Comenews 1

COMENEWS WINTER

Number 1 January 2013

COMENIUS PROJECT 2012-2014

FRANCE Presentation of our school In our school, we are about one hundred.

With all the pupils, as soon as we arrived in school, we put down our school bag. In the playground, we play soccer, basketball and hopscotch. We have board games in a quiet place, the covered area. We call it « préau ».

We all have one teacher except the childrens of the 3th grade who have two teachers.

In the classroom, we read, we spell, vocabulary, sciences and we make tests. We have one break in the morning and one int the afternoon. We stay hours in school and then, it’s time to find again our parents !

Our school as a soccer and basketball playground, a giant chess board, four hopscotches, three benches, a little garden for our turtles, trees without leaves and just in front of it, our school It as two floors, and more than ten windows, a covered area, a canteen, toilets and a climbing wall. And a beautiful christmas tree we have !

Oups, I forgot to tell something, we have an artroom, a library. We have four male teachers and one female teacher and one medecine box. That’s all, thank you for reading !

Gaëlflyne, Yasmine, Léa, Sirine —France

Schoo

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rance In Fr ance, schoo years l is ob ol liga 5 grad d. In prim ary sc tory until es : C 1 hool, P, CE there 6 1…

We m are ake sp ort, tr et fre nch. ips m aths, gramm After ar prima ry sch There ool, w are 4 e go i 5th, n 4th, 3 important s gra college. rd. T schoo des : hem, l et w 6th, we go e hav lauré e an at. in hi exam : le ba gh ccaLou e t Elis e—Fr ance

oulon Snow in T In Toulon it snows every five years. And when it snows, it doesn't snow so much !!!

In winter, there is often frost on the cars windshields and a tiny bit of snow on the windows.

But in 2011, it was snowing very much in Toulon. Everybody was outside. We stopped working to have a “snowbreak” in the playground. Boys were running after girls and throwing them snowballs. Snow was everywhere: on cars, even on banches. We had a lot of fun.

Artcraft Hand tree in winter

1) Do the outline of your hand and your fo-

2) Extend every finger to make a branch

3) Paint in black the tree and do the background with cold colors pastels

PUT IN ORDER THE FOLLOWING CHRISTMAS PICTURES !

Vendée Globe race Every morning, we watch the race on internet.

It’s a race boat all around the world. They are going to do a world tour and be back in France to « Sables d’Olonne ». They will travel near Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. They will travel near Australia also.

At this moment, the first racer is François Gabart.

One day, a boat collided with another boat. Fortunatly, they had a GPS during the night.

They left 40 days ago.

Julie D, Julie B et Salim-Djimo—France

Christmas in France Christmas starts when we prepare the meal. Sometimes each family cooks a dish and sometimes everybody meets to cook together. Some children celebrate Christmas only with their parents.

Christmas menus Entries : oysters, smoked salmon, sausages from Corsica (figatelli), salad, "foie gras" (fatty liver from duck), olives, shrimps (sometimes with kiwis !)

Dishes : fish blanquette, lobsters, turkey, couscous, duck breast, lasagnas, ....

Desserts : “la bûche de Noël” (Christmas cake), and also the thirteen desserts from Provence (our area) : the oil pump, focaccia, nuts, hazelnuts, White nougat, candied fruit, Apples, Pears, oranges, fresh, grapes, mulled wine, dates, fruit paste.

The evening After dinner, we play board games, video games, we dance, we talk, we joke.

In Toulon, we can go out : it almost never snows. Afterwards, we open the presents after midnight, if we are patient, or the next morning. And party's on !

Some children don't have christmas present but they have some in Aïd-el-Seghir (another religious party).

Winter Class We will go in winter class in a village called « Saint-Jean des Crots » from the 04th of april until the 10th of april. We will ski in the skiing place « Les Orres ».

In the youth center, you can do for walks and snowshoeing.

In the evening we can do games. For example: singing, dancing ...

To ski, we must have a special ticket bought day per day.

To ski, there are two ways to slow down.

We can also pass tests: "pioupiou", "bear", "stars" ...

There are several kinds of ski runs : red, blue, green, black. They are more or less difficult.

To go to the top of the ski runs, take the chairlift or the lift.

E

IP REC

Christmas short bread biscuits

Ingrédients 1 tea spoonfull of cinnamon

Utensiles





a rolling pin



125 g. of butter



one bowl



2 tablespoons of honey



Pastry cutter



2 tablespoons of sugar



20 tablespoons of flour 

tablespoon

- 1 egg

Preparation 1- Soften butter in a bowl.

2- Mix butter,egg, sugar, honey, flour and cinnamon.

3- Spread pastry with rolling pin.

4- Cut shapes with pastry cutters.

5- Put the biscuits in hooven during 15 minutes at 180°C

Enjoy your meal !

NORVEGE

Winter in Skudeneshavn 1st grade, Skudeneshavn skole Play during winter time Skudeneshavn is placed on the westcoast of Norway.

The Golf stream does that the climate is mild. We have mild and wet summers, and a little less milder an a bit wetter winters.

Number 1 January 2013

When there is snow, we have to spend more time outdoors.

Christmas procession in church

Play in a little forest nearby the school.

Up…...and down…..

For some winters now we have had colder weather.

Therefore we have had SNOW. That is excotic for us!

Some numbers in Norwegian

Christmas procession in Church Our church invite the 1st grade to a procession. We partcipate in a roleplay about Jesus’ birth in

Betlehem 2000 years ago.

En

1

To

2

Tre

3

Fire

4

Fem

5

Seks

6

Sju

7

School

Logo

Glimpses from our school yard.

Our school was built in 1981.

After 30 years, the school was developed and a new wing was build to make room for more pupils.

Our school is situated in great surroundings, next to a wood and the field. This give us lots of opportunities for nature experiences.

Leadership Team: 2, 25 Teachers, 1 School Secretary, 10 School Assistents, 2 Cleaners and a Caretaker.

We are 229 pupils in 13 classes, and staff of 40 adults working in school:

We start school when we are 6 years old and stay in primary school for seven years (Year 1

Winter in Skudeneshavn ”The summer town of Norway Skudeneshavn is located on the southwest coast of Norway. It is described as the ”white pearl by the sea”, but that is not due to a lot of snow during wintertime, but because of the old town’s white houses.

In Skudeneshavn the winters are wet and mild with a lot of rain.

There may be winters without any snow, but if we are lucky and get snow, we love to play outside. In December, this school year, we

had snow for a few days. We had a great time playing together.

We built snowmen, had snowball fights and drein on sledges. We are very competitive and had a race.

When you play outside in the snow you get cold and a nice cup of hot chocolate does wounders to your cold body.

-7).

Then we start secondary school which last for three years (Year 8-10).

Christmas cookies COMENIUS PROJECT Chocolate

buns: 1. Whisk eggnog: 3 eggs 3 tablespoons sugar 250 gr powdered sugar 2. Melt 1 1/2 pk coconut butter and 2 1/2 pl cooking chocolate (light and dark) in a bowl, over hot water.

3. Mix it all together and add puffed rice.

4. Use two tablespoons and make the cookis in Muffins cups.

5.

Put the

cakes in the fridge.

Christmas selebrations in Norway We are selebrating Christmas Ave, 24’th December, together with family and friends.

sausages and gravies to supply the meat. We are having rice pudding for dessert.

Lots of people are going to church before they are having their Christmas dinner. At five o’clock the church bells are ringing for Christmas and it’s time for dinner.

We are also making all kinds of christmas

We are having different kinds of food for dinner.

The traditions varies from the different areas of Norway.

Lamb ribs, pork ribs, cod, turkey or lobster are the most common dishes for Chrsitmas dinner. And of course we are having all kinds of vegatables,

after dinner. Then we are gathering in our livingrooms where Santa Claus has delivered the presants the night before Christmas.

Christmas dinner in Norway

cookies, al least seven kinds! Yummi!

We are all loking forward to getting our Chistmas presants

Delicious!

Making Christmas cookies at school The last week befor our christmas holiday we spent a day in the school kitchen making Christmas Cookies. We made three different kinds and they all tastet delicious!

We had a good time making the cookies, and we are really

looking forward to Year 7, because then we are going to have kitchen classes every week!

You find the recipe for one of the cookies we made in the left column.

Norwegians and Nature Many Norwegians adore nature. Unspoiled nature is a national symbol and everyone may use the fields and mountain areas for walking and field trips as long as you do not interfere privacy or wildlife.

There are a lot of areas for hunting wild animals, mountain climbing, hiking and going for walks.

Many families spend their weekends and holidays out in the rural areas.

Winters Sports in Norway ”Norwegians are born with skis on” During winter time snow cover large parts of Norway.

Many Norwegians love skiing. They go cross-country skiing, ski-jumping and downhill skiing at weekends, during their holidays and after work and school.

Cross-country skiing Over the years Norway has been a very successfull Nation in winter sports and have won many medals.

29’th December 2012— 6’th January 2013 Norwegian skiers took part in Tour de Ski. They competed in Germany, Switzerland and Italy. None of our skiers won, but both the men’s team and the ladie’s team did well.

Ski jumping In December / January Norwegian Ski Jumbers did well in The German-Austrian Four HillsTournament (tysk: Vierschanzentournee ) which consist of four ski jumping competitions. It startet of in Obersdorf 30’th December 2012 and ended in Bischofshofen 6’th January 2013.

Anders Jacobsen from Norway won in Obersdorf and in GarmischPartenkirchen, was number 7 in Innsbruck and came 2’nd in the last competition in

Ski Jumping Ladies Ski jumper Anette Sagen won for the first time ever a World Cup trophy for ladies in Schonach, Germany,

Women's World Cup was established in front 2011/12season.

Bischofshofen. Totaly Anders came 2’nd after Gregor Schlierenzauer from Austria. Tom Hilde, also from Norway, came 3’rd.

We are very proud of the Norwegian jumbers and enjoy watching them on TV.

bulgarie

winter Merry Christmas Joyeux Noël

Buon Natale Wesołych Świąt

Нyvää joulua God jul

Gelukkig kerstfeest Весела Коледа

CHRISTMAS EVE Christmas is one of the brightest Christian holidays.

Christmas unites family and makes people better.

The day before Christmas is known as " Little Christmas"and the eve of the holiday - as Christmas Eve" " . The host cuts a thick pear tree stump - " Yule log" , which ignites the fire in the hearth and should burn continu-

ously throughout the night. Traditionally the oldest man in the family can guess what the future will be by studying the Yule log.

Incense is burned in the house and a pray is said.

CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER Christmas Eve table meals are vegetarian. Women make stuffed peppers and vegetable leaves. They make small baked rings that are given to children.

Christmas bread is homemade. It is decorated with crosses, circles and flowers - a symbol of fertility.

Festive dinner dishes include basic foods that swell up when cooked: corn, beans, lentils, rice, dried fruit, raisins. They are a symbol of conception, pregnancy and birth of new life.

Symbolism of the Christmas meals: Put the honey on the table - your life to be sweet.

Onions show prosperity.

Garlic protects from evil forces.

Wheat, the most important meal of the Bulgarians, must also be at the table, corn is a stylish decoration for the festive table.

You should put pumpkin seeds, sunflower and other nuts on the table.

The nuts can show health and luck if Miglena Gancheva – 4th grade

Victoria Gerasimova – 4th grade they have good kernels and diseases will be away from you and your home will be complete. If they are rotten , wait for trouble.

Dinner starts early. The best part of the holiday is that the family gathers all together and share the thrill of anticipation of the holiday. It cannot be replaced by the most expensive menu.

SOURVAKNITSA Necessary materials:

 a cornel branch  popcorns

Christmas In Bulgaria School Christmas concert

 dried fruit and vegetables

 peppers  apples and plums  corn  pumpkin seeds  baked rings  wool and thread

On Christmas Eve, after midnight young men come together and begin circling the village, house by house, always starting from the east. They are divided in order to be able to visit all houses until sunrise. Dressed in festive costumes, many of them are disguised as animals, women and elderly people holding colorful crooks in their hands.

Christmas Exhibition

All families are gathered around the fire, 25th December and 7th January /when eagerly anticipating Christmas. When the Christ was baptized/ are considered to young men come into the house, the ownbe “bad days”. People didn’t dare to ers welcome them and give them money, go out in the dark because they befood or wine. They sing songs in return, lieved some evil spirits were waiting and bless each family member. The for them there. In some youngest woman in the According to the old Bulgarian family, or maid, if any, places there used to be gives young men a bun. tradition some lucky charms are carnivals during that put into the traditional bread For Christmas the time. meals include different with wishes for the coming year. meat, mainly pork and Today the wishes are written on chicken, traditional paper and then wrapped in folio. homemade bread, pasThey are wishes for health, good try with cheese.

Gergana Boneva – 6th grade job, a baby, success in studies, According to the old wedding.

Preparation: belief, the days between 1. Take a cornel branch and cut the

Wishing good luck New Year in the old name is associated with Vasilyov beautiful day and love on this day. This ritual is performed only by boys until 15-16 years of age with fresh cornel rods that had been previously adorned with rings, coins,

un-

necessary twigs and buds on stem.

popcorn and wool.

In the morning each Vasilyov boy pats with a decorated cornel stick each family member with wishes for health and prosperity.

The traditional food on the night before the new year comes is the homemade cheese pastry. Inside it some lucky charms are hidden for everybody. They are short wishes for good health, marriage, a new house, a new car, a lottery prize, etc.

2. Tie the ends of the two longest twigs to the stem to form the Bulgarian letter “Ф”. If there are additional twigs, you can form two or three circles round the stem.

3. Use some cotton and a needle to make some strings with popcorn. In the same way you can string dried fruit. In some places the sourvaknitsa is decorated with coins.

4. Wind the wool, the thread round the

School Christmas concert

twigs and tie the strings.

WINTER GAMES TWO TOWNS The ground is divided into two towns at a distance of 30-35 steps from each other. Divide the children into two – “refugees” and “border guards”. The refugees are in the field of one of the towns. The border guards are outside the towns and try to hit with snowballs as many refugees as they can. The refugee who is hit, leaves the game. When all the refugees reach the field

Maria Marinova – 4th grade

of the other town the teams change their posi-

FIRST SNOWFALL

CHRISTMAS

Snow is falling, falling, falling Sparkles are coming down The snowman rubs his eyes and feels happy till the dawn.

Christmas has come and little children are waiting for Santa to bring presents for them.

Snow is falling, falling, falling Sparkles are coming down To the left and to the right Snowflakes are dancing around

A hat – for Annie A sledge – for Dancho everybody is in a hurry to have fun.

Dimana Zhelyazkova – 4th grade

Svetoslava Todorova – 5th grade

tions. The winner is the team with less hit players.

Velin Georgiev – 4th grade MERRY-MAKING It is snowing white snowflakes are dancing and having fun.

Little children are going down the hill merrily and happily all day long!

Svetoslava Todorova – 5th grade

RIDDLES It stands up in the snow with a carrot for a nose with snow balls for legs And a saucepan on his head /a snowman/ When it’s cold, it becomes bigger, When it’s hot it becomes smaller. /ice/

Plamena Hristova – 4th grade

DUEL Two players stand at a distance of 10 m one from another. They draw a circle /1 m in diameter/ and stay in the centre.

Lots are drawn to choose the first to play. Each player tries to hit the other player with a snowball. The duel continues until one of them hits the “rival”. Hitting the head is forbidden.

BULGAR-

BULGARIA PUMPKIN PASTRY INGREDIENTS: for the dough: 1 egg 50 ml vegetable oil 1 spoon vinegar 1 tablespoon salt 300 ml water 600 g flour 100 g flour additional 200 g butter

Velin Georgiev – 4th grade

Find 15 words associated with Christmas.

S N O W T T J A B E L L O B W S

A D E R Y Y A W B N F L U E E N

N G B W H U P P V M G H I L Z O

T H N E G R O O C A V R K G A W

A J B G T Y L L X L A F T I S M

C H R I S T M A S T K R X U D A

L K M U J W N N H A Y A Z M E N

A Y K I U Y D D L K M N W T C E

U U B U L G A R I A M C Y B R F

S I O P R I R T G E D E R X G R

D E E R O P E D D F G V I Z F V

G B M V G R E A T B R I T A I N

C A N D L E T J G T R W A Y N H

H T S C J S R U Y X M C L H L J

R G S Z M E U Y M Z H R Y N A H

I W A O P N O R W A Y E O U N J

S T M A S T R E E F G O P K D U

for the stuffing: 500 g grated pumpkin half cup of sugar half cup of walnuts 2 spoons oats 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 pinch of clove 1 tablespoon grated orange crust powder sugar with cinnamon

PREPARATION 1.Sieve the flour with the salt. Make a hole like a well in the middle of the flour. Put the egg, the oil, the vinegar and the water. Knead the dough until it stops to stick.

2.Divide the dough into 3 balls and each ball into 4 pieces.

The dough is left to rest for 30 min.

3.Each ball is spread in a sheet /20 cm in diameter/ and is oiled. The sheets are divided in three piles and left in the fridge for 30 min.

4.Each pile is spread again in sheets /40 cm in diameter/ which are oiled. Then they are folded like envelopes. They are left in the fridge for 30 min.

5.The three envelopes are spread in big rectangles and are cut in to three bands.

6.The pumpkin, the sugar, the cinnamon, the clove, the

Мариел Гочева—ІV а клас Neli Cholakova – 2nd grade

oats and the orange crust are mixed together.

7.Part of the stuffing is put in each band and rolled up. The rolls are placed in a baking dish and baked until redden. Finally, sprinkle with powder sugar and cinnamon.

PUMPKIN PAS-

Siana Marinova – 5th grade

Stela Georgieva – 5th grade

Board of Editors: Reporters: Photographer: Editor: Translator:

Mariela Gocheva—4th grade Dimana Zhelyazkova—4th grade Rositsa Georgieva—4th grade Velin Georgiev—4th grade Mariana Georgieva Daniela Lazarova

PREPARATION: Make soft dough with the beaten eggs, sugar, yoghurt, baking soda, salt and flour. Make balls and form sticks /24 cm long and 1,5 cm wide/. Make rings and place them in an oiled baking dish. Spread the beaten yolk on each of them and sprinkle with sugar, poppyseed and sesame. Bake until turn pink.

INGREDIENTS: 2 eggs 3 spoons sugar 1 tablespoon baking soda 3 spoons yoghurt 250 g flour 1 yolk

Boriana Mladenova – 2nd grade

January 2013

Cullivoe Primary School Number 1

COMENIUS PROJECT 2012-2014 Winter Activities In Shetland, UK

Sometime we get snow, it’s normally in the middle of winter. The snow does not stay for long because we live close to the sea, so the salty water and air splashes on the snow and melts it.

We normally go sledging when it snows, we try to get lots of people to sledge. Sometimes the school go to Houll. Houll is a steep hill and when you go down it you go really fast. We have snowball fights

if the snow is good.

There are three types of snow, there is ice snow and flaky snow which is the good snow and there is slushy snow. We are not allowed to have snowball fights in school for safety reasons. If the snow is deep we can make snow men. The first step is to make a snowball and roll it in snow to make it big and that will be the bottom. The second step is to make another snow ball

We have to wrap up warm in and role it in the winter or we get cold! snow but make in smaller than the bottom and put it on the top of the bottom. Then make a smaller ball and that will be the Christmas head and then you can add a carrot as presents under the tree a nose and stones as Sparkly A green Christmas tree in the eyes and buttons. living room

By Kyle

Some Winter Poems Robin bird!!

Robin red breast softly skates on ice, Robin runs like rain He likes life, In nature! Just because it’s fun!

By Emma Winter Poem Santa sledges slowly,

Santas elves sleep lazily Snow drifts down to the ground Presents fall softly.

By Dylan Winter Poem Rudolph running round up hill, Santas elves sleep soundly,

Snow soft, settling down

By Ben

Stripy tinsel hanging on the banister Santa’s big foot steps Loud Christmas music playing Loud bells are chiming Yummy Christmas pudding Lovely candles Hot pie

By Jasmine

Christmas Time Christmas Tree Party The Christmas tree party is for everyone and there is a big Christmas tree and there is lots of decorations. It is held at the hall.

We get to play lots of fun games like musical statues. We sing jingle bells to get Santa out of his work shop, then we get presents and our photo taken. We also get goody bags. We sing songs and play more games. It is fun.

By Lana Santa comes to visit

Gingerbread 

350g plain flour



1-2 teaspoon ground ginger

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1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

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100g butter or margarine

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175g soft light brown sugar



1 egg



4 tablespoons golden syrup

our school in the last week of term before Christmas.

Makes about 20 biscuits.

Put the flour, ginger and soda into a bowl and rub in the butter.

Add sugar and stir in the syrup and egg to make a firm dough.

Roll out to about 5mm thick and cut out your gingerbread men. If you don't have a gingerbread man cutter then use whatever you have - stars and hearts are just as tasty.

Bake at 190 C /Gas 5 on greased baking trays (spaced out, as they will spread) for 10 to 15 mins until golden brown. Leave to firm up for a couple of minutes before placing on a wire rack to cook.

Once cooled, decorate with icing.

We Carol sing every year in our local shop.

Carol singing

What is carol singing?

Every December we practice Christmas carols in school. We get the bus up to the shop and when we get there we sing our songs. Some people sing solos and some of the community join in with the songs they know. We wear Christmas hats. We learn carols like Jingle Bells. My favorite is Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. We learn lots of other carols, here’s a few“When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney”, “The First Noel”, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, and we learned some new ones this year, “Winter Wonderland” and “Good King Wenceslas”.

In school we make posters to put up around the shop to let the community know when it is on, where it is at and why we are doing this.

We sing in the community to entertain them with Christmas spirit.

We do this every year to be part of the community AND HAVE FUN!

By Alfie

Up Helly Aa Up Helly Aa started on the 25th of January 1957 in Cullivoe.

Up Helly Aa is a festival that we have in Shetland. It celebrates the Vikings and is a fire festival.

In the morning we all get together. We make small cardboard shields and we march over to the galley shed, when we march we sing The Up Helly Aa song. When we get there we see the galley and get in it and get towed back to school in the galley. Then there is a party with lots of people. When everybody leaves the Vikings stay so they can have dinner with us.

Then they have to go so they can visit all the people in Cullivoe.

At Up Helly Aa we have lots of events, one of them is that

before Up Helly Aa the Vikings build a boat called a galley. We call the Vikings the Jarl squad. Another event is the procession were the Jarl and the band sit in the galley and the other Vikings and other people around the community aged 14 or over hold big torches. They look like flaming marshmallows on sticks.

They march down a hill with the galley in the middle.

When they reach the bottom there is a small pier where people keep their boats. The Jarl and band get out of the galley and put the galley out to sea so it floats away, everyone with torches goes round in a

circle and takes turns throwing in their torches so the galley burns. After that we all go up to the hall to see lots of squads and we have a school squad too, we have lots of fun! A squad is a small act, like a song or a dance about the Jarl. Up Helly Aa is very fun and special.

By Sarah

Jokes 1. Why was Cinderella such a poor football player?

2. Whats our favourite king at Christmas?

3. What do you get if a vampire crosses the road with Jack Frost?

4. What did the snowman hange over his baby’s crib?

Answers

5. Whats the difference between a Christmas alphabet and an ordinary alphabet?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Shes always running away from the ball.

StocKINGS Frost Bite!

Snow Mobile A Christmas alphabet has Noel.

J.R.S.O BE SEEN It gets very dark in winter in the U.K. We do not have very many street lights in Cullivoe.

We do not have very many pavements either so we walk on the side of the road. We wear reflective vests, bands and strips. They reflect light when a car light shines on them and we carry torches so we can see in the dark. We walk on the right side of the road so that we can see the driver and the driver can see us.

A J.R.S.O is a Junior Road Safety Officer. We make sure that our friends are safe on the road. We do lots of work on road safety like make posters, colour in pictures, safety demonstrations and lots more. The J.R.S.O`s this year are Christina, Kyle Williamson and Alfie Lawson.

By Christina Santa’s presents Mum’s footsteps Ice cream for pudding

By Katy

This is our Burns Supper. We have this in January. We do this to celebrate the Scottish poet Robert Burns.

We put on a big school show every year in the Hall. Everyone comes along to watch us perform.

Primary 1 and 2 from Cullivoe Primary school wrote poems about what they might see, hear and smell I see Santa’s sledge and sack My chocolate Christmas sponge cake I hear Santa’s footsteps on my roof I smell Santa’s Christmas food

By Beth

Santa is delivering presents Lights are twinkling Santa’s boots are thumping on the roof Loud music in the sitting room I can smell Christmas pie Christmas dinner smells yummy.

By Abbie

Our School is ‘Fgura’ Primary A. Our school is made up of two sections: kindergarten and primary. Five hundred children attend Fgura Primary A. We have a lot of fun learning new things. Our head teacher is Ms Bartolo and we love her very much!

Fgura is a town in the south of Malta.

Much of Fgura was built around the 1960s. This is our coat of arms.

This is the traditional Maltese costume-The Għonnella.

Join the dots to finish her costume.

Colour it black.

Winter in Malta is not very cold and it does not snow. During Winter we enjoy ourselves with a lot of traditions especially during the Christmas season.

Traditions

One of our traditions is making a Christmas crib. Families usually put up a Christmas crib in their house. In it one can find clay figures of Baby Jesus, Holy Mary, St. Joseph, the Three Kings and shepherds.

On Christmas Eve, a procession with Baby Jesus is held in our villages. Adults and children walk around the streets singing Christmas Carols.

Another tradition is Midnight Mass. This starts on Christmas eve at around eleven o’clock in the evening, with a pageant. At midnight the Mass starts. Many people look forward to listening to the child’s sermon.

Here, a boy or a girl usually aged 7 to 10 years old does the preaching of the sermon instead of the priest. The child learns the sermon by heart and starts learning it four to five weeks before they preach it during midnight Mass.

Let’s Cook

The imbuljuta is a traditional Maltese recipe done mostly at Christmastime.

Traditionally, Maltese people ate imbuljuta right after Midnight Mass on Christmas day.

Ingredients: ½ kilo dried chestnuts The rind of 1 orange and 2 tangerines A piece of lemon rind 100g dark chocolate 4 tbsp cocoa powder 4 heaped tbsp brown sugar 1 heaped tbsp white sugar 8 cloves 1 tsp grated nutmeg 1 tsp ground mixed spice

Method: Wash the dried chestnuts and soak them overnight. Next morning, rinse them well, cover them well with water, bring them to the boil and simmer till just tender. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring back to the boil and simmer till the chestnuts are meltingly soft and have absorbed all the delicious flavours. Either serve this cold, at room temperature or warm it up with a tot of brandy to enjoy after midnight mass. Serves 8-10 portions

The Science Corner

The robin is a small bird known for its red breast. It has a beautiful song and a tik-ik-ik -ik-ik alert call. The robin comes to Malta in October and stays here till March. Most of the robins which visit Malta come from Northern Europe. Robins do not breed in Malta as the weather gets too hot and dry in summer.

Here is a word search about the robin for you. Words to find : robin, bird, worms, insects, spiders, berries, seeds, October, Malta, March, Europe, weather.

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FINLAND The winter in Finland is very fun. You can do snowcastles, throw snowballs and other fun stuff. You can go skating, skiing and just go and ride down a snowy hill. It’s so fun. The only bad side is that it is very cold.

Snowman Roosa Mutka, Halkokari School, Finland

Henna Passoja Halkokari School Finland

Winter in Finland

What is that elf doing behind the tree? Elf is a writing a report to Santa`s list of naughty children and nice children.

Winter in Finland is so cold. Winter’s here have temperature-20* C . In Finland winter is full of snow. Snow is just a little bit cold, and melts in the hand. Thanks to the snow, in Finland people can skate and ski. In the picture, the girl is skiing. In Finland one can also play ice hockey. Because in Finland it is so cold, they use a beanie just like in this photo down there.

Christmas in Finland In Finland the Santa comes to give the presents in the evening. In Finland Christmas food is ham, and some box foods. In these pictures are ham and beanie.

Oona Haukilahti & Suvi Känsäkoski, Halkokari School, Finland

Winter Game — Questions and answers 1. What is Finland`s winter sport? (answer: Cross-country skiing) 2. In what city does Santa Claus live? (answer: in Rovaniemi) 3. How many months does the winter last? (answer: Three months) 4. Search in the internet what is the Finnish word LUMI?

Henna Passoja Halkokari School Finland

(answer:

It is a snow)

5.What is Finland’s national animal? (answer: Bear) 6. GUESS! What has been the coldest temperature ever in Finland? (answer: - 51,5*C) 7.What colour has a rabbit in the winter? (answer: White, like a snow) 8. What is Finland’s capital? And where is it? (answer: Helsinki, and it’s in southern Finland)

9. When does Santa Claus come in Finland? (answer: On the 24.12., in the evening)

WINTER IN BELGIUM December 6: visit of Sinterklaas

Sinterklaas came into the school with a fire truck.

In the classroom we sang a song for the good holy man.

In his holy book he could see that de kids of the 2nd grade behaved very good... until now.

Because we were so good he gave us books for the class and a little bag of sweets.

In our hearts we are already dreaming of next year...

Fairy tales in kindergarten Every year we work with fairy tales. This year we worked with the fairy tale "Goldilocks and the three bears'.

Together with the children we played the story with hugs and toddlers and also performed on stage.

With a box of biscuits we made a bear, we sorted the bears from small to large. We made a necklace for the bearsfeast and we ate porridge.

We are never too old to discover the power of fairy tales!

Spring, Summer, Autumn … and WINTER! On a cold (-5°) winterday in Belgium. You open the door of a home. Feel the warmth of the wood stove. You see the Christmas tree shine. Children hang decorated balls, figurines, garlands in the tree. Here's a recycled example ... you need: popsicle sticks (used or new, colored or plain) glue paper googly eyes beads poster paint markers Cut out a pattern for the figure you want to make.

Color in using poster paint, markers or any other coloring material .

Baking Belgian Waffles Nice Belgian waffles for when it’s very cold: Use 250g real butter, 300g self-raising flour, 250g sugar, 4 eggs, 3 sachets of vanilla sugar.

You mix everything very good.

Wait a few hours and you can start to bake.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The end of the year is approaching and that means a busy time in kindergarten.

The children make a great craft project and give this gift home to mom and dad.

The children also crafting a New Year letter. On the back of the New Year's letter is the poem pasted. In class we practice in the poem. This verse is at the start of the new year "read" to the parents.

Besides the busy period, it is definitely a great time. The Christmas tree stands in the classroom and the children can decorate it nicely.

We make it fun by several lamps to burn. Just before the Christmas holidays we celebrate together party. We're socializing for something to eat and drink. To finish we dance to upbeat music.

New Year’s Poem ik kan dansen, tra la la ik kan springen, hop sa sa Ik kan tellen, 1-2-3-4 Ik wens je een jaartje vol plezier!

I can dance, tra la la I can jump, hop sa sa I can count, 1-2-3-4 I wish you a year full of fun!

Holiday preparation: a busy December December was a very busy month for our class!

On December 5th Sinterklaas visited our school.

We welcomed him with songs and stories about our life here at school. Because we’ve all been good boys and girls during the past year, we got a couple of presents: books and a lot of games to use in our classes.

After that, we had a week filled with tests. Over the last weeks we learned a lot of new letters and words in the first grade, while the second graders learned how to read and write even more difficult words and had to do complicated sums.

And so we all tried our best to make very few mistakes during the tests.

At the end of the month, we all got a report card to take home on which the teacher marked our excellent and well deserved grades.

Just before the holidays, there was time for a party.

Together we watched a movie about Christmas on our brand new digibord. And to end the day, we enjoyed drinks and snacks during a little Christmas party.

We wish you all a fantastic 2013!

This is how we celebrate the end of the year in Belgium: At the beginning of december we put a Christmas tree in the living room. We decorate it with garlands, Christmass balls and little lights.

Some people put lights in their garden.

On Christmas eve we have diner with the family and we put presents under the tree which we open after diner. On New Years Eve we also have a big party with diner, presents and fireworks at midnight. On New Years Day we read our New Years Letter to our parents and grand-parents. We prepared this letter at school. After reading we again get a present.

Christmas in Poland

In Poland, Christmas Eve is a day first of fasting, then of feasting. The feast begins with the appearance of the first star, and is followed by the exchange of gifts. The following day is often spent visiting friends. Poland is a land of intriguing traditions, superstitions, and legends.

Its people have always combined religion and family closeness at Christmas time. Gift giving plays only a minor role in the rituals, emphasis being placed instead on making special foods and decorations. Traditionally, Advent is an important season in the Polish year, with special church services, known as Roraty, being held every morning at 6am. Roraty is a special mass (or communion service) held at dawn and dedicated to Mary for receiving the good news from the angel Gabriel . The four Sundays of Advent are said to represent the 4,000 years of waiting for Christ. During Advent and, in some homes, on Christmas Eve, bees wax is poured on water, and fortunes are told from the shapes, which emerge. Special tasks carried out during Advent are the baking of the Christmas gingerbread or honey cake, and the making of Christmas decorations. Gingerbread is made in a great variety of shapes, including hearts, animals and St Nicholas figures. Traditional decorations include the spiders, which are handmade mobiles, stars and decorated eggshells. Beautifully lit Christmas trees are placed in all public areas, outside churches and in homes. Traditionally the trees are decorated with shiny apples, walnuts, beautifully wrapped chocolate shapes and many homemade decorations and candles. On the top of the tree is a star or a glittering top piece. In many homes, sparklers are hung on the branches of the trees giving it a magical air. Sometimes the trees are left standing until February the 2nd, the feast day of St Mary of the Candle of Lightning. During Advent, the carolers or star carriers, used to begin wandering through the towns and villages and this would continue until Epiphany. Some of the carolers sang carols; others recited verses or put on creches or puppet show, or nativity scenes. The last two customs are developed from traditional manger scenes or Jaselka /a nativity play/ or crib. One tradition unique to Poland is the sharing the "oplatek", a thin wafer into which is pressed a holy picture. People once carried these oplatek from house to house to wish their neighbours a Merry Christmas. Nowadays, the bread is mostly shared with members of the family and immediate neighbours. As each person shares pieces of the wafer with another person, they are supposed to forgive any hurts that have occurred over the past year and to wish the other person all the happiness in the coming year.

On Christmas Eve, so important is the first star of the night that it has been given the affectionate name of "little star" or Gwiazdka, in remembrance of the Star of Bethlehem. On that night, all watch the sky anxiously, hoping to be the first to cry out, "The star!" The moment the star appears, people start eating. Families unite for the most carefully planned meal of the year, Wigilia, the Christmas Eve supper. The Wigilia derives its name from the Latin word vigilare, which means to watch or keep vigil.

According to tradition, bits of hay have been spread beneath the tablecloth as a reminder that Christ was born in a manger. An even number of people must be seated around the table or tradition states someone may die in the coming year. Wigilia is a family feast and it's considered bad luck to entertain a guest on this sacred night. In some places an empty place setting is left at the table for the Baby Jesus or a wanderer who can come in need or if a deceased relative should come and would like to share in the meal. The meal begins with the breaking of the Oplatek. Everyone at the table breaks off a piece and eats it as a symbol of their unity with Christ. There should be 12 meals- symbol of 12 apostles. Poppy seed cake, beet soup, prune dumplings, carp, herrings and noodles with poppy seed are universally Polish Christmas foods. Often there is compote of dried fruits. The remainder of the evening is given to stories and songs around the Christmas tree. It is decorated with nuts, apples and ornaments made from eggshells, coloured paper, straw, and hand blown glass baubles. In areas of the country, children are taught that "The Little Star" brings the gifts. As presents are wrapped, carolers may walk from house to house, receiving treats along the way. In Poland, an elaborate tradition called Wigilia is celebrated. Beginning on Christmas Eve, a strict 24-hour fast is observed which ends with a huge Christmas feast. In honour of the star of Bethlehem, the meal cannot begin until the first star of night appears.

Though Christmas is in Poland is officially known as Boze Narodzenie, it is most often referred to as Gwiazdka, which means "Little Star� .Once the star appears, a special rice wafer blessed by the parish priest and called oplatek, is broken into pieces and shared by all.

Then, finally the meal can begin. The feast consists of twelve dishes, one for each Apostle. The table is always set with one extra seat in case a stranger, the Holy Spirit, or a deceased relative should appear to share the meal

ONLY JOKINGJ „I`ve lost my dog!”

“You should put an advertisement in the newspaper.”

“That`s crazy. He can`t read.”

“Doctor, doctor, people keep ignoring me.”

“Next, please.”

“Doctor, doctor, I keep thinking I`m a dog.”

“Lie on the couch.” “ I`m not allowed on the couch.”

Because 90% accidents occur in the home- we advise you to move.

On a hypochondriac`s gravestone: I TOLD YOU I was ill.

“Mummy, I don`t want to go to Australia.”

“Be quiet and keep digging.”

The borsch and ravioli Ingredients: 2 cloves of garlic 4 medium beets 2 liters vegetable stock (carrot, onion, parsley, leeks) dried herbs: 2 bay leaves, 2 tablespoons of marjoram, 6 grains of black pepper, 4 grains of allspice 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley 3 tablespoons of lemon juice salt and freshly ground black pepper Preparation: Rinse mushrooms in a sieve, put into a saucepan, add 2 cups of cold water and leave it overnight to soak. The next day, cook mushrooms until soft, which may take about 20 minutes, in the water in which they were soaking, with the addition of garlic and bay leaf.

Wash beets, wrap each in aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet and bake until tender for about 1 hour. Open the foil, peel and grate on large mesh.

Into boiling broth with vegetables add marjoram, pepper, allspice and parsley. Add grated beets, season with salt and bring to the boil. Cook over a tiny fire for about 3 -4 minutes, remove from the heat and add lemon juice. Strain broth and vegetables and connect to the brew of mushrooms. A few mushrooms are left in the soup, and the rest can be used for the stuffing of ravioli.

Soup with carrots and lentils Ingredients: 4 medium carrots (about 700 g) 2 tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil 1 chopped onion 2 - 3 full tablespoons of butter 1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger (or less, for the mild version) 200 g of red lentils sea salt and freshly ground pepper 3 tablespoons of tomato puree 1.5 liters of hot vegetable broth 1 cup of milk or more for the right consistency of soup Extras: a tiny star-shaped pasta, or rice Preparation: Peel carrots, wash and cut into 2 - 3 inch pieces. In heavy-bottomed saucepan heat the olive oil, fry the onions. Add the butter and ginger and simmer for about half a minute over low heat.

Add carrots and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Then add the lentils, stir, season with salt and pepper, and cook stirring occasionally for 3 minutes.

Add tomato puree, pour in the broth, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes or until carrots and lentils are tender.

Mix to a smooth mousse, add the milk and mix again. Pour more milk if the soup was too thick.

Serve the soup hot with cooked noodles or rice.

Dried fruit compote Ingredients: 30 grams of dried fruit: apples, apricots, pears, bananas 10-15 grams of pitted prunes (best our Polish variety) a handful of raisins a few cloves a pinch of cinnamon 1.5 liters of water 1 tablespoon of sugar

Preparation: Pour some hot water over the dried fruit in a sieve, put it in a pot and pour 1.5 liters of boiled cold water. Leave overnight or longer.

Remove the fruit, sprinkle sugar, cinnamon and cloves and cook for 10 minutes. Pour the fruit syrup. Leave the compote to cool. Serve in decorative bowls with a spoon.

Winter in La Spezia

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Comprehensive Institute 1 La Spezia has 3 primary schools, 2 preschools and 1 secondary school.

Jean Piaget school is the name of the secondary or middle school where students go for 3 years – from 11 or 12 to 14 or 15 years old.

Manzoni, Revere and Maggiani are all primary schools that children attend from 6 years of age to 11 years.

Strà and Via Puccini are pre schools where children go from 3 to 6 years .

Here is a picture of some of our Christmas decorations.

Winter in La Spezia Winter in La Spezia is mild. You can ski in the mountains nearby or go for pleasant walks by the sea. Here in the temperature rarely goes below zero. So when it snows like last year, everything stops! School closes. Buses stop working. Here you can see some photos of our schools in the snow.

Christmas

Here you can see the nativity scene made from recycled plastic objects on the hills in Manarola.

Here you can see the Christmas scene organised under water every year

In Italy Christmas is celebrated with family: cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, brothers, sisters and parents. We decorate the Christmas trees, which can be either plastic or real. We give each other presents which are left under the tree. We write a letter to Santa Claus before Christmas asking for presents. On Christmas eve the tradition is to prepare biscuits and a glass of milk for Santa Claus. On Christmas morning we wake up to find presents under the tree and we open them!!!

On Christmas day we eat fish or tortellini, not turkey! On Christmas eve we eat panettone and pandoro.

Christmas food game: Here is some of the food we eat on Christmas day. See if you can match the food with the name Panettone Torrone Pandoro Tortellini Walnuts Panettone salato

A group of divers comes out of the water holding, on a beautiful white shell, the baby Jesus. It starts at 11:30 PM. .

La Bufana COMENIUS PROJECT During the Befana (6th January) there is no school as it is a national holiday.

FILASTROCCA The night of 5th January we decoPOPOLARE rate our fireplaces with socks.

The Befana brings sweets and chocolates to good children. To naughty children she brings coal (it’s pretend coal and is really a sweet – you can see it in the picture). She puts them in the socks.

She is a witch and is very ugly, and old and flies on a broom. 

No tizia 1

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No tizia 2

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No tizia 3

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No tizia 4

You can colour this picture of the Befana. The handle of the broom is brown. The brush part of the broom is yellow. Her shoes are brown.

Her scarf on her head is orange. Her skirt is purple. Her shawl is green.

Her jumper is black.

Carnival Carnival comes after Christmas and before Lent.

During Carnival we make masks and dress up; we throw confetti and make noise and party! We eat lots of sweets. The most famous carnivals in Italy are Viareggio and Venice.

Carnival of Viareggio

Carnival of Venice

Carnival at school