Teaching Learning Activity 4 in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

 

Teaching Learning Activity as a part of the project Art Nouveau – Art Renouveau, Erasmus +, will take place from 11th – 18^th April, 2016 in Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria. The purpose of the seven-day activities is to learn about the Art Nouveau movement in Bulgaria and to create new ‘art renouveau’ works of art. Students and teachers from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Rumania, Slovenia and Scotland create pieces of art together and  enjoy each other’s company.  The mentor of the project at St. Stanislav’s Institution was Alenka Battelino, teacher of English.

 

 Arrival Day, Sunday, 10th April 2016

On Sunday we met at the airport at 8am and set off for Bulgaria. We first arrived to Sofia, the capital of the coutry, and took a bus to Veliko Tarnovo where we would be staying. From the start, I found Bolgaria very interesting. Within the first few minutes, we saw two horses and a donkey walking across the street. Tarnovo, however, is much different and more similar to some Slovenian cities. /Maja Peklenik/

 

 

 

 

Day One, Monday, 11th April, 2016

On Monday, we met at their school at 8.50. They introduced some history of the country and told us a few facts about it. They also held a talent show, where they taught us some of their traditional music.

After lunch, we had workshops in the theme of Art Noveau. There were three different activities possible: making painted pendants, glass drawing and mirror and felting. We spent the afternoon with our host families.

I can already tell this will be a great exchange. /Maja Peklenik/

 

 

Day Two, Tuesday, 12th April, 2016

On our second day in Veliko Tarnovo we went to the old city center and learned a lot about Bulgarian history and history of Veliko Tarnovo. After the trip around the old town we had workshops in school, during which we created handcrafted flowers out of wool.

This morning we gathered at 9:30 right next to the Mother Bulgaria monument. From there we proceeded to the old town, where we saw sights such as the monkey house, Tsarevets, monument dedicated to famous Bulgarian rulers, a monument dedicated to the Bulgarian merchant Hadji Nikoli and a famous Bulgarian inn.  During our many stops we had a short break dedicated to souvenir shopping and town sightseeing. I was impressed by what a lovely medieval town Veliko Tarnovo looks like and how much history there is behind it. Later on, we went to a restaurant, where we ate Bulgarian mushroom stew, steaks with mashed potatoes and delicious dessert. After lunch, we returned to school where we had workshops. This time I was felting, therefore I created woolen flowers with the help of Bulgarian students and teachers. The creativity of various students and teachers was just amazing, and I think we created some beautiful handwork. We were also pleasantly surprised, when we saw ourselves in a local newspaper. /Matija Trošt/

Day Three, Wednesday, 13th April, 2016

Wednesday started a little bit differently than any other day. We gathered earlier, e. i. at 8 a.m., and filled up three buses prepared for this occasion. I was on bus No. 3 and our group went on a trip to the city of Ruse. Because we drove there for quite a while, I played cards with two of the French girls. It was interesting to see that we have so many very similar games. We also played a completely French game. However, the trip ended, rather too soon to my taste, and we got to our destination. Ruse is a wonderful city with many interesting Art-Nouveau sights. After the guided tour through the city, our team had an hour- long break. Because the temperatures were very high everyone was a little bit lazy, so in the end two of my friends and me went around the city. My first goal was to reach the river Danube and when doing so, a very beautiful view opened. Some minutes and photos later we found ourselves walking back to the meeting point. The most interesting thing that I noticed was how intertwined the present and the past are. I saw an old church next to modern houses and old rotting warehouses as well as a railroad near modern sidewalks and roads. The present does not mind the past, it seems the city wants to give an impression there is no connection between the two. However, I noticed it. Moreover, I will remember it. After the break, we went to the museum that showed how people lived back then. Later on we visited two monasteries near the mountains. Because everything was beautiful, we went hiking for some time. After this incredible sightseeing, we returned into present life. Our (only) time. Everyone enjoyed the trip and nobody will ever forget it. /Peter Berkopec, year 2/

Day Five, Friday, 15th April, 2016

In the morning I woke up to my favourite tune of Bandiera rossa. For breakfast I had burek and some coffee, while sending yesterday’s journal articles to prof. Podlipnik, who had given me the task of collecting everybody’s journal articles. After breakfast my host, my co-partner Ema and me went to school, which was luckily just a 5- minute walk away. I had a workshop, where Špela, Ema and me made a poster entitled Bulgaria through my eyes.

Then we had 4 hours of free time, so we went for lunch in a fancy restaurant, which I do not usually do. We also went to two shops, where the girls bought some make up. Of course, I was suffering like in Tartarus. To make it up to me they bought me an ice cream with caramel spread! Because we had too little time, we took the bus to school. The bus was full of people, and they were not grannies returning from the market with fresh salad, but people from our exchange. When we all went off the bus, only two passengers remained there. (I checked). In school we had an exhibition of the stuff me made during workshops this week. During the final speeches, we were given diplomas, and I must say that the Slovenians besides the French were given the biggest applaud. A group photo was also taken (shame on our teachers, who did not represent Slovenia in the midst of paparazzi). Endless goodbyes followed, during which hands were shaken, hugs were given, friends were added on fb and selfies were taken. We returned to the host’s flat to deposit of our stuff and then we went for pizza. /Nika Podakar, year 2/

 

Two choirs from St. Stanislav’s Institution  won gold at the 25th National competition in choral singing which took place in Celje, Slovenia from 4th – 6th April 2016.

Fifty-two choirs with 2000 singers aged 13-20 from all over the country proved again that the Slovenians are a singing nation and encouraging music making systematically from an early age bears fruit, which is increasing the number of participants and more importantly the quality of singing nationwide.

Both, St. Stanislav Youth Choir of the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium and The Youth Choir of Alojzij Šuštar Primary School took part in the competition. St. Stanislav Youth Choir of the DCG, which is only one of the five choirs in the gymnasium, won the golden plaque and three special awards for the best youth mixed choir, the most creative programme and the most convincing performance of a contemporary song Miniwanka by Raymond Murray Schafer. The Youth Choir of Alojzij Šuštar Primary School under the conductorship of Nadja Janežič won the gold plaque with honour for their performance of the Slovene folk song Dečva nabira brančur (Gal is collecting brunches) by Jakob Jež. This was their  first appearance at a competition on such level and the jury recognized the primary school choir as one of the best youth choirs in the country.

“For the choir any competition is always a pressing challenge as singers need to achieve their best in vocal, technical and artistic sense at a unique, specific moment”, said Damijan Močnik, conductor of the winning choir, teacher of music at the DCG, composer and member of the jury at the competition. “As for any conductor, my work starts much earlier. It is conductor’s job to find the repertoire that shows off the choir’s strong points and hides the potentially weak ones. The choir needs to impress both the audience and the jury, which happened tonight. On such occasions, it is of outmost importance to be able to focus. I, myself, usually do it by walking up and down in front of the choir. There was a singer who came up to me with a reassuring message – Do not be nervous! We can do this!  – and they did  indeed. I also appreciate choir’s self-confident attitude very much. This is one of the best things music making does to young people!”

Music importantly and decisively underpins the curriculum of all schools in St. Stanislav’s Institution, but this is especially the case in the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium, where almost half of the students (about 300) participate in choral singing. Every year the choirs of St. Stanislav’s Institution, together with two alumni choirs (there are eight of them all together) participate in the annual concert. This year it will be on 15th May, 2016 at 6 p.m. in Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana, to which you are kindly invited. Come and see yourselves how music transforms the souls and minds of the young  – even today! /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

Listen to the recording of St. Stanislav Youth Choir of the DCG at 25^th National Choral Competition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHgNmSa8yDI&list=PLZ4NSqkyW0tV_bH2tyGLtDptLZjOsXg1I

 

The DCG student team is the winner of the Slovene part of international competition of The European Central Bank (ECB) entitled Generation €uro. The third round of the copetition took place on 30th March 2016 in the Bank of Slovenia, Ljubljana. The competitors presented the results of their predictions on the future monetary policy. The jury recognised in their presentation a great deal of creativity and relaxed attitude when facing this rather demanding theme. As a reward the team will travel with ther mentor, Tadej Rifel, Ph. D., and the representatives of the Bank of Slovenia to the ECB Seat in Frankfurt. There Mario Draghi, President of ECB will congratulate the DCG winning team.    /Tadej Rifel, Ph.D./

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?  (Luke 24: 36–38)
“Disciples already know that Jesus rose from the dead. However, fear is holding them back so they avoid others and stay behind locked doors. Not expecting him, Jesus enters the room. They cannot hide their fears and doubts. He lets them recognise himself through his words giving them his peace, through his bodily presence and the signs of his death on the cross. His words, with which he explains the Scriptures written on him, bring the light of his resurrection amongst the disciples and ignite them with it.” (Lojze Čemažar, painter)

Dear friends,
the light of the risen Jesus aims to illuminate our doubts and fears and shine into our uncertainty and anxiety. In the Jubilee Year of Mercy, we are all invited to deepen our faith that He is present in the Word and in the poor who need our help. We should not hesitate to walk out of our safe havens and bring this joyful message about Jesus to the world that strives for peace and salvation.
I wish you an abundance of Easter courage.

dr. Roman Globokar
director of St. Stanislav’s Institution

The students of the DCG from the French Drama Club participated for the third time in the International Francophonie Days in Celje, Slovenia. On World Theatre Day, March 25th 2016, 104  students from 15 Slovene high schools gathered to stage a contemporary performance in French, namely Les Migrants by Sonja Ristič. Assisted by the French actress Amélie Vignals and stage director Victor Thimonier, it is the Slovene students who set up this project, which is unique also in a broader context of burning migration issues, and demonstrates some excellent networking. The first night took place on 25th March 2016 in The Slovene National Theatre in Celje, Slovenia. The students of DCG rehearsed under the mentorship of Daša Obrč, teacher of French at The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

The innovation camp took place from 16th-17th March 2016 in St. Stanislav’s Institution. Participants’ aim was to find a creative and innovative solution to the problem of The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium’s promotion on social platforms. They were encouraged by more experienced speakers in the field of economics, namely by two alumni (Petra Zoubek, Jakob Vrhovec) and the economist Gorazd Pavlek. Students tried to convince a three-member jury in a short, but persuasive speeches about the applicability of their ideas. By doing so they gained a lot of marketing experience and outside classroom knowledge.  The mentors of the camp were Mirjam Lindič, teacher of German and Martin Čokl, teacher of physics at the DCG. /Anamarija Čuden/

 

The meeting took place from 4th-11th March 2016 when 14 DCG students accompanied by two teachers visited Sint-Calasanzinstituut in Nijlen, Belgium. As a part of Erasmus+ project on Natural Science for Social Impact, we visited the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium in Brusselles, Isotopolis, where managing nuclear waste was presented; Antwerpen, the city of diamonds; quaint Brugge and a Waste Collection Centre. At school, Belgian hosts prepared a range of very interesting research workshops, where we assumed the role of criminologists and forensic detectives, as we solved a mystery murder using natural science knowledge. /Ana Bavec/

The (Re)mixed Choir of The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium visited The Bischöfliches Gymnasium Graz from 10th -11th March 2016. For years we have had fruitful exchanges with gymnasium in Graz especially in the field of language, whereas this has been our first music visit.
After a friendly welcome, we had a tour of the school, saw the sights of Graz and performed together at an evening concert. An important part of the visit was also spending time with Austrian students and hosting families. Programmes of both school are quite similar and so is their architecture.
The (Re)Mixed choir singers were very pleased with the tour and hopefully there will be further opportunities for future cooperation.

The traditional exchange with three Slavic Gymnasiums took place from 7th – 11th March, 2016. This year the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium Piarist Gxymnasium, Trenčín (Slovakia) hosted students from Piarist Lyceum, Krakow (Poland) and The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium from Ljubljana, Slovenia. Traditionally, students exchanged their knowledge of singing as well as of all three Slavic mother tongues, namely Slovak, Polish and Slovene. The choir travelling to Trenčín this year was St. Stanislav Youth Choir of Diocesan Classical Gymnasium with 50 singers. The choirs of all three gymnsiums performed together at a grand joint concert , when the singing event was marverouslly rouned up by the hymn of the exchange Nech ten chrám. Memebers of the language group did some research vocabulary work on the similarities and differences among all three Slavic languages in the field of sports. /Tamara Domjanič, Sara Oberstar/

On invitation from the Bischöfliches Gymnasium Graz the (Re)mixed Choir of the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium will visit the school from 10th -11th March 2016. Singing students of both schools will take part in the evening concert and the guest will be shown around the school and the city of Graz.
(Re)Mixed Choir of the DCG with almost 110 singers is the largest choir in school, in which mostly 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students sing. The choir tends to sing an appealing programme of gospel, spirituals, pop and musicals. Under the energetic leadership of the conductor Helena Fojkar Zupančič and accompanied by a band, the choir thrills everybody everywhere and we believe it will be so in Graz as well. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/