ECP’s Asian Festival is an annual celebration of Asian culture organised by our Asian students. Delicious food representing many different Asian cuisines, togetjer with music and dance performances, make the afternoon very special and very popular with students, staff, parents and the wider Asian community.
Thanks to the Festival’s very good reputation and professional organisation, students are supported by several ASEAN embassies, which send their representatives to support the Festival’s programme. The money raised at the event is donated to a charity chosen by the students. At the moment students are supporting the education of two children in India through the programme ADOPCE na dálku. (Caritas Prague)
Open Mic is organised mainly by students, supported by the Head of Music. It provides an opportunity for any student or teacher to perform in an informal environment. The evening has a very special atmosphere thanks to the variety of the individual and group performances. The great atmosphere is created by the music – the best language in the world – along with the students’ and teachers’ enthusiasm and creativity.
Caritas Programme, Pre CAS projects and IB charity projects
Let us help everyone believe that they are not alone in any troubles they may have in their lives.
A very important part of the school life is the Charity work, which is established in the school programme in a number of areas and it’s at the very heart of our school ethos.
Caritas Programme – Helping nature and the environment, Helping children and young people, Helping elderly people, helping ill or disabled people,Helping people facing difficult life situations, Helping the places where we live
Caritas Programme offers many charity opportunities in different areas to any student interested. The Latin word Caritas stands for the Greek expression AGAPE, which was, according to the Ancient Greeks, the highest form of Love – the love that forgets about oneself in order to help someone else. By helping those who are less fortunate, students realise how important solidarity is and also acknowledge the value of making sacrifices to benefit other people. They also appreciate what values are important and how communication and good relationships are both meaningful and can change life for the better. Thus the Caritas programme gives students a unique opportunity to play an active role in making this world a better place.
Over the years we have established good relationships with different organisations representing the main areas where help is essential – such as the Military Hospital, Vila Vallila, Woods of Prague, Zajíček na koni and the retirement home in Vysočany For more information about these organisations see the Caritas section in the :more booklet.
Pre – CAS projects
Students are led to acknowledge the importance of Charity work from year 1 through the Pre CAS programme. In order to help students to develop the skills needed for running a purposeful charity project, we have incorporated into Tutor and PSME time, various activities focusing on different aspects of charity work. Students learn how to identify areas of need and how to find the best solution for effective action. They gradually develop their skills and in Year 4 they are encouraged to run their first independent Charity project. The best projects are awarded by Pre – CAS Award at the Founders’ Day.
Pre – CAS programme – building skills needed for running a charity project.
Student IB service projects
IB students have to organise an independent project for their IB diploma. Many of them choose Charity projects. Here are some examples of successful ones:
Raising money and community awareness of the Ukrainian refugee crisis
Supporting Ukrainian students by helping them to integrate into the Czech school system.
Visiting the Elderly house Domov seniorů kardinála Berana in Mukařov or in Domov pro seniory Vysočanská, where the students talk to and play games with the residents.
Holiday events for children in the village of Dřevčice – Here the students created games and other activities for the kids there. Christmas decorations and Easter egg hunts were two of the main activities which occurred.
Poetry Day
For many years our students have been working with the organisation Zajíček na koni, which supports children and young people with a learning disability and their families. Zajíček na koni runs the cafe Ad Astra, which is an ideal place for organising poetry evenings. Students usually choose the theme of the evening, such as the work of Mácha, Karel Čapek or Jiří Orten and prepare a programme consisting of readings of the texts of various writers and also readings of poetry written by students and teachers. Musical performances always accompany the readings to create a very special atmosphere at these intimate literary events.
ECP’s best sportsmen and women of ECP have the opportunity to represent the school in competitions with other Czech and international schools.
POPRASK is a Prague sports competition, in various sports disciplines, organised by DDM hl.města Prahy (The Prague House for Children and Young People).
The International Schools Sport Association Prague (ISSAP) tournaments are organised by different international schools in Prague and again, involve many disciplines -football, basketball, volleyball, floorball, skiing, swimming, tennis, track and field.
Every school year students can use their specific artistic and creative talent, and helping their House to participate in the Cultural Olympiad. Cultural Captains, supported by their Senior Tutors, lead their teams and act as ambassadors and role models for creative participation. The event attracts around 100 performers, as well as over 100 entries for the Visual Arts categories. The Arts Faculty organise the event, which is an afternoon extravaganza of entertainment, competition, and community spirit, with external judges invited to attend and rank each of our categories. The Cultural Olympiad takes place in Prague’s larger theatres, and this year the event is planned for the iconic Divadlo na Fidlovačce
The winning House receives the Cultural Olympiad Cup and important points towards the whole-year House competition.
Performance Categories: Dance, Music, Drama, and Film
Visual Categories: Art and Photography (Winners are Photographer of the year and Artist of the Year).
During the academic year, the Houses compete in different sports disciplines such as floorball, volleyball, basketball, football and table tennis. Sports Captains are in charge of creating and leading their teams. The competitions usually take place after school, but two of them have become whole school events taking place during the school day. These are therefore a good opportunity for all students and teachers to see top sports performances and to support their House teams. The atmosphere is always great – full of enthusiasm, joy and a determination to win!
Sports Day is a traditional event and marks the end of the school year. House Captains and Senior Tutors, together with the PE Department, prepare the programme, which involves a variety of sports disciplines. It is a great opportunity for students to take part in various sports competitions and to help their House win the Sports Day Cup. The highlight of Sports Day is the House Run in which teachers also take part and run for their House.
At ECP we are keen to develop a true love for reading in our students. To support this, the top readers each term receive a celebratory certificate and gift token. In addition, students are encouraged to participate in the ECP Reading Award. The ECP Reading Award is a prestigious prize that encourages students to read a diverse range of books including classics, poetry, contemporary and history fiction as well as non-fiction focused on topics such as philosophy, science or psychology. To achieve the Bronze Award students need to complete 8 tasks ranging from shadowing a book award, attending a book group or exploring a controversial issue of modern life that has global consequences. The Silver award requires students to complete 12 reading tasks and the Gold 16 Tasks. Winners of the Gold Award are presented each year on Founders’ Day.
The Skiing Trip for Year 1 students is a traditional winter event organised by the PE Department. In the unique Krkonoše Smetánka chalet, students spend a week learning basic or advanced skiing or snowboarding skills. There are also many team building activities and students prepare performances for the final House competition evening. The Headmaster, who traditionally comes to visit students on this trip, chooses the winner.
Every ECP student experiences 8 different trips during their first 4 years at our school. Trips frame the school year – at the beginning of the school year, there are induction trips and at the end of the school year, trips are more educationally focused. But each trip is educational in some way and it helps to build healthy relationships through team-building activities.
During the first week of school, students in Years 1 – 4 set off for the induction trips to the Krkonoše mountains, to Western Bohemia, and to the Lužické and Jizerské mountains. The aim of each trip is not only to help new students adapt to a new school and make new friends, but they are also an opportunity for the whole year group to build a strong and friendly community.
Each trip has a different focus, therefore the activities are always different and sometimes challenging. This also applies to the trip for students in Year 4 who can choose, if they wish, to take a more physically demanding trip Cycling and History Adventure trip, which involves cycling and camping, or a more academic Exploring history trip where in the beautiful countryside of Czech Switzerland. On both trips, they explore the difficult history of the Sudetenland and meet witnesses of post-war times.
