Hello, my name is Luis Vaquerizo and I am a Spanish Teacher from Avila. I teach Technology in English to students in the English bilingual programmes at IES Alonso de Madrigal in Avila.
As teachers, we need constant training in order to improve our knowledge and to get the most out of our students. With this firm belief I always seek to better my teaching skills by taking part in national and international projects. When I applied for a grant from the Spanish government for a two week job shadowing visit in the UK, it was a privilege and an honour to be invited by an Ofsted outstanding school. Fairfield High School for Girls is a perfect example of an immersion learning environment where students strive to develop their abilities, attain their full potential and prepare for a bright future.
For the last few years, I was involved in various projects with the European School Net that makes it possible for teachers and students to work together in challenging and inspirational projects and in the summer of 2014 I met Mrs El-Koussa at the InGenious summer camp for teachers in Split, Croatia. These events allow passionate and inspiring teachers to network and offer them opportunities to collaborate in exciting activities to benefit their students. Thus, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs El-Koussa for all the hard work she has done to organise my visit to Fairfield and to help make it a success
From 16th November to 27th November, it was astonishing for me to see how at Fairfield High School nearly a thousand girls (11 to 16 years old) change classroom every hour quietly and orderly. The students attend lessons with great enthusiasm, participate with logical reasoning and critical thinking. All the lessons are timed for one hour in which students are introduced to the topic in a practical way then followed by some theory and exercises to practice the theme.
At Fairfield I have observed excellent Science, Technology and IT lessons and I witnessed many outstanding practices which I will implement in my daily work at my school in Spain. Additionally I was given an opportunity to plan and deliver four lessons in Spanish for a Year 10 Spanish language class in collaboration with Mrs Walkden, Mrs Koussa and Mr Jones. During these lessons the students learned key science ideas about Newton laws and rocket launch in Spanish and they had a lot of fun making and launching their own water rockets. On the last day of my visit, it was a joy to observe a Year 10 Food Technology group making a lemon meringue pie with Mrs Middleton. Furthermore, I proudly demonstrated to the group how to make a Spanish flan which we all enjoyed tasting at the end of the lesson.
I had a wonderful time at Fairfield and everyone, staff and students alike, made me feel so welcome with their friendly and kind manners. A special thank you goes to Mr Gauld, who has been a very helpful guide/host, for all the time he spent with me. I am also thankful to Mr Hesketh for his warm reception to me at Fairfield.
I do hope that I have made a small contribution with the water bottle rocket science activity in Spanish, the Spanish flan in food technology and the Spanish cultural awareness presentation.
I have received above and beyond what I have expected.
Mr Luis Vaquerizo
Picture: Mr Luis Vaquerizo
