Second Saxon Slawiniad
The second Saxon Slawiniad took place on June 10 and 11, 2016. Ms. Pazderova accompanied five students of former grade 9/5 to Holzhau, where they took part in the meeting which was attended by students from eight different Saxon schools. In several workshops the students learned together and introduced each other to the target languages Russian, Sorbian, Polish and Czech.
On June 10, we set off at 7:00 AM and went to Dresden by train from where we continued our journey to Holzhau. After arrival the topic was introduced to us and we got a first idea of what the following two days would have in store for us. We were supposed to be in groups each of which dealt with one language. But before we got started we had lunch.
Then the group work started in which we learned something about the country, the culture, the people, the customs and, of course, the respective language itself. After that, we took part in workshops. We got worksheets for the different languages and were supposed to solve them without the support of our teachers. In doing so, we realized the similarities between the Slavic languages and even got to know each other. Everything seemed easy and informal, which was one of the reasons why we enjoyed it and why time before supper just flew by.
After that there was another project: we made our own rap with experts from Leipzig. Using all four languages, we started to create a rap song. At 9:00 PM we had to be in our rooms.
The next morning, we had breakfast at 8:00. It was followed by more work in our language groups. On the side, the last verses of our rap were recorded so that each of us could take a CD home. Finally, there was a competition: four students from each group were supposed to gather as many points as possible in four games which were about general facts of the four Slavic countries and everything we had learned about them during these two days. Two students from our school together with their groups came in first and second.
We learned a lot about these nations, got to meet new people and had a lot of fun; we left with a heavy heart.
By D. Illmann 10/5