Description of our partnership

Description of our partnership

School from Greece and the partners from Estonia, Lithuania, Italia, Turkey, and Germany are starting a SCHOOL PROJECT :  “Bridge over waters far away – Culture, Art, Tradition, Education – So different but also so the same”. Our aims are to involve through our project pupils, teachers and associated partners through meetings, courses and workshops, activities to improve the quality of teaching and learning. 1^st year we want to inform each other about Europe and our cultures developing and find out about European identity by discovering its cultural heritage (common things and differences - national art, handicraft, music, fairytales and dances of regions of Europe with very different history and nature). 2^nd year we are going to find out some of those answers with workshops and other methods of active learning. During the program we will evaluate the progress, disseminate the results, facilitate the participation of pupils with special educational needs, and ensure equal opportunities for the participation of female/male pupils and staff promote intercultural education, help combat racism and xenophobia. We will use new technologies and material exchanges. All these will be included into the annual curriculum. We believe that all these will make our schools better by the end of the program.

Context and motivation

Greece : Our school is a public school and has the aim from all sides’ development for our pupils. Our school is located on the mountains area of our region and just near the borders far from the capital city of Athens. We try to collaborate in European project and give the children and the teachers the possibility to open a window and look the world. We want give them the chance to feel the European family and don’t feel pupils at risk of social exclusion.

Estonia : Our school is the only catholic school in Estonia where are pupils from different Christian confessions and as well pupils with non-religious background. Our school is active in integrating new immigrants and we are also opened for pupils with special needs. We want to have for our pupils and teachers authentic experience of closeness between different nations.

Lithuania : Our school is far from the city centre, in the isolated and uncomfortable area. A school is like a small cultural centre here. There are pupils with special need and some which are of the risk group (20) . Our social worker takes care about the families and pupils who have got social problems, helps to solve them. As there are not many teachers and students relationship between them is rather nice.

Italy : Our School is located in Marsiconuovo in a rural area of Basilicata region. It is a primary and secondary school of second grade. We have 7 disabled children with different kind of problems.

Turkey : Our school is a public school located in  "Koyundere" in Menemen- a small town in Izmir city in the Aegean Region. Most of the residents in Koyundere are from villages in East Anatolia Region. They have big families but earn little. Their children were born in Menemen and they have difficulty in adapting to life in Izmir and so have social problems. We want to give our pupils the chance to have a global outlook and know different cultures.

Germany : Our school is a Private Secondary Modern School located in Nottuln. We expect to gain more experience as far as international communication and cooperation are concerned, in order to offer our pupils a more interesting way of learning foreign languages and of learning mutual tolerance.

In general :Each one of the schools agrees and wants to take part from this project because we strongly belive that the values we are furthering in our project are reflecting values of our school. We value cultural heritage in all of its forms and at the same time we want to study and understand other cultures. We expect our pupils to see Europe as a bridge that connects us all no matter what we belive in or where we come from. We want our pupils to see that every difference makes the world richer and experience that studing from cultural heritage makes possible to create new values to our world.

Objectives of the partnership

· We want to know more about E.U. starting from the very beginning. What is Europe? Where does it start from? What does it consist of? What is European culture and how it has developed? We are trying to find out more about European identity by discovering its cultural heritage. Is there something common in the national art, handicraft, music, fairytales and dances of regions of Europe with very different history and nature? What are the common motives that unite us and what are the differences that make each tradition unique?

· We are going to find out some of those answers with workshops and other methods of active learning.

· People who live all around the world are different so it would be interesting to take a look at the development of these countries in historical, cultural, artistically aspects. As well to analyze the influence of modern technologies on culture, language, communication and relationship, to look at the art styles especially if they are close – knit to con temporary cultural life.

· Making friends among the participant groups and also the pupils and the teachers conscious of their own and other cultural richness.

· Seeing that Europe is not something abstract, far and strange, but concrete, describable and worth exploring

· Seeing that Europe, as we know it, is based on a continuous culture tradition which roots are pre-historic, stem is solid and crown is constantly developing.

· Studying facts, knowledge and skills of the cultural heritage of the areas of partner groups and sharing the cultural heritage of their own.

·Valuating cultural heritage of different areas as an inevitable part of regional identity.

·Valuating cultural identity of their homeland

·Seeing that culture is a phenomenon what is beyond borders, limits, languages and individual abilities.

·Developing a tradition in our school to have events and workshops where different fields of cultural heritage and national traditions (dances, handicraft, art, historical events, kitchen etc.) all over Europe are introduced.

Partnership and distribution of tasks

· The coordinating institution has to plan and prepare all about the project with specific schedule.

· Staying in our specific plan, in often communication and contact between us (at least once per week),

· Often evaluation and reports between us, to follow the progress of the partnership and carry out the activities step by step.

· At last has to provide the cooperation amongst the partners and relevant participants and to lead the partnership up to final report.

· The partner schools have to plan and prepare the project, to follow the project plan and carry out activities in their own schools cooperating with the other partners.

·  In our meetings each school which has to organize a meeting, will get from the coordinator a plan with the aims 1 month before, and will be responsible to prepare the meeting and be successful.

· The teachers in each school, the pupils and also the associated partners will prepare all the materials for a better collaboration.

·  The website of each school should be informed after an event (activity, meeting, teacher exchange etc.)

Cooperation and communication

Every school will collect the information and introduce it to other participants which take part in this project. During the meetings and the teacher exchanges we should solve problems which are closely connected with language and the tasks we should do. We will contact using internet (skype, e-mails, msn messenger, letters exchanges, creating website, material exchanges phone calls and also meetings to discuss the course of the project.

 European added value

· Pupils - pupils will get to know more about EU and its cultural heritage. They can see that being active means more possibilities to learn different skills and knowledge. They see that when they know who they are and value their own national culture, it’s easier for them to value and be interested in different or foreign perspectives and cultures. Also they will experience intercultural cooperation and communication, which may help them to find a new perspective for plans for the future

· Teachers - teachers will have a new experience working with the children from different countries and cultures. They will know more about the education around E.U. and they can use their new knowledge and experience in their every-day work.

· Institutions - Comenius program is a new experience to our school. Our school will establish a tradition of learning more about different cultures of Europe. Every month we will introduce some aspect of some tradition or culture. Also we will get an experience of formal intercultural education and cooperation. By attending this program we will be a part of the big and rich European educational and cultural system.

· This awareness, understanding, acceptance and appreciation of differences and similarities, we believe, are the core of European cooperation.

Relevance for the objectives of the programme

To improve the quality and to increase the volume of mobility involving pupils and educational staff in different Member States. To improve the quality and to increase the volume of partnerships between schools in different Member States, so as to involve at least 3 million pupils in joint educational activities during the period of the program. To encourage the learning of modern foreign languages. To enhance the quality and European dimension of teacher training.

Contribution to the european priorities set out in the call for proposals

We want our pupils to realize that discovering, creating and studying are values what are not limited with material possibilities. Our project is focused on different forms of creativity. As they have to create music, texts and performances as well as ceramics, woodwork and metalwork, a good around off innovative methods will be formed.

 Evaluation

After each meeting we have to write a report of evaluation to look for if the targets are realized and the proposals will be continued for the project.  With our final product at the end of our project, website, DVD, album with all the activities in each school, and the meetings and also the teacher exchanges too. Publishing in local Newspapers.

Active involvement

We want our project to be opened to everybody in our school willing to organize phase. Every new idea is welcomed especially when it comes from pupils.  We will let to express and we will listen to pupils’ ideas, offers, remarks and according to it the conclusions, changes will be made. We will try to show as many as possible authentic pupils’ works. Through blog/website, online conferencing, email exchanges, all staff will be involved in the project activities.

Integration into learning and/or other ongoing activities

As the project reflects the mission of our schools, it will be integrated into curriculum through different classes (literature, nature studies, history, religion, social studies, foreign languages, morning circles etc). The activities will be reflected in school’s and teachers’ yearly working-plans.

Dissemination and use of results

Our pupils will make a home-page of the project. The description of the project will also be shown on school’s homepage and published in local newspaper and radio. Parents of children will be informed through different mediums (meetings, individual conversations). From the results of the project will be made an exhibition and stand. 

Topics

Cultural heritage - European citizenship and European dimension - Learning about European countries

Educational fields

Music- History - Geography