#English Middle & Senior School Blog

17 Feb 2013 | Comunicacion BDS
17 Feb 2013 | Comentar

Latest Californian News

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A new report by Martina Díaz Fernández (S6H) about her exchange experience at The Athenian School, in San Francisco Bay:

"Last week went by very fast! It was my last full week at Athenian... I am enjoying this wonderful experience and practising my English a lot, because although some people speak a little Spanish, they are not used at all to the Argentinan accent and it is hard for them to understand me! Anyway, my favourite classes are those of Spanish, where I have helped my classmates and also provided them with information about Argentinian culture, which they knew nothing about! I also took a 3D Art class, where I've been working with metal to create an owl neckless, sawing and melting metal. In Economics, I attended a Skype session with a Bangladesh Economic teacher, in which I learned about the Grameen banking system... After school we usually either go back to Kelsey's  to study (where I work on my summer reading for BDS), or go to a gym to work out.

On Thursday, Mark introduced me to Michaela and Sarah at lunchtime, the two girls who will be probably visiting BDS in August as exchange students. They asked me lots of questions about the school and the country, and I'm looking forward to seeing them in BA. Friday was a holiday and so is next Monday (President's Day), so we are going skiing!"

Prevoius reports:

-First report

-Second and third reports

13 Feb 2013 | Comunicacion BDS
13 Feb 2013 | Comentar

More News from San Francisco

Martina Díaz Fernández (S6H), currently enjoying an exchange experience in The Athenian School, San Francisco, reports on the last few days and shares some more photos.

Friday, 8 February (2nd report)

My first week at The Athenian School is over and I'm starting to get used to the school and the people. It has been a hard school week for Kelsey, who had lots to do after class! I'm really looking forward to visiting San Francisco City over the weekend.

It may be worth sharing that during a Spanish class, as an assignment the teacher asked the students to think of three questions to ask me about Argentina. It was very fun! We talked about sports -both in the country and in BDS- about our popular "asado" and about the differences between both schools and countries.

On Fridays, there is an "Advisory" period, something like our "tutorías" but joining students from different courses. I was happy to hear two students of Athenian may be  coming to BDS in August and I'm anxious to meet them next week!

About the last weekend (third report)

I got to know new places such as Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Diablo, Chinatown and Ghirardelli Square!

On Friday night, Kelsey, her brother Eric and me went to the theater to see the movie Identity Thief and did some shopping at the downtown of Walnut Creek. The next day Kelsey had to do her volunteering in a local hospital, so I went with Kelsey’s family to have a car ride all to the top of Mount Diablo. We were able to breath some fresh air, admire the beautiful view and visit a museum right there, in the midst of the flora and fauna of Mount Diablo State Park. That night we had dinner at a Mexican food restaurant and had some spicy and delicious food that’s very popular in California.

On Sunday, we went to the city of San Francisco. Hannah, another student on exchange came with us, too (by the way, in my first reports I wrote she was Australian, but in fact she is from Scotland). We were lucky because it was a lovely sunny day and the city was not that busy as we had expected. The first stop was at the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked across and took some pictures with a beautiful view of Alcatraz Island, the city, and the Pacific Ocean. After that, we went to Chinatown. San Francisco’s Chinatown is the largest outside Asia and that day happened to be the Chinese New Year's Day (the Water Snake year started). We had some green tea with tapioca. We next went to Ghirardelli Square. We visited the beach, had dinner watching a marvelous sunset... and dessert at the famous chocolate factory, Ghirardelli. It was, indeed an interesting intercultural experience: US, Scotland, Argentina... and China!

To read Martina's first report, clic here.

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8 Feb 2013 | Comunicacion BDS
8 Feb 2013 | Comentar

Exchanges: Californian News

After hosting The Athenian School's student Kelsey Strand in July 2012, Martina Díaz Fernández (S6H) now reports on her own current experience in the US:

"I arrived in San Francisco on Sunday, which was a very important day for them as the San Francisco 49ners were playing the Super Bowl that night.

Kelsey and her family live in the outskirts of San Francisco, in a city called Walnut Creek, where the houses are surrounded by mountains and lots of trees. That same day we went to the downtown of Walnut Creek and visited shops and places to eat. The next day was my first day at  Athenian. Kelsey introduced me to her friends and Kathleen, the head of Round Square Association, showed me the school and introduced me to the principal, teachers, nurse and other people. The Athenian is very different to BDS! It consists of a 57- hectare campus located in a valley of mount Diablo. The classrooms are like small houses all around the place. It really called my attention  to walk my way to the next class just beside a mountain side! This, and the fact that there the groups are small in number, makes the school particularly  peaceful place in my opinion. And I now understand why Kelsey was so surprised with BDS and our big city. One day, at lunch time, we went to a Round Square meeting, where students who had gone (or want to go) on exchanges get together.

Here, classes change each semester and I have been given my own schedule with the following subjects: Maths, Spanish, Global economics and 3D Art!"

About the photo: Here's a view of the school campus. The building behind us is the Science Department, and following the path there are more classes. In the picture I'm with Hannah (another Round Square exchange student, form Australia), Kelsey and Paige.

21 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
21 Dec 2012 | Comentar

Oxford, London, Harry Potter… and soon, back home!

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Thank you, Mónica Bruck, for this report.

Wednesday, December 19th

The day was rainy and cold but the girls were ready lo leave Cardiff at 8 o´clock in the morning and we all headed to Oxford, one of the oldest university towns in Britain. The drive took over two hours. We arrived in the beautiful medieval university town and got off the bus at The Randolph, a famous five star hotel, and walked along High Street up to King Edward’s Road to merge into Merton Street, in search of Merton College, one of the colleges that dates back to 1264.

Unfortunately many colleges were closed and we were not able to visit them due to the Christmas holidays. The city’s Cathedral is the chapel of Christ Church College founded by Cardinal Wolsey, during the reign of Henry VIII and it is one of the most beautiful buildings of Oxford.  As it kept on raining, after lunch we boarded the bus that would take us to London, our next and last stop.

London: musicals and a rainy first night 

We arrived in the late afternoon and got ready for our first night in one of the most exciting cities in the world. Some girls had already bought tickets to famous musicals like Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera and others got tickets to We will rock you and The Lion King as soon as they arrived at the hotel.

Another group decided to stay and rest after the long day. The West End was packed with people during this Christmas season in spite of the fact that it was raining heavily. The bad weather could not ruin the girls' first night in London!

Thursday, December  20th: the magic of Harry Potter... and the last hockey match

Thursday would be a different day for some girls. They had booked the Making of Harry Potter tour from Buenos Aires.  We had an early breakfast and headed to the train station and then the shuttle bus that would take us to Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden.  This is a behind the scenes walking tour where we were immersed into the world of filmmaking, featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter film series. It was an exciting adventure and it is unbelievable the work that goes into filmmaking and how talented each one of the hundreds of participants have to be.

The rest of the girls went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which specializes in decorative art and design. It features an Islamic Middle East Gallery, a China Collection and Japanese Gallery, a Photography Collection, a Fashion Room, a Jewellery Gallery among others. Some girls visited a special exhibition of costumes worn in very famous movies such as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Cleopatra. They were even able to see Marilyn Monroe`s white dress from the 1955 movie "The Seventh Year Itch", which was kept in a special glass cabinet. After visiting this museum, some girls went to the Natural History Museum next door. There they visited the Dinosaur Gallery, the Earth Gallery, they were impressed by the huge blue whale and the Darwin Centre. They were impressed by the interactive activities offered by the Museum.

At around four o’clock the girls returned to the hotel to get ready for their last hockey match of the tour. For some girls, it would be the last match for good because they are finishing school! The B team played against the Eastcote Hockey Club and the A team against Old Loughtonians Club. Unfortunately our girls lost in spite of their enthusiasm and will. Vicky and Carolina, their coaches, said some very moving words because it would really be the last match for some of them and we all wished the “ex S6” all the best.
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20 Dec 2012 | Comunicacion BDS
20 Dec 2012 | 2 comentarios

Cardiff Castle, Bath and a victory in Hockey!

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Mónica Bruck reports on the last few days. Thanks, Mónica, for such eloquent pieces and vivid photos!

Monday, December 17th

It was the gilrs' turn to visit Cardiff Castle, one of the most fascinating buildings in Britain! With a long history stretching back to the Roman invasion, the site is a reconstructed Roman fort, an impressive Norman castle and a Victorian palace, all in one. The girls were excited and looked forward to visiting the beautiful buildings. Some of them climbed to the top to enjoy the view, toured  the tunnels used as shelters during the Second World War, explored the keep and visited all the beautiful rooms of the Victorian palace.

Congrats, BDS girls!!

Later, it was time for the first hockey match to be played in the United Kingdom. The second team played first and was able to defeat the Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf team 1-0. Our girls played with enthusiasm, energy and will. We all celebrated our first success! . The Welsh school´s coach congratulated Martina Díaz Fernández for her excellent performance.

The first team also played the best game of the tour. It was an exciting match because after superb collective action Agostina Dasso scored the first goal. The other team scored twice but in spite of their initial disappointment, they never gave up and Florencia Bortman scored a second goal.

After the match, we all shared hot chocolate and Christmas sweets and exchanged presents with the other team. The girls from the other school spoke Welsh and it was interesting to listen to young girls speaking such an ancient language. We were told that some of their parents spoke only English.

After the match, we toured Cardiff streets to admire the beautiful Christmas decorations.

December 18th

After breakfast, we boarded our bus and headed to Bath. It was an hour and a half ride and our first stop were the Roman Baths. The gush of hot mineral water which bursts from the ground in the centre of Bath has always been a subject of wonder and the girls were just as fascinated.  In the first century AD, the Romans chose this site to build one of the most astounding public buildings of Roman Britain.

We saw fragments of the magnificent Temple of Sulis Minerva, Goddess of the thermal spring, and the remarkably well preserved bath-house frequented by residents and pilgrims nearly 2000 years ago. Also on display are coins and curses thrown into the Sacred Spring, and numerous other treasures unearthed through archeological excavations over the past 300 years. The girls loved to make a wish and then toss a coin into the thermal waters. Hopefully their wishes will come true.

We then walked around Bath, which has justly earned its status as a UNESCO World Heritage City due to its splendid architecture, its Georgian crescents, squares and streets lined by elegant townhouses built in the particular Bath stone.

A few hours later we left the city and made our way to Bristol. This is a busy city with streets lined with shops, quiet different from Bath. It is a port, though not on the sea but on the Avon Gorge.  The highlight of Bristol is its beautiful Cathedral, founded in the year 1140. The Cathedral has much of interest including unique architectural features, unusual memorials and an historic organ. After visiting the Cathedral we went back to the hotel for an early dinner. The girls had to pack to get ready for their trip to London.

To read about the boys' experience in Spain, please go to the Spanish version of this post.