COMENIUS WEEK

During Comenius Week, 2nd to 6th May, School El Casal presented the Comenius Project

"Far Away But Similar" to our school and to our local community.

There was an exhibition in the school presenting different facts of the European Union and Poland, our partner school.

Some of the students participating in the project and in short travelling to Poland were interviewed in a programme of the local Radio Castellar. They explained what they have learned about the European Union and about their partner school, and they also explained what they expect to find and learn when we go to visit Poland in June.

There was also an article about the project in the local newspapers L'Actual and Forja.

Spanish Day

On the 15th April the student of our school took part in the event called Spanish Day . Each class gave a presentation on some regions of Spain. They presented some facts and performed funny situations connected with the regions. All the students could learn or share their knowledge of Spanish history, geography and culture. They participated in the competition on the knowledge of Spain and Cataluña as well.
The competition was won by Michał Greń-a student of the class2b.
The second prize got Partycja Mędrala(class2a).
The third one received Tomasz Jurys(class 3a).
During the last part of the event students were singing English songs and the best singers were Karolina Ryszka(class3a), Barbara Fijak(class3b) and a group of girls from class 2b.
The promoter of the event was our teacher, Mr Edward Szczyrk.

SAINT GEORGE DAY - 23rd APRIL

Saint George Day, La Diada de Sant Jordi, also known as el dia de la rosa (The Day of the Rose) or el dia del llibre (The Day of the Book) is a Catalan holiday held on 23 April, with similarities to Valentine's Day and some unique twists that reflect the antiquity of the celebrations. The main event is the exchange of gifts between sweethearts, loved ones and respected ones. Historically, men gave women roses, and women gave men a book to celebrate the occasion—"a rose for love and a book forever." In modern times, the mutual exchange of books is also customary. Roses have been associated with this day since medieval times, but the giving of books is a more recent tradition originating in 1923, when a bookseller started to promote the holiday as a way to commemorate the nearly simultaneous deaths of Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespeare on 23 April 1616. Barcelona is the publishing capital of both Catalan and Spanish languages and the combination of love and literacy was quickly adopted.

In Barcelona's most visited street, La Rambla, and all over Catalonia, thousands of stands of roses and makeshift bookstalls are hastily set up for the occasion. By the end of the day, some four million roses and 800,000 books will have been purchased. Most women will carry a rose in hand, and half of the total yearly book sales in Catalonia take place on this occasion.

Catalonia exported its tradition of the book and the rose to the rest of the world. In 1995, the UNESCO adopted 23 April as World Book and Copyright Day.

EASTER WISHES

The students from Gimnazjum in Juszczyna made Easter cards and wrote wishes for their friends. We sent the cards by post.

Easter in Juszczyna

Easter is the oldest and most important Christian holiday commemorating the death on the cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is preceded by forty days of Lent.

Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the period of fasting which starts on Ash Wednesday. That day is a very solemn day when ash is sprinkled on the heads of members of the congregation.

The Sunday before Easter is called Palm Sunday. On this day churchgoers take to their churches small “palms” made of olive brunches, spring flowers and catkins and they are blessed by priests. Later they are put in the houses to protect them from disasters. The week before Easter is called Holy Week.

On Saturday before Easter, Polish families from Juszczyna prepare decorated baskets with different food included boiled and painted eggs(pisanki),sausages, bread, salt, pepper, horseradish and baked cakes in a shape of lambs and go to church, where the food is blessed by their priests too.

Easter Sunday is the first day of Easter. People in Poland celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. The special Mass is celebrated in the early morning in each Catholic church.

After returning home, the whole family have the solemn Easter breakfast, which begins with saying wishes and sharing Easter eggs. On the tables there are eggs, Easter cakes(poppy seed and pound cakes),bread, salt, tea and the rest of food, which was blessed in the church on Saturday.

On the traditional Easter table cannot be missed such dishes as:Easter soup, white sausage, ham,stuffed eggs, beetroots,Easter cakes and a cheese cake.

Tables are decorated with bouquets of catkins and first spring flowers. Easter Monday (the second day of Easter holidays) is called “ śmigus-dyngus” because according to Polish tradition, the water should be poured on other people, even strangers.

It is believed that the young girls should get wet on that day as it can give them a good fortune. Easter time gives families opportunities to gather together , have long conversations and visit relatives and friends. The holiday gives a hope that something good will happen to each of us.

Some of the information above was given by Marzena S.

English courses

In March 2011 some students from Gimnazjum in Juszczyna started English conversational course preparing them for the meeting with Spanish friends.

Some teachers from our school are attending English course too. The aim of it is to improve their English and help them communicate more effectively with Spanish teachers.

March

Possible questions for a videoconference in March:

1.Which of the topics connected with our history have you already done ?
-"Islamic Invasion of Spain and Tatar Raids in Poland",
-"The Gold Age and First Universities in Salamanca and Cracow",
-"The Treaty Guaranteed Religious Tolerance towards Muslims and Tolerance Edict in Poland",
-"The Nationalist Uprising against French Army in Spain and and against Russia in Poland"in the 19th Century"
-"Spain and Poland are Members of The European Union"
2.What can you say about similarities and differences between Polish and Spanish history?
3.What is the most important in your life?
4.What kinds of activities do you prefer?
5.Do you help your parents with doing housework?
6.What are you going to do after leaving your present school?
7.What would you like to do in the future?
8.Have you got any brothers or sisters?
9.How many people are there in your family?
10.Do you do any sports? Why?
-Is there a swimming-pool near your house?
11.Do you like travelling? Where do you usually travel?
12.Would you like to travel abroad?
13.Have you ever done shopping for your family or yourself?
14.What do you usually buy?
15.Which shops are your favourite?
16.How do you spend your free time?
17.Have you ever been to a football match or concert?
18.What kind of books do you like reading?
20.What do you think about coming to Poland/Spain?

Videoconference on 8 February 2011

The topic of our videoconference was "Our School Life". Students asked and answered questions about their schools.

More information about our school.

Our school is located near Żywiec. It has got 133 students. We learn in the new building. There are 7 classrooms. They have been designed for different school subjects, that’s why there are suitable educational resources. For example, there are a lot of maps in Geography and History classrooms. The computers are in the ITC classroom, but pictures of some famous poets and writers are in the Polish classrooms.
There is a primary school in the same building. However, it is located on the ground floor. We share the school canteen, gym and the playground with the students from the primary school. Some of us used to attend it too. We have got a lot of space in front of the school, where we can walk during the breaks if the weather is not so bad. Our school is near the main road and you must be careful if you go out. When you cross the road you can see a small river below. Our pitch is behind the river. On the pitch we can play tennis, football, basketball and volleyball.
There is a wooden church next to our school building. It was built by our inhabitants in the beginning of the 20th century.
Come and see our villages and school! They are quite nice.
Dominika J.

My school

My name is Dominika and I go to school in Juszczyna near Żywiec.
I go to school on foot because I live close to it.
The school is small because only 133 students attend my school.
There are 6 classrooms, a computer room, a library, a common room and a large gym.
Classes start at 8:05 and usually finish about 13:35.
The school has a canteen where we usually eat breakfast and lunch.
We also have a little shop where I can buy something to eat or drink.
There are 26 students in my class.
We learn following subjects : English, Mathematics, History, Geography , Biology ,Physics ,Chemistry, Polish, German, Religion, ITC and P.E.
My favorite subjects are English and Geography. I don't like Mathematics and Physics.
We do not have to wear school uniforms.
The school organizes trips, we were in Wrocław last year.

Mateusz has written short information about his school too:

"My school is in Juszczyna. I go to my school on foot. There are seven classrooms in our school. We study twelve subjects: English,Polish, German, History, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, Biology,Religion, P.E., Mathematics, ITC. I like P.E. most. In our school is a big gym, where we can play different games. "

How do you get to school?

Our students come from four villages: Juszczyna, Bystra, Brzuśnik and Wieprz.
The students, who live in Juszczyna, usually go to school on foot, but the others go to school by bus.
Dominka S. said that her friends call their bus

”a carrot” because of its colour.

A school play

Our students performed a play “The expected guest” for inhabitants of our villages. At the end the students sang carols and wished Happy New Year.

Our School

According to the project, our students should exchange some information about their schools this month. Catalan pupils have already described their school.
Polish students have been given some questions ,which help them to write a good description of their school.
The questions, which they can fallow, are below:
1.Where is your school situated?
2.How do you get to school?
3.Is there a gym in your school?
4.How many classrooms are there in your school?
5.Can you use a computer or the Internet in your school?
6.Is there a library in your school?
7.Can you buy something to eat or drink in your school?
8.Is there a canteen in your school?
9.What time does the school day start/finish?
10.At what age do children start/leave your school?
11.Which subjects are compulsory in your school?
12.Do you have to wear school uniform?
13.How many terms are there in the school?
14.What exams do pupils take during their education?
15.Have you got any additional lessons after compulsory classes?
16.Do you have any opportunity to participate in inter-school competitions?
17. Does your school organize any trips?
18.What kinds of events for local communities or for its students does your school organize during school year?
19.What is your opinion about your school?
20.What is your favourite subject?
21.What kind of activity(in you school) do you like best?

Polish students are having a winter holiday now, that’s why their descriptions will appear on the site at the end of January.
For the time being Justyna has written a short note about her school.
“I'm Justyna. I will tell you about our school.
Our school is small because only 133 students attend the school.
We learn following subjects: Polish, English, German, History,
Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Geography, Biology,
Religion and P.E.
My favorite subject is Polish. I don't like Physics.
Additional classes are after compulsory lessons, mainly in the afternoon. I go to
school on foot. Sometimes we go on school trips. This year, we were in
Wrocław, last year, we were in Pszczyna. It was great!”

Our way to school is not so dangerous like in the film.

CATALAN CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

Christmas is a tradition that is celebrated in a different way by each family, but there is one thing common everywhere: the feeling of solidarity and generosity which makes Christmas a very happy moment and that make families gather to celebrate it together. There are some traditions that make Catalan Christmas different from other countries. Some dishes are characteristic of our region, especially the desserts called "turró", "polvorons" and "neules" which are onlt eaten during Christmas times.

turró

polvorons

neules

Also, in each house, children make their Nativity, which is the representation of Jesus' birth with little figures.

A Catalan tradition is the "Tió". This is a wooden trunk with a face painted on it and a Catalan hat. The tradition says that this piece of wood was in the fireplace that lighted Jesus in the barn where he was born. Now, children feed the "Tió" and on Christmas day they sing a song and hit the "Tió" with a stick, and the "Tió" gives them presents.

Another Catalan tradition is the 3 Wise Men. They were 3 kings that crossed the desert following a star which led them to the place where Jesus Christ was born. When they arrived, they gave him presents. Now, they bring presents to all the children. On the 5th of January there is a big parade with the arrival of the 3 Wise Men. When all the children are sleeping, they deliver the presnts, and on the 6th of January all children find their presents and open them with their family.

By Ariadna T, Laura P, Emma and Ivette

Our Customs

During Christmas time( December- January)our folk band, Grojcowianie give some performances in local churches singing Christmas carols, saying seasonal wishes and playing folk music.
Some of the members of the folk band come from our village, Juszczyna too. You can see them in the pictures.

If you like to see another type of event connected with the local folk tradition,you can find some information about it on the website:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UDGGwKp2oE&feature=related Gody Żywieckie 2011- retransmisja w.2

The "Gody" performances take place in our region in January every year.

A videoconference

On 14 December 2010 we organized a videoconference with our friends from Spain. Students from both schools could introduce themselves and asked some questions. We had a great fun.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas cards

Christmas cards made by Polish students for their Catalan friends. We have sent them by post.

Christmas in Juszczyna

Everyone loves Christmas. It is the most favourite and eagerly awaited holiday in the year. This is a unique time when people try to be nice, friendly and generous to each other. They seem to forget all their problems, quarrels and just enjoy being together.
Christmas is preceded by many days of preparation. Streets are lit by coloured lamps, shops are full of people buying presents, traditional ingredients for their meals and choosing Christmas cards. Christmas trees are set up in every home and decorated with sparkling tinsel, chains, balls, toys and trinkets.
The atmosphere of excitement and expectation can be felt almost everywhere. The time before Christmas Eve Supper is very important too. It is believed that everything that might happen on that day can influence the whole next year. Much attention, for instance, is paid to the person who first enters the house, and if it is a man, he ensures welfare to all members of the family. Some people say that if you ask for food on that day,you will be hungry throughout the year to come.
When the first star appears in the sky, people take seats at the Christmas Eve table. They do not forget about placing an empty plate and chair for an unexpected guest. The table is covered with a white tablecloth and hay is spread under it.
Another custom is the number of dishes. Traditionally there should be twelve of them. The most popular dishes are red borsch, boiled dough packets filled with cabbage and mushrooms, fish(usually carp) and poppy-seed cake. You are not allow to go out till the end of the supper.
Before the family starts eating, its members say a prayer, read a passage from the Bible about the birth of Jesus and next share the holy wafer wishing each other good luck.
After the Christmas Eve Supper everyone can find a present under a Christmas tree and Christmas carols are sung. At midnight many people go to church to attend a special mass during which they sing carols again. This night is miraculous because it is believed that animals can speak with human voices. Of course it is a joke. However, in the past farmers went to their barns to feed their animals with the wafer and told their children that animals could speak on Christmas Eve. In addition to that custom, people used to go out to listen to sounds outside and if ,for example, they could hear a sound of a train, they will probable go on journey next year.
The first day of Christmas,25th December, is usually spent at home. Work is forbidden. It is believed that washing up hands with silver coins in the morning may bring money. On that day and during next days carol-singers dressed as angels or devils, King Herod or Death visit people’s houses. They sing carols and play various scenes from the Bible. The second day of Christmas is spent in a different way. People pay and receive visits, spend much time at the tables talking or singing carols.
Christmas for Polish people is not only the yearly celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, but also the most traditional, family time and joyful of happiness and reconciliation. The birth of Jesus Christ is regarded as a kind of symbol which heralds the days of peace and love.

Christmas Cards

The students from our classes,2a and 2b have made some Christmas postcards for Catalan students.
The postcards will be sent to Spain next week.

The names of the students in the picture are:Weronika,Marzena,Dominika,Damian,Mateusz,Mikołaj,Patryk,Michał,Jakub,Kamil,Justyna,

Dominika,Mirek and Dominika.

JULIA

Hello! My name is Júlia and I'm 14 years old. I'm studYing 3rd of ESO in "El Casal school" in Castellar del Vallès. I live in Catellar del Vallès, a beauty town near Barcelona.
I'm a friendly and outgoing girl. I'm tall and my eyes are blue and my hair is blond.
I have a lot of good friends but my best friends in Catellar del Vallès are Ariadna G, Claudia C, Ariadna T and Ivette S.
In my free time, I like going shopping with my mum or with my friends, hanging up, going to the cinema, chatting with my friends etc.
When I finish the school in the afternoon, on Mondays and Wednesdays I go to ballet and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to an English academy.
In the winter I like skiing because in this place I have 4 big friends, their names are Sofia, Danae, Clara and Juliet, I miss them very much.
I'm a good student but I also speak a lot.
writte soon
kisses Júlia

OUR SCHOOL

Hi!
We are Ivette, Ariadna and Emma and we will talk about our school.
If you look at our school from the air it has a flower shape. It has three floors, with the kinder garden, primary and secundary, one class for each level. It has a gym, a football field and a basketball court. We have a dinning room, a laboratory, and an art class.
The timetables are simple: We start at 8:30, we have a pause for breakfast at 10:30 and we leave the school at 1 o’clock for lunch. At 3 o’clock we start again until 5 o’clock.
We have a different teacher for every subject. We have six subjects every day, one hour for each class, except art and phisical education classes, which last two hours.
Kinder garden last from 3 until 5 years old.
Primary Education is from 6 until 12 years old.
Secundary Education is from 13 until 16.
After this obligatory education you can go to upper secondary school for two years and finally go to university.
We can’t wait to meet you!
kisses! :)

By Ivette, Ariadna and Emma

OUR SCHOOL “EL CASAL”

Hi, we are Laura and Queralt and we are very good friends and we go to “el Casal” school. Our school is near the mountains and this year the school has made changes. In our school there is only one class per level and most people of the school are from Castellar, there are people who live in Sentmenat, which is near Castellar. In our school you can study since you are 3 years old until you are 16. If you repeat one course, you need to be in the school until you are 17. We start the classes at 8:30, at 10:30 we have breakfast, at 13:00 we have the lunch and we start again at 15:00 and we finish at 17:00. We have 6 hours of school a day. In general, the school is great and it has 3 floors: one for kindergarden, the second for primary and the third for us.

By Laura and Queralt

SCHOOL EL CASAL

School El Casal is a big school in Castellar del Vallès. Its shape is similar to a fried egg. The school has got three floors. In the ground floor there is kinder garden, in the first floor there is the primary education and in the second floor there is secondary (here we scall it ESO). The school has a big playground, with a footbal field and a basketball court.
The school only has one class per level. In this class there are 27-30 students.
In the school all the people are very friendly.

Homework:
In the school the teachers give us a lot of homework, because in the class we usually don't work well because some people make a lot of noise and it's to difficult to be concentrated, but well, the homework isn’t very difficult.
Exams:
well, in our school the teachers put us exams when we finish a unit, sometimes we have exams of three units, but well, it is only in social science, and the exams are usually difficult because the teachers put us the exams all in the same week, for example; there’s a week that we haven’t got any exams, and in the next week we can perfectly have five or six exams.

By Mercè and Cristina

English Vocabulary!

ONLY THE ENGLISH COULD HAVE INVENTED THIS LANGUAGE !
We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese..
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Then shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!
Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
Neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England.
We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes,
We find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,
And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing,
Grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.
If you have a bunch of odds and ends And get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English Should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.
In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
While a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language
In which your house can burn up as it burns Down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out,
And in which an alarm goes off by going on.
And, in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother's not Mop?
I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT IF PEOPLE FROM POLAND ARE CALLED POLES THEN PEOPLE FROM HOLLAND SHOULD BE HOLES AND THE GERMANS, GERMS

The information about English vocabulary was sent by Thomas Evans from the USA.

Hi.

My name is Michael. I am 14 years old. I was born in Bielsko-Biala. I live in Bystra. I go to school in JUSZCZYNA. It is a small school but very cool. I have three brothers and one sister. My sister lives in Krakow. One of my brothers has been already married. I am the youngest in my family. My mother's name is Jola and dad’s name’s Wieslaw. My hobbies are playing football and using a computer. I like riding a bike and swimming. I have a pool in my house ,which is 7 mertes long and 4 metres wide. I often meet with my friends. In the future I would like to become a professional soldier.

Bye !

Miłosz

Hello !

My name is Miłosz. I’m 13 years old. I live in Juszczyna. I’ve got brown eyes and brown hair.

I’ ve got one brother. His name is Mikołaj. He’s 11 years old and he is interested in Biology.
My mum’s name is Małgorzata. She’s 34 years old. My dad’s name is Bogusław. He’s 36 years old. I like ski jumping ,skiing, reading magazines, watching TV and playing computer games. My favourite subject is Geography. I love mountains. I reached Rysy (2499 m ) and Sławkowski (2452 meters). I’ ve got one dog and two cats. The dog’s name is Roki Balboa. The cats’ names are Kitek and Łatek.

Bye J

Miłosz

Students from Poland