D. Description of the Project

 

We consider that this project will help all participants to open and extend the horizons of contact and communication with individuals and groups from many different countries. The schools would also like to promote an understanding of a world beyond local communities, giving a real European dimension to our existence. The partners will have the opportunity to come closer and learn from different cultures, appreciating the differences and similarities of each country, school and local environment. Our hope is to exchange significant experiences and accept cultural and linguistic differences. Pupils and staff will also have the chance to develop the European and wider dimension with the cooperation of the specific eight partner schools from all parts of Europe, through knowledge-learning of local festivals, music/drama, geography, history and culture and in general through topics referring to the countries of the participant schools. In the longer term, our schools would look for pupils reaping the rewards of good school experience that become the basis of a successful secondary level education.

 

Our project is innovative and complementary to other projects already carried out in various ways:

-We think that the idea of cultural education itself with all the related themes, that our project promotes, already favors the development of certain aspects on intercultural education and equality of opportunities in education without giving attention to racial origin of individuals. This can easily be explained with this project because it’s consisted from European partners coming from every part of our continent, north, south, east, west and center with different cultures, history and background. All of us will work together with same tasks and come closer to each other helping the idea of fighting against racism and xenophobia.

-Based on the fact that our Scottish partner school is a S.E.N school and also that some pupils of the coordinating school and of other partner schools, are pupils with special educational needs, we created the conditions that these children will work together with the rest pupils because our project is based on simple subjects which can be worked easily. They can draw, paint, add photos and collect material for the book of traditions or information for the class magazine with their teachers or parents help.

-All subjects chosen for elaboration from all partners are ensuring equal opportunities for participation of female and male pupils and staff. It’s more a matter of talent when someone is working in a task than of its gender.

-Our project is facilitating the participation of disadvantaged pupils for socio-economic reasons by offering them all the materials from the schools to work and finish the tasks that have been given to them. It’s necessary to make them feel very important for the success of the project.

-Concerning disabled pupils, this project facilitates their participation and encourage it. These children can offer as much as the rest children that don’t have this problem. All partners agreed that a convenient way to motivate their participation, is the use of the new technologies, DVD’s, CD’s, handicraft and musical instruments. We even try to choose disabled children to take part because their creativity helps them to forget the disability and makes them feel successful by the works they produce and this leads them to the community.

-Considering the fact that more or less all partner schools have pupils that come from ethnic and other minority groups and we all know the emigration problem that exists in Europe, we enhance the participation of these kind of pupils. With no doubt they are part of our community, so we look after their participation and contribution to almost every subject of this project. They create together with rest of pupils and feel equal with a very positive effect to their embodiment in our community.

 

During the partner finding process, we followed several ways. The fact that the coordinator of the project has already carried out similar projects with different schools, having also conducts through e Twinning projects and in service training courses, favored the advantage of inviting some of them for a new partnership. 

Invitation mails were also sent to specific schools in different countries through Schools Online and some were accepted. 

One of the essential criteria of choosing this project partners was that the countries should have very rich cultures because the project’s theme and all activities are about European cultures and local traditions.

After defining the project theme, related with cultures, with all members of the new group and after discussing about some certain common points before the project, we formed the desired team and started working together. 

We also managed to form a team regarding the ages of students and this creates a convenient platform to conduct common activities.

Another important element for the desired success of the partnership is that we formed a large team of partner schools from all parts of Europe, north, south, east, west and central, improving the quality and increasing the volume of partnerships between schools in different Member States.

Also, in the partnership there are partners that are experienced in European projects and partners that haven’t been involved before in a similar project and this fact gives us an opportunity to learn from each other and to share educational, cultural, pedagogical and linguistic savings and knowledge. It is also a good way to enhance the integration among the partners. 

All partners involved will bring very important contributions to our partnership attending the activities during mutual meetings and other ways. As we are a crowded team, it will be easy to share the works and there will be rich cultural and colorful shows in the activities.

 

Cooperation and communication among all partners will be ensured by permanent, constructive and efficient ways and methods. As all participating schools are connected to Internet, communication is facilitated by e-mail or video supported communication tools like 'Skype'. The project coordinator will realize a group of email addresses, serving to an efficient communication between the project managers of each country, and also between the project teams in each country. By this way the coordinator will lead the process and will follow the steps controlling all partners.

Creation of a closed Internet space such as e-twinning will be used to communicate safely between the partner schools and of a central Website that will play a vital role. 

We intent to use them as a vehicle of communication between the pupils of the schools involved, so they can follow each other’s work as well as using them as a means of direct communication.

Exchange of ideas, suggestions regarding the project activities, methods, strategies of realizing these activities, the rich documentation on the partner countries educational systems which take into account the particularities of each country will be possible due to this email communication, that favors mutual learning during the whole duration of the project and afterwards, since the group of addresses will stay active after the completion of the project as well.

During the project meetings the partners will share their experiences and define and distribute equally the kind of work that the partners are going to conduct. The periods between the project meetings will be used to accomplish the programmed targets and the results.

During the trans-national project meetings, we will perform programmed project activities within a schedule or plan. We will take the partners’ capacities and facilities into accounts while making a work plan for meetings as well. Probably there will be 2 or 3 meetings in each project year and all partners will attend them. There will be teachers, head teachers and if possible, local school authorities in the attending group. They will be guiding and monitoring our students who will be the real participants. Since the project activities will be focused on students, they will be actively involved during the whole duration of the project, from its elaboration to its evaluation. 

Of course, parents, local communities and local school authorities will join the activities as a part of collaboration.

 

What are the most relevant priorities addressed by your project?

 

Improving the attainment of young people, particularly those at risk of early school leaving

Promoting young people's social inclusion and well-being

 

What are the most relevant topics addressed by your project?

 

Creativity and culture

Early School Leaving / combating failure in education

International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

 

What results are expected during the project and on its completion?

 

                                           1st Project Year 2014-15

1. September- A common website and home pages of each participating school.

2. October- DVD’s,  CD’s and photos from the presentation of the Greek local culture with traditional songs, dances, music and cooking, during the 1st project meeting in Greece.

3. November- A logo of the partnership related with the theme of the project. 

4. December- DVD’s on the schools, teachers and pupils, who participate in the project.

5. January-February. DVD’s on the hometown, region and country of each partner.

6. March-April. “A year of tradition” book- Spring and summer celebrations and traditions.

7. April- DVD’s, CD’s and photos from the presentation of the Spanish  local cultures with traditional songs, dances, music and cooking, during the 2nd P.M. in Spain.

8. May- DVD’s, CD’s and photos from the presentation of the Spanish  local cultures with traditional songs, dances, music and cooking, during the 3rd P.M. in Portugal.                          

                                

                                         2nd Project Year 2015-16

1. September-October. Vocabularies of familiar words-phrases in all partner languages.

2. October- DVD’s, CD’s and photos from the presentation of the Lithuanian local culture with traditional songs, dances, music and cooking, during the 4th P.M. in Lithuania.

3. November-December. “A year of tradition” book-Autumn and winter celebrations and traditions.

4. December-January.  CD from each partner school with a short local traditional song and music.

5. February-April. A calendar of years 2016-17 with the title and logo of the project, a European flag, countries names and flags.

7. May- DVD’s, CD’s and photos from the presentation of the Scottish local culture with traditional songs, dances, music and cooking, during the 5th P.M. in Scotland.

8. June-Exhibition of 1st and 2nd year products.

                                   

                                           3rd Project Year 2016-17

1. October- DVD’s, CD’s and photos from the presentation of the French local culture with traditional songs, dances, music and cooking, during the 6th P.M. in France.

2. November-January. Cookery book with traditional recipes from all partner countries.

3. February- DVD of local traditional dance from all partners.

4. March-Photo exhibitions in each school with the architectural symbols and heritages of the local neighborhood of partner countries. Making slides for the common e-platforms

5. April- DVD’s, CD’s and photos from the presentation of the Polish local culture with traditional songs, dances, music and cooking, during the 7th P.M. in Poland.

6. May-  DVD’s, CD’s and photos from the presentation of the Turkish local culture with traditional songs, dances, music and cooking, during the 8th and final P.M. in Turkey.

7. June-Final exhibition of all year products.