Experiential Learning Life lessons outside the classroom
Learning Spanish and More in Barcelona By Meg Dunne ‘16
O
n February 7th, fourteen students from Years 9-11, accompanied by two teachers, Ms. Tenorio and Mrs. Spicer, took the opportunity to go to Barcelona, Spain.
I had been waiting in excitement for this trip for over a year, since the destination of the 2013 Spanish Trip had been announced. We left on Thursday night, took a six hour flight to London, a one hour bus ride to a new airport, had a five hour layover, before taking another two hour flight to Barcelona. When we were in Barcelona, we spent the first two nights in a hotel so that we could recover from our jet lag. Then, on Sunday night, we met our new friends and host families. Everyone was extremely worried, as we would be staying all by ourselves with people we’ve never met before and who speak a language we hardly know. Fortunately, everyone’s family was extremely kind and welcoming. When we met the next morning, we all compared our new families: our siblings, pets, our dinner, our packed lunch… it was all very exciting.
As the week began, our schedule seemed to tighten up; there was so much to see in this beautiful city, but only so much time to do it. We woke up early in the morning for breakfast with our families, and then we went to the Sagrada Familia School with our hosts, to start classes at eight o’clock. We had two hours of private Spanish lessons in which the teacher didn’t speak any English. This was a bit of a problem for some. Afterwards, we had one-hour of lessons with our host. I went to a math lesson, which was easy because math is practically the same in every language. I also went to a History class. Luckily, we only did work for a little while and I could talk to my classmates for the rest of the lesson, improving my conversational skills.
The Business of The Bean By Marisa Whitecross ‘14
E
arlier this school year, our IB Business teacher David Martin was looking at ways we could apply what was being learned to real-life situations. To this end, he brought forward the idea of students in his class starting a business. Some of us took him up on the idea.
“A few of us were interested in taking up this challenge and started the planning process,” says Victoria Clarke '14. “It was decided to start serving Nespresso coffees to the staff and students (IB) and to call the business ‘The Bean’. “
16 Torchbearer Spring 2013
The students were very funny, and were eager to practice their English. It was nice to have an occasional break from the constant translations going through my head. After three hours of school, we ate our packed lunch in the park next to the school. Every afternoon we would visit two or three important landmarks or museums. Some of our favorite places were the Sagrada Familia, Parque Guell (above), Camp Nou, Montserrat and the Dalí Museum.
After we finished our activities we had an extra hour to stroll along Las Ramblas, to do some shopping or just stop for chocolate con leche at Café Zurich and watch young people, dressed up for Carnival, walking by.
At night we would meet up with our families again. They would ask us about our day, and we would give our best Spanish responses. At home we played games and watched TV, and for a few moments we forgot that we didn’t speak the same language, because we were still able to have fun together. I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to go on this trip, because I have learned so much about the history and the culture of Barcelona. The people there are all very friendly, they helped me to improve my Spanish skills and have given me many unforgettable memories.
To complete the business plan and get it off the ground the group
produced financial statements, calculated startup costs and defined roles for each of the four members involved. “Once we finalised the business plan, we organised a meeting with Mrs Parker who approved our idea,” she continues. “After this, we began to promote our business and purchase supplies. To get us going, Mr Martin bought the Nespresso machine in from abroad, including a variety of pods and we will eventually pay him back. “We had connections with one of the member’s father who is employed at Miles Market and he was able to get us a discount for the other
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