OUR TRIBUTE TO HENNING MANKEL, by the library team.

     We would like to dedicate a few words to Henning Mankell, a writer from far away from us who became closer through his novels.

Oscar Fredrik Church: A nice example of neo gothic in Gothenburg, by Ángela Rodríguez Fernández.

NEO-GOTHIC.

Neo-gothic is an architectural movement that started in the late 1740s in England. It became popular rapidly in the early 19th century, trying to revive medieval Gothic architecture, in contrast to the neoclassical styles which were popular at the time. This Gothic Revival displays characteristics from the original Gothic style, including decorative patterns, finials, lancet windows, hood mouldings, label stops and others.

'What’s new on the news?” Erasmus + project at IES de Catabois

     A few months ago, a young woman from Ferrol, Aroa Fandiño Serrano, contacted me via e-mail. In her mail, she explained that she is specializing in management of European projects and that, after reading about our Erasmus + KA2 project in a newspaper, she was immediately attracted to it. She expressed her interest in arranging an interview with the person in charge of the project at school in order to get information about its implementation and management, the goals we are achieving, the materials produced and the way both the students and the schools involved in the project are living it, what they are learning and so on... She added that she would like to include our project in her blog europeaconvencida.wordpress.com where she deals with topics which try to get Ferrol closer to Europe by relating different European projects with the town, as for example, the Urban Plan.

     Below is the post that she published in her blog talking about our project, after an interview with Maca Torres, coordinator of the project at IES de Catabois.

An effective protection against enemies: Beautiful St. Philip castle, by Jonathan Varela Fernández.

     The castle of San Felipe is one of the military fortresses in the estuary of Ferrol, a town located in
the province of La Coruña, autonomous region of Galicia, Spain.

 In the photograph on the right, Erasmus + international students on a trip by boat to the castle.

Spain celebrates its 30th anniversary as a member of the European Union, by Eli Tatyanova Petkova and Claudia Prieto-Puga Gonzáles.

     Last 12th June 2015, Spain commemorated the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Accession Treaty of Spain to the European Communities, now the European Union.

A sport born from the film: The Salute of the Jugger, by André Rey Vidal.

Jugger is a sport inspired by the 1989 movie The Salute of the Jugger, in which a game of the same name is played. The transformation into a real sport happened independently in Germany and in Australia.
 
                  

Efficient means of transport in Scandinavia, by the Spanish group travelling to Kungsbacka.

EFFICIENT MEANS OF TRANSPORT IN SCANDINAVIA.

         
 

     In a recent journey to Sweden we realized how easy a trip can be when the means of transport you use are well coordinated in terms of schedules as well as in terms of the nearness of the different stations (trains, ferry, bus, underground…) We had been advised by our teachers to pay a lot of attention to the means of transport we were going to use and these are the conclusions we got after travelling from Copenhagen to Kungsbacka via Helsingor. We also found out how security measures can differ from one country to another.

Tanum, Sweden. By, Anxo Fernández Embade.

Tanum, Sweden
Tanum is a municipality in Västra Götaland Country in southern Sweden. The town council is in Tanumshede.
                                             

The first European Cultural Route: The Way of St. James (El Camino de Santiago), by Alba Rama Carneiro.

                    THE FIRST EUROPEAN CULTURAL ROUTE: THE WAY OF ST. JAMES
                                                       EL CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

     The Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James, is a route used by pilgrims from around the world to reach the city of Santiago de Compostela, where the relics of St.James the Great are venerated. After the Council of Europe’s Declaration of the Way as the first European Cultural Route in 1987 and the adoption of a common European graphic identification system to guide the pilgrims from any nationality or religion, the route has continued to grow, until The French Route (one amongst several routes) was eventually declared a UNESCO World Heritage Route in 1993.

An interesting surprising trip, by Ángela Rodríguez Fernández.

AN INTERESTING SURPRISING TRIPSome students belonging to 4th year ESO at IES Catabois travelled to Copenhagen, in Denmark, and to yGothenburg and Kungsbacka, in Sweden, last October in order to take part in the learning, teaching and training activities organised in Kungsbacka as part of the Erasmus + project What's New on the News?
They visited many places and saw a lot of important buildings and monuments. In Denmark, they saw coloured houses, some streets with channels, boats, a tower called Rundetaarn and a lot of people riding bikes.
The coloured houses were amazing because all of them had a different colour.

 

Street art: Las Meninas de Canido are exported to Europe, by Bella Jasmin Kahia González.

      'LAS MENINAS' IN CANIDO ARE EXPORTED TO EUROPE. 

Canido, in Ferrol, and Montmartre, in Paris, share nothing in common but the fact of being located on a hill at the top of the city and keeping some characteristics of the villages they used to be long ago. Those aspects create a personality of their own in both quarters.

A stroll in Copenhagen, by Alfonso Martínez Ferreño and Xoán Díaz Fonticoba.

     
                                                                  COPENHAGEN

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city in Denmark, with an urban population of 1,230,728 and a metropolitan population of 1,967,727.

Discovering Scandinavia: Denmark and Sweden, by the Spanish group travelling to Kungsbacka.

    In this collection of photographs from the recent trip a group of students and teachers from IES de Catabois in Ferrol took to Denmark and Sweden, you'll experience how it feels getting to know these two beautiful Scandinavian countries and the facilities they offer to the traveller. 

The film comes with traditional Swedish music taken from the following fonts:

http://redmp3.cc/8958575/vasen-pilvi-eskos-brudvals.html

http://musicfree.info/mp3/download/file/wild-whirled-music-secrets-of-the-sands-the-wolverine-trailer-music-official

http://mp3hit.net/kapten/4/ 

http://song.mymp3files.com/genre/nyckelharpa.html

http://caltech.typepad.com/.a/6a0105349b8251970b019affefbe73970d-800wi (Denmark)
https://www.ispor.org/HTARoadMaps/Sweden/Sweden.gif

You're invited to watch the film by clicking in the following link: DISCOVERING SCANDINAVIA

Our weekend in STOCKHOLM

We started our tour of this amazing town by visiting the City Hall

read more

My trip to Sweden

By Dishana Thevanantham and Liliana Xu Ruini

This trip was one the transnational meetings organized by the teachers of the Erasmus+ project “What’s New on the News”. This meeting took place in Kungsbacka, a small town near Gothenburg in Sweden where we stayed for four days. 

read more

Read all about it!

This autumn Elof Lindälvs Gymnasiet, in Kungsbacka hosted the partner schools from Spain, Poland, Turkey, Romania and Italy. 

Students and teachers visited the school from Monday 11^th to Friday 16^th October and took part in a number of academic and cultural activities. The aim of the visit to Sweden was give the students a closer look into the world of news and encourage them to reflect on how newspapers create their front page. After an eventful week together the students interacted during the final workshop and produced their very own front page based on the events they themselves had participated in. 

They made the news. They were the news. They produced the news.

Short film about Poland

Film made by the Swedish delegates when visiting Poland in May 2015. Please follow the youtube link for viewing, the file is to big to upload here on the blog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA9qES8HhXY&feature=youtu.be

video My trip to Sweden

video My trip to Sweden
https://youtu.be/JrZxxok3Wk0

My favourite place from Poland

Student: Andreea VESA, Xth D grade; Coordinating teacher: Melania EGYED; School: “Samuil Vulcan” National College

The place that impressed me the most was Auschwitz. It is a really nice place to visit but I was impressed by the drama and torment endured by those people.

Poland

Student: Livia ILEA, IXth D grade; Coordinating teacher: Alina POPA; School: “Samuil Vulcan” National College

If you like cleanliness, travelling and meeting new people, then this article is for you.

Poland is a country in Central Europe that impressed me with its attractions and especially with its awesome people.

Saint Mary’s Basilica, Krakow

Student:Rafael MORNA, IXth E grade; Coordinating teacher: Melania EGYED; School: “Samuil Vulcan” National College

Saint Mary’s Basilica from Krakow is a basilica that was built in the 13^th century and then rebuilt in the 14^th century. Its height is 80m and it is made of brick in a gothic style. 

The legend of the Wawel Dragon

Student: Dana-Georgiana MORTAN, Xth D grade;Coordinating teacher: Melania EGYED; School: Samuil Vulcan National College

I think that the most interesting place that I visited in Poland was the caves of the Wawel Dragon. Its legend attracts many people. Also, both children and adults cannot pull themselves away from the stalls with regional souvenirs and folk handicrafts in the Cloth Hall.

Exploring Spain

Can you remember a movie published by Spanish team at our blog in February? It showed the talk about Poland prepared by a Galician speaker Weronika Urbanik-Pęk for IES de Catabois students in Ferrol. Now, you are invited to watch video material from a twin meeting which took place in Bieruń. We were pleased to host the same speaker Weronika. She presented us a very interesting speech about Spain and Galicia. The information provided by Weronika was useful during our visit to Ferrol.

Enjoy the movie in the link below:
Weronika's talk in Bieruń

  

Visit in Spanish family

     We came to Spain for our project meeting on the 21st of March 2015. We, Daria and Marysia, could stay in a Spanish family, because Noa, an ex-student of IES de Catabois school invited us to her house. She gave us her room and we could sleep in her double bed. It was exciting experience for us.

Squares of Madrid and Cracow

Plaza Mayor 

     During the first project meeting in Spain our return journey led us to Madrid, where we had to spend a day waiting for the plane. We didn’t have much time to visit the Old Town in a very detailed way. On the other hand, we didn’t want just to walk and look around. For this reason, before going to Spain we asked some people for advice what is worth seeing. One of the most interesting ideas was given to us by Maca. She suggested us to pay attention to the main squares of Madrid and compare them with the main squares in Cracow.

Lakes offer alternative vacation opportunities

Turkey has a special geographic area called ‘Lakeland,' which contains many small lakes extending between five cities that offer alternative tourism activities

A number of large and small lakes in Turkey's Göller Yöresi (Lakeland), which extends from Antalya to Isparta, Konya, Burdur and Afyonkarahisar, offer alternative tourism opportunities. Among them, the lakes in Burdur stand out for their natural beauty, vegetation and wide-range of bird species. According to the information obtained by Anadolu Agency (AA) from officials from the Burdur Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism and the Regional Directorate of Natural Protection and National Parks, Lake Salda, which is 9.86-meters-long and 6,800-meters-wide, is situated in a closed basin formed on a tectonic hollow in Burdur's Yeşilova district. It is 185-meters-deep and features clean sand. With its 301 aquatic and terrestrial plants from 61 different families, Lake Salda also offers clear, turquoise water. Bicycle tours, diving and bird watching are the most popular activities to do while enjoying the lake's tranquilizing atmosphere. Lake Salda is also a must-see stop for professional photographers.

Turkish violinist Muhammed Yıldırır sets a new world record as the fastest violinist

Turkish violinist Muhammed Yıldırır set a new world record as the fastest violinist by playing a famous interlude in only 37.84 seconds, surpassing Britain's Ben Lee who played it in 54.24 seconds and getting him into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Yıldırır performed "Flight of the Bumblebee" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, a high-tempo piece that takes more than one minute to play for other violinists, in the presence of Guinness representatives at an Istanbul concert.

7 sources to help learn about Turkish culture

For those who are eager to learn more about Turkish culture, there are many websites and mobile apps that provide detailed information about authentic features of the country, such as cuisine, history, music and touristic spots

Wieliczka Salt Mine (Poland): Deep into planet Earth.

During our recent visit to Poland in May 2015, we went on an incredible trip under the Earth, where we even  had lunch! Can you believe it?

   


There's such a place and it's called Wieliczka. Inscribed in the UNESCO world Heritage Sites List since its very beginning in 1978, together with other 11 places in the world, it's one of the oldest companies (not to say the oldest one) still running in Europe today. Its visit is like a quick look onto the history of this beautiful friendly country.
The article explains the mine from the point of view of a group of students, 15-16 year olds, who visited it as part of an Erasmus + KA2 project.
Enjoy the trip!

Link to the document where the article appears:
Wieliczka Salt Mine (Poland): Deep into planet Earth. PDF document.

Enjoy interviews!

You are invited to listen or to watch a few interviews conducted and recorded by students participating in our meeting in Bieruń. 

The links below include conversations with people chosen by students. Enjoy all the talks!

1. Charlotte Gustafsson - a teacher of Swedish and English and a coordinator of Swedish team. The interview has been prepared by: Bartek Blacha (P), Felicia Lindblad (S), Amelie Johansson (S), Mario García (E), Rares Ilies (R), Daniel Seoane (E), Şura Dinç (T), Sara Miernik (P) and Oliwia Długoń (P).

Our Trip to Poland

It was a fantastic journey!  This project, Erasmus +, has helped us to meet people from other countries and improve our English level. 

                             Outside the school.
 
We left from our school on Friday 22nd at 7.30 pm. We arrived at Santiago’s airport at 8.30 pm. We took the plane after doing the control and we got to Madrid at 11 pm. We slept at Viky’s hostel, but we only slept more or less half an hour.

About three tons of waste removed from Bosphorus

A 2,950 kilograms of solid waste has been removed from the Bosphorus as part of a special project "Clean Marine Broom", Ali Ağaoğlu, head of the Ağaoğlu Group, announced in a statement on Thursday.

The "Clean Marine Broom" project, organized with the support of the Turkish Ağaoğlu Group, began on May 22 and collected nearly three tons of solid waste in just over one week.

Turkish doctor invents device to diagnose skin cancer in 10 seconds

Canan Dağdeviren, the first Turk to be elected as a Junior Fellow to the Harvard University Society of Fellows and made it on Forbes's "30 Under 30 in Science" list, invented a device that can easily and quickly diagnose skin cancer. The device is pasted to the skin like a tattoo and provides results in less than 10 seconds. Dağdeviren's research was published in "Nature Materials" magazine.Dağdeviren talked about her invention to Anadolu Agency (AA) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she is continuing her research. Explaining that the device exerts pressure on the skin in order to determine the structure of the skin, she said the device shows whether the skin has a tendency to develop cancer cells or not. "The structure of skin cancer has been already discovered by scientists. When the results show any resemblance to skin cancer, the patient undergoes other tests such as a biopsy," she said. She added that the device was tested on a patient who was suspected of having cancer and the doctors conducted a biopsy thereafter. "I sent my own data and highlighted the places that looked concerning. When the biopsy results came back two weeks later, they overlapped with my results. This is a fast, painless and easy method," Dağdeviren said.

Istanbul Shopping Fest brings joy and summer colors to the city

Launched on May 6, the fifth annual Istanbul Shopping Fest continues with exclusive events and discount opportunities. Istanbul will witness a shopping spree in different corners of the city until June 28.

Organized by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, the Turkish Federation of Shopping Centers and Retailers, the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's Kültür A.Ş, the fifth annual Istanbul Shopping Fest, which brings Istanbul's gastronomy, history and cultural values together across Istanbul, one of Europe's most dazzling cities. The festival will continue until June 28 and will turn Istanbul into a center of attraction for shopping and entertainment. With its unique atmosphere, blending the East's orientalism and West's dynamism, Istanbul will enable its residents and guests to experience the joy of shopping as well as discover new tastes and places.

The heart of the Jewish quarters in Cracow. Part II.

CURIOUS JEWISH SYMBOLS FOUND ON OUR WAY:

INTRODUCTION.
Our teachers had previously asked us to pay attention to any strange symbols to us we might find on our way. They had told us to take photographs because, later on, we would have to investigate if the symbols had any meaning. Below, you can have a look at the conclusions we got after our investigation.

Hamsa (in Jewish), Hand of Fatima (in Muslim):
This is a talisman frequently used for protection amongst Jewish and Muslims. It is a hand-shaped symbol, a sign of protection against all evils and it is potent in deflecting the evil eye. 
It’s also called: Khamsa, Hamsa, Chamsa amongst Jewish while amongst Muslims, it is known as  Hand of Fatima after Mahoma’s daughter, Fátima Azzahara  or The Eye of Fatima (some of them may display an eye in their interior).  

Photographs from Szeroka, Kazimierz, where a restaurant was displaying this symbol (we guess that for protection).

The heart of the Jewish quarters in Cracow. Part I

A WALK FROM FLORIANSKA TO PODGORZE: Deep into the heart of the Jewish quarters in Cracow.
Following some indications prepared by the teachers involved in the visit to Poland beforehand, it was decided that the students would be in charge of guiding our tour to Podgorze in Cracow, with a previous stop at Kazimierz. 

                                 

Erasmus + meeting in Spain

In March 2015, students from six different countries met up in Ferrol, Spain to discuss news and take part in cultural activities. One of the points of the journey was to get together and create connections between the different nationalities by learning about each other’s cultures, traditions and daily life.

We have interviewed two of the participating students and asked them about what they think the journey has contributed to.

Students from Spain and Sweden who contributed to the project. 

The Great Galicia

By Julia Altsjö, Nathalie Josefsson, Rasmus Flink

Two official languages, 100 rainy days and a special cheese, those are only some of the things typical of Galicia.

Galicia is a region in the north west of Spain. The name Galicia comes from the Latin name Gallaecia. Before the roman invasion multiple tribes lived in the area. During year 800 and 900 Galician greaves had variated power and the coasts did often get attacked by Normands and Vikings. They build the towers in Catoira to protect Santiago de Compostela from the attacks. When general Fransisco Franco died Galicia became a democracy again.

The orange mountains with a golden history

By Elin Magnusson and Victoria Milger
In the Spanish province León, there is a small village that carries a great history. The area is called Las Médulas and is recognized by the orange, spiky mountains that surrounds the village. Las Médulas used to be gold mines and since 1977 the area is listed as a world Heritage site. 

The importance of the Erasmus project

In mars 2015 students from six different countries met up in Ferrol, Spain to discuss news and take part in cultural activities. One of the points of the journey was to get together and create connections between the different nationalities by learning about each other’s cultures, traditions and daily life.