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Modern Languages Trips

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Belfast High School Trip to Paris – June 2010

On the 16th June 2010 at 1:30am eighty-four pupils in year 8 from Belfast High and about ten teachers made their way to the school bus park with great excitement. We all couldn’t wait! When everybody was at the school we started loading our suitcases on to the bus heading to Dublin airport. The journey to Dublin took two and a half hours – which was quite a long time on the bus, but it was definitely worth the wait as the day ahead was filled with pleasure!

Day 1
When we got to Dublin airport, we got our suitcases off the bus and ran into the airport, we were all so excited, we were put into about eight groups, and then we headed to check-in in the airport. A lot of people were hiding their passports as we looked a little younger but everything was alright and we headed on when everybody checked in. We then reached security- I was scared in case I went “beep” but, myself and most other people got through with no trouble! After security we got to go round some shops and get breakfast in McDonalds! It was yum! Then it said “boarding Aer Lingus to Paris” and we all rushed to the gate and then we started to board the plane! Then when all of us were on we waited till suddenly the plane took off! It was amazing! We had set seats on the plane but when the seatbelt signs were switched off we all swapped around.
Then about two hours later we were in Paris, our bags came quick so we then headed straight to our bus that would stay with us throughout our stay in Paris. We came soon to the Stade de France but before that we went for a meal in “Quick”, it was good so we went to a shop called the Decathlon which was a big sport shop just across from the Stade de France. It was massive, we went all around the shop there was a range of clothing and gear for nearly every sport you could think of! Then we headed across the road to the Stade de France which was a big football/rugby stadium it was really big! After our tour around the stadium we went on a river boat cruise along the River Seine. It was good fun, we saw lots of famous buildings like Notre Dame, the Eiffel tower etc. after the cruise we headed to a restaurant called Flunch and we ate our dinner there. Then after a long day we finally headed to our hotel! There was a Disney gift shop and lots of other things in the hotel. The hotel was very nice we had already picked our rooms beforehand so we got our keys, played around for a while and went straight to bed for an early start the next day!

Day 2
Then the next day - I think this is the place we had all been most excited for - we were going to Disneyland! Breakfast was at 8:30 or so, there was a selection of croissants, fruit, cereal, etc for breakfast so that made it very nice. When we had finished our breakfast we all headed to Disneyland on our bus. As our hotel was in Disney it only took five minutes or so to get there so that was good, when we entered Disneyland it was so magical, there were so many colours and there was everything. We were told to meet at a certain place at a certain time but if you couldn’t make it you just texted a teacher so that was good. There were loads of rides including Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Phantom Manor, Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World and loads more! They were all phenomenal! There were loads of shops and stalls were you could buy clothes, food, drink and so much more! There was also a big parade and show with Mickey Mouse and everyone, which was really good fun to watch. We stayed the whole day and everyone was pretty much knackered by the end of the day!

Day 3
Today we were going shopping at the Val d’Europe, a big shopping centre, similar to Victoria square, but way bigger! It took about 10 minutes to get there, so we arrived at the shopping centre around 9:15am. When the shops opened we all split up and went off with our friends to shop! We had lunch in the shopping centre and met back around 12:45pm. We then set off for the Eiffel tower.
When we got to the Eiffel tower, we climbed the stairs to the first floor, and by this time most of us were already out of breath and we still had another floor to climb! We took a break then climbed up to the second floor. By now some people were panicking because they were afraid of heights, so we climbed back down to the bottom.

We were then ready to get on the bus, and head to Aquaboulevard!
When we arrived at Aquaboulevard, we had dinner first then got changed for swimming and got in the pool. We had a couple of hours to swim, ride all of the crazy slides and sit in the Jacuzzi. We got out, dried, got into our groups and got on the bus, to head back to the hotel after a long day.

Day 4
Today we woke up and everybody was excited because today we were going to Parc Astérix, which is a bit like Disneyland, only for older kids and all about Asterix. It took quite a while to get there, as it’s in the countryside rather than the city. When we arrived we arranged a meeting point and went off with our friends to go on all the rides- one had seven loops! My favourite was the log ride where it seemed like quite a relaxing ride until you got to the top then plummeted down into a pool of water! It was great fun and we spent the entire day here. We met back at the meeting point and got on the bus to go back to the hotel for packing, as we would be leaving the next day.
Day 5
Today breakfast was at 7:30am, so we dragged our sleepy bodies down for breakfast, then loaded our suitcases onto the bus. We then went to the Arc de Triomphe walked under the road to come up under the huge arch and see the flame for the unknown soldier. We then walked down the Champs Elysées to where our bus was waiting and then began our drive to the airport. Everybody was sad to be leaving Paris, but excited to be seeing their family again…
We had a fabulous time in Paris and look forward to our next school trip.

Erin McCluggage & Alice MacHenry (8R)

Andalucia 2010

Day 1 – The Journey

We left school at 12:30pm in the mini-bus with Mrs. Moore, but not everyone could fit so three of us went in the car with Ms. Cochrane.

We arrived at the airport at about 1:00pm. We made sure everyone had luggage tags filled in correctly and then checked in at 1:30pm. Our flight was supposed to leave at 3:30pm but we were delayed and ended up leaving at 4:30pm.The flight was fun as we all managed to sit with our friends.

We arrived at the hotel at 10:00pm so the hotel had a cold plate of meat and cheese. There was also cold soup which could have been heated up with a microwave but none of us realised so we ate it cold!

Day 2 – Picasso Museum, Shopping Centre, Crocodile Park and Spanish Match

We had to get up at 8:30am for breakfast at 9:00am and there was a large selection of foods.

We left the hotel at 9:35am and went to the Picasso Museum which was greatly enjoyed by the pupils studying Art at GCSE level.

Next we went shopping at the Larios Centre, it was massive! It had a mix of Spanish and English stores – even Dunnes Stores!

In the afternoon we went to the Crocodile Park, here we had a guided tour. It was quite scary when the guide poked the crocodiles. We all got to hold a baby crocodile and even Mrs Millar held it but Ms Cochrane chickened out!

In the evening we went down to the pier beside the beach which was about a five minute walk from our hotel. When we arrived at the beach we discovered that Spain was playing Chile in the world cup. The atmosphere was amazing, the Spanish people were ecstatic. Every time Spain scored a goal you became deaf from the sound of the Spanish people cheering and screaming. They also were dancing and going completely mad in the beach bars and the cafés.

When the match reached half time we made our way back to the hotel. We were able to watch the rest of the match in the hotel bar. When the match ended Spain had won 2:1 to Chile. We had a great time and after saying goodnight to the teachers we all went to bed and got ready for an early start the next morning when we would be going to Granada.

Day 3 Granada

On the third day we had a very early start, we were up by 7.00, and breakfast was at 7.30. For all of us to get ready, the majority of us were up at 6, far too early for a Saturday!

We left for Granada at 7.50, and we preparied ourselves for a two hour bus drive. Everyone went to sleep and so the journey flew in. Along the way we made a pit-stop, this meant food and gifts and more bracelets were bought,

We then arrived to the ‘Alhambra’. We were getting a guided tour, and this started at 10.30. We started the tour, and we saw three magnificent palaces, stunning gardens, and amazing views. The tour guide told us a lot of interesting facts about the Alhambra. I enjoyed the tour, even though we were walking for over two hours in hot temperatures, but it was an amazing place. And I would recommend it to anyone near the area, it’s a must see daytrip!

Once the tour was finished, we were back on the bus, heading back to Torremolinos, and we then spent an hour in the pool, it was a great day!

Day 4 Aquapark

We started the last day with a “lie in” until 8:30 and headed for our last breakfast buffet at the holiday. Once we had freshened up and sorted out our rooms, we set off for the Aqua Park. When we arrived after a 20 minute walk we rushed into the aqua park, covered ourselves with suncream, not to mention a few with factor 50 +, and got to know our bearings of the park, we set off in groups.

The Kamikaze, (basically a vertical drop slide), was the highlight of the park for some of the girls. Next were the rapids, a course in which you were given an inflatable ring and sent down this slippy course. (And the results? A lot of bruises!) The Boomerang was a highlight of the trip as the teachers, Ms. Cochrane and Mrs. Millar very bravely decided they would have a go. There were many other fantastic rides at Aqualand and we all had great fun.

A great trip and thanks again to both teachers who gave up their time for the 15 girls to go!

Visit by pupils and staff from the Alta Portada School in Málaga, Spain

On the 11th November 2009 over 30 pupils came from Málaga to Ireland. On their tour of Ireland they stopped in to Belfast High School. They came into the school at 10:15 and were greeted by pupils studying Spanish in years 11,12,13 and 14. They stayed for assembly, break, periods 3, 4, 5 and 6 and also during lunch.
We took them to the 6th form centre where they made themselves comfortable. Ms Cochrane then called out the partner of the Spanish pupil’s name and they joined them and took them to assembly. The pupils from Spain thought that assembly was very strange and was very strict in the way girls were on one side and boys on the other.

Once the bell went for break everyone left the assembly hall and some of the Spanish pupils came out the back of the 6th form centre where we quizzed the Spanish people about what their country was like and what they liked doing. Rebecca and I were paired with Ainhoa, Eimear was with Lula, Shannen and Beth were paired with Carolina and Taryn and Helena were paired with Carlos. Carolina and Ainhoa were in the same class in Málaga so they knew each other well and were good friends. They said Ibiza was their favourite holiday destination as they could party for a long time after exams.
The bell then rang and Carolina, Ainhoa, Shannen, Beth and I all went to Miss Montgomery's Science class, where we were learning about viruses and white blood cells. Ainhoa and Carolina had no idea what we were talking about, even though they kept taking down notes and found what we were saying about blood cells hilarious.

Then we went to Maths, I left Ainhoa off with Rebecca and Carolina went with Shannen. Thirty-Five minutes later everyone rejoined in Ms. Cochrane's Spanish class where we were learning the meals of the day. All the Spanish pupils took part in answering questions about their meal times. Lula lived in Canada for three years so she was very good at English and could translate everything for us and the Spanish people.
We then went to the canteen for lunch, Ainhoa, Carolina and I all went and got pizza. We then sat in the assembly hall in a large group and talked. After that we went outside for a walk and swapped e-mail addresses.
Then the time was up for everyone to return to class and the Spanish pupils returned to their tour. It was very sad to leave them and no-one wanted them to go because they were very nice people and we had really enjoyed the day together. We hope to participate in a project with them in the future.

Dylan Loughlin 4.Q

Abenteuer Deutsch Mark II

On 11th June 2010 35 year 9 pupils headed off for a fun-filled German adventure weekend at Greenhill YMCA in Newcastle!

On Friday 11th June to Sunday 13th June 35 pupils and five teachers went to Greenhill YMCA in Newcastle. The instructors on this trip were German, and this experience was planned for us to expand on our German knowledge and language. At 3.40pm on Friday the last bell of the day went and everyone ran to the outside gym to get changed for the trip. On Friday we got the bus down to Greenhill YMCA, it was one hour and thirty minutes. Everyone dragged their bags off the bus, and then we went to the main hall to get allocated rooms where we would be staying for the rest off the weekend. Mr Maxwell and Mrs Creighton made sure we were happy with the rooms we were in. We went to our brand new chalets and unpacked, and then we went back to the main hall to make arrangements to go to Newcastle.

We walked through the forests into Newcastle, where we got our dinner wherever we wanted, we got a KFC. Meeting back in a main car park at 9.30, Mr Maxwell, Mrs Thompson and Mrs Creighton did a head count, and we walked back up to Greenhill. We got back to our chalets and we played football and then were told to go to our rooms at 10.40 and lights out at 11.00.

Mr Maxwell had invited anyone if they wanted to go for a run into Newcastle which was five miles long, at 7.00am. Only Mark was brave enough to go out in the cold and join him! Everybody else was too tired!

On Saturday morning we got up early and we played rugby /football / frisbee in the pitches near our chalets. Then we helped set up for breakfast which was at 8.30, everyone was really tired and hungry from the early start that morning which was good because the food was delicious. After breakfast we were put in our groups and went bouldering with German instructors. When we arrived back at Greenhill we dried off and went for our very much deserved lunch. After lunch we changed activities and did the high-ropes course in German.

We had a night of orienteering and the midgies were really bad!

Next morning we did the usual and had breakfast then we were told the activity we would be doing for the day which was raft building for our group. The German instuctors talked in German and gave us tips for making the best raft.

Some people did not go on the raft but helped build it. However most rafts sank really quickly!

We then went back to the chalets to pack and have lunch. This weekend was an enjoyable weekend and we would recommend it to anybody, there is something for everyone to enjoy. We also enjoyed speaking and learning some new German words. Thanks to all the teachers involved, including Mrs Creighton, Ms Butten, Matthew, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Brown and Mr Maxwell.