February 2015 - March 2015
Solar eclipse on Friday 20th March
On Friday 20th March there was a partial eclipse in the Czech Republic. We were lucky because it was sunny and the eclipse was at its maximum at 10:45, exactly at the time when the students (and teachers) have a 10-minute break. No wonder that some of them ( = both the students and teachers) didn´t hesitate a minute and when the bell rang to end the third lesson of the day, they ran down to the school yard equipped with pieces of dark glass or special welding goggles. Then they watched the eclipse which was amazing. Some of them also tried to take a photo of it which wasn´t easy at all. So probably recommending you the animation at https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/czech-republic/prague is the best idea. And what about you? Did YOU see it live?
Robo RAVE Competition (20th March)
On 20th March there was the regional round of the Robo RAVE Competition. Four students from SEKUNDA class, namely Libor, Matěj, David and Marek, had built their own small robots from lego, had programmed it and then took part in this competition in the category “ Transport of little balls” (the robot must follow a line, turn at the crossroad and carry the balls into the storage bin, then turn 180 degrees, go the same way back and upload other little balls). Our students did a great job and as a reward they were chosen to take part in an international Summer School of Robotics. Congratulations!
Film Nicky´s Family (12th March, GVM)
On Wednesday 11th March, the students of our school went to the local Šembera´ s Theatre to watch the film Nicky´s Family (www.nickysfamily.com) about Sir Nicholas Winton who saved 669 Jewish children from post-Munich Czechoslovakia in 1939. The film tells a strong story about "Winton´s trains" and "Winton´s children". Before the showing there was an introduction by one of the creators of the film Mr. Zdeněk Tulis and after the showing he answered the students´ questions in a live discussion. We learnt about the situation in late 1930s, about the oppression of the Jewish people, about how the trains taking children to Britain were organized, about how the foster families were searched etc. The film was fascinating and very moving and the discussion which followed was really interesting. Mr Tulis told us also about his own meetings with Sir Nicholas Winton who is now 104 years old.
The English competition (24th February)
On Tuesday 24th February the district round of the English competition was held and Jan Vodstrčil from SEKUNDA class (who had won the school round of the competition) took part in it. He was the runner-up in his age category which is a great result because as many as 18 students from different schools participated in the competition. Congratulations!
"We are playing with eTwinning" (10th February, GVM)
In 2015 eTwinning (launched in 2005 as the main action of the European Commission’s eLearning Programme ) is celebrating the wonderful 10th anniversary. In the Czech Republic, a game “We are playing with eTwinning” started on 10th February and it will last till 10th October ( = 10/10) and it will culminate at the National eTwinning Conference held in Prague. All Czech schools are invited to join in the game, so far about 100 of them are on board. Each month they are offered a new task and they can choose how to fulfil them and which tools/ applications to use. The first task was to greet the other participants of the game and to upload “the greeting” in the special twinspace shared by all the players. The second task is to introduce the town where the school is. In our school, the PRIMA class students (aged 11-12) take part in the game and below you can see a pair game with photos and short descriptions of Vysoké Mýto - we chose this original way how to introduce the town. Why don´t you play the pair game too? Enjoy!
The Traditional School Show (5th February)
Our traditional school show (which was held on Thursday 5th February) experienced a few changes this year. The most remarkable change was announcing a connecting theme – this year it was WINTER. The performances were assessed in two age categories, the younger students (aged 11- 15) and the older students (aged 16-20). And what were the prizes for the winners? The winning classes are entitled for a day out – they can choose the destination of the excursion by themselves.
Prima students had written a short sketch and then played it on the stage. Sekunda boys performed a ballet – it was very funny. However, neither of them win – students from KVARTA (aged 14-15) won this year.
Skiing course of SEKUNDA class (1st February, GVM)
At the very end of January the students of SEKUNDA class took part in a skiing course in the Beskydy Mountains. It is a mountain range in the east of the Czech Republic - nearly four hour´s drive from Vysoké Mýto. No wonder that we were a bit tired after the long journey but we had to put on the skiing outfits and go skiing soon after our arrival there. However, we recovered soon, we cheered up and enjoyed the competition during which we were put into the teams. On the next day the real training started - the local ski instructors were awesome but their accent sometimes sounded a bit strange and funny. On the last day there was a final competition - the winners got beautiful certificates from the ski school.
See the news together with illustrating photos in our published twinspace HERE.
