1e’s spooky EAA Afternoon 

Shortly after Halloween, 1eW experienced their first EAA Afternoon. They did, however, not seem like beginners at all. The students were well prepared; they wore their scariest costumes, brought their biggest pumpkins and, of course, their best sense of humour. 
After turning their pumpkins into scary Jack O’ Lanterns, the class played Halloween Activity, worked on a Halloween story and took part in a Mummy Race. To finish off an exciting afternoon, the teachers lit the Jack O’ Lanterns and took pictures of the wonderful kids in 1e.  

Egg Drop Challenge 

Have you ever heard of the Eggy-Baggy, the Eggsurvivor 3001, the Green Eggball or the EggPlant-Burger? Well, then it certainly is high time! Everybody knows the following situation: You want to throw eggs out of the window, but you do not want them to break. So what can you do? You purchase one of the egg-protecting devices the students of 2aw created. If you order one now, you will get another one for free.  The egg-protecting devices also protect other items such as cell phones, your Rolex and other precious belongings. 

Carnival at BRG Leibnitz

On Pancake Day 2aw used the chance to celebrate carnival and also learn more about how it is celebrated in other countries. In the course of the afternoon, we took an imaginary trip to Rio de Janeiro, learned about the famous carnival, listened to Samba music and read about a diamond heist – and even solved the crime. The photofits  created by our students were of immense help! After seeing all the colorful costumes, we – of course! – also wanted to design our own und we came up with very creative ideas!

Below you can see a photo of us in our carnival costumes!

Let´s celebrate Christmas with 2aW!

1) Favourite Christmas Traditions

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is baking cookies. My favorite cookies are vanilla crescents and I always bake them with my grandma. On December 22^nd  my family and I decorate the Christmas tree. We always use ornaments, sweets and lights. On December 24^th  we go to church in the afternoon and then we go home, drink tea and play card games. In the evening we open our presents. Then we eat dinner. We usually eat meat and vegetables. 
These are reasons why I love Christmas so much.
By Sophie Areh

The way my family and I celebrate Christmas is pretty simple since we do not follow any rigid traditions when it comes to that holiday. On the 24^th Father and I decorate the Christmas tree while Mother is usually preoccupied with Christmas dinner. Our Christmas dinner takes place pretty early, around 5pm. After dinner we usually do something together like watching a Christmas movie. This year we exchanged the gifts after dinner since I couldn´t wait another day. Usually, we do this in the morning on Christmas Day. We don´t buy a lot of presents because this is not the meaning of Christmas. In my opinion Christmas is the best holiday of all. You spend time with your family and friends which gives you a feeling of warmness and happiness. For me this is the best gift I can get.
By Marko Balat

My favourite Christmas tradition is going by train. It is a special train called `Flascherlzug´. This tradition started when I was two years old. Unfortunately, it ended due to Corona. On December 24^th I normally woke up early because I was so excited. After breakfast my grandparents and my uncle picked me up and we drove to Stainz. The train was accompanied by angels. They always gave little presents to the children. On the way the train usually stopped for a lunch break. Each year I had the same meal: Sausages with a bread roll and a cup of fruit tea. On the way home I was often nervous because I couldn’t wait to see the Christmas tree and my presents. This tradition will be one of the best memories of my childhood.
By Lilian Braun

2) What I want to find in my Christmas stocking.

I want to find a lot of candy in my Christmas stocking, because I like candy. Also, Christmas socks would be nice, but only cozy ones and they must look cute as well! But would if a fire burns in the fireplace and also the Christmas stocking starts to burn?? Then all the sweets will be gone…
By Sara Baumhakl

I have never had Christmas stockings before, but I´d love to try that out. I wouldn´t expect big presents, but rather something small like a coupon or sweets. I think the best present in the stocking would be coupons for the grocery store, so that I can buy any sweets I want instead of getting surprised as I have to admit, that I am not a big fan of surprises. 
By Nicholaus Metzker

3)  Who is scared of the Krampus?

1^st EAA afternoon of 2aw in 2021/22

On November 23rd, the long-awaited EAA afternoon finally took place. The first EAA afternoon of this school year was all about „History“. Be it the history of ancient Egypt with all its hieroglyphs and pharaohs or the history of Ireland and how a giant built the Giant’s Causeway. The students not only discovered typical Irish objects, but also deciphered secret messages or slipped into the role of Egyptian gods like Anubis. We can hardly wait for the next EAA afternoon!

Welcome back from your summer holiday and hello to a new year at school! 

2aw have had an exciting summer and some of us have even enjoyed a holiday on planets in outer space: Have a look at our colourful masks- Can you guess who is who? 

2aw under the sea with Winnie and Wilbur

Who doesn’t feel like grabbing their flippers and goggles and jumping into the bright blue sea on a hot summer’s day? A comfortable hut, the golden sand and coconut trees make the whole thing even more awesome. Maybe you’re even going to encounter dolphins, turtles, sea lions, swordfish, jellyfish, and octopuses. Just don’t lose your wand like Winnie, the witch, or you might end up looking for it while diving and playing catch with a catfish! After all, we don’t all own a treasure chest and a submarine to take us out of all troubles… 

Foreign teenagers in Austria: a guided tour

Planning a guided tour for one week within the three hours before the presentation proved to be a tough task for each of our groups. Nevertheless, our travel agencies came up with a number of interesting ideas. Definitely Mr. Duncan’s favourite activity was “A night at the Museum” that one group suggested. (See: https://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/night_at_the_museum) Don’t worry: A breakfast bag is included in this very special package by the Naturhistorische Museum in Vienna. Another group planned to send visitors to an escape room after visiting a spectacular well in a virgin forest. Swimming in the “Alte Donau” or boating in an icy cave of the Hintertuxer Gletscher were some other suggestions. Ms. Alikhani was not so sure whether hiking in the Austrian Alps, which a few groups favoured, would be such a good idea and Ms. Hausegger wanted to join the tour around Lake Wolfgangsee.
What everybody agreed on, however, was the fact that one week was too short for visiting Austria and three hours were too short for planning such a trip! 

Elevator pitches?

Do you want to invest in a project or start-up? Then you should definitely think about all the great ideas that pupils of the 3gK presented at the end of their EAA afternoon this Friday in short presentations, co-called elevator pitches. What about the MIS (Mobile Irrigation System) or the BC V1 (Book Convertor)? Not only did the effective presentation techniques used by the students impress the jury but the jurors, Mr Duncan, Ms Alikhani and Ms Hausegger, also had a hard time to decide which of the excellent prototypes they liked most. Certainly some of the audience would have liked to take home the following: a machine to do the homework or a machine that makes your money grow. 

People who made a difference

You certainly know Florence Nightingale, the “Lady with the Lamp” who changed nursing: But what about Jane Cooke Wright, an African American woman who is responsible for the development of chemotherapies? You have heard about Hedy Lamarr because she was considered the most beautiful woman in films at her time but do you also know that she invented something as brilliant as frequency hopping? We need frequency hopping for our daily lives just as we need vaccination. This is where country doctor Edward Jenner comes in: He introduced the smallpox vaccine.
Pupils of the 3g were able to meet and interview these people and some more (such as Emmeline Pankhurst, Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford and Louis B. Mayer) during their second EAA afternoon. Their teachers were delighted to see such a lot of creativity after a long school day topped off by an English test.

Science CLIL

This year we’re studying Chemistry, the science of substances, their properties and changes, for the first time during our years in lower form. Whether it’s hydrogen, oxygen or nitrogen, solids, liquids or gases, no special term keeps us from doing and explaining spectacular science lab experiments such as cold light, bengal fires and coloured flames. 
Above all, remembering most of the elements in the periodic table is as important as knowing the alphabet song, which is why we practised all the elements‘ names in a very challenging 300-piece-jigsaw and managed to complete it within just one lesson. In fact, this activity was also a team-building exercise in which we realised how important it is to help each other out and keeping to the team’s rules and goals when cooperating on a shared task. 

4a’s Irish murder mysteries, courtesy by EAA/CLIL

As we had missed out on two out of four English afternoons last year due to the Covid pandemia measures, we were quick to set a date for our first English afternoon this term.In addition to working on the questions we have about EAA/CLIL in the upper forms, the most awesome thing definitely was the murder mystery game in which we performed the roles of suspects, witnesses and detectives just to uncover that revenge is probably the most common motive for any type of crime.In our regular lessons we had heard a lot about the Troubles in Ireland, so it was high time to find out more about the island’s positive sides such as its beautiful sights and landscape, cultural and geographical facts, Ed Sheeran’s Galway Girl as well as the Irish flag (to be shared and eaten as a mysteriously coloured cake).

Still another commemoration of 9/11

On the 11^th of September, 2021, the United States commemorated the 20^th anniversary of 9/11– a day when a horrible terror attack changed everything for many years to come. 
4aw have looked into what happened on that day and what the results and consequences have been for not only the US, but also the rest of the world. 

Promoting language skills of young talents: Cambridge Advanced Certificate  

In June 2022, 23 students from 7aW-EAA/CLIL-class seized the opportunity to take standardized English language exams (Reading and Use of English, Writing, Listening, Speaking), which are recognized as additional qualification and entrance exams to foreign universities in many Austrian and international companies. The exams were hosted by the Styrian Institute for Economic Development in Graz and were externally assessed by the Cambridge English Language Assessment organization. The Alumni Association and the Parents‘ Association of grammar school Leibnitz kindly supported with a partial payment towards students‘ exam fees. Students prepared for the exams during their regular English classes as well as in their free time.  

By taking the Cambridge Advanced exam based on the competence levels of the Common European Framework of Reference, the students have learned, practiced and successfully used a large part of the skills that they will have to master in their future school-leaving exams. In addition, students are going to benefit from the international comparability of these certificates and the additional skills they acquire, all to be listed in their curriculi vitae.

Promoting literature skills of young talents: Shakespeare’s Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s dream in 7aW 

In regular English classes, works by William Shakespeare can often only be read in excerpts or reduced to quotes and background knowledge. As a contribution to our school’s programme for the support of gifted students in 7aW, special emphasis was placed on teaching both biographical and literary background, by systematically reading and analysing the whole tragedy of Macbeth. 

Scenes from the original text were compared, contrasted, and discussed with a comic version and a brand-new film adaptation, and selected scenes were performed. Finally, the students traced the development of the characters of Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth in texts they had composed themselves, in order to then realize that themes such as ambition and loyalty or disloyalty can also be widespread motifs today, not only in personal relationships but also at the political level, for which clear examples in Austrian as well as Anglo-American politics were found and analysed. 

Promoting cultural skills of young talents: topics off the coursebook 

On the side of the above focus on language as well as literature, we also followed up on Barack Obama’s highly interesting podcast cooperation with Bruce Springsteen called Renegades. Who would have thought that both these archetypes of men so successful in their very individual careers might catch up with each other so easily on topics such as their fundamental belief in the American ideal, fatherhood, race, music and finding themselves on parallel journeys. Equally intriguing, however, was the female take on these issues provided by Michelle Obama’s biograpy Becomingand a comparison between the book and the film version. 

Furthermore, modern art has always been a way to reflect and discuss issues sometimes too challenging or provocative to analyse at your family’s Sunday dinner table. An insight into Steve Mc Curry’s photography made us also reflect on which challenges war correspondents may have to face these days. Finally, we moved beyond the elephant in the room by analysing the issues portrayed in the exhibition on Banksy in Graz- and not falling prey to consumerism when “exiting through the giftshop”.