Newsletter no. 5

School 21

No. 5 June 2018

Digitally & Socially Yours eTwinning & Erasmus+ project 2017-1-CZ01-KA219-035484

Graduation ceremonies in the partner schools End of the school year activities at HGS Special points of interest:  End of the school year activities  Graduation ceremonies

Inside this issue: End of the school year activities at HGS

1

The end of the school year in Poland 2 Graduation and Prom in Papa

3

End of the school year activities in Tabor

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Graduation and Prom in Tabor

5

Graduation ceremony in Lugoj

6

The end of the school year is marked by the final exams (Abitur). In April the students had to pass the written exams and in June they must pass the oral exams to finally get their Abitur, which enables them to go to university. On the 6th of July thre will be a prom with a graduation ceremony in the assembly hall of our school building, during which the students are solemnly given their high school graduation certificates by Mr Ade. Our school’s charity club has been and is still very active at the end oft he school year. The students have prepared posters against environmental pollution and collected money for the local food bank. In May Mr Stürmer, who runs the food bank in Schwetzingen, was invited by the charity club to a discussion about food banks. The students who take part in the charity club are also planning an afternoon (with cakes and biscuits) with refugee children from a refugee accomodation in Ketsch (near Schwetzingen), and of course they still look after the refugee children at the

women’s café in Schwetzingen.

One of our classes (7b) sold selfmade cakes at school and gave the money to the local animal shelter, so that the women who run that shelter came to school to thank the students and to give them more information about their work.

There have also been two school exchanges, one with our twin town Lunéville in France (in April) and one with Pápa in Hungary (in March), and of course there was our visit in Pulawy (Poland) in April with the Erasmus + project!

In May we had a talent show at the HGS, during which the students of all ages could prove their talents as singers, dancers, acrobats or musicians .

In the same month the students of the literature club of our school presented their first detective story, written by 16 students, at a press conference.

Schwetzingen team

School 21 Digitally & Socially Yours

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The end of the school year in Poland

...the events that are celebrated in this time become an unforgettable experience and stay in young people’s minds forever.

When students are in their final year in high school, during which most of them turn 19, there are a few important things to crop up in their lives.

One of them is the pre-graduation ball, a little similar to American school proms, However, in Poland, these proms are organised at the end of January or the beginning of February and they are called studniówka, as they normally befall one hundred days before the graduation exam.

But what exactly are such proms? Well, all (or almost all) of the students who are going to graduate from school in a given year dance, eat, sing and have fun with their teachers and sometimes even parents! Such parties usually take place in restaurant halls, or, which is becoming less and less common nowadays, in schools gyms or canteens.

During such parties students and teachers talk to each other, dance with each other, and they appear just like close friends. It is the time of final relaxation before the hard part of the year, namely, their final school leaving exams.

Such exams are perhaps one the most important events in their lives. They are called matura, the so called maturity exams.

Matura is a series of exams which consists of taking three compulsory subject tests at a basic level. Typically these are: Polish, Maths and English as a foreign language.

Additionally, the languages have to be taken in both written and oral part, which makes it five compulsory exams altogether. For those schoolleavers who are planning to start a university education, there is an opportunity to take additional subjects, which must be taken at an extended level only. If they do well at them and their score is decent, they will certainly be accepted by best universities. If not, you will find your place at less popular or less renowned colleges.

Finally, there is a graduation day ceremony which typically happens on last Friday of April and it is before the school leaving exams. It is a moving school celebration

where young people sing songs, recite, bid their final farewell with the younger students.

At times, there is an exchange of small gifts or souvenirs. Once the ceremony is over, graduates walk to their classrooms for a final meeting with their form teachers. At these meeting, young people are given their final certificates, they hand out flowery bouquets to the teachers as tokens of gratitude. The best graduates receive special certificates with a white and red stripe distinction. The colours are an obvious reference to the Polish national colours. After that, former students go out to a restaurant, a club or for a picnic to

celebrate this day in private.

All in all, a final year in high schools has always been a hectic time. Nevertheless, the events that are celebrated in this time become an unforgettable experiences and stay in young people’s minds forever.

Unsurprisingly, most young people look forward to this time.

Jędrzej Batyra, Puławy team

Issue 5, June 2018

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Graduation and Prom in Pápa Prom – Türr Grammar School, Pápa Our prom always takes place in January. We go to the town’s theatre where the graduating classes perform a colourful show. It consists of dances, poems, mostly funny plays (sometimes impersonating teachers). Sometimes we can see short films about the classes’ lives. The highlight of the event in the Waltz. Especially girls look forward to wearing beautiful white dresses and look like brides.

At the end of the event the formteachers pin a small ribbon on the students’ collars. Prom in Hungarian is called szalagavató – ribbon inauguration.

After the show the student and teacher have a festive dinner. Then there is a party.

Graduation Graduate students in Hungary leave school a month earlier than their younger peers. The graduation ceremony in Pápa always takes place on the first Satur-

day in May. In other towns it can be Friday though.

Students of the lower classes are asked to collect as many flowers as they can. On Saturday morning the school is full of the scent of lilacs, roses and pine. The graduating classes walk along the nicely decorated corridors to the schoolyard where speeches are made and the best students are awarded. The most popular song is called Gaudeamus igitur … . We sing it in Latin and Hungarian.

Our town has a nice tradition of celebrating graduates. It attracts thousands of people watching the parade of some 600 students of 6 six secondary schools through the main square to the open-air stage of the town where there is a nice ceremony.

After that students reunite with their families and have lunch with their guests. Two days later on Monday they start their written examinations. One subject a day. The oral examinations always start after 15 June. Graduation ceremony in Hungarian is ballagás – walking away slowly.

A week before the graduation ceremony classes visit their teachers and serenade them. Traditionally they finish it at their form-teacher’s house around midnight.

After passing the school leaving examinations the classes hold a banquet. It is a much more informal event.

Szabó Zsóka and Varga Hajnalka, 10. A Papa team

Our town has a nice tradition of celebrating graduates.

It attracts thousands of people watching the parade of some 600 students

School 21 Digitally & Socially Yours

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End of the school year activities in Tabor Excursions Classes of our school go on excursions during each school year. They are one day long and students visit either various companies or museums/sights.

Every year we have one excursion in winter and one in spring.

Every class must choose an excursion focused on history and curiosities.

We can travel only in Czechia and most of the time we visit Prague. Last year we were in the Prague National Theatre. We had an amazing guide that showed us round. He told us about history of the Every year we theatre and Czech culture. After that we were on have one the Charles Bridge. We learned that history of the bridge dates back to the 14th century. It’s excursion in the oldest bridge that leads across the river Vltawinter and one in va. There are also a lot of musicians and artists.

We saw a lot of sights such as Bethlehem Chapel, where Jan Hus, a famous Czech reformer of spring. Every the 13th century, preached in the Czech lanclass must choose guage .

Our second excursion was about bioloan excursion gy and anatomy. It also took place in Prague. focused on history We saw every parts of body and many organs.

There was an exhibition of human development and curiosities and evolution of human babies. The amazing part of exhibition is that everything was from real humans.

At the end of the school year each class has a chance to go on a two-day school trip.

They can choose where to go and plan the programme. Most common destinations are within 50 km from Tábor, often in campsites with a lake and sports facilities. J Last year we decided that we wanted to visit a car campsite in Třeboň for two days. On the last week of June we travelled by train there. Our journey wasn’t too long because it took only around one and half hour. When we arrived, we checked in. We lived in cabins for three or four people. We were to explore new things, so we visited Třeboň square where

we found a pizza restaurant and had the best pizza ever. After that we visited the castle. It was fantastic! We spent our evening by bonfire and we sang songs and ate sausages and marshmallows. It was a funny awesome evening. We also played games like volleyball, football, we danced and we swam in the nearby lake which was cold, but refreshing.

It was nice to spent our last days of school together before summer holidays. The last day was sad because we had to say goodbye for two months, but we are really looking forward to our school trip this year.

Tabor team

Sports day Every year our school organizes a sports day, usually towards the end of the second school term. There are many sports to choose from like volleyball, baseball, football, but the main thing is the Run for Africa, which is a charity event.

How does it work? Every runner finds sponsors. They give them money for every lap.

One lap has 800 metres. Sponsors choose what amount of money they donate for one lap. After, the students bring the collected money to school which confirms that they handed in the money and sends it to the bank account of the charity called „The People In Need“. They will build a school in Africa.

Pavla, Johana, Pavlína Tabor team

Issue 5, June 2018

Page 5

Graduation and Prom in Tabor Graduation exam – Maturita exam in Tábor At our school we have two fields and each have different graduation exam. The first one is business academy and the second one is economical lycee. The state graduation is in the Czech language and a foreign language (English/German/Russian/French) or Mathematics. Czech and English languages are composed from three parts, in case of English it´s a 100 min didactic test (listening, reading, use of English), a 60 min essay and a 15 min oral exam. In Mathematics is there only a 100 min test. All the students have to do a 5 -hour practical economical exam. At business academy the school graduation exam consists of Economics and Accounting, at economical lycee it is in Economics and Tourism.

When taking an oral exam, each student chooses from 25 topics in English and 20 in Czech, then they

Proms in Tábor Proms at high schools in Tábor begin in October every year. Every week a different class has the prom in the Hotel Palcát or elsewhere. The Palcát is the most popular one.

Preparing already starts in the first grade and each student gives some money for four years. Because we have to collect roughly € 7, 400 for prom costs (the rent for the venue or the band are among the highest). Then students choose the date of their prom and a place, of course. Our class made the booking this school year.

Lately, it’s getting more and more common to book a moderator, a cameraman for a prom video and a professional photographer.

After that, in the third grade we have to choose glasses, sashes and roses and usually students choose special performances for the evening, too.

In the final year, one day comes a cameraman and makes a short video where all of students are actors. In the prom it is traditional to prepare our group performance.

When the D Day starts, every participant is

have 20 minutes for preparation and finally 15 minutes to tell the teachers what they learned and remembered. Every day four people sit for their oral exams in the morning and four people in the afternoon. There are two teachers – examiners and a committee. One is the teacher who taught us the subject and the other one is assisting and there is the head of the committee, who comes from a different school, the deputy head is another teacher from the school.

When the students pass their finals successfully, they are, together with their families and friends invited to the town register office in whose ceremonial hall the certificates are handed over to new school graduates.

Tábor team When the students

pass their finals successfully, they are, together with their families and friends invited to the town register office in whose ceremonial hall the certificates are handed over to new nervous. All visitors must pay about 4 € and school graduates. they can win in a raffle if they want to take part in it. Then, all the students are introduced to visitors because they have an opening ceremony.

After the ceremony a big party begins where all participants are invited to enjoy themselves, drink and dance. At midnight comes the Midnight surprise and there students most often show show a funny performance.

And . . . the prom ends at about 3 a. m., but the prom students continue celebrating until next morning.

Tábor Team

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Graduation ceremony in Lugoj Wednesday, 23th of May 2018, was the day when the National College “Coriolan Brediceanu” from Lugoj has said “goodbye” to another generation of promising students.

About 100 excited pupils had entered the doors of our dear school for the last time as pupils on the morning of the 23th of May in order to attend their last lesson along with the teachers that had been not only a person to give them lessons to learn at school, but also a person that during the 4 years together has got to form them as families. Moreover, the students were also welcomed by the future generations following them which decorated the classrooms that had been home for them during the years, and also gave them an encouraging speech for what was next to happen. Soon after their last lesson was over they left the school to become future students, but before that, the actual graduation event took place.

It all happened at the “Casa de cultura Lugoj” which hosted about 500 people. Besides the students with tears in their eyes, some sad because it was over, a beautiful time of their life that was surely going to affect the adults they are meant to become, others excited and keen on living the new experiences that are about to happen, there were also the teachers waving goodbye to another generation of children that had grown up under their own eyes and wishing their best in life. The room was also full of emotional parents, grandparents and relatives

that had come to see and support their children in their process of growing up, as graduation is an important step in the life of a child. Other from that, there were students of our school that came to attend the event and support their older colleagues and friends.

It was an emotional and touching moment for all of us that were there that day, I believe. The headmaster of our school along with the teachers and the best students of each class have managed to cause the audience not only to cry because it was over ,but also to laugh and smile due to all the good things that had happened during their time in high school.

Graduation is a moment in the life of a person when everything is changing because it’s the end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood. However, it is a moment of important change that will forever remain in our memory.

This year, everything was there: a little bit of sadness, a little bit of happiness, a lot of hope, excitement and enthusiasm and many, many students looking forward to a new stage in their lives.

As far as I am concerned, I wish all the graduate students the best of luck and I hope for them to live a life of fulfillment.

Ralu Trandafir. , Lugoj team

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