For the second time in a row The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium will take part in a English language competition Best in English. Students will have a unique opportunity to challenge their English language skills in an international competition, which will take place on 30th November, 2017.

The Best In English contest is a unique worldwide English language competition for high school students aged between 15 and 19.The level of the test is B1 – C1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. So far 15 107 students from almost 683 schools from 28 countries have taken part. Our students proved last year they are really good at English – we look  forward with eager anticipation to the competition to come. /Tatjana Jarc/

 

On Tuesday, 21st November 2017, a translation workshop took place at The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium. It was led by Mr. Peter Jakša, the representative for languages from Directorate-General for Translation of European Commission. Students got to know various aspects of the work of translator, practised translating skills and were given practical advice from an experienced translator. Students believe the workshop was very useful and occasionally challenging. It was an excellent preparation for the forthcoming translation competition Juvenes Translatores, in which the students of the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium will have the opportunity to compete already on the following day.  We wish them good luck!/Tatjana Jarc/

An exchange with a Japanese school in Tokyo took place from 17th – 21st November 2017 in St. Stanislav’s Institution. Nine Japanese students were accompanied by the deputy head Tadoshi Takizawa and their English teacher Yuka Marubashi.  This is how Jerneja, one of the hosts, saw the event through her eyes. This has been the first student exchange with a Japanese school ever.

Much anticipated exchange

Japan – the land of sushi, samurai and green tea 9400 km away. Homeland to a girl who will be my guest for the next couple of days. A girl from a totally unknown culture, who speaks a completely different language. You probably understand why I was nervous. On Friday, we awaited our guests at the entrance of our school, where we discussed excitedly everything we read on the internet and in books about the Japanese culture. When we saw the white school van approaching we still couldn’t quite believe that after a year the exchange is actually taking place and we are about to meet our Japanese friends. Soon we were standing face to face with 9 smiling girls and two teachers. When we all found our exchange partners, the guests went to change into their school uniforms. After that, we took them on a quick tour of the school. They were especially impressed by St. Stanislav’s Chapel and the dining hall! Then it was time for the Slovene teacher Mr Puc to explain the basics of Slovene language and history, which they found really interesting. Ana and Lucija then presented our beautiful country Slovenia – its traditions, history, cuisine and delightful hidden places. They couldn’t believe there are only 2 million people in the whole country! After lunch, when they tasted and really enjoyed tortellini, we went to Ljubljana city centre using the public bus, which was quite a shock to our guests, especially when they heard there is no underground and the only way to travel around the city is by bus. After having a quick tour of the most important sights, there was some free time for us. I took my guest to Ljubljana skyscraper to show her the view from the top, but I felt a little embarrassed when calling the building a skyscraper when I heard how tall some buildings in Tokyo are!

 Visit to the Japanese Ambassador to Slovenia Keiji Fukuda

After that, the entire group paid a visit to the Japanese ambassador to Slovenia Mr Keiji Fukuda, who kindly welcomed us in his residence and even prepared a delicious dinner for all of us – his chefs made sushi, which I had the honour of trying for the first time. I even learnt how to use chopsticks – well, at least I tried, it’s harder than it seems! It was quite late when we were finished, so my guest Luna slept almost all the time on the way home.

 Enjoying Bled and The Soča Valley

On Saturday I showed her the traditional Slovenian breakfast that helped her discover how amazing honey on bread with butter is. After that we took the train to Bled and went on a short walk and even went up the castle, where she loved the view and the museum inside. Naturally, we had to try the famous traditional cream cake and we even went shopping for some souvenirs. When we returned home by train, we decided to watch a Japanese movie about a brave Samurai that rescues a girl in danger – Rurouni Kenshin, but we were both really tired, so we went to sleep right after having watched the movie. The next day we went on a really long walk by the Soča river, which Luna knows because of the Narnia movie that was once filmed here. We even stopped at a cafe where she tried the amazing (even though maybe not so traditional) hot chocolate. It was an outstanding weekend filled with different activities, but Luna was still quite happy to see a Japanese friend when we came to Jeglič Student Home. I think the exchange has been amazing so far and I can’t wait for tomorrow, to show Luna a few other hidden and beautiful corners of our country. /Jerneja Koren, year 3/

Each year the entire school community of St. Stanislav’s Institution celebrates St. Stanislaus’ Day to mark the feast of the Institution’s patron. This year the holy mass and the solemn celebration took place on 14th November 2017, in particular to celebrate the many talents and successes of the pupils of Alojzij Šuštar Primary School and the students of Diocesan Classical Gymnasium. It is also to express gratitude to the keen supporters of the Institution and Heavenly Father for all the abundant blessings. This year’s celebration was in hands of PA teachers, whose programme was a brilliant feast of mind, soul and body. The performance was given by children and students of all schools in St. Stanislav’s Institution, proving that the Institution’s mission is being admirably fulfilled.

St. Stanislaus – Reaching Your Goals With Perseverance

The Archbishop of Ljubljana Msgr. Stanislav Zore, who celebrated the mass with other bishops, many school and parish priests, spoke of the importance of finding motives to carry on in life despite failures, which are a part of it all. He offered a few remarkable examples from everyday life and from the life of Institution’s patron saint St. Stanislaus Kostka. The latter persisted in fulfilling the goal set, proving that no matter what, nobody can take away experience that fulfil our lives. St. Stanislav Youth Choir under the conductorship of Damijan Močnik and St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir under the baton of Helena Fojkar Zupančič sang at the mass. The latter performed Missa brevis for choir and percussion by Swedish composer Per Gunnar Petterson.

Changing Physical Exertion into Something Positive

The event’s guiding thread was With sports through life, which was neatly demonstrated through the acts of kindergarten children doing some folk dances and breath taking performances by rhythmic gymnasts, jugglers, basketball players, dance groups and finally the acrobats. Director of St. Stanislav’s Institution Roman Globokar, Ph. D., accentuated in his address that healthy physical development goes hand in hand with intellectual and moral growth of any individual. The official speech was held by Stanislav Pinter, assistant professor, Ph. D. of PA at the Faculty of Sports, University of Ljubljana, who encouraged the audience, in particular the young, to do sports at any point in life as it invigorates and offers an uplifting learning and competitive environment. All this helps you to embrace the positive perspective of life.

The first year alumni of The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium, who are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their maturity exams this year, pleasantly surprised the school community with presenting resources for the Needy Family Fund of St. Stanislav’s Institution. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

 

Each year the entire school community celebrates St. Stanislav’s Day to mark the feast of the Institution’s patron. 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 14th November 2017. 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 new sports hall of the Alojzij Šuštar Primary School. Mr.  Stanislav Pinter, assistant professor, Ph. D. of PA, will hold the official speech. This year the celebration will focus on the art of sports, which apart from Grammata and Music, was also at the heart of the curriculum of ancient schools. The course of physical education was when children practiced wrestling, jumping, running and throwing of discus and javelin. They also played team games such as early forms of field hockey and soccer. This was to make their body strong and their mind courageous. The performance will be given by children and students of all schools in St. Stanislav’s Institution.

We look forward to meeting you.

Roman Globokar, Ph. D., Director of St. Stanislav’s Institution

St. Stanislav’s Insittution is glad to announce that another Erasmus+ project was granted funds for the next three years, from September 2017 –  August 2020.

Eurostronomia is an Erasmus+ project connecting eight schools in eight countries, Bulgaria (SOU Emilyan Stanev, Veliko Tarnovo), France (OGEC Saint Dominique, Mortefontaine), Germany (Mallinckrodt Gymnasium, Dortmund), Macedonia (SUGS Georgi Dimitrov, Skopje), Portugal (Escola Secundaria Henrique Medina, Esposende), Romania (Colegiul national “Constantin Cantacuzino”, Targoviste),  Slovenia (Zavod Sv. Stanislava, Ljubljana) and the UK,  Scotland (Wellington School, Ayr).

Our main theme is Astronomy and through our collaboration we will strengthen STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills, communication skills and European citizenship. /Alenka Battelino, project coordinator/

 

Visiting a Friend

The concert was held on 26th October 2017 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir. It felt like visiting a friend – the audience enjoyed the homely atmosphere, honesty was in the air and the choir greeted the listeners with the song on its lips: “God grant us a good evening!” In this way, the host shares with the guest his greatest treasure – a sonorous gift, which the audience treasures for rainy days – everybody his own song in his own way. Songs become virtually alive under the experienced hands of the conductor Helena Fojkar Zupančič.

Choir’s Mission is to Share

The choir prides itself on clear sound, sharp focus and valid interpretation of the conductor’s determined, yet soft moves. When something beautiful is created it needs to be shared with others, which is why sharing is the key word in choir’s mission statement: »Singing in the choir is about sharing just about everything: discipline, hard work, fellowship, focus, trust, vigour and a love for singing. The moment a beautiful sonority is created, it is time to pass it on through concert performance. When sharing their true selves in front of the audience, the girls become an inspiration for others and the mission is accomplished. Thus, music is changing the world we live in«. It is a bold statement that the choir changes the world, but this is exactly what the girls do. On the stages in Slovenia and abroad, they perform with ease and self-confidence, easily deal with big concert halls and convincingly interpret various musical genres in front of the world’s greatest choral authorities.

 Freedom and Hard Work

 From a distance the choir makes a great impression, but from close up it is simply inspiring. Girls are humble, grateful and ready to talk. Obviously, they are willing to sacrifice a lot of time for choir singing. Endless gestures and repeated tones offer an impression of stunning synchronisation. They trust the conductor’s personal charisma and her leadership, as Helena Fojkar Zupančič leaves them freedom for creativity, but she also demands hard work, which brings about singing at such a high level and satisfaction with good work at concerts or rehearsals. With her clear vision, this balance is not difficult to keep. Teachers in the classroom learn from the young singers as well – they are joy-bearers and optimists; they are a living proof of what is possible if you have a motive and love.

A New CD Jerusalem

On the 20th anniversary of St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir of The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium a new CD was released. It features also the songs sang at the 11th World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona this summer. Three novelties need to be mention as they were composed specifically for this occasion for St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir. These are Jerusalem by Damijan Močnik, My First Agel by Ambrož Čopi and God of the Open Air by Bob Chilcott. The composers reflect upon their works in the CD sleeve notes. The songs from the CD are timeless, however, with every concert they gain on quality interpretation. With the new CD, the choir is coming to our homes; girls’ singing places you in an entire new space and time, if you only want it. Open paths invite us to follow the girls in the future as well – this is not difficult, providing you love music. St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir gives a formative influence on the audience and hopefully the choir will continue to surprise with unique singing, its presence and other musical gifts they share generously with us. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

The above meaningful quote was a guiding thought for ten students of The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium and some others from different Slovene high schools (from Maribor, Celje and Brežice), who joined the excursion to Krakow and Auschwitz on 25th and 26th October 2017. They were accompanied by the Auschwitz survivor Sonja Vrščaj along with a history teacher and director of The Maribor Synagogue Boris Hajdinjak, who both authentically presented the WWII atrocities committed in the concentration camp Auschwitz. Out of 63.000 Slovene prisoners in Auschwitz, 1.350 never made it back home. A television crew from Radio-Television Slovenia made a programme to mark the occasion, for which students showed a strong interest.

Here are a few impressions by our students, which speak louder than any reports. Luka was disturbed by the discrepancy between the atmosphere in lively Krakow and then deadly Auschwitz and extremely thankful that he can live in peace. Marjeta was touched by Ms Vrščaj’s testimony, which shed an entirely different light on the Auschwitz experience. “For me it is totally incomprehensible what the motive of chief executors was? What role did conscious manipulation play? These questions leave me feeling empty; however, what is of top priority today is that such a mistake will never be repeated again.” Nika appreciated the fact that the students had the opportunity to listen to striking testimonies given by Ms Vrščaj and Hitler’s stolen children already on the way to Poland. The stories vivdly depicted the time of cruel reality. “Although we were prepared to what we were going to see, I could not get rid of the shocking feeling, when entering gas chambers or seeing a pile of cut hair… This is one of the things everyone should see in their lifetime.” Nina was affected in particular by Ms Vrščaj words that the Slovenes in Auschwitz suffered also so that the young today would have a homeland and be proud Slovenes. “This is one of the visits every young Slovene should make in order to understand the price that was paid for freedom we enjoy.” Tjaž had hard times understanding human evil on one hand and on the other human drive to survive. Kristjan found it unimaginable that he was standing on the very same place where some many prisoners died. He was shocked at ghastly circumstances prisoners had to face, the sight of prisoners’ personal items, crematorium and the starvation cell. “When I returned home I realised that the world was not the same any more. At least not for me:”

All the students were also critical of the impact words may have on triggering such monstrosities through improper use of social network services. An echoing snowball effect may be created, and heavy casualties are inflicted on both sides – the aggressor’s and victims’. War has never solved any problem.

The person in charge of the Auschwitz excursion at The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium is Daša Oberč Deželak, teacher of French and Spanish. She has organized it impeccably and with much committment for the second time in a row. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of St. Stanislav Gilrs’ Choir of the diocesan Classical Gymnasium we have the pleasure of inviting you to the concert given on 26 October 2017 at 7.30 pm in Slovenian Philcharmonic, Ljubljana.

This will be a lovely occassion to celebrate the utmost artistic year, when the choir performed at the 11th World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona – as the first Slovene Choir ever to participate in such an event. This is also the occasion of the choir’s release of their new CD entitled Jerusalem, which contains Slovene folk songs, commissioned novelties written on the occasion of the above mentioned world symposium and some other pieces. We will be honoured by your presence. It will be all about sharing our true selves, so you need to be there.

Tickets are available at St. Stanislav’s Institution call ++386 1 58 22 245.

The headmaster of the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium Simon Feštanj paid his first visit with Alenka Battelino and Lily Schweiger Kotar to Wellington School in Ayr. We were very kindly taken care of by all the staff, especially Wellington headmaster Mr Simon Johnson and international coordinator Mrs Susan Coontz. A two-day visit (5th and 6th October 2017) was fruitful in terms of getting to know the Scottish education system better and learning a lot about what Wellington school is all about. Wellington is the only independent school in Ayrshire that provides an excellent all-round education for the young aged 3 to 18. It consists of the Nurseries, The Junior and The Senior School, which include about 600 students all together. We were happy to witness at every step what excellent and supportive environment for learning the school offers. Small classes, motivated students and teachers, a wide range of academic subjects and opportunities for extracurricular activities all contribute to fruitful results in academic field and life in general. One of the most interesting aspects of the visit was definitely lesson observation of which outdoor experiments in physics were absolutely demonstrative and informative. The unarguable highlight of the visit was a school show Les Miserables, which was performed by students from S1 – S6 (aged 12-17) and was absolutely stunning in terms of singing, acting and general stage presence. What a wonderful theatrical evening and a great display of talents! Well done Wellington school!

It’s ten years since the exchanges between both schools started and we trust the fruitful cooperation will continue in the future. The first opportunity is the student Erasmus + mobility Eurostronomia in April 2018.  About 40 students from eight countries will join us at St. Stanislav’s Institution to break the ice.

The report cannot be concluded without mentioning the weather in Scotland –well, no dreich* weather this time. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

*Scottish – dreary; bleak