September – December 2023

Secondary Newsletter

We tell you about some of the events that have taken place in the Secondary area during the first term

Discover the houses!

The Secondary students are classified in four houses. We compete during the year to be the best group. Good work in class and winning sports competitions are some of the ways to obtain points and be the first in the ranking. The winner of the first term has been: Beech with 30 points. Congratulations!

BEECH

30 points

CYPRESS

28 points

POPLAR

28 points

FIR

28 points

First Term Trips: the places we visited

Year 7: Sport Competitions
Year 8 and Year 9: Goethe Institute
Year 9: Museo del Prado
Year 10 and Year 11: Alcalá de Henares
Year 12: City of Madrid

Click here to know more about the trips

School Events: beyond the classes

Christmas concert
Christmas Bake Sale
Halloween movie
Halloween Bake Sale
Visit from the police
Visit from Cruz Roja
Astronomy Talk

Click here to know more details about these events

Best projects: some of our best work in classes

Best projects_ some of our best work in classes3

Best projects_ some of our best work in classes4

Click here to discover these wonderful projects

Location

All Activities: Our Montessori Agenda

What we did during the first term:

Great achievement:

Our school received full authorisation for the whole age range (1 to 18) in the last inspection by NABSS.

Each year activities and trips:

Year 7 went to Sports competitions
Year 8 visited the Goethe Institute
Year 9 visited the Goethe Institute
Year 9 visited the Prado Museum
Year 10 and Year 11 went to Alcalá de Henares
Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 attended to an Astronomy Talk
Year 11 and Year 12 attended to a Nebrija University presentation
Year 12 went to the city centre of Madrid (Geography students)

All Secondary activities:

Talks with the National Police on Network Security and Drugs
Sports competitions with other British schools: a total of 7.
Halloween Movie
Halloween Bake Sale
Cruz Roja Awareness Talk
Christmas Concert

All school activites:

Christmas Bake Sale.

Some plans for the second term:

Year 7 will visit the Insect Park
Year 7 will visit the Planetario
Year 11 and Year 12 will visit Reina Sofía Museum
Year 11 and Year 12 will do an Entrepeneurship workshop
Year 11 and Year 12 will visit the CIS University

And many more activities!

Trips: Increasing our learning

Goethe Institute! A different German class

By Ella and Nora

The 25th of October of 2023 Year 8 and Year 9 visited the Goethe Institut in C. De Zurbarán, 21, 28010 Madrid.

When we arrived, they greeted us and showed us around the university. They showed us the building’s different floors and the functions of its different classes and its library. We did an escape room in German, the class said it was a very interesting and fun activity in which you learned lots of words in German. We also played German parchis and we learned it’s ruled and new words involved in the game. At the end of the visit they gave us a little notebook, a ruler, two pencils and a rubber.

The visit was a great experience and we enjoyed it very much. After the visit we were very happy and had learned a lot of German vocabulary which will definitely help us in the future.

Best projects: some of our best work in classes

By Amer and Hugo

On Friday 17th November Year 10 and Year 11 had the pleasure to visit the world heritage site of Alcalá de Henares. We were able to visit the entire historic centre and also make a circuit around the city. To begin with, we visited the Plaza de Cervantes, the nerve centre of the city, from where we walked and entered the Capilla del Oidor, the place where Miguel de Cervantes was baptised. Then, we went to the Plaza de San Diego and we could see the facade of the famous University of Alcalá de Henares. Afterwards, we walked along the Calle Mayor, and learned that it was the longest arcaded street in Spain. Besides, our guide showed us the old version of the bell and the peephole, the alcalinos had a hole in the floor with a trap door from where you could see the guests. From there, we went on to see the Birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, where we also learned about ancient customs and technologies.

On the way to our next stop, the monument to Catherine of Aragon, a native of Alcalá and Queen of England, we passed through the old Calle Santiago, the main axis of the Moorish quarter in the past. At the end of it we arrived at the beautiful Plaza de San Bernardo where our guide gave us the gift of stopping to admire the large square. At the monument to Catalina de Aragón the guide explained some of its history and the importance of this monument for Alcalá, near the monument was the Regional Archaeological Museum, which we visited. Here we learnt about Alcala’s Roman past from small pieces of flooring called mosaics which were considered decorative in ancient Rome.

After a quick stop for lunch we continued our route to the Archbishop’s Palace where sadly we could only see the facade. Thanks to the explanations of the guide we learned about the unique clay coat of arms of the archbishop and its history. Finally we visited the Cathedral – Magistral De los Santos Niños Justo y Pastor where we appreciated a beautiful demonstration of Christian architecture.

Alcalá de Henares_ our trip to this cultural and historical city!_img (1)

Enjoying art at the Prado Museum

By Martina

On the 23rd of November, the Year 9 Montessori School La Florida group went at 11:00 a.m. to the Prado Museum in Madrid, and returned back to school around 15:30 p.m.

During this period of time, some paintings from important famous figures artists in Spain: El Greco, Velázquez and Goya were introduced by a guide who explained in detail the history behind these and its painting structure.

Cristian paintings from El Greco were first introduced. Details like, the form of painting the artist used, its development through time were explained and also these were compared with other paintings from the same artist. Also, history of the artist along its establishment period in the peninsula was introduced.

Famous paintings from Velázquez like: Las Meninas and portraits of Royal Family were also seen. Also, the history of him established in the Royal Family and working as the official private artist of the King was explained.

Lastly, “Fusilamientos del 3 de mayo” from Goya was seen. Apart from this, due to his deaf condition, he went deeply crazy also due to his thoughts or dreams. Paintings like “Saturno comiéndose a uno de sus hijos” were seen. Overall, almost all his paintings had a black sad background which evoked sadness and had as well a dramatic visual effect.

It was a fantastic visit where we were able to learn more about art history!

Sports Competitions: an enjoyable PE activity

By Patricia and Rafael

On Monday November 20th, the Year 7 group participated in a soccer competition against the British Thames school. They separated us into two groups: girls and boys. In the girls group Thames won 5-4 and in the boys group Montessori won 8-0.

On Wednesday 22 November, the Year 7 group took part in a basketball competition against Dallington and Holy Mary. They separated us girls – boys and before the competition we played several basketball games and then for the competition they mixed the 3 schools together. In that competition the objective was for the children to make friends from another school.

Finally, on friday 15 of December, some Year 7 and a Year 6 went to a Tag Rugby competition.

These are the competitions in which Year 7 participated, but the rest of the courses did different ones. We love to participate in sports competitions with other schools!

Study visit to Lavapiés, Madrid

By Jimena

On November 30th, the Year 12 Geography group went on a trip to the Madrid neighbourhood of Lavapiés. This excursion was meant to expand the students’ knowledge on the subjects that they have been studying during this trimester: Population, Migration and Settlements.

We visited places such as the memorable Casa Encendida, a bank turned cultural and social centre in which they discovered many interesting exhibitions, and the Casa de Baños, where they came across this service that is is barely used today but that once was central to society.

We also wandered along the streets of this popular district admiring some of the modern street art that is displayed on the buildings, like the one shown in the picture, and important arquitectural pieces, for instance the renowned Corralas. Once the trip concluded the students had learned many new details that will surely be of aid when taking their inminent A level exams.

School Events: Our life beyond classes

Music for Christmas: our best concert

By Ella and Nora

The Christmas concert was held on the 15 of December 2023 in the gym/theater. It started at 6:00 pm. Each ticket cost 2 euros and you could also buy a raffle ticket for 2€ wich contained wine, hummus, chopsticks, chorizo, salchichon, pepper and extra virgin olive oil, all a variety of products of excellent variety.. As you entered, you could see the bake sale and the second hand uniforms also sold for 2 euros. All the money collected was destined to the NGO Theodora.

There were all kinds of acts; guitarist, pianist, singers and violinist, xylophonist, cellos and bells. Apart from the students, the families enjoyed this event. We shared a musical evening all together.

Everyone had rehearsed a lot during the previous days and thanks to this it was a success. Happy Christmas!

Music for Christmas_ our best concert alone

Cruz Roja Talk about volunteer activities

By Laura

On Friday 14th of December 2023, we have received a talk from some ‘Cruz Roja’ volunteers, who have explained the basic roles of the ‘Cruz Roja’ association and have encouraged us to become volunteers for their cause.

Whilst many people imagine the ‘Cruz Roja’ only in hospitals, they carry out many different roles, ranging from help and education for children to hospital aid to prevention of violence in stadiums, concerts, etc. They are the largest association of volunteers in the world. They are spread throughout the whole world, with the exception of very few countries. Whilst many activities are for people older than sixteen, there are some activities in which younger teenagers and children can participate, such as PINEO, for people aged six to seventeen.

It was a very enriching talk because we were able to learn about the different volunteering activities that exist in our society.

This is Montessori Halloween

By Inés and Valeria

On Tuesday 31th of October, many students dressed up as a spooky character.They also did a `secret´competition as the student council members voted which was the best costume in each class.The last two hours,the students were able to see spooky movies in each class! In which a group of three girls in year seven handed out some popcorn to everyone.

Click on the video and discover the essence of Halloween in our school

Bake Sale, we work for solidarity

By Inés and Valeria

On Monday 30th of October, Secondary students participated in a Bake Sale competition in which students could bring muffins, cake, candy and many more things to sell. They were distributed by the house’s teams (Cypress, Beech, Fir and Poplar). The Student Council members were in charch selling the food. Although some students even brought a Cotton Candy machines and of course they were able to make it and sell it. The money gained from selling was sanded to charity.

Visit from the police

By Nora

On Monday 6th of November 2023, the police visited our Montessori school. They talked to us about the dangers of the internet and how people can trick you into doing things that you don’t want to do. They were very inclusive and showed us different examples of situations that could happen like: message scams, abusive messages, social media and the dangers of posting photos without permission of an adult or the friend in the photo.

We had a great experience and we learned most of the risks of social media. We learned the risks and challenges of texting people you don’t know, posting people’s pictures without their consent, how they use you to get pictures of you and also how to be safe.

In order to be safe, the police taught us to have private accounts, don’t message people who you don’t know and don’t do dumb challenges. We learned a lot and how to control our social media thanks to the police.