International - Read the MFL Blog here

Carmel College on the Chinese Government web site Hanban

1, about the launch of our Confucius Classroom

2, about the Chinese students' visit

Carmel College Exchange Visit to the Colegio Nuestra Seńora de los Desamparados in Ibi, Spain, 28th October – 4th November 2011

Eighteen students from Years 10 and 11 have just reluctantly returned to England, having had a wonderful time on the return leg of the Spanish exchange in Ibi. They were overwhelmed by the generous welcome and hospitality shown by their host families and loved the family feel of the school, which has just three hundred pupils aged from three to sixteen. Salesian tracksuits and addressing the teachers, including the Principal, by their first names contributed to the relaxed atmosphere. During their stay our students were treated to a whole range of excursions by the families, as well as group visits to Valencia, Spain’s third biggest city, the caves of Canelobre and a turrón factory and museum in Jijona. Our final lunch together was on the beach at Campello in glorious sunshine. We had not expected to swim and had no towels but this did not stop our students from paddling in the waves – some of them unintentionally up to their waists! The farewell party on the final night was a lively affair, with one of the mamás leading the whole group in an aerobic workout to a Latin-American beat. Farewells were fond and tearful, a sign of the close relationships established. Our close links with the school in Ibi will continue with another exchange planned for next year, as well as a Year 8 study visit.

TFG Read, International Coordinator

link to the Spanish school's website

European Teachers’ Conference at Carmel College, A Catholic Academy
28 September – 2 October 2011

On Friday 30th September Stephen Hughes MEP welcomed the sixteen delegates from five European countries, Germany, Spain, Poland, Denmark and Turkey to Carmel College. The teachers are taking part in a conference to plan the next stage of their Comenius project, which was approved by the European Commission in July. The project, which will run for two years, is called “Relationships and what they mean in our lives”. Central to the project is an e-twinning platform which will enable students from the six countries to share their work by means of video clips, articles, blogs and e-mail. This curriculum based project will give students the opportunity to explore and compare the similarities and differences between family and peer group relationships in the different countries, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of new ways of social interaction such as social networking sites. Some of the students will also have the chance to present their work personally in the partner countries. Friedhelm Baguette, teacher of English at the Gustav-Heinemann-Schule in Darlington’s twin town of Mülheim and coordinator of the project, expressed his delight at the success of the conference and the opportunity it gives to teachers and students to work together to broaden their understanding of different cultures.

Newsflash!

The European Commission has just accepted Carmel’s application to develop a new Comenius project. From September 2011 to July 2013 Carmel students will be working with students from Germany, Spain, Poland, Turkey and Denmark on the theme of “What Relationships mean in our Lives”. The project will explore the ways in which young people today develop friendships and relationships and will also compare their ways of interacting with those of previous generations. The influence of new technologies in our rapidly changing society will be a key element of the project.

Carmel College, A Catholic Academy hosts Chinese students from The Phoenix City International School, Guangzhou.

Fourteen students and one teacher have spent two weeks at Carmel, hosted by Carmel students. This is the first ever visit from Carmel’s new partner school. Their stay has been a tremendous success, benefiting Carmel College, whose students have been treated to lessons in Tai Chi, calligraphy, Chinese painting and jiangzi (a form of keepy uppy with a special type of shuttlecock), as well as the Chinese students, who have not only visited Darlington, Durham, York and Whitby, but also experienced the delights of cooking chocolate crispies, woodwork and pig racing. Their journey continues to London and Oxford and we look forward to hosting another group next year. Carmel’s resident Chinese expert, Miss Chen, has been very busy all year developing awareness of Chinese culture and Mandarin at Carmel and in feeder primary school. With her help Carmel is hoping to organise a first visit to Guangzhou in 2012.

Carmel's visit from Phoenix City International School, guangzhou, China.

Interviews with students from UNESCO School No. 639, St Petersburg, Russia

Carmel College, A Catholic Academy mentioned on the Chinese Government website (Hanban)

After visiting and working at Carmel, Huanghuang Chen has written an article about her visit on Hanban's website

Students visit from UNESCO School No. 639, St Petersburg, Russia

We are delighted to be able to welcome eight students and one teacher from St Petersburg in a joint venture with Hummersknott School and Language College. This is the first visit of a group from Russia and Carmel students are very excited at hosting the students. We are hoping to develop the partnership and take a group of Carmel students to St Petersburg next year. Our Russian friends are with us from today 5th May until 14th May 2011.

Borders and Bridges Website Launched

Click here to visit the new Borders and Bridges website

Carmel Confucius Classroom Officially Launched

In September 2010 Carmel College, A Catholic Academy was awarded the title of Confucius Classroom by the Chinese Government and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT). This is a great achievement making them one of only thirty-five Confucius Classrooms in England officially entrusted with developing the teaching of Mandarin and Chinese culture in their school and community.

The Confucius Classroom was launched officially on Friday 11th February during the Chinese Spring Festival. This evening celebration was attended by Head teachers, local councillors, College Governors, parents and students. Ms Zhu Xiaoming, from the SSAT, and Ms Liu Xiuqin, Chinese Director of all the Hanban Chinese teachers in England, both came up from London to join in the celebrations.

The evening was a showcase for all of the wonderful work that has been done with the young people at Carmel with the support of their superb Chinese teacher, Ms Chen Huanghuang. She has inspired the students, not only in Carmel but also in local primary schools, to learn Mandarin, to practise the pentatonic scale on Chinese instruments, to use the abacus in maths lessons, to sing in Chinese, to learn Tai Chi and above all to become curious about Chinese traditions, Chinese culture and life in China today.

A highpoint of the evening was the award of prizes to the winners of the China Competition, which involved students creating a three minute video to introduce Chinese culture. The winners of the first prize, Eve Knowlson and Millie Dryden, were delighted to receive books and a Chinese banquet for their family at the Eastern Bamboo Restaurant.

The future of Chinese at Carmel is looking bright, with students regularly greeting each other in Chinese in the corridors! The College is now looking forward to hosting students from its partner school, The Phoenix International School in Guangzhou, this summer and further developing the work of the Confucius Classroom in years to come.

Carmel students perform Traditional Chinese Tai Chi


Carmel Tai Chi students with Carmel Principal Maura Regan (Centre front left) with Chinese teacher Huanghuang Chen (Centre front right) and back row centre L-R Nicola Hickman (Curriculum Leader for Modern Foreign Languages), Tom Read Assistant Principal, Ms Liu Xiuqin and Ms Zhu Xiaoming, from the SSAT.