Between 2 countries..

Welcome to Latvia!

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 17:46:33 GMT

Dear students from Valle,

It was pleasure to meet you at Valle- your wonderful school, to see your classrooms, surroundings and feel the spirit of your site, experience Norway itself.

You are coming to Latvia, to Smiltene. I hope your teacher Ewa has already told you how students from Smiltene and Valle have been working together for nearly 2 years. Now it is time for you to take a floor- to try yourselves how things work.

Write, please, about your expectations when coming to Latvia. Think if you know anything about the country you are going to visit or how it would be like there. You may have a look at the very first entry of the blog where your colleagues have already expressed their knowledge (22th April 2009), but we would be like to know your personal thoughts.

And the next step- if you have any questions to ask – do not hesitate! Ask! The students (your peers, hopefully your new friends) from Smiltene Centre Secondary will reply you!

Mind! Even if you do not have anything to ask about the country or your stay here- ask about the project! Enquire about things and activities you are going to do together!

My dear new friends- two tasks altogether- your expectations and at least 3 questions (whether about practical issues in connection of your stay or about our school, students, project etc.)

We are really looking forward to seeing you in Smiltene,

Sincerely, Gundega

Soon summer!

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:20:19 GMT

Hello again our dear students from Latvia and Norway!

First of all, we would like to thank you for your engagement in our project so far. Your response to the two previous tasks was great, and we hope that the last topic we are going to introduce this school year will arouse your interest, too.

The sun shining outside and the melting snow (at least today, in Norway) are beginning to remind us that spring and summer are not so far now. No wonder the following topic has been chosen:

Plans for the summer of 2010.

Haven`t you started to think about it yet? Well, time to do it! Maybe you will get inspired by the writings of your fellow students?

Warm greetings to you all,

Ewa

Merry Xmas to everybody!

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:52:08 GMT

Hello, my dear students, hello my dear colleagues,

It is time to set you free from your tasks, duties and wish you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

With or without snow (and skis and skates, and sledges), with or without cold outside, Christmas- the most beautiful festival of the year is just around the corner!
Thanks for your well done jobs, nice words and thoughts! Let your dreams come true- this is we always say. And still- I wish you had dreams! And- let your (our!) dreams come true!

Sincerely, Gundega

The future is unknown, the future is bright!

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:29:03 GMT

Hello, my dear friends,
You are fantastic, you are incredible, you are the best!
Thank you for your former writings and comments (more that 100!!!), sharing your experiences, habits (hobbies) and believes! I hope the topic we are going to introduce now will be as keenly discussed as the previous one!

The year 2009 is soon over. This is the time people think about what has been done so far, what should have been done and, certainly- what is going to be done in the future!

Do you think your interests change during your lifetime?
Do you think your schools will prepare you for work or academic life?
What are your future plans and prospects after finishing your schools? Have you thought about the way/ways your future career might progress???
Where are you going to study in order to acquire the skills for your future job? What is (was) the first step when you choose your future occupation?
What is the secret of happiness from your point of view?
Can you imagine yourself (how your life will have changed) in 5 years?

Enough queries? Really?
OK, let it be!
See you here soon??? The deadline- year 2009!

Sincerely, Gundega, your administrator.

P. S. In case you would like to establish contact with the particular person from the partner country (e.g., exchange e-mails privately), ask for the particular e-mail address to your teacher of English! It is much safer than publish any personal information on the net, isn't it?
See you!

Free time activities / hobbies

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:23:14 GMT

My dear students, welcome back to our blog!

This topic has been mentioned a lot in the surveys we have asked you to complete. I am going to reveal it! Here it is. Our first topic is FREE TIME ACTIVITIES & HOBBIES.

What are you expected to do? To put it simple- tell your colleagues (peers) about what you are really interested in when the door of the school closes behind you.

Music? What genres or styles are your favourite.

Literature? (“Twilight” by Stephanie Mayer or plays of Shakespeare??? )

Hate reading? Then sport. What kind of sport and why? Or cars, IT, or fishing, or...

We would be glad if you write genuine information and it would be really nice if you could find a person with similar hobbies and share your experiences and reply...
How to become a blogger?

Ask your teacher or find the first entry – 22nd April 2009.

A Deadline? 20th October??? 20th October then.

All pleasure mine to be your administrator!

Yours, Gundega.

LAND logo

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:28:45 GMT

Hello, dear students, LAND participants- veterans and newcomers,

Autumn is just around the corner and we are back. Your first task is to create logo for our common project in order to post in in the official e-twinning website. If there is no time or wish to design your own one, please, select from the ones which have already been done. (Do not be shy to comment on them, you might find also some inaccuracy there...)

1.

2.

3.

4.

When you have chosen your favorite (vote!), reply, please- leave a comment! (Mind this "spam" thing before submit!)
We will decide altogether what our logo is going to be like!
Is a week enough for making your choice???

Welcome back, anyway!

Your administrator, Gundega.

What we know about our partners' country (22th April- 5th May)

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:22:50 GMT

Hello, dear participants of our common "LAND",

It’s time to start our work. The task you are welcome to create and submit to http://klab.lv/users/latnorland/ is as follows: You are two groups participating- Norwegians and Latvians.

Stage 1

Write, please, how you imagine your partners' country- lifestyle, location, climate, nature, culture, sport, people, some stereotypes etc.) Mind! No "googling", please. Use your knowledge, imagination, expectations... Do not worry if you think your knowledge might not be perfect! This is we are here to get to know both- our countries, schools, each other! )

Submit your writings using the button: "Leave a comment". As you are not registered members of that blog, do not forget to sign your name, otherwise your writing will appear as anonymous. Do not hesitate to ask whether to Ms Ewa or me whenever you need our help or support.

Stage 2

Choose one blog (writing) from your partner's team, read it and, using button "Reply", comment on your peer's writing. Agree with him/her, disagree, and, finally, tell a little about your country and yourself! Thus we will see if our concepts about Latvia and Norway had been close to reality.

Stage 3

Your expectations (concepts) from the stage 1and your comments from the stage 2 will be published at etwinning website- Twin-space.

The deadline is set of almost 2 weeks - 5th May. Try to meet it, please!

Good luck!

Your administrator of the blog - Gundega.

P. S. 200-250 words (about 3 paragraphs) would be welcome...

Welcome, friends,

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:28:41 GMT

Hello, my dear students from Valle (Norway) and Smiltene (Latvia),

Here you are in your (our) common virtual environment where you are welcome to share your thoughts and express your opinions on topics you are interested in.
We are looking forward to our common collaboration!

Good luck to everybody!

Sincerely, Gundega Upeniece

/A teacher of English/