Family Day 2021 - Happy Birthday Bilingual!
This school year we were lucky enough to hold our annual Family Day event in person again, though in a different set-up compared to previous years. Bilingual students had the opportunity to visit different locations across all Bilingual partner institutions with their families, all the while collecting stamps in their Bilingual passports. Our final station was in Kobuci kert, where students received prizes based on the number of stamps collected. Nearly 700 participants joined us in celebrating the launch of the Bilingual Program 20 years ago!
Please click on the link below to see the most memorable moments of the event.
Bilingual Family Day – Slide-show
Please save the date of the Bilingual Family Day 2022 to be held on September 17! We will bring you further details around the start of the new school year.
Bilingual 20 - The movie
As part of celebrating our 20th anniversary, we were able to put together a short jubilee film that we hope will introduce the core elements of the Bilingual Program (e.g., co-teaching with frequent alternation of language, communication-centered learning, the Active Classroom, etc.) to both prospective parents and future staff members. During the two-day shoot at the end of February we worked with a professional film crew and a great team of teachers and students, all of whom came together to help make our new short film possible.
Click on the link below to see the Bilingual 20 film.
Once finished, we held the premiere of our Bilingual 20 Anniversary Film, where we thanked the children, teachers, parents and the team behind the scenes for their work in making the film.
Erasmus+ Program
At the end of 2020, the Bilingual Program successfully applied to a special call issued by the Erasmus+ Program, which provided support for the use of digital tools and methodologies in response to the global pandemic. Our partners were KSG Apeldoorn Gymnasium in the Netherlands and Kliment Ohridski Gymnasium in Northern Macedonia.
One hundred and forty-one students took part in the self-organized project week of the Bilingual Program, with the aim of creating a video game divided into international groups of 7 students. The easy, playful choice of topics motivated the children, when in fact the project work required high-level skills such as collaboration in teams, dividing and scheduling independent work, and using English during the project.
In the Dutch week, in a similar structure, participants gained knowledge of video editing and presentations for classroom use, and in the North Macedonian week, graphic design provided the theme for the group work.
To summarize the lessons learned from the project work, our Dutch partner is compiling a handbook that will provide help and a starting point for schools who want to provide new learning opportunities for their students through similar opportunities.
In sum, the series of programs implemented in the framework of four project weeks during the two school years was successfully completed by the end of this school year.
We plan to look for additional collaboration opportunities with our Dutch and Macedonian partners which, in addition to travel-related programs, will include digital connections to transfer the most successful elements of the Erasmus+ Program into the classroom.
The first Bilingual graduates
April 29th marked an historic milestone for the Bilingual Program at Európa 2000 High School. The first graduates of the Program said their goodbyes to their school and their teachers and walked out into the world to face new challenges and great adventures - starting with the official state-wide school leaving exams and then going on to higher education and out into the world of work. Join us in congratulating the students and their teachers!
Cambridge B2 First For Schools Exam
Our second annual official Cambridge B2 First For Schools Exam was held this year at Európa 2000 High School with nearly double the number of participants compared to our inaugural occasion last year. The exam was run by the British Council, exclusively for Bilingual students from primary Grade 8 and high school. The exam is the perfect cap to primary school and a great stepping stone for our high school students on their journey to level C1.
Another year of hikes
This year we continued our seasonal camps as day hikes. The upper school students from all Bilingual schools had the opportunity to participate in:
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A hike to Three Border Mountain (Hármashatár-hegy) and Árpád Lookout Tower (Árpád-kilátó) in the fall,
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An underground scavenger hunt across Budapest in the winter,
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And an all-day hike in Börzsöny combined with some delicious cakes in Nagymaros during the spring.
Constantly changing environment - new challenges
Due to the pandemic we have experienced some new challenges this year which required great flexibility from schools, teachers and children as well. Luckily towards the second semester of the school year our lives could return to normal, and we were able to organize more and more programs with students and with parents as well, such as open days and Mother’s Day performances.
New opportunities arise with our growth as well:
In September 2022 we will work with a new partner institution: the Bilingual Program will be launched in a first grade class at Pais Dezső Primary School!
Also, a group of children in Rainbow Kindergarten in Budakeszi will start the Bilingual Kindergarten Program.
Summer Camps
This summer students in the Bilingual Program can practice their English in 2 overnight camps and 5 day camps - all day with our native English-speaking teachers!
https://bilingual.hu/en/events-summary/bilingual-summer-day-camps-camps-2022
Below you can check out the atmosphere of the camps that have already taken place in our Instagram posts:
Last but not least please find the dates of a few upcoming events set for early in the new school year:
2022.
September 1 - First Day of School
szeptember 17 - Bilingual Family Day
október 1 - Fall Hike
The new school year has already started for us, we are preparing for the reception and training of new teachers and the start of the school year.
We wish you a joyful and relaxing summer!!