Today Ana Juan, Alejandra Ferrer and Susana Labrador, the respective president, vice president and councillor of education for the Consell de Formentera, together with Margalida Ferrer, educational delegate for Eivissa and Formentera, paid a visit to the newly operational kitchen and canteen of the Sant Ferran de ses Roques primary school.

President Juan expressed her satisfaction at "launching a service that was at the heart of so many requests from the local educational community and one which will help islanders balance their professional and personal lives". She pointed up the Sant Ferran school's "tailor-made facilities" and said pooling the resources needed to underwrite the meal service had been "a collaborative effort".

For her part, Councillor Labrador said that when the previous concessionaire withdrew from the service, the joint decision by local government, the school and parents' association to take up the mantle meant "a great deal of work", and she applauded the Consell's partners in the endeavour. "We are the first island council to sign an agreement with the Balearic Government to run the meal service", she explained, adding that work was already under way so that in the coming months meals could also be offered in other public schools on the island.

Agreement
The Consell de Formentera struck a deal with the Balearic Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to take over management of the CEIP Sant Ferran school canteen service as a centralised kitchen from the 2022-2023 school year. The island's government runs the kitchen and cleans the spaces with its own staff.

Meal costs are set by the Sant Ferran school council. This year students who use the service every day will pay €6.50 and those who use it sporadically €7.15. The school parents' association will oversee payment collections.

Canteen monitors will be teachers from the school and will paid by the Balearic Government per ministry guidelines approved by yearly resolution. There may also be volunteer monitors from the parents' association.

Meal service for other public schools
Mestre Lluís Andreu and CEIP el Pilar de la Mola are taking administrative steps to apply for the canteen service through the Balearic Ministry of Education. Schools will have to provide a canteen space. Under the agreement, meals will prepared at the central kitchen at the Sant Ferran school and delivered elsewhere.

Children at the Sant Ferran nursery (escoleta) will also have their meals in the new canteen. "Until now they received meals from the kitchen at Escoleta La Miranda", said Labrador, "but now that the dining hall is operative, they will eat there a different time than primary pupils".

Neus Costa, director of CEIP Sant Ferran de ses Roques; representatives of the parents' association; Esperanza Suñer, director of Escoleta Sant Ferran; Neus Marí, director of CEIP Pilar de la Mola, and Santiago Ramírez, director of CEIP Mestre Lluís Andreu, also attended the event.

10 October 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The 2022-2023 school year is now under way at the School of Music and Dance of Formentera (Escola de Música i Dansa de Formentera, EMDF), with some 203 students enrolled at the start of lessons last week. Twelve music teachers and three dance instructors impart "elementary" official studies and "non-regulated" professional classes.

Susana Labrador, councillor of education and culture, wished all students an auspicious start to the year and hoped that "young and old can enjoy the offer and deepen their knowledge of music and dance, whether as casual amateurs or on a more professional track".

Course catalogue:

MUSIC
-Official Music Studies (ages eight and up)
Instruments: flute, guitar, piano, trumpet and clarinet.

-Non-regulated studies (eight and up)
Instruments: flute, piccolo, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, euphonium and tuba.

-Traditional music workshop (four and up)
Local folk instruments: drum, castanets and flute. Levels: Initiation I; Initiation II; Continuation I and Continuation II.

-Initiation to music (five to eight)
Participants discover instruments and music theory through songs and games.

-Independent Professional Studies
Tailored to individual student needs (prerequisite: elementary studies from a state-accredited school or conservatory).

-Percussion Workshop
Students are familiarised with an array of rhythms and percussion instruments.

-Formentera Polyphonic Choir
Free activity. Previous knowledge of music not required.

-Band
Composed essentially of wind instruments. One hour of group training with student's chosen instrument, one hour of targeted music theory and one hour of band practice.

DANCE
-Modern (eight and up): Study and practice of choreographies. Techniques include jazz and various current styles such as funk and hip-hop.

-Intro to dance (three to eight): By gaining familiarity with their bodies and movement, children can explore, learn, express themselves and create through movement. Techniques: classical and contemporary dance.

-Flamenco workshop (adults): Participants learn basic techniques required to dance flamenco. Basic body positioning, spins, footwork and identification of styles and rhythms. Brief theoretical study of the style of chosen choreography. Workshop tailored to the level of the group.

-Classical dance workshop (adults): Participants learn basic techniques required to dance ballet. Basic body positioning, spins, footwork and identification of styles and rhythms. Brief theoretical study of the style of chosen choreography. Workshop tailored to the level of the group.

-Official Dance Studies: (eight and up). Distributed in four courses: Classical dance, Spanish dance and music applied to dance.

Elementary instruction focuses on basic study of classical dance technique, knowledge of Spanish dance and origins and music applied to dance. The four courses of Elementary Dance Studies are a critical stage in the development of the dancer and serve as the foundation of correct and effective technique. The ideal age for these studies is between eight and twelve years old.

4 October 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

A lecture given yesterday by Raquel González and Carmen Castelló titled 'Lateen sailing on Formentera: in everyday life and the imprint on society and culture' marked the start of the Formentera Office of Heritage's Joan Marí Cardona Local Studies lecture series.

Day one of the week-long series also served to present the 2018, 2019 and 2020 issues of Formentera, a review which, in the two years since its revival, has brought updated editions of every issue published since 2015. As Raquel Guasch, councillor of heritage pointed out, a 2020 edition of the review has also been put together with the articles that were never presented due to COVID-19.

Lectures continue all this week from 7.00pm in the Consell de Formentera auditorium (Sala de Plens). Admission is free and reservations are not required.

-Tuesday: Els pactes successoris: una antiga institució de rabiosa actualitat. (Succession agreements: an ancient institution of current relevance.) Olga Patricia Cardona Guasch
-Wednesday: Formentera a les revistes gràfiques del segle XX. Temàtiques recurrents a les publicacions periòdiques il·lustrades. (Formentera in graphic reviews of the 20th century: recurring themes in illustrated periodicals.) Joan-Albert Ribas Fuentes
-Thursday: Història del paisatge i gestió dels recursos vegetals a la Formentera prehistòrica. (Landscape history and management of plant resources on prehistoric Formentera.) Pau Sureda Torres
-Friday: La pedrera de moles de s'Estufador de Formentera. Correlacions i síntesi de les moleres de Balears. (The grinding stone quarry of S'Estufador, Formentera: current correlations and overview of Balearic grinding stones.) Joaquín Sánchez Navarro

4 October 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The Formentera Office of Social Welfare has programmed ten instalments of "Talks for Families and Teachers" (Xerrades per a families i docents), a lecture series running October to May in the Consell de Formentera auditorium. The talks benefit from the collaboration of the Teachers' Resource Centre (Centre de Professorat).

Thursday 6 October at 5.00pm, the first of the talks, 'Screens: tools to protect ourselves from the risks of the Internet', will be given by Lluís Mulero, a cyberactivist in preventing digital addictions.

Rafael Ramírez, councillor of social welfare, described the aim of the lecture series as "helping families and teachers hone their skills to prevent problematic conduct like bullying and drug use". "The Xerrades series is a space for information and training, where experience exchanges and collective reflection serve as tools to improve learning and contribute to children's holistic development", said the councillor.

"Xerrades per a families" programme
6 October: 'Screens: tools to protect ourselves from the risks of the Internet' (Lluís Mulero)
3 November: 'We educate in positive: limits and consequences' (Cristina Torres)
24 November: 'Emotional education: from theory to practice' (Rafael Bisquerra)
15 December: 'Educating in diversity' (Neus Martorell and Carmen Muñoz)
28 January: 'The importance of educating: how to motivate' (Antoni Ballester)
2 February: 'Conflict management among peers' (Judit Besora)
9 March: 'The role of the father in parenting' (Rubén Rodríguez)
30 March: 'How to talk about drugs with youth' (Eva Font)
20 April: 'Educating without screens' (Marta Padra)
4 May: 'The best parents in the world are NOT perfect' (Carles Ventura)

Lectures start at 5.00pm in the Consell de Formentera auditorium (Sala de Plens, venda des Brolls, 7179, Sant Francesc). Childcare will be provided. Interested parties should reserve in advance by emailing educaciosocial@conselldeformentera.cat or calling 971 321 271.

29 September 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera