For a moment I took a step back and the angels sang: «Amen. Alleluia.« /Jernej Grlj, alumnus of The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium, 22nd generation/
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 2019.
Each year the entire school community celebrates St. Stanislav’s Day to mark the feast of the Institution’s patron. This year is in particular solemn, as we mark the 25th anniversary of the reestablishment of The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium and The Jeglič Student Home as well as the 10th anniversary of The Alojzij Šuštar Primary School.
We have the pleasure of inviting you to this year’s celebration which will be marked with holy mass and a solemn celebration on Tuesday 13th November 2018. Holy mass will be 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 will take place at 5 p. m. in the sports hall of the Alojzij Šuštar Primary School. Mr. Gregor Čušin, theatre actor, will hold the official speech. The performance will be given by the students of all schools in St. Stanislav’s Institution.
We look forward to meeting you.
Anton Česen, M. A., Director of St. Stanislav’s Institution
The exchange took place from 15th – 19th October 2018, so eleven students and two teachers set off at around 5pm from Ljubljana Airport to Bruxelles. Since it was quite late when we arrived to Nijlen, the town in which we would spend the next few days, our host families took us home and we soon went to bed. The next day started quite early. We gathered at the train station and drove to Brugge, a picturesque town that amazed us with its beautiful architecture. The next stop was the seaside, where we enjoyed the last moments of summer on a wide sandy beach. Wednesday was a school day for us. The Belgian teachers prepared a very interesting task: we had to solve a murder by analysing the crime scene and suspects and doing various experiments. Our team unfortunately condemned the wrong suspect, but we still came up with (in my opinion) a liable story. We spent the afternoon with our hosts, most of us meeting in a nearby town for a drink, and later we went bowling. On Thursday, our host students became our tour guides and led us through the city of Antwerp. We visited the Museum of diamonds, because Antwerp is famous for its diamond trade business. In the afternoon we had some free time, which we spent differently: some went shopping, some devoted Christians visited the cathedral, and some enjoyed the delicious Belgian waffles. The last thing we saw before leaving Antwerp was the house of the famous Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, where we marvelled at his baroque paintings. Friday was, sadly, our last day in Belgium. We spent it by making pralines in a local chocolate atelier and to our delight, we could take our creations home. After saying goodbye to our Belgian hosts who had become our great friends, we left Nijlen and flew back home. The whole exchange was an amazing experience and I think I can speak for everyone when I say that it was definitely worth missing a few school days. /Glorija Ema Glas, year 4/
The Slovene Delegation in EYP, Nik is third from left
The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium graduate Nik Smerkolj is currently attending the International session of European Youth Parliament as a Slovenian delegate. After a short visit to Amsterdam, he has settled in a hostel in a gorgeous neighbourhood of Rotterdam. These are some of his impressions: “Just being here and taking part in a session feels big. The Slovenian delegation is already looking forward to starting with work. All the delegates are divided into 15 committees, each dealing with a different topic, valuable to the European Union. I am a delegate in the committee on foreign affairs (AEFT) and our topic is Sahel – EU relations and current problems that the aforementioned region is facing, such as poverty, internal and external migration, lack of basic services and governance.
Apart from the political aspect, EYP is a great opportunity to meet new friends, improve your English skills, visit new countries and cities and gain some new experiences. EYP is there for you too! If you want to know more about it and how it works do not hesitate to contact me. You can also check the website of EYP Slovenia /https://eypslovenia.org/ or write them directly. /Nik Smerkolj, year 4/
Majestic Joint Performance of The Poles and Slovenes
Each of the final three days of our tour in Poland was a unique experience despite the somewhat monotonous schedule: breakfast, practice, lunch, practice, free time, concert. On Thursday night our music sounded off the walls of St. Florian Basilic in Cracow’s city centre, whereas Friday’s concert took place in Miechow. There we performed at the festival of the University of the Third Age, therefore our singing and playing were often interrupted by enthusiastic cheers of elderly ladies. :) Saturday finally came – that was the big day we had all been expecting for the entire week. After packing all our belongings and leaving the hotel, we had some more time to explore Cracow and enjoy the wonderful weather. As the evening was quickly approaching, we could all feel adrenaline working through us and as the final rehearsals weren’t what we had expected, our nervousness was getting only worse. However, our conductor and mentor advised us to relax, do our best and enjoy the good acoustics. The Divine Mercy Church was packed and full of expectation. After the Polish choir, it was time for the Slovenes to perform. After orchestra’s Concerto Grosso in B flat major by Georg Friedrich Handel the choir performed their varied palette of songs that included everything from Slovene folk melodies to spiritual pieces. What all of us had really been anticipating was actually the joint performance of all Polish and Slovene choirs and orchestras. John Rutter’s Mass of the Children was absolutely magnificent – the interlacement of fast and slow, joyful and melancholic intricate melodies created by the choirs, the symphonic orchestra and the soprano and baritone soloists touched everyone’s hearts and resounded in our ears throughout the magical evening. Still touched by the majestic last chord of Rutter’s masterpiece it was time for us to leave Poland and return back home. We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to collaborate with such talented young musicians, to make new friendships and get an insight into the Polish culture and lifestyle. I am sure every one of us could agree that each concert was a new unforgettable adventure. We are looking forward to playing music with our Polish friends in the future Music to Life exchanges. /Anja Tršek, year 4/
Rehearsals are an Important Part of Any Music Tour
The second reporting from the music tour to Poland runs as follows: on Monday 8th October 2018, we said goodbye to Zakopane and proceeded our journey to Krakow. In the morning we drove to Wieliczka, where we visited the famous salt mines. We could see the underground corridors, learn about the history of mines, touch and taste rock salt and even sing in the fascinating concert hall the chapel of St. Kinga. Its carved walls and floors as well as chandeliers were absolutely impressive. In late afternoon hours we finally made it to our main destination, Krakow. Some students left with their host families, while the rest of us had lunch at the hotel. We spent the evening walking down the picturesque main square of Krakow and singing to people in the streets.
The next morning the orchestra and the choir made their way to the Polish conservatory where we had separate rehearsals. Later, the Polish students guided us through the Old Town and surprised us with some interesting legends about Krakow. During our free time we took some pictures, had a cup of coffee or one of the delicious famous doughnuts, maybe took a carriage ride and keenly absorbed Krakow’s lively life. The relaxed afternoon was followed by two intense hours of rehearsal for Rutter’s Mass of the Children, which we will perform on the main concert on Saturday. The start was chaotic as about 150 energetic musicians couldn’t concentrate and just kept chatting. However, by the end of the rehearsal, some parts of the magical melodies sounded quite promising.
On Wednesday morning we had some joint rehearsals again and were excited about the progress we had managed to make so far. The Slovene orchestra and the choir got on the bus once more and drove to Nowy Sacz, where we had our third concert. Having performed versatile melodies in the beautiful Town Hall, we had dinner and returned to Krakow to get some sleep for the rest of our busy tour in Poland. /Anja Tršek, year 4/
The String Orchestra and St. Stanislav Youth Choir of The Diocesan ClassicalGymnasium will take part in the Erasmus+ exchange Music to Life program from 5th – 14th October 2018. This will be a return the visit to the Polish students who visited St. Stanislav’s Institution in May 2018. Approximately 90 students and teachers got on the bus and set off at around 10 in the evening.
On Saturday morning we arrived to our first destination, Zakopane, a smaller city and famous winter resort. Excitement visibly filled us with energy and hid our lack of sleep caused by the night drive. After settling in our hotel we had some free time which most of us used to take a walk around the lovely town or hike up a small hill right above our hotel in order to enjoy the breath taking view of Zakopane. Saturday afternoon was the time for our first short concert in one of the local churches. The friendly audience gave us a huge round of applause and eagerly asked for another song although we weren’t too satisfied with our performance. We spent the rest of the evening exploring Zakopane by taking a walk through the city center, enjoying local food and live music in small cosy cafes.
On Sunday morning both the orchestra and the choir participated at the holy mass. After that, we impatiently waited to see what “lunch with a surprise” on our programs meant. We were more than thrilled to see horse carriages waiting for us! Local coachmen took us to a big meadow where Polish girls dressed in national costumes welcomed us with their traditional music. They set up fires on which we grilled our lunch while singing Slovenian and Polish songs. In the end we all sang to the melodies of Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love as one. This was a wonderful introduction to our least favourite part of the day – practice. We spent the rest of the afternoon working on our pieces and were proud to see some major improvement as hours passed.
All of us are having a wonderful time and are looking forward to our departure to Krakow where we’ll finally meet our Polish friends once again. /Anja Tršek, year 4/
The traditional international sport event took place from 24th – 28th September 2018. Apart from the Slovene and Dutch teams, there were also high school students from The Czech Republic, Germany and Italy. The event was the fourteenth in a row, this time dedicated to floorball with 21 matches taking place. The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium took the second place, while the Czech team won the tournament. Next year the hosting school will be the one of the winners in The Czech Republic. /Tea Obrč, exchange coordinator/
The second teaching learning activity for students and teachers in the Erasmus+ project Eurostronomia took place from 16th – 22nd September 2018, uniting 33 young astronomy enthusiasts from Germany, France, Portugal, Scotland, Romania and Slovenia. Three teachers and eight students from St. Stanislav’s (5 from Teh Diocesan Classical Gynasium and 3 from Alojzij Šštar Primary School) took part: Tadeja Drašler, Martin Čokl, Matej Urbančič, Špela Plevel, Eva Jeraj, Ana Julija Prešeren, Eva Jocif, Filip Marinšek, Zala Vintar, Sara Lesar and Alenka Battelino. We participated in numerous amazing workshops, listened to fabulous speakers (e.g. prof. Martin Hendry, LIGO), watched highly interesting documentaries and movies on latest discoveries in the field of astronomy, danced Ceilidh, tried Scottish food, experienced a real Scottish storm and so much more. Mr Čokl had a workshop on constructing Mars Rover and Mrs Battelino had a workshop on East-West Space Race.
It was another wonderful experience working in the inspiring environment of good friends. We all appreciated wonderful hospitality and the perfect job done by the organizing team at Wellington School. We all look forward to our next project meeting which will take place in Macedonia between 6th – 11th July, 2019. /Alenka Battelino, project coordinator/
St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir at Europa Cantat in Talin
St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir of The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium under the conductorship of Helena Fojkar Zupančič visited Estonia from 31st July to 4th August 2018, where it represented Slovenia at the biggest European choral convention. Being organized every three years, this unique festival usually brings together more than 4000 singers, conductors, composers and choral managers from Europe and elsewhere for 10 days of singing enjoyment. It was an honour for the choir to be presented with the festival flag, which was brought to Slovenia, as Slovenia is the hosting state of the next Europa Cantat 2021.
The prime event was the concert given in Talin with some prominent guests, such as the honorary consul of The Republic of Slovneia in Estonia Tõnis Tamme, deputy major of Ljubljana Dejan Crnek, many conductors, composers and choral singers from all over the world. »Majestic, unforgettable, mastery and inspiring …were only some superlatives used by the audience to describe the above mentioned concert in Talin. It is every singer’s wish to sing in front of the audience that breaths with the choir from the first to the last chord and rewarding it with a loud and long applause. It was an absolute joy for the girls to be a part of this heartwarming singing event. See you all at the next Europa Cantat in 20121 in Ljubljana, Slovenia! /Lily Schweiger Kotar/
