Welcome to NOTIONS...

Launched in 1988, Notions magazine is an integral part of the Papaeliou Schools' academic activities. Our schools' magazine is published towards the end of each academic year in some 2,000 copies and is free of charge. Its primary aim is to motivate students to become creative and, consequently, raise their self-esteem when they see their pieces of work published. The magazine includes pieces of writing from all levels of both the French and the English departments, teachers' articles, interviews of eminent personalities, school news, crosswords and puzzles, and many more. It is read with great pleasure by students, parents, and teachers as its articles are addressed to a diverse audience. If you would like to get a free copy, please contact one of our schools, by 'phone, fax or e-mail.

The Editor
Aristides Panayotou, Director of Studies

My Bag And My Pencil Case, by Kostas Kousidis

Hello, everyone! My name is Kostas Kousidis, I'm Greek and I'm 9 years old. My bag is blue and white. In my bag there is a yellow highlighter, there is a pencil case and a red note book. There are three books and a booklet. In my pencil-case there are two pencils, a white rubber, a ruler and coloured pencils.

How I Spend My Day, by Stelios Pappas

My name is Stelios and I'm 9 years old. I'm a Greek boy and I live in Piraeus. Every morning I always get up at half past six. I always wash my face and my hands, too. Next, I brush my teeth and my hair, too. I go to my bedroom and I put on my clothes. I usually wear trainers and tracksuits because they are my favourite clothes. Later, I eat eggs and I drink milk for breakfast. At half past seven I always walk to school. At half past one in the afternoon, I usually come back. I often eat fish and salad and I drink water for lunch. In the evening, I always do my homework and study my lessons. I sometimes watch TV, too. My favourite programme is the cartoon with Sponge Bob. At 9 o'clock I take a shower again and I sit at the table to eat dinner. My favourite...

Pollution - A Very Big Problem, by Joanna Tsiradonaki

Our planet is in danger because of pollution. Smoke from factories, chimneys and fumes of cars are the biggest causes of pollution. Whatever we eat, drink, and breathe is most of the times polluted. Animals and plants get sick and die because of this problem. People are in danger, too. Pollution is everywhere on the planet and even remote places on the planet are polluted. People talk about that big problem but no one does anything. We have found many ways to keep the environment clean but we don't put them into practice. If we put filters in chimneys or if we recycle, we might save our planet. It's possible to save the future. Everyone, including children, should do something about it. We must save the planet because it is our future.

The Amazon River, by Olga Nasta

The Amazon spans the borders of eight countries. It is the world's largest river basin and the source of one-fifth of the earth's river water. It has the world's largest and most luxuriant rainforest in which amazingly, live more than one-third of all species in the world. But despite it's natural richness, the Amazon ecosystem is fragile and in peril. Recent research has shown an unexpectedly high rate of deforestation. It seems that over 9,000 square miles of Amazon forests have disappeared between July 2001 and June 2002, a troubling sign of the pressures facing the world's largest and most important expanse of tropical forest. Other forms of distruction that have brought serious consequences to the region, include floods caused by the...

A Story, by Marina Teli

It was only a few minutes since Nick returned home. He had been to his friend's house where he had spent the evening watching a horror film. While he was putting on his pyjamas, he was thinking of the horrible scenes of the movie and that gave him the chills. He thought that he should read a book until he fell asleep. Suddenly he heard a strange noise in the kitchen. It sounded as if someone was searching for something. He stood up slowly but he wasn't able to go to the kitchen to see what it was. Although he was petrified, he decided that it would be better to enter the kitchen instead of waiting to be murdered, since he was absolutely convinced that there was a thief or a murderer in the house. Eventually, he took a fake gun, which was hanging on a wall...

Les Avantages Et Les Inconvénients Des Transports, by Marina Nifakou

De nos jours, il y a beaucoup de monde que voyage. Parmi les voyageurs, il y a ceux qui aiment l'avion et d'autres qui préfèrent le train. Entre ces deux moyens de transport, il y a quelques différences importants. D'abord, la principale différence entre l'avion et le train est que le premier est plus rapide et moins fatigant que le second. Puis, ce qui différencie le vols aériens des voyages en train, c'est que les premiers sont moins accessibles car les billets coûtent trop cher. Ensuite, les transports aériens différencient des transports ferroviaires en ce sens qu'il y a une gare dans chaque ville, tandis que les aèroports sont l'eclusivité de certaines grandes villes. En plus, les passagers sont obligés de transporter eux-mêmes leurs bagages...