History of Garcia Lorca

HISTORY OF ALCALÁ DE HENARES

·         In ancient times, when the Romans rules, Alcalá de Henares was called Compultum, which means Compultense, the place which joins two rivers.

·         Later, Christianity arrived with the Visigoths from Northern Europe, barbarians, was what the Romans called them.

·         In 711, from North Africa, the Arabs arrived and brought Islam. Judaism, Christianity and Islam coexisted here until the Middle Ages.

·         From Arabic, came Al-Qalá, which means the castle. Hence the current name derives from the Arabic for castle by the river.

·         During 800 years, a period called La Reconquista, The Reconquest, the Christian population fought back for power.

·         The end of this period marks the Middle Ages, the period which would bring Miguel de Cervantes to Alcalá, arguably the most famous resident ever.

·         From all this history, have come many different traditions and festivities.

·         The Patron Saint of Alcala de Henares is shared with many parts of Spain and South America, Nuestra Señora del Val, or, Our Lady of the Valley. Devotion to her came as result of various appearances of her holy ghost to various Catholic believers between the years 1618 and 1620.

·         Nowadays, the people of Alcalá celebrate her every September.  The festival in her honour, begins in el salón de actos de la Virgen de la Universidad Cisneros on the 4th of September, continues through until the 14th in the  the famous church/cathedral Magistral of Alcalá, and ends with a community procession on Cervantes Square.

Federico García Lorca (1898-1936)

Federico García Lorca is considered one of Spain's greatest poets and dramatists of the 20th century. He is the most written about Spanish author in history, and his work has been translated in many languages around the world.

The Cricket Sings is a collection of poems and songs
for children-Written by Garcia Lorca 

All About Miguel de Cervantes

Miguel de Cervantes was born on the 29th of September 1547 in our town of Alcala de Henares.  He was a famous novelist, poet, and dramaturge.  His first novel was the famous Don Quixote and is widely known in Western literature.  After the publication of this first novel, Cervantes bécame one of the greatest writers in Spanish history. 

HISTORY OF ALCALÁ DE HENARES

 

In ancient times, when the Romans ruled, Alcalá de Henares was called Compultum, which means Compultense, the place which joins two rivers.

   

Later, Christianity arrived with the Visigoths from Northern Europe. Barbarians was what the Romans called them.

 

In 711, from North Africa, the Arabs arrived and brought Islam. Judaism, Christianity and Islam coexisted here until the Middle Ages.

 

From Arabic, came Al-Qalá, which means the castle. Hence the current name derives from the Arabic for castle by the river.

 

During 800 years, a period called La Reconquista, The Reconquest, the Christian population fought back for power.

 

The end of this period marks the Middle Ages, the period which would bring Miguel de Cervantes to Alcalá, arguably the most famous resident ever.

 

From all this history, have come many different traditions and festivities.

 

The Patron Saint of Alcala de Henares is shared with many parts of Spain and South America, Nuestra Señora del Val, or, Our Lady of the Valley. Devotion to her came as result of various appearances of her holy ghost to various Catholic believers between the years 1618 and 1620.

 

Nowadays, the people of Alcalá celebrate her every September.  The festival in her honour, begins in el Salón de Actos de la Virgen de la Universidad Cisneros on the 4th of September, continues through until the 14th in the  the famous church/ cathedral Magistral of Alcalá, and ends with a community procession on Cervantes Square.

 

195,907 people now call Aclalá de Henares home and take part in all the community fun.

Poems By Garcia Lorca Alumni

Alcalá de Henares, by Sergio Adán

 

En Alcalá de Henares

hay muchos monumentos,

si eres uno de los visitantes,

ve al Palacio Arzobispal,

a la casa natal de Cervantes,

y la iglesia Magistral.

 

También verás universidades,

y la Plaza de Cervantes

donde pasean visitantes

y estudiantes.

 

 

Parque O´Donnel by Álvaro Aliberch

 

Es un enorme parque

grandioso y colosal,

con plantas y flores

de forma especial.

 

En el estanque, los peces

saltan en el agua

y viven en el parque

contentos a veces.

 

Por los caminos

encontramos senderos,

de verdes sauces y pinos

que dan sombra a los viajeros.

 

El agua por la fuente,

corre sin cesar,

en el camino hay un puente

por donde la gente suele pasar.

 

 

Colegio García Lorca

 

El colegio García Lorca

está cerca de la estación,

cuando pasan los trenes,

se oyen un montón.

 

El colegio García Lorca

tiene muchas escaleras

y numerosas

ventanas correderas.

 

El colegio García Lorca

tiene un director,

se llama Dionisio

y hace bien su labor.

El colegio García Lorca

tiene un profesor,

que además de lengua

nos enseña ordenador.

 

Mi Colegio By Rodrigo Soria

 

En Alcalá de Henares yo vivo,

en Alcalá de Henares yo juego.

Mis amigos todos son de mi barrio

y son chicos muy buenos.

 

Antes iba a otro colegio de otro lugar,

que se llamaba Asunción,

los chicos no eran buenos

y no me gustaba el comedor.

Al colegio García Lorca

en septiembre llegué

y mi alegría no ha sido poca.

Excursions

National Natural Science Museum

In December, the students of grade 4 went on an excursión to the National Natural Science Museum in Madrid. This Museum is one of Spain's oldest museums, founded in 1772 by King Charles III. Today the museum holds over 6 million pieces in its collection and is an important center for research, conservation, and education in the natural sciences. The students saw many exhibits, including dinosaurs, plants, space and time, and humans. We had a great time exploring and learning!

4th Grade at the Natural Science Museum in Madrid

Parque Europa

In November, the students from grade 2 and 3 took a trip to the Parque Europa, a large plot of land that has been converted into a mini tour of Europe’s most famous landmarks and monuments! We saw the London Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, the Trevi Fountain and many more! Not only was this a social science trip, we learned lots about natural science too! There was also ‘El Mujer Gigante´, The Giant Woman, which is a giant structure of a woman with large scale organs inside, where we were taught how the body Works!

Cuétara Gallena Factory

This March, the third grade students took a trip to the Cuétara Factory to explore and learn about the world of cookies. The factory is located in
Villarejo de Salvanés,
Madrid. The students took a tour of the factory and saw how the assembly lines worked, they learned how the cookies were packaged, and got to make some of their own cookie creations. 

Students making cookie creatures

Cookies make us smile!

Brain Gym!

Find the differences between the two pictures!

Student Work

 Students wrote about different cultures they studied for Cultural Week. Each class was assigned a different country and the studies the cultures and customs of each country. For Carnival, the students dressed in traditional clothing from their assigned country.

Students of 3C dressed in the costume of Gondoleras

Aroha found learning about Italy very fun!

Students in 5th Grade giving presentations on Anti Bullying

This Year´s Adventures

Halloween

The year kicked off to a great start with a very imaginative and fun Halloween! The students all came wearing creative and spooky costumes for a fun filled day with different outdoor activities. The school and classrooms were impressively decorated by the students and the staff, with pumpkins and ghosts everywhere!

Thanksgiving

Thanks to our three assistants from the United States of America; Lia from Virginia,  Ela and Kaia from California, we were given a cultural education on their November holiday.  Famous for eating a lot and having fun with family, the 4th Thursday of November is a day  to remember what people are thankful for, as an annual celebration in memory of the Native Americans’ and the Pilgrims’ cooperation.

Christmas

The lead up to Christmas was an exciting time for the whole school! The classrooms were filled with decorations, music and fun Christmas activities. We all learned how Christmas is celebrated in countries all over the world. The Christmas show this year was a wonderful celebration of this wonderful international holiday, and a wonderful way for the school to part before the winter break. Each class prepared a performance, there were dances, songs and plays, and each class was fantastic! The staff thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the students´talent on show!

Peace Day

Peace Day is a great international festival and celebration of peace. Garcia Lorca took part as the students and teachers collectively all came wearing white and with smiles! All the classes sang songs about peace and discussed what peace means for them.

In February, the entire school went to the Theatre In Alcala de Henares and saw two english plays. The first for 1,2 and 3rd grade saw Fishy Tales, a musical about a fisherman and his wife who find a magic fish who grants wishes. The students learned that money cannot buy happiness and really, all you need is love. The older grades went to see Robin hood, a tale of morals and charity. The students were invited on stage to perform alongside the cast. It was a very entertaining day.

Culture Week

Culture Week was a lot of fun! We learned about the ways of life in different countries. We assistants prepared some activities to do with our cultures. Tom and Anna taught the students some traditional dances from Scotland and England. The students were excellent dancers and we danced for two days straight! The students loved the American sport activities that Ela, Kaia and Lia prepared, too! They were shooting hoops like Micheal Jordan!