FCE - 2n BATX - 2014

Time goes by very quickly, and here we are, again, to congratulate all those 2nd Batxillerat students who will leave our school with their FCE qualification. 

Thanks to the agreement between the University of Cambridge, ESOL examinations and the Fundació Escola Cristiana de Catalunya they've had the possibility to take the FCE through our school and with better economical facilities. Most of them have taken profit of it!

English is really important in our current society, that's why we are so proud of you all, as you have dedicated part of your free time to preparing the FCE. We are sure it'll be very useful to you. 

So, Lluís, Arnau, Anna, Alba, Laura, Gerard, Laia, Mariona, Jordi, Joan, David, Sergi, Jaume, Dani, Cristina, Núria, Roger, Paula ... CONGRATULATIONS! And go on working in the world of languages!!! 

ITALY 2014. Laura M.

ITALY, A DREAM COME TRUE

How many times have you wished to go to a different country with all your friends? Well, I achieve it! I went to Italy with all my classmates and I passed really good moments.

The first day we went to Pisa, which in my opinion is not an extraordinary city, Pisa only has three monuments (the baptistery, the “duomo” and the Leaning Tower of Pisa), that’s all. After there, we went to Lucca. There I got lost with Silvia, Laia and Mariona while we were riding tandems. We only had 15 minutes to arrive at the place we had rented them and to the square we said to meet all again. So, we had to ride around the wall as fast as we could. At certain point we stopped because we hadn’t found anything and we only had between 10 and 5 minutes left. We asked some citizens and finally we could arrive on time, even a few minutes before! After that curious and funny adventure, we went to the hotel in Florence. There, the first thing we did was taking a shower; we needed it a lot!! The horrible surprise we had was when we tasted the dinner’s food. As far as I’m concerned a lot of the students think that the pasta was too hard. The taste wasn’t nasty, it was good, but some dishes, like the pasta, were weird, for example the flan had powders inside.

The second day, we went to the Museum Uffizi; we needed to wait for approximately 3 hours. I was shattered, I had backache… With some friends, we played cards and Joan did some magic tricks with them. Silvia, Laia, Anna, Yang, Mariona and I went to the square “Porcellino” where we touched the nose of the statue of a piglet. It’s widely known that if someone touches its nose with a coin in his hand while he is thinking a wish, and after the coin fall down and enter in a grating, it will be done. At night, after dinner, we went to “Piazza della Signoria” where Lurdes, Mario and some students spend a joke to other students: we said that they had to circling above a mark on the floor and that then they would notice a burning sensation. After that some of my group of friends and I played a game that consist of not to say yes, no or ok; among other games.

The third day, we went to San Gimigniano. There the most of the students visited the museum of the torture and the death penalty. In the last one, Miriam tried to take a picture of Anna P in front of the guillotine, figuring that her head was the one someone cut. But in that moment, Joan touched Anna’s neck and she started to scream and she ran away, so I appeared on the picture instead of her. It was so funny! In San Gimigniano I also ate an ice cream from an ice cream saloon which has some prizes to some flavors as the best in the world in 2014. After that, we went to Siena where my friends and I had a small problem to find a cheap and cheerful restaurant. After searching it on the city, we went to the first place we were and there we found a good restaurant. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to eat, so we finished our lunch on the street. After that, we returned to Florence, to its viewer. Everyone tried to take pictures of Florence at night. Almost all my pictures were wrong, but finally I got to take a few good.

The fourth day, we left the hotel and we went to Padua. Laia, Silvia, Mariona, Yang, Joan, Sergi and I ate at an amazing and cheap restaurant which its food was really good (extraordinary). When we finished the lunch, we visited a bit the city and we met again with the other students. We took a visit of the “Cappella degli Scrovegni”. Few minutes before the last meeting, we passed next to a supermarket and we entered in. We didn’t have enough time to arrive at the square on time, but for me that didn’t care, so I started to run and stopped some times because the other girls didn’t want to run more. Finally, Laia and I arrived, and after us more people started to reach the square, and all of them had to pay “the penalty”.

The fifth day, we caught the “vaporetto” to San Marcos. I visited it with Laia, Silvia, Anna, Mariona, Yang, Arnau and Sergi. We did a lot of things, but the most awesome was what we did to take a gondola. We talked with a lot of gondoliers and they always said 80€ per gondola (we needed two gondolas) and someone knock off to 60€. We said no, and finally we found a gondolier who offered us each gondola for 50€. It was a very good deal! After that, we returned to the hotel. At the end of the day, the teachers let us go for a walk. I went out with Laia, Silvia and Mariona. We walked, we sang, and furthermore, we played at a park next to the hotel.

The sixth day, we went to Burano and Murano, where we didn’t do anything spectacular. And we returned to San Marcos. There, Laia and I went to the “Palazzo Ducale” and inside of it there was the “Ponte dei Sospiri” and, moreover, an old prison. We were here and there, and after we couldn’t find the exit. To get out, we had to pass under the rope which separates the driveway and out. But, it wasn’t all. After all the visits, when we went to catch the bus, it wasn’t there, it was damaged! We were waiting almost 3 hours. While we were waiting, I and some more were doing some logical problems: one is impossible! We haven’t the answer yet! Finally, a bus of another group of the hotel picked us and we could return to the hotel, unfortunately, we couldn’t go to the disco.

The seventh and last day, we went to Verona and after to Milan. In Verona, in Juliet’s house there’s a Juliet’s sculpture, and we tough one of her chest because is said that it will help you in love. In a store next to the Juliet’s house, the employees stitch your name on a card, free! In Milan, I bought pasta and with Mariona, Laia and Silvia went to an Italian shop called “Ovs” and bought some clothes (I only got one shirt). Laia and I had to run to arrive on time at the square. Finally, we went to a restaurant for dinner. When we finished, I went to the bathroom and when I went back, my jacket wasn’t there! I thought one of my friends had caught it. Some students were already in the bus, so until the students who were with me and I went to the bus I didn’t feel quiet. When we arrived I could see there was my jacket.

During the last day and the next day we needed to arrive at Barcelona we played a game called “the clamp”. You had to say the name of the person who you are talking to. If you don’t do it, you can have the luck that she/he doesn’t have the clamp (we did it with a hair rubber), but if she/he has it, the clamp is for you and you have to pass it to another “victim”.

At the end of the trip, I hadn’t had to pay any penalty!! This trip will be a good memory for all my life; I will never forget it and it will be always in my heard.

LAURA MARSAL

2n batx B

ITALY 2014. Paula S. (2n batx A)

“BUONANOTTE ITALIA”

First of all, I’m going to explain why I put this title in my essay. That sentence is one song that our Spanish teacher showed to us and she said that we had to think of her when we are there with this rap song. So, because I like it very much this song, I put that title to my essay.

Now, before that little introduction I’m going to start explaining our trip. In my opinion, as far as I’m concerned, that trip could be defined with two simple words: pasta, pizza, pizza, pasta. We only ate that! But we also can define our trip as one big cultural and emotion trip.

In addition, I had the privilege of walking around the straight streets of Venezia or San Gimigniano, visiting the Duomos of Firenze or Pisa, taking a lot of photos of Murano and Burano islands, going shopping to Mila or Verona with Romeo and Juliet, relaxing in one restaurant or in the grass in Sienna or Padua and I visited one friend of my mum in Lucca too!

To sum up, I would like to conclude by saying that those days were for me a very nice and good experience and I take to home one of my little dreams made true: one trip with the gondola for the Venezia canals. Definitely, I love Italy. 

PAULA SOBRINO ARA

2n BATX A

ITALY 2014 Cristina M. (2n batx A)

ITALY 2014

This travel to Italy was a mixture of different feelings (tiredness, happiness, fun, surprise…), but obviously was perfect. 

The connivance is a thing that each of us had to put in practice, but it was a little bit more difficult than we thought. Apart from that, Italy is a great country where if I had stayed a long period of time, I would put on weight very easily… I love pasta, pizza and ice-cream… 

A funny experience to explain is that we wanted to go in a gondola, so we started to dribble the price. Finally we got on and our gondolier, Pierre (the best gondolier ever, you can see him in the picture), started singing. It was amazing. Also, in the Grand Canal an ambulance crossed so close to us and our gondola moved strongly. The thing was that when we were entering in a small canal, Pierre started making a strange sound. We started laughing, he explained us that it was as the horn for cars.

Another thing that surprised me was the “Museo della pena di morte e la tortura”, I didn’t know all the things that they did to torture people… so frightening!

Obviously all the cathedrals and the monuments are fantastic. Piazza de la signoria, ponte Vecchio, Murano, Burano too.

One thing that failed was not to see the “David”, but maybe I will return one day…

To sum up, in my view was an amazing trip to remember that all the places we went made me feel like at home.

Cristina Mirabet 2n Batx A

ITALY 2014. Paula G. (2n batx B)

ITALY 2014

Italy is the destination of our school trip, but for me, it hasn’t been only a trip. Italy is the signal that our road in this school is finishing. Maybe saying this, I can seem a little bit tragic. Although, I have had a fantastic experience that now and always will be unforgettable.

This time has been my first time in Italy, and I have to say that it’s amazing! I always have seen a lot of films with a lot of scenes of the country, but even so, at the same moment that I saw Pisa's tower, Firenze’s Duomo, the colorfully houses of Burano… I was amazed.

But surely, Venice is the most beautiful city that we saw during the trip. The first day I was so excited!

At the same moment that I set my feet in San Marcos square, I got me goose bumps. The music sounded around  the central terraces, our gondola ride, the fantastical views from the campanile, and also the majestic rooms of the Ducale’s palace…

After, the last days in Venice. I have taken advantage of the lovely streets, the masks shops and the nice craft workshops. But, absolutely, I have also put our padlock there and Venice had taken a new symbol.

Now Venice is our special city and my boyfriend and I have decided that in a few years we will come back together.

PAULA GARCÍA

2n BATX B

ITALY 2014. Jaume E. (2n batx B)

Italy 2014

This hasn’t been my first time in most of the places we have visited in Italy, but this experience has changed me in some different ways. It is worthless to say that Italy is a beautiful country with a lovely culture, because that is simply obvious. But meeting the artful city of Firenze, connecting with the essence of the beautiful Tuscany region or sailing the magic city of Venice with a gondola is something that it is actually impossible to explain with words, because you have to experiment it by yourself.

First of all, that school trip has enriched my artistic and cultural knowledge (which I have to admit that wasn’t wealthy enough). Specially, visiting Firenze, its Ufizzi Gallery and some of its churches have really encouraged me to learn more about Art History, which I find a very interesting subject since then.

Ponte Vechio’s view from the Ufizzi Gallery

Firenze charms, as Ponte Vechio or the impressive Duomo are also really recommendable places to visit.

Secondly, the Tuscany region in Italy (in which Firenze is) has also made me fall in love with it. My favourite place in it is the little but amazing town of San Gimignano. This village is considered part of the mankind patrimony, which I think is actually very logical. You can wander its medieval streets, as you can enjoy the amazing landscape which can be seen from the top of the main church. Also, another necessary visit is the city of Siena, which has an amazing Duomo and a lovely and huge square (Piazza del Campo).

Tuscany’s landscape from San Gimignano

And finally, here comes my favourite part of the trip: Venice. There’s no place in the world like this city. I had already been there some years ago, but I enjoyed it like the first time. The channels, the architecture, San Marco Square and the masks make it a really incredible and mysterious place. We had the chance to get on a typical ‘gondola’, in which we sailed the city for 40 amazing minutes. We could see the city from a very interesting position, while the ‘gondolero’ was explaining us very interesting facts of Venice. It was an incredible experience. I also loved the islands of Murano and Burano, specially the last one.

Finally, we visited the cities of Verona and Milan. I must say that I didn’t like them so much as Firenze or Venice, but maybe the reason was the tiredness of the last day.

This trip has also given me the opportunity of meeting people who I have been with a huge part of my life, and I have realized that some people are nicer than they seemed to be in the school.

Anyway, this trip has really influenced me in some different ways, and I feel really thankful for this experience, which has helped me to be a better person.

JAUME ESTELLERS

2n batx B

ITALY 2014 Laia P. (2n batx B)

Italy

After all the effort, sweat, blood and tears put on high school, Italy finally arrived. We were excited about the last huge adventure before PAU exams, those we are most afraid of.

We caught the bus on the afternoon with lots of hours waiting for us in it. First, we were all having fun but it wasn't that hilarious in the middle of the night when quietness ruled and suddenly, the bus crashed by one side. Screams frightened us even more. No one knew what had happened exactly, but it was believed that the conductor had slept while driving (it was not, the coach simply slipped due to the rain ).

In the morning, we arrived safe and sound in Pisa. We also went to Lucca and we rent a few tandems. It was an incredible experience. We could feel the adrenalin rush in our veins. I will always remember how we got lost and had to cycle the whole wall to arrive on time. However, the landscapes were astonishing.

Florence was one of my favourite cities. Its "duomo", the "Ponte Vecchio" and "la piazza della signoria" were awesome. Venice was spectacular too. I bought a lot of masks and we achieve a gondola for 50 euros four people. One of my group mates bargained a lot. We pretend that we were leaving to make gondoliers change their mind. Above of all, these single moments made the difference.

Definitely, I would like to conclude by saying that this was an unforgettable experience and I will always desire to return to those days under the Tuscan sun.

LAIA PINYOL

2n BATX B

FRIENDSHIP. Sara F. (1r batx B)

FRIENDSHIP QUOTES

 

First of all, I want you to know it was too difficult for me to choose one and I’ve chosen the ones I liked the most.

The first one is “What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies” by Aristotle, although I hate philosophy. I think that this quote describes my friendship with a friend very good because we are two girls that have exactly the same way of thinking about whatever, we laugh of the same things and we also have the same character and even so we endure each other and we’ve been best friends since we are three so knowing what she is thinking without talking it isn’t difficult for me because I know her very good and she knows me very good too, or I think it...

The second is the one that says “There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving by halves, it is not my nature”. This quote defines really well the meaning for me of friendship because I am a mistrustful girl. It’s too difficult for me to trust in people I don’t know, but when I trust in somebody I became a really good friend because I hope that he or she will always tell me the truth and I will always defend him or her, but this is not always true and those are who are not your reliable friends.

Finally the quote that a chocolate lover couldn’t miss is “There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate”. I love this one because I love chocolate and I love my good friends so it’s perfect to combine those two things. I don’t know where but I had seen one quote that I like a lot that is “Chocolate doesn’t ask silly questions, chocolate understands” and that is the perfect definition for a good friend.

 

 

 

 

SARA FERNÁNDEZ

1r BATX B

FRIENDSHIP. Anna M. (1r batx B)

Friendship

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.

To start I will say that I only have five true friends. I think it’s not important to have many friends, what really matters is to have few friends but true friends.

I think a good friend is someone who helps you when you have problems, tries to do the best for you and then doesn’t criticize for the backs so I think there are a few real friends. Most of the known people pose as your friends just for interest and when they realize they can’t get anything more from you, leave you. I think to do this is to be a bad person because causes pain to others.

The feeling of being a good person next to you and knowing that you can count on her no matter what happens, I feel very happy. It is very nice to have a good friend who tells your things and know that will always help you.

In my opinion a true friend is someone who knows your life and is always at your side. No matter the distance that you stand because you always have things to tell and always have wanted to see you.

A true friend accepts you as you are and love you for being yourself. She does not make you change your personality; she likes you just as you are.

ANNA MORENO

1r BATX B

THE DAY I MET STEPH .Ruben R. and Marcel G. (3r ESO C)

THE DAY I MET STEPH

What is your name?

Steph

How old are you?

13 years

Do you like Barcelona? Why?

Yes I like it. I prefer Barcelona to London. I like architecture and culture. I found the buildings very interesting

What have you visited?

The Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, Sitges, Camp Nou…

Did you like the Sagrada Familia?

Yes, a lot

Did you swim Yesterday in Sitges beach?

No, but I did go in the sea and it was a bit cold

Do you practice any sports?

I do horse riding and also play rugby

Do you support any football team?

I suppot totenham but now I also like Barça.

Do you like sun bathing?

I like to be in the sun I get burnt

Do you like Mediterranean food?

Yes, I like fish.

Have you tasted paella?

Yes, It was really nice

Do you think these’s any difference between here’s timetable and Oxted timetable?

I think it’s a bit different.

What time do you have breakfast n Oxted?

About… At half past seven.

The stay in Marcel home is good?

Yes, I had a great time, his family is very frendly

RUBEN RODÉS and MARCEL GIL

3r ESO C