SEK-Catalunya

1. SEK-Catalunya By: Justin Garcia

2. The Basics • Located in Barcelona, Spain • IB Region: Europe • Main Language: Spanish • Total Number of students: • The School opened in 1995 • It’s a day school • Private School • There is no tuition • Three Interesting Facts • They Begin school on September 9th • You are required to have Physical Activity in a specific Sport • It starts with swimming for small children, and leads up to intensive physical conditioning and ample sports facilities, such as tennis, paddle, basketball, athletics, fencing, judo, ballet, and horseback riding in Primary, Secondary and Bachelor´s studies.

3. Curriculum • The School offers all three IB Programs • Infant Education • At this stage, we seek to provide individualized attention, the integral development of the student, and happiness of the child • Primary Education • Is an trans-disciplinary program of international education, designed to promote children’s integral development. Its purpose is to encourage a complete and all- round development, focusing on students’ social, physical, emotional and cultural needs, as well as their academic potential • Pre-Sports: 1st and 2nd swimming, additional sports courses rotated quarterly • Mathematics and/or sciences in English • Compulsory Secondary Education • Work in Intelligent Class - student-teacher learning community, with flexible schedule and groups according to the task, use of the most advanced technological tools, group dynamics and monitors with a communal "time bank" for mutual academic support

4. Curriculum • Middle Years Program • for students from 12 to 16 years of age • The Study Plan includes Areas of knowledge: Language A (appropriate to the country and Autonomous Community), and B (foreign language), Mathematics, Art, Sciences and Technology, and Areas of interaction or cross-disciplinary • It ends with a personal project of work • I.B. • The official Spanish Baccalaureate, students takes three subjects from the advanced level IB and three from the intermediate level. They also take a course in Epistemology and 30 hours of CAS activities (creativity, action and service), as well as completing a short but rigorous essay project.

5. Uniform • Students are required to wear uniform to attend school • There is also a Sports Uniform • No student will be admitted into school, or into the school transport without the adequate uniform • Every uniform piece must be marked with the students initial and his/her complete surname

6. Culture • Language: Spanish • Religion: Christianity (Catholic) • Food: • Zarzuela Exquisite mixture of fishes and seafood. • Mel imato Dessert made with curd cottage cheese with honey. • Panellets Delicious sweets made of marzipan and nougat flavored with chocolate and coffee. • Traditions: • Sardanas: Traditional Catalan dance. People meet in front of the cathedral on Sundays to dance it. • Saint George (Sant Jordi), patron saint of Catalonia: On 23 April the Catalans celebrate Saint George's day by offering a rose and/or book. • Eve of Saint John's: On the 23 June, the summer solstice is celebrated with big bonfires, firecrackers and fireworks, and people eat the traditional "coca de Sant Joan" (a pastry). • La Mercè festival: This is the festival for Barcelona's patron saint, held in the week of the 24 September, the day of La Mercè. All kinds of activities are organized, for all tastes and all ages.

7. Culture (Holidays) • 1 January: New year's day • 6 January: Epiphany • April: Easter • 23 April: Saint George's day • 27 April: Mare de Déu de Montserrat • 1 May: May Day • 19 May: Whitsun • 24 June: Saint John's day • 15 August: Assumption Festivities of Gracia • 11 September: La Diada (Catalan national holiday) • 24 September: La Mercè • 12 October: Columbus Day • 1 November: All Saints' Day • 6 December: Constitution Day • 8 December: Immaculate Conception • 25 December: Christmas • 26 December: Saint Stephen's Day