Study visit to the aircraft USS Enterprise held on January 28, 2011

Some statistics about the ship:
General Characteristics, Enterprise class
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Va.
Date Deployed: November 25, 1961 (USS Enterprise).
Propulsion: Eight nuclear reactors, four shafts.
Length: 1,101 feet 2 inches (335.64 meters).
Beam: 133 feet (39.9 meters); 252 feet (75.6 meters).
Displacement: 89,600 tons (81,283.8 metric tons) full load.
Speed: 30+ knots (34.5 miles per hour).
Crew: Ship's Company: 3,350 - Air Wing 2,480.
Armament: Multiple NATO Sea Sparrow, Phalanx CIWS, and rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) mounts.
Aircraft: Approximately 60+.
Additional information can be found from the official U.S. Navy website here: http://www.enterprise.navy.mil/

Comments by some students:
I liked the USS Enterpriser a lot, everything went fine except for the transportation which took a long time, explaining the huge delay on our arrival. As for food...we weren't allowed to eat onboard so we just had to endure the hunger throughout the demonstration. But I liked it overall and I think everyone else did too.
Lourenço Lúcio, 10º A


I liked it a lot, but the transportation took a long time, and about the food we had to eat before we get there, so we ate in the school.
But overall I think it worth it, and I feel very lucky that I could be in that aircraft carrier, however we waisted time on waiting for the guide to lead us to the aircraft carrier. In the end it was a lifetime experience and I think the people who went there should give value to it because the chances to get aboard the aircraft carrier may not even repeat.
João Ferreira, 10º A


The visit to the aircraft carrier was great, they were all really nice to us. It was suppposed to start earlier but we were late and then, when we got there we had to wait a while so it took longer than we expected. Besides, the visit in the aircraft carrier was supposed to be one hour and it was two. We only got to the school at about 5:30 and that was when we finally ate.
Ana Araújo, 10º B

Are tattoos and piercings a form of body art?

I obviously agree with the fact that tattoos and piercings are simply a form of body art. And "why is that?" may you ask.
Well, first off let me make something clear to you dear reader: Nowadays tattoos are part of the bodies of thousands, so, of course there are several reasons for having a tattoo needled to your bare skin, not just art but simple images with special meaning to each customer. To sum up tattoos or piercings have different meanings to different people.
Although I am a fan of art as well as the culture behind its different shapes, I won't have any tattoos or piercings (put on) for the simple fact that I like my mutating body (from baby to oldman) just the way it is, and a change of this magnitude would alter my natural physical being for a few years but it wouldn't change with it, in other words, when I get old, my wrinkles will have modified my so called "work of art" and I will be naturally sorry. However, I do appreciate acknowledging a good artpiece on others' skin.
In fact, did you know that in Japan, yokuza members (japanese ancient as well as actual mafia), when killed, would be cut open, and their painted skin took off, and stored until today? You can nowadays see these masterpieces in art displays/ museums in Japan.
I think that we can, by this, conclude that, at least on the other side of the earth, tatoos are clearly a form of art, but also a piece of history, and a cultural trait in many civilizations since the days of yore.
Pedro Fonseca, 10º A