Home education simply means students studying at home instead of in a school environment. Young children are usually taught by their parents, while teenagers usually study independently. It’s an unusual lifestyle, but one which works well for many people, such as myself, and one with many benefits — independence and self-motivation taught from an early age, more time with family, and an absence of a strict and unbending curriculum.
Hola! My name’s Finlay and I’m an English student, here at SparkSpanish for a month to study Spanish and for work experience.
In my work experience, I’m going to be producing material for spanish school tour blog promoting SparkSpanish’s school trips and group tours. I’m aiming to write readable and interesting articles which will be uploaded to the blog on a regular basis; look at different techniques that bloggers and other Internet users use to increase traffic to a website; and develop a long-term plan for different topics the blog can incorporate to inspire teachers to hire Spark’s services.
I’m aiming to have a rewarding experience working in a professional environment, as well as giving more back to others than they’ve given to me.
Gracias!
Guia en Bicileta durante mi curso de español
On work experience programme at SparkSpanish, one of the first things every student on work and study programme does is write up a statement of professional and personal targets and objectives they wish to achieve during their time on the programme. Below is my mission statement listing the things I will achieve during my time studying and working in Spain.
I want to feel proud of myself when I return to England at the end of September, and to feel like I did the best job I could. As well as learning Spanish, I’m here at Spark to gain valuable experience working in an office environment and doing something I love writing in a professional capacity. I’m never going to have this exact same opportunity again, and to make the most of it I need to push myself to work as hard as I can. I want to arrive home as a more mature person.
I have an irrational fear of failure which I am going to work hard to combat, as without failing there’s no chance of learning. I’m also going to be aware of how I come across to people and focus on being polite, engaging and fun to work with. I want to be an inspirational and valuable member of the team, without deliberately drawing attention to myself. I will not let anyone down or disappoint anyone and I will not expect other people to look after me. I will aim to be more competent and mature than the average seventeen year old through my commitment and my understanding of the work.
As well as my fellow workers, I want to get on well with my fellow students and do my part in improving their time at Spark. I’ll look out for them and keep my eyes open for any problems of theirs which I can help with, whether they be language problems or personal problems. I want to fight against my natural instinct to stay in the shallow end and avoid risks, and try new things with the potential of failure. I’ll work hard to have a good attitude to my work and do it with energy and passion, even when this requires a lot of effort. If I think I genuinely need help with a task, I will ask for assistance, but I will always do my best to solve my own problems without asking for help.
I will not make excuses for myself. I will take full responsibility for what I do, even when this is hard. I will aim to learn from, and respect, more experienced team members. As I can imagine writing in a paid capacity in the future, I want to learn from others who have already gained what I want to gain, and listen to every piece of advice they give.
I want to be honest in what I say and do, but I also want to avoid being unnecessarily personal and burdening others with my feelings. I will take full responsibility for my own feelings and retain a professional attitude in everything I say and do.
Most of all, I’ll aim to give more and put in more energy than I think I can. I will learn to push myself to the limit with my work and give to others more than they give to me.
Finlay Worrallo
During my time on my work experience I will be doing blogging for our spanishschooltours website. My aim is to write up 5 great blog posts a week, so start getting excited to read them!
Would you like to see more mission statements from people at Spark? Check our Spark Mission Statements.
Mission statement – Maebel Bakker
By the end of my internship at SparkSpanish, my HU International supervisor, Bregje Snel will be able to say that I succeeded in all parts of the requirements of this internship. She will be able to confirm that I gained more business experience in an international environment and due to this my knowledge collected at HU is extended. To do so I will keep Bregje Snel up-to-date weekly by email and through Skype meetings. Besides that she can see that this period made me grow in both business and personal aspects. To meet all the requirements stated by HU I will prove that I’ve done analytical work and used this during further projects, besides that my languages levels of both English and Spanish will be improved. These points will be stated in the final appraisal from Bregje Snel by the end of the internship. To measure this in concrete numbers I want to achieve a final grade for my internship that’s between 7 and 10.
During my period at Spark I will be recognized as a highly motivated and dedicated team player, a person who’s easy to work with and has a willingness to help whenever it’s needed. I hope I can inspire and learn my colleagues during my internship but mostly learn from them and gain knowledge about their business experience and passion. My colleagues will look back on me as a professional intern who is highly motivated to learn and also fun to work with.
My managers will be both content with the work that I do during the internship as well as with the personal growth I went through. They will see me as a reliable and motivated intern who was valuable for the team. They can both confirm that I delivered valuable work and knowledge to Spark and combined this correctly with my assessments for school. Besides that they will endorse the fact that I came to Spark for business experience and cultural knowledge rather than having 10 weeks of fun in Spain.
My period at Spark will provide me with lots of new knowledge which will be both business and personal related. I will extend my experience in the work field and gain more cultural/ethical knowledge in general. Besides that I will develop more communication skills and will learn about managerial and marketing aspects. This period will bring me lots of personal development as well, such as growth in independence, growth in confidence etc. This all will be a valuable addition to both my HU degree and personal development. Besides that this will help me in my further career and hopefully be seen as an additional experience.
To achieve all these things I will use an open-minded view as much as possible, I will focus on my learning progress and developments throughout the whole period. This will require a highly motivated & can-do attitude, I will generate this attitude by keeping the end goals in mind and staying positive!
Maebel Bakker was on the work and study programme and developed our School Group Website
Read more mission statements by staff at Spark Spanish.
School Trip to Spain: Andalusia and El Puerto de Santa Maria
We were delighted to have Emanuel School with us for their first school trip to Spain in El Puerto de Santa María. All students stayed with our fantastic local Spanish Families and enjoyed their various excursions and activities, as well as their Spanish classes.
We at Spark had a fantastic time with the group and their teachers, Anabel, Sarah, Mike and Rita, and were impressed by how well behaved and full of energy the students were. The students were also motivated with using their Spanish, and it was lovely to see how well they all integrated with the Spanish families. We hope all the students had a great time and we hope to see Emanuel again next year!
Inge Hol – Director of Educational Programmes
Pues ya se van nuestros estudiantes de Emanuel School , que estuvieron alojados con familias de nuestra ciudad, para experimentar la verdadera cultura española. Hemos hecho muchas excursiones y visitas interesantes. Fuimos a Cádiz, el tiempo no nos acompañó mucho, pero hicimos cosas divertidas como comer nuestros deliciosos churros o visitar la Torre Tavira. Más tarde el tiempo cambió a mejor y tuvimos buenísimos días de playa.
También, visitamos nuestro Castillo de San Marcos, donde los alumnos estudiaron un poco sobre la historia de El Puerto y de Cristóbal Colon. Disfrutamos también mucho del kayaking en San Fernando incluso los estudiantes tuvieron rato de compras y helados.
Y por ultimo como siempre, visitamos la gran Sevilla con su catedral y Alcázar. Los estudiantes aprendieron sobre la cultura andaluza y sobre nuestros antepasados musulmanes. En líneas generales fue un viaje muy interesante, los estudiantes tuvieron contacto directo con nuestra cultura y practicaron su español como nunca. ¡Os esperamos veros pronto por aquí!
Mario Baez – Chaperone y Profesor de Español
Programa de Emanuel
Want to do a similar programme with your school? Why not Request a Quote
The students are really happy and so are we with the whole experience.
Anabel – School Trip Organizer
Relaxing and good weather. I would recommend this trip to friends because the lessons are fun, the towns are interesting, the activities are enjoyable and the beaches are very nice.
Ivan – Student at Emanuel
Student and Teacher Overall Evaluation of Trip
School Trip to Spain: Andalusia and El Puerto de Santa Maria
We were delighted to have Tudor Hall School with us on their third school trip to Spain in El Puerto de Santa María. All students stayed with our fantastic local Spanish Families and enjoyed their various excursions and activities, as well as their Spanish classes.
We at Spark had a fantastic time with the group and their teachers, Holly and Monica, and were impressed by how well behaved and full of energy they were. They were also motivated to practice their Spanish, and it was lovely to see them integrating with the Spanish families. We hope all the students had a great time and we hope to see Tudor Hall again next year for a 4th time!
Inge Hol – Director of Educational Programmes
¡Ha sido una semana maravillosa!
Todo nos ha acompañado; el tiempo ha estado genial por lo que hemos disfrutado de las preciosas playas de Cádiz, La Caleta y La Puntilla en El Puerto de Santa María. Además de español, hemos aprendido mucha historia gracias a las visitas guiadas de ciudades muy antiguas, ¡más de 3000 años de historia nada más y nada menos! Todo ello recorriendo varias civilizaciones: romanas, árabes y cristiana. ¡La semana ha pasado volando!
Por otro lado, lamento decir que, las chicas de Tudor Hall ¡se han vuelto adictas a los churros con chocolate!
Ha sido un enorme placer conoceros, chicas. ¡Y espero que hayáis (subjuntivo?) aprendido mucho conmigo! ¡Hasta pronto!
José Ruiz-Herrera Hernández – Chaperone y Profesor de Español
Programa de Tudor Hall
Want to do a similar programme with your school? Why not Request a Quote
I would highly recommend Spark. They always endeavor to tailor our trip exactly to our requirements and collect feedback throughout the week so they can immediately remedy any issues. The trip provides and excellent balance between academic and cultural enrichment so that the student can get the most out of their experience.
Holly T – School Trip Organizer
I would recommend this trip to friends because you feel so much more confident speaking Spanish and learning lots of new things about Spanish culture (in particular this area of Spain).
Sasha – Student at Tudor Hall
Student and Teacher Overall Evaluation of Trip
School Trip to Spain: Andalusia and El Puerto de Santa Maria
We were delighted to have Headington Girls School with us on their third school trip to Spain n El Puerto de Santa María. All students stayed in our Spark residence during their time with us, and they enjoyed their various excursions and activities, as well as their Spanish classes.
We at Spark had a fantastic time with the group and their three teachers, we were impressed by how well behaved and full of energy they were.. They were also extremely motivated to practice their Spanish, or so it seemed! We hope all the students got a chance to appreciate Spanish culture and history and that they had a fantastic time together. See you next year!
Inge Hol – Director of Educational Programmes
Bueno!, las chicas de Headington School de Oxford nos visitaron en plena Semana Santa para tener unos maravillosos días de aprendizaje de nuestra lengua.
Como siempre, disfrutamos de nuestras excursiones por tierras andaluzas; Cádiz con su torre Tavira y su playa o Sevilla con su gran catedral y Alcázar y también nuestro Puerto de Santa María, donde visitamos el histórico castillo de San Marcos con Cristóbal Colon como invitado.
También tuvimos tiempo para nuestras clases de español, donde las chicas practicaron y aprendieron cosas nuevas o para adentrarlas en la Semana Santa, algo muy cultural y típico de nuestra comunidad. ¡Incluso tuvieron clases de flamenco! Sin olvidar el ansiado desayuno de churros con chocolate o los helados en la playa J
Fue un placer tener a este grupo con nosotros, esperamos que les vaya todo bien y que ¡vuelvan pronto!
Mario Baez – Chaperone y Profesor de Español
Excellent communication in the run up to the trip. We have had a wonderful stay here, thank you so much for the organising you have put into this!!!
Primrose Wood – School Trip Organizer
The Spark experience was superior to all my previous French and Spanish language school trips with KS3/4 students – much more personal and attentive.
Louisa Orr – Spanish Teacher
Student and Teacher Overall Evaluation of Trip
We’re going to see Altamira with Antonio Banderas. He discovers cave paintings in the early 19th century which change how we understand the origins of mankind but of course challenges religious and scientific views of that age. Read more about the film below, description courtsey of Union Cine Cuidad.
1879. Entre las verdes colinas y los picos rocosos de la costa de Santander, María Sautuola (Allegra Allen), una niña de 9 años, y su padre, Marcelino (Antonio Banderas), un arqueólogo aficionado, descubren algo extraordinario que cambiará la historia de la humanidad para siempre: las primeras pinturas prehistóricas encontradas hasta entonces: unos impresionantes bisontes al galope trazados con gran detalle. Pero la madre de María, la dulce y devota Conchita (Golshifteh Farahani), no es la única perturbada por este descubrimiento. La iglesia Católica considera que la afirmación de que las pinturas sean obra de prehistóricos “salvajes” es un ataque a la verdad bíblica. Y, sorprendentemente, la comunidad científica liderada por el prehistoriador Émile Cartailhac (Clément Sibony) también acusa de fraude a Marcelino y a su descubrimiento. El mundo idílico de María se derrumba y sus intentos por ayudar sólo empeoran las cosas. La familia entra en una fuerte crisis y cierra la cueva. Será necesario todo el amor que se tienen para encontrar el camino hacia la redención y el reconocimiento.
At Spark we greatly value our returnee students, with many of you having returned to us 3 or more times. For any returnee who books a course taking place between 22.07.18 and 29.09.18, we will give you up to 200€ off* a course and accommodation package and up to 50€ off a Spanish Course without accommodation. That is not all, you can also even bring a friend and gift any valid spark returnee voucher to them*. So take this opportunity to have another summer in the sun, improving your Spanish and enjoying the Spanish way of life (the weather, food, drink and people :). Request your special returnee discount here, and let us know for how long you’d like to come back for.
We have a new banner ready for going to educational fairs. It is focused on school group programmes and designed by David Navarro Hope you like the look of it.
