Whitehouse Common Primary -

Saturday - el sábado - el dissabtes

Whilst you were all having a Saturday lie in, Miss Harper and Señora Stevens were up bright and early to go shopping. Not for clothes, but for resources that can be used in our lessons at WCPS. They were very excited in several shops, especially by the tiny door to get into Imaginarium.

Then they went on a metro, a funicular train and a cable car to get to Montjuïc Castle. Señora Stevens was a bit scared on the cable car but there were wonderful views all over Barcelona.

Meanwhile, Mrs Dixon had got up early too and was on her way to Barcelona so, after Miss Harper and Señora Stevens had walked back down the very very big hill via the Olympic Stadium, the Miró museum, lots of steps and some gardens, they met Mrs Dixon back at their accommodation.

They let Mrs Dixon sit down - but only for a few minutes before they were off again to investigate the Port Vell and the beach. A trip to the Aquarium was postponed until Sunday as there was a private party and they had shut half of the fish away from public view!

The day finished with dinner on a terrace overlooking the sea, underneath a sculpture of a fish. Delicious! And, after Señora Stevens' impeccable sense of direction (!) led them to the metro, they arrived at their accommodation ready for a good sleep before Sunday's adventures.

 

 

 

What the travellers did next...

Friday afternoon saw Miss Harper and Señora Stevens moving house (now staying put until they come home), fighting with internet connections and then going to the zoo.

Once more Señora Stevens proved that, whilst she may be able to speak Spanish and Catalan, she is not so good at simple things like reading closing times and heading off in the right direction but they arrived in the end having walked in a circle!

Barcelona Zoo has lots of the same animals as our zoos in England but it is very different. You'll soon see all the photographs and video but one of the biggest differences was how close you could get to the animals. Worringly close sometimes!

They made very good use of their time, staying until they were asked to leave as the zoo was closing, and then went home to change before witnessing a mass demonstration in the main square, having dinner in a beautiful plaza and collapsng into bed with aching feet ready to start again on another adventure tomorrow.

 

Hasta la vista - Until soon - Ens veiem

Barça! Barça! Baaaarça!

Two very excited teachers set out this morning to catch the metro to Zona Universitat (once Señora Stevens had made the ticket machine work!) and visit one of the places that many of you wanted them togo - el Camp Nou. Including Mr Worth. (Note from Señora Stevens - I've bought you a present as a consolation prize!)

They spent the morning at there, looking around the museum and actually going inside the stadium - Señora Stevens was actually jumping up and down and nearly crying with excitement! They took hundreds of photographs (not an exaggeration!) and even videoed themselves. They have thought of lots of ideas of how we can link FCBarcelona and the Camp Nou into our learning - PSHE, Art, sport, languages, Community cohesion, and so on! Señora Stevens even thought of a maths challenge that would take a long time!

They've just moved home for the rest of the trip, and are off to the zoo now.

More from the intrepid travellers later!Fins ara - See you later - hasta pronto

Paparazzi!

Miss Harper and Señora Stevens turned paparazzi tonight as they discoverd that the Hugo Boss store in Barcelona was expecting some special guests.

To celebrate 30 years of the brand sponsoring McLaren, Hugo Boss had invited some famous people to the store including Pedro de la Rosa and Lewis Hamilton.

Miss Harper and Señora Stevens were so excited to have been wandering past when all the

excitement started and they stayed until they had some great shots of various people arriving and posing. They're still trying to work out who some of the people were but they did see Alex Corretja who is a tennis player and Gema Mengual who is a synchronised swimmer!

Here's Señora Stevens' shot of Lewis Hamitlon. Look how close she was!! More pictures - and a video! - when Señora Stevens and Miss Harper get back!

Hem arribat - We've arrived - Hemos llegado

Miss Harper and Señora Stevens have arrived safely in Barcelona without getting lost!

They've found their hotel for the night, and started looking around and taking photographs to be used in resources for school.

They've also planned a very busy schedule of things to see and do over the next few days, and are hoping that Mrs Dixon is feeling energetic when she arrives!

Tomorrow they're planning on visiting the Camp Nou, the zoo and the beach (for educational purposes!) as well as two bookshops where they've been told there are some great books and resources that might make our learning even more interesting at WCPS!

Fins demà - Until tomorrow - Hasta mañana

GrowStoryGrow storywriting competition

GrowStoryGrow, a story-telling website for learning languages, is holding a story writing competition.

Open to children aged 9-11, the winner will have their story translated into different languages, animated and published online with their name and school. The story can be written in any language so taking part will benefit general literacy as well as language learning.

The deadline is 30th June 2011 and the winner will be announced on 11th July.

The winning entry will be showcased at the London Language Show.

What an opportunity! Wouldn't it be great if a pupil at Whitehouse Common were to have their story chosen, then we'd be teaching children across the country languages through dance and song (Take Ten en español) and story as well!

If you want to find out more, ask Señora Stevens or your class teacher.

Happy Hometime Club May Newsletter

The Happy Hometime Club Newsletter is now available to open [click here], a copy is also available from the Before and After School Link on the Left Hand Menu.

Els Castellers

Next week three staff are off to Barcelona for our third visit as part of the Comenius Reggio project between Birmingham and Barcelona. Miss Harper, Mrs Dixon and Señora Stevens will visit Els Pins as well as collecting resources, ideas and experiences for WCPS.

Whilst they are there, they are looking forward to meeting lots of people, including Miquel who works for the Consorçi de Educacció and who visited WCPS last year.

Miquel has an interesting hobby. Do you remember the pictures of Miss Cahill, Mr Worth and Señora Stevens having a little go at making "human castles" or castells? (Have a look here and here  to remind you!)  It's not something you should try at home as it takes lots of practice, but Miquel is an expert!

He has just sent us some information in English about Castellers - you can see it here.  What an awesome sight it must be to see towers of people 10 levels high!