School news... before they get too old to be told!

Last month a nutritionist visited our school to talk about the benefits of eating right, i.e. eating a lot of fruit and vegetables and less meat or sweets. She asked the students a lot of questions and most of them knew the answers. That means everybody knows what is good to eat and what is not - the question is, how many of us put it into practice?

The nutritionist pointed out the need of eating fruit of different colours every day and she played a game with the students. They were excited. Then she talked  about bananas in particular and showed them a relevant video. 

Before she left, she treated every student to a big, yellow, tasty banana. The kids were happy! Let us hope they will follow some of the valuable advice the nutritionist gave them.

 

The Parent Association of our school kept the custom of cutting the vassilopita this year, too. Every student got a large piece of vasilopita and we all wished the best for the New Year. The lucky ones to find the coin were Panayiotis, a student of 4^th grade, and Panayiota, a student of 6^th grade. Each one of them got a book as a present.

Last but not least, a professor from the Technological Educational Institute of Kalamata came to our school to help us start a garden. Our school has a lot of space for a garden. We are going to plant vegetables, flowers and herbs. The professor talked to the students about plants. Everybody is excited with our new project and you can see seeds and little plants in every classroom. We are still planning about planting!

Little poets

Here is an interesting writing activity in 6th Grade' s course book:

You are a member of the “Writing Club”: close your eyes and use your five senses to describe a favourite thing. What does it taste/smell/feel/look/sound like? You can write a poem about a pair of sneakers, your favourite dessert,  a new shirt, a fruit, etc. 

             For example:
Oh, my sweet Chocolate cake!
Off the oven, it looks fresh and smells nice;
it feels soft in my hands;
it tastes delicious in my mouth.
It sounds so tempting, I can never resist it!

Sophie' s poem
Oh, my sweet cheesecake!
Oh, my favourite delicious cake!
You are so tasty
And all my friends say: "It tastes delicious!"

Rebecca' s poem
Oh, my lovely apple!
It looks fleshy and so red
It smells beautiful
And it' s cold in my hands
It tastes lovely
It sounds good, I won' t resist it

Athena' s poem
I like kitties and puppies
I like their furs and their tails
I like their play
I like my Kitty Sail

Alice's poem 
Muffins are delicious
Muffins are soft
They smell brilliant
As I turn the oven off
They look so adorable
Look so nice
I want to eat them all twice!

Catherine' s poem
Yummy, yummy chocolate
It tastes nice
Oh, my dear chocolate!
I want to eat you but
I can' t, because I' m fat!

Haroula' s poem
Summer, summer
The sun is shining
The kids are swimming in the sea
Summer, summer
We are playing rackets at the beach
And we are eating ice cream!
Summer, summer
Hot and sunny every day
And we go on holiday!

Joanna' s poem 
Oh! my comfortable sneakers!
I put you on and I run
like a lion
I put you on and I look
like a star
I put you on and my feet
shine
I put you on and my feet
are resting
My beautiful sneakers,
my feet feel like cotton
my feet feel like silk
I feel like I can fly
Oh yes! You are so comfortable!
My beautiful sneakers,
I love you and I hate you
because my friends envy me
because of you!

Christine' s poem 
Oh my special fruit salad!
All these cut fruits look like a picture.
So many colours!
Sweet and sour at the same time!
The best enjoyment in the world!



If there are any more poems in my comments section, I' ll be glad to post them!

The Greek Polytechnic uprising

Today at school we commemorated the anniversary of the student uprising at the Polytechnic School of Athens in 1973. The student uprising was an act of resistance against the military dictatorship, and therefore a symbol of resistance to tyranny.

The white horse

Did you know that white horses are born black and turn white as they mature? I didn't, until today, when the 6th Grade came back from their school trip to the Riding Club in Kalamata and my daughter (one of the lucky students) told me all about it.

Here are some more interesting facts about horses taken from ScienceKids:

Horses have evolved over the past 50 million years from much smaller creatures. Horses can sleep both lying down and standing up. Horses can run shortly after birth. Domestic horses have a lifespan of around 25 years. A 19th century horse named ‘Old Billy’ is said to have lived 62 years. Horses have around 205 bones in their skeleton. Horses have been domesticated for over 5000 years. Horses are herbivores (plant eaters). Horses have bigger eyes than any other mammal that lives on land. Because horse’s eyes are on the side of their head they are capable of seeing nearly 360 degrees at one time. Horses gallop at around 44 kph (27 mph). The fastest recorded sprinting speed of a horse was 88 kph (55 mph). There are around 60 million horses in the world. A male horse is called a stallion. A female horse is called a mare. A young male horse is called a colt. A young female horse is called a filly. And now that you know all that about horses, what do you say, shall we watch an old, but beautiful, film? Although it' s in French, you' ll understand most of it.  Crin blanc: Le cheval sauvage (The White Mane) A boy comes across a white-haired wild horse in the Camargue, a marsh area in the south of France. Ranchers seek to capture the horse, but it escapes. What will happen as the boy sets out to find the horse again?  A film about the continual fight for freedom and peace.

Do you like this hobby?

A student of mine likes drawing faces on Post-it page markers and giving them to her friends as little presents. Don' t they look great?

Well done, Athena!

• I' m sorry for the poor quality of my photos. I must learn how to take better ones!

Beautiful projects...! (2)

The 6th Grade also did a project - about their country this time.They, too, let their imagination free and, being very creative kids, here is the work they presented!

Beautiful projects...!

The 4th Grade did a project about their school. All the children, in teams, used their imagination to make beautiful projects, which are now decorating our school walls.
Have a look and tell me if I' m right or wrong! They even made a 3-D basketball on one of the posters!!!

Our school choir gives a(nother) performance

Our school choir, consisting of 41 students, was invited to sing at the conference of the HELLENIC ORGANIZATION OF HEARING SPEECH THERAPY & COMMUNICATION DISORDERS at the university amphitheatre in Kalamata on Saturday evening. The children performed for about twenty minutes. They sang five songs, some of which were humorous and some others relevant to the conference and our everyday life. The choir and their music teacher were applauded by everyone present. They also received an award certificate for their participation. It was a great experience for them.
Congratulations to all the children and, of course, their talented music teacher, Miss Irena!

Red Arrows in the sky

Tomorrow two classes of our school are visiting the Hellenic Air Force military base to see the planes, the flight simulator, the falcons etc.
A couple of years ago we had the chance to enjoy a unique air show here in Kalamata. The Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team of Great Britain, is one of the world’s premier aerobatic teams. Fly with them!

Newcomers!

In ΣΤ2 there are 6 newcomers. All the students are excited with their new friends. (All the teachers, too!)

Peep, peep!

Places in our school

I guess my students will be happy with these photos of their school. Other students who may visit this blog will have the chance to see what a state primary school in southern Greece looks like.

 

 Inside our school...

 ...and outside

Our favourite club

The students of the 5th Grade did a project on their favourite clubs. They worked together in teams - the girls in two teams and the boys in one - and here is what they came up with : )