Newsletter number 3February 2010

Welcome to this our third newsletter. We all really enjoyed our visit to France in February. Thank you all very much for the warm welcome and lovely gifts. Everyone is looking forward to the next meeting in Wales in May.

Contents;Hungary……………………………………………..……….pages 3 - 8Iceland……………………………………………..……….pages 9 - 14Italy………………………………………………..……….pages 15 - 20Spain……………………………………………………….pages 21 - 25 France…………………………………………………….pages 27 - 32 Wales…………………………………………………….…pages 33 - 38

International Day of Disabled PeopleInternational Day of Disabled People3rd December 20093rd December 2009in Botev Schoolin Botev School

This day was a

special occasion

for everyone

in our school.

We made special

posters to attract the the pupils’ attention.

Each child put the most important information about themselves inside the palms . The hands were sent to other classes to know each other.

Activities during the day

Sign language„It ‘s a great day for everyone”- we said. Today we are having a lesson with a woman who is very special in sign language.We were excited – we had even learnt to say „hello” with signs.First we got pictures of animals. Our task was to explain the animal without saying a word.Then we tried lip-reading. We told our names silently and the lady could say our names. We were surprised how easily she could do that.We learnt about a website which gives us more information about deaf people. We played lots of interesting games with signs.I remember some signs we used in the lesson. I hope I can help deaf people with them once.

by Réti Gergelyfrom Class 3B

We had some guests (disabled) from „The House of Chances”: a blind lawyer explains how he reads and spends his days.

A man in a wheelchair: he organised an obstacle race

and a basketball match (for

Classes 2 and 7)

Other activities on December 3rdOther activities on December 3rd

Tasting, touching, drawing, reading without seeing. It’s not easy.

Final discussion: from now

we will give more

respect and help to each other.

We were given small plastic animals and tried to find out what they

were . Many of us couldn’t recognize them blindfolded.

Braille writing: reading with the help of the Braille alphabet.

December 3-án az Esélyek Házából érkeztek hozzánk vendégek. Segítségükkel

bepillantást nyerhettünk a testi fogyatékkal élők

napjaiba. Megtanultuk, hogy milyen

fontos az egymás iránti tisztelet, segítségnyújtás. Kitartással, szorgalommal

bárki elérheti célját.

An outing with St

Nicolas and our

families in December. (Class 2.b)

All the parents and their children were very happy to read the call for the autumn festival of the late-season crops. It has already become a tradition in Botev school.This school year PUMPKINS were the main attraction of the event.We started to plan the programme very carefully. All the parents were busy with reading old recipe books and the websites to learn how to make pupkin pies and other delicios cakes. Mothers were trying out the recipies, all the other members of the families were tasting the cakes before the festival.

More events with parents

Pumkin carving was also an important event. Jack-o-lanterns, vases, creative pumkin figures- found out by small ones and older ones.Seeds were also used to make fantastic pictures. Masks and other types of things were also made to decorate the classrooms. (by a parent in class 2.a: Szűcsné Vinkler Klára)

Pumpkin Festival

Az óvodában és az iskolában is több olyan esemény van minden évben, amikor a szülők együtt vannak gyermekeik csoportjával, az óvó nénikkel,

tanító nénikkel. Közkedveltek a közös kirándulások, a kézműves délutánok, vetélkedők, sport események. Együtt tehetjük vidámmá

ezeket az eseményeket, így ismerhetjük meg jobban egymást.

Parents in our school communityParents in our school community

Hi. I’m Petra. I ‘ve made an interview with a mother from our Parents’ Association. Mrs Hrubi says parents help a lot in organizing the school carnival and the school parties. They bring cakes, make sandwiches and sell food and drink during the parties. They often go on outings with their children’s class. Lots of them help collect paper for recycling in autumn and spring. Some of them help to paint even classroom walls.Many of them take part in afternoon activities: in workshops, sport activities with their children or their teachers.Parents have received exchange students from Spain and Germany. Mrs Hrubi says it’s a great time for the children to practise a foreign language.(Sötét Petra Class 8.a)

In Egry kindergarten:

We arrange Fathers' Day on the third Friday of June every year. This is a family sport afternoon in our kindergarten's yard where daddies can compare their strength, their courage, their cleverness with their children in playful sport activities and quizzes. At the end of the day they get a certificate and a medal. Eating and drinking together is the closing part of the afternoon.

Going on outings together and making a campfire, cooking in a stew-pot are the most popular activities. There are also lots of games and sport activities when children and parents are together.

Children, parents and teachers often meet on workshops to make some nice things together.In the pictures parents and the children are preparing little gifts togetherin the school and the kindergarten.

Co-operation between Co-operation between different age groupsdifferent age groups

Class 3.b and Pumukli Group (kindergarten) Playing

together…..We were very excited waiting for our partner group from the kindergarten to act out a joyful play. The scene of the play was the market. The farmer was buying all kinds of animals, but finally he had some money left. In Art lessons we had made all the puppets, put them on sticks and decorated them in a very funny way. The little lamb got a bell, the hen got colorful feathers, the goose had a ribbon.One boy played the role of the farmer. He was wearing boots and a hat. Everybody enjoyed the play. We made our little friends really happy. We sang and played together.Finally we said: See you soon!(Réti Gergő)

„Én elmentem a vásárba fél pénzzel,Tyúkot vettem a vásárban fél pénzen,Tyúkom mondja kity-rá-koty,Csirkém mondja csip-csip-csip,Kakasom mondja ku-ku-ri-kú,Récém mondja rip-haj-nal,Pulykám mondja dan-da-ru,Ludam mondja gi-gá-gá,Disznóm mondja röf- röf-röf,Juhom mondja be-be-be,Kecském mondja mek-mek-mek,Csikóm mondja nyi-ha-ha,Kárikittyom édes tyúkom mégis van egy fél pénzem.Elfogyott a fél pénzem. „

One English lesson-two classesIt’s winter time, so it’s time to read the story of Snowman. Class 2.a enjoyed the story so Class 6.a decided to have a common play with the little ones. They prepared activities in connection with the story. There were quizzes, crosswords, an easy game to draw a snowman. The older ones helped the little ones to practice the colours, telling the time, names of furniture, and parts of body. It was great!

Making a board game and Christmas cards to our penfriends was also a great fun.

Co-operation with local communitiesCo-operation with local communities

An Astronomer in Botev SchoolOn 15 January in the afternoon I went to the school library with my friends. We saw a very interesting presentation about planets, comets and stars. An astronomer and a geography teacher came to our school and showed us lots of pictures and a video in 3D. We got to know there was water on Mars many million years ago because it made lots of huge mountains, craters and ditches. We saw pictures which were made by spaceships and mooncrafts. I also learnt that the first astronauts used a small car to move on the Moon.(by Lendvai Ákos Class 8.b)

Both kindergarten groups and classes often visit the county library. There are workshops, quizzes, performances. They can also borrow books.

A visit of a kindergarten group at the Fire station. Children can learn about the firemen’s job and they can try the equipment.

In sport lessons

little ones and big

ones go to the

swimming pool.

Class visit in a local Art Gallery . Children can make their own work of art.There are concerts and plays for children in the 2 theatres of the town.

Town Hall: Our French learners sing Christmas songs for local inhabitants before Christmas every year.

Az iskola és az óvoda számos helyi intézménnyel áll kapcsolatban. Önkormányzat, Megyei Könyvtár, tűzoltóság, rendőrség, múzeum, galériák , Esélyek Háza csupán néhány szín a palettán.

Samvinna milli skólastigaInteraction between older/younger children Njarðvíkurskóli and Gimli work together side by side in visiting each other and working together.

Njarðvíkurskóli and Gimli

December 3rd is the International disability day

“Alþjóðlegur dagur fatlaðra” the school took part in activities by

spending time in a wheel - chair, being blind or deaf andlearning sign language.

Accept everybody as they are.We’re all different.

International disability day “Alþjóðlegur dagur fatlaðra” the kindergarten took part with Njarðvíkurskóli in activities by spending time in being deaf and learning sign language.

Families visit the both of the schools “Fjölskyldudagur” where the students show them their work and chat.

Dansað með eldri borgurum.Dancing with the older people and we visit each other and have fun .

FESTIVAL - The Night of Lights in Reykjanesbær “Ljósanótt” Festival of Culture and Family. All schools and kindergartens take part in the opening ceremony. The Link is ljosanott.is

But they offer a fascinating insight into Iceland's maritime history beginning with the graceful mastered schooners from the 19th century and ending with the steam and diesel-powered trawlers of the 20th century.

WORKING TOGETHER WITH OTHERSchildren, parents, grand-parents and local

associations “Colour project” : children, divided into small groups, are involved in painting activities to make “Graffiti Art” for the school…their parents are helping them…

THIS IS OUR “RAGNATELA

DELL’AMICIZIA” (friendship network)

WE ARE ALL UNITED

TOGETHER!!!!

Here is a Grandad..he is telling us a fantastic fairy tale

We are the children from Nursery school

This is our Local Library… children are very relaxed while listening to a tale read by the librarian and while discovering a lot of new books.

“La Battuta di San Martino” During our Patron Saint’s celebrations we offered old people our “bike” biscuits we called them “biciotti”. DO YOU LIKE THEM??? THEY’RE DELICIOUS.

Here we are with our friends from Primary School: they are in our school and they are telling us stories and reading books. It’s great fun to work together!!!

OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES IN THE LOCAL AREA

Children meet at their stop, where they put on the high visibility jacket, and walk to school with some voluntary parents.

It’s like a real bus: same lines, stops,

hours and rules. A parent is the driver

and the other is the controller.

The itinerary is short and safe. Here we are, at the gate of the school!

There are two lines, blue and green, and each line is about 700 m long.. A coloured notice shows the stops.

CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS grow up together with us…

…During our activities in the kitchen….smelling a lemon

…Playing games ..at school parties

..during outdoor activities… or playing sports … or drawing and painting together

This project involved a third-year primary class.In this class there are two special needs pupils.Once finished (right), the poster was hanged up on the wall, in the entrance hall of our school.

SPECIAL NEEDS DAY

Mattia is drawing a picture of himself Simone is

cutting out a picturerepresenting himself.

Igor and Mattia are sticking some pieces of paper with glue to complete the poster

This is the final poster

The whole class took part in the activity.

Panathlon: SPECIAL NEEDS’ PEOPLE in our school.Un’ora x i disabili. A great lesson for us!!!

On Wednesday 9 December, there was a very important meeting in our school together with the Panathlon Association: an hour for and with special needs people.

This is our P. E. teacher who helped the experts to organize a group activity to make us conscious of all the difficulties special needs people encounter and have to overcome every day.

This is an example of how difficult it is for a blind boy to walk around and do even the simplest everyday activities. For us it was a game, but now we have understood that their life is really very hard

These are wheel-chairs. We sat there and we tried to drive the chairs and to play basketball. It was more difficult than usual.

We couldn’t play very well. We couldn’t score many points!!!!even the best players!!! But now we better know how strong these people are and how lucky we are!!!! We must remember this and try to be always tolerant and helpful!!!

w r i t i n g t o g e t h e r ….When we helped  write Christmas cards to our  friends, we learned that….….“Younger learners go slower than I had thought. So I had to adapt myself to their pace”“To be quiet so that they could concentrate”.“It´s great having a friend younger than you are.“Being with a younger learner brings me really good memories”“My younger friend likes doing everything on her own”.…”we don´t have to shout to talk”.“I learned about my shyness but the more they talk, the more comfortable I felt”.“As my friend doesn´t talk too much, I´ve learned to make an effort to talk to her”

5th grade students helping 4 years old to write a Christmas card.

Reading together

4th grade pupils read some tales written by themselves to the 4 year olds.

LEYENDO JUNTOS

5th grade children reading English tales to the 4 year olds.

Older pupils opinions…….“I love telling stories to and being with the children from pre-school”“I try to improve myself by always trying harder than the last time”“I feel important”“They respect our work  “

Learning music together..

5th grade children offer a MUSIC CONCERT to the younger ones.

5th grade pupils opinions:

“I feel good when my hard work is recognized by peoples applause and their attention”.

“I like to see their faces and how they participate ”

“They are very respectful towards what we do ”

Concierto de música para los peques…

Visit to the bullring of the Real Maestranza in Seville (Visita a la plaza de toros)

We are waiting to enter  the stadium.

Our older pupils look after us.

Our children listen to the guide´s explanation.

Our older friends opinions…….“When we do the activities we feel good, happy, and responsible ”“We treat them as if we were their parents ”When we work with them we feel more mature, responsible and also patient. They make us remember our childhoods”.“On field trips we play with them, tickle them, listen to them tell about their adventures and invent games with them. We also make up stories for them”.

DECEMBER, 3rd.Day of disabled people

Our hands as our eyes

We smelled,tasted,touched and listened with our eyes covered

We played with a musical ball……

We learned how to walk in the dark

HOW DID THE CHILDREN FEEL…….?“The activity had the children simulate what it would be like if they were blind. It was very difficult to function without our vision and we are fascinated at how blind people can live out their day to day activities”“We felt scared and a bit uncomfortable because we didn't know what could have happened to us or what we had to do”.“The activity was fun and we learned that, just like blind people, we can learn to do anything even if at first we mess up”.

3 Diciembre. Día de la discapacidad

Teachers provide students learning opportunities by selecting appropriate activities and they can be helped with other people´s experience and knowledge.In order to develop attitudes and values that work towards a better world these people act as positive role models for children to follow.

Once a week for three monthsSome students living in Sevilla, teach us English language and culture.

An architect explains the Guadalquivir bridges.One or two sessions .

Grandparents have time , experience, and patience. They teach us useful things.Also mothers come to teach us .One session every week.

Learning and teaching

“It´s like to be in a school again, but this time in an ideal school.” I can learn a lot with children, you give them an idea and they give you back plenty of them.”.” Children give you love, so there is lot of people loving you, its fantastic.”. “I know and appreciate much more now about school and the importance of being a teacher.”

“I discovered the children´s great ability to reason and think, they have no experience but a big curiosity to learn. It was a very different experience , very new and interesting, even for my job: I usually have to explain things to different kind of people.”

“It has been a very nice way to learn Spanish culture, the real one. I think I want to teach Spanish in my country, in the future “

Nursery school / Ecole Maternelle Madame René COTY / 2 to 5 years oldPrimary school / Ecole Elémentaire Jean CHARCOT / 8 to 11 years old

At the beginning of december, the « Téléthon » took place. The Téléthon is a national event encouraging people to take up challenges in order to raise money to help fund research into rare diseases.In Ouistreham, both schools took part :the nursery school children decorated paper hearts which were stuck on the model lighthouse outside the town hall. Lots of activities took place here.

December 2009

Les enfants de l’école maternelle ont décoré des cœurs en papier qui ont été accrochés à la réplique du phare installée sur la place de la Mairie. De nombreuses animations avaient lieu à cet endroit.

At the top of the

lighthouse…

The « Lighthouse Challenge » was launched by « Belle-Ile-en-Mer » (french island, Atlantic ocean). The aim was to climb to the top of the lighthouse and at the end of the challenge see which school has climbed the most steps. Our lighthouse has 171 steps which, when multiplied by the number of children in school, means that we climbed a total of 40 869 steps !

Nursery school / Ecole Maternelle Madame René COTY / 2 to 5 years oldPrimary school / Ecole Elémentaire Jean CHARCOT / 8 to 11 years old

Nursery school / Ecole Maternelle Madame René COTY / 2 to 5 years oldPrimary school / Ecole Elémentaire Jean CHARCOT / 8 to 11 years old

The library

Christelle and Evelyne classes (CM1)

“We don’t go just to borrow books ; we learn as a class and not just on our own.”

“Being with the others is good. At least, you don’t feel like you’re on your own, and working in a team is great.”

“It’s good because we research things. There are questionnaires. It’s great doing all that together because I love doing things with my friends. We learn lots of things and I’ve discovered lots of comic strips.”

Reading at the nursery school10 year old pupils from the Primary school come to read stories to the children from the Nursery school. The older pupils are working seriously to prepare their reading and interpretation. They like very much this work and are very happy when they see the little ones listening attentively.

Les CM2 préparent des lectures d’albums pour les enfants de la maternelle. Les petits sont très sages et attentifs lors de ces séances.

The Eco-School project tries to join together people who want to act for the environment and want to change our way of life.In France, one thousand establishments participate, and this year, forty eight of these schools are in Lower-Normandy. Each establishment choses some people from the community : civil servants, teachers, parents, pupils, canteen staff, and school cleaners. It's this committee which choses a theme to work on during the year.To start with, the committee makes a diagnosis of the situation of the schools. Then, the partners propose some changes and solutions to improve the quality of the environment. In Ouistreham, our theme this year is school food. The committee then try to identify the school's assets and its weak areas.It thinks about the organisation of the canteen, the education of the employees and the pupils, the transportation of the food, and waste product management. The committee invites the local newspapers and puts some information on the school's blogs.. It also makes posters...

Investigation about food products at the market

Planting with gardeners in the town

Cette année, les

écoles publiques

de Ouistreham travailleront

autour du thème de

l'alimentation.

Every year, schools can ask the FEEE to give them an 'Eco-School' status.

Nursery school / Ecole Maternelle Madame René COTY / 2 to 5 years oldPrimary school / Ecole Elémentaire Jean CHARCOT / 8 to 11 years old

Primary school / Ecole Elémentaire Jean CHARCOT / 8 to 11 years old

Interview with our English Assistant For the last two years we have been lucky enough to have an English Assistant in our school of eleven classes. The age of our pupils ranges from 8 to 11 years old. Each class has two English lessons per week, one of these classes is with the English Assistant helping out. We wanted to know how Caroline was managing to integrate into the French way of life since she arrived last October and the following is a transcript of the interview (in French as Caroline speaks French fluently) which took place.

• First of all, what is your name and how old are you ?My name’s Caroline McKeating and I’m 21.

• Where do you come from ?I’m from Workington in the North West of England near the Scottish border.

• How did you get to come to Ouistreham as an Assistant ?I wanted to be in a small town and I chose Normandy because I visited this county when I was about 14. I’ve been three times to Normandy and twice to Paris for two weeks each time.

• How do you come to speak French so well ?When I was nine, I wanted to learn French but there weren’t any French lessons at school so my teacher gave me a cassette and a book and I learnt on my own. I liked the sound of the French language but I only started to learn it in Secondary School at the age of eleven.

• How long did you study French ?Up until “A” level where I took three subjects, English Literature, French and History. Then I spent two years at Leeds University where I studied two subjects, English Literature and French. Now, I’m here for one year in France. I’ll be taking my degree in my fourth year in Leeds.

• Will you be able to teach French in England after that ?No, I will still need to do another year in another University because Leeds doesn’t specialize in how to teach French to small children.

Caroline McKeating

•What do you think your year in France has given you ?I’m more confident when speaking French. I‘ve had no other choice but to speak French. Also, I’ve really had to learn to live on my own which I have never done before.

•What have you learned this year that could be useful to you in your future career ?I have seen different ways of teaching by watching the five teachers who teach English. For example, the children sometimes wouldn’t understand me when I spoke to them in English but I have learned to use other words or different ways of speaking with gestures to make them understand.

•Do you see a difference between French children of today and English children ?Yes, French children work more and concentrate more. In France, they seem to have a lot of evaluation tests and they get a lot of homework which the English children don’t get.

•What do you intend to do after you leave France in May ?I’ll be working in a Primary School for two weeks as a teacher’s Assistant and in the summer as I belong to the Girl Guides and it is the 100th Anniversary this year, I’ll be looking after a Russian Guide.

Primary school / Ecole Elémentaire Jean CHARCOT / 8 to 11 years old

•What is your time-table like in our school ?I teach for ten hours and I have got two hours to prepare lessons and help with the Comenius Project.

•Have you had any occasions to mix with French people outside of school ?In Ouistreham, I go to a ballet group once a week on a Wednesday and I sometimes play the flute with the local orchestra. But there is no real social life, everything happens in Caen and it is difficult to get there and back because the buses don’t run after 8 O’clock in the evening.

•Did you find it difficult this year to be away from home ?Yes. I found it difficult because although I am used to living by myself in Leeds, I found it more difficult here because I really have to live on my own without friends and family. For example when I encounter a problem, I have to explain it in French and it’s difficult to find the right words.

You can read the whole interview on our blog : http://sidebysidefrance.blogspot.com/

Between the 18th and the 22nd of January it was Mathematics week at our school. This was a great opportunity to take part in fun activities in school, and out in the local community. There was a real focus on older children having opportunities to work along side younger children, as well as getting parents involved.

The Year 4 children from Mr Hughes’ class planned a maths trail around the school for Mrs Evans’ year 1 class. Fun was had by all and the right answers were found……eventually!

Mrs Griffiths’ Year 6 children had great fun designing, making and then playing maths games with Mrs Williams’ year 2 class. The standard of games was high, and in the end everyone was a winner!

What a week the children in Mr Gittings’ class had! Not only did they complete fun activities in the classroom, they also got the opportunity to complete a Maths trail in the local supermarket. It was great to see parents coming along to help the children.

We visited Sain Ffagan (St Ffagan’s) to learn about our past. A celtic

warrior showed us how to build a celtic roundhouse

with our hands.We were very muddy and learnt that the Celts used wattle and daub to build their houses. Luckily we didn’t have animal poo in our daub, just mud, water and straw. We had a lovely time learning about our past and getting covered in mud!!

We had a talk about Fairtrade and what we can do to help

workers and companies in the third world. By buying

Fairtrade products we ensure that the farmers are paid a fair

price for their produce.

We discussed the use of carrier bags and how many bags the average person uses a year. We then received a present of a re-usable calico bag to take home.

We were given the task to put the story of coffee in order. We were very shocked to hear how little the coffee farmers receive for each bag of coffee.

We have been learning about the Braille

Alphabet and how it helps people who are

visually impaired.

We used the Braille Alphabet to help us write

our names. We had to work as a team to find the correct

letters in the sand.

Mrs Angove, one of our parents came to talk to us about people who are hearing impaired and the equipment available to help people who have hearing difficulties.

We learnt some sign language and how to sign our names! It was fun but it made us realise how difficult it can be to cope.

We have been out to do some work in the local community collecting litter. We were joined by some local police officers and parents as we spent an hour collecting on fields close to our school. By the end we had collected 5 big bags full of litter and we were all very tired!

This is us in school before

going to collect litter.

Here we are working hard alongside PC Taylor from the local police station.

After a hard hour of collecting our bags were full up with litter. A job well done!