Škola hrou

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 News

School year

Rituals - traditions - celebrations - festivities

First day of school

We start off the first day of school at half past eight in the blue classroom. The whole school meets up, along with their parents and the teaching staff. The school principal welcomes everyone, thanks the teachers for preparation week, and wishes everyone a wonderful school year full of interesting and enriching activities.

After a tea party together, all the children make a path to lead the first graders to their classroom. Parents can stay with their children for a short while. At half past nine the children go for their first snack and parents depart.

Annual class photographs are taken along with the children's portraits. Instead of student books, we use special notebooks whose title pages are decorated with these portraits.

Next comes a nice lunch from Pepa the chef, and then a fun afternoon in the after-school center.

Open Day

In mid-November each year we hold an open day for you to visit the school. Children from the school will act as your guides, and will be glad to show you around. You will be provided with information about our teaching approach, curriculum and history, as well as details about the enrollment of children into first grade.

Advent garden

Many interesting activities are prepared all around the school on Advent Friday. The lunchroom is transformed into a gingerbread bakery and a workshop for making Advent wreaths for the classrooms. In classes, children create Christmas ornaments and decorations for the school. An angel leads all the children along a wishing spiral where everyone lights a candle, and Christmas carols are sung.

St. Nicholas Day

On December 6th each year we celebrate the traditional Czech festival of "Mikuláš" - St. Nicholas day - with a visit from Mikuláš himself. He tells the children what he and his angels have accomplished that year, then reads from his book of wisdom about the children's successes and talents, while his angels give little gifts to all the children and adults. Our Mikuláš celebration doesn't involve any "Čerti" devils. Some of the children might still be scared of such things, and we don't want to frighten them.

Christmas caroling

On the last day before Christmas break, all the parents, teachers and children come together in the gym, and each class presents its own small Christmas show. Most of the festivities are taken up by carol singing, accompanied by instruments, backdrops, costumes, tears of emotion and applause.

If moms have been baking Christmas cookies, a tasting is always welcome. Sometimes the school receives a present for the children, one favorite being a 2,000-piece wooden building block set.

Evaluation

On the last school day of January the children receive a verbal assessment. We make a day of it. Some children like to read theirs on their own and choose the bits they want to share with others. At other times teachers read a text out aloud, while the children have to guess which one of their classmates it's about. Some children like to have their evaluations read out to the class, and can't wait to show them to their parents. Every child gets his/her evaluation in a colorful folder full of pictures, and even the evaluation form itself is bright and cheery, with the school's wise owl emblem.

 

School field trips

Our summer school field trips are at a different location each year. We like to discover new places. Sites are chosen where the whole school, i.e. at least 80 people, can fit. We also take future first-graders along with us. The children are divided up into mixed-age groups and the field trip has a specific topic. A schedule is made for the whole time we are away, so that there is enough time for learning new things, playing, and discovering things about the place we've come to.

Children's Day

Children's Day is held in the school garden. The children compete in all kinds of weird and wonderful events and are rewarded with school play money. A stand then offers a variety of prizes which they can buy for a single bill, or if they want they can also save up for a more interesting prize too. It’s nice to watch the children and all their different tactics for achieving the desired reward.

Sleepover

One of the children's favorite events is a sleepover at school. Usually the children spend the early evening with their class teacher on a walk through Prague. This is followed by a visit to the observatory, and then a dinner together, sharing all the goodies prepared by moms. Finally, the classroom is transformed into a giant bedroom, full of sleeping bags and the children's stuffed toys.

Birthday parties

One of the children's favorite events is a sleepover at school. Usually the children spend the early evening with their class teacher on a walk through Prague. This is followed by a visit to the observatory, and then a dinner together, sharing all the goodies prepared by moms. Finally, the classroom is transformed into a giant bedroom, full of sleeping bags and the children's stuffed toys.

Graduation projects

In the last week of school, our fifth-graders present their graduation projects. They work on them both at home and at Škola Hrou, starting as soon as they've done their entrance exams for their following school. They choose their own topics, whatever subjects interest them, and whatever they would like to publicly present to the other children, teachers and parents. If they want, two children can work on a project together, and prepare a joint presentation. This year, for instance, we learned the history of lollipops from Ema and Lucka. Martin told us all about hockey practice, teaching us some hockey history too.

School celebration

We traditionally celebrate the end of the school year with a Garden Party. This is held on the last Sunday in June each year. For the children we have a bouncy giraffe and competitions with a special theme. A variety of snacks and refreshments are on offer, along with fun raffles both for children and for adults, plus a live band for listening and dancing. This year's choice was the Yo-Yo Band, and in previous years we've had well-known Czech groups such as "100 Animals", Ivan Hlas, Laura and her Tigers and the Dům Doobie Band. The Garden Party celebration is a goodbye ritual as our fifth-graders go on to other schools. They may arrive by limousine, in jeeps or by horse and carriage... whatever they decide. All the children are introduced to the guests, and we take the opportunity to thank their parents for all the years they have entrusted their children to us. Graduates receive a tee-shirt with a picture of the school, a group photo of all their schoolmates and a lifetime free pass to the celebration. After their departure ceremony we welcome in our new first-graders. And then we enjoy the party.

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