After nearly eight years as the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope has announced his resignation today. He had been the first German pope since over 500 years.
Monday, 11 February 2013
Sunday, 10 February 2013
German Christmas Market trip 2012 - Day 2
On day two of the Aachen Christmas market trip we woke up early and got ready for breakfast. Many rooms were unhappy about this as they wanted to sleep but they still got up anyway. We made our way down to breakfast, with most of our bags packed, and we were greeted with a lovely selection of cheeses and hams and bread rolls. When we had all finished out breakfast, we went down to the coach with our bags and headed into Aachen. After finding a bus stop to pull into, we headed down for our tour of Aachen. On our way there we saw a pharmacy just like boots. All I can say is that we couldn’t resist…
After buying all types of nail polish and gifts and looking at the twilight make-up we finally got to our tour. We had a guided tour which took us all around Aachen (within walking distance). Our tour guide took us to the famous springs, which smelt of fish, and up around the Cathedral. We learnt about how to find out where you were going with only some small brass plaques on the floor. Once the tour was over we were all very excited to go shopping! We had 45 minutes to look around the Christmas market before we met back at the coffee shop. After shopping we made our way to the meeting point and once there we were delighted with hot chocolate and gingerbread. It seemed that we were there for quite a while as one group had not made it back… The teachers were informed that they had split up with their group to go and find a previous stall, more hot chocolate for us! It was reaching 1 PM and after we all stopped at MacDonald’s it was time to leave. On the way to the ferry everyone was chatting about what they bought and what they loved about the trip. It was an amazing trip and we would love to do it again!
by Ella - Year 8
After buying all types of nail polish and gifts and looking at the twilight make-up we finally got to our tour. We had a guided tour which took us all around Aachen (within walking distance). Our tour guide took us to the famous springs, which smelt of fish, and up around the Cathedral. We learnt about how to find out where you were going with only some small brass plaques on the floor. Once the tour was over we were all very excited to go shopping! We had 45 minutes to look around the Christmas market before we met back at the coffee shop. After shopping we made our way to the meeting point and once there we were delighted with hot chocolate and gingerbread. It seemed that we were there for quite a while as one group had not made it back… The teachers were informed that they had split up with their group to go and find a previous stall, more hot chocolate for us! It was reaching 1 PM and after we all stopped at MacDonald’s it was time to leave. On the way to the ferry everyone was chatting about what they bought and what they loved about the trip. It was an amazing trip and we would love to do it again!
by Ella - Year 8
German Christmas Market trip 2012 - Day 1
It was a 7 hour trip from Woldingham to Aachen, about one hour to the Euro Tunnel, another half hour on the tunnel and the rest travelling through different countries: (Luxemburg, France and Belgium) In Belgium we stopped and went to a gas station shop. We saw the biggest BabyBel ever! We bought a few sausages and sandwiches, and we were back on the road.
Within a few hours we arrived in Aachen, we cleaned up the bus, got our luggage, and it was a long uphill walk to the youth hostel. The Youth hostel was very nice! Some boarders said it was better than the Boarding Area! We settled in and changed to warmer clothes and then we were off to the Christmas Market for the first day.
The Christmas Market was amazing! The smell of gingerbread filled the air and we immediately got something to eat! Pizza, Sausage, Pretzels everything you could dream of! We also got some Printen (German Gingerbread). Although we didn’t spend a long time there, some of us got the chance to go on the Merry - Go – Round. At the end of the evening, we went back to the hostel and we played some Taboo in our pyjamas with some giant Fantas!
Overall, It was a great first day! And we had loads of fun...!
by Tobi - Year 8
Komposita (compound nouns)
After Mr Oulton's assembly we all know that the Germans are incredibly efficient. And so is their language. Have you ever noticed that German novels are much thinner than their English equivalent? And here is the reason why:
Somewhere in the course of your German studies you will have stumbled across one of the typically long, German words which are referred to as compound nouns. By stringing a number of nouns together, you can create a completely new (and usuallly very long) word.
Here are some examples:
= a place where you can rent floor polishing machines
= directions on how to use an escalator
So as you can see, compound nouns are the perfect example of German efficieny. Instead of using long phrases to explain a concept, they'll just make up a word to explain the phenomenon - how efficient! But also - how creative! Read the links attached if you want to find out more about German compound nouns and how much fun it can be to play around with words!
And whilst you're at it, why not try mixing together some words yourself to create completely new words of your own! Post your compound nouns here, the 5 best will be displayed and rewarded!
Find inspiration here:
Guardian article about compound nouns
Dartmouth blog about compound nouns
Somewhere in the course of your German studies you will have stumbled across one of the typically long, German words which are referred to as compound nouns. By stringing a number of nouns together, you can create a completely new (and usuallly very long) word.
Here are some examples:
Fussbodenschleifmaschinenverleih
Fussboden: Fuss + Boden (foot + ground) + Schleifmaschine: Schleif + Maschine (polish + machine) + Verleih (rental)= a place where you can rent floor polishing machines
Fahrtreppenbenutzungshinweise
Fahrtreppen: Fahr + Treppen (ride + stairs) + Benutzung: (usage) + Hinweise: (directions)= directions on how to use an escalator
So as you can see, compound nouns are the perfect example of German efficieny. Instead of using long phrases to explain a concept, they'll just make up a word to explain the phenomenon - how efficient! But also - how creative! Read the links attached if you want to find out more about German compound nouns and how much fun it can be to play around with words!
And whilst you're at it, why not try mixing together some words yourself to create completely new words of your own! Post your compound nouns here, the 5 best will be displayed and rewarded!
Find inspiration here:
Guardian article about compound nouns
Dartmouth blog about compound nouns
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