Source: local paper Jihlavské listy, 1st April 2016, p. 9

Author: Jiří Varhaník

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The common project of Spain and Jihlava continued at the beginning of March on the High school of Jihlava. The top of the project was a concert of the students of Spain and Jihlava which took place on Monday.

Until 16th of March, the attendance of Lerma, Spanish town, stayed at the High school of Jihlava. The school of Jihlava has cooperated with the school of Lerma IES Valle del Arlanza for several years. Many students have engaged of an exchange stay with comunication in English and Spanish.

The Spanish school is located in the province of Burgos on the left bank of the river Arlanza. The school is called according to this river. The new complex of buildings was built seven years ago. Until then, the school had been set  in the monastery of Santo Domingo de Guzmán in the centre of Lerma.

Nowadays, the partner school has about 300 students from 12 to 18 years of age. There, the compulsory education (ESO) is organised for students from 12 to 16 years of age. This part is obligatory for all young people and there is a following nonobligatory education (Bachillerato) which is ended with a Maturita exam. It´s designed for students from 16 to 18.

Dagmar Němečková, the teacher and the choirmaster of The Choir of Gymnázium Jihlava, describes current cooperation: "Last year in March, there were twenty members of our choir in Lerma. We fulfilled the first part of the project with the Spanish students.“

By the end of August, the students elaborated the output work in Czech, Engilsh and Spanish and then they made a website of it. According to Mrs. Němečková, one of the best points of Spanish tour was a performance in the Museum  Yáňez: "We were playing and singing in the folk costumes in a unique private skanzen (open-air museum).“

 

Getting to know Jihlava

1.75 million crowns was given to schools by the European Union for the Erasmus+: Comenius KA2 program. Thanks to this program it is possible to continue with the cooperation between schools from other European countries and other study projects.

This year, between 5th and 16th March, the cooperation of both schools continued with the visit of our Spanish friends in Jihlava. At the beginning of the week there was an art workshop where the children in two groups had to work on the topic of the river Vltava as a woman of many faces under the leadership Mrs. Jurkovičová – art teacher. Using different special techniques, they made her hair.

In the music workshop the children were working with colourful tubes called boomwhackers. They were preparing some Czech songs as well as one Spanish and one modern pop song. The next day was given to a trip to Hradec Králové where the piano factory C. Bechstein Europe is situated. The children were given the chance to play brand new instruments.

The Spanish students prepared a presentation about the renaissance composer A. Cabezón in English and Spanish in the music room of the Gymnasium Jihlava. This was a reply to a presentation of the character of Gustav Mahler which the students from Jihlava had shown in Spain the previous year. This time the students went on a journey with worksheets about Mahler’s history together with Mrs. Silvie Čermáková – an employee of the Museum of Vysocina in Jihlava.

The group was also welcomed by the regional councilor Mrs. Jana Fialová. There was also enough time left for a visit to Lidice and Terezín. “One of the Spanish students played a clarinet melody from the film Schindler’s List in Terezín as a memory on victims,” adds Mrs. Němečková.

 

The final concert

 The Spanish students joined the regular spring concert of Gymnázium Jihlava, which took place on 14th of March in Hotel of Gustav Mahler. At the beginning of the concert, the audience could hear choir of Gymnázium Jihlava and solo shows of graduating students.

 Later on, the stage belonged to Spanish guests. They performed their regional songs and guitar pieces. To mention one example: the traditional song Malagueña, which comes from Andalusia and was composed in 19th century. In return to Czech traditional dances performed in Spain, Spanish students performed their regional dance Jotas. Program continued with juggling show and other musical performances. The Spanish part of concert was moderated by Alberto. One of the pieces was a song performed by Czech and Spanish students together. They rehearsed it together on previous music workshops.

On the following day, the Spanish students performed their show in nursing home Stříbrné terasy in Jihlava, which the choir of Gymnázium Jihlava also regularly visits. In the evening of this day there was big fiesta for competitors and their parents, where the outcomes of workshops and also videos and photographs were presented.

“Spanish students left Jihlava on Wednesday morning and our choir departed from Jihlava to Brno, where the choir competition Gymnasia cantant took place” finishes Mrs. Němečková.

 

Translated by: Dominika Přibylová, Natálie Kottová, Zbyšek Voda