The last Teaching Learning Activity as a part of the project Art Nouveau – Art Renouveau, Erasmus +, will take place from 2nd – 8th April 2017 and is organized by one of the partner schools Mallinckrodt Gymnasium in Dortmund, Germany. The participants will first get to know the characteristics of Art Nouveau movement in the region, in particular in Dortmund, and then participate in various artistic workshops, thus learning the techniques of the period and adding a personal modern touch to the artefacts. Students and teachers from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Rumania, Scotland and Slovenia are to join in. The mentor of the project at St. Stanislav’s Institution is Alenka Battelino, teacher of English.

Arrival day, Sunday, 2nd April 2017

We came to Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport at 5.30 in the morning and checked in our luggage. Our plane took off at 7.05 and we arrived at the Frankfurt Airport 10 minutes ahead of schedule. We collected our luggage and went to McDonald’s to have breakfast. Then, after a rather lengthy halt, we left the airport at 1.09 pm. We drove through German countryside and arrived at the Dortmund Central Railway Station at 15.30 where our host families were already waiting for us. In the evening, they accommodated us in a hospitable way. We went to bed quite early because we were tired of the long journey. /Martin, year 2/

Day One, Monday, 3rd April 2017

As usual, the first day was dedicated to getting to know each other, welcoming speeches and drawing up programme plans. It happened to be a farewell day for the graduate students of Mallinckrodt Gymnasium. To celebrate the occasion the school was turned into a circus and the rest of the students bid good-bye to the graduates in amusing and original ways.

It was an early start, though. Accompanied by our host students the participants attended the opening ceremony including the school orchestra, presentations about Dortmund and Germany as well as the principal’s speech. A warm welcome was followed by a coffee break after which the students showed us around their school and at noon we had lunch. After that, we were divided into several mixed groups and students showed us around the city. In the late afternoon we gathered by the Phoenix Lake where we took some time off and talked about our first day in Germany.

Day Two, Tuesday, 4th April 2017

6:00 The first thing that I think about, when I hear the sound of my alarm in the morning, is how much I want to go back to sleep. The second thing is that I`m in Dortmund and it`s the second day of my exchange already. I guess time really does fly when you`re having as much fun as we are.

I manage to get ready and greet the Bulgarian girl that´s staying with the same family as me, and soon we are all on the bus to school, and our host, Mareike, is showing us all the famous buildings we can see from the window.

8:00 Although I love the friends I have made so far on this exchange and my host, it`s lovely to hear the sound of my mother tongue – Slovene again. I quickly join in the group to chat about our host families and people from other schools. That is until a lady announces that we are supposed to leave for workshops very soon. I follow the instructions and join my group in light painting, where me and my Slovene partner Gabrijela have a lot of fun while creating a host of images with different lights and patterns.

11:00 A short break and much needed coffee with croissants after dancing around the school basement with different colourful lights. Chatting with friends while watching the German seniors dressed up as different historical personalities walking around school. After the second part of our workshops, we meet in the forum where we have a singing lesson and although it`s hard, we do try our best at singing Ode to Joy in German. After that, we gather in Mensa (the school cafeteria), where we enjoy our lunch and free time.

13:00 Soon we gather on two different buses, headed to Zeche Zollern, a colliery with many Art Nouveau elements. After a very interesting tour (that our guide managed to do in only an hour), we climb to the top of the building where we get an amazing view of the whole city lying in front of us. After a few necessary group photos, we are already heading home.

16:00 The weather is amazing and the company is even better, so the day is perfect for a trip to the city park. And that is exactly what we do – we buy some food, find some comfortable seats by the lake and enjoy the sunshine. It`s really amazing how people from 5 different countries can have so much in common when they start talking and having fun.

22:00 After a long day, I`m grateful for a warm bed that awaits me in my room and an amazing host family that makes sure I`m as comfortable and happy as I can be. /Jerneja, year 2/

Six third year students (Jan Bitežnik, Bor Moškon, Benjamin Potočnik,  Aljaž Smole, Miha Smrtnik and Matija Trobiš) embarked on a fun mission of filming some trick shots, thus pulling off some impressive moves in the gym as well as outside the school.  At their invitation, even some teachers joined in!  This task was a project work, which took five months to be completed in the present from. By doing so, participating students and teachers defied the laws of physics almost at every turn. The most time consuming was the shooting of the basketball trick from the climbing wall in the school gym. The best part of it is that students obviously enjoyed the whole thing. Indeed – all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy! /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

Enjoy watching the video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m31XdiMJTo

The traditional exchange with three Slavic Gymnasiums is taking place from 15th – 20th March, 2017. This year Piarist Lyceum from Krakow hosted students of the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium Piarist Gymnasium from Trenčín, Slovakia and The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium from Ljubljana, Slovenia. Traditionally, students exchange their knowledge of singing as well as of all three Slavic mother tongues, namely Slovak, Polish and Slovene. This year the meeting honoured the 1050th anniversary of Poland’s baptism and thus the students dug into the beginnings of Christianity in their homelands.

On their way to Krakow, the students had the opportunity to visit the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz – the tragic remainder of human evil. The journey continued to Częstochowa, which is today a symbol of hope, due to the mid-17th century resistance against the Swedish invaders who attempted to capture the local Jasna Góra monastery.  The choirs performed individually, however, the visit ended with a joint concert of all three choirs in the Krakow Philharmonic, where the singing event was marvellously rounded up by Handel’s Alleluia. Five members of the language group also presented their research work on the beginning of Christianity in Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. /Marko Kunavar, year 3/

The team of DCG students (Matej Urbančič, Katarina Grad, Petra Vidmar, Lara Meglen and Tomaž Rode) is the winner of the Slovene part of The European Central Bank (ECB) international competition entitled Generation  €uro. It took place on 16th March 2017 in the Bank of Slovenia and joined the teams of 26 Slovene high schools from all over the country.  This is the second consecutive win for the DCG team at this competition.

The competition offers an opportunity to the generation that grew up with the concept of Euro, to learn about the monetary policy, its relationship with economy and broaden the knowledge of central banks functioning. The jury recognised in the team’s presentation profound and conceptual understanding of a rather complex problematics of the Eurozone monetary policy. As a reward, the DCG team will travel with their mentor, Tadej Rifel, Ph. D., and the representatives of the Bank of Slovenia to the ECB Seat in Frankfurt. There, Mario Draghi, the President of ECB, will congratulate the DCG team. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

Traditionally, Goethe Institute Ljubljana offers seminars and workshops for German teachers in Slovenia to present updated teaching methods, practical ideas and helpful tips. The recent seminar that took place on 10th March 2017 was no exception. It was conducted under the title Creativity in Classes of German as a Foreign Language. Irena Bolta, one of the four presenters at the meeting and a long serving teacher of German at The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium, held two workshops entitled Grammar is fun: Effective Learning Through Diverse Activities.

According to evaluations, all 40 primary and secondary teachers along with instructors from all over Slovenia obtained some new ideas and learned different approaches that will facilitate and encourage German language learning in our country. /Lily Sch. Kotar/

The traditional exchange with three Slavic Gymnasiums is taking place from 15th – 20th March, 2017. This year Piarist Lyceum from Krakow will host students of the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium Piarist Gymnasium from Trenčín (Slovakia) and The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium from Ljubljana, Slovenia. This year the meeting will honour the 1050th anniversary of Poland’s baptism and thus the students will dig into the beginnings of Christianity in their homelands. Traditionally, students exchange their knowledge of singing as well as of all three Slavic mother tongues, namely Slovak, Polish and Slovene. The choirs will perform individually on several occasions, however, the visit will end with a joint concert of all three choirs and presentation of their language work.

The choir travelling to Krakow is St. Stanislav Youth Choir of  The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium, with 50 singers, which has received many awards and prizes at youth choral reviews in Slovenia and at international choral festivals, including golden plaques and awards for the best choir of the competition. This choir also regularly performs larger vocal-instrumental works and collaborates with professional institutions. More recently they are most proud of the International Choral Kathaumixw festival (2014) where they won the title “Choir of the World” in Powell River, Canada as well as the 1st prize for Folk & Cultural Traditions. The conductor of the choir is Damijan Močnik, composer and teacher of music at the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium. The additional accompanying teachers are Kaja Naglič and Jože Kurinčič, both teachers of Slovene language and Tina Tandler, responsible for international exchanges at The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

Four music teachers and conductors working in St. Stanislav’s Institution attended the American Choral Directors Association convention (ACDA), which was held from 8th – 11th March 2017 in Minneapolis, USA. ACDA is one of the largest professional organizations for choral directors in the world, with a membership of over 20,000 conductors representing one million singers and has as its highest purpose to encourage the finest choral music and to promote its development in all ways, including performance, composition, publication and research.

In four days, they listened to numerous quality choir ensembles, participated in lectures and workshops, got to learn about the new methods of teaching and latest trends in choral singing in the USA.  This was nice opportunity to meet conductors from all over the world and purchase loads of music materials.

At the conference, the conductor Helena Fojkar Zupančič met the British composer Bob Chilcott, who wrote the song God of the Open Air especially for St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir The song was commissioned by International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM). The world premiere of the song will take place in July 2017 at the 11th World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona, Spain.

The conductor of St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir Helena Fojkar Zupančič took part in the American Choral Directors Association convention, which was held from 8th – 11th March 2107 in Minneapolis, USA. There she met the British composer Bob Chilcott, who wrote the song God of the Open Air especially for St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir. The world premiere of the song will take place in July 2017 at the 11th World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona, Spain.

We are happy to announce that a new website  of St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir of The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium, Ljubljana has been launched. Here you will learn more about the choir, its history, achievements, concerts, including the details about the latest news on the choir’s concerts and in particular the 11th World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona, where the choir is to perform in July. We hope you enjoy browsing the new site!

https://en.stanislav.si/11th-world-symposium-in-barcelona/

Habemus victorem! Maruška Schenk has joined twenty-eight other students from all over Europe for winning the 2016-2017 translation contest for secondary schools ‘Juvenes Translatores’! Besides, another student from the DCG, Matija Šprogar, received a special mention for his translation. They both translated from German to Slovene and agreed that Latin, which they have been learning now for the third year, contributed to the excellency and accuracy of their work. Mirjam Lindič, the teacher of German at the DCG, is their mentor. This year The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium has competed for the third time in a row and won the competition twice! Well done indeed!

The Commissioner Günther Oettinger, responsible for Budget and Human Resources at the European Commission congratulated the winners, parents and teachers, pointing out that »languages open minds and break down barriers. They help us understand other peoples and cultures. Congratulations for showing creativity and flair in all 24 EU languages.« The aim of the contest is to promote language learning in schools and give young people a taste of what it is like to be a translator.

The Contest in numbers

For the 10th time since 2007, over 3000 students from across the European Union translated texts, this time on the subjects of languages and translation. They could choose from any of the 552 possible combinations between any two of the EU’s 24 official languages. Students used 152 language combinations. All winners chose to translate into their strongest language or mother tongue, as the official translators in EU Institutions do.

The Slovene Context of Juvenes Translatores

On the national level, there were 35 students competing from eight Slovene high schools. There were five contestants from the DCG, translating from English, German and Spanish. Peter Jakša, Language Officer from the Representation of European Commission in Slovenia, congratulated warmly the students, mentors and the headmaster Simon Feštanj on the outstanding success of the school. In terms of languae learning at the DCG, Latin and English are compulsory and all students have to choose a third foreign language from German, French, Spanish or Russian. Classical Greek is optional.

Maruška will travel to Brussels to collect her award for the most accurate translation of Slovenia on 6 April 2017. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/