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A brief recipe for European holidays

Posted on by Avenor College

Have you ever thought about building your next vacation from scratch while remaining in your set budget?

Tudor M. (grade 9), Project Manager and Editor for Math-Ly-News wrote this article with tips & tricks that might come in handy the next time you plan on going away on holiday.

Now that summer holiday is on the horizon, we can finally start to seriously think about our travel options. But before you start running to the nearest travel agency, consider the realistic possibility of organizing your trip from scratch. In the following article, I will be detailing the process of estimating and planning a holiday abroad.

The first step is to choose the timeframe you wish to travel in. Try to remain flexible, pick a month to look into (For this example I will be working in August 2022).

The second step is to choose your method of transportation. I decided to research price ranges for Plane and Car travel (these are the most efficient and popular modes of transport for Romanians).

Air Travel

Although faster, air travel is not always the best solution. Above, I have attached a map to show the average prices for flights to each European country (for one person with a week between outbound and inbound flights ). Almost all of the prices you see are for flights with the Lufthansa Group (except Turkey, which is through Turkish Airlines). I suggest avoiding Low-Cost airlines. The name is often deceiving, and unless you are willing to travel with only a backpack, Low-Cost airline tickets with carry-on luggage can cost more than Mainstream airline tickets.

Plus, Mainstream airlines often have offices in major airports, so if you have any trouble regarding your flight, you can easily refer to one.

Car Travel

Car travel is another great alternative for those who wish to avoid air travel at all costs. The map above tells us the number of days of travel needed to reach each European country. As you can see, the further north or west we go, the more unreasonable the number of days gets. It is easy to fool ourselves into thinking that car travel is slower but cheaper than air. Whilst yes, you already have the car, you still need to pay for fuel and accommodation on transit nights, not to mention the road fees or even ferry fees in some cases.

Car Vs Plane

Ok, we have talked about the pros and cons of air and car travel, but how should we make a choice? The map above shows what I would suggest for each European country depending on the costs of flight and the distances you would need to travel by car. The suggestions are designed to be an optimum between reasonable travel time and budget.

The third step, after choosing your transport, is finding accommodation. Prices for one night accommodation in a 3 star hotel in Europe for two people can very alot by day or location as shown below.

It’s a good idea to look at how expensive the accommodation of a country is before purchasing your plane tickets. In some cases, the transport to a country is relatively cheap, but the accommodation is very expensive (Ex Austria). In other cases, the transport costs are high, but the accommodation cost is low (Ex Estonia). Cheap accommodation can help you save money on week long holidays, and it can make the higher plane prices worth it.

With all of this data, you can start estimating budgets for holidays:

For example: “I want to go to Finland for 7 days with a friend”

  • 7 days * price for 1 night of accommodation + 2 people * flight price = estimated cost
  • 7 * 120 + 200 * 2 = 1240 eur

This estimation does not include National Travel in the country you are visiting or food consumption and can change slightly depending on the exact dates of travel.

For national transport I suggest renting a car if you have a larger budget, or using public transport if you’re looking for more economical options. Look up car prices beforehand, in some cases it is worth it ( Ex: in France a 5 person car is 100 eur a day) but in other cases it isn t worth it (Ex : in Ireland, a 5 person car is 300 eur a day). Public transport is way cheaper and sometimes faster, research beforehand to see if it is available (you can use google maps to do that)

This is the process you can use to build a personalized holiday easily and swiftly. Keep in mind that the data you see in the tables can change over time as we get closer to the month of august. Enjoy your holiday season!

Written by Tudor M. (9 Alfa)

1st Place at Equestrianism

Posted on by Petre Diana

Iarina, a 9th grade student, loves horses and competed for the first time in a competition organized by the Romanian Equestrian Federation. She won 1st place in both tests and enjoyed the success with tears in her eyes, after months of training that taught her how important it is to be empathetic with the animal, to work in a team and to synchronize movements, but also to exceed her limits, both physical and emotional.

We invite you to read her story and find out more about her passion for riding and what are the most important lessons learned by practicing this sport.

 

The first time I rode a big horse was when I was 8 years old. I had ridden ponies a few times before, but at this age I started taking my first riding lessons. I fell in love with horses from the very first moment. My grandfather also contributed to this love, since he was a veterinarian and rode to work.

Although I didn’t go regularly and it was more of an activity for when the weather was nice, I really enjoyed the lessons and the training. At the age of 10, I fell off my horse for the first time and sprained my knee, and because of that I couldn’t ride for another year. However, I was not afraid and I was eager to get back in the saddle. Gradually, I began to learn how to fall, which helped me a lot in the next falls I had.

I only started professional training in September 2020, once I moved to another equestrian club. I soon realized that it’s not the same thing as just training for pleasure once a week, as I used to do. In riding, you must first and foremost understand the mentality of the horse. Below you is a 550 kilogram animal, which thinks completely differently from humans. You have to be in control without being imposing, you have to be relaxed, but attentive to everything that moves and you have to continue even if you are afraid.

Equestrianism taught me discipline. Even if I get tired and feel like I can’t do it anymore, I’m not allowed to stop exercising, I have to complete it, because I’m not the only one in this. I team up with an extremely smart animal and not a day goes by that I don’t appreciate the fact that he lets me be with him. I have to think about how each part of the horse’s body and my body is coordinated, while the movements have to flow in harmony one after the other, like in a dance. I have to pay attention to the impulse and the power he performs, every inch in which my hands, feet or back are positioned, forward or backward.

I love this sport because it teaches me patience, communication, self-confidence and it is extremely satisfying. After hours of training, falls, mistakes, bad days, early morning or late evening lessons, the best prize I can win is to learn the move. The thing that I think about and that helps me move forward in every workout is that I don’t have to be perfect from the first time, but I have to be better than yesterday, because that’s how I progress. Mentally, a rider has to work enormously with himself, maybe even more than physically, because the biggest obstacles are right in our minds. Equestrianism is an art, full of compassion, courage, empathy and a lot, a lot of work.

I made my debut at my first competition of the Romanian Equestrian Federation at the end of February 2021. The competition took place over two days, in which I participated in two tests: training progression and cavaletti. Training progression is a test that combines all the elements of riding that can only be done on horseback, without any other object. The arena has letters at predetermined distances, and the rider must guide his horse in all walks (step, trot, gallop) between them, to make circles, diagonals, hand changes, serpentines, stops and starts fixed in those letters. It is the ultimate test in horse-riding harmony.

The cavaletti test consists in passing the horse either at a trot or at a gallop, over some bars on the ground, in a predetermined route. In both days I participated, I won 1st place in both tests. I felt like crying of happiness, because even though I knew I had given my best, I didn’t expect it. I was very proud of myself and the horse I rode.

I look forward to the next competition and I train hard three times a week to get equally good results in even harder tests.

Avenor’s first Maths magazine

Posted on by Avenor College

When the passion for creative writing and math meet, wonderful things happen. MATH-LY-NEWS, the first Avenor mathematics magazine, was written at the initiative of  Mihaela Ancuța, Mathematics teacher and Mathematics Curriculum Leader. We invite you to find out more about how the first issue was written and about the team of students who coordinate it.

Mihaela Ancuța: According to the theory of self-determination, which I have been focusing on for some time and which I am still studying, because it is fascinating and I believe in it a lot, every human being (particularly our students) is born with three basic psychological needs: the need for connection, the need for competence and the need for autonomy. Students need to be seen, valued, respected, to feel that they are unique, they need to feel connected, belonging to a group. They still need to feel able, to feel that they can achieve something, that they are capable and, very importantly, they need to make choices, to make decisions. When all these needs are met, any student will be well, his intrinsic motivation will increase and implicitly his results in everything he does. The progress is amazing.

The whole process involved in making the magazine, the brainstorming meetings we have, the way we communicate with each other, the challenges they have, the choices they make, provide students with the necessary framework for these needs to be met.

I remember the first discussion with Alexandra, which I asked if she wanted to join the project:

Hi Alexandra, I saw the article about your scholarship project and I would like to congratulate you for the idea of ​​organising a creative writing club! – I told her I appreciated her for her creative writing talent and other things I had heard about her, then I told her directly:

I’m coming to you with a “job offer”. Would you like to be the editor of the first Avenor math magazine?

Her reaction was wonderful:

Yeees! Of course! I love to write and I love maths as much!

I am convinced that her reaction came from the fact that she felt seen, appreciated, felt valued. But I’m going to stop now and will let her tell you more about the magazine :).

Alexandra P. (clasa a 8-a Omega): I present to you the first edition of the Avenor mathematics magazine,  MATH-LY-NEWS.

This magazine is meant to inform fellow mathematics enthusiasts, just like us, about current events in the fascinating world of mathematics.

It is addressed to those who seem to be unable to stop raising their hands during math lessons, to those who are eager to expand their knowledge of mathematics, to those who have an endless curiosity and, most importantly, to those who love to be challenged.

The magazine will feature various articles, all related to Mathematics. These may range from fascinating interviews interesante cu profesorii de matematică de la Avenor, la articole captivante și curiozități matematice distractive.

It’s written by students for students. By math lovers to fellow math lovers. This newsletter is entirely written by Avenorians, addressed to other Avenorians with a similar continually growing passion for mathematics. Currently we have a team of 4 editors from the 8th and 9th grades: Sara R., Mara B., Sandra P. and Sara C. The magazine would not have looked the way it does without the help of Lisa Ț., our Graphic designer. For the next editions, we aim to involve as many colleagues as possible, both from the middle school classes and from the high school.

MATH-LY-NEWS will appear monthly and will be available in Google Classroom, but also on the Avenor website. If you share our passion for mathematics, if you like challenges and if this article aroused your interest, we invite you to read our magazine here.