Comenius Project
Sunday 14th November 2010
Sunday 14th November saw the arrival of our exchange partners who had flown in from Germany, Denmark and France. There were here to spend four days in Sunny Northern Ireland. Some of the pupils had the opportunity to be hosted by our sixth form modern linguists. I had chosen to host four students and had been informed before their arrival that I would be hosting two Danish and two French students. We were told to collect our new friends at the Terrace hotel at 6.30 pm and by the time 6.30pm arrived, many texts had been fired back and forth between us to make sure that we all arrived at the same time as we were unsure what exactly to expect. We walked through the doors of the hotel and we were immediately met by a throng of European students, the initial awkwardness only lasted a short while and soon we had retrieved our guests and we were heading back to what was to be their home for the next four days.
That evening some of us got together and watched a DVD with English subtitles, after all it was supposed to be a learning experience. All six of the exchange students watching the DVD fell asleep and we realised that it was time for bed. We all went to sleep that night, excited at the thought of the days to come.
Emily O’Hare, L6
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Monday 15th November 2010
It was with some apprehension that the 9 Lower 6th and 3 Upper 6th girls entered into the week. Excited though we were, we assumed the next three days would be spent amongst our own nationality with the occasional forced crossing of paths with other students from Denmark, France and Germany. However, after a morning of rehearsing a play together to highlight the difficulties of immigration, we found that it was much easier to mingle than we had expected and we had very few problems trying to communicate with them.
Following the rehearsal of the play, the canteen provided lunch for the group and then the students were introduced to one of the more exciting aspects of the Rainey: the TV’s in the rec centre which sparked discussion over the differences between the three schools and musical culture. The time then came for us to make a visit to Belfast.
First on the schedule was the tour of City Hall, led by Cindy, our guide. As well as the opportunity to learn about some of Ireland’s history and politics, we had the chance to get pictures in the Lord Mayor’s chair in the Council Chamber, try on the traditional robes worn only on formal occasions (and it comes as no surprise given their weight and cost) and again chatting to the students. The history lesson continued as Mr McClements gave a walking tour of Belfast, pointing out how the city had changed throughout the years and walking us right up to the current century and the very modern Victoria Square. Here we were let loose for an hour to shop around before meeting at the top of the Dome to get a night time view of Belfast. More walking ensued as we headed to our final destination of the day, the Odyssey. On the way, we saw the impact of the economic recession which has hit Northern Ireland. There have been numerous new apartment blocks built and yet they were all in darkness, apart from a few apartments here and there. We also saw the titanic quarter and Mr McClements talked to us about the redevelopment of this area and how it will change over the next few years. Finally we arrived at the Odyssey where we were set free to enjoy a very welcome meal and it was clear how everyone had been bonding throughout the trip as the different nationalities gladly sat with each other and we were never short of conversation or, thankfully, food.
Rebekah Brown, L6
Tuesday 16th November 2010
The next day kicked off almost immediately as we set off towards the Ulster Folk and Transport museum. This was designed to teach about the early traditions and culture of Ireland and consider the theme of immigration. However, some of the students were less than enthralled by this learning experience and found it much more interesting to learn about a more current society, a desire we were happy to fulfil and we had a good time teaching some more colloquial Irish phrases and attempting to learn some Danish and German. Our efforts were received with laughter but it was all in good humour and we finished our time in the Folk section on a high note with a much craved visit to the sweet shop.
After a few hours, we reassembled in the Terrace for a meal and it was here friendships started to become firmly established, both amongst the different nationalities but also friendships grew within our own language students. The meal of chips, rice, beef stroganoff, chicken and salad seemed to be enjoyed by all as was the apple pie, pavlova and sticky toffee pudding. It was with regret that we all said our farewells at the end of a great night but we were full of anticipation for our final day together.
Rebekah Brown, L6
Wednesday 17th November 2010:
All students arrived in the morning prepared for the typical Northern Irish weather which had been forecast for our day to the North Coast- wind and rain! As we congregated in the study centre the excitement of the scheduled performance with the Comenius pupils set in. Each school had arranged a separate scene to follow simultaneously to construct a complete play to be displayed for fifth year. This was met with a resounding applause especially after the surprise scene by the Danish pupils involving an appearance of a certain celebrity!
Having journeyed to the North Coast on the bus we were glad to discover that the rain had subsided and Morellis was across the street! After treating ourselves to hot fudge sundaes and cheesecake, we explored the park- whilst the students photographed memories of the promenade and harbour of Portstewart. Next stop was the famous Giant’s Causeway. We informed the students of the Legend of Finn McCool which awakened their interests. As we made our way to the shore we had the challenge of keeping our balance in the rough winds. However the exchange pupils seemed so snap happy that they didn’t even notice the gale force wind! We spent some time admiring the views and taking photos and then made our way to Coleraine. At this point we were feeling hungry and we were spoiled for choice in Coleraine. After a tough decision between little bakeries and cafes we decided on Subway and Burger King! We managed to get a quick look in a few shops and then we returned to the bus to begin the journey home but the excitement was far from over as we still had the school play to look forward to. That evening we met in the foyer waiting with anticipation, having heard Emily a fellow Comenius student was to play the part of Dorothy in the production of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The play was fantastic and Emily did a brilliant job as Dorothy. Our visitors were amazed at the whole production and thoroughly enjoyed the evening but unfortunately it had to come to an end and then came the hard part of saying goodbye. For the final time we took photos and exchanged facebook contacts. As we made our way home we felt really sad to have had to say farewell to our new friends after a short time together. We thoroughly enjoyed our week and we all have invites to Germany, Denmark and France which we would love to accept!
Lois Colgan and Rachel Parke, L6
