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Erasmus Tenerife Trip – March 2023

21 Mar Erasmus Tenerife Trip – March 2023

Posted at 09:10h in KS2, Language Captains, MFL, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6 by
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Monday 20th March 2023

The Erasmus trip to Tenerife began today at (an eye-watering) 5am when pupils met their teachers outside school ready to head to the airport. Despite the shockingly early start, all the pupils were fizzing with excitement and ready to get going.

The 4-hour flight went smoothly and pupils entertained themselves and each other with card games, journal writing and quizzing each other on the vocabulary and language they have been studying about the island of Tenerife and its iconic volcano. The pupils even got to see El Teide from the air as they flew in to land – it was spectacular! Another highlight was getting to speak to their pilots and visit the aeroplane cockpit on arrival at Tenerife airport. Pupils even got to sit in the pilot’s seat!

Once they had arrived safely at the hotel and settled into their rooms, they headed to the supermarket to stock up on some healthy snacks for the week and put their Spanish knowledge into practice. They then took a walk down into Puerto de la Cruz to see the volcanic sandy beaches where pupils were already able to draw comparisons between the geography of Tenerife and London, with many commenting on the diverse flora, the very hilly terrain and low-hanging mist covering the mountain peaks.

They had a tiring day of travel and they definitely slept well that night, but are excited to see what the rest of the week brings!

Tuesday 21st March 2023

What an exciting day they today! The pupils got to visit their friends in Princesa Tejina school who received them with welcome banners and gave each of them beautiful hand painted welcome fans and school t-shirts.
Pupils were introduced to different traditions during their day in school. They watched traditional dances like “La Punta y el Tacon”,  learnt that whistling was an actual language used by the people from the Canary Island many years back and got to taste Canary’s wrestling which was, of course, the highlight of the day! This was followed by a delicious tapas lunch and games in the local park near their hotel.
Once back in their hotel, pupils had time to write in their diaries and reflect on the amazing day they have had and how lucky they were being able to take part in such experiences, where they get to meet and learn about different countries and cultures.
Wednesday 22nd March 2023
Today was an early start as they set off for the University of La Laguna in Santa Cruz for a teachers conference involving further training for improving cognition and communication in languages.
While the teachers took part in presentations, the children were looked after by final year trainee teachers who supervised art and physical activities. They were then taken on a short tour of historic Santa Cruz. Oscar, one of the trainee teachers, seemed to be their favourite. All the children enjoyed being with the other pupils from the partner schools and were very proud that two of our Viridis children earned certificates for working well in their group.
After the conference it was time for lunch in the centre of Puerta de La Cruz. The pizzas definitely got a thumbs up.
During an organised tour, their daily photographers took pictures of interest such as street art, traditional town houses and the port. The children noticed the palm trees everywhere. Did you know that a palm tree is in fact a plant?
After the tour in Puerta de la Cruz, the children charmed the lady in the souvenir shop looking for family presents before trekking up the hill back to the hotel. Well done Kelebe! They got back just in time for dinner where many of them cleared their plates.
Another successful day – they cannot wait for their visit to El Teide!

Thursday 23rd March 2023

Today pupils took part in their geography field trip to El Teide National Park. Pupils visited the astronomical observatory and had a guided tour of the different types of telescope. Pupils even got to see the sun and its protuberances.

Jenny said “You can’t look directly at the sun with the naked eye. Scientists use special telescopes that help them to observe it. This is the same for the planets.”

Jacob said “Not all the of the telescopes at the observatory look at the stars. Some of them look for the amount of particles and rubbish in space. They match the temperature of the dome with the temperature outside so that there is less turbulence (movement from the air outside). Turbulence makes it more difficult to see with the telescope.”

Pupils took MANY photos of El Tiede volcano from the excellent viewpoint the observatory provided. Although some were disappointed that we wouldn’t be making the 8-hour trek up to the top!

Pupils finished off the day with an afternoon splash around the pool followed by a fun and highly competitive football match with our peers from Parkwood primary school, who were also on the trip.

Friday 24th March 2023

Today was beach day! Pupils started the day by helping the adults to prepare the picnic – the sandwich-making station was a conveyor belt of activity.
After taking the coach to the beautiful Las Teresitas beach, pupils met up with other children from the Spanish partner schools to take part in fun team games and activities. They played ‘racing noughts and crosses’, relay races, frisbee and volleyball. And it was all topped off by a dash into the water for a splash around with friends! The weather was gloriously sunny.
Pupils ate their picnic in the shade of the palm trees before venturing back out to play in the shallow water (after reapplying their suncream of course). After a long day playing at the beach, the children enjoyed a well-earned ice cream in the sunshine.
After heading back to the hotel to shower off all the sand they’d carried home, pupils made their final entries in their trip diaries and enjoyed their last hotel dinner accompanied by ‘patatas fritas’!