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• Italian Blog - Day Four

  Thu 07 Nov 2019 Zak

  Day 4 Italian Blog by Zak 

  After some vigorous shaking by Mrs Johnston at 05.45 I woke up.  Mrs Johnston told me I had 5 minutes to get ready.  I rapidly got dressed, brushed my teeth and accidently head butted the door.  We got to the coach on time however the Bulgarians were 40 minutes late which delayed our journey.  We were hungry and tired so some had a little snooze on the way.   Eventually we arrived at the Royal Palace of Caserta near Naples.   There were 120 rooms and only 40 of them were bedrooms.  We went on a guided tour around the palace looking at real gold and the Bodyguards room had walls made of gypsum plaster.  We learnt about the Kings that lived there and saw the damaged marble pillars from a bomb that fell on the Palace during WW2.   Mrs Hearn and Mrs Johnston got a history lesson from Jack as he proved them both wrong about their knowledge of Napoleon.  Whilst having a picnic in the garden we were attacked by flying ants.  After lunch Mrs Hearn and Mrs Johnston took us for a tiring walk through the Palace gardens.  We saw fish and some lizards bathing in the sun. Mrs Hearn was challenged to a race with Eyup from Turkey and Christina from Portugal but Turkey was cheating.   It was nice and sunny and we were hot and sweaty so thought we deserved another ice-cream!! On the way back,the cool bus driver put on some rad beats (Hannah and Ruby were fast asleep at this time). Tonight’s tea was alright, it was lasagne then steak and chips and pudding was more ice-cream. Now we are going to play Uno and go to sleep. Ciao for now.

  

• Italian Blog - Day 3

  Wed 06 Nov 2019 Hannah

  Day 3 – Italian Blog By Hannah

  With a busy day ahead, we strode downstairs with a tired face and floppy arms to get breakfast. Zak beat his world record of 7 croissants. Straight after breakfast we had to set off on our next adventure to Monte Saint Angelo and Manfredonia. It was a long journey but worth it, where we visited the Sanctuary San Michele Archangel and witnessed Mass. Following this some of us went to spend a penny, but this cost 50 cents; Mrs Tinkler was outraged. We had a short time to buy some gifts for our family. Then all of a sudden Ruby almost fell over because it was very slippery. A few minutes later Jack almost slid onto his back. We also saw a lot of churches around; Italy is a very religious country. It started to rain on and off all day and was a little cold but it didn’t stop us from having more ice cream. By the way the ice cream is 100% better than England’s.!We also visited a Monastery where 3 Monks live but we didn’t see them. On our way to the Monastery we saw mountain cows with huge horns, they use their milk to make their local cheese. We saw the Adriatic sea for the first time in the town of Manfredonia. Then on a road crossing we recreated one of the Beatles album covers. Finally back to the hotel for a game of Uno with our Romanian friends before an early night as we’ve got a very early start tomorrow (6am)!

  

• Italy Blog - Day Two

  Tue 05 Nov 2019 Jack

  Day 2 Italian Blog – Written by Jack

  After a good night’s sleep, we were up and ready for 7:30. We had our first ever breakfast in Italy with Zak being a pig by eating 6 croissant and a bowl of coco pops. And then set off on our walk to school with Mrs Hearn (Maria) Anna Maria and Maria. When we arrived at the school we were in for a very warm welcome with every country singing their national anthem making our two teachers very emotional. After some flawless traditional Italian dancing performed by the older students we set off on our historic tour of the city centre. We played some Italian games in the streets but the games were very much like ours. They played hop-scotch, tug of war, soldier soldier and the penny game. Soldier soldier is when you get into two teams holding hands and one team shouts ‘country country we want your soldier’ to the other team and someone from that team runs to break your hand chain. On the way back to the school we sampled some luxurious Italian ice cream. We then had dinner- after visiting classes in the primary school- we tried a variety of new foods including Quince, Pomegranate, Chestnuts and other local foods. After that we got a bus to the Stem cell Research Institute and were shown around where the public aren’t normally allowed to go.   We have made lots new friends and looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures.  

  

• Italian Blog Day One

  Mon 04 Nov 2019 Ruby

   

  We met at the school very early all feeling tired, we waited for the taxi to take us on the latest Erasmus trip. When the taxi got to the school, we all put our bags in the boot and set off to the airport. In the taxi we were all falling asleep except from Hannah, she was very excited and was way too giddy the whole drive! When we arrived at the airport we were all whining that our legs were sore from sitting down too long. After we got to the airport we went through security and it was all fine there (some had to get another check).  After some yummy breakfast we boarded the plane and it was quite busy. We finally set off into the air and the view was spectacular. After all of our ears went funny we roughly landed and it was raining so we got on a bus to the next airport and went through security there. Then we all waited for the taxi to take us to the hotel we were staying in which was 3 hours long. After we got to the hotel we got our keys and started unpacking then we went for a walk and we had a lovely Italian ice cream. On the way to the hotel Zak and Jack were very noisy and didn’t stop talking so we all had to live with that 3 hours! When we went on a walk and took lots of pictures, the bell rang on the church so it scared us all and made us jump. Whilst waiting for dinner the other children arrived.  We are looking forward to going to the school tomorrow.  

  

• Aldi's Kit for Schools

  Mon 04 Nov 2019
  We are still collecting Aldi Kit for Schools stickers for the next few days to fill a poster, if you have any please can you bring them into school asap.

  

• Spain Blog - Day 5

  Fri 01 Nov 2019 Mrs Tyson

  Today we’ve been making the most of our final day in Ronda, we’ve spent our day visiting Granada and the Alhambra. The Alhambra was first designed as a form of military fortification but eventually developed into the royal residence and court of Granada.

  We began our day rather later than earlier in the week as our explorers are becoming increasingly difficult to extract from their beds. However, it wasn’t long before we were on the coach on our way to Granada. The coach trips today have been the children’s only screen time all week and they tell us they haven’t missed it. They watched a film in each direction, as well as playing traditional games from the time of the Spanish civil war.

  Upon our arrival in Granada we walked around La Alhambra, which was breathtakingly beautiful. We then visited a traditional marquetry workshop. After this, we had lunch (during which J challenged himself to try a banana and enjoyed it), explored central Granada and experienced the joy of a tipping public toilet (much to Mrs Tyson’s dismay). Our children then made their final souvenir purchases before heading up what felt like the world’s longest hill for spectacular views of the city and the Alhambra walls -which were well worth the walk. 

  Once we landed back at our accommodation, we enjoyed some free time, followed by dinner and a leaving party thrown by our hosts featuring biscuits, sweets and Olympic standard musical chairs. We’ve had a wonderful week and are very grateful to Auxi and the rest of the team from C.D.P. Fernando De Los Rios for their hospitality and the fabulous activities they put together for us.

  Quotes of the week (can you spot the theme?);

  • So much bread!
  • Do you have any bag biscuits?
  • Chocolate doors

   

  In the morning we’ll be packing and heading back to the airport, we’re going to miss all of our friends from the mobility but hope that we can bring home many of the things we’ve learnt and share them with the rest of our school and community.  We look forward to our next Erasmus+ experience and can’t wait to hear from the team heading to Italy next week!

  

• Spain Blog Day 4

  Fri 01 Nov 2019

  Today started with a very early breakfast (we’ve got our breakfast choices down to a fine art by this point, even stashing biscuits for later in the day) ready for hitting the road to Seville. We dressed for the sun and kept our fingers crossed that the clouds over Ronda would stay there. Our journey to Seville was very bumpy but everyone travelled well. When we arrived in Seville we walked down some beautiful streets lined with old buildings and arrived at the Plaza de Espana. An amazing decorated building, which was first built as an exhibition in 1929 and features tiled friezes of different Spanish towns. After another short walk, we emerged through an archway to one of the most famous sights in Seville. The patio de los naranjos. We were surprised at the scent of the oranges from the trees even in the autumn.

  Next, we headed into the amazing palace gardens, soaking up the culture of this stunning place. We saw peacocks, made use of the water fountains and enjoyed a well-deserved ice lolly in the 25° heat.   After a quick packed lunch in the patio de los naranjos we spent some time sightseeing and wandering around the shops of Seville. We are all feeling a bit tired today and, as J puts it “My feet hurt from walking on different shapes”.

  Luckily, Mrs Tinkler came to the rescue with some much-needed churros.  On the drive back to Ronda our Erasmus ambassadors had a catnap, then after some free time, it was time for our next activity.

  One of the teachers from our host school keeps bees, and she taught us how to make real candles. We took real beeswax and rolled it around a wick, then decorated it with fresh herbs and flowers. We just hope they survive the journey home as several are destined to be gifts! After the workshop we had dinner and the Slovakian team shared a game they play using clay marbles, and another with clay figures and wooden blocks.  

  As it’s Halloween, the children then found the face paint that Mrs Poole had brought and F teamed up with one of the Bulgarian girls to paint Mrs Tyson’s face, as badly as possible. After painting as many faces as we would get our sponges on, the children from all of the countries headed to the courtyard outside the dormitories to play games with Juanmo, one of our hosts, at “witch” point a terrifying sight appeared in Mrs Tyson’s doorway.  A terrifying Mrs Tinkler in full face paint!  Eventually,  the children managed to remove their face paint and settle into bed, we are so excited to visit la Alhambra in Granada tomorrow.

  It’s sad to think that our time in Ronda is going so quickly, but when we get home we’ll be excited to catch up on some sleep!

  

• Spain Blog - Day Three

  Wed 30 Oct 2019 Mrs Tyson

   

  We began our day slightly later today in the girls area of the camp, as they were very sleepy, although the boys were up bright and early. Once they had managed to escape their beds and have a shower we had a swift breakfast before heading to Algaba. A nature reserve and prehistoric settlement near our base in Ronda. 

  Once we arrived, we met lots of local wildlife including domestic pets, bees, donkeys and golden pigs (which we later discovered are almost extinct). After a walk through the stunning woods filled with Oaks and Cork-Oaks we arrived at the replica neolithic settlement. N and W had the chance to grind some acorns into flour and we all had a look at prehistoric axes and knives made from stone. When we arrived back at the centre we made felt bracelets, W managed to swap his with a boy from our host school. Next we headed back for a well needed lunch and some traditional games courtesy of our Erasmus friends.  

  We saw a wide range of traditional crafts, from a pinball machine perfected over generations to bobbin lacework and corn husk dolls. The children enjoyed learning to play traditional games with wool and making keyrings as well giving our pom-pom dolls to our partner schools and introducing the children to a new elastics rhyme.  

  After a quick costume change, we headed into town to have a flamenco and castanet lesson. Even the teachers joined in, although the children did a far better job of the dance than we could. Finally, absolutely exhausted we had burgers in for tea in a local restaurant then headed back for a story and bed.   

  

• Spain Blog - Day Two

  Tue 29 Oct 2019 Mrs Tyson

  After a good night’s sleep, our Erasmus+ explorers were ready to greet the new day. We woke up to a slightly cloudy Ronda (some of us earlier than others), but still much warmer than at home. After making a few judgement areas at breakfast - FYI cornflakes don’t go well with warm milk- we began to prepare for the presentation morning. 

  After getting into our traditional Morris dancing outfits (and chasing down some white t-shirts) we headed to the school.  The building was just stunning, and we enjoyed finding out about its history as a convent.  In the presentation assembly, our hosts demonstrated a wide range of their traditional arts, such as flamenco dancing, playing the mandolin and singing. We felt truly spoilt and their rendition of “Imagine” even made some staff (ahem Mrs Poole) feel a tad emotional in the context of the exchange. 

  Then it was over to the partner schools, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Portugal all performed traditional dances, some with extras such as singing or musical accompaniment. Then, it was our turn. Our children were wonderful representatives for our school and performed their Morris dance brilliantly. Afterwards, Mrs Tinkler led a fashion show with a range of different outfits from Victorian styles to the 1950s, modelled by some of the students from Spain.

  Next, it was time for a tour of the school, we met several classes and found out all about the different lessons children study and we were treated to some spooky Halloween songs and Spanish lessons (we had no idea that bat in Spanish is Murcielago) before heading on to La Bodega for lunch. 

  At this point we were all ready for a little rest, we tried lots of traditional Spanish dishes following Mrs Poole’s rule of trying as many bites as your age and sitting with children and staff from other schools. Afterwards, we had a guided tour of Ronda and learnt all about the amazing history of the Arabic baths, Arabic bridge, roman bridge and Puente Nuevo bridge, as well as one of our children’s joy of the day, which was taking in the amazing views.

  Next, we headed to the Plaza de Toros which doubles as an equestrian school, where we found Mrs Tyson and Mrs Poole’s happy place in la Biblioteca (the library) and Mrs Tinkler’s too (chatting to a horse). We even got to see some children learning to ride the horses and stood in the middle of the bullring. 

  Before heading back to our accommodation for dinner and bed, we had some free time. We discovered that J isn’t that fond of ice cream and F is incapable of eating it without getting it all over her. Once we were finished and cleaned-up we did a spot of souvenir shopping. We’re glad to say our travellers are being extremely thoughtful and buying gifts for family as well as for themselves. The girls even named their Ronda bunny keyrings after some students from the host school - Marina and Clara.   

  We’re exhausted after a very busy day and very excited for our flamenco and wool workshops tomorrow.

  
   

  

• Spain Blog Day One

  Mon 28 Oct 2019 Mrs Tyson

  After waking up to frost and fog, our latest bunch of explorers made an early start on their journey to Ronda, near Malaga. Meeting incredibly early (and for some of them, too early for breakfast) we set off up the M6 to Glasgow. As we left Cumbria, the fog lifted leaving beautifully clear skies and the perfect conditions for flying. Although we were worried about rush hour traffic, we arrived at the airport with hours to spare. 

   

  We efficiently set our sights on the baggage drop and weighed and checked in Mrs Poole and Mrs Tinkler's luggage, quickly discovering that our bags were heavier than anticipated. After distributing most of Mrs Tyson's belonging's into F's carry on we headed to security. After a quick zip through the scanners, we were ready for a well-deserved early lunch at Frankie and Benny's.

   

  Once we boarded the plane we soon got comfortable, playing top trumps and Harry Potter trivial pursuit. The excitement was fabulous to hear. 

   

  "You can tell when you're flying because you get a funny feeling in your tummy"

   

  We had a fabulous flight, played lots of games, had some snacks and before we knew it we were landing in Malaga., but wasn't the end of our aviatory adventure. Luckily, the cabin crew were kind enough to chat with us, show us the cockpit and let the children have a look at the controls for the plane. Unfortunately, it meant that we had to wait to disembark and then had to hotfoot it through security and baggage claim so that our taxi didn't abandon us. It was well worth it though and a real bucket-list experience for the children.

   

  As the sun set over the Spanish mountains four very tired children (and three tired adults) made their way to their accommodation. On our arrival, we quickly settled into our dormitories, then headed for a delicious dinner at Las Delicias of frittata, salad and soup. This was swiftly followed by a ghoulish bedtime story from Mrs Poole and a quick practice of our morris dancing routine, which we'll be performing tomorrow. 

   

  We've had a fabulous first day on our exchange and are so excited to see the traditional dances, games and costumes that our partner schools have to share tomorrow.