INTERNATIONAL BOOK DAY

Every 23rd April we celebrate International Book and Copyright Day. Why this day? Because it is the day two of the most important writers died (William Shakespeare in the English language and Miguel de Cervantes in the Spanish language).

Here is an interesting short video telling the evolution of books.

Visit the UN official site for more information on this topic.

ST GEORGE'S DAY

(Information taken from https://www.timeanddate.com)

St George's Day in England remembers St George, England's patron saint. The anniversary of his death, which is on April 23, is seen as England's national day. According to legend, he was a soldier in the Roman army who killed a dragon and saved a princess.

St George's Day used to be a national holiday in England. It is now an observance that is celebrated with parades, dancing and other activities. Flags with the image of St George's cross are flown on some buildings, especially pubs, and a few people wear a red rose on their lapel. Church services on the Sunday closest to April 23 often include the hymn 'Jerusalem', written by the poet William Blake. The words describe a supposed visit to Glastonbury, England, by Jesus Christ during his youth.

April 23 is not a public holiday. Schools, stores, post offices, businesses and other organizations are open as usual. Public transport services run to their usual timetables.

The most widely recognized symbol of St George's Day is St George's cross. This is a red cross on a white background, which is often displayed as a flag. It is used as England's national flag, forming part of the Union Flag, the national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Saint George's cross was originally the flag of the maritime Republic of Genoa.

St George is the patron saint of a number of other places, such as Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Portugal and Russia. He is also remembered in some regional holidays, such as in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada and among the Gorani people who live in a mountainous area in the Balkans and were converted to Islam many centuries ago, but still observe St George's Day. Around the world, a number of days are devoted to St George, including April 23 and dates in November and December of the Gregorian calendar.

HALLO DEUTSCHLAND!!

This is the 5th edition of our School Exchange with Gerabronn in Germany.

This time a group of 16 Bachillerato Year 1 students and 2 teachers will visit the German school from April 4th until 11th. As usual we have prepared varied activities like trekking to Rothenburg ab der Tauber, visit to Stuttgart, visit the school, cooking workshop, parties, lesson attendance, etc.
This year the German group will come on May 30th until June 7th.

HANAMI

We have some trainee teachers at out school. They started on Monday 25 March and will stay until the end of May. One of them is Andrés and he wants to be a teacher of English.
We have asked him to chose a topic for our Torre de PBaPBel bulletin board and without any hesitation, he said "Hanami".

So what is Hanami? Watch this short video to find out. Also, you can click on this link

HOLA AMIGOS

They are finally here. After some months of contacts, paperwork, planning... here they are. 23 students and 3 teachers for International School Of Indiana in Indianapolis (USA) arrived last Sunday 18th March and will be with us until Thursday 27th).
Here is a photo with the whole group.
Some days to visit our school, attend some lessons, get to know our region, visit monuments and historical places, natural areas, taste our gastronomy, live with host families... Certainly, it is a great experience for our ESO Year 4 students and their families (who we deeply thank for taking part in the activity).
Unfortunately, we will not officially visit them back in the States because the trip is way too expensive and the grant offered for our regional government is not enough. The important thing is to have created the link. We always try to show our students that foreign languages are alive and they make sense when we use them for real communication purposes. Well, here we have the best time to do so!

FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE

In the last weeks we have heard a lot about students' strikes on Fridays. Why? The reason is "Fridays for future", an international student movement that tries to make people aware of the different problems our planet faces and will face in the near future if we don't do something NOW.
Here is a short video about it.

Apparently all this came from Greta Thunberg, an amazingly young Swedish girl. Check the official website.
Here is a video of Greta in a wonderful public speech.

ST PATRICK'S DAY

Like every March 17th we celebrate  St Patrick's Day, the patron saint of Ireland and an important festivity in many places in the USA. Look at the presentation below with some information about its legend, history and more... Also watch a video about how a river in Chicago can be dyed green for this celebration.

St Patrick's Day de José Antonio Alcalde López