English day

Last February the school celebrated the traditional English festival. “Pancake Day”. We prepared Pancakes, had the customary pancake races and of course, tasted the delicious pancakes with our favourite fillings. This typically English day proved to be a great success and an enjoyable cultural experience.

Learning to respect others, no to violence, discussing solutions to problems and sharing… just a few of the values explored by our students for the meaning of “World Peace Day”.

Christmas

The arrival of Christmas was filled with excitement, taking part in reading, Christmas stories and dreaming of what was still to come. In Spinola’s Theatre, we met Father Christmas at our bright and colourful carol concert.

Teddy Bear´s Picnic

Traditional days are naturally intergrated into the school curriculum. Here we can see The ”Teddy Bears Picnic” with our reception class and infants: enjoying, acknowledging and appreciating all the little things that surround us.

Once again, our students enjoyed a day full of traditional games, learning different recreational codes and strengthening their values of friendship.

Halloween

It was obvious Halloween had arrived, classes and patio were prepared and decorated, and the day was enjoyed by all.

“World Food Day” gave us the opportunity to sample delicious dishes from other parts. Our classrooms were equipped with all the right utensils for making tempting desserts. The sampling and participation turned out to be an enjoyable experience for all.

Cambridge Young Learners English Tests

The confirmation of the high standard of English education at Daos School is made evident through the acknowledged Cambridge University exams. These exams cover all the necessary language skills needed for learning the language: reading and writing, vocabulary, comprehension and oral expression. This year the pass rate of the Cambridge exams for the majority of our students was 100%. Thanks to the 10 hour classes of the language and the extra activities that give a meaningful use of the language throughout the term. Our students stood out at these exams, not only due to their high level in the language, but also due to their calm composure during the exams. From this magazine we would like to congratulate all of our students and our English department for their excellent results.

As part of the activities organized for July we planned a trip to the Swimming Club at the “Nautical Casino” Arrecife. 60 swimmers took part in a pleasant day, where the children, parents and teachers admired the skills and abilities of the participants. At the end of the trip, the prize-giving of medals took place and a spectacular game of water polo was held.

Graduation Ceremony and end of year theatre

On Saturday, 14th June, we celebrated the Graduation Ceremony. The students put on various theatre scenes, proving their fluency and confidence in the respective languages. The celebration was held at Spinola’s Theatre in Arrecife and the children amazed their parents and families with their first class performances, demonstrating their capabilities in the use of foreign languages, an essential component of European education.

Sea Project

To continue with our aquatic projects, the older students took part in a jam packed day, where they participated in different sports at the nautical port “Marina Rubicón” in Playa Blanca. Due to the geographic location that we live in, it is very important that students are aware of their surroundings, thus enabling awareness and appreciation of the environment.

As May approached, the school started preparing for the Day of Canaries. We worked with the children on different aspects of traditions, gastronomy, and craftwork. The students learned about Canarian folklore and the families enjoyed the performances put on by their children, the day was completed by sampling typical Canarian delicacies.

The school was very honoured to receive a visit from the author “Aquilino García Vega.” This visit was very interesting and the students were told first-hand experiences and stories from a charming grandfather. It was a spring evening that we will never forget; he presented the school with one of his books dedicated to us, that now forms part of the schools library.

Our infant department had the opportunity to observe how bread and cakes are baked. At the end of the trip, all the little ones were given a sample to try; a good time was had by all.

Primary students took part in “The Smiley Race”. This was held at “La Santa Sport”

A rewarding, educational experience

The Primary Children, together with their teachers, had the wonderful opportunity to be able to spend two days in contact with nature. Fascinated by this experience and by the excellent results achieved, the children returned with a greater understanding and cultural awareness.

The visit from the dentist proved to be very informative for all the children. The children were amused by the moving dentures, brought along by the dentist.

The school’s artistic gymnastic group, performed at the “Pabellón” Sports hall in Tías. It was a very fun and dynamic day, giving the students the valuable experience of taking part in a public display.

The children took part in an art workshop with Lanzarote artist Rufina Santana. To amplify the programme, the children put into practice what they had already learnt. With this spontaneous artistic contribution, the primary students put on an outstanding exhibition of their art class work, to raise money for charity, the funds donated to the diabetic association of Lanzarote, ADILA. The exhibition was held in the Cesar Manrique hall at the Casino nautical Club in Arrecife. The event was opened with words from the school director, followed by a short film, where parents and families could see the children preparing their art work. This very pleasant evening was made complete with cocktails and a buffet.

Like last year, we brought together our pets, in honour of “World Animal Day.” Thomas, our friendly vet, showed us all how to love and care for them.

Trilingual school DAOS plays golf

Although it is very early to say if these children will become future golf champions. Their handling of the golf clubs certainly gave reason to think it was possible. Trilingual school DAOS and the management of Costa Teguise Golf Club came together to organize a visit to the golf course, giving the children of the primary department an insight to the game of golf. A sport such as golf requires/develops concentration, discipline and coordination. This, together with the direct contact with the outdoors and the desire to succeed in sport motivated school management to provide this extra-curricular activity.

Firemen demonstrate their skills to primary students

The primary children of Colegio Europeo DAOS together with 8 of their teachers visited the fire station in Arrecife. This visit coincided with the planned curriculum theme of jobs and professions, putting their studies into a real- life context. The firemen gave a talk to the children telling them about their important work and answered the many questions that the children had to ask, they were then given a detailed tour of the fire station. The children were shown the different uniforms and types of equipment necessary for different emergency situations. They were allowed to use the fire hoses and were even given a ride in a fire engine. Furthermore, they saw how the firemen prepared for an emergency call out, when they witnessed both a pre-arranged simulation and a real emergency! We later found out that this was due to a call from Puerto del Carmen, alerting the fire brigade about smoke seen coming from a neighbour’s house, fortunately the call was transferred to firemen already in the area and the visit was allowed to continue. Diana Asteggiante deputy headmistress of the school commented that the visit had been a very enriching experience for all concerned, especially the children.

Gifted learners

Presentation of Project GOTCHA in DAOS In January, Nilda Aguirre, an expert in the field of teaching gifted children, presented “Project GOTCHA” to the teaching staff of Colegio DAOS. A project, already in use and achieving excellent results in other countries. This project has been developed to address the needs of potentially gifted children. Learning how to develop and integrate these talents into their education. Colegio DAOS is the first school in the Canary Isles to have the benefit of this course, offering professional development to all of our teaching staff. The enthusiastic response of School directors and teaching staff to this presentation motivated us to develop and integrate this project into the school curriculum.