Summary of IH Day October 9^th  2003

The celebration at IH Porto was very much focused on the people at the school. All lessons were cancelled and students, parents, friends, ex students and ex teachers were invited to join us.

 Each room in the school in Foz was given a theme; The Students’ Room, The Teachers’ Room, The International Room and an IH and Technology Room as well as the reception. One of the most important parts of the event was having all the teachers preparing material and working together towards a joint venture. As we are a split site with lots of external contracts  this rare feeling of unity is valued.

The Students’ Room contained work students had produced over the years as well as more recently. Students were asked to write about their first day at International House (or PEC as it was then known), how they feel about learning languages and which teachers were most memorable. These letters were displayed along with pictures the YLs had drawn of the schools. Entrees to the creative writing competition which teacher Emma Lopes put together about finding a time capsule which had been buried at IH 50 years ago were mounted. Also on display were photos of the many social events IH Porto has held such as the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Party and Halloween and Christmas parties over the years. The main feature of the room was the graffiti board which was made out of plywood and painted with white emulsion. Student’s were encouraged to paint, draw or write what ever they wanted. These boards will now be varnished and hung in the schools as a reminder of the day. Earlier in the evening the students room was also used to play games with the younger students. Later in the evening a video of the students was shown.

The teachers room featured pictures of all the teachers round the room, with a questionnaire about why they were teachers, why they liked living in Portugal, and what was important to them. This was also coupled with photos of the teachers in their previous lives and demonstrated the wealth of experience and adventure that is taken into the classroom. On display there was a selection of course books and materials written by International House teachers.

The IH Room played host to the Business Services Department and promoted the courses that are run externally as well as the BEC exams. This room was also used to demonstrate the new IH Porto Intranet system and to present students with diplomas.

In the International room a buffet was served: canapés from around the world. The other language teachers (French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese) also had space here to promote courses in their countries and the courses available at IH Porto.

To ensure that all students, regardless of age, were actively involved on the evening a Pedi-paper was devised. This was a list of questions in Portuguese where students had to find the answers by asking teachers, looking and observing, and reading the posters on display. A prize will be sent to all the students who successfully completed the task.

Everyone who took part in the celebration received a raffle ticket and the raffle, which took place in the Students’ Room, was for a free term, a free month, and a free course in French, German, Spanish and Italian.

At the end of the evening the teachers continued the celebrations by all going out for a meal.