ELEXALDE CARNIVALS GREET GREECE

Last Friday carnivals were celebrated at Elexalde school. In honour to our Greek partners, Elexalde teachers disguised as Omympus gods, goddesses and Greek mythologycal characters.
We marched with the Olympic flame all the way to the Mount Omympus. Zeus guided our way to the glory.
Then we finished the festivity with a sirkaki dance .
It was a good time, we enjoyed a lot and we would like to share it with you.

May the gods and goddesses of Olympus accompany you these carnivals!!!!

Inauteri zoriontsuak 2020!!
Happy carnivals 2020!!!

A mural is placed at school

UNKINA PRIMARY SCHOOL BRINGS US CLOSER TO GREECE

21st  February 2010

Carnivals 2020

 The teachers from Unkina school, a nearby primary school of Usansolo disguised with the traditional Greek costomes and danced sirtaki for all the parents and students.

ANCIENT DION

3rd Junior High School of Katerini

        On the slopes of Mt. Olympus, 5 km from the beaches of Pieria, Ancient Dion, the Holy City of Macedonia was found under a covering of undergrowth and water. This city had been a thriving centre of civilization from the time of its foundation for a period of 1,000 years from the 5th century BC to the 5th century AD.

     The Macedonians regularly gathered in Dion to worship the Gods of Olympus, and to make sacrificial offerings, as can be seen from the objects found on the site. It was here that King Archelaos organized athletic competitions and theatrical events, and Philip the Second celebrated his victories at Dion, as did Alexander. It was here that Alexander gathered together his troops to prepare for his journeys of conquest, worshipping Zeus, King of the Gods of Olympus.

      At the Battle of Pydna, 168 BC, the death of Perseas, last King of Macedonia, brought an end to the Macedonian Dynasty. Dion became integrated into the Roman colony during the reign of Augustus.

         

       The second peak of the city came during the Roman occupation in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, when it became "reborn" as a Greek city. The final days of Dion were written when it was destroyed by an earthquake and floods in the 5th c AD. The terrified citizens of the city took flight and sought refuge on the higher slopes of Olympus.

        



One of the most important sights to be found in Dion archeological park is the Villa of Dionysus. Watch the following video to learn more about it.

    In the following video you can watch the process of conservation of the "Dionysus" mosaic by the conservation team.

MOUNT OLYMPUS

3rd Junior High School of Katerini

Natural Heritage

Our town boasts to be at the foot of the most important mountain of Greece, and one that is famous all over the world. Mount Olympus is Greece's highest mountain and the home to the 12 Gods of Greek mythology. The nine Muses, daughters of the god Zeus, were traditionally placed in the region of Pieria, at the mount's northern foot.

Mytikas, Olympus' highest peak at 2917 meters was reached in 1913 by Christos Kakalos, resident of the nearby town of Litohoro, and Swiss climbers Frederic Boissonas and Daniel Baud-Bovy. The mountain is rich in tree and plant life, supporting over 1700 species, some very rare.

The region was declared Greece's first national park in 1938. The aim of this was "the preservation in perpetuity of the natural environment of the region, i.e. of wild flora, fauna and natural landscape, as well as its cultural and other values."  In 1981, Olympus was proclaimed 'Biosphere Reserve' by UNESCO.

Olympus is known for its exceptional biodiversity, with 52 peaks and several deep gorges. The entire Olympus area covers around 500 square kilometres, in a circular area with a circumference of 80km. The area contains 32 species of mammals, 108 species of birds, many species of reptiles, amphibians and insects.

Learn more about this amazing mountain by clicking on the spots of the following interactive image.

ANCIENT PYDNA

3rd Junior High School of Katerini

As part of the historical heritage of our area our students studied about the area of Ancient Pydna and the battle of great significance that took place here (it was the last decisive battle of the third Macedonian War between the Romans and the Macedonians and took place on June 22, 168 BC.; the outcome of this battle signaled Greece's definitive submission to the Romans). 

Below you can watch some of the presentations they created on this topic.

Together with Alykes, they also visited the archeological site of Ancient Pydna. Here is a video of their visit.

ELEXALDE CELEBRATES ST AGUEDA

The eve of Santa Águeda is a tradition of great  importance in many towns of the Basque Country. On February 4th, the choirs, the whole group ( cuadrilla)  walk the streets singing in honor of the Saint and accompany their chants with sticks and canes ("makilas") with which they beat the ground rhythmically. This tradition could have its origin in the Basque mythology, with the clash of the "makilas", a "call to earth", to finish the awakening after the winter solstice.In our school , our students sang Santa Agueda in different places of our town.

31st January 2020

Students of both schools had a videoconference to get to know each other. They asked questions about themselves. It is an aprroach that both students enjoyed a lot . They really liked it and they are very expectant to meet face to face.