MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM SPAIN

THE CHILDREN FROM SPAIN WISH YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS.

A Sicilian legend: Proserpina’s kidnapping

Proserpina’s kidnapping

Proserpina,( the Greek Persephone), is the Roman goddess of the underworld. She was the daughter of Ceres, (the Greek Demeter, goddess of the earth and agriculture).
Pluto, the god of the underworld, fell in love with her. As her mother didn’t permit their marriage, Pluto kidnapped Proserpina while she was collecting flowers on the mount Etna, and took her to live with him. A single mother, Ceres felt abandoned by her daughter's absence. Proserpina ate six pomegranate seeds, an action that could have sealed her fate to live in the underworld forever. But Ceres, being a shrewd mother, was able to negotiate through Iuppiter with Pluto for her daughter's custody. Proserpina would spend half of the year with Pluto in the underworld and half of the year living with her mother. During the time Proserpina was in the underworld, Ceres was so grief-stricken that she refused to allow anything on Earth to be beautiful or fruitful, and these are the winter months. When Ceres has her daughter to look after, she is happy and the earth brought forth crops, giving food, so we have summer and the autumn harvest.

A Sicilian poem: “Apuzza nica” - LITTLE BEE.

Tell me, tell me, little bee
Where are you going so early in the morning?
Not even a top of the next mountains
Is becoming red for the sunlight, yet.

The dewdrops are still trembling,
They are sparkling in the grass,
Take care, do not get wet
Your gentle golden wings!

The sleepy little flowers
Inside their green buds
Are still closed and curled up
Keeping their heads leaned.

But your little wings are getting tired!
But you are flying and going on!
Tell me, tell me, little bee
Where are you going so early in the morning?

This poem was written in Sicilian language by the poet Giovanni Meli in the 18th century.

Lucia

SANTA LUCIA

The Advent- and Lucia tradition goes way back in time and there are many different stories. One is about a mother who wanted her kids to have something nice to look forward to every day in December, until Christmas Eve. She created a calendar and the kids got to open a hatch every day. On December 13th, there was always a girl in a white dress with candles in her hair in the calendar. This is LUCIA.

In the northern countries the darkness is so overwhelming, usually it gets dark around 3PM in December. When Lucia is celebrated she is called “the light” and she gives hope and joy to all the people. By singing Christmas carols and offering the audience coffee and gingerbread cookies, she makes everybody feel good and happy.

In our pre-school we celebrate LUCIA every year. The children are Lucia or star boys or elves. Everybody gets to choose a character. You dress up and the Lucia’s have candles in their hair and in their hands. The elves carry lantern lamps. The children sing a lot of traditional Christmas carols and the parents enjoy the performance. After the singing it is time for a snack. Coffee or Glögg (a very spiced warm drink sometimes with alcohol) gingerbread cookies and “Lussekatter” wheat bread with saffron- are available for the parents. Usually we celabrate early in the morning.

There is also a Lucia for every town in Sweden. Sometimes she is riding in a slade, if there is snow on the ground. In the church there are a sermon and many people join. Usually the church is not so well used during the rest of the year.

1927 the newspaper called “ Stockholms Dagblad” started the first Lucia.

In one of the Christmas carols we sing about a Saint called Staffan- Sankt Stefanos” . Who is helper in the stable.

Coordinator meeting in Sicilly

SWISPI in Viagrande

SWISPI at the primary school and at the cinema with his friends...

SPANISH NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

This week we have celebrated two national spanish holidays which are the spanish constitution and the Immaculate Conception. The students made a spanish flag with the rights and duties of all the spaniards written in both languages spanish and english. And today we went to a park with other schools to do opendoor activities about the human rights. That was fun...
The Constitution of Spain is regarded as the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. It was enacted after a referendum on 6 December 1978 after approval by 88% of voters.
Spanish Constitution is one of the few Bill of Rights that has legal provisions for social rights, including the definition of Spain itself as a Social and Democratic State.
The Immaculate Conception is, according to Roman Catholic Dogma, the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain (macula in Latin) of original sin.

Polish legend, song and poem

Polish Legends :

The Dragon of Krakow (Cracow)

Long ago in Poland's early history, On the River Vistula, there was a small settlement of wooden huts inhabited by peaceful people who farmed the land and plied their trades. Near this village was Wawel Hill. In the side of Wawel Hill was a deep cave. The entrance was overgrown with tall, grass, bushes, and weeds. No man had ever ventured inside that cave, and some said that a fearsome dragon lived within it. The young people of the village didn't believe in the dragon. The old people of the village said that they had heard their fathers tell of a dragon who slept in the cave, and no man must dare waken it, or there would be dire consequences for them all. Some of the youths decided to explore the cave and put an end to such foolish talk. They thought that they knew better and dragons were just old stories from the past. A group of these young people took some torches and went to the cave. They slowly entered the cave until they came to a dark mass of scales blocking their way and the sound of heavy breathing. The boys ran as the dragon awakened and roared. Fire came from it's mouth warming the boys heels and backs. When they were far enough away, they looked back and saw the dragon at the entrance of the cave, very angry being awakened from it's sleep. From that day on, the people knew no peace. Every day the dragon appeared and carried off a sheep or preferably young virgins. The populace made many attempts to kill the dragon but nothing succeeded and many of those that attempted were killed. The hero in this part of the story differs. In the village lived a wise man, or a shoemaker or a shoe makers apprentice named Krakus or Krac. He got some sheep and mixed a thick, yellow paste from sulfur. Krakus smeared it all over the animals. Then led them to a place where the dragon would see them. The dragon came out as expected, saw the sheep, roared, rushed down the hill and devoured the sheep. The dragon had a terrible fire within him, and a terrible thirst. It rushed to the River Vistula and started drinking. It drank and drank and could not stop. The dragon began to swell, but still it drank more and more. It went on drinking till suddenly there was a great explosion, and the dragon burst. There was great rejoicing by the people. Krakus, was made ruler of the village, and they built a stronghold on Wawel Hill. The country prospered under the rule of Krakus and a city grew up around the hill which was called Krakow, in honour of Krakus. When Krakus died, the people gave him a magnificent burial, and erected a mound over his tomb which can be seen to this day. The people brought earth with their own hands to the mound, and it has endured through all the centuries as a memorial to the person that killed the dragon of Krakow.
The large 200-foot-long cave in Wawel Hill, Krakow, which has been known for centuries as the monster's den, now attracts thousands of visitors each year. Whatever the truth of the dragon legend, the Dragon's Cave (Polish 'Smocza Jama') is Cracow's oldest residence, inhabited by man from the Stone Age through the 16th century.


A girl was walking

A girl was walking to the forest
To the green, to the green, to the green
then she met a hunter
Very handsome, handsome, handsome

Where is this street, where is this house
Where is this girl that I love
I found the street, I fund the house
I found the girl that I love

Oh my hunter I am very happy
I would give You bread with butter, but I ate it
But I ate it, but I ate it

Where is this street…


Katechizm Polish Child
written by St.Bełza

- Who are you?
- Little Pole.
- What is your sign?
- White eagle.
- Where do you live?
- Among mine.
- In which country?
- On Polish ground.
- What is this ground?
- My fatherland.
- How reached?
- With blood and scares.
- Do you love it?
- Yes, I do honestly.
- In what do you believe?
- In Poland I believe.

Swedish poem, song and story

Ghost poem

A thick, a tiny
A small, a big
Deep down there is a ghost
Is he scary?
No, no, no
He just wants to say HALLO!

Mothers little Olle (song)

Mothers little Olle in the forest went, roses on the cheek and sunshine in the eyes.
Small lips of berries are blue, only I did not have to go so lonely here!

Brummelibrum, who shamble there? Bushes creak. A dog it is!
Shaggy is the fur, but Olle is happy: Oh, a friend, it was good see you hallo!

Clap so the bear with small hands, hold up the basket: Look, taste!
Winnie, he eats up most everything there is: Listen, I think, that you like the berries.

Mother could now see them, gave a cry. The bear ran away, now the game is over.
Oh, why you scared away my friend? Mother dear, ask him to come again!

The story about the little little woman(by Elsa Beskow)

Once oupon a time there was a little little woman who lived in a little little cottage.

She had a little little chair, and a little little table and a little little stool and a little little bucket.

And she had a little little cow who said MUUU.

And a little little cat who said who said MJAU.

One time the little little woman her little little bucket and went out to milk her little little cow.

She put the little little bucket with milk on the little little table.

The little little cat came in…
At first he stepted up on to the little little stool and the up on to the little little chair and then up to the little little table and drank up all the milk!

The little little woman came in…

KITTY GO AWAY!!!

The cat ran in to the woods and never returened.

The chesnut festival from Spain

The chestnut- man visited us today at school and made roasted chesnut to celebrated autumn.
Happy Autumn.

A POEM FOR YOU FROM SICILY

From opposite sites of the Old Continent
you have got here, and all together
we’ve lived with very busy
the few days that have flown away.

Who came from Ireland, the enchanted island
so rich in sound and in magic atmospheres;
who came from Sweden, white and velvety,
and who came from Wales, with its busy mines.

Shy and sweet the beautiful Poland
that as a gift a great pope left us;
and finally Spain, the most vehement,
where colours are so hot and are so bright.

My island, with its loving hug
gave all of you its warm welcome;
it gave you what the most precious it owns:
its beauty and its so big heart.

Different languages, different traditions
throughout some days we have shared;
with friendship our opinions
With a smile we have always exchanged

But above all it was so fabulous
seeing in all the children’s alert eyes
in front of you that twinkling so curious,
those flashes in their smiling glances.

I want that they are able to understand
(it’s what I believe, it’s what I like the most)
as they are the future of all of us,
that it’s so easy and sweet living in peace!

Paola Battiato

testo in italiano e inglese [pdf]

From "LA SICILIA" - sicilian newspaper

Il «Verga» a confronto con le scuole europee
E’ stata sicuramente un’esperienza intensa e positiva quella vissuta – nell’arco dei tre giorni del progetto Comenius – dalla comitiva degli studenti e dei professori europei ospiti degli studenti e dei professori dell’istituto comprensivo «G. Verga» di Viagrande perché, come ha detto il dirigente scolastico, prof. Giuseppe Trovato, «gli incontri tra le scuole sono sempre necessari, perché si confrontano contemporaneamente reciproci punti di forza e di debolezza».
In un’atmosfera davvero festosa, complici le straordinarie giornate di sole di questo scampolo di autunno, l’immancabile coreografia del carretto siciliano, con tanto di cavallo bardato, gruppo folk, e con l’orchestra della scuola che ha eseguito gli inni nazionali delle varie nazioni partecipanti (Galles, Irlanda, Polonia, Svezia, Spagna), a ricevere gli ospiti i rappresentanti dell’amministrazione comunale (con il vice sindaco Rosario Cristaldi e il presidente del Consiglio, Mimmo D’Agata), il comandante locale dei carabinieri, Saverio Girardi, il presidente dela Pro Loco, Nino Cucinotta, e il suo staff.
Insomma al progetto Comenius ha partecipato «l’intero territorio», come ha sottolineato il dirigente scolastico Trovato. A conclusione della visita, i docenti europei hanno espresso la loro più viva soddisfazione per l’accoglienza ricevuta.

Paolo Licciardello

CERVANTES SCHOOL ON THE NEWSPAPER

Dear all,
As you already know our Comenius Project is still on his way and we want to share and spread our experiences with all of you. We just came back from Siciliy and our local newspaper interviewed some of the teachers to gain information related to our aims on the project. Do read the full article please click on the following link:

Miguel de Cervantes School on the News.

Day 5: Sunday. Back to Spain.

GRAZIE, GRAZIE, GRAZIE MILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As a representative from Spain, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you all and say that we had a fabulous time in Sicily and we have been treated so well. It is difficult to forget how these community of teachers, students, coordinators, families and all the staff has contributed to the project doing a magnificient job. We are so pleased and happy for have had this experience. We will not forget it at all and let´s keep on the good work for the better.

Congratulations once again.

Ciao Ciao

Day 4: Saturday in Catania. Sicily

Last day in Via grande.
At 8.30 in the morning the Poles, Swedes and Spaniards acompanied by some italian teachers,
went to see the famous Volcano, Etna. We took a bus and up we went to visit, first, an olive factory, and then we had the chance to walk along the volcano and step on the crater.
Afterward we had a very nice lunch at a restaurant and, finally, we went to buy very exotic honey in the countryside. At the end of the day, italians prepared a very nice farewell reception.
Thanks a lot to these very hospitable people.
Gracie, molto gracie.

Day 3 at Via Grande, Catania.

Some of the italian teachers CAME to pick up the entire group up at the Infant school. The little ones were waiting for us, dancing to the hymn of each country. ¨We visited some of the classrooms where the children sang and danced with some of the comenius teachers which was a lot of fun. We had a delicious coffee break with typical cakes handmade by the teachers. After that we came back to the secondary school. We were divided up to take part in different tasks, such as theater play, cooking, singing, and dancing.

First we visited some classrooms so children could ask some questions to the different teachers from different countries. One of the Spanish boys was very participative asking questions which was very good. At the end some of the teachers and the Spanish girls sang for everybody in costumes. Another two teachers did a play with puppets. Another group danced the tarantela. And the last group of comenius and some students along with a cook made the typical Sicilian canoli, that everybody tasted after the performance.

That day a large group of Italian teachers took the whole group to a Taormina picturesque town by the ocean and the mountains in their personal cars. After walking through the the town and doing some shopping we got ready for dinner. It was a very nice supper and all the countries sang typical songs from their countries. We had a fantastic time have fantastic memories.

Day 2 at Via Grande

Today we had a marvellous experience. All the countries and the five Spanish children went to the secondary school at Via Grande. There was a typical Sicilian carriage with three men playing the tarantela, the principal of the four schools, politicians, children and teachers. It was a very nice spectacle.

They took everybody to a room to receive us and the children were given some presents.They then offered us a big show with students playing instruments, singing and dancing. After the coffee break we went to visit the primary school. As the weather was so nice everyone was outside. Children danced the tarantela, and played P.E. games with the comenius teachers. It was really fantastic.

Afterward, we went back to the secondary school where we had lunch. It was hosted by the students. We went back to the hotel for a rest and then we went by bus to Catania. We walked all around the city with an english guide and then we had dinner at a restaurant where more Italian teachers joined us. The five spanish kids were spending the evening with the italian families. What a great experience for them!

SPAIN:DAY 1 AT CATANIA

Spanish group is already in Catania. The group left Jerez at 03.00 a.m heading to Seville´s airport. Once there, they flew to Rome and from there to Catania. The day has been long but it is great meeting our colleagues from every country in our Comenius Team. Pupils are tired and also happy ´cause they are alreday enjoying the trip. Italian and english are used during our stay and this is quite important as they need it to communicate with others. Tomorrow will be a crucial day for them as they are facing their first class at the italian school.
We are all looking forward.
By for now.
See you tomorrow.
M:)

Wales - Poems

My Beautiful Wales

I think I would cry
If they made me say GOODBYE
To the beautiful land of Wales.

With the mountains so high,
Crystal streams running by,
All this in beautiful Wales.

Welsh rugby's a treat,
It's a great place to meet,
At the Millennium stadium in Wales.

Castle and leek,
The language we speak,
You can tell that we come from Wales.

This country is great!
Don't leave it too late,
To visit my beautiful Wales!

WALES

Wales is a land of castles and views,
Of lamb and cockles and delicious stews.
Wales is a land of choirs and coal,
Of people who laugh, with men on the dole.
Wales is a land of tips and waste
Where owners grabbed profits and left in haste,
Where headgears idle and die with rust
Where colliers gasp and cough up dust.
But Wales is a land, in spite of it all,
That goes mad with the joy of a rugby ball.
A match at the park with England to beat
The forwards tear through them, the ball at their feet.
Wales score thirty points, England four
Just revenge for days of yore
So remember boy you're a Cymro with a heart full of pride.
You'll play to win and never give in with all that 'hwyl' inside.
Remember our forefathers who fought in hills and dales.
Who left us our inheritance this lovely land called WALES.

Valley of daffodils

Living in a valley of daffodils
Not one, could others see
But my heart knew they were there,
Through the winds blowing free
They tipped every mountain
Cascaded to the waters edge
Trumpets all saluting
As to heavens rightful pledge
They showed me of the beauty
That was created for us to share
In this land of music trumpets sound,
whispering on air
Some harvested into homes
Brightening the rooms
Lightness of the yellows
Still whispering their tunes
How these daffodils in vision
Took me home to sleep
Cradled in mothers arms
A blanket of daffodils deep
The aroma of the scents
That fills every nook
Could never really be captured
In the words of a book
Their beauty is unfounded
Standing to attention
Sunrays compelling their shades
As your eyes are driven to retention
To capture daffodils on the breeze
Grasp out to hold and gain
Visualising thoughts of serenity
In your heart to remain.

Wales - Song - Heno, Heno - Lullaby

Heno, heno, hen blant bach,
Heno, heno, hen blant bach,
Dime, dime, dime, hen blant bach,
Dime, dime, dime, hen blant bach.

Gwely, gwely, hen blant bach,
Gwely, gwely, hen blant bach,
Dime, dime, dime, hen blant bach,
Dime, dime, dime, hen blant bach.

Fory, fory, hen blant bach,
Fory, fory, hen blant bach,
Dime, dime, dime, hen blant bach,
Dime, dime, dime, hen blant bach.

Translation is -

Tonight, tonight, dear little children,
Tonight, tonight, dear little children
Halfpenny, halfpenny, halfpenny, dear little children,
Halfpenny, halfpenny, halfpenny, dear little children.

Bed, bed, dear little children.
Bed, bed, dear little children.
Halfpenny, halfpenny, halfpenny, dear little children,
Halfpenny, halfpenny, halfpenny, dear little children.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, dear little children.
Tomorrow, tomorrow, dear little children.
Halfpenny, halfpenny, halfpenny, dear little children,
Halfpenny, halfpenny, halfpenny, dear little children.

SPAIN IS GETTING READY FOR CATANIA

Next Wednesday early in the morning, our group of teachers and pupils from Jerez de la frontera will take off to Italy, to visit the city of Catania. Here we imbed a video so you can all see where we are going to. We hope our students have a great time and they can also practice their languages skills. We´ll report from Catania and soon you will also have the chance to see photos and videos as well.

CONGRATULATIONS FROM SPAIN

We would like to take this opportunity to share with you our happiness and pride because of your excellent and fabulous work within the Comenius Project. Well done once again and keep up the good work.

Talk to you soon.

MIGUEL DE CERVANTES SCHOOL

International School Award - WALES

We were very fortunate to receive the British Council's International School Award. We submitted a portfolio inJuly of evidence of the work completed by us and the links we have with our Comenius partner countries and received the Award in September. Thank you to everyone who have supported us and allowed us to win this award. :-)

Unique fairy tale (PART 6) SPAIN

It was getting dark and both of them were sleepy from the long journey. Near the elephants cage they found a nice place to rest. This was a good chance for the manager to kidnap little Ben. He left a note for the red dragon:
If you do not want something bad to happen to Ben come to the circus tomorrow morning.”
So he did, he was captured by the manager of the circus and some friends and placed io a cage. The dragon became so angry that expelled fire from his mouth and melted the cage. Frightened the circus manager told him that the child was back at his town.
He flew looking for the boy. People in town were afraid of him. A man threw a spear right into his heart. Ben began crying and took it out. A bright light covered the town and the dragon was taken up into the clouds.
Since that time there is peace in the town and every year they continue celebrating the dragon day.

Unique fairy tale (part 5) Poland

Ben and the Red Dragon decided to see the circus show. They have landed just in front of the Circus' tent. Their curiosity led them into the tent. They sat in the back and the show started. The circus manager noticed the unexpected guests and thought that the Dragon will attract lots of people to the circus. The manager decided to offer the Dragon a job. And so he did but the Red Dragon rejected the offer. That made the circus manager so angry that he decided to take a revenge on the Red Dragon.

COMENIUS PROJECT: SWISPI's Polish and Irish diary

COMENIUS PROJECT: SWISPI's Polish and Irish diary

SWISPI's Polish and Irish diary

Hi everyone. SWISPI's Polish diary and some of his Irish diary are available to read. Just click on the link for SWISPI's European adventures below, which will bring you to the ST. Marys on the Hill school website, and click on the image of SWISPI.

Unique fairy tale (Part 4) Sweden

They followed the slippery rainbow. When they came to the other side there were lots of flowers. They continued and came to a forest. There they meet a bear an elk and a small dear whose name was Bambi. The little dear had lost her mother. The dragon saw Bambi’s mother and father far down the road. The dragon flew them there. Then the dragon flew the whole family to the lidless barbell which was their home. Ben and the dragon waved goodbye and kept on going on their journey. Then they saw a circus wagon and an animal parade on the road. The dragon became curious…

UNIQUE FAIRY TALE (PART 3): ITALY.

Red smoke and a smell of sulphur were coming out from the cave. As Ben's curiosity was stronger than his fear, he decided to get in. But as soon as he entered the dark cave, a deep crater opened at his feet and he started falling headlong through a narrow underground passage. He felt like being into an endless tunnel.At the end of that long fall, surprised to be still alive, he saw two big green eyes staring at him in the darkness.Ben was terrified, and started trembling like a leaf. But a eassuring voice told him:“ Don’t be afraid, Ben. I am the Red Dragon you were looking for, but I want to be your friend. We are inside Etna. Once every hundred years a Dragon comes into existence in this powerful volcano, but he has to wait for a brave friend who helps him to find his destiny”.

The new day was coming.

The two friends saw a wonderful rainbow and decided to follow its direction…

Greetins from Spain

¡Hello, everybody! This is Maribel from Spain. I just want to get in contac with you and to see how this work. I am new at comenius, as all you know. If you are working out any activity at school, let me know , so we can join too.
Happy Autumn,
Maribel.

Unique Fairy Tale (Part 2): Ireland

Ben was determined to find out! He got dressed quickly and set off on his long journey up the mountain. He thought that getting to the top of the mountain would be easy, however he was mistaken! Ben was faced with hail, sleet, snow, rain, and strong winds. He was beginning to wonder if he had made a wise choice. Daylight was fading fast, he was getting tired and dusk was about to set in. Suddenly, there was a loud noise and Ben's heart began to beat like a drum. He turned slowly to face the direction of the sound........

SWISPI news

SWISPI has arrived in Ireland today and will be beginning his new adventures shortly!

Unique Comenius Tale

WALES

The Red Dragon

It was the dawn of the Dragon’s Day. There was a rumble of distant thunder and smoke rose up and around the mountain. In the town below, a boy named Ben was looking out of his window and hoping that this year the dragon might awake.

Everyone in the town believed that a dragon lived high up on the mountain above them. He slept in a cave at the top of a winding path. One day, on Dragon’s Day, they believed that the dragon would awake, but nobody knew when that day would come.

Nobody knew who, or what the dragon was...

POLISH PHRASES

Hello - cześć
Good morning - dzień dobry
Goodbye - dowidzenia
Good night - dobranoc
Thank you - dziękuję :-)
Please - proszę
Yes - tak
No - nie

IRISH PHRASES

1. Dia duit: Hello
2. Slán leat: Goodbye
3. Go raibh maith agat: Thank you
4. Más é do thoil é: please
5. Gabh mo léithscéal: excuse me
6. Sea: Yes
7. Ní hea: No
8. Dia duit ar an maidin: Good morning
9. Oíche mhaith: Good night

Sobotki in Poland

On the 24th of June we were celebrating Sobotki.

It was a day of joy and fun in our school and not

only.The girls were making wreaths of flowers

and throwing them on the water. It is said that

the first boy to pick up the flowers will become

their future husband. In the evening the adults

organize bonne fire and the boys are jumping

over it what is admired by the girls.

SPANISH PHRASES

Hello - Hola.

Good Bye - Adiós.

Good morning - Buenos Días.

Good night- Buenas noches.

Thank you - Gracias.

Please - Por favor.

Excuse me - perdone.

Yes - Si.

No - No

Happy holidays - Felices vacaciones.

How do you speak? - Ma comu parri?

From Sicily - Italy

English - Sicilian - Italian

Hello - Ciau - Ciao

Good bye - Ni viremu - Arrivederci

Good morning - Bona junnata - Buongiorno

Good night - Bona Notti - Buona Notte

Thank you - Grazzi - Grazie

Please - Pregu - Prego

Excuse me - M'ha scusari - Scusi

Yes - Sì - Sì

No - No - No

Happy Holiday!!! - Boni Vacanzi!!! - Buone Vacanze!!!

Swedish Phrases

Hello- Hej

Good bye- Hej då

Good morning- God morgon

Good night- God natt

Thank you- Tack

Please- Snälla

Excuse me- Ursäkta mig

Yes- Ja

No- Nej

Welsh Phrases

Here are some basic Welsh phrases to learn with your schools. Enjoy!

Hello
Helo

Good Morning
Bore da

Good Afternoon
Prynhawn da

Good Night
Nos da

Thank you
Diolch yn fawr

Please
Os gwelwch yn dda

Excuse me
Esgusodwch fi.

Yes
Ydy

No
Na’dy

Sobotki in Wales

We celebrated Sobotki in Wales by researching the Poland traditional festival, the girls made wreaths of flowers and leaves to throw into the river to find their true love and the boys made rings of fire to jump over to show their courage and strength (we converted our painted train track on our infant yard into a blue river using chalk). We had a fabulous time!!

Sicilian Legend

ACI e GALATEA: Sicilian legend.

As the first rays of sun touched the magical waters of the Island Lachea, the sweetnymphs jumped outside with their milky skin... [continues in .pdf]

Midsummer festival

This is how we celebrate our Midsummer festival at our pre-school. We do all the traditional things. We'll show you in pictures.

We always celebrate Midsummer on the Tusday before the actuall day. Midsummer eve is always on a Friday, this year on the 19th of June. And it's a national holiday.

In our pre-school we prepare the everything on Monday. First everyone pick flowers for the maypole. And then we decorate it.

Then on Tuesday we have the actuall celebration together.

The yellow and blue dress is our national traditional costume.

We start everything by carrining the mayploe singing a tradional song to the place that the actuall dance takes place. Every year the oldest children go first in the line carring the maypole.

We had two musicans playing the violin and accordion while we sang and danced all the traditional Midsummer dances.



After the dance we eat ice-cream together.

We wish you all a wonderful summer.

FERIA

From Viagrande... The infant's school in "FESTA DI PRIMAVERA"

Ladybugs

Some of the youngest children in our pree-school made cute ladybugs out of rooks.

Flower wreath for Midsummer

This is what we make together with our children for Midsummer. Usally we make flower wreaths of real flowers but it would take too long with all the children and this they can make by themselves.

We use a piece of paper that can fit around the childs head. Cardboard paper. And then we use differnet colors of silk paper for flowers and glue or staplers. Cut out smal pieces of silk paper and glue or staple on the cardboard wreath so it looks like flowers.

Our 5-6 year olds are cooking together. We're making the Sicilian pasta. The kids liked it very much.

Feria celebrations in Ireland

Feria was celebrated in St Mary's on the Hill N.S. in May. 5th class learned all about Spanish food, customs, culture and geography. We also played traditional games, such as the piñata, and studied traditional clothing.

Video Conferences - Wales and Sicily

Wales and Sicily have had two video conferences - one in May and one in June. They were both very successful and both classes of children thoroughly enjoyed talking to each other about their country, schools, interests and culture.