HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES, OUR TEACHERS, SECRETARIES AND THEIR FAMILIES, ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS OF THIS BLOG.

May the new year be better than predicted by the Portuguese government and the media! Let's be hopeful that things will get better for each one of us and for the country as a whole.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND BEST WISHES FOR 2011

Merry Christmas to all and Best Wishes for 2011--from everyone at CAA English in Chaves and Vila Real, Portugal.

CAA Xmas Breakfast with Teachers in Chaves

A fantastic XMAS Breakfast at Biquinho Doce, in downtown Chaves. Thank you Cristina and staff! Great job! We were impressed.

Merry Xmas.

CAA Xmas Dinner at Quinta de Samaiões, Chaves

Our Xmas lunch on 8th December, 2010.

We would like to thank the Staff at Quinta de Samaiões for a fantastic meal and friendly service. Thank you all very much and to all a Merry Xmas!

ESOL EXAMS

The ESOL Exams started in November (PET) and FCE and CAE are happening right now. Good luck to all our students who have taken and will be taking their exams this week and next week. All the best from all your teachers.

SUMMER COURSE IN THE UK

If interested in going to the UK in the summer of 2011 with us at CAA English, please contact us ASAP. Deadline: 15 January, 2011.

Courses in London:



And courses in Cambridge:








We do all the work and you have all the fun. You will love it.



Contact us:
In Vila Real: 259 321 471
In Chaves: 276 333 469

CAA STUDENTS IN THE UK - SUMMER 2010

Some of our students who went to the UK for an Intensive summer course and holidays:






Too bad it was soooo short.

But there is more next year. Tell your friends about it!

CAMBRIDGE EXAM PREPARATION - INTENSIVE SUMMER COURSES!

CAA Vila Real and Chaves will be open again as of 26 of August in preparation for the intensive summer courses.

If you are interested in preparing for the Cambridge exams to take place in December in Porto, contact the Institute in Chaves or in Vila Real. Registration for December is in September.

Chaves: 276 333 469 - Secretary: Lourdes
V Real: 259 321 471 - Secretary: Cátia

CAA IS CLOSED FOR HOLIDAYS IN AUGUST

We at CAA English Chaves and Vila Real will be closed for holidays for the month of August.

However, if you need information, you can contact us by texting us or calling:

In Chaves: 276 333 469
In Vila Real: 259 321 471

We will re-open on 26 and 27 August for information and registration for the Intensive Summer Courses.

The Intensive Summer Courses will run from 30 August to 10 September.

Both schools will be open for the rest of September for information, registration and placement tests.

Recent News

* Yuri came back with his first group of students on July 24th and went back to the UK with our second group of students on July 25h arriving back on August 7th. Apparently all students were very pleased with their experience in the UK. And we were very proud of them for trying to speak English all the time. Well done, every one! :))



* Záyra is working hard for her course in Barcelona and is doing very well. Suffering with the heat. Hard to think, she says. Hang in there, Záyra. You can do it! Our positive thoughts are with you.


* Florence started her course in Lisbon in the beginning of August. Suffering with the work load. You can make it as well, Florence. Hang in there. Our positive thoughts are with you.





* Ester, our teacher in Vila Real, successfully completed her TEFL extension course in Porto in July. She also had to work really hard. Congratulations, Ester! You have earned yourself some well deserved holidays.





*Alex's baby boy David was born on July 25th. Baby and parents are doing great. Congratulations to the newborn and his parents!

Riddlesworth - Week 2

Hello again.

On Tuesday we went swimming but unfortunately the waves were not working but the flume was. In the evening we had Casino night. Some of the games were blackjack, poker, roulette and throwing the penny. Games were played with Select English pounds and then they could be exchanged for sweets, crisps or drinks.

On Wednesday we went to Norwich - 45 minutes by coach but this time I was lucky not to go on the singing girls' coach. In Norwich we first visited the Cathedral



and then we went to Market square where students had the opportunity for some more shopping. In the evening we had the table tennis tournament and Luis and Goncalo made it to the semifinals. Goncalo lost in the finals to Alberto (Spanish).

So long for now.
Yuri

Riddlesworth - Weekend edition

Covent Garden Market


Covent Garden Market


Hello again.

Yesterday we went to London and we went to Hard Rock Cafe where students went wild. We then went to Covent Garden. Shopping!!


Today we went to Cambridge. It was a nice day. The first thing we did was go punting. Michael, Nuno, John and Gonçalo were on my boat and Jason of course. They all tried punting, except for Jason. They were all able to punt well, with the exception of Michael. Sorry, Mike!! You know it's true.


Peter was the only one that fell in the river. There's always one.


After punting, more shopping!! The girls bought trainers (all stars) and posters.
It was a fun day and the shopkeepers in Cambridge were very thankful.

Zayra Reporting from Barcelona, Spain

Hello from Barcelona, everyone!




DELTA Full-time course 2010 at IH Barcelona
July 5—August 27, 2010

Boiling in Barcelona.

It's been sticky, sticky here in BCN. Two showers a day don't seem enough!
I'm staying at Pueblo Sec, a very international "barrio", with ethnic bars and restaurants. There are many Latinos, Bangladeshi, Turks, etc...



My apt- building is from 1910 and has some interesting designs which have been preserved; luckily the apt. I'm in has been renovated.

I'm 1-minute away from Parc Montjuic,



which is home to beautiful gardens, a castle, some of the best museums in the world (Miró and Catalán Art), the Olympic stadium and other facilities used in 1992,



the best being this pool where you swim with the skies.




See Kylie Minogue's video Slow, which was filmed here.

It also has amazing water fountain shows at night next to Plaza Espanha. Well worth the visit and packed with tourists!





Unfortunately, the Catalans love their dogs, but don't obey this sign very often so walking around the neighborhood can become an obstacle course. Yuck!



Plans for today: take the montjuic funicular up to the castle to see the view of the city.








Then.....study, study, study!

That's all for today, folks.

Day 5 Part 2

Mario E. ate 16 baked beans using a toothpick but unfortunately he lost to the Italian star - Maxwell - who ate a grand total of 28!!!! I don't envy Pedro S. and Nuno who share the room with him.







The results of the Olympic games are:

Rita L and Simon were 4th and 2nd respectively in the throwing the Welly competition. They were not used to the windy conditions or so they say.











Gonçalo,(always Gonçalo!), probably broke the Riddlesworth record in the number of sausages eaten at the barbecue. Teachers lost count.



Hopefully he will be fine for the trip to London tomorrow.

Yuri reporting from Riddlesworth.

Riddlesworth Day 5

Yuri reporting from Riddlesworth.


Hello again from cloudy and windy England.



A star is born. Goncalo Madureira not only won the football World Cup but also the Wimbledon Tournament held yesterday. In the final Goncalo defeated Martin a Polish student 6-1. His prize was a delicious packet of Gummy Bears.






Today is the big day - The Olympic Games are held today and to celebrate the records that will definitely be broken we will have a typical English Barbecue of hamburgers and hot dogs.


I'll have news about the results tomorrow if you happen to miss it on CNN with Larry King!


This weekend will be shopping weekend. On Saturday we're going to London and we'll try to go to Hard Rock Cafe. We've got to get those T-shirts!



On Sunday we're going to Cambridge where we'll go punting ...


Watch out for students punting!!!

...and shopping!!!








Cheers!!!

Riddlesworth Day 3 - The Adventure Continues

Yuri reporting from Riddlesworth, Norwich, UK

Hello again.

Today we went to Pleasurewood Hills - a Theme Park. It was great fun, especially the Wipeout, a fast rollercoaster. I didn't have the courage to go but most students were a lot braver than me. They also went on a rollercoaster where you get completely wet which didn't really matter since we were already wet from the rain.



One small problem - some students became addicted to the machines where you put a 10p coin and it pushes other coins. Sometimes you make some money but of course you usually lose.


Another favourite was the "World's Largest bubble gum". Many students bought several of them. It's over 1 metre long. I don't think you're supposed to put the whole thing in your mouth at once.




This evening we are playing rounders which is basically like baseball. That should be fun!
Yuri

A note on Rounders:


Played in England as long ago as the 16th Century, Rounders was a popular pastime. A version of Rounders is still played by folks in the U.K and Ireland. By the 19th Century in America, the game had undergone many changes, and was commonly called Townball. Today we play still another variant called Baseball.

Riddlesworth Day 2 - The Adventure Continues

Today students had the World Cup




and Goncalo Madureira's class was the grand winner. Peter Sousa, Nuno Calejo and Ines Costa (the Portuguese Casillas)




came in second. John Sampaio was also one of the stars. He scored (according to him)three goals. That has to be confirmed.

The results of Monday Madness were also announced today and Rita Lage, Catarina Souto, Mario Esteves and Rita Teixeira's group was the winner. Here are some of the extremely challenging games they had to do: dropping an egg in a parachute, making a tower of marshmallows and pasta...:))

One final note: Goncalo discovered a new flavour of Pringles - toothpaste flavour.



It will probably be a bestseller.

Yuri

Hello from Riddlesworth

Here we are in Riddlesworth, Norwich (UK). What happened to sunny Sunday? It turned into rainy Monday. I am here with 20 of our students from Chaves and Vila Real (Portugal) and my younger son, Jason.

There are also students from Spain, Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Poland among others.

Today--Monday,12 July, the students were tested to see their levels and they're having their first lesson. After the lesson, we are all playing cricket - in the rain - and then there's a welcome party.

Keep checking for more news and photos. That's all for now. Yuri





Princess Diana attended Primary School here!