eac.oatridge.2010

Welcome to EAC College for Gifted Youngsters

2010-07-30T03:33:00.000-07:00

Thursday 29th July was Superhero day here at Oatridge. Our students woke up to find that the college had been transformed overnight into a School for Superheroes. Their teachers and activity leaders had disapeared and been replaced by a legion of cape-wearing, superpower wielding staff. Their classes had become training sessions, the common room was now the Batcave and their on-site activities gave them time to design their Superhero disguise (and costume for the disco!). In their training sessions they learnt all about superheroes, discussed what makes a hero and even discovered their own superpowers and wrote their own origin stories to share with the other students!

Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what went on:

Here are some of the EAC Staff, The Medusa Sisters, Professor H, Ice-Eyes and Polly Pyromaniak

Bubbly Barbie and Thunderpants...

Students got dressed up:

So did their group leaders...

Even the college was all dressed up...

Much hard work went into making capes and costumes during the daytime!

A BIG thank you to all of the staff and students that helped make our theme day such a success!

EAC Plus Horse Riding

2010-07-27T04:14:00.000-07:00

Over the course of the summer many of our students have signed up to the EAC Plus courses. You’ve seen some of our stylish golfers, now here is a look at some of our talented horse riders.

With a lot of organising from Jamie Simpson at head office as well as Vicky and her team at the yard, many of our students got to experience not only riding a horse but also the work involved with caring for a horse.

Beach Disco!

2010-07-27T03:12:00.000-07:00

With the sun lacking on the outside here at Oatridge we decided to bring some sun into the centre with our beach disco.

After a busy day designing the beach set everyone was very excited to strut their stuff on the dance floor. Our very own Activity leaders looked particularly beautiful with their flower head dresses and accessories. For many it was a sad occasion being their last disco, but for others it was only the start of what was in store for their EAC stay.

Arthurs Seat

2010-07-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

ARTHUR'S SEAT!

Its been a very busy last couple of weeks for us at Oatridge. Here we have one of our many trips to Arthurs seat were the kids at first found rather challenging to climb, but once they reached the top it was well worth while.

The trip was great entertainment with our very own Rocky Balboa (Gordy) re-creating the old Rocky scene out of the Rocky films. Unfortunatley the old gas tank is not quite what it used to be. So instead of the classic arms alloft jumping celebration, Gordy opted for breathing in a few big ones whilst lying on his back after crawling the last 15 metres!!!

Feedback Frenzy!

2010-07-21T04:39:00.001-07:00

We’ve had feedback forms rolling in this week from groups that were leaving so we thought we’d share some of their feelings about their stay with you.

The Anceschi group from Italy really enjoyed their evening activities and excursions and commented that “The EAC staff were very efficient, dynamic and friendly”, while Luciana Giacomuzzo from the Bertaso group said that “EAC staff were very professional and also very friendly" and she added, "Thanks to you all!”

Below are some of the students’ thoughts and feelings about their time at EAC Oatridge:

“The excursions are very, very good and cool” – Marianne Roland (France)

“The teachers are very, very……. very excellent” – Andrea Braga (Italy)

“It was a very good holiday” – Marius Astruc (France)

“The teachers and the lessons are very good!!” – Laura (France)

“The teachers are very nice… I LOVE EAC Oatridge College” – Ionna (France)

“Thank you for this holiday!!!” – Carla Amirat (France)

“The teacher is very exceptional and very very good!!” – Nicole prati (Italy)

“Perfect… Exceptional…Thank you” – Jade le Coudou (France)

“The room is very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very good!!!!!!!!” – Corentin Pastel (France)

“Nothing to say about it because it was very cool…. But the staff were nice and the activities were good” – Adrien Charles (France)

“The teachers were fantastic. The lessons are really interesting” – Stefania Sempreboni (Italy)

“The class were very interesting. Some were funny. I love Freddie… I like visiting Edinburgh” – Sara Fernandez (Spain)

“Exceptional. The activities were very nice. The excursions were funny. The EAC staff is fantastic, especially Andy and Charmy” – Pietro Mazzuco (Italy)

“Very interesting excursions, very good staff and beautiful evening activities” – Claudio Marino (Italy)

“The best staff ever!” – Anna Farkasova (Slovakia)

As you can see our students are having a great time here and we are loving spending time with them and getting to know about them and their lives back home!

2010-07-20T03:45:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy two weeks here at Oatridge. We have been up to all sorts of exciting things, including an 80's theme disco, trips to Alnwick, Stirling, Glasgow and St Andrews and a whole host of other fun activities.

We were sad to wave goodbye to over 100 new friends but we hope they will keep checking the blog to see their pictures pop up over the next few days!

Just a few pictures now to whet your appetites, one of groups went Golf Crazy during their stay and took advantage of our EAC Plus Golf option. This meant that each week they had Gold Classes with the Pro and even managed to fit in a trip to the Golf Open at St Andrews!

Here are some pictures of them at the Golf Course.

Congrats!

2010-07-08T04:49:00.000-07:00

Another busy day here at EAC Oatridge!

Before we fill you in on all of the endavours

we would like to WELCOME

EAC NEWBATTLE BLOG - http://eacnewbattle2010.blogspot.com/

and

EAC LEICESTER - http://leicesteruni.blogspot.com/

would like to encourage you to visit their blogs

to see what the other EAC families are up to :)

Well done guys!

We're on Twitter!

2010-07-08T03:17:00.000-07:00

Follow us on Twitter at

http://twitter.com/EACOatridge

where we'll be keeping you up to date with Tweets throughout the day about activities, excursions, projects and special events here at EAC Oatridge.

A Busy Weekend at EAC Oatridge!

2010-07-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

This weekend was jam packed full of activities and excursions at Oatridge. Our students went on various excursions to places such as Stirling, St Andrews, Glasgow, Deep Sea World and Holyrood Palace. A great time was had by all and hopefully everyone took lots of pictures that we can put up over the next few days.

On top of all of this sight-seeing, this weekend also saw the arrival of over 100 new students. Groups from Italy and France arrived on campus, as did individual students from Germany, Spain, Russia and Poland. We are now almost full and we hope that the next few weeks will be full of fun and games for all of our new and old students. Unfortunately we have had to wave goodbye to some students this weekend. Ines Delabriere and Thomas Braumann have gone home to France and Germany and the Mujanovic and Illiopoulos groups have headed back to Italy and Greece. We were very sad to see them all go; they helped make our first weeks here very special.

Sajima Mujanovic also kindly left us a little message to put on the blog;

To all the staff at Oatridge!!!!!!!!!! I just want to say a big THANK YOU to all the staff at Oatridge!!!!!!!!!! Thank you on behalf of my students and myself for making this a wonderful trip!!!!!!! These last 2 weeks we spent with you will NEVER be forgotten!!!!!!!! Hugs and kisses to all of you!!!!!!!!

Sajima Mujanovic
Master Studio
(Reggio Emilia)

Tonight it is the Ceilidh and tomorrow we’ll be visiting Calton Hill before the Scavenger Hunt in the evening. More pictures will be coming soon!

Movie Project

2010-07-04T06:49:00.000-07:00

30 June - 2 July 2010
Class Projects

Each class had it's own projects to work on during this week, but there was one which brought all of the students together ----> Movie Project.

Each of the groups started working on their projects on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Their first task was to come up with a movie genre they would like to film, and then they had to draft the plot. This early stage was more about establishing the general storyline, rather than creating the entire script and students were asked to use vocabulary and phrases from their course.

Surprisingly, most of the groups opted for horror movies, and they were really excited about murder scenes. Dear parents - this is ART, and we promise that nobody got hurt while filming :)

On Wednesday - it was time to sit down ans start writing the script.
On the following day students were given props, worked on their costumes, rehearsed their roles and practiced pronunciation.

Everyone was very excited about filming, and although (as in the case of any hollywood production) time restrictions made it very stressful at times, the end results are brilliant and we had a lot of fun watching the movies.

Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy!

Rosslyn Chapel

2010-07-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

Thursday 1 July 2010

You will recognize this most recently from the film the Da Vinci Code with Tom Hanks. The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery-thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code. It was produced by Howard with John Calley and Brian Grazer and released by Columbia Pictures in the United States on May 19, 2006.

Sports Day

2010-07-04T05:59:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 30th June 2010

Once again, here at EAC Oatridge, we decided to take a step back from World Cup and focus on other disciplines, like volleyball.

Here are some of the photos from Sports Day:

The Museum of Scotland

2010-07-04T05:54:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 30th June 2010

The Museum of Scotland is a building which, together with the adjacent Royal Museum, comprises the National Museum of Scotland. It is dedicated to the history, people and culture of Scotland. Opened in 1998, incorporating collections from the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland and Scottish items from the Royal Museum, the museum possesses a distinctive look.

Egg Challenge

2010-07-04T05:21:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 28 th June 2010

It seems that the afternoon excursion was only the beginning of the crative challenges that day.
In the evening, the students were asked to take part in Egg Challenge. Their task was to get into groups of 3 or 4 and design something to stop an egg from breaking when it is dropped from high up. BUT! They need to buy materials in order to build something. For this challenge in EAC we had EAC pounds. To earn EAC pounds they had to complete certain task like:

Write a poem at least 5 lines long about EAC summer school.
Draw a picture of John the activity leader.
Say the English alphabet without making any mistakes.
Make up a rap about EAC summer school.
Give a 2 minute talk about why summer school is fun and important.
Tell a joke- in English!
Show the activity leaders one of the Ceilidh dances you learnt.

The Royal Botanic Garden

2010-07-04T05:02:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 29 th June 2010

This was an exciting day. In the afternoon our students were given a photography task in the botanic garden.
Their task was to find a type of plant, tree or animal in the gardens with each letter of the alphabet and take photo of it.

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), or the botanics as it is known to locals, is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction.

Royal Mile / Livingston / Ceilidh

2010-07-04T04:48:00.000-07:00

28th June 2010

On Monday our new students went to Edinburgh to walk down Royal Mile, while the rest of them spent that day out and about in Livingston.

In the evening all of us met up in the sport hall for another Ceilidh.

After all, there's nothing better than Ceilidh to break the ice.

Highland Tour

2010-07-04T04:23:00.000-07:00

26/27 June 2010

This series of entries should please the eyes of those of you who were anxious to find out what we have been up to for the last couple of days.

With the arrivals of new students, our activities schedule had to be carefully designed in order to offer a variety of excursions, activities and fun projects for all.

Our lovely Italian group decided to take a tour of the Highlands and so they set off on Saturday morning, and came back on Sunday evening with many stories, good memories and beautiful pictures.

Treasure Hunt

2010-06-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

Friday 25th June

Armed with ‘authentic’ maps – stained with tea bags earlier that day by our Activity Manager – and their first clues, our students set off on their quest to find the Oatridge College Treasure Chest. Each clue led them to an envelope and inside each envelope there was a letter. These letters would finally spell out the location of the lost chest; however before they could receive the next clue they were given a task. Poems were recited, dance routines were choreographed, famous songs were hummed, jokes were told and a lot of fun was had by all. Just as it looked as though the chest would never be found, it was discovered by the Italian boys. Well done… :)

Kelvingrove Glasgow

2010-06-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

Friday 25 June

It was another amazing day here at EAC Oatridge.
After our final classes of the week our students went to Glasgow to Kelvingrove Museum.
Kelvingrove houses one of Europe's great civic art collections.
All of the exhibitions are fantastic and because there are so many of them, we let our students decide what they wanted to see.
And believe me when I say that all of us found exhibitions that pleased our eyes and represented our interests.

But this one was everyone's favourite:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
have a look at the “Dangling Heads” in the main hall.

See how many different expressions you can spot on the faces.

I just want to DISCO!

2010-06-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

Thursday 24/06/2010

There's no doubt that even the strongest sceptics like to put their smart clothes and dancing shoes on and just disco.

The evening was amazing! The DJ made sure everyone got a chance to dance to their favourite tune, Maria and Mary delivered some great activities like Knights, Horses and Castles, Musical Chairs and the Doughnut Race :)

Calton Hill

2010-06-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

Thursday 24/06/2010

Calton Hill

Thursday saw our students heading to the streets of Edinburgh again, this time to visit Calton Hill. A gentle stroll compared to Tuesday’s epic climb of Arthur’s Seat, the students had a great time exploring the monuments, observatories and the half-finished Acropolis that sit atop this highlight of Central Edinburgh.

Calton Hill offers superb views of Edinburgh and gave the students a chance to orient themselves within the city. From the top they could see all the places they had visited so far and on a good day Hattie claims you can even see Binny Craig, the hill behing Oatridge College.

It's a Knockout!

2010-06-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 23/06/2010

It’s a Knockout

Wednesday night saw the Scottish Weather rearing its ugly head for the first time so far, so we retreated to the Sports Hall and played inside all night. Jimmy organised an energetic game of football while Maria led an aerobics session for those not gripped by World Cup fever.

National Gallery

2010-06-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 23/06/2010

On Wednesday it was time to inject a little High Culture into our lives and so we took our students to the National Galleries in Edinburgh. The National Gallery houses one of the world’s finest collections of Western Art and plays host to over one million visitors every year.

Concentrating on the work of Scottish Artists, our Activity Leaders guided the students to a few of our favourite works of art. Then armed with a quiz the students were left to explore the galleries on their own before having some free time on Princes Street. Hopefully they picked up some postcards to send home!

Scavenger Hunt

2010-06-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 22/06/2010

On Tuesday night students at Oatridge went hunting… scavenging hunting that is. That’s right, it was time for one of our famous and enormous Scavenger Hunts. With five rounds comprising of objects as diverse as feathers, chocolate bars and even a list of adverbs, the students at the college were kept busy all evening racing against the clock and each other in their quest to complete their collections of found objects.

Highlights of the evening include the sudden ruler shortage that occurred about 21:00 and led to one student turning up with a giant board ruler, and a student’s enquiry as to whether bringing a bird back would count as bringing us a feather.

Arthur's Seat

2010-06-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 22/06/2010

It was all about activities on Tuesday :) Our lovely students along with our amazing group leader and activity leaders decided to conquer the world, and what better place to start that endeavour than a place called Arthur's Seat. It is the peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park. This hill rises above the city to a height of 251 m providing excellent panoramic views of the city.

Here are some of the photos :

first Ceilidh of the summer

2010-06-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

Monday 21/06/2010

On Monday 21st June we had our first Ceilidh of the summer. For two hours we skipped, clapped and dosey doed with the best of them and a great time was had by all. Below are some of the pictures of the evening.

EAC Fashion Show

2010-06-23T01:42:00.000-07:00

EAC Fashion Show

Sunday 20/06/2010

As we all know fashion is very important to people all over the world and there is no better time to bring out some colour than during hot summer days. This is why on Sunday evening EAC's common room changed into Bryant Park in New York, our students became the most renowned designers and the most famous models and we let them mark their presence in the world of fashion!

Music, lights.... it's a walk-off!

Welcome

2010-06-23T01:29:00.000-07:00

This year at EAC Edinburgh Oatridge
we have planned amazing classes, fantastic excursions, crazy ceilidhs and brilliant discos.

All of this will go towards making your stay with us as fun, educational and enjoyable as possible.

Whether you stay for two weeks or a whole month, we hope you will leave us noticeably more confident in you language skills and with many special memories and friends that you will keep for the rest of your lives.

We are going to use this blog to publish some of our favourite pictures of activities and excursions as well as to showcase all the hard work you have done in your English classes.

Please send us your pictures and comments about your favourite activities, excursions and lesson projects and we will put the best on the blog.

Our email address is:
eac.oatridge.2010@gmail.com

Welcome to EAC Oatridge 2010, we hope you have an amazing stay.

Bozena, Hattie and Eilidh.