Whitehouse Common Primary -

TES Article

Congratulations to Mrs Stevens who has had an article published in the Times Educational supplement (TES). Modern Foreign Languages -Now you're talking, is about her language work with pupils from our school. We are all very proud of Mrs Stevens and all our pupils for working so hard! To read the article please [click here].

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For more information on using twitter on your mobile phone [click here]. Of course you can still follow our twitter account the normal way by using a computer too!

Day Ten -Viernes/Friday Continued

Our last day in Barcelona was cold and wet. We spent the day at Els Pins where the children were busy preparing for the 'La Castanyada' celebrations in the afternoon. They made special masks and cones to collect their chestnuts and sweets. They created a large 'castanyera', a lady that sells chestnuts on the street, that was displayed in the entrance hall.

Some of the teachers joined Miss Kenny and I for tapas at lunch to mark our last day at the school. We bought Mar some flowers to say thank you for all her help during our time at Els Pins.

Then it was back to school to join in with the celebrations. The Year 6 children wore traditional costumes and shared out all the special food to the younger children. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Els Pins and have lots of lovely work to share with everyone at home. Hopefully I'll be lucky enough to visit again one day.

We wanted to make the most of our last day, so after finishing school at 4:30 we jumped back on the Metro and hotfooted it across to the Museu Olimpic I de l'Esport. This is a museum containing artefacts and information on the Olympic games. The Summer Olympics were held in Barcelona in 1992 and visiting the museum has made me really excited for London 2012!

After the museum we traveled back to our accommodation ready to catch the bus to Gerona airport. Our flight home was delayed by an hour but that gave us time to have something to eat before we got on our flight.

I feel extremely lucky to have been given the opportunity to take part in the trip to Barcelona and am sad to be home. Barcelona is an amazing city and Els Pins is a wonderful school that we are lucky to have links with. I am thankful to the British Council for providing the funding for the trip and to Mrs Allen for her support with my visit. I have met some great colleagues and look forward to developing links with all the schools involved in the trip in the future!

Operation Christmas Child

Once again, we are collecting shoeboxes, filled with toys, as part of 'Operation Christmas Child' which is operated by Samaritan's Purse. We had special assemblies looking at what happens to the shoeboxes and all children were given a leaflet, giving them information and ideas on what to include in their boxes. Pupils will get three housepoints for each box they bring in as well as a special certificate to thank them. Our collection date for the shoeboxes is Thursday 17th November. For more information about what happens to the shoeboxes please [click here].

Day Ten -Viernes/Friday

We had a lovely meal last night to celebrate the end of our successful trip. We were really pleased that Carmen and Isabel were able to join us. They presented us with our University certificates and gave me a letter for Mrs Allen. They also said that they had seen this blog and thought it was so good that they have put a link to it on the Barcelona University site! I'll have to make sure I mention that in my report, about the trip, for the British Council.

I had a delicious 'Arroz negro con gambas y almejas' which was black paella, made using squid ink, with prawns and clams.

We are looking forward to joining in with the celebrations at Els Pins later for 'La Castanyada'. The Castanyada is a popular traditional Catalan festival, celebrated on All Saints' Day and in the evening before. Traditionally, ‘castanyes’ (roast chestnuts) are eaten along with ‘moniatos’ (roast sweet potatoes) and ‘panellets’ (small almond balls covered in pine nuts). Historically, La Castanyada was to honour saints and dead ancestors. Whole villages would stay awake in vigil, and the church bells would ring throughout the night. The traditional, high energy foods were served up to prevent them from feeling ill from lack of sleep and the effort of ringing the heavy bells. Children at Els Pins have been busy preparing special food and decorations all week so I'm really excitied about joining them for their celebrations.

Day Nine-Jueves/Thursday

Today we have been back with Mar at Els Pins. In the morning we saw her teaching English with a Year 5 class. We talked to them about Halloween and completed a Halloween quiz. It was Axel's 10th birthday today so we joined in with the celebrations in his class. All the children sang Happy Birthday in Catalan, Spanish and English and he shared his birthday cake with everyone, it was delicious!

Next, we walked around the school and dropped into different classes. The children in every class we saw greeted us in perfect English and wanted to talk to us.

In the afternoon we worked with Mar in a Year 6 class. It was a Science lesson looking at the senses but it was all taught in English! They invested the senses through practical investigations, just like we do at Whitehouse Common.

After school we went back to the Sargarda Familia to join the very long queue and wait to go inside. Thankfully we didn’t have to wait too long and it only cost €12.50 to get in. The cathedral has been under construction for over 100 years. Construction began in 1882, and Gaudi replaced the original architect in 1883.

It’s interior was completed last year so Pope Benedict XVI visited on 7th November 2010 to consecrate the building. There was an interesting exhibition, in one of the rooms in the basement of the cathedral, showing how the shapes from nature inspired Gaudi. The pillars inside are designed to look like tree trunks and the circular staircases like a round snail shells.

Tonight is our last night in this beautiful city, so to celebrate a fantastic trip the whole group is meeting up to go for tapas. Schools from Birmingham that have teachers on our trip are:

Court Farm School, Erdington

Saint James Primary School, Handsworth

Bordesley Village Primary School, Birmingham

Holy Cross Catholic School, Sutton Coldfield

We fly back to Birmingham tomorrow but we will have chance to join in with special celebrations at Els Pins tomorrow afternoon for 'La Castanyada'. I will update the blog, to tell you about it, once I’m home.

Adios from Barcelona!

Day Eight -Miércoles/Wednesday

Dinner last night was traditional Spanish tapas. We enjoyed calamari, potatas bravas, jamon serrano and pan de tomate.

We had a great evening with Mar and some of the other teachers from Els Pins School at the quiz. To get there, we jumped on the Metro and when we walked out of the station we were greeted by the magnificent sight of the Sargarda Familia bathed in moonlight.

After the quiz, we had a quick dash to the station so that we could catch the last Metro home to our accommodation in Barcelonatta. We only just made it!

Today has been filled with glorious sunshine! We arrived at Els Pins and spent the morning with the infant classes where Mar was teaching English. The children were all learning about Halloween and Miss Kenny and I shared all the Halloween resources that we had packed with us -costumes, decorations and flash cards. They loved the costumes and enjoyed finding out about how we celebrate Halloween in the UK. I’m amazed how confidently, even the youngest children in the school, speak English. The children take home a journal that is checked by the teachers daily, just like our planners at Whitehouse Common!

 

Morning lessons finished at 12:30, so Miss Kenny and I were able to leave school and enjoy our sandwiches in the sun. Els Pins School is located right next to the Barcelona University campus so we popped to visit Carmen and Isabel, our course tutors, to invite them to dinner tomorrow evening so the whole group can celebrate the end of a successful trip.

The lessons began again at 3:00 so they all enjoy a two and a half hour lunchtime. We worked with Juliet in the afternoon, who also teaches English like Mar. We helped her look at Halloween with the Year 4 class and I shared with her all the special work that everyone at Whitehouse Common had prepared for me to give Els Pins.

School finished at 4:30, a whole hour later than at home! We got the Metro back to Parc Guell and, after climbing hill again, we visited ‘Casa Museu Gaudi’. This was where Gaudi lived and it was filled with examples of the furniture that Gaudi designed for different properties. No photos sorry, my camera battetry died as I'd taken so many at Els Pins!

After that we strolled through Gacia. This was a separate town from Barcelona originally, but now that Barcelona has expanded, it’s known as an interesting and diverse area. We visited a photography exhibition, ‘Fundació Foto Colectania’. The exhibition was by the photographer Joan Colom, showing photos of the city’s Raval district in the 1950’s and 1960’s. It was an atmospheric view of old Barcelona. I feel like I have walked hundreds of miles this afternoon and will certainly sleep we tonight. I’m looking forward to another exciting day in school tomorrow.

Day Seven -Martes/Tuesday

After another early start we headed for our last Spanish session at the university. We finished the course by looking at common irregular verbs and how to conjugate them, as well as giving presentations about how to best teach Spanish using stories.

As a thank you, we bought the course tutors, Carmen and Isabel, some beautiful orchids. They were very surprised and loved them. It was a lovely way to finish our last day at Barcelona University.

A quick lunch and then we had our first visit to Els Pins School. Mar was there to meet us and she gave Miss Kenny (another teacher on the trip from Court Farm School) and I a tour of the buildings and grounds. All the staff were extremely welcoming and friendly and I’m very excited about being able to observe some of the lessons tomorrow. Mar also invited us both to join her and some of the other staff from Els Pins for some Basque tapas and a ‘Pub Quiz’ later this evening.

Next, we made our way down La Rambla De Catalyna and found a fantastic tapas bar where we stopped for some traditional ‘Torrija de Sant Teresa’ Santa Teresa’s infused crispy milk bread. It was delicious!

To finish the day, we traveled to La Zona Alta, an area in the hills full of beautiful houses. We traveled to the top of the hill and were rewarded with a magnificent view of the whole city. We enjoyed spotting different sights that we had visited in the glorious sunshine.

A quick stop at our accommodation and it’s back out again to meet Mar from Els Pins. I’m looking forward to being with a Spanish collogue that will be able to talk us through a tapas menu.