The reason for the world to stop (by A. Jerina, student of DCG)
In line with the directive from the Slovene Government over Covid-19, St Stanislav’s Institution closed its doors on Friday, 16th March 2020.
However, students and teachers remain in contact. All schools in St. Stanislav’s Institution have prepared for this event and are committed to providing a good standard of academic and pastoral care for all their children, pupils and students. Although they may no longer physically be in situ, the schools deliver lessons via on-line to ensure the continuous provision of good education to everybody. Assistance and support are provided for anxious student and families in need.
We try to keep the entire school community informed and motivated. We remain committed to support the ongoing education and care of our students. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/
As a part of an Erasmus+ exchange, which took place from 9th- 13th February 2020, twelve students from Belgium and eight from Scotland visited St. Stanislav´s Institution together with seven teachers from both countries. The title of the exchange was Small countries strong cultures, suggesting that the aim of the project was to strengthen national identity with the young people.
Monday, 10th February – Finding Our Common Ground and Roots
Our guests had already come to Ljubljana the previous day. On Monday, we started the day with a tour of the school and an exhibition of our photographs made as a part of a project Bittersweet memories. For the project we had to photograph items that would remind us of our counties and our roots in case we were forced to flee the homeland. We proceeded with lessons of Slovene and Latin and a presentation of the principle features of a Roman city. After lunch we drove to the city centre to visit the City Museum of Ljubljana and the exhibition of the history of Ljubljana. We ended the day with a trip to the city centre.
Tuesday, 11th February 2020 – Having Fun in the Old Days
On Tuesday morning there was a presentation of Saint George, the patron saint of Ljubljana. Then we proceeded with workshops of drawing, dancing, singing and storytelling. Saint George was the topic of all the workshops. In the evening we met around the fire, which was used for cooking our dinner, and we presented what we had done in the workshops. This evening was also the time for playing games and talking with our new friends. Some of the parents joined us as well.
Wednesday, 12. 2. 2020 – Boosting Family Values Through Cuisine
After a concert of a choir and some ensembles from Saint Stanislav´s Institution, we drove to Bled. We walked almost around the entire lake and then visited the town of Radovljica. There we learned how gingerbread is made and we even tried to decorate our own gingerbread hearts. After that we had a lunch. Some traditional Slovenian dishes were served and the owner of the restaurant entertained us with traditional Slovene music. After speeches given by our teachers, we returned home and spent the last evening with our guests, who left the next morning.
Some Students’ Impressions about the Exchange
During the exchange I learned a lot about Belgian and Scottish history.
I was introduced to their culture and I greatly improved my knowledge of English language.
I got some new friends with whom I still have connections on social media.
I am very happy that I was able to be a part of this exchange.
The new banner representing the endeavors of the new Erasmus project Small Countries Strong Cultures radiates the vibrant colours of small, yet strong countries, namely Scotland, Bengium and Slovenia. Each country is represented by either its most typical sight, dish or a figure related to Roman times. Thus Belgium shines there through Ambiorix’ statue and unmistakably the best Belgium pralines; Scotland is represented by the Athens of North, Edinburgh, and the slope from Antonine Wall; last but not least Slovenia boasts with the idylic island of Bled and the statue of Emonian Patrician. The project logo naturally assumes the central position and designed by a Beglian student, got a twist with a strong shining orange sun in the middle. The banner was designed by Matic Kotar, the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium alumnus. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/
Nativity scene, collage, 2019 Created by the children in the Good Shepherd Kindergarten, which celebrates its fifth anniversary.
It is very important to contemplate the young Jesus as presented in the Gospels,
for he was truly one of us, and shares many of the features of young hearts. (Pope Francis, Christus Vivit,31)
Everyone’s heart longs for happiness. We search for happiness, we long for the fulfilment in life. Christmas reveals that we are not alone. The One, who brings peace, love and respect, is with us.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a joyful New Year 2020.
For the third time in a row The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium has taken part in this online competition. 30 students from the DCG had an opportunity to challenge their English on 29th November, 2019. This year 16,472 students from 624 schools from 25 countries have participated, of who 508 from Slovenia. We are very happy to announce that Mark Loborec (year 4) was awarded first place in Slovenia and 13th place all together and Gašper Ljubič (year 3) was awarded third place in Slovenia.
The Best In English contest is a unique online English language competition within the EU and beyond. 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. Students come mostly from European countries; however this year there were also participants from Switzerland, Turkey, Israel and Indonesia.
We are proud of Mark’s and Gašper’s success and congratulate them upon this fantastic achievement! Their mentor is Katja Gorjup, teacher of English at The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium.
We are happy to launch the logo for the new Erasmus+ project Small Countries, Strong Cultures. This is a collaborative project binding together three smaller European countries, namely Slovenia, Scotland (the UK) and Flanders (Belgium) in order to make room for the exploration of our common roots as well as for the endeavours to build our common future.
There were 7 logos on the shortlist, created in all three participating countries. The winning logo comes from Flanders and was unanimously chosen, considering students’ and teachers’ preferences. In Slovenia we reached the conclusion via Instagram and it was great fun to observe the online voting. On behalf of the Slovenian team we congratulate the Belgian artist for a most suggestive and distinctive logo, representing certain characteristics of all three participating countries. Well done indeed! /Lily Schweiger Kotar/
On Friday 29th November 2019 five students from the DCG participated in Euroscola competition, which took place in House of EU in Ljubljana. Competition offers young contestants a virtual tour of Europe and gives them an insight into the function and work of the European Parliament.
The competition consisted of two parts: a test about EU and a debate about current EU events and problems. Three students, Gašper Kovačič, Max Davidović and Josipina Julija Petrovič, competed in the test. The average score at the end was 15,5 points. Mark Loborec and Lina Leskovec were the candidates for the debate and they did splendidly, winning 18 points. The DCG team came in third, winning a trip to Strasbourg! The experience was amazing and for some of us, our first in this field. We were all very happy, when the results were announced and everyone is looking forward to the trip!
Marjeta Hočevar, teacher of Geography, and Tadej Rifel, Ph. D., teacher of Religion & Cuture, were in charge of this year’s Euroscola competition. /Josipina Julija Petrovič, year 2/
Perfect Fusion Between Japanese and Slovene Students
In April 2019 The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium hosted fifteen students and two teachers from Kanto Daiichi High School. The same number of Slovene students and teachers spent a week from 11th – 19th November 2019 in the capital of Japan.
We were staying at our exchange students’ homes. The first day in Japan was a big cultural shock for everybody. Everything is so clean and nice over there and people are extremely polite and calm. At school we prepared a presentation and Kahoot quiz on Slovene culture. After that we presented some of the Slovene cuisine: potica (Slovene holiday cake) and Gorenjka (most popular Slovene chocolate). After the program, organised by the Japanese school, every Japanese student took their Slovene guest to various tourist attractions around the capital. In a span of a week all the students got to see Tokyo’s best attractions. We have visited some of the more iconic sights Tokyo has to offer. A day trip to Kamakura was spent exploring one of Tokyo seaside resorts, different shops and temples, the other day we were enlightened by the digital art museum in which a beautiful display of lights created a unique artwork. Once we were already settled into the way in which Tokyo operates, we were brave enough to explore the city on our own. After getting lost and walking around for some time we finally found the famous Shibuya crossing and thus our adventure was complete. A few days were spent listening to Japanese lessons and learning how their school life differs from ours. On the last day we even made a Japanese dish called Udon. We made it all from scratch along with noodles. This exchange helped us become more culturally enriched, but most importantly, helped our hosts acknowledge the importance of learning English and motive them to study harder and improve their speaking and writing skills.
Katja Gorjup, English teacher, and Milan Zeman, Math teacher from the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium, were in charge of the Tokyo exchange 2019. /Meta Jesenko & Ana Marie Gradišar, year 3/
The best graduases of the DCG in the academic year 2018/19
Each year the entire school community celebrates St. Stanislav’s Day to mark the feast of the Institution’s patron. This year it was under the title of “Building Bridges Together” between all schools in St. Stanislav’s Institution, between the present, past and future, between the present students and alumni, between modern and classical, between you and me.
This year’s celebration was marked with holy mass and a solemn celebration on Wednesday 13th November 2019. Holy mass was celebrated at 3 p.m. in the parish church of St. Vitus in Ljubljana Šentvid by the Archbishop of Ljubljana Msgr. Stanislav Zore. The solemn celebration took place at 5 p. m. in the sports hall of the Alojzij Šuštar Primary School. Ms Alenka Potočnik, alumna of The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium, held the official speech. The performance was be given by the students of all schools in St. Stanislav’s Institution.
Other events in November are taking place, such as the opening of the exhibition of Tadej Žugman’s paintings (Kregar Atrium, November 6, 2019, at 7 p.m.); a festive concert of the Music School of St. Stanislav’s Institution (Matija Tomc Concert Hall, November 12, 2019, at 6 p.m.) and the opening of the ceramics exhibition »Jože Plečnik’s Architecture as an Inspiration« (Meršol Atrium, November 18, 2019, at 6 p.m.). Warmly welcome.
Our school string orchestra, under the skilled mentorship of Drago Arko and conducted by the unmatched Damijan Močnik, went to Krakow for a week from 19th-25th October 2019 to participate in an Erasmus+ exchange with the Polish Conservatorium of Frederick Chopin. After our last rehearsal on Saturday evening we boarded the bus and departed towards Krakow. In the early morning we arrived to Katowice where we attended the Holy Mass and took a city tour and were rather astonished by its beauties. Then we visited the church of saint Faustina Kowalska and stood on top of the bell tower admiring the magnificent view of Krakow. Then we proceeded to our hostel which was in Krakows suburbs. With nothing to do, most went to sleep to prepare for the next day.
Monday arrived too soon and after breakfast we took the bus to the school where we had our first rehearsal with the Polish orchestra. After an exhausting 5-hour practise we had lunch and then were divided into several groups led by Polish students to take a Krakow city tour. The tours were indeed interesting and we learned quite a lot about the city and its people. Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty much alike. In the morning we had rehearsals with the Polish orchestra, then we had rehearsals of our own and finally lunch. Most of us spent both evenings enjoying Krakow nightlife while trying to be sufficiently rested for the next day. Finally Thursday came. The D day of our great concert in the church of the Blessed Aniela Salawa. First we had our solo performance, playing Corellis Sarabande, Gigue and Badinerie and 3rd and 4th Part of Benjamin Britten’s Simple symphony. Afterwards, the Polish came on stage and we played Sanjarija, Ave Maria and Meditation, at which Marjeta Banko blessed our ears with her deeply emotional and astonishing violin solo. Then our Polish colleagues took over, having their choir reinforced with a couple of our girls, and performed their parts. After the concert we felt exhausted but satisfied and once more we boarded the bus, this time taking us home. /Erazem Ivanc, year 4/
