Merry Christmas

Dear friends,

Christmas greetings to all of our partner schools.
We wish you all happy holidays and all the best for a healthy new year.

Your colleagues from Germany

Do's and Don'ts for Ireland

Bonjour , Hello , Hallo , Ciao , Dia Duit, From Scoil San Phroinsias

DO shake hands.

In Ireland when we meet people we greet them by shaking their hand.

Do NOT kiss.

In Ireland we don't generally kiss when we meet other people like they do in France, Italy and Spain.
DO drive on the left










Ireland and the UK are the only places in the EU that drive on the left. Our cars steering wheel is located on the right of the car.
Do NOT drive on the right.

If you drive on the right you could end up like this....

DO bring a Rain Coat. 

Ireland is located on the west of Europe. We get a lot of rain coming in from the Atlantic, even in Summer time! The west coast of Ireland is particularly wet.

Do NOT bring suncream.

We rarely get very hot weather in Ireland so we don't use too much sun cream.

People in Ireland sometimes go to warmer countries like Spain, France and Italy for their holidays.

Do go to a GAA match

We have two national sports in Ireland, Hurling and Gaelic Football. Most counties have their own team in both sports. These matches can be very entertaining.

Do NOT bring your skiing gear to Ireland.

Ireland has a temperate climate. This means it is not really cold and it is not really warm so we don't get much snow. Also we don't have high mountain ranges. Our highest mountain is mount Carrauntoohill which is only 1038 metres.

Do bring a camera.

Bring a camera to Ireland. Get out of the cities and explore our country. We have many famous landmarks and beautiful contryside.  

Do NOT be a litter bug!

We take pride into keeping our country a nice, clean and safe place for you to visit. Please dont ruin it!

Thanks for reading our list of do's and don'ts.

From your friends in Scoil San Phroinsias, Galway.



Spotted Dogs / Katler Hund

Bonjour , Hello , Hallo , Ciao , Dia Duit, From Scoil San Phroinsias
                     
 Our class have been very busy this week. We have been making Spotted Dogs. They are quite easy to make and are really yummy!  Here is a really easy method on how to make Spotted Dogs.

You will need:
Chocolate
Biscuits

Utensils Needed:
A microwave
A  knife


Steps:

•  First, break the chocolate into a large bowl.
• Second, melt the chocolate in the micro-wave.
• Thirdly, Once melted; spread the chocolate on the biscuits.
• Let it set

       Then enjoy............

These are a real treat and so easy to make. We loved making them and they were a GREAT  sucsess!

Here are some photos of how we did it!!!!

Thanks For Reading!!!! From Your Friends in Galway..............

Do's and Don'ts: France

 Do's


1. La Sainte Catherine et la Saint Nicolas.


En France, nous fêtons la Sainte-Catherine le 25 Novembre et la Saint Nicolas le 6 décembre. A cette occasion, nous donnons ou nous envoyons des cartes à nos amis et à notre famille. Pour cela, il faut avoir moins de 25 ans et ne pas être marié(e).


La sainte Catherine, c'est la fête des filles et la Saint Nicolas, la fête des garçons.


                         - les élèves de CE1

2. Les coutumes du Nouvel An.


Quand c'est la nouvelle année, on envoie de jolies cartes de voeux à notre famille et à nos amis pour leur souhaiter : Bonne année, bonne santé ! Les enfants reçoivent aussi parfois des étrennes- c'est-à-dire un peu d'argent pour bien commencer l'année nouvelle.


                      - les élèves de CE1


3. Les uniformes 


A l'école, en France, il n y a pas d'uniforme.


Nous avons vu sur les photos que nos amis irlandais de Belfast portent tous les mêmes vêtements à l'école (les garçons et les filles.) C'est un uniforme bleu et gris.


                       - les élèves de CP


Pour aller à l'école, nous n'avons pas d'uniforme. Nous nous habillons comme nous voulons, comme nos parents le veulent. Nous ne devons pas porter de bijoux à l'école. Pour le sport à l'école primaire, nous devons juste avoir un paire de baskets en plus.


                       - les élèves de CE1


4. Les cahiers à lignes Seyes


Au CP, pour apprendre à écrire, nous utilisons plusieurs cahiers.


Le premier cahier est avec un interligne de 3mm.   
Le deuxième cahier est avec un interligne de 2mm, donc on doit écrire plus petit.
Le troisième cahier est un cahier à grands carreaux mais les interlignes sont petits.
Le dernier cahier est un cahier à petits carreaux et il faut écrire petit.


Pour la suite de la scolarité nous aurons des cahiers avec des petits carreaux.


                       - les élèves de CE1

5. Le sucre :

En France, nous utilisons du sucre en morceaux pour sucrer notre thé ou notre café. Dans le Nord de la France, notre région, les grandes personnes ont l'habitude de tremper un morceau de sucre dans leur café et de le croquer .

Biensûr, nous avons aussi du sucre en poudre pour sucrer les yaourts par exemple mais on ne sucrera jamais un thé ou un café avec du sucre en poudre : c'est très rare ! On préfèrera le sucre en morceaux.  

                        -les élèves de CE2

Do's 

1. The festivals of St Catherine and St Nicolas

In France, we celebrate St. Catherine's Day on 25th November and St. Nicolas' Day on 6th December every year. On this occasion, we give, or we send, cards to our friends and family. Only unmarried people under 25 can participate.

St. Catherine's Day is a festival for girls and St. Nicolas' Day is for boys.

- the students of CE1

2. New Year customs

Every new year, we send pretty greeting cards to our family and friends to wish them a good year and good health. Children also receive little gifts of money to allow them to begin the New Year in style.

- the students of CE1

3. Uniforms

There are no uniforms in French schools. 

We have seen in photos that our Irish friends from Belfast, both girls and boys, all wear the same clothes to school, a blue and grey uniform.

- the students of CP

We don't wear uniforms to go to school. We dress how we want, how our parents want us to dress. We are not allowed to wear jewellery to school. For sports in primary school, we only need an extra pair of sports shoes.

- the students of CE1

4. Seyes lined notebooks

In CP, we use different kinds of notebooks to learn to write.

The first kind of notebook has 3mm of space between the lines.

The second kind of notebook has 2mm of space, therefore we must write smaller.

The third kind of notebook has big squares but not much space between the lines.

The final kind of notebook has small squares and we must write small…

For the rest of our schooling we will have notebooks with small squares. 

- the students of CE1

5. Sugar

In France, we use sugar cubes to sweeten our tea or coffee. In the North of France, which is our region, adults usually dip sugar cubes in their coffee and eat them.

Of course, we have powdered sugar to sweeten yogurt, for example, but we never use powdered sugar for coffee; it's very rare! We prefer sugar cubes. 

- the students of CE2

Don'ts:

1. Le petit déjeuner :

En France, notre petit déjeuner est toujours sucré. Il se compose de pain blanc ou de baguette, de beurre, de confiture ou de pâte à tartiner au chocolat.

Certains enfants prennent aussi dees céréales, avec ou sans lait froid. Les enfants apprécient beaucoup le lait chaud ou froid, nature ou chocolatée. Un verre de jus de fruits peut être parfois ajouté.

Contrairement à notre pain qui est blanc en France car la farine a été raffinée, en Allemagne, le pain est bis ou noir : "Schwarz Brot" et en Irlande, le pain est toasté : c'est du pain de mie. En Italie, c'est le "Ciabatta " !

Il y en a pour tous les goûts! 

 -les élèves de CE2

2. La religion à l'école :

En France, l'école est laïque ce qui veut dire que nous ne pouvons pas intégrer la religion dans notre école.

Nous n'avons pas de cours de religion et nous n'avons pas le droit de montrer ou de porter des signes religieux comme la croix du Christ par exemple : c'est totalement interdit.

Dans notre école, on ne parle pas de Dieu. On dit qu'il y a séparation de l'église et de l'état.

L’école publique gratuite et laïque est un service que l’État français met à disposition de ses citoyens, quelles que soient leurs convictions ou leurs croyances ; ce principe garantit le droit d’accès de chacun à l’éducation.


La loi du 15 mars 2004 interdit les signes « manifestant ostensiblement une appartenance religieuse », dans les établissements d’enseignement primaire et secondaire. Cette loi ne s’applique qu’aux établissements publics et ne concerne pas les établissements privés, qui sont libres d’autoriser le port de signes religieux ostensibles.

A la différence de la France, en Italie comme en Irlande, la religion est autorisée à l'école et il y a même des cours de religion. Ce qui a fortement étonnés les éléves du cours préparatoire ( CP ) à qui Mme GRINCOURT a expliqué tout cela !!

Les petits du CP pensent que  : " ça pourrait être bien d'avoir des cours de religion ... pour voir ... " 


3. L'apéritif


En France, lorsque l'on se regroupe avec des amis pour un repas, la tradition veut que l'on commence par prendre l'apéritif (on dit aussi l'apéro.) Il s'agit des boissons, le plus souvent alcoolisées, destinées à l'ouvrir l'appetit pour le reste du repas. Elles sont accompagnees d'aliments à grignoter: soit des aliments de petite taille (olives, chips, cacahuètes...) soit des petits morceaux de plats plus consequants (morceaux de fromage, tranches de cakes salés ou petits partis de quiche...) Aucun apéritif ne ressemble à un autre- chacun peut faire preuve d'inventivité, l'important étant de partager la nourriture et de passer un moment convivial.


Hugo (CM2): En France, les adultes boivent l'apéritif avant de manger. Ils boivent de l'alcool. Il y a des marques comme du champagne, du ricart, du rhum, de la vodka ou du whisky. Ils boivent des sodas puis ils mangent des biscuits apéritifs comme les chips, les cacahuètes etc...


4. L'école maternelle


En France, l'école maternelle est destinée aux enfants qui ont entre 2 et 6 ans. Gratuite, elle accueille 23% des enfants de 2 ans et la quasi-totalite des enfants de 3 à 6 ans. Elles constitue un élément important du système éducatif français qui se donne pour but d'assurer l'éveil et la socialisation des jeunes enfants.


Damien (CM2): J'ai commence l'école maternelle a 3 ans mais en fait on peut aussi commencer à 2 ans. Il y a la petite section, la moyenne section, et la grande section.


A la petite section on joue et on fait la sieste.


A la moyenne section, on commence à compter, et à écrire. 


A la grande section, on commence à écrire son nom et son prénom correctement. On commence même à lire quelques mots simples. 


5. Au restaurant


Dans les restaurants, en France, on ne paie ni l'eau, ni le pain, ni la beurre, ni le couvert. Ce n'est pas toujours le cas en Europe. 


En Italie, par exemple, on doit payer un petit supplément de quelques euros pour le couvert. En Irlande et en Allemagne, le pain et la beurre ne sont pas gratuits. 


- les élèves de CM1

Don'ts

1. Breakfast

In France, breakfast is always sweet. It is usually made up of white bread or baguettes, butter, jam or chocolate-flavoured spread. 

Some children also have breakfast cereal, with or without cold milk. Children love milk, hot or cold, plain or chocolate flavored. A glass of fruit juice is also had sometimes.

Unlike French bread which is white because we used refined flour in France, in Germany, the bread is whole-wheat. "Schwarz Brot" and in Ireland, bread is toasted; this is called crustless bread. In Italy, they eat ciabatta!

There is something for everyone!

-the students of CE2

2. Religion at school: 

In France, schools are secular, which means we cannot have religion in our schools.

We don't have religious studies courses and we don't have the right to wear or show religious symbols, like the Christian cross, for example; it is completely forbidden.

We don't talk about God in school. It is part of the separation of church and state.

Free, secular public schools are something the French state puts at the disposal of all its citizens, regardless of their faiths or their beliefs; this principle guarantees everyone access to education.

The law of 15 March 2004 prohibits 'overt signs of religious nature' in primary and secondary schools. This law only applies to public institutions and does not concern private schools, which are free to allow the wearing of overt religious symbols. 

Unlike France, in Italy as well as in Ireland, religion is permitted in schools and there are even religion classes. This shocked the CP (course prepatoire) students to whom Mme Grincourt explained it very much!

They do think, however, that it would be nice to have religious education classes, just to see!

3. Aperitifs

In France, when we meet up with friends, it is tradition to begin by having an aperitif, also called an apero. It is usually a drink, often alcoholic, meant to whet the appetite before the main meal. They are usually accompanied by snacks; either foods that are small in size (olives, chips, peanuts) or small samples of larger foods (pieces of cheese, slices of savory cakes, small quiches…) Aperitifs generally do not resemble each other- each can be unique, what is important is to share food and have a good time.

Hugo (CM2): In France, adults drink an aperitif before eating. They drink alcohol. There are many types, like champagne, liqueurs, rum, vodka or whisky. They drink sodas and they eat snacks like chips, nuts etc. 

4. Nursery school

In France, nursery school is meant for children between 2 and 6. It is free and accepts 23% of 2-year-olds and almost all children between 3 and 6. It is an important part of the french education system, whose goal is the awakening and socialisation of young children.

Damien (CM2): I started nursery school when I was 3 years old but it is possible to start it at 2. There is the lower section, the middle section, and the upper section. 

In the lower section we play and take naps.

In the middle section, we begin to count and write.

In the upper section, we begin to write our first and last names. We even begin to read simple words.

5. In the restaurant

In restaurants in France, we don't pay for water, bread, butter or cutlery. This is not always the case in Europe.

In Italy, for example, we must pay a surcharge of a few euros for cutlery. In Ireland and Germany, bread and butter are not free.

-the students of CM1

COMENIUS FOOD DAY !

Oggi, mercoledì 23 novembre, i bambini della 3a e 3b della scuola primaria di Bannia hanno festeggiato il loro COMENIUS FOOD DAY con una super merenda !

Sono state preparate dai bambini due ricette francesi :

 Pommes au four aux amandes e i  biscottini di Nieulles.

 Inoltre Federico ha cucinato con la sua mamma per noi altre due ricette francesi: abbiamo potuto assaggiare le Gaufres , i biscotti che la sua nonna preparava al suo papà quand’era piccolino e  la Quiche Lorraine. 

E’ stato un momento in cui ci siamo divertiti!

 Ci piace :

cucinare, ci piace mangiare insieme,

stare in compagnia,

essere tutti amici ! 
( appunti presi da Francesco S.)

Today, Wednesday, November 23th, the third grade pupils celebrated in Bannia COMENIUS FOODDAY with a super breakfast!
  Children prepared two French recipes: Pommes au four aux amandes e i  biscottini di Nieulles .

 

                     Federico also has cooked with her ​​mother two other French recipes for us: we could taste the Gaufres, that her grandmother used to prepare to his dad when he was a  little boy, and a Quiche Lorraine. cookies

      We had a great time and  we had fun!
  We like to cooking,

 we like to eat together,
being in the company ,sharing friendship!

( quick notes taken by Francesco S.)

LE GALETTE DE ROIS

La classe 2°A ha festeggiato, il Comenius Food Day, grazie alla disponibilità di una mamma nata nel nord della Francia, cucinando il dolce tradizionale francese dell’Epifania, che si prepara per commemorare l’arrivo dei Re Magi : le Galette De Rois.

Questa torta, conosce molte varianti dal nord al sud della Francia, ed è legata ad un gioco che coinvolge i bambini. Nella galette infatti, è nascosto un piccolo oggetto chiamato “feve”(fava), proprio perché originariamente si utilizzava questo legume; chi trova nella propria fetta il piccolo oggetto, spesso una figurina santa d’argento, è eletto re o regina della festa.

Questa tradizione è così radicata che molti bambini fanno collezione di queste feves ed esiste una commercializzazione dedicata alla loro creazione.

The Galette de Rois

The Class 2 ° A was able to cook for the Comenius Food Day , thanks to a pupil's mother who was born in northern France, a traditional French dessert of the Epiphany 6^th of January, which is usually prepared to commemorate the arrival of the Three Kings.This cake, who knows many variants from north to south of France, is linked to a game involving particularly children.
Inside the galette is hidden a small object called "Feve" , a bean and whoever finds in its own slice the small object, often a holy figure of silver, is elected king or queen of the party wearing a crown.This tradition is so diffused that many children do Fèves collection and there is a market dedicated to their creation.