CHRISTMAS IS HERE!

The Christmas feeling is all around these days.

Just to share some examples, these are some of the messages our 4th ESO students have created to post on walls!

And as one of it says: "WE HOPE THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT STAYS WITH YOU NOT JUST ONE DAY BUT FOR THE WHOLE YEAR".

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Compare and contrast

Com sabeu aquest any els profes ens hem format en Rutines i Destreses, una manera de fer visible el pensament dels alumnes.

Els nostres alumnes ja estan treballant fent servir aquestes eines d'aprenentatge, ho podeu veure en aquesta entrada del mateix blog.

Els nens i nenes de 3r de primària han fet una destresa a l'assignatura de Science. El mètode Amco ens proposava comparar Australia i Espanya. Les teachers vam preparar unes miniguies de cada país i els nens, de manera cooperativa han acabat comparant els dos països.

Han après molt sobre els dos països i, sobretot, han après a treballar primer en parella i després en grups de 4 explicant-se el que havien descobert de cada país i posant-se d'acord.

Happy Halloween

Els nostres alumnes han treballat amb les seves teachers la festivitat de Halloween, i us desitgen que passeu una nit terroríficament genial!!!

Coneixem millor els nostres auxiliars de conversa!

Fa uns dies presentavem els nostres auxiliars de conversa per al curs 15-16.

En aquella publicació compartien amb nosaltres la seva presentació la Suzanne i el Marcell. Avui és el torn de la Sheri i la Priscilla!

Hello! My name is Sheri, I'm from London and I'm 22 years old. I have recently graduated from the University of Bath with a BSc in Social Sciences. I have come to Spain to teach English in this school while also travelling and learning about Spanish culture. When I eventually move back to London, I would like to work for a charity and campaign for their cause. I love travelling, I have been to a lot of countries and last year I travelled around Europe on the train for 5 weeks. I also like running, swimming and cooking. My favourite food is fish and chips and my favourite drink is tea. I'm looking forward to spending the year at Padre Damian and learning more about Spain!

Sheri

My name is Priscilla MacCarthy and I'm 20 years old. I was born and raised in London but I'm currently a student at Manchester city's Salford University studying Law with Spanish. I came to Barcelona as part of my university course; I must go abroad for a year to a Spanish speaking country and blog it, hopefully practising and improving my Spanish along the way. I am in Barcelona for 3 months and then I will go to Madrid to the Universitat de Comillas to study some courses in Spanish! (Luckily I don't have to pass anything while I'm there, but I'll certainly try to!)
I am currently staying with a family in Sant Feliu de Llobegrat and I'm having the best time. This town is much quieter than what I am used to but it also has a lot of shops and a great public transport service so I have the perfect balance as I'm a city girl! I couldn't have asked for a better family to be staying with, it is almost like they have adopted me as their own and I'm very grateful to them for that.
Teaching so far has also been a great experience. I teach the Primary school, an age group that I am very used to as I have twin little brothers who are 10 years old and I've grown up teaching them and helping them with their homework. Teaching English is amazing when you are seeing the progress of the students and their enthusiasm. I have done so many new things that I have never done before and I'm very excited to see what else this journey will bring.

Priscilla

Experiment de Science --> 2a part!

Els nens i nenes de cinquè han descober el resultat de l'experiment que van iniciar dijous...  Aquí teniu l'entrada on expliquem l'experiment.
Una imatge val més que mil paraules.... Aquí teniu les fotos. No us perdeu les seves cares!!!

Experiments de Science a 5è

Els nens i nenes de 5è C han fet un experiment molt xulo a Science. Com sabeu, des d'aquest curs, les ciències naturals són en anglès i els alumnes estan treient molt profit!

Han fet un "estómac" per descobrir com funciona un estómac a l'hora de fer la digestió.

Així, han anat al laboratori on han desenvolupat una hipòtesi respecte a la funció del nostre estòmac.

Tots i totes han portat pa o crackers de casa, ho han posat a dins d'un globus, després han posat aigua i l'han tancat.

Han fet un petit massatge als globus amb les mans i s'han adonat que tot el que hi havia a dins anava agafant una textura tova. Han hagut d'esperar una estoneta però després ho han vist!

Demà, és a dir, 24 hores després, punxaran els globus i veuran el que es trobem... (continuarà...)

CONVERSATION ASSISTANTS 2015-2016

Ja fa unes setmanes que podem veure per l'escola els nostres nous auxiliars de conversa que ens acompanyaran durant aquest curs.

Benvinguts SUZANNE, SHERI, MARCELL I PRISCILLA!

Moltes gràcies a les famílies de l'escola que fan l'acollida, de ben segur que treuran molt profit d'aquesta experiència, igual que tots els alumnes de l'escola.

Avui compartim unes paraules de la Suzanne i el Marcell:

Hello!

I'm Marcell and I'll be working as a conversation assistant at Padre Damian until June 2016. I am a UK citizen and come from a town called Ipswich which is quite a contrast to Barcelona, especially in terms of size and climate.

I decided to apply for the job as a conversation assistant a year after graduating from university where I studied English literature. I spent the last year working as an insurance salesman and also doing part-time work in a theatre. Although I love my home-town and will greatly miss my family and friends I felt it was time for an adventure in a new location.

In my free-time I enjoy reading, especially the works of William Shakespeare. I also listen to a lot of music, mainly Hip-Hop. I support Arsenal football club and particularly like their skill-full and patient style of football.

I'm very excited to help the students of Padre Damian improve their English vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, while having lots of fun in the process!  

MARCELL

Hello!

My name is Suzanne Vettrino and I come from a small town called Musselburgh which is roughly 20 minutes outside of Edinburgh in Scotland. I am 21 years old and I recently graduated from Edinburgh Napier University with an Accounting Degree.

I visited Barcelona last year with my family and loved the city so being able to teach within the spanish culture really excites me. I hope to become an Accounting lecturer in Scotland and this experience allows me to teach all ages.

I am very active and when I have spare time I like to go running and swimming. I would like to learn some Spanish during my stay and hopefully learn a lot more about the Spanish/Catalan culture. 

I am very excited to be part of the English department at Padre Damian and I am looking forward to getting to know you all.

SUZANNE

Welcome back! Nou curs, noves il·lusions

Aquest curs tornem a l'escola incorporant noves iniciatives al projecte multilingüe. Una de les més importants és que 50 alumnes d'entre 3r d'ESO i 1r de Batxillerat han començat a cursar el Batxillerat Dual.

El programa es cursa a l'escola a través de l'organització Academica. Els nostres alumnes treballen de manera virtual amb un tutor nordamericà que guia els seus estudis. Depenent de la opció escollida, es cursen les 6 matèries necessàries en 2, 3 o 4 cursos. La finalitat del programa és preparar els estudiants per adquirir els millors nivells de competència. A més, l'ús de l'anglès els assegura un nivell avançat d'anglès en enllestir els estudis.

Estem molt contents amb la rebuda per part de famílies i alumnes d'aquesta iniciativa. Més endavant compartirem la opinió d'alguns dels alumnes participants.

Si voleu més informació, cliqueu aquí.

Tears of happiness

Amb llàgrimes de felicitat... Així és com es despedien ahir alguns alumnes de les nostres auxiliars de conversa. Ha sigut un curs molt intens i les nostres Clare d'ESO i Batxillerat (l'anglesa i l'irlandesa) han treballat molt dur per ajudar-nos a millorar la competència oral dels nostres alumnes. També la companya de primària, l'Emily, que ha estat amb nosaltres des de febrer.
Ahir les vam despedir oficialment amb un petit detall per part de l'escola i unes cartolines signades per gran part dels alumnes.
Com cada any, estem molt contents amb l'acollida d'aquest programa i us animem a que les famílies que estigueu interessades vingueu el proper dilluns 22 de juny a les 17 a la reunió informativa per a acollir els propers auxiliars de conversa del curs 15-16. Us hi esperem!

Us deixem amb les paraules que ens han dedicat abans de marxar:

"We have thoroughly enjoyed our year here! We feel like we have learned a lot from our time here, both about the profession and ourselves. We couldn't have asked for a better welcome or experience. You have all made it a pleasure to be here and have been a great support system for us this past year. We will miss the school family a lot! We feel that this school is a very special school and we feel very lucky to have been placed here...Thank you all for everything!" from Clare and Clare

1st Batxillerat in London - diary

La nostra alumna de 1r de Batxillerat Francesca Fàbregas comparteix la seva experiència durant el viatge d'estudis que 1r de batxillerat va fer a Londres entre el 12 i el 16 de maig. Moltes gràcies Francesca!

Our Trip To London

From the 12th to the 17th of May, some students from 1st of Batxillerat spent an intense week visiting London. We discovered and enjoyed our stay in the capital of the UK sharing a nice experience.

May, 12th “Where it all began”

We all met at 8:50 am at Barcelona’s airport. Nervousness and excitement were not only in our faces, they were also reflected in our parents’, who were waiting until the last minute. Once we had checked in and had passed the controls, we took off. The journey was calm and we arrived at Stansted airport at 12:20 pm. We all got into a couch which left us in London. Afterwards, we started a route through the city centre. It was lunch time, so when we arrived in Leicester Square, we ate in there. Later, we took a stroll in China Town, Soho and finally, Piccadilly Circus. In the evening we returned to the meeting point until our host families took us to their houses. Most of us later watched the Champions League semi-finals.

May, 13th “Kilometres and more kilometres”

Next day, we met for the first time at the meeting point very early in the morning. As the forecast for Thursday 14th predicted rain, we decided to change slightly our schedule. We took the underground and went to Green Park, where Paul, our guide, explained some curiosities. Later, we walked to Buckingham Palace, St. James Park and Westminster Abbey where we saw a horse show starred by the official guardians of the queen. Finally, to finish our morning, we went to see the Big Ben which we found quite impressive. We were starving. Fortunately it was lunch time, so we split up for an hour. In the afternoon we went out for a walk checking out several landmarks and eventually getting to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Unfortunately, it was closed to the public so we went to Oxford Street and later we went shopping by ourselves. After this exhausting itinerary we returned to our houses to rest after the long day walking.

May, 14th “Museums and rain”

We had an intense day ahead of. The schedule was simple. In the morning we had to visit two of the greatest museums in the UK regarding science and history. We found them quite interesting and even similar to “Cosmocaixa” in Barcelona. The rain wasn’t ceasing, so we had to walk covered by umbrellas until we found a restaurant or somewhere to have lunch. Some of us celebrated my birthday there with a cake and candles having a really amazing time indoors.

Although we were very tired, we went to visit the National Gallery. We had a very long time to visit all the pieces of art so when we finished, we played cards in order to spend some time. Finally, we went to the theatre to see "The Phantom of the Opera". Everyone agreed that it was an amazing performance, all the special effects combined with the incredible voices of the actors and actresses created a magic atmosphere. After that, we all went back home. It was almost midnight.

May 15th “Culture and shopping”

Although the sun was shining, the temperature was chilly and we followed the schedule. After meeting in Ealing Broadway station, we went to the British museum. We spent the whole morning visiting the museum. We all agreed that the exhibition of Egypt and its mummies was really impressive. Then, we had lunch in Piccadilly Circus area and finally met all together to visit what we all expected: “Candem Town”. We arrived there at 15.00 pm. Paul, our guide, warned us about the pick-pockets and recommended not to leave our personal belongings unattended. We split up into little groups and spent the afternoon buying souvenirs and other stuff for our families and for ourselves. Finally, when we got together, we showed each other our purchased items and talked about how we had bargained to the salesmen. We took the underground to return to our houses where our families were waiting for us.

May 16th “Barcelona again”

In the morning our families took us to Ealing church. We left the baggage there and we took a bus and the underground to Hyde Park. While we were walking through the paths we could see the marvellous green landscapes. A few minutes before arriving to the monument of Princess Diana, we found some swans and fed them, they were so cute! After having lunch, we returned to Oxford Street just for a last minute shopping. And from there, we returned to the church where the couch was waiting for us. None of us wanted to go home yet, but it was time. We checked in and boarded. Finally, we arrived at the airport almost at midnight, where our relatives were anxiously waiting for us. It had been a long week, but we all felt grateful to be home again.

Francesca Fàbregas

Guanyadora al concurs d'anglès Fonix!

Fa pocs dies llegíem al blog de l’escola un text escrit per l’alumna Marta Vidal Guirao de 1r de  Batxillerat explicant la seva experiència al 8è Concurs interescolar d’Anglès ‘The Fonix’. Avui ja la podem felicitar!

Ha resultat 2a guanyadora de tot Catalunya de la seva categoria. El passat divendres dia 22 de maig la Marta va anar a recollir el seu diploma i corresponent premi en una cerimònia molt emotiva plena de joves, familiars i professors que donaven tot el seu suport als participants. Us en fem cinc cèntims amb aquestes fotos.

MOLTES FELICITATS MARTA!

Our Chinese friends

Un alumne de 1r d'ESO, Noah Forn, ens dóna la seva visió sobre la visita dels alumnes de l'escola Yew Chung de Hong Kong, el passat 4, 5 i 6 de maig. Tot i que els nostres alumnes de 1r d'ESO són els que van compartir activitats i vivències amb ells, molts alumnes d'entre 2n d'ESO i 2n de batxillerat van ajudar a preparar les activitats. Gràcies a tots els que vau col·laborar!

Our Chinese Friends

A few days ago, we were waiting for some Chinese students that came to our school. 

Everyone had one student assigned and we were in the school entrance. 

When they arrived, we were very nervous, we

 said hello in English and we entered in the auditorium. Chinese people have very strange names, my partner is called Apple. 

In the auditorium the teachers and students made some performances of China and told 

us what we were going to do the next three days: sports and some activities.

The first day we did sports. Quickly I realized that Apple didn’t like sports, but together 

we won all the games. Apple was very friendly so I did a lot of Chinese friends in one 

day and he did lots of Spanish friends ,too. 

After that, lunch time, and when lunch finished we said good bye, until tomorrow.

The second day, we met with the Chinese students in the playground, and as always 

we entered the auditorium. We listened to an explanation related to Barcelona and 

Gaudí, to learn what we were going to do in the next activity. 

In the first playground, nearly all Chinese students played basketball with us, they are 

very good at it. After the playground, we started the activities related to Gaudí. One 

activity was how to make bread with tomato or how to drink with a wine Spanish jar. 

All the teams won in this game and the gift was a lollipop. 

In the end, when we finished lunch, Chinese students went and we all hoped the next 

day wouldn’t be the last day.

The last day, the older students of our school prepared us a power point presentation 

related to the art of Barcelona and then we went into the school with all the teachers 

and the assistants to make arts and crafts. In this hour we exchanged e-mails with our 

partners and we wrote our names in different languages like Chinese or Spanish. 

The lunch time was longer than usual because we wanted to stay a lot of time with 

them, but in the end after ten hugs our new friends went. Hopefully we see them 

again.

Noah Forn

1r ESO C

The Fonix experience

La nostra alumna de 1r de batxillerat Marta Vidal ens explica la seva experiència participant com a representant de l'escola al concurs The Fonix, que se celebra anualment. Ella ja ha arribat a la final! Good luck!

A try at “Fònix” contest- Marta Vidal

It had been almost two months ago. In the month of February, I went to Caixa Fòrum to participate in the first round of the English contest “Fònix”, in which students from schools all over Barcelona participated. Little I imagined I would make it to the next phase, when in spring, I was told I had succeeded. I had been one of the four winners of the Barcelona round!

I have to say that I had never seen the contest as something easy to win, but once I had overcome the first barrier, I promised myself I had to do as well as I could. In fact, the prize is pretty tempting: two weeks at an English speaking country. I read the text as accurately as I could, I tried not to commit any mistakes in my writing and I did my best at the speaking part.

Of course, it is really hard to win, but I really hope to get a high mark. Nevertheless, I am happy enough of having made it to the final round.

Els de P4 al teatre d'anglès: THE GARDEN

El dijous ha començat molt bé! Els de P4 han tingut teatre d'anglès. L'obra es titulava "The Garden" i han estat cantant les cançons que havien fet amb la teacher Elena i amb la teacher Carla.

No us perdeu el video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2uvZy4mAAA&feature=youtu.be

Els nens de P5 van al teatre: THE JUNGLE

Els nens i nenes de P5 han pogut gaudir d'una obra de teatre en anglès. Van estar treballant el vocabulari amb les seves teachers i van gaudir molt amb les cançons i contes explicats.

Aquí teniu un video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2c_MK29_OM&feature=youtu.be

EVA ARMISÉN

Ja fa uns anys que a cicle mitjà treballem una artista espanyola. Ella és EVA ARMISÉN.
Il·lustradora, artista, i autora d'alguns llibres per a nens que acompanya de les cançons del seu company, en Marc Parrot (El chaval de la peca)
Us ensenyem algunes de les obres que treballem al col·legi amb els alumnes de 4t.

Citizenship workshops

A l'assignatura de Ciutadania en anglès de 3r d'ESO, Education for citizenship and human rights, a part de rebre tots els continguts en anglès, els alumnes estan acostumats a rebre xerrades sobre l'assignatura en anglès.

Els seus companys de 2n de batxillerat són un bon exemple ja que els han parlat sobre alguns temes que els interessaven.  Marina Sampayo i Mar Soriano sobre la pena de mort "Death Penalty" arrel de la xerrada rebuda per part de Bill Pelke el passat mes de novembre i també l'alumne Miguel Hiltun sobre els objectius de desenvolupament del mil·leni (MDGs: Beyond 2015) arrel del seu treball de recerca en anglès.

Aquest cop ells han sigut els encarregats de realitzar un projecte cooperatiu sobre alguns temes treballats a l'assignatura: discriminació, sostenibilitat mediambiental, conflictes armats i pau, educació i salut, malnutrició, globalització o la societat consumista són només alguns exemples. Així, han presentat els resultats del seu projecte als companys tot realitzant tallers i activitats pràctiques. Aquest és el resultat del taller sobre discriminació.