Workshop with Akademie Michael 25. 3. 2023
As an organisation, CSWBL always aims to broaden the horizons of its students to help them gain a wider understanding of Czech culture and history. Three students from Academy Michal, the University of Creative Communication in Prague, visited the school to lead a creative workshop focused on the vital role that Czechoslovak pilots played in the RAF during World War Two. Two of the students presented a short film about the life of the Czech pilot Josef František, whilst the other student described her creative process behind a landing page detailing the history of Czechoslovaks in the RAF. Both presentations were received with great enthusiasm and interest by the children. Then they engaged in the creative process by drawing their own landing page and film scenes, further piquing their interest. This was thoroughly appreciated by the Czech ambassador Marie Chatardová, who was also in attendance.
Masopust 11. 2. 2023
On the last Saturday of the half-term, 11th February, we celebrated Mardi Gras with the children. The morning was peaceful, the students learned about the history of the carnival and looked at photos of richly decorated costumes. They used this as inspiration to make their own masks.
By the afternoon, music was already playing in the great hall. A disco was arranged for the whole school and, of course, there was a dance competition between the two classes. Preschoolers, first graders, and fourth graders had a narrow lead and during the last song, the decision was made as the fourth class impressed the most with their moves. The fourth class also shone when preparing a small snack for their classmates. They took preschoolers under their wing in the kitchen and baked delicious cookies with them, the famous Czech “esíčka” and chocolate coconuts. There was also a gluten free option.
At the end of the day there was a carnival parade, where we saw one beautiful mask after another.
Certifikované zkoušky z češtiny 16. 10.
After a long break, we managed to prepare an online version of the certified Czech language exam in cooperation with the Institute for Language and Vocational Training of Charles University. The test took place in the premises of Tufnell Park Primary and the entire course of the test was transferred via ZOOM to Prague, where the test was supervised by two examiners. One of them then did an oral part of the exams with individual candidates. It was a demanding and long day for our students, but they showed long-term efforts and their intensive preparation before the exam. The exam took place at levels B1 and B2 and was attended by a total of 16 students. Passing this exam is a great motivation for our students because it is a challenging exam at a fairly high level in a foreign language and we hope that it will open the door to further study and job opportunities.
Burza knih
At the instigation of the parents, the first book exchange took place this year. Parents could bring Czech books for children and adults and, conversely, take away those which they found interesting. It was an opportunity to not only find some new books but meet and talk to the other parents as well. The exchange was successful, and we plan to organize it 3 times a year.
Ambulance 10. 6.
On Saturday, 11 June 2022, we had an extraordinary visit at Tufnell Park Primary School. Lifeguard Martin Šeda arrived in an ambulance, which is used by Hats Group for transport of little patients in London.
Martin provided us with a tour of the ambulance. It has the same equipment as any other ambulance, but its exterior is colourful and is decorated with pictures from a fairy tale “Peter Pan”.
All pupils of the Czech School, from the youngest of the pre-school section to the oldest of year 9, enjoyed the tour greatly. Martin was bravely answering all pupils’ questions for 4 hours. He explained to us the purpose of every tool and showed us the proper patient handling. It was a very nice experience and a great chat.
Easter singing - school choir performance 2. 4. 2022
Every Saturday morning before lessons, the school choir “Citrónky” meets to practise singing of Czech songs. “Citrónky” have already performed at St Nicholas Day and before Easter holiday. Their last performance was in June at Sports Day, where they sang a School Anthem they had composed.
Perníková chaloupka
The smell of gingerbread and fairytales are one of the main parts of Christmas. We combined both into one and baked together a gingerbread house at the online bakery on December 18th. In several kitchens, under kind supervision and precisely targeted instructions from teachers Linda North and Veronika Prokopová, the children and their parents managed to make gingerbread dough, paint and cut out templates for the gingerbread house, and finally bake and put all parts together successfully. At work, we talked about the gingerbread tradition and the Czech fairytales we love. At the end of the two-hour effort, we agreed that the hag had to be extremely handy, because baking and building a gingerbread house is not that easy, but it’s so much fun. We managed to assemble the whole gingerbread village and shine the day with beautiful orange candlesticks. We have unforgettable memories of the whole event.
Starší čtou mladším / Seniors read to youngers January – July 2021
In January 2021 we introduced the project Seniors read to youngers, this time online. Students from years 8 and 9 along with children from years 1 and 2 met up for 20 minutes every week to read a Czech novel together. Younger pupils, who are interested in reading, make their way through books under the guidance of the older pupils, who help explain difficult words and prepare exciting activities to aid deeper understanding of the text and develop comprehension and analytical skills. At the end of each session, the little readers are assigned small tasks that involve writing, drawing, or coming up with an alternative ending, all helping to instil curiosity and creative thinking.
The optional scheme, which runs free of charge, is led by our enthusiastic, oldest students, who keenly use their spare time to be a part of this fascinating project designed to foster love for literature among young readers.
Spring 2022 – 4th year of The Olympics in Czech Language
This year, the Czech School Without Borders participated in the 4th year of the Olympics in Czech Language. A total of 20 children took part in the school round, which took place on March 26, 2022, in two categories. The two best in each category advanced to the international round.
Challenging texts and language games awaited the contestants. In the first category (Year 2-4) the children worked with text about Rozárka Čarodějná and Lichožrouti. The second category (Year 5-7) had a sports theme, a text, and a comic about Emil Zátopek appeared in the assignment. A total of 39 children from Czech schools from around the world took part in the international round.
We are very pleased that Audrey from Year 4 of CSBHL won in the 1st category in a beautiful 3rd place. Congratulations. We also thank Emily, Lucka and Dominik for the successful representation of the school in the international round.
The awards ceremony will take place on July 25, 2022, in Prague as part of the XIV. year of the CSBH conference.
Překladatelská soutěž
In the autumn of 2021, we took part in a translation competition entitled „ČESKY rozumím, mluvím, čtu, píšu a překládám! Cena Tomáše Grulicha pro mladé překladatele a historiky”, (the English translation: “I understand, speak, read, write and translate in CZECH! Tomáš Grulich Award for Translators and Young Historians”), which is the first year announced by the headquarters of the Czech Schools without Borders. From our school, some whole classes participated in the competition (3rd and 4th grade translated a chapter from the book Kiko and the Mystery of the Magic Butterfly, 6th grade and 7th grade translated an excerpt from the book Trap to the Crown and 9th grade worked on the translation of the book Prašina), but some individuals as well. This was a big challenge for most children, as most of them translated anything for the first time and it was difficult and interesting to look for words, phrases, and wordings in English. We are very happy that our Audrey from the 4th grade placed in the category of the youngest children (6 – 10 years), and Matilda Kraft in the second category 11-14 years old.
Krajanská koleda
Pupils of “Hudební půlhodinka” of the Czech school without borders, London, took part in the international competition Krajanská koleda announced by the radio station Radio Prague International in cooperation with the magazine Krajánek, with the support of the representative for expatriate associations Mr. Jiří Krátký. Together, we chose for the competition the Czech traditional carol Pásli ovce Valaši and the bilingual Christmas song Rolničky / Jingle Bells, which is the most popular among the kids together with the song Půjdem spolu do Betléma. The winner of the competition was decided by the spectator voting, which took place on the Facebook page “Krajané”, where every single “liked” in the video meant a vote for the Czech school. Thanks to the audience votes, we finished in a beautiful third place, so we thank all the voters, and we hope for support in the incoming year.
Podcast
Every Saturday parents from London and even from outside of London bring their children to the Czech School Without Borders. They meet there, chat and socialize and every single one has an interesting life story to tell. So we came up with a project of series debates with those parents who were willing to come and have an interview with students. During the spring and summer term, we welcome violinmaker Ladislav Prokop, ecologist Pavel Kratina, a financial analyst from Lego company Marek Tatara and a biologist from Natural History Museum Lenka Neal. Students prepared a list of questions beforehand so that guest was ready when they came. Interviews were recorded and children had the opportunity to be like radio speakers and made a podcast. Those podcasts will be posted on the school’s YouTube Channel. The debates were successful and we are looking forward to continuing this project next year.
Každou sobotu přiváží desítky rodičů z celého Londýna i mimo něj své děti do České školy. Potkávají se, povídají si a každý z nich má vlastní zajímavý životní příběh. V letošním školním roce jsme se proto rozhodli rozjet projekt debat s hosty z řad rodičů.
V jarním a letním termu postupně studenty navštívil houslař Ladislav Prokop, ekolog Pavel Kratina, finanční analytik společnosti Lego Marek Tatara a bioložka z Natural History Museum Lenka Neal. Studenti předem připravovali otázky pro jednotlivé hosty, kteří tak měli čas se připravit. Rozhovory se nahrávaly a děti tak měly také příležitost si vyzkoušet roli podcastových moderátorů. Výsledná audia je možné si poslechnout na školním YouTube Channel. Debaty měly nesmírný úspěch a my se těšíme na jejich pokračování v příštím školním roce.
26. 3. 2022 - workshop by student of UCL on bilingualism for Year 7 and 9 students
On Saturday 26th March 2022, we welcome at school Dr Froso Argyri from University College of London her students. We have been working with Dr Argyri who is also one of the founders of the organisation called BiLingo for a few years now but this was her first visit after the pandemic. Students under the supervision of Dr Argyri prepared for pupils from Year 7 and 9 an engaging presentation, videos and games, all on the theme of bilingualism. We discussed what are the advantages of being bilingual, about how a bilingual brain works and what are the benefits of being bilingual in everyday life or in a future career. At the end of the workshop our students prepare promotional posters for Czech School. All of them vere brilliant from both visual side and content, especially given how little time they had at their hands. The posters mention making friends and having fun are motivations for studying at our school.