TONIGHT'S FAREWELL PARTY FOR RAFAEL DIESTE 2011 2ºBAC STUDENTS

Foto taken before Farewell Party (Friday 27th May, 8:30h)

2-BAC A

2-BAC B

Another year has already gone by and, once again, we'll be celebrating a farewell party at Rafael Dieste Secondary School. Once again a group of students, who have spent their last six years with us, will move on to the beginning of a new stage in their lives. Here are the photos taken at the beginning of Friday's party and the official photos shot a month ago in front of the school as a souvenir of their stay here. Good luck to them all!

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

[Extract from the beginning of the book. Read during the Intercultural Week, lecture on the USA, 10th May]

YOU don't know about me without you have read a
book by the name of The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer; but that ain't no matter. That book was
made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth,
mainly. There was things which he stretched, but
mainly he told the truth. That is nothing. I never
seen anybody but lied one time or another, without it
was Aunt Polly, or the widow, or maybe Mary. Aunt
Polly - Tom's Aunt Polly, she is - and Mary, and
the Widow Douglas is all told about in that book,
which is mostly a true book, with some stretchers, as
I said before.

Now the way that the book winds up is this: Tom
and me found the money that the robbers hid in the
cave, and it made us rich. We got six thousand dollars
apiece -- all gold. It was an awful sight of money
when it was piled up. Well, Judge Thatcher he took
it and put it out at interest, and it fetched us a dollar
a day apiece all the year round -- more than a body
could tell what to do with. The Widow Douglas she
took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize
me; but it was rough living in the house all the time,
considering how dismal regular and decent the widow
was in all her ways; and so when I couldn't stand it
no longer I lit out. I got into my old rags and my
sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied. But
Tom Sawyer he hunted me up and said he was going
to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would
go back to the widow and be respectable. So I went
back.

Link to listen to it: http://content.loudlit.org/audio/hfinn/pages/01_01_hfinn.htm

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a book by Mark Twain, first published in England in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Considered as one of the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written in the vernacular, characterized by local color regionalism. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, a friend of Tom Sawyer and narrator of two other Twain novels (Tom Sawyer Abroad and Tom Sawyer, Detective).
The book is noted for its colorful description of people and places along the Mississippi River. Satirizing a Southern antebellum society that had ceased to exist about twenty years before the work was published, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an often scathing look at entrenched attitudes, particularly racism.
The work has been popular with readers since its publication and is taken as a sequel to "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". It has also been the continued object of study by serious literary critics. It was criticized upon release because of its coarse language and became even more controversial in the 20th century because of its perceived use of racial stereotypes and because of its frequent use of the racial slur "nigger", despite that the main protagonist, and the tenor of the book, is anti-racist.

THE CAT IN THE HAT

[Whole story read at Multicultural Week, lecture on USA, 10th May]

"The Cat in the Hat" is a children's book by Dr. Seuss and perhaps the most famous, featuring a tall, anthropomorphic, mischievous cat, wearing a tall, red and white-striped hat and a red bow tie. He also carries a pale blue umbrella. With the series of Beginner Books that The Cat inaugurated, Seuss promoted both his name and the cause of elementary literacy in the United States of America.

In the first book featuring the character ("The Cat in the Hat", 1957), the Cat brings a cheerful, exotic and exuberant form of chaos to a house with two young kids, brother and sister, one rainy day while their mother leaves them unattended. The Cat performs all sorts of wacky tricks—the Cat at one point balances a teacup, some milk, a cake, three books, the Fish, a rake, a toy boat, a toy man, a red fan, and his umbrella to amuse the children, with mixed results, while the pet-fish gets angry. Then, the Cat gets a box from outside. Inside the box are two creatures named Thing One and Thing Two, who begin to fly kites in the house. The Cat's funny tricks are vainly opposed by the family pet, a sapient and articulate fish. The children (Sally and her unnamed older brother, who serves as the narrator) ultimately prove exemplary latchkey* children, capturing the Things with a net and bringing the Cat under control. To make up for the chaos he has caused, he cleans up the house on his way out, disappearing a second before the mother arrives.

The book has been popular since its publication, and a logo featuring the Cat adorns all Dr. Seuss publications and animated films produced after "The Cat in the Hat". Seuss wrote the book because he felt that there should be more entertaining and fun material for beginning readers. From a literary point of view, the book is a feat of skill, since it simultaneously maintains a strict triple meter, keeps to a tiny vocabulary, and tells an entertaining tale. Literary critics occasionally write recreational essays about the work, having fun with issues such as the absence of the mother and the psychological or symbolic characterizations of Cat, Things, and Fish.

More than 11 million copies of "The Cat in the Hat" have been printed. It has been translated into more than 12 different languages. In particular, it has been translated into Latin with the title "Cattus Petasatus".

Slide from the book:

View more presentations from neirten.

A beloved favorite, this Dr. Seuss classic comes to life in an animated adaptation. Impulsive and imaginative, the Cat in the Hat romps through the house dispelling boredom for a brother and sister on a rainy day — naturally, only while Mum is away!

Video clip of the animated version:

"The Cat in the Hat" is a 2003 American slapstick comedy film loosely based on the 1957 book of the same name by Dr. Seuss.

Video trailer of the 2003:

[*latchkey children = children who have the key of their house to go back in after school because their parents are working]

Tatiana & Charlene reading "The Cat in the Hat" at our school library in front of their class-mates and German exchange students on Tuesday, May 10th.

RAFAEL DIESTE'S MULTICULTURAL WEEK (9th-13th May)

[UPDATED WITH PHOTOS OF THE WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS]

Argentinian Tango dancers (Thursday at 13:20h, main hall)

African Bongo players from Senegal (Friday at 11:20h, assembly hall)

From Monday 9th May to Friday 13th, we'll be celebrating our Multicultural Week at Rafael Dieste Secondary School. Organized by our school's library, with this week we want to be aware of the cultural diversity that is visible in our school every day. We'll have presentations from the different countries where some of our students come from, and also show it to the German exchange students, who are visiting us.
So on Monday 9th, we are going to pay tribute to Galicia, our homeland, by one of its greatest poets Rosalia de Castro, plus a Lois Pereiro exhibition, this year's Galician Literature Day's writer and we'll be talking about Colombia and Venezuela.
On Tuesday 10th, it's the United States' turn.
On Wednesday 11th, we are showing Brazil.
On Thursday 12th, we'll be at Argentina, Croacia and Uruguay and dancing Tango.
And at last, on Friday 13th, we'll be dancing Dominican merengue, we are travelling to Africa and hearing African bongos playing. We'll be visiting Aremenia, Dominican Republic & Argentina.
Hope you enjoy our multicultural virtual trip!

[Activities will take place at the school's central hall, library and assembly hall]

GERMAN STUDENTS ARRIVING TODAY ON A 10-DAY STAY

[Photo update: Spanish & German partners at Colegiata on Wednesday afternoon]

The German students from the Willstätter Gymnasium in Nuremberg will be arriving to A Coruña this afternoon. They take part in our school-exchange programme. Tomorrow will be their first day in our school. They are going to be with us until Thursday 12th May.
They'll be around our school, but we've also prepared lots of extra activities for them.
Wedsnesday 4th: Welcome breakfast at 10:10h at English classroom 2. Visit to A Coruña city centre in the morning, stopping at Plaza de Lugo fish market. Visit to the Old Town in the afternoon.
Thursday 5th: Trip to the Cies Islands with their Spanish partners, all day.
Friday 6th: Visit to the Bellas Artes Museum.
Weekend with their host families.
Monday 9th: Visit to the Hercules Tower and Aquarium in the morning.
Tuesday 10th: Visit to A Coruña's port in the morning and trip to Betanzos in the afternoon. In the evening, they'll attend Deportivo's football match at Riazor Stadium.
Wednesday 11th: Visit to Inditex's General Headquarters in Arteixo in the morning. In the evening, there'll be a farewell dinner with all the students, their host families and teachers at the school's cafeteria.
Thursday 12th: Trip to Santiago with their Spanish partners and departure from airport in the afternoon.

BUSY DAYS AT RAFAEL DIESTE'S

Definitely, we're living busy days at Rafael Dieste Secondary School.

Today, Tuesday 3rd May, our 1st and 2nd year ESO students have gone out on our traditional trip to Lugo, organized by the Religion Department. They'll spend the day in Galicia's Roman capital visiting museums, the Cathedral and the Roman Walls.

For the students staying at school, we'll receive the visit of Miguel D'Ors, a Spanish professor and poet, born in Santiago de Compostela in 1946. He's been considered one of the most important contemporary Spanish poets. His works have influenced many young poets and have been translated to English, French, Portuguese, German, Russian, Armenian and Polish. He retired as Spanish Literature teacher at the University of Granada. he has been invited to our school to attend a performance organized by our Reader's Club at 12:30h at our Assembly Hall. Students from 3rd & 4th year ESO and 1st Bac participate in it.

Tomorrow, 2nd year ESO-students will be attending Movilab, mobile laboratories at the Mendez Nuñez Gardens and 3rd and 4th year ESO-students will be marching at this year's Correlingua from Riazor to the Tower of Hercules in support of the use of Galician language.

BOMBAY SMILES: JAUME SANLLORENTE'S STORY

Jaume San Llorente Trepat was born in Barcelona on 9th July 1976. He studied journalism at Bareclona's Ramón Llull University, later specializing in finantial journalism. He was delegate for Catalonia of the Comercio Exterior magazine.
After several years devoted to finantial press, he went on holidays to India for the first time in 2003. He was shoked by the existing poverty there, particularly by the vulnerability of small children on the streets of Bombay, where kidnappings and child exploitation were frequent in slums, such as Kamathipura.
After discovering a small orphanage about to close for economic reasons, Jaume Sanllorente decided to give up his job and life in Barcelona, to prevent its closure and to create the Spanish non governmental organization Sonrisas de Bombay ("Bombay smiles").

Fortunately. we've found a video in English with Jaume Sanllorente's story of how he created Bombay Smiles. Take a look...

WHAT REALLY MATTERS

UPDATE: 1.500 YOUNGSTERS ATTENDED THE 2nd EDITION OF LQDVI-2011 A CORUÑA AT PALEXCO TODAY

Some of our 1ºBAC students will attend the lectures by Jaume Sanllorente (finantial journalist who gave up his job to found the non governmental organization "Mombai Smiles" and save an orphanage from closing down), Irene Villa (journalist and psychologist who suffered an ETA terrorist attack in Madrid when she was 12, losing her two legs and three left-hand fingers but preserved the most important: her life and the will to live) and Toni Nadal (Rafa Nadal's uncle and personal trainer, but not only a trainer in sport, but also in his life as a human being) at the 2nd Edition in A Coruña of the Congress "LO QUE DE VERDAD IMPORTA" (LQDVI) to be held at Palexco today.
The LQDVI Foundation has among its general aims to promote the development of the universal human, ethic and moral values through the promotion of social, cultural, scientific, sport activities in favour of the environment, the development of the information society and the research to approach these universal values to the public in general.
LQDVI Foundation intends to inspire awareness in youngster's consciousness by showing them inspiring examples to open up their minds towards possibilities they have in front of them, to build up their responsibility towards what surrounds them and their attitude to life.

On our etc... page, we've posted videos of Jaume Sanllorente, Irene Villa & Toni Nadal.

GOING UNDERGROUND: A JOURNEY THROUGH LONDON & ITS HISTORY

On Wednesday, 16th at 12:30h, some of our students will be attending a theatre play at the assembly hall of nearby EOI (Language school) at 12:30h. We'll be watching the play "GOING UNDERGROUND" by Moving On Theatre Company. In their typical own style, we'll be enjoying the British capital, its culture, its history, and, of course, its Underground. The show has been performed 226 times last year with total success and positive feeback.

Plot: The London Underground is the oldest and one of the biggest in the world, The history and culture of Britain's capital city are inextricably linked with its famous Underground. A train journey through its stations is a journey through time and the chance to savour all that London has to offer. Apart from 273 Underground stations in use, there are more than 40 "Ghost stations", closed to public and trains. In times of economic crisis, there are plans to convert some of these stations into underground car parks.

Bob is an eccentric teacher with a passion for the history of London. Today she is taking her students to Down Street Station so they can see its original state before the works begin to demolish it. When they arrive at the station, they find Harry, whose great grandfather built the station working there. The attempts to convince the authorities not to go ahead with the demolition will take us all on a comical, musical and educational journey through London and its history. Together, we will try and save the station and Harry's home.

Video "Going Underground" @ EOI-A Coruña, March 2011:

REMEMBERING MIGUEL DELIBES

[A year after he died & his connection with "Rafael Dieste" Secondary School]

Miguel Delibes, the Spanish writer, died a year ago, today, and a few days later, on 23rd March 2010, our school appeared on the local newspaper "La Voz de Galicia" in connection with him. It was remembering when Delibes had written a letter to some students of Rafael Dieste Secondary School in A Coruña.

It was the answer to other 20 letters, which each 14-year-old students had sent to him asking questions about his novel "El camino". They had read it during that course (2001-02). They asked him many questions on the book and its characters and he answered with a carefully handwritten letter. Starting with "A mis queridos amigos galleguiños", he explained about the village where his book's characters lived: Molledo, which is a real village, not in Castille, but in Santander. It was the village where his father was born and where he had spent many summers. He also considered the student's suggestions amusing and interesting and admitted they could have featured in his novel.

Isabel, the Spanish literature teacher, who got her students to write to him, says it was very generous of him to do so.

CARNIVAL TIME (2): MARDI GRAS OR FAT TUESDAY

The terms "Mardi Gras", "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season",in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and ending on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday" (in ethnic English tradition, Shrove Tuesday), referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which started on Ash Wednesday. Related popular practices were associated with celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent. Popular practices included wearing masks and costumes, overturning social conventions, dancing, sports competitions, parades, etc. Similar expressions to Mardi Gras appear in other European languages sharing the Christian tradition. In English, the day is called Shrove Tuesday, associated with the religious requirement for confession before Lent begins.
Carnival is an important celebration in Catholic European nations. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the week before Ash Wednesday is called "shrovetide", ending on Shrove Tuesday. It has its popular celebratory aspects as well. Pancakes are a traditional food. Pancakes and related fried breads or pastries made with sugar, fat and eggs are also traditionally consumed at this time in many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Today, Mardi Gras is colourful street carnivals, marching bands, dancing and all-night partying in the streets. Many people dress up in spectacular costumes and wear beautiful masks. The biggest Mardis Gras carnivals are in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and New Orleans (USA). Thousands of people from all over the world visit these cities to join in the fun. Venice (Italy) is home to one of the oldest carnivals in the world, which dates back to 1268. Thousands of mask-wearing people fill the Venetian streets and attend special masked balls. In Sydney, Australia, Mardis Gras is celebrated by the city’s gay and lesbian community with street parades and costumes.

TOMORROW FRIDAY, WE'LL CELEBRATE OUR OWN CARNIVAL AT SCHOOL FROM 12:30h ONWARDS, WHICH WILL START A 5-DAY-OFF HOLIDAY. ENJOY!

More on Carnival:
Look for previous entry in this blog on February, 8th, 2010 or under the labels Carnival & Tradition, called IT'S CARNIVAL TIME.

Links to Carnival sites:

- Notting Hill Carnival (London):
http://www.nottinghill-carnival.co.uk/local_area.html?id=4

- Mardi Gras New Orleans:

http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/

Video Krewes at New Orleans 2006 Mardi Gras:

TIM BOWLEY & CHARO PITA: STORYTELLING IN ENGLISH & GALICIAN

Tim Bowley e Charo Pita, a British-man and a Galician-girl make up an artistic duo that go around the world telling stories. Tim with his powerful voice starts off the story in English and later Charo starts it in Galician... the same story from two cultures, two ages, two languages that blend in a unqiue and funny show.

They'll be back at our school for the third time, tomorrow, Thursday 3rd March. For 1st & 2nd ESO students at 10:30h & 11:20h, respectively, at our assembly hall.

"EL CABALLERO DE OLMEDO", CLASSIC SPANISH THEATRE IN OUR CITY

[Photo Luís Laforga. Website: teatrocorsario.com]

"EL CABALLERO DE OLMEDO" by Lope de Vega is being performed this weekend in A Coruña at the Rosalia Castro Theatre. 1st BAC students from our school will be attending the play next Monday, 28th at 11:30h. This version is performed by the Teatro Corsario theatre company, from Castilla-Leon, directed by Fernando Urdiales. It's a comedy, where love and death depend on destiny. It's a good oportunity to watch a classic Spanish theatre play, which has been granted great critic reviews and several awards.

Plot: Lord Alonso, a noble gentleman from Olmedo, falls in love with Lady Inés at Medina's fair and lets her know by means of a go-between. But Lady Inés is also being dated by another gentleman who asks to marry her. As she's in love with Lord Alonso, she tells her father that she wants to become a nun to escape from this engagement. Knowing about what is happening and full of jealousy, Lord Rodrigo, the gentleman who wooes Lady Inés, decides to kill Lord Alonso. So he does it at night on his way back to Olmedo from Medina, unhearing the popular folk song that predicts his death.

GUARDIA CIVIL'S INTERNET SAFETY TALK AT OUR SCHOOL

REMEMBER!

WEDNESDAY 16th FEBRUARY.

GUARDIA CIVIL WILL TALK ABOUT

THE RISKS OF INTERNET

AT OUR SCHOOL'S ASSEMBLY HALL.
8:30h - 10:10h for 1st BAC, 4th ESO & 3rd ESO-A & B students.
10:30h - 12:10h for 1st ESO, 2nd ESO & 3rd ESO-C students.

SHAKESPEARE FROM A GALICIAN POINT OF VIEW

This morning Bac students from our school attended a theatre play by Galician theatre group Mofa e Befa with an English based topic: Shakespeare.

They break into an academic conference on the famous author to bring to surface the most overlooked scenes, maybe out of laziness or lack of opportunities, for contemporary audiences. The most cruel laughter, the most shameful intimacies, the most dishonest acts and the most cunning villainy is shown by the Mofa e Befa's ruthless comic machine. Murderers, judges, clowns, informers, racists, opportunists, pimps, torturers, all the characters who never have the spotlight, now have the sort of front-page display. And all of it in Galician.

Video extract of their Spanish version in Madrid:

8th FEBRUARY: SAFER INTERNET DAY, "IT'S MORE THAN A GAME, IT'S YOUR LIFE"

Safer Internet Day is organized each February to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people around the world. The topic for 2011 "our virtual lives" around the slogan "it's more than a game, it's your life". Last year, Safer Internet Day was celebrated through over 500 events in 65 countries all over the world. For more information: http://www.saferinternet.org/

On Wednesday 16th at the assembly hall of IES Rafael Dieste, members who belong to the special branch of telematic crime of the Guardia Civil will be giving a lecture about the risks of internet.

Video Safer Internet Day 2011:

SONGS FOR PEACE DAY JANUARY 2011: "BLOWING IN THE WIND" & "HYMN TO FREEDOM"

The “School Day of Non-violence and Peace”, founded in 1964 and also known as World or International Day of Non-violence and Peace, is a pioneering, non-state, non-governmental, non-official, independent, free and voluntary initiative of Non-violent and Pacifying Education, which is now practised in schools all over the world and in which centres of education, teachers and students of all levels and from all countries are invited to take part.
It advocates a permanent education in and for harmony, tolerance, solidarity, respect for human rights, non-violence and peace.It is observed on January 30 or thereabouts every year, on the anniversary of the death of Mahatma Gandhi.

As usual the IES Rafael Dieste's library is organizing an activity for Friday January 28th with some classes during one of the morning sessions (5th hour). They'll be listening to some songs related to peace, some of them in English.

One of them is "BLOWING IN THE WIND" original by Bob Dylan. Today we're posting versions of the song: Peter, Paul & Mary's audio with lyrics, and more recent singers: Katie Melua & Alanis Morisette, who have covered the song in live concerts. Enjoy peacefully!

Video "BLOWING IN THE WIND", Peter, Paul & Mary's:

Video with Katie Melua's live version:

Video with Alanis Morisette's version:

Another song is Oscar Peterson's "HYMN TO FREEDOM". Here's the video of the choir version with on screen-lyrics:

SONGS FROM "AQUARIUS"

On Wednesday, 26th January, 3rd and 4th year ESO students will attend a musical-lecture play at our assembly hall. Its name is "AQUARIUS". Rupert Marshall, anthropologist, musician and director of Firewalk Theatre will perform his musical-lecture and he will check on old rock hits from the 50s and 60s and their meaning within the social context in which they were successful. On this blog we're going to try to post as many of the songs which appear on the play as we can. We are posting the audios with the lyrics, so you can follow and understand them and also practice listening as usual. Here are the ones we've found:

Audio+lyrics "ACROSS THE UNIVERSE", The Beatles:

Audio+ lyrics "SATISFACTION", Rolling Stones:

Audio+lyrics "WISH YOU WERE HERE", Pink Floyd (On a post on this blog dated 22-09-2010, there's the same song in a cover version by Spanish singer Ana Torroja also with audio+lyrics):

Audio+lyrics "WHERE DO THE CHILDREN PLAY?", Cat Stevens:

FIFTEEN OF OUR SCHOOLMATES HAVE SET OFF TO NUREMBERG TODAY ON A STUDENT'S EXCHANGE TRIP

Fifteen students of 4ºESO from IES Rafael Dieste and two of our teachers have set off today for a ten-day stay in Nuremberg (Germany). They go on the first part of our course exchange that has been going on now for several (6) years. Our students will be staying in the houses and with the families of another fifteen German students and attending classes at the Willstätter Gymnasium at that German city. In Spring 2011, as usual, our school will receive the German students for the second part of the exhange. We hope our students have a good trip and enjoy their stay.

Nuremberg (German: Nürnberg) is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city. It is located about 170 kilometres north of Munich. The population (as of January 2006) is 500,132. The urban area of Nuremberg has 1.2 million inhabitants.

GOODBYE TO ANOTHER GROUP OF STUDENTS FROM RAFAEL DIESTE SECONDARY SCHOOL

Last night we rolled out the red carpet once again in front of our school's main entrance to receive our 2ºBAC students in their Farewell-Graduation party. Students, parents and teachers gathered together to celebrate the end of these students' life in our school. Everybody elegantly dressed took part in a celebration where we took photos, listened to speeches, danced, sang, laughed -or even shed a tear or two. After a snack and a chocolate fondue, the students continued partying... To all of them, good luck!