FROschTOsch

by Mira Pabich (BvA) and Callum Allman (LHS)

On 25 June 2010 Wilhelm Fabry would be 450 years old. Hilden celebrates this year the Fabry-Year 2010. There are many events and Hilden will be established as  “Fabry-City”.

In Hilden you can see a statue of Wilhelm Fabry. He is a very famous person and well known in Germany. Wilhelm Fabry is seen as the best German surgeon of his time and as the founder of scientific surgery. Besides, he was very famous for the medical works he published. Among them “Observationum et Curationum Chirurgicarum Centuriae “, a summary of case reports during his lifetime. A street, a school and the only museum in Hilden were named after him.

Still today his works stamp the city.  The city celebrates him because his birthplace is Hilden and he has reached a lot in his life. On 15 February 1634 Wilhelm Fabry passed away in Bern.

Am 25. Juni 2010 wäre Wilhelm Fabry 450 Jahre alt geworden. Hilden feiert in diesem Jahr das Fabry-Jahr 2010.
Hilden soll als „Fabry-Stadt“ etabliert werden. Wilhelm Fabry wird als der zu seiner Zeit bester deutsche Wundarzt und als Begründer der wissenschaftlichen Chirurgie angesehen.
Er war unter anderem sehr berühmt für seine medizinischen Werke, die er verfasst hat. Unter ihnen das “Observationum et Curationum Chirurgicarum Centuriae”, eine Zusammenfassung von Fallberichten zu seiner Lebenszeit.
Eine Straße, eine Schule und das einzige Museum in Hilden wurden nach ihm benannt. Seine Werke prägen die Stadt noch heute.
Die Stadt feiert ihn, weil seine Geburtsstätte Hilden ist und er sehr viel in seinem Leben erreicht hat. Am 15. Februar 1634 verstarb Wilhelm Fabry in Bern.    www.fabry-jahr.de

by F. Gadfield

The Comenius party spent Monday visiting the centre of Hilden and at an art studio in Solingen.

Hilden

Hilden has many interesting old buildings and also offered a good opportunity for shopping!

Hilden Kirche

We then travelled on to Solingen to the gallery of Regis Noel where artistic skills were put to the test.  Students were asked to complete small panels, one for each country with designs representing country, school and city.

At the end of the afternoon the pictures became a giant jigsaw puzzle and formed a large picture which was then split into three small pictures, one for each country.  These pictures will be sent to each of the participating schools in the near future.  The large picture can only be seen  on the internet where it contributes to the art project “be a part of it”.

The Unique "Big Picture"

by F. Gadfield

The group split into groups to visit two very different newspapers in Düsseldorf.

Rheinische Post

Rheinische Post Online is the online version of a daily newspaper which has extensive local coverage as well as news from around the world.   Students toured the editing room and saw how the paper is printed. They were able to view the news of tomorrow today!

Students learnt of the importance of meeting deadlines in the world of journalism and the following day were able to read the newspaper that they had seen in production.

fiftyfifty

is an organisation which supports the homeless and produces the biggest street magazine in Germany.  It is sold on the streets of Düsseldorf and many other cities in the area.

fiftyfifty

The magazine has over 400 vendors in Düsseldorf alone and we were lucky to meet two of them, one of whom had been working for fiftyfifty for 15 years.  Articles and pictures are the work of homeless people.

fiftyfifty runs seven hotels for the homeless – these are funded from sales of the magazine and from the art gallery.  Many famous artists have donated their work to the organisation and the group were able to see current exhibits in the gallery.

The Big Issue is the British equivalent of fiftyfifty – but whilst The Big Issue covers the whole of the UK, there are many separate magazines in Germany.

by Karolina Kowalska (LOG)

Easter is one of the most important and the happiest holidays for Christians. Nowadays people celebrate it on the first Sunday after the first  full moon in spring. Preparations for the feast begin a few weeks earlier. That time starts forty days before Easter, on Ash Wednesday. Then Christians have a strict fast. They do not eat meat on Fridays, because they associate that day with Christ’s martyrdom and His death.

The celebration of Easter is preceded by the Holy Week, which begins with Palm Sunday – the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem and people greeted Him with palm branches. The Maundy Thursday is the day, which commemorates the Last Supper. Good Friday commemorates the death of Jesus on the cross.

One day before Easter – on Holy Saturday – children paint and decorate eggs [in Poland they are called ”pisanki”]. Then kids prepare the blessing baskets. The basket, filled with ”pisanki”, a piece of bread, sausage, salt, pepper and a tiny sugar lamb is being carried to the church where it is sprinkled with holy water.

On Easter Sunday bells in every church ring exceptionally beautifully, because they announce Christ’s resurrection. On that day all families go to church again to morning Mass at 6 a.m. – which is called Resurrection. Firecrackers often accompany it and that emphasizes the importance of the day.

The family breakfast on Easter Sunday morning is an important part of Polish Easter celebrations. Each member of household receives a piece of the blessed food. At the breakfast table, each of the participants wishes to the others good luck and happiness. The table is decorated with green leaves and spring flowers. Traditional cakes can be found there e.g. gigantic “baby” or a very popular “Mazurek” where in the middle there is a sugar lamb (which symbolizes Christ). No warm meals are served.

Easter Monday is a favourite day for children. It’s a very popular and funny tradition called “Śmigus-Dyngus” in Poland. On this day boys sprinkle girls with water or perfume. On that day everyone is wet but exhilarated because it is believed that being sprinkled with water on that day assures well-being, beauty and health.

I think that Polish Easter traditions are very enthralling and they are unique. Now I just can’t wait for those beautiful days to come again.

by AleksanderPodlewski (LOG)

A day at a Polish school starts at 8 a.m. We have about 7 – 8 lessons every day. Our school breaks are quite different from the ones in Germany. We have got one long break which takes 20 minutes and some shorter breaks between each lesson. There is  a shop in school and we can not eat lunch at school. We can eat some sandwiches or drink coffee.

Our school is smaller than Bettine-von-Arnim-Gesamtschule.  About 550 student attend our school.

All classroms contain computers with access to the Internet, projectors, TV-sets and equipment for transmitting sound. These electrical devices are really helpful in the lessons.

We are also able to listen to music  at breaks. There is a school blues band called ‘ Krzysiek Blues’. A group created by our favourit teacher – Krzysiek Kieres ( a lead guitarist and a singer ). Sometimes he plays his electric guitar during school breakes, which attracts a lot of students from our school.

We have got great teachers who are cheerful and funny. However it doesn’t mean they tell funny stories during all their lessons. They are always well prepared and can motivate their students successfully in a very attractive way. During classes we are provided with lots of  interesting movies, which arouse our enthusiams and broaden our imagination.

Hope, one day, you will be able to visit our school yourselves.

by Marta Milczarek

The Catholic Church usually celebrates Easter in April. It is the springtime Christian festival, a very specific period of time for all the believers. The celebration of Easter is preceded by the Holy Week, which begins with Palm Sunday. Palm twigs are indispensable accessories of the events of this day.

At Easter we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection,  and His victory over death and sin. On Saturday we go to church to consecrate Easter food, like bread, sausages, salt, pepper, and especially eggs. The egg is a symbol of new life. “Pisanki”  are eggs coloured by various colours , with decorations. They are decorated with wax and then soaked in dyes. As for the motives for decoration, people can resort to their imagination: flowers, plants, Jesus, bells,  Easter lambs, rabbits. These beautiful eggs will be a decoration of the table on Easter and they will be eaten next day,  during Sunday breakfast. It is a big ceremony.

Easter Sunday starts with the Mass of Resurrection. Then, breakfast will be celebrated by the family. Because it is a breakfast known as “holy breakfast”, it is the time of meeting with all the family in Poland during Easter. People wish one another “Happy Easter” (“Wesołego Alleluja” in Poland) and have an occasion to talk together, too. Often breakfast continues all day, because Poles like it very much to remain at the table.

On Easter Monday, it is “Śmigus-Dyngus” or “Lany Poniedziałek- wet Monday”. This celebration is only in Poland. During all the day, it is allowed to throw water on others, even on unfamiliar people! The best idea is thus to remain at home all the day, because during a short walk or  even going to church on foot , we are likely to get wet! And there is not the right to be annoyed. Obviously, one should not exaggerate with the quantity of water thrown on an unfamiliar person. We should cultivate the tradition but without making people angry. Formerly, “Smigus-Dyngus” in the Polish culture was very  particular among the unmarried women and men: the men tried to put the most possible amount of water on the girls whom they liked, thus showing them their interest and their feelings! The more water received – the more the girl was loved. And the girls said “thank you” by offering more decorated eggs! It is a beautiful  tradition. Easter isn’t a huge celebration in Poland any more, but it is the happiest and it is the symbol of spring.

by Marta Milczarek (LOG)

Gostynin – a small town in central Poland. It is a place where people know each other very well. There are only a few interesting places like cafes, clubs or restaurants where people especially teenagers can meet, however they are really worth going to.  Besides there is one building, a very old one, famous all over Poland – a castle in Gostynin.

The Castle was built in the fourteenth century by the dukes of Mazovia. Originally it was a tower, which performed the defensive and residential functions. In the next years the castle was rebuilt several times, its look changed. In 1611 the castle became a place of detention of the Russian Tsar Vasily Shuiski and his brothers: Ivan and Dmitri and his wife Catherine. The Castle was destroyed in the years 1655 – 1660 during Potop Szwedzki – it was a war between Poland and Sweden and later by the troops of Catherine II in 1769. The castle was burned down but in the next few years it was built again. In 1825 the building was converted into evangelical church and then it was a Roman Catholic church. Now the castle has been renovated and now it is a very elegant hotel and restaurant.

Although the castle was renovated, its appearance has changed but many people are not satisfied with the function of which it is now. A lot of people think that the hotel it is not a good alternative. They think that it is a  place with rich history and it should be a museum. But other people think that it is good that the Castle was renovated.

The Castle in Gostynin is the most interesting place in our town. It is a place whose history is very interesting. Everyone knows a few things about it. Although it is a hotel, it is a magical and beautiful place and every tourist should visit it.

by Natalia Linska (LOG)

Easter

Easter is the most important Christian festival. Christians are followers of Jesus Christ who lived about 2000 years ago in a country called Palestine. They believe that Jesus was the son of God. At Easter time Christians commemorate the last week of Jesus’ life.

Holy Saturday

On  Holy Saturday people go to church to have baskets blessed. In these baskets are: dyed eggs, a sugar lamb, salt, pepper, a piece of bread, a roll, a cake, ham and other things which are later eaten.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday is a happy day for Christians because they believe that Jesus rose from the dead on this day. They believe that Jesus’ resurrection or coming alive shows that death is not the end of everything.

Easter Monday

On Easter Monday which is called ‘śmingus dyngus” (Wet Monday) people pour one another, even strangers,  with water. It is connected with symbolic coming to life of the nature.

Easter Eggs

Easter Eggs symbolize the birth of new life. Christians remember that Jesus, after dying on the cross, rose from the dead. This miracle showed that life could win over death.

Today, children prepare colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of real Easter eggs – those made of plastic or chocolate candy

.

The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated from the pagan festival of Easter. The goddess, Easter, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.

There is also a tradition of the Easter bunny leaving a basket of treats such as Easter eggs and chocolates on Easter Day. Parents  often hide eggs in the garden for children to find. Sometimes their children leave out carrots for the Easter bunny. Parents tell their children to make ‘nests’ before Easter with their caps and bonnets and if they were polite the Easter bunny would leave them coloured eggs.

by Natalia Linska (LOG)

The place where I live is small. It is called Zwoleń and it is situated seven kilometres from Gostynin.  There are not many kinds of entertainment  like  a sports centre , a department store  or the theatre, but life here is calm and relaxing. There are a lot of green forests and beautiful lakes. Many people from the city come here on holiday to rest and relax.

There are a lot of holiday resorts and hotels nearby forests and lakes. In these resorts you can rent water equipment during holidays.

There are also stud farms, where everyone can learn to ride a horse or borrow a carriage with two horses and a driver to go on a horse trip.

You can go here for a long walk, breathe fresh air and if you are lucky  you can meet some wild animals e.g. deer, elk, fox, wild bear, badger, pine marten and many others. Occasional appearance of so many different  types of  animals makes perfect conditions for hunting. In summer  you can also pick up some berries, or in autumn if you wish to spend some time stepping on rustling leaves covering the forest bed you can go mushrooming.

My region is perfect for holiday. When the weather is fine and the sun is shining everybody  goes to the beach . They swim in the lake, sunbathe, build sandcastles, sail, catch fish, paddle a canoe or collect stones or pebbles.

On the fields grow beautiful and colourful flowers. You can collect them, make a bouquet and later in the privacy of your home admire their ephemeral beauty and scent.

My village is wonderful  for people who want  to get in touch with nature and spend holiday in a tranquil and peaceful place.