Postcrossing Meetup (Received Cards) : VERA from GERMANY

Our fourth card comes from Halle (Germany). Halle ist eine kreisfreie Großstadt im Süden von Sachsen-Anhalt und liegt an der Saale.

The sender is a multilingual lady, Vera. She can speak German, French, Italian and Spanish, and in fact she wrote the whole card in Spanish! Muchas gracias, Vera, ¡nos ha encantado leerte!

Danke für die Postkarte, Vera!

Postcrossing Meetup (Received Cards): XÍO from MÓS

We received our third card last Monday (October 30), and it was an unexpected delight in a chilly afternoon. It arrived from nearby Mos, Galicia.

The sender is Manuel Xío, who defines himself as a creative author, and he has sent us a self-made collage postcard with a heartwarming message both in the front and back of the card.

I think we should also be proud of the work of our mail carriers in Ribeira, because I am surprised the card has reached its final destination :) Thank you, mail carriers, for taking your job seriously, reading between the lines and getting it delivered!

I hope the picture allows to appreciate the mail art he has done with the stamp on the left.

Can you read the quotation on the right-hand side? It reads:

 "A rede fica ateigada de sitios, eu procuro lugares"

("The net is crowded with locations, I look for places" - sorry, I have tried my best at translating it)

Thank you, Xío, for your upbuilding comments!

 Your card is pure poetry, and really encouraging for all the participants in this project!

Postcrossing Meetup (Received Cards): WISP from TAIWAN

The second card we have received comes from a dear penpal of mine, Hsin Yueh (Wisp). We have been corresponding for about a year now. She is a junior high student with many talents! I remember a gorgeous card I received from her where she had drawn some beautiful magpies.

Wisp is from Taichung City, Taiwan.

However, the card she sent us shows Sun Moon Lake in Nantou. She has also kindly shared some of her tips to learn English.

 Thank you, Wisp, for your kindness in sending us this card. You will be receiving another one from us in April!

Postcrossing Meetup (Received Cards) : JINDARAT from THAILAND

As you all know, we will be having the First International Postcrossing Meetup in Ribeira (more info on the Postcrossing website) on April 2016, and the first postcards have started arriving. How exciting!

The first postcard we received was accidentally opened by José Manuel, one of the administrative assistants working here, and he was surprised to find a card and some goodies. He called me to tell me this card had arrived. Well, I am glad  he also got to take part in all the fun of receiving a card!

So, the card comes from Bangkok, Thailand.  

Jindarat has sent us a beautiful card along with some stamps, would you like to see it?

Thank you, Jindarat! You will be receiving a card from our meetup in April!

Traveling Notebook: SNEAK PEEK (VII)

The English and French teachers at CPI Poeta Uxío Novoneyra have sent us a preview of their very detailed traveling notebook. It is multilingual and very comprehensive, take a look!

Creative Writing Workshop: Snail Mail

Patricia Ares, the Coordinator of Cultural Activities in EOI Santiago has very kindly invited me to give a workshop this afternoon to introduce students to snail mail and the possibilities it offers to practise writing skills in a real context.

I am really excited, I will be talking about a topic which I really love and which lies at the heart of our project. I certainly hope attendees will enjoy it and that it will ignite a spark of insterest in snail mail.

Here's a short video I have put together to introduce the workshop.

Thanks for your invitation, Patricia!

Meet the Schools: CEIP DO CASTRO

Cristina Teixeira heard about the creative writing project and loved the idea of the traveling notebook, showing her willingness to participate and get involved. 

She has sent us some photos which are really self-explanatory and constitute the best description of their school. A picture is worth a thousand words! You can see the location of their school, the building, the beautiful multilingual traveling notebook they have put together, and the creative souls behind the amazing notebook: 1 year primary students.

CEIP do Castro

 

 

Thank you, Cristina and CEIP do Castro for your awesome work! 

Meet the Schools: CEIP ESCARABOTE

María Basterrechea is one of the most dynamic, upbeat persons I have ever met. I remember having her in class during my first year in Ribeira (2008), and thinking how privileged I was for coming in touch with such a cheerful, enthusiastic person, committed to work hard and with the gift of lighting up an entire room and making others feel better.

I remember learning a lot from the videocast her family put together. Marta and Pablo and "Los Cociñecos" taught me how to cook "paté marinero" or "galletas bicolor".

Last July, when I met with María and Alicia to tell them about the creative writing project, they were really excited about it and showed their willingness to participate, for which I am ever so grateful!

María has sent us a description of their school which I am including below:

CEIP Escarabote

 

Saúdos desde Escarabote! O noso colexio atópase na aldea de Escarabote, que pertence ao concello de Boiro. Aínda que estamos ao lado do mar, para chegar ao colexio temos que subir unha costa moi grande, o bó e que temos unhas vistas preciosas dende arriba. 

Somos 170 persoas as que formamos a comunidade educativa: 150 alumnos e alumnas repartidos en nove aulas, dende 3 a 12 anos (Infantil e Primaria), 15 mestres, o conserxe, 2 persoas encargadas da limpeza, a coidadora, e Elisa, a nosa auxiliar de conversa, que vén de moi lonxe, de Florida.

O centro ten un edificio grande onde están as aulas de primaria, biblioteca, ximnasio, aula de inglés, sala de ordenadores, despachos: secretaría, orientación…Outro edificio onde están as aulas de infantil e a aula de música, e un pavillón. O noso patio é moi grande e ten unha pista para xogar a baloncesto, balonmán, fútbol…e tamén hai un patio para os nenos e nenas de infantil.

Este ano temos un proxecto para traballar todos ao longo do curso, chámase: “Alimentámonos coa lectura”. Queremos investigar moito sobre este tema, xunto cos nosos mestres e tamén na casa. 

Thank you, María and CEIP Escarabote, it is an honour to be partners in this project!

The Galician Press Covers our Project

Our  project and all of the activities around it, such as the upcoming Arabic and Japanese calligraphy workshops, or the creative writing workshop which will be given both in EOI Santiago and Sección Ribeira have been in the limelight this weekend.

Two local newspapers have covered the project! I am attaching the captures below for your enjoyment.

I think everybody's enthusiasm exudes in all the activities being organized. It is really nice to work with highly committed people (both teachers and students)!

Meet the Schools: EOI LOS CRISTIANOS (Tenerife)

I met Carlos David Martín in 2009 at an EOI National Conference we have every two years. I remember he attended a workshop I was giving and was very supportive, smiling, giving comments and exchanging impressions,... the kind of person you remember after you've left the room. After that, we have seen each other again at our EOI Conferences and we also stay in touch through a Facebook group for teachers, where we can exchange materials, impressions about news articles or updates in legislation. I am truly thankful because I have learnt and continue to learn a lot from other PROFESSIONALS, like Carlos.

EOI Los Cristianos is taking part in the traveling notebook project. Their notebook, a preview of which you can see in a previous entry of this blog. It will be traveling to Negreira, Noia and Elda.

Carlos has sent us a summary about their school, satellite schools, languages and levels that are taught and specific courses that are offered.

 

EOI Los Cristianos

La Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Los Cristianos, se encuentra enclavada en la localidad del mismo nombre en el municipio de Arona, en la vertiente sur de la isla de Tenerife.

En nuestra escuela se imparten los idomas Inglés (desde nivel básico hasta C1), Francés, Alemán, Español para Extranjeros (desde nivel básico hasta el avanzado); chino y ruso (ambos solo en nivel básico).

En total contamos con casi 2500 alumnos y 3 sedes:
-EOI Los Cristianos (65 grupos todos los idiomas)
-IES Los Cristianos (2 grupos de inglés básico)
-AEOI Guía de Isora (2 grupos de inglés básico)

También impartimos cursos específicos de 70 horas (uno por cuatrimestre). La oferta para este curso es: Inglés Turístico (NB2) y Alemán Turístico (NB1 y NB1+).

 

 Thank you so very much, Carlos David Martín for being part of this project!

Meet the Schools: CEIP PRAIA XARDÍN

I met Dolores Olveira some years ago in Santiago, when she was my student in a PALE course. These courses (now called PIALE)  are a kind of prep stage for teachers who then go to an English-speaking country for an immersion programme to update their linguistic skills. I remember being impressed by Dolores's polished English and enthusiasm for teaching, and thinking how lucky her students are for having a dedicated, motivated teacher. Then, last July when I got in touch with her regarding the creative writing project, and she immediately showed her interest and willingness to jump on the bandwagon. We then met in September, together with two other teachers from CEIP Praia Xardín, and this is how they ended up being part of the traveling notebook chain. It is a pleasure to be working with them!

 Dolores has sent us some information so that we can get to know their school a little better.

CEIP Praia Xardín

CEIP Praia Xardín is located in Boiro. It's one of the schools in the town centre with a fantastic view to the beach. Most of our students come from rural areas such as Moimenta, Ponte Goiáns, Cadarnoxo, O Saltiño, Pomar do Río, Macenda,...Come and visit!!

Our school

We have got Bilingual Sections in Art in the whole Primary Education. So that, a language assistant is with us every year. Angharad is our fifth language assisstant and she is from Wales. She provides the children real English and it is an extra source of motivation for all of us.

Hall

School canteen

Our playground

English class

Another view of our English class

English class and materials

Heartfelt thanks, Dolores Olveira and the participating staff at CEIP Praia Xardín for your kind cooperation!