encyclopedia or the Website never ever forgot to tell me about that country's education system. Now I would like to give a little bit info for those who are wishing to continue their high school education abroad. Lets start with one of the countries which is famous for its HIGH SCHOOL education:

United Kingdom

In England or United Kingdom there is an effort to educate young students (pupils -British English) at the high schools, the quality of education depends on the type of the high school and students have to pass A Level and GCSE exams in order to go to a College. Some schools in the UK also offers IB (International Baccalaureate) which has the same quality with A Level. I think you are all wondering about the types of high schools in the UK. There are 4 types of schools in England

1) Government Comprehensive Schools: These schools are public schools and usually day students go there. Here are some pictures of this kind of school.

2) Grammar Schools: Academically Grammar Schools are better than Government Comprehensive schools. But they usually don't have any dorms. (GCSE+A level available) Here is a picture of a grammar school.

3) Independent Schools or "Creme de la Creme": These schools are very good academically, socially and they are all boarding & days schools. They value individually and they all offer GCSE and A Levels, some of them also offer IB. There are many extracurricular activities and there is a good security in those schools. However school fees of those schools are very high. Here are some pictures from an Independents school in the UK. NOTE: Next year I will be a Pupil in one of those famous independent schools with full scholarship and bursary. You can see its pictures bellow. :D

4) A Level Colleges: Those schools are for the last 2 years of the high school and for the students who are just want to focus on A Levels and they usually do not have any dorms, but there are some boarding ones too.  Here is a picture of an A Level College:

Advice: If you are living in outside of the UK and have no relatives or friends in the UK and planning to continue high school in the UK, I only suggest Independent Boarding Schools for you. 

Yes, UK can be a great choice for high school education! Actually UK is very famous about education.

Turkey

Lets talk Turkish High School Education System. In Turkey the number of young population is not as small as the young population in the UK, that is why there is more competition and there are more exams. In order a student to enter a good high school he or she has to do very well on the test called "SBS."  I am sure that you are asking "What do you mean by saying 'GOOD'?". Here is the answer: A Good school in Turkey is the school which prepares to students very well to OSS exam which is the university entrance exams. Students go to extra course work in places called "DERSHANE" and some of them take private lessons to get good grades on these exams. Here are the school types: 

1. Antolian High School: (for students who are more interested in Social Sciences, Law, Business; but there are students who go to science or medicine faculty even though there are from Anatolian High Schools. It is hard to compare those schools to a science school, because the exam success varies from school to school. All Anatolian high schools are not in the same quality. No fee is required. Galatasaray Lisesi is a very famous and successful Anatolian High School in Istanbul. Here is a picture of it.

2. Science High Schools: In order to get in those schools students score very high in the SBS Exams. They are more science based and a lot of successful students go to those schools. In the big cities Science High Schools are more qualified. No fee is required

3. Technical Schools: Those schools prepare their students to work and jobs. Students do not have to get very high scores on the SBS exams in order to enter those schools. No fee is required

4. Private High Schools: These schools are very well rounded about extra curricular activities. Some of them good links to USA or UK universities. Some of their education language is either English or French or German or Italian. Some of those schools have very good OSS results some of them don't it varies school by school. School fee is required.

NOTE: I assure you that getting into a top high school in Turkey is a big deal.

USA

In the US there are two types of high schools. It is simple: Private Schools and Public Schools. In the public schools class number do not exceed 25 people.There is a program called AP (Advanced Placement). Students who are willing to attend a College on a specific subject should do at least one AP in one subject. My cousin does AP. He lives in the States. In high schools extra curricular is very important. All students should at least have one hobby.

WE KNOW THAT HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION IS VERY IMPORTANT BUT DO NOT FORGET THAT HIGH SCHOOL LIFE IS IMPORTANT TOO AND YOU WILL NOT BE A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT AGAIN. AS A RESULT SPEND YOUR HIGH SCHOOL YEARS WITH FULL OF JOY, SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS!!!!!!!!! ;-)

I WILL BE DELIGHTED IF YOU WRITE YOUR COMMENTS!

HOPE TO SEE YOU ON MY BLOG NEXT WEEK!

Online Learning Technology

Hello Again!

Here is a great opportunity for ones who are wishing to continue learning even during the summer holiday. Well-known media group BBC increases learning chances without going to school by publishing online video courses on their website. Those courses include English, Science, Maths, History, Art, Religious Studies and more. What a wonderful opportunity! In my opinion many years later online schools will be more important, more crowded and a lot of people are going to join them instead of going to school everyday. If you are not bored of going to school and never would like to stop learning you can register this courses online. By the way it is free, so you do not have to pay anything. Also, this program is very beneficial for people who are preparing for GCSE and A Levels. You can find that link bellow and related pictures about BBC Online Learning courses. I wish everyone a great summer which is full of learning and education.http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/

I am also waiting to hear your comments about my first summer reading advice "The Pursuit of Success" by Sena Oztosun (That is Me :D)!

Wish everyone the best!