The differences between Polish and English culture

Last Monday (11th April) the presentation entitled 'The differences between English culture and Polish culture' took place in our school.

Glenn Standish, the citizen of New Zealand who lived in Great Britain for most of his life, was invited to conduct this presentation by the teacher of English from our school Barbara Henke. Students from classes 1b and 2d participated in it.

The presentation was carried out in such a way that all the students were engaged in it and listened to the presenter attentively. Glenn is not only the source of cultural information but also a great performer.

All these made the presentation an unforgettable event. The students are willing to take part in more presentations of this kind. Let's hope that the students from our school will have a chance to participate in a similar one next month.  

2nd Interschool Love Song Contest

On 17th February 2011 our students took part in the 2nd Interschool Love Song Contest  organized by the Secondary School No. 9 (LO IX) in Torun. The competition was fierce and all the contestants demonstrated breathtaking singing skills. The songs were sang in English, French and German.

Daria Kmiecikowska (2E) and Marianna Korman (1A), two pupils of our school, presented their vocal skills and talent. Marianna, having successfully attended the first stage of competition, took part in the final round on the 18th February.

  

Congratulations and good luck next year!

We are happy to announce that two students of our school, who participated in the “Juvenes Transaltores” competition, were recognized by the jury and their translations were marked out among 10% works as the highest rated ones.

The successful contestants are:

* Piotr Talkowski

* Daniel Panfil

 

There may be only one winner for each EU member state. However, taking into consideration the number of participants and fierce competition among them, such acknowledgement is obviously a distinction.

Congratulations!

For further information please visit:

http://ec.europa.eu/translatores/

7th English Language Competition

7th English Language Competition 

Regent College in Elbląg 

All contestants willing to put their language skills to the test are warmly encouraged to take part in 7th English Language Competition organized by Regent College in Elbląg. If you wish to enroll, contact your English Teacher or speak directly to Krzysztof Malinowski not later than 25^th February 2011.

The qualifying round shall take place on 1^st March 2011 at 10:55 a.m. in our school.

Details:

The competition may be approached as an ultimate test of contestants' knowledge in the field of lexis and grammatical structures at Matura Rozszerzona level. Students who intend to study at English Philology Departments may also be strongly encouraged to participate.

1st stage: qualifying round in our school (written part only)

2nd stage: final round in Regents Collage in Elbląg (written and oral part)

Prizes:

1^st prize: iPod, reimbursement of tuition fees at Regents Collage in Elbląg for 3 years along with a 3-year scholarship (PLN9000)

2^nd prize:MP4 player, reimbursement of tuition fees at Regents Collage in Elbląg for 3 years along with a 3-year scholarship (PLN6000)

3^rd prize:MP4 player, reimbursement of tuition fees at Regents Collage in Elbląg for 3 years

For more information and sample papers please visit:

http://www.anglistyka.edu.pl/olimpiada.php

 

GOOD LUCK! 

An African Affair

On 27th January 2011 our school had the pleasure and privilege to host an unusual quest. Robert Mutegeki, a priest from Uganda, who was visiting Poland with a series of presentations regarding  African issues,  agreed to hold a meeting with students and teachers of our school.

His visit gave as the opportunity to become more sensitive to many crucial issues troubling African people, such as HIV and AIDS disease, widespread poverty and limited access to education.

Reverend Robert Mutegeki turned out to be a man of great charisma and personal charm. He told us about Uganda and the way of life of its people. His presentation was accompanied by vivid slides showing Ugandan wildlife, cities, villages, landscapes and most of all the life of ordinary folks in Uganda.

Mr. Mutegeki put emphasis to the issue of AIDS and millions of orphans, who were left alone after their parents had been taken away by the disease. It has been estimated there are about 2 million orphans in Uganda. The children have nobody to look after them, no shelters, no everyday facilities that our society takes for granted every day. They have limited access to education and those lucky ones who may attend the classes learn in groups of 50, 100 or even 200 pupils.

Reverend Mutegeki appealed to everyone to support his kinsmen and participate in a project called “Distance Adoption”. The project means giving a child or youth in particularly difficult conditions the possibility of growing up in his own country, respecting his culture and human dignity. It means food, medicines, schooling, a family, the love from far away persons who are concerned with his growth and to participate to his life, exchanging letters, drawings and experiences. The only thing we need to do is express willingness to participate and contribute €25 a month.

Those willing to learn more on Distance Adoption and Uganda may visit the following websites:

http://www.adopcjanaodleglosc.caritas.pl/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda

http://www.statehouse.go.ug

http://www.caritas.pl/

The meeting with the Reverend  was also an excellent opportunity for our students to practice their language skills and gain some hands-on linguistic experience.

We would like to express our gratitude to Reverend Robert Mutegeki  for making time to meet us and share his experience and knowledge. THANK YOU!

2nd English Poetry Competition „The Beginnings”

2nd English Poetry Competition 
took place in our school on 1st December 2010.

 

Students from eight secondary schools did their best to charm the jury with their recitation skills. The competition was fierce and the poems varied from some masterpieces of classical English writers to modern works of contemporary authors. Let us just mention a few such as E.A. Poe,  R.L. Frost, W.B. Yeats, E.B. Browning, W. Blake or Tupac Amaru Shakur. The poems also varied in length and difficulty, so the jury had a hard nut to crack.

 

The jury made up of all teachers whose students participated in the show assessed the performances upon various components such as recitation skills, pronunciation or emotional insight. Unfortunately, due to unfavorable weather conditions on that particular day, some of the participants could not arrive on time or did not manage to turn up at all.  Despite these difficulties, the  audience had a real feast of poetry recitation enhanced by flickering candles  and mysterious decoration of the room.

This year the winner was Natalia Bassak with THE RAVEN by E.A. Poe. 

Natalia amazed the audience with her deep emotional insight into the poem. The message was strengthened even more by Natalia’s acting skills and a well chosen garment. Congratulations!

I prize: VIII LO  Natalia Bassak, E.A.  Poe, THE RAVEN

 You may find the poem here: http://www.heise.de/ix/raven/Literature/Lore/TheRaven.html

II prize: II LO Katarzyna Majewska, Robert Frost, THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

III prize: I LO Marcelina Masłowska, Christine Georgina Rosetti, THE FIRST DAY

 

Aleksandra Grącka with FUNERAL BLUES by W.H. Auden was awarded a special prize awarded the representative of the Learn and Smile Foundation. 

Congratulations!

We were delighted to see all those glints of joy in the students’ eyes while they were collecting the prizes from Genowefa Malicka, the headmistress of 7LO, and the representative of Learn and Smile Foundation.

 

The competition was sponsored by Learn and Smile Foundation, which awarded the best participants generously. The winners received the most valuable prizes such as English-English dictionaries and classical books of English writers. However, the Learn and Smile Foundation, according to its name, let no participant go away empty-handed and everyone received a small gift in the shape of an abridged English book.

We would like to express our gratitude to Learn and Smile Foundation and its representative present during the competition who made all the efforts to take part in our competition.

We also express our warm gratitude to all the teachers who assisted their students and who made the effort to motivate them to such great work.

THANK YOU AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU NEXT YEAR! 

Juvenes Translatores

Juvenes Translatores

This year again our students participated in a translation contest “Juvenes Translatores” held for schools in 27 member states of the European Union.

Participants Piotr Talkowski (2a), Paulina Niedbalska (2b), Natalia Nitka (2b), Daniel Panfil (2d) and Oskar Wietecki (2d) translated the text “Fortune favours the brave new Europeans.”

The winners will be invited to the awards ceremony in Brussels on 7 April 2011.

(: WE KEEP OUR FINGERS CROSSED! :)

Halloween

Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31, primarily in the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holiday All Saints' Day, but is today largely a secular celebration.

Common Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, ghost tours, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, committing pranks, telling ghost stories or other frightening tales, and watching horror films.

The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm.

Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to a (mostly idle) "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. In some parts of Scotland children still go guising. In this custom the child performs some sort of trick, i.e. sings a song or tells a ghost story, to earn their treats.

The practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays dates back to the Middle Ages and includes Christmas wassailing. Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of souling, when poor folk would go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2). It originated in Ireland and Britain, although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy.

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org)