https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2 en-us 2023-07-02 07:02:56 UTC 2023-07-02 08:30:13 UTC hello@padlet.com petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636477058 The last week of September (25 September - 1 October 2022) the Erasmus Fressh! project mobility took place, this time in Bulgaria. 

The first day started classically at the school with a welcome ceremony for all partner countries. The Bulgarians welcomed us in their national costumes with bread, salt and honey. The main theme of the day was herbs and spices, because FRESSH is all about food, recipes and health. The children then discussed the similarities and differences of their languages. For example, the Bulgarian names were very similar to our Czech ones in oral form, also Slavic, but the different writing of Bulgarians and Greeks was a tough nut for our pupils. Those who knew a little Cyrillic had a great advantage.For lunch, pizza was served right in the school. 

In the afternoon, the pupils were divided into mixed groups and played a game in the city, getting to know the local sights and attractions. All the teams were resplendent with the colours of our flags, as each country was given caps of the same colour, ours wore white. The teams were then made up of representatives from each country so they had to communicate in English and work together as much as possible. The afternoon activity turned into a padlet about Sofia.

The day was far from over, however, as the host families prepared a dinner together at the school for the evening. Parents brought a variety of Bulgarian dishes, both sweet and savoury. There was eating and dancing. The children taught their foreign friends national and popular dances. 

The next day a trip to the mountains was planned, but because the weather was not in our favor, the program was changed. In the morning, posters were made in the school. Students worked again in teams, but this time national teams. They wrote, glued, painted to represent their country on paper for a change. We survived the heavy afternoon rain and thunderstorms in the shopping centre.

On Wednesday, the sun peeked through the fog first thing in the morning, so we were excited to leave for the beauty of the historic city of Plovdiv. And we were certainly not disappointed. There was a lot to admire. Plovdiv ranks alongside Athens and Rome as one of the oldest ancient cities. We saw the remains of the ancient forum, the aqueduct, the stadium and the magnificent amphitheatre, as well as the magnificently decorated houses of aristocratic families. We returned in the evening full of impressions. Some went to play volleyball.

Thursday was again a day trip, but we started with a motor boat trip near the town of Lukovit, this time to explore the Bulgarian countryside. We floated down a small river surrounded by picturesque rocks and pure nature, and then returned on foot along winding paths and wooden bridges. We took a bus to another natural beauty, better said, the Prochodna Cave. First it amazed us with its fifty-metre entrance, then it surprised us with two huge openings in the upper part, through which light penetrated and thanks to which it is nicknamed "God's eyes". 

On the last day there was a dance workshop in the morning with a professional instructor who taught the students salsa.
On Saturday, we returned home, full of new experiences and also a little better equipped for life, not only in terms of courage and English.

]]> 2023-07-02 07:11:44 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636477058 petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636478110 The traditional three-day course started on Wednesday 12th October in the attic of the Hájenka in Stožec, where we were staying. The introductory presentation defined the protected areas of Sumava and in quick succession mentioned the rarest Sumava plant and animal species, an overview of peat bogs and glacial lakes. This was followed by an outdoor team competition, which helped to review some of the concepts from the presentation. The afternoon programme took place in a forest glade under the pleasant sunlight. In the form of competitions and games, everyone could learn interesting facts about the life of lynx and other forest mammals. 

The main focus of the next day was a half-day trip to the Stožec chapel, some of us even climbed the Stožec rock. Stops during the trip were dedicated to the fauna of Sumava and talks about bark beetles and ways to mitigate their activity. In the late afternoon, the whole class enjoyed a sporty walk in the Forest Games Area. 

On the day of departure, we heard a nice story about deer in the information centre and searched for deer signs in Stožecky Luki. 

We spent both evenings in the clubhouse playing games together. Hopefully everyone will have nice memories of their stay in Stožec.]]> 2023-07-02 07:17:00 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636478110 petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636485250 2023-07-02 07:48:42 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636485250 petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636488981
After careful organizational and motivational preparation, we cut the bottom parts of the PET bottles. We attached balloons to the straws with duct tape. We used scissors to make holes in the lids needed to close the bottles so that the straws and balloons could pass through. Then the "koumáci" fixed everything and sealed it with a melt gun. They then made a diaphragm out of another balloon and attached it to the bottom of the bottle. Ugh!  

The model turned out to be functional - by moving the diaphragm (pulling on the bottom balloon) the lungs inflate and deflate. Goal achieved. 

]]> 2023-07-02 08:02:21 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636488981 petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636489548 On 5 December, the Primary class organized a charity sale of hand-baked goodies for the teachers and students of the gymnasium. There were various kinds of muffins, snails, cookies, lemon poppy seed cake, chocolate cake and freshly baked waffles. Proceeds will go to the Czech Red Cross Humanity Fund.  

I would like to praise the Prima class for this idea and the overall organization, I think the event was very successful. At the same time I thank all the students and teachers of the gymnasium for their support and contribution.]]> 2023-07-02 08:04:34 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636489548 petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636490712 The Christmas Basketball Tournament was attended by 7 classes from the high school and 3 classes from the primary school. The tournament was held from 8 am and a total of 10 classes competed with each other, which were divided into 2 groups, from which the first two placed classes advanced to the medal fights.

The first of the medal matches for the 3rd place was played between the 8th graders, namely the 3rd and 8th graders. Elementary School, when after a thrilling duel, the students of the third grade were finally more successful. In the finals, the classes of grammar school quinta and sexta competed, where the younger ones were ultimately more successful and the winner was the students of quinta, who received a winning cake from the headmistress and were then challenged to a duel against the teachers, where the match ended with a score of 10:2 in favor of the teachers.

]]> 2023-07-02 08:10:21 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636490712 petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636491054 Try to imagine this view: the door opens and there are confused, slightly nervous pupils standing in front of you, looking around curiously and a little frightened. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but that's the look our coach Nikcha was expecting when she first saw us. But once we got changed and went through the warm-up, it went without fear. We split into pairs and went through a circuit of machines, exercises and sweat three times with Nikcha's help. Everybody had their turn. And again the next week. Although it was strenuous and painful at times, the feeling at the end was priceless. Many thanks to Nikcha for her patience and to Yozgy for providing the workouts. I'm afraid you didn't see the last of us there:)!]]> 2023-07-02 08:11:51 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636491054 petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636491802 2023-07-02 08:15:51 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636491802 petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636492608 The students  were studying Greek mythology in their history classes. Traditionally, we went to ancient Greece to Mount Olympus and the students became gods and heroes from ancient myths and legends. We were able to meet the ruler of all gods, Zeus, and his wife Hera, Poseidon beckoned us with his trident, Dionysos invited us to fun and merriment, and even the ferryman Charon was ready to transport us to the underworld. The expedition was a success, the lesson was fun, we learned something new about the Greek gods and how to recognize them by their attributes. Thanks to all the students for their creative approach.

]]> 2023-07-02 08:19:21 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636492608 petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636492895 2023-07-02 08:20:45 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636492895 petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636493082 2023-07-02 08:21:58 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636493082 petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636493323 This weekend, six of our friends participated in the Golden Leaf Biology Competition. 

We had to do a lot to win. Walk a 3 km long trail with questions about everything that belongs to nature. Giving a presentation in front of strangers and dedicating our free time to do an insect hotel, studying for the competition and much more.  

Despite a few obstacles and the distrust of the opposing team, we still won and went on to the national round in Moravia.  

We brought back wonderful experiences and learned new things.]]> 2023-07-02 08:23:30 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636493323 petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636494648 Our zoo course started on Tuesday afternoon, when we all gathered in the school yard. We loaded up our bikes and all our gear and set off towards the Třeboň Protected Landscape Area. The journey passed like water and after an hour we arrived at the remote field station of Lužnice, which became our home for the next few days. The rest of the day was spent unpacking, playing football and getting acquainted with what all we would be expecting at the zoocourse. 

Wednesday morning was peaceful. The wake-up call was not set until 8:00, so we were all bright as a whistle even after a night of talking. Michal, the zoologist, arrived in the morning and told us about his work and arranged a place to meet us a few hours later. We all got on our bikes and under the guidance of our teacher Truhlar we set off. Along the way we used our TRIEDR binoculars to observe the fauna and flora of the Třeboň Protected Landscape Area and enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air. We spent the afternoon with Michal, with whom we examined the animals we found. We finished the whole program with a hearty meal in Veselí nad Lužnicí. After returning to the field station, ornithologist Michaela was waiting for us with her students from the University of South Bohemia, who stretched nets and tried to catch birds, which Michaela then showed us and told us about them in an engaging way. We spent the evening singing around the fire and preparing for the next day.

Thursday's wake-up call at 4:30 a.m. was not pleasant for any of us. The birds get up really early, and so did we, so we had to go map their presence in the adjacent meadow. We had been trained to identify birds by their songs from our biology classes, but even so, it was quite a challenge for some of us. We took turns in mapping in pairs, while the rest of the group watched the birds on the pond embankment or listened to the narration of the ornithologist Misha. After all the pairs were replaced, we had a lab at noon, where we examined the animals caught the previous day. Then we cooked lunch and most of us had a well-deserved afternoon nap. After resting we got on our bikes and rode with our teacher Mr. Polák to nearby Lomnica nad Lužnicí, where we rode the nature trail Velký and Malý Lomnický. This trip was not compulsory, so only those who wanted to go or who managed to wake up went. After that, it was just a pleasant last evening full of funny stories, for example from the Covid era. ]]> 2023-07-02 08:27:29 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636494648 petra_koch https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636495446 On Tuesday morning we all set off on the long journey to the train station. From there we took the train to Třísov, where we met the botanist. She started by telling us about an old tree, which some of us then hugged to find out its girth. And it was big! We then went on an honest but beautiful walk of about four hours through the Blanský Forest and Holubovské Hace Protected Landscape Area. We also stopped at a viewpoint and took a photo with the Girl's Stone. The botanist stopped by the plants, which she always told us just enough about. We took pictures of all of them for the photo album. Around noon we arrived at the village of Holubov, where we were dismissed. We took the train back to the camp. 

We all arrived there thinking we had the rest of the afternoon free. But this proved to be wrong when Mr. Polak announced that we were all going for a short walk with him. At the beginning we stopped at the monastery in Zlatá Koruna, about which he told us some nice words. For example, that they had hung monks on a large lime tree next to the monastery and since then the shape of its leaves is like their hoods. On our way through the forest we came to a charming village made of wood. Back at the campsite we just ate and exhaustedly went to sleep. 

Wednesday morning's reunion was rather more tired than Tuesday's. After a long drive to the train station we left for Cesky Krumlov. There our botanist was waiting for us and handed out leaflets about the areas we had passed through yesterday. Then she took us on a second expedition, unfortunately for our allergy sufferers, directly into the fields and meadows. The flowers here were rather more colourful and varied than yesterday. Everybody kept taking pictures because, as Mr. Truhlář liked to remind us all the time, the plant identification was coming up. With a break to eat and use the toilets, we moved on to the Heights Hills, where there were lots of protected species. At the end, the botanist said goodbye to us and we made our own way to Český Krumlov, where most of us had lunch.  

 The day after, the morning was waiting for us only the most unusual thing. And by that I don't mean cleaning our living quarters, although that was scary enough in itself. I mean the license plate. We went to the woods for that one, on a memorable bench where a few had already taken place. Once all the pairs had successfully completed it, we made our way to the train station for the last time. A couple of hours later we were happily back in Vodnany. 

]]> 2023-07-02 08:30:13 UTC https://padlet.com/petra_koch/2dkz7rrz4uibbne2/wish/2636495446