In the school year of 2023/2024 an exchange took place between St. Stanislav’s Institution and Sint-Lodewijkscollege in Brugge, Belgium. In September 2023 Belgian students visited Slovenia and Slovenian students returned the visit from 11-15 March 2024. The exchange was centred around the idea of freedom and self-expression in different forms, especially in art history and ancient times.

In Slovenia we explored the freedom of mind and body, including the freedom of travel and seeking different approaches. We created several artworks with certain limitations, and tried writing, drawing, and weaving. We explored the way our body speaks about our emotions and how it impacts our view of the world. We visited Celje where we got introduced to a world traveller and we saw ancient ruins under the city. The next day we visited lake Bled and wrapped up the exchange in Slovenia.

In Belgium we learned about different ways to be free within the limitations given to us by the world itself. By running around Brugge and taking whichever path we wanted, but keeping our goal in sight, we learned that there are a lot of different paths we can take and that this approach is also applicable to other aspects of life. We also analysed ancient views of freedom by translating different manuscripts from ancient Greek and Latin and created collages to illustrate different ways people can be enslaved by expectations or their own ideals. We learned about the history of the city of Brugge and visited several museums and galleries in Brugge and Ostende, where we also took an ice bath in The North Sea.

The most important takeaways were that every person has their own perception of freedom and what this means in their life. Learning from great philosophers we changed the way we think about the true meaning of individuality and freedom while trying to balance our own wants and needs with our community and the world’s expectations. /Liza Knez, year 4/

The international cooperation with Lycée René Gosse from Clermont l’Hérault, a school close to the 7th biggest French city Montpellier started last school year, when we were included in the eTwinning project Your art is also mine. Stane Kregar’s paintings with French motifs were the subject of our research.

This school year, however, we started the Erasmus and eTwinning project Art without borders, where we focused on the topic of architecture, both in Slovenia and France. The exchange at The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium took place from 7-13 October 2024, when 13 students and two professors from France were hosted.

At the beginning of March from 3-7 March 2024 it was our turn to visit the French friends. We started the journey from the Brnik airport to Paris and eventually to our final destination, Montpellier. Our French hosts were already waiting for us and we were happy to see each other again.

Next morning, we started the program with the headmaster’s speech and a few presentations of Slovenia. Then we participated in some ice breakers with our French and Polish friends, whose exchange was about ecology. In the afternoon we followed up with a tour of Clermont l’Hérault, the town where the school is located. It’s a nice town and it looks very Mediterranean. We also went up to the castle so we could get a good view from above the city. Having finished the tour, we spent the rest of the day with our hosts.

We took part in some lessons on the following morning. Most of us had an English class, the others took rugby which was a lot of fun. After the lessons we had a guided tour of Saint Guilhem le Désert, a gorgeous medieval town nearby. After lunch we also participated in a pottery workshop where we created different architectural designs from clay. We visited the museum of clay and pottery, where we learned a lot about this subject.

Wednesday was the most interesting day. We visited Montpellier, where we had a tour of the city, some free time for lunch and exploring the city on our own. Upon return, some of our host families took us to the coast where we spent the evening together.

On Thursday morning we visited a large Roman villa in Lupien. We learned a lot about Roman heritage on the French coast. In the afternoon we worked on the projects we had to brush up for the Erasmus project. We worked on a making of a magazine and a special architectural project, where we had to craft a building of our own. We were inspired by some of the buildings we saw during our stay in France. After we finished the projects, we had evaluation quizzes about the past week. During the finishing ceremony we received certificates of participation. In the evening most of the French hosts took us to dinner and we spent the last evening together. We left early in the morning, at 3.30 am and after a gorgeous sunrise, some pantomime at the airport in Paris and during two other flights we safely returned home. /Zoja Kern, Lucija Kremžar, year 3/

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stone which the builders rejected; the same is become the head of the corner.

This is the Lord’s doing: and it is wonderful in our eyes. (Ps 118:22-23)

May the celebration of Easter open our eyes to the light of the Risen, so that our lives may reflect the hope that he bestows upon us!

Felix Alleluia!

St. Stanislav’s Institution

Diocesan Classical Gymnasium, Jeglič Student Home, Alojzij Šuštar Primary School, Good Shepherd Kindergarten, Janez F. Gnidovec Residence Hall, Slovene Home, Matija Tomc Music School and Stane Kregar Gallery

Anton Česen, M.A. Director

The exchange of the Kantonsschule in Wohlen and The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium was a huge success in every aspect – musical, academic and getting to know the Swiss way of life. Both conductors Walter Siegel and Helena Fojkar Zupančič are the most deserving of respect and praise for the outstanding organisation and uplifting the spirits at all times. The following two reports one by Klara, a Slovene choir singer and the other by Mr Seigel, both adequately reflect the ambiance of this joyous event.

“As a member of the (Re)Mixed Choir I had a chance to visit Switzerland from February 25th to 29th 2024 during the exchange with the school Kantonsschule in Wohlen. All Slovenian students stayed with Swiss host families who generously let us be a part of their family for a few days, making us feel at home away from home. Besides sightseeing, visiting a medieval church and climbing a snowy mountain, we spent a lot of time with the Swiss students and really got to experience life the way they live it in the picturesque Swiss countryside. I was paired up with another girl from our school that I had only known the name of prior to the tour, but grew really close to immediately.

On the first day, our host family welcomed us as if we were old friends and we  experienced more unforgettable memories with them every day. We also got to meet other Swiss hosts and Slovenian singers we hadn’t known before. The family dinners, late night talks and game nights filled me with such content and gratefulness for being so lucky with the family that had been chosen for me. During the day, we had many rehearsals with our choir and also together with the Swiss one, all in preparation for the big last evening concert. Being in the front row while singing, I was able to observe people’s reactions to our performance and I saw how taken aback they were by our energy, as well as our choreography and the type of music we brought with us. The acoustics of the church only enhanced the experience and together with the audience’s praises after the concert left an imprint in all of our hearts. Having enjoyed such a fulfilling experience, I can certainly say I will cherish the memory of it for a really long time. And to anyone deciding whether to join an exchange: definitely do, you will not regret it.” /Klara Gaberšek, year 4/

Walter Siegel, the conductor of the Swiss Choir, collected memories of the exchange by writing the following: “The past few days have been filled with joy, music, and camaraderie. Your singers brought an incredible energy to our community, and it was an honour to host them and share in their musical talents. The concert was a huge success and we earned a lot of credit for it here in Wohlen. That will immensely help us to implement future music projects. Thank you! I believe music has a unique ability to touch hearts and create lasting impressions, and I’m thrilled that our collaboration has left such a positive impact on everyone involved. The dedication of everybody involved and hospitality played a significant role in making this experience unforgettable. It’s been a pleasure working with all of you and hosting your talented singers. I too hope our paths cross again in the future.” /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir of The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium went on a concert tour from 9th- 15th February 2024  to Stockholm to meet a phenomenal girls’ choir Adolf Fredriks Flickkör and present themselves to the Swedish public. It was an amazing opportunity to have two concerts with two amazing Swedish choirs and a concert at Adolf Fredriks Music Primary School where the subject of choir singing is emphasized. At this school we were presented some other classes as well.

It was an unforgettable experience to meet one of the world’s best conductor Gary Graden, who has been collaborating with Megaron Chamber Choir for the last thirty years. Later we joined him at the service in a Swedish old town church and were lucky to be able to listen to the amazing Bach’s B Minor Mass under Graden’s conductorship.

Cultural program was an inportant aspect of the entire tour and it also included listening to the incredible Swerige Radiokören/The Swedish Radio Choir which hosted a seminar for young Norwegian conductors. We were all stunned by their almost angelic singing and learned a lot about their singing technique which is quite typical of Swedish choirs. Our tour was not just about singing and music. There was enough time to explore the beauty of Stockholm, which is a very picturesque city. We managed to visit two famous museums. The first museum was the Vasa Museum with a massive 17^th century ship exhibited. Second one was the Astrid Lindgren’s Museum, where some of her most known stories are presented, including Pippi Longstocking. In addition, we also had a chance to visit Stocholm Stadshus/Stockholm City Hall, where a massive banquet for 1300 guests of honor is annually held after the Nobel Prize ceremony.

This is just a quick glimpse into our tour in Stockholm, but we experienced a lot more and had a great time with each other and singing together on stage as well as off stage. We would like to thank everybody who made this possible for us, especially the choir’s conductor Helena Fojkar Zupančič. /Diana Dominko, year 4/

Students of 3B class organized a Greek recital soiree as a part of a project assignment on January 30th 2024 at The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium. We had the honour of hosting the Greek ambassador to Slovenia Mr. Argyrios Makris. The director of St. Stanislav’s Institution Mr. Anton Česen also attended the event.

We had the pleasure of listening to excellent recitations of Greek and Slovene poems, in both Greek and Slovene language. The selection of poems for the occasion was excellent and the entire event was deeply moving and emotional. The house was full, the audience obviously enjoyed the recital. In addition to reciting poems, the program was enriched by students playing musical instruments. We listened to some Greek songs played on the piano and the violin, but it was the guitar performance that truly introduced the Greek vibe. If you closed your eyes, you could actually imagine yourself lying under an olive tree on a Greek coast.

After the recital, the students treated us to some exquisite homemade Greek desserts. Following Greek tradition,  a special pie was traditionally cut on a New Year’s Day, and we wished each other all the best for the remainder of the year. The audience agreed the recital was truly something special, definitely to be repeated. /Jurij Matija Lisec, year 3/

Christmas awakens longing for happiness, fullness of life and true joy. Let us stop, look in ourselves and consider others. There are many reasons for hope and opportunities to share it with the loved ones. Allow it to touch us and fill up our hearts with the mystery of Holy Night.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a joyful New Year 2024.

St. Stanislav’s Institution Diocesan Classical Gymnasium, Jeglič Student Home, Alojzij Šuštar Primary School, Good Shepherd Kindergarten, Janez F. Gnidovec Residence Hall, Slovene Home, Matija Tomc Music School and Stane Kregar Gallery

Anton Česen, M.A. Director

The Best in English contest, which took place on November 16th 2023, is an online English competition that includes countries in the EU and more. This year 24,343 students from 702 schools in 34 countries took part. It is opened to all high schools and their students aged 14-19. The level of the test is B1 – C1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The best students win a 2-week trip to Canada. Škofijska klasična gimnazija in Zavod sv. Stanislava did really well by getting the 167th position out of 702 schools globally. We are happy to announce that some students excelled also individually. The best result was achieved by Jurij Martinčič, (year 3), who was one of the top 7 students in Slovenia and ranked 66 out of everyone. Klara Lešnik (year 4) was second-best, followed by Jerica Brolih (year 3), Klara Gaberšek, (year 4), and Rihard Rener (year 2.)

The school community feels proud of students’ success and everything they have accomplished. Congratulations. /Katja Gorjup/

The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium student Vida Vurušič, year 2, won third place at Street dance show championship in two adult categories – namely the street dance show duos and street dance show formations. The event took place from 13th-15th November 2023. We congratulate Vida upon the outstanding success! The school community is extremely proud of you! /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General description:  International conference on the challenges of education in the age of artificial intelligence, on building interpersonal relationships in the school environment and wider society, on teaching in and coexistence with nature, and on the future and vision of Catholic education in contemporary society.

Date: 9-11 May 2024

Promoters: national and internationally renowned lecturers and experts on the subject

Content:

1. Church in the mission of education,
2. Pedagogy in response to the challenges of our time,
3. Digitisation and AI in school processes

More information about the conference and opportunities to participate, including on how to present your own papers, will be available on the school website in early December.

Contact:

For more information, please contact: [email protected].