Visit to La Garrotxa

Just before our Easter break, 1st, 2nd and 3rd of ESO students and teachers work on what we call our “treball de síntesi”. It is like a two-week’ topic-centred subject which is the perfect excuse to break with the monotony of the school dynamics, work in cooperative groups and spend three days visiting different areas in Catalunya.

Students in 1st of ESO visit an area by the sea side, on the north coast, called Costa Brava, famous for its Greek ruins, and its beautiful landscape. Pupils in 2nd ESO go to the Ebre Delta, on the south coast, famous for its swamps, rice fields and delicious seafood dishes. 3rd of ESO students visit a volcanic area called La Garrotxa and spend three days in an old boarding school near an ancient sanctuary which was turned into a prison during the Spanish Civil war.

In all the cases, they learn a lot about nature, society and culture in the area. Sure they’ll tell you about it themselves and will show you their own pictures. This is only a sample of the 3rd of ESO trip to La Garrotxa.

Olsztyn, which you won’t find in any guidebook

Our group decided to show you round our city. But our aim is not to make you fall asleep, so we’ll do it in alternative way. It’s our own look at Olsztyn:

We started out trip with an interview with the Saint Jacob – our patron saint. He was not very talkative. We only found out that Olsztyn as a city came into being in 1353. Anyway, it wasn’t too much, but that’s our first fact! We continued the trip.

Our next target was the Prussian Lady (old, primitive statue from Middle Ages) – very old citizen of our town. Surprisingly she was not very talkative, and the only thing she said was…unexpectedly that Olsztyn was founded in 1353….

A bit resigned and disappointed, we continued the journey.

Near the castle, we met Copernicus - Polish astronomer who produced a workable model of the solar system with the sun in the center. But we decided not to make our previous mistake. We tried to force him to answer our questions. Even with a weapon aimed at him, he didn’t say a word… At that point we decided not to ask stones anymore…

…BUT we saw Adam Mickiewicz’s (a great polish poet, who is even known by your Spanish Teacher - he told us when we were at your school xD) memorial statue. He is a patron of the oldest school in Olsztyn: High School nr 1. So he told us something about education.

In Poland we have 2 levels of obligatory education: primary school (6 years) and secondary school (3 years, obligatory). The next step is high school (3 or 4 years) and later of course universities etc… no I think it’s not interesting…xD.

Maybe let’s focus on our own considerations…

Piotrek (17): We can say that our town is small, boring etc… but it has its own climate. I love walking around the Old Town and a park. I have so many good memories connected with Olsztyn that I feel really comfortable there.

Michał(16): I live in Barczewo, not in Olsztyn. But this city is my ‘second house’. I spend a lot of time here: sitting at school, meeting with my friends etc...

Ola (18): I live in Barczewo too, and if somebody proposed me moving to Olsztyn, I’d say ‘yes’ in the same moment.

Asia (18): I like Olsztyn even if inspectors catch me without ticket in the bus from time to time, even if there’s a lot of traffic jams exactly when I want to come back home and even if the pavements ‘seems like a Swiss cheese’.

So, our trip through Olsztyn was very interesting, even if we talked with boring citizens of this city xD.

made by: Asia (interviewer), Ola, Piotrek and Michał

alternative guide - alternative microphone :D

Thank You

Dear Catalan people!
We would like to thank You very much for everything:

• for giving us the opportunity to visit Barcelona,
• for whole week an for each day that we spent with You,
• for letting us stay in Your houses,
• for introducing us to Your families and to Your friends,
• for showing us Your normal day,
• for telling us about Your city,
• for Your patience when we were annoying ,
• for unforgettable moments,
• for every smile You gave us,
• and for every tear we lost when we were leaving,
• And for many other things;)
Sometimes “Thank You” is not enough but here are some of thanks of Polish people- that should tell You everything:) :



Thanks for this wonderful week! I spent a great time in Barcelona with you and I'll never forget it. And of course I hope you'll like your visit to Poland as well. Looking forward to seeing you in June again!- Agnieszka



A big thank you to Ainoa and family for a nice stay and the trips to the city :) I had a really good time in Barcelona and it was very nice to meet you all!!! -Basia



Thanks a lot. You are the best family I could live with. - Magda



Nuria, I would like to thank you and your family for making it possible for me to stay in your house during the exchange. Because of the friendly atmosphere in your family I felt like at home. I hope you will also have such a great time in Poland as I had in Spain. I'm looking forward to see you again. Kisses. Ania


Thanks for everyone! I had really great time with U my Spanish friends. Thanks for your hospitality and for every honest smile that U gave me. I hope to see U soon so keep in touch!
- Piotrek


Laura, thanks for letting me stay In Your house. It was really nice to meet Your family. I’m very glad that I could spend my time SO fantastic! Thanks for everyone for everything. Love,
Ola


It was the best week in my life. Thanks to all of the people who made it possible, especially my host- Michał



I would like to thank You very much because it was the Best foreign trip I’ve ever participated. I’ve never been to Spain before and I’m really glad that I could see it with Your eyes.
I would also like to say “thank You” to my Spanish family. Edmon, I really enjoyed talking with You and chatting with You Mum and Sisters in the evenings. Thanks for Helena for letting me sleep in her bedroom and for You Grandma for preparing the best tortilla I’ve ever eaten. Oh, and of course hugs for Blucky:) This week I spent with You was one of the best weeks in my life and I’m sure that it will stay in my memory for many, many year. I really regret that You can’t come to Poland but I hope that one day You will be able to and You will visit me:)
Oh, and of course thanks for Paula that I could meet her family:)
See You All in the Future;*
Asia


Thank you so much for everything. I'm really happy that I could live for a while with you. It was great to meet you and to spend time with you. I miss you and I'm waiting for you to come to Poland. I hope to see you one more time. Thank you so much for everything once more.
kisses
Ina :):)

Our favourite band: ESTOPA

< By Vladimir and Gerard

An amazing video I found on the net!!!!!!!!!

This extraordinary video by Philip Scott Johnson (Eggman 913) is a fantastic art lesson focused on the treatment of women’s image along the history of painting. As you can see, it’s got millions of visitors and commentators on the web and it’s been linked or embedded in many blogs. Undoubtedly, it is due to its creativity and its amazing technical skills

What sort of feelings do these women express in the portraits? Are they happy? Sad ? Relaxed? Anxious? Proud ? Bored? Distant ? Confused? Embarrassed? Ashamed ? Scared? Confident or shy ? What do you think? Did the artists really get to express their feelings? Or were they only projecting their own feelings towards their artistic objects?

Carnival in our school

| View Sample Photo Books | Create your own Photo Book

By Luisa and Ainoa

Our favourite singer: Tote King

By Sonia, Marc and Elena! :)

WALT DISNEY

Walt Disney was a very important director, screenwriter and an American cheerleader.

He and his brother Roy O. Disney founded the Walt Disney Company. In 1920 Walt Disney created his first caricature and in 1928 he and his brother created Mickey Mouse, the first Disney character. This company is very famous for the small and young people; in any moment of our lives we’ve seen a Disney film, serial…

Maybe, the most popular and famous figure can be Mickey Mouse and his girlfriend Minnie Mouse but Walt Disney created more figures and a lot of films, for example, Pluto, Donald’s Duck, Winnie the pooh… and some of his films, for example, can be…the Cinderella, Aladdin, Toy story…

Nowadays we can find a lot of new characters, films and a very big variety of games, for example, Sing star Disney.

In the past, when Walt Disney started to publish caricatures, we could find out some expressions of Walt Disney, for example, “think, dream, belive and dare”, “I love Mickey Mouse more than one of the women that I can meet in my life”…

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Every year, on occasion of its annual convention, the APAC (Associació de Professors d’anglès de Catalunya- Catalan English Teachers' association) gives the John McDowell awards to good educational experiences in the English classroom in the Catalan territory.

The First Prize for group projects was given to a CLIL (Content Language Integrated Learning) project called “Science in English” carried out by a group of 4th of ESO students and the science teacher in a school in Alcanar.

The “Accèssit” (second prize, in this case) for group projects was given to our former Comenius project “Far Away but Getting Closer”. During the ceremony, it was explicitly mentioned that the IES Sant Andreu had been collaborating with a school in the Netherlands and a school in Poland. A group of students went to collect the prize on behalf of all the participants.

So, congratulations to all of those who participated in the project.

For more information on the APAC and the ceremony, click on the following link: John McDowell Award.

Our stay in BCN

direct link

Vladi’s Profile

Sant Jordi’s legend

A long time ago there was a dragon that killed and ate persons. The people from the village decided to give him two sheep per day; when they didn’t have sheep then they gave him cows, and all animals they had, but one day they didn’t have any animal.

Finally, the king decided to draw lots and then they’d give the dragon a person every day.

One day the name of the king’s daughter appeared, and then the king said that they’d give to them all his money, half of the palace, etc. if they didn’t give the princess to the dragon.

The people didn’t agree, and then after 8 days the king left his daughter in a cave, near the dragon.

But suddenly, when the dragon was opening his mouth to eat her, the gentleman Sant Jordi appeared with his white horse to save the princess.

Sant Jordi killed the dragon with a lance, the dragon fell and, from the blood of the dragon a rosebush appeared. Then Sant Jordi took the most beautiful rose and gave it to the princess to show his love.

The king asked Sant Jordi to marry her daughter and told him that he’d give him half his palace, but Sant Jordi, without saying anything, went away.

People were really calm because they didn’t have to worry about the dragon any more.

That’s why on 23^rd of April the men give a rose to their loves and the girls give their men a book.Cervantes and Shakespeare are said to have died the same day of the same year (23^rd of April 1616).That’s also why we celebrate Sant Jordi this day.

Catalan people are called Polish people

As some of you know, we ( Catalan people) are called Polish people.

The rest of Spain call us Polish as a synonym of foreigner, because a lot of Catalans don’t want to be a part of Spain; we want to be an independent country.

Another reason is because we speak Catalan and no one understands anything so it’s like if they heard Polish (because Polish is a really difficult language).

Some people think that it’s because the Nazi invasion to Poland coincided with Franco’s invasion of Catalonia.

As you can see, we have different reasons , so everyone takes the one they like.