#English Middle & Senior School Blog

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17 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
17 Dec 2012 | 1 comentario

… Boys and Girls Switch Destinations: the Girls in Cardiff

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Mónica Bruck reports:

Saturday,  December 15th

The boys left to Barcelona and the girls arrived and we went from Heathrow to Cardiff.

Sunday, December 16

By Sunday morning the rain had stopped and we looked forward to a sunny day.  After breakfast the girls went to a neighbouring field to train because they have an important hockey match tomorrow. We had an early lunch at 12 and left at one o´clock to the visit Big Pit National Coal Museum.
1
17 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
17 Dec 2012 | 1 comentario

Cardiff: Castle, Stadium, Volley… and about to leave the UK

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December 14th

After breakfast we visited Cardiff Caste. Unfortunately, it was a short tour because it was raining heavily. We were shown the beautiful rooms and we were led to the tunnels which were used during  World War II as anti-bomb shelters.

We did not have much time because we had booked a tour of the new Millenium Stadium, right across the street. We were shown the changing rooms, the press conference room, the field with its artificial light and recreated the moment when players enter the field.

When we returned back to the Centre we were advised that the rugby match had been  cancelled due to the bad weather conditions. The boys were very disappointed because they had trained very hard and were looking forward to the game with optimism.

On the other hand, the volley team faced the U-21 Welsh National Team and unfortunately lost 25-17, 25-18 and 25-20 after an unbelievable performance. The level of the Welsh was considerably superior, but our team nevertheless rose to the occasion. Once again Ezequiel Ibarra was the man of the match along with Hee Jung Lee and Tomás Rocchi. In spite of the strength of the Welsh, we consider that our boys improved their game significantly. Their coach, Roberto Fiondella, highlighted the fact the rugby team attended the match, cheering and supporting the volley ball boys.

Mónica Bruck

In the meantime, the girls visited Terrassa (near Barcelona) and got ready to say good-bye to Spain...

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14 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
14 Dec 2012 | 2 comentarios

Visit to Bath and Bristol… and a Coal Mine!

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A special report by Nicolás Lozano and Nicolás Rainuzzo:

On Wednesday, 12 Dec. we left the Centre at 9.30 to go to Bath. After an hour on bus surrounded by a beautiful white landscape, we reached the old Roman city. Most of us visited the world famous Roman Baths. They date back to the first century AD and were built by skilled Roman engineers when they realized that the local people bathed in the waters for their therapeutic purposes. We were aided in our tour by audioguides provided by the museum, which made it easier for us to understand the history of the place. The average temperature of the waters is 46º C! When the Romans left the city, the sick continued to use the baths believing in the healing power of the waters. In the eighteenth century, Bath became a very fashionable town, popular for wedding celebrations.

When we got to Bristol we toured the city, but the weather was so cold that many of us were “forced” to seek refuge in cafes and had steamy hot chocolate.

After a long day of sightseeing we returned to the Sports Centre. The Centre offers such an array of sporting activities that a special mention is to be made. We were very excited to return, change into our gym clothes and organize table tennis and squash tournaments in spite of the long day!  Some of us, however, chose to visit the gym instead and continue with the workout routine preparing for our next match...

Thursday December 13th

Mónica Bruck writes:

After breakfast the volley boys met at the gym for a training session. The rugby team went to  a rugby field close to the Centre to continue their practice. The teams are getting ready for the next match. They enjoyed their lunch and then got on the bus that would take them to their next adventure: an underground visit to the Big Pit: National Coal Museum. "Big Pit" is a real coal mine and one of Britain's leading mining museums.

Lucas Gold, Nicolás Lozano and Nicolás Rainuzzo report:

The mine is an hour away from Cardiff and is located in a very desolate area.  As soon as we got off the bus we were geared up for the occasion. We were given helmets, caps lamps, belts, batteries and ‘self rescuer' each. Once underground, we were guided around the coal faces, engine houses and stables in the company of a former coal miner, whose experience and stories enriched the visit . We were taken down a 90 meter shaft by an elevator, just as the miners would do, back in the old days...  As we moved deeper into the mine, our guide tried to make us sympathize with the miners of centuries gones. He made us turn off the lights to make us experience waht they must have felt when the candles went out! He told us about the six year olds who were forced to work in atrocious conditions and frequently died due to the unsafe working environment, or run over by the mine carts. After a 50 minute walk, we were taken back to the surface and invited to visit the gift shop. We returned to Cardiff, where the bus dropped us off to tour the city centre and admire the beautiful Christmas arrangements that decorated its buildings...

To read about the girls' tour in Spain, please see the Spanish version of this entry. The photos are arriving with some delay, the first 2 in the gallery above corresponding to the girls' visit to Zaragoza, prior to their arrival in Barcelona... More to come shortly!!!

12 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
12 Dec 2012 |

From London to Cardiff… and from Madrid to Barcelona

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Mónica Bruck, Head of the Middle & Senior Humanities Department, reports:

Monday, December 10th: Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square and other Highlights

The day started with an early breakfast for the rugby boys who then had to attend a training session. At around 11 o`clock we all left on a walking tour from Westminster Abbey to Trafalgar Square. A group of boys decided to visit the amazing Abbey, the place of coronation of the English monarchs.  They visited the tombs of Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I. Mary Stuart had been beheaded on the orders of her cousin Elizabeth. The former´s son, James I, followed Elizabeth on the throne. They also saw Sir Isaac Newton's  tomb and the tomb of the famous baroque composer Henry Purcell, among other highlights. Then we continued the walk to Buckingham Palace and The Mall to Trafalgar Square.

In the afternoon we visited the Natural History Museum with the students that had missed the previous visit. This museum is proof of the Victorian spirit of collecting, cataloguing and interpreting the natural world. The main museum building, “inhabited” by dinosaurs, enormous whales and all kinds of earthly creatures is as much a reason to visit as its world famous collection within.  The rest of the boys were given time to explore Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street up to Marble Arch.

That evening I accompanied a group of students to the theatre to see "War Horse", an award winning play about the wonderful relationship between a sixteen year old boy and his horse during the First World War. The boys really enjoyed the play. We had dinner and then returned to the hotel to get ready for the next day rugby and volley matches and the trip to Cardiff.

Tuesday, December 11th: Let's Play Some Sports!

We were all forced to rise early to get ready for the hotel check out and our trip to Epsom College to play the first matches. We arrived at noon for lunch and then the bus took us to what proved to be a magnificent school with an enormous campus.  It is a private boarding school of around eight hundred students aged thirteen to eighteen.

BDS won the volley match (Congrats, volley-boys, you certainly did it!), but unfortunately the rugby team fell against a tough opponent.

Want some details?

Volley Match: BDS beat Epsom 3- 0. (25-18/25-20/26-24) The match was entertaining and played with enthusiasm by both teams. It was played intensely at a very high level. Our team found it hard to score at times because they had a very good defense. The players that best performed in our team were Ezequiel Ibarra, Manuel Cazachkoff and  Tomás Vitale, according to their coach, Roberto Fiondella, who was of course very proud.

The rugby match came out 37- 14. The tries of BDS were made by Federico Russo and Francisco Zunino, as reported by coaches Pancho Pavicevic and Ignacio Saint Bonnet. At the end of the match the Headmaster of the school gave a present to Francisco Zunino and Nicolás Rainuzzo for their excellent performance.

We arrived at Cardiff at around 8.30 pm. We are staying at the Sports Wales National Centre. After dinner the boys went to the different gyms and played squash and other sports, making the most of the sports centre.

Hope you'll enjoy the photos! More news coming up shortly...

Mónica Bruck

To read about the girls' tour in Spain, please switch to the Spanish version of this post. 

10 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
10 Dec 2012 |

First Weekend in London… and Madrid

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We thank Mónica Bruck for the update and photos.

Saturday 8th:

Yesterday morning the rugby and volley boys had their first training session. They are getting ready for their first match which will be on Tuesday. After lunch most of the rugby boys went to the London Irish-Gloucester match and the rest went to the great Victoria and Albert Museum.

Sunday 9th:

Walking tour from London Eye to Tower Hill.

We left the hotel and took the tube to the London Eye. Some students decided to take the ride and others continued their walk. We all decided to meet at Tower Hill. We all enjoyed the stroll along the banks of the Thames and the little narrow streets beautifully decorated for Christmas. We had lunch on the way. We met at Tower Hill under the amazing Tower Bridge.

After lunch the group split into two. Some students went with their rugby coaches to the Natural History Museum and the other group went to the Imperial War Museum. There was a special exhibit of the Malvinas War and the students were able to see Argentine weapons that had been captured by the English.
10 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
10 Dec 2012 | Comentar

Centenary Tour: departure and arrival in UK

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Mónica Bruck (Humanities Department Coordinator, in charge of the boys, together with their sports teachers) reports:

December 6th: We all arrived on time at the airport, checked in our luggage without any difficulties and then passed the immigration control. Once in the boarding area, some boys had some snacks and others checked out the duty free till our flight departure was called. It was really great to see them so enthusiastic and excited about the trip. We had an excellent flight that lasted around twelve hours. They played cards, watched movies and some of them were able to get some sleep. We were offered dinner and breakfast and arrived in Spain right on schedule.

December 7th: We did not have to wait too long to catch our connecting flight to London. We arrived at the hotel at around 1 pm and as most of the boys were tired they went to rest for a little while and in some cases had a light lunch on their own. We met at the hotel lobby at three thirty and we decided to visit the British Museum instead of the Natural History Museum because it is only a few blocks away from the hotel. We all explored the Museum at our own pace because it is very big but most of us did not miss the famous Rosetta Stone. We had dinner at 8.30 but the rugby boys had a light training before. After we dinner we went for a short walk because it started to rain. We really did the most of our first day!!

To follow the girls' tour in Spain, please go to the Spanish version of this entry.