 |  | Tue, 22nd Jun 2010 Year 7 Trip to Sevilla 22nd-24th June 2010 |
| The year 7 trip to Sevilla will be both educational, and lots of fun! We will be sight-seeing in Sevilla including a visit to the Giralda and boat trip on the Guadalquivir River. On the Thursday we will be exploring the wonderful Itálica Roman Ruin in Santiponce. (20 minutes from Sevilla) Meanwhile on the Wednesday we will all be having great fun during a day at the Isla Mágica (magic Island) theme park! | ||
 | | Fri, 18th Jun 2010 IB Students Graduate from Swans School |
| Students, parents and teachers gathered on a warm June evening to celebrate the graduation of Swans School first ever IB students. These 16 students have spent the last two years studying for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma examination – now the most revered qualification for University entrance worldwide. It was an emotional day, not just for the graduates but for their parents as well, and many a tear was shed at the realisation that this once-in-a-lifetime experience marked the end of a key stage of their young lives and the start of the next. | ||
 | | Wed, 16th Jun 2010 Year 8-9 Trip to Granada 16-18 June 2010 |
| June Activity Week is a week of discovery, adventure and celebration designed to bring the best out of the year 8 and 9 year groups and the Swans Sierra Blanca community as a whole. The week involves an activity intensive 3-day excursion to Granada and its natural areas. This trip combines outdoor pursuits with culture, history, artistic and social activities in some of the region’s most beautiful locations. The excursions offer challenging elements and participants’ return with a higher sense of self-awareness, greater confidence and positive memories to last a lifetime. Moreover, due to the trip’s overriding ‘fun’ theme, the presence of teachers on the trips positively enhance the experience and breaks down teacher / learner stereotypes. We sincerely hope to see many adventurous children and teachers joining us on the 2010 programs! | ||
 | | Mon, 7th Jun 2010 Year 6 Trip to El Chorro/Ardales June 7-9 2010 |
| The Swans Year 6 Residential is designed to be a ‘continuation’ of the Year 5 June excursion to Tarifa and a ‘lead up’ to possible experiences offered in the years to come. El Chorro is a fantastic natural area with lakes, pine forests and mountains. It is sparsely populated by humans and has a special feel about it. It is also a safe area to conduct such programs and the purpose- made hostel / camping area suits school groups for its high level of security, affordability and access to the natural areas. | ||
 | | Tue, 1st Jun 2010 YEAR 6 GOLF EXPERIENCE |
| Year 6 students are enjoying a set of golf lessons with Monte Paraiso Golf Club’s professional, Angel Ibañez, as an extension to the PE curriculum. It is hoped that all students will have gained enough skills and understanding to enjoy a fun tournament towards the end of the school year - It certainly gives students a good introduction to the game | ||
 | | Thu, 27th May 2010 West Side Story Review |
| After the success of our latest play, ‘West Side Story’, we should say ‘Be careful Broadway, Swans school is on its way!’ The show started at 7:30 p.m. and it was amazing to be on stage after months of hard work and rehearsals. The play was performed on the 27th of May to a full house. West Side Story tells the tale of the Sharks and the Jets – two rival New York street gangs whose adolescent war is waged in the playgrounds, parks and alleyways that litter the city. The Sharks are the native gang whilst the Jets are comprised of Puerto Ricans, new arrivals on the scene desperately wanting to mark their territory. Racism, violence and murder ensue. As with any musical, certain numbers will stand out and leave people humming them for days after. Particular highlights were ‘America’ sung by the Latina Shark girls with a boisterous good humour as Anita and Rosalia argued over the merits of their old and new homes, and ‘Gee, Officer Krupke’ sung by the Jet boys. The final scene was very powerful and you would have heard a pin drop in the theatre when Maria (played by Cristina Yr.13) discovered Tony (Sean Yr.10) was dead. Miss Claire has been working hard with us for 5 months and she did a great job in directing us to put on a great show. The set, costumes and Anton and Miss Grainnes lighting & sound were really impressive. Perhaps the best part of the play was the opportunity we had to get to know one another better, as the cast became very close as we worked on this production. It is amazing how our comradeship helped to make this such a memorable production. This is an experience we will remember for a very long time. By Federico, Darya, Borja, Claudia Year 12 English B | ||
 | | Sat, 22nd May 2010 SPONSORED WALK |
| Cancer unfortunately has become a common disease worldwide. In the UK more than 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, and I am sure almost every family here in Spain is affect by someone, be it a relative or a friend, who has suffered or is suffering from this terrible disease. The good news is that survival rates have improved significantly for the most common types of cancer. Although early detection is a great help, this improvement is largely due to new treatments, which are continuously being developed. All these new treatment are made possible by the numerous donations made to Cancer Research. Therefore, on Saturday 22nd May, Anne Smyth, Nurse Kathy and Miss Catherine from Swans Secondary school, walked up Gibraltar Rock in order to raise money for cancer research. Although it was difficult in the heat of the day, they managed to complete the task in less than one hour. Whilst James Howard and Oliver Brink in Year 6 who also participated run up the rock in 35 minutes and were the first children under 12 to arrive at the top. The thought of winning a box of chocolates obviously was a motivating factor for the boys!!!! Together Swans staff raised €350 for the charity which was generously doubled by Lambard Odier bank in Gibraltar, going a little way toward the grand total of €17,000. | ||
 | | Fri, 14th May 2010 RECEPTION TRIP TO BIOPARC FUENGIROLA |
| On 14th May our Reception children all enjoyed a fantastic day at the newly named Fuengirola Zoo. The zoo provided guides so that the children could experience the whole of the park. The children have just completed a topic on safari and wild animals and they were able to see some of these animals ´in real-life´. The children could answer many of the questions the guides asked and we were proud of their great responses. Their super behaviour was commented on by several members of the public and this was the icing on the cake for a very special day out | ||
 | | Fri, 14th May 2010 EARLY YEARS FARM TRIP |
| On Friday 14th May the Early Years classes took their annual trip to the farm in Los Boliches. The children enjoyed looking at the animals, riding on Santa the donkey, making biscuits and a whole host of other activities. They returned home tired and dirty after having a great day out. | ||
 | | Wed, 5th May 2010 Teachers at Swans Primary School successfully completed the Virgin London Marathon |
| Miss Ruth and Miss Natalie, teachers at Swans Primary School in Marbella, successfully completed the Virgin London Marathon on Sunday 25th April. They both finished in under 4 hours 30 minutes and without injuries! The day was incredible and they both feel privileged to have had the opportunity to experience it. Fundraising events have been going on at the primary school since January and have raised a total so far of ¬ 5500 for the Anthony Nolan Trust in the U.K. and Los Claveles and P.A.D. charities here in Spain. Fundraising will continue at Swans Sierra Blanca until the end of June. We would like to thank colleagues, parents and children for all their help, support and generosity. | ||
 | | Tue, 27th Apr 2010 YEAR 7 SHAKESPEARE PERFORMANCE |
| On April 23rd all of Year 7 participated in a performance to celebrate Shakespeare’s Birthday. Three groups took turns to show highlights from some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays: Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest. After learning about the plays in class, students gave ideas for the performance and helped write parts of the script themselves. The performance was given in an extended assembly in front of their peers and on Monday 26th in front of parents. The Year 7’s gave a wonderful performance and showed a great deal of talent. Some of the star performers who stole the show were: Hashim as Hamlet; Barry as the ghost of Hamlet’s father; Marco as ‘Bottom’; Luca as Puck; Paloma and Alba as narrators; Tomas as Miranda and Eloy as Jerry Springer. Well done to all. |