March Newsletter 2016
American Language Center
NEW SAT LAUNCHES IN THE USA IN MARCH 2016!
On March 5, 2014, the College Board announced its plan to redesign the SAT in order to link the exam more closely to the work high school students encounter in the classroom. The new exam will be administered for the first time this month. Some of the major changes are: an emphasis on the use of evidence to support answers, a shift away from obscure vocabulary to words that students are more likely to encounter in college and career, a math section that is focused on fewer areas, a return to the 1600-point score scale, an optional essay, .and the removal of penalty for wrong answers (rights-only scoring). The first new SAT will be given in May in Florence. Want to learn more? Contact us!
PARTNERSHIP FOR INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS IN THE USA!
The American Language Center and ELS Language Centers are proud to announce a partnership program with universities and colleges that offer established co-op and internship programs. A degree from an international university creates career possibilities. Add work experience, and employment doors open. Cooperative education and internship programs give you valuable experience in the professional world, allowing you to build necessary on-the-job skills prior to graduation. This will allow you to build your resume while you are still in school, and will help you in your job search when you return to your home country after completing your education. -gain professional skills and knowledge before you are finished with your education.
-learn about real-life work culture and gain real work experience
-gain access to employment opportunity networks
-get career counseling and benefit from training on writing and job applications
-increase your confidence and self esteem
CONGRATULATIONS!
The American Language Center would like to congratulate those students who are receiving university and college acceptancesw worldwide, including Bocconi, UCL, LSE, Warwick, Imperial, Duke, Cornell, Michigan, University of Colorado, Hofstra, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, UMass and many others! Stay tuned for others coming on April 1st!
CONFERENZA & EXPO ANNUALE TESOL
The American Language Center will be attending the annual TESOL Conference and Expo in Baltimore, Maryland, 5-8 April. The director will be presenting a session “Fostering Global Understanding and Social Responsibility Beyond Borders, Between Cultures."
ST. PATRICK’S DAY IN THE USA
Though St. Patrick's Day originated in Ireland, the parades, parties, and practice of dyeing rivers green is a purely American tradition and celebration of Irish-American pride. The holiday was first celebrated in 18th- and 19th-century Ireland as a small religious celebration in honor of an important figure in Irish history.
The Greening of America
The first St. Patrick's Day parades or celebrations date back to the 18th century, celebrated by Irishmen within the British Army in America. In the 19th century, millions of Irish immigrated to the U.S., and they wanted to remember the country they'd left behind.
It was in the early 19th century that you saw municipal celebrations of St. Patrick's Day in places like Boston or New York, and they spread to other places with large Irish populations; as Irish Americans become politically powerful in big cities, cities themselves begin to back St. Patrick's Day parades celebrations.
St. Patrick’s Day Fun Facts:
There are 34 million U.S. Residents who have Irish Ancestry. Ireland has a population of 3.9 million.
Delaware, Massachusetts and New Hampshire have the largest populations of Irish Americans.
There are nine U.S. cities that share the name of Ireland’s capital, Dublin.
EASTER IN THE USA
You can’t talk about Easter in America without talking about the Easter Bunny. Rabbits (whose babies are called ‘bunnies’) have long been symbols of fertility and spring. The association of a rabbit with the Easter holiday is said to come from Germany, and came to America with German immigrants. In the past children were told that “Easter rabbits” laid eggs for them to find on Easter day. Today the Easter Bunny brings not only eggs, but also candy to American children. The night before Easter, children usually leave a basket out for the Easter bunny to put eggs in (or chocolate eggs, or just candy) for the children to find the next morning.
There are many traditions around eggs at Easter time in the United States. One of these is coloring and decorating eggs with dyes or paint. Eggs are also used in games, such as an egg rolling contest, or by having adults hide eggs for children to find. When eggs are hidden on Easter and children go find them this is called an Easter Egg Hunt. Easter candy is now often shaped like eggs.
Other common Easter practices in America include having small Easter Parades and wearing new Spring clothes on Easter. Wearing a new ‘Easter Bonnet’ (a type of hat) is particularly common for girls and women. Every year in America the holiday of Easter is celebrated by the President of the United States at the White House. This is one of the biggest American Easter celebrations and includes many of the traditions such as a visit by the Easter bunny, an egg roll, an Easter Egg Hunt, lots of fun and candy!
SUPER TUESDAY
In the United States, Super Tuesday, in general, refers informally to one or more Tuesdays early in a United States presidential primary season when the greatest number of states hold primary elections. The Tuesday is in either February or March of a presidential election year. In 2016, Super Tuesday will be March 1. More delegates to United States presidential nominating conventions can be won on Super Tuesday than on any other single day of the primary calendar. Candidates seeking the presidency traditionally must do well on this day to secure their party's nomination.
Since Super Tuesday primaries are typically held in a large number of states from geographically and socially diverse regions of the country, Super Tuesday typically represents a presidential candidate's first test of national electability.
Tuesday is the traditional day for elections in the United States. For instance, the main election day in the United States is always a Tuesday in November.
FAMOUS BIRTHDAY OF THE MONTH
Albert Einstein
Born in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany in 1879, Albert Einstein had a passion for inquiry that eventually led him to develop the special and general theories of relativity. In 1921, he won the Nobel Prize for physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect and immigrated to the U.S. in the following decade after being targeted by the Nazis. Einstein is generally considered the most influential physicist of the 20th century, with his work also having a major impact on the development of atomic energy. Einstein died on April 18, 1955, in Princeton, New Jersey.
