ITCG Fermi - Pontedera - Multilateral Comenius

The final Meeting in Ostrowiec - Poland 31st May - 6th June

2010-10-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

Si è concluso a Ostrowiec, in Polonia, il progetto Comenius multilaterale dell’ITCG “Enrico Fermi”. Studenti e insegnanti di nove scuole superiori europee si sono incontrati per lavorare sul tema “The Influence of Cultural Environment on the Development of a Young Person”. Il progetto, iniziato nel novembre 2008 a Kato Achaia, in Grecia, è proseguito con i meeting in Turchia, Portogallo, Italia e Repubblica Ceca.

Due studenti della classe 2AL, Andrea Guiggi e Lorenzo Nuti, accompagnati dalle professoresse Luisella Mori e Mariliana Salvini, hanno trascorso una settimana presso il Liceum Ogólnokształcące nr III im. Wł. Broniewskiego, dove hanno lavorato con gli studenti delle scuole partner recitando alcune scene di vita familiare ambientate nei vari paesi europei e proponendo un’ipotetica campagna elettorale rivolta ai giovani da parte di un candidato sindaco.

Il progetto, di durata biennale, è stato molto apprezzato dagli studenti e dalle famiglie perché ha permesso di migliorare la qualità dell'apprendimento dell’inglese e di favorire l’uso delle nuove tecnologie nella didattica, nonché di promuovere la tolleranza e la comprensione reciproca fra persone di diversa provenienza linguistica e socio-culturale e di ridurre gli stereotipi, contribuendo a creare cittadini europei aperti alle altre culture.

RELAZIONE SULL'ESPERIENZA DEL VIAGGIO DI STUDIO IN REPUBBLICA CECA NELL'AMBITO DEL PROGETTO COMENIUS a cura del Prof. Giovanni Fascetti

2010-05-15T14:47:00.000-07:00

COMENIUS E' UN BRAVO INSEGNANTE – Abbiamo avuto l'opportunità di vivere una esperienza formativa di grande rilievo che ha permesso di incorciare le conoscenze personali con quelle dei colleghi di altri paesi, l'opportunità di conoscere direttamente il territorio, la cultura della Repubblica Ceca, la situazione politica, economica, sociale di questo Stato. Nel corso del viaggio, attraverso l'esercizio continuo della lingua inglese ed il confronto tra le lingue dei partecipanti: portoghesi, tedeschi, polacchi, rumeni, lituani, greci, turchi, abbiamo ampliato le nostre conoscenze linguistiche.
Si può dunque affermare che questo progetto, se per gli studenti coinvolti rappresenta senz'altro uno dei più efficaci strumenti di crescita culturale e di incontro con l'idea di un'Europa veramente unita, pur nelle diversità linguistiche e culturali, per gli insegnanti rappresenta uno strumento di formazione, aggiornamento e approfondimento fra i migliori che si abbiano a disposizione.

IMPARARE GIOCANDO – L'esperienza si configura come una scuola full time che coinvolge pienamente i singoli partecipanti nei suoi workshop, nelle visite a musei, città, monumenti, centri di ricerca, industrie, laboratori artigiani. Sapersi comportare in ogni occasione, sapere cosa dire, lavorare insieme, mettere in comune le proprie conoscenze... il tutto, in un progetto come questo, avviene senza che i partecipanti avvertano alcuna fatica perché stimolati da una situazione appassionante.. come il gioco.
Comenius quindi, dal punto di vista formativo e pedagogico, verifica appieno la validità di quella antica intuizione di Tommaso Campanella che vedeva in questa strategia educativa uno strumento veramente efficace di apprendimento e di crescita.

L'EUROPA UNITA – per comunità si intende un gruppo di persone che siano intimamente legate da reciproci vincoli di amicizia e di scambio intellettuale. I soggetti coinvolti in questo progetto: studenti, docenti famiglie di diversi paesi,
stabiliscono dei legami forti che hanno una loro vita al di là dell'incontro e che fanno desiderare altri incontri, altre esperienze.
Comenius è dunque un ottimo strumento per contribuire alla costruzione di una comunità europea di persone.

IL VIAGGIO E LA CONOSCENZA - Pacov è una cittadina della Boemia. Pacov, come tutte le città ceche è composta di una parte vecchia/nuova e di una parte nuova/vecchia. La parte vecchia/nuova rappresenta il centro “naturale” sorto spontaneamente e rinnovatosi nei secoli nell'area più strategica dal punto di vista economico e sociale: ovvero lungo una via importante di collegamento, intorno alla piazza utilizzata per gli scambi commerciali e, al contempo, alveo dei rapporti sociali della famiglie e delle strutture istituzionali: chiesa/comune etc.
Questa parte storica nelle città ceche era stata in gran parte abbandonata per far nascere i centri nuovi costituiti dai pannellak, palazzi costruiti con pannelli di cemento, dove le famiglie avrebbero vissuto il mondo nuovo costruito dal comunismo, perdendo il contatto con le proprie radici storiche, dimenticando la realtà sociale stratificata di un tempo sottolineata anche dalla diversità degli edifici che ospitavano le famiglie dei diversi livelli sociali, per far vivere i cittadini in una realtà finalmente egualitaria.
Oggi questi centri storici tornano ad essere il cuore pulsante della città mentre i pannellak spesso ospitano le famiglie di etnia e cultura zingara che, un tempo, il regime aveva forzatamente costretto a risiedere nei centri vecchi per sopprimere la cultura nomade e accelerare il degrado dei centri storici.

IL GINNASIO DI PACOV – La nuova scuola si mostra ben organizzata negli spazi interni, estremamente pulita, attrezzata di tutto ciò che può servire nei diversi laboratori. Ordine, pulizia, disciplina sono frutto non di una rigida azione disciplinare messa in atto dalla direzione, ma il frutto del comportamento spontaneo degli allievi, dei docenti, del personale amministrativo e di supporto.
Gli allievi che arrivano a scuola, abbandonano negli spogliatoi giacche e borse, indossano, come avviene comunemente nelle rispettive case, le ciabattine, vivono in una dimensione familiare, come se la scuola fosse la loro casa e gli altri, compagni e docenti, un'altra famiglia con la quale è piacevole vivere e soprattutto lavorare.

LA REALTA' PRODUTTIVA AGRICOLA E INDUSTRIALE – La visita ad una azienda agricola di Pacov, con un grande allevamento di mucche e la produzione di latte (stalle e laboratori sono automatizzati) e con una attenzione particolare per l'ecologia ha dato un'idea dell'impegno forte lo sviluppo di un'agricoltura verde che caratterizza la Repubblica Ceca.
La visita al Birrificio Bernard nella cittadina di Humpolec ha confermato come la via per lo sviluppo economico, scelta dalla Repubblica Ceca, sia quella del prodotto tipico tradizionale e dell'impiegio delle più moderne tecnologie e di ua forte azione di marketing per potenziarne produttività e qualità.

ORGOGLIO DI UNA EREDITA' CULTURALE DI IDENTITA' – L'Europa, in epoca nella quale sembra prevalere un processo di globalizzazione, difende le peculiarità culturali dei suoi popoli. Il popolo ceco è estremamente orgoglioso delle sue peculiarità culturali e delle radici storiche dalle quali queste sono originate. Lo spirito esemplato dai versi altissimi della Canzone della Moldava o, in un registro più basso, nell'invezione del Buon Soldato Svejk sono stati presentati in ogni occasione e soprattutto nel corso della visita a Tabor, città egualitaria fondata dagli Hussiti. Tabor è la città simbolo dell'alto livello di cultura, progresso e libertà di pensiero che ha caratterizzato per secoli il popolo ceco.

L'INDUSTRIA TURISTICA – La visita a Cesky Krumlov è stata l'occasione per toccare con mano l'intraprendeza di un popolo che è riuscito a risollevarsi da uno stato di profonda povertà riuscendo a far rinascere le sue città, puntando sul Patrimonio materiale e immateriale come risorso chiave per lo vìsviluppo economico.
Un impegno che è stato premiato dall'UNESCO che ha incluso nella Lista del Patrimonio molte città ceche tra le quali anche l'affascinante Cesky Krumlov.
Questo visita mi ha offerto l'occasione di spiegare al gruppo che cosa sia l'UNESCO, quale sia la sua struttura, quali i suoi interventi nel mondo, quali gli ideali che propugna, sguendo l'impegno alla divulgazione della conoscenza di questa Agenzia e dei suoi ideali che ho assunto, ormai da molti anni, in qualità di Presidente del Club UNESCO di Lucca e fondatore di molti Club UNESCO in Italia come il Club UNESCO di Pisa.

PRAGA – La visita a Praga ha offerto l'opportunità di cogliere, in modo ben definito, la vera essenza di questa nazione. La Repubblica Ceca è senz'altro il Cuore dell'Europa, qui si incontrano, si riassumono, la storia e le diversità culturali del continente: ebraismo, cattolicesimo, protestantesimo, cultura slava, cultura tedesca, influssi mediterranei, qui tutto è presente e tutto si fonde.

The final Meeting: Poland 31st May - 6th June

2010-05-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

What are we doing in Poland?

Monday 31.05.2010

10.00 – 12.00 – visit in the office of the local government

12.30 – 13.00 – welcome meeting at school; walk around the school; performance of the school dance group

13.30 – 14.00 – lunch

14.00 – 16.00 – rehearsal of the play ‘ Scenes from a family life’

16.00 -18.00 – tour around the town

Tuesday 01.06.2010

11.00 -12.30 – evaluation of the project in the presence of invited guests ( parents, students, representatives of the local government )

Every country must show its play ‘Scenes from a family life ‘ performed by the students participating in this project.

12.30 – 13.30 – lunch

14.00 – 21.00 – trip to Krzemionki (a flint mine and a museum) and to Bałtów ( Jurassic Park)

Some regional food prepared on the fire

Wednesday 02.06.2010

9.00 -12.30 – presentations, evaluation, final remarks

12.30 -13.00 – lunch

13.00 -17.00 – trip to Ćmielów ( the factory of china)

20.00 - the fancy ball party

Thursday 03.06.2010

8.00 -18.00 – trip to Majdanek ( concentration camp ) and Lublin ( visiting the Old Town )

Friday 04.06.2010

8.00 – 20.00 – trip to Raj Cave and Kielce ( capital of our province ) and the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (the oldest in Europe but not very high )

Saturday 05.06.2010

8.00 – 21.00 – leaving for Warsaw - sightseeing

Calendar of Traditional Festivals - 9 countries

2010-05-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

Christmas in Poland

2010-05-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

Christmas in Romania

2010-05-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

Christmas in Lithuania

2010-05-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

Christmas in Portugal

2010-05-15T14:32:00.000-07:00

Christmas in Germany

2010-05-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

Christmas in Turkey

2010-05-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

Christmas in Greece

2010-05-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

Christmas in the Czech Republic

2010-05-15T14:26:00.000-07:00

Christmas in Italy

2010-05-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

Painting Festivals, expressing feelings

2010-05-15T13:55:00.001-07:00

St. Nicholas at school

2010-05-15T13:54:00.001-07:00

Workshop about traditional festivals

2010-05-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

Results of the Czech Republic Meeting: Christmas in 9 countries

2010-05-15T13:37:00.001-07:00

Lucka, Mustafa, Dilara, Kristina, Valentina, Guilia, Kamila Konstantin, Margit, Diana, Lavinia, Kleidi

1. When do you celebrate Christmas?

How do you decorate your house and tree at Christmas?

2. Who do you invite for Christmas dinner?

How many people are there?

3. Is there a custom to get presents for Christmas ?

Poland	24 – Christmas Eve 25-26 – Christmas Days Lights, xmas tree with balls, star on the top of the tree and other shiny things	Family and friends about 15-20	“Santa Claus”
CR	24^th December dinner and unpacking presents At home – bake biscuits, holly, Xmas tree with stars and colorful balls, mistletoe	Family About 2-10 people	Ježíšek
Germany	24^th December Tree: light- and colourd chains , coloured balls, star on top House: candles, cookies, small statues, mistletoe	Only family	Santa Claus
Lithuania	24 – Christmas Eve 25-26 – Christmas Days Lights, xmas tree with balls,star on the top of the tree and other shiny things	Family, people who are alone 10 people	Santa Claus
Romania	24^th –Christmas Eve 25^th x-mas the house is decorated with candles and tree with shiny balls and and coloured chains	Family, close friends About 10 people	Santa Claus
Portugal	24 – Christmas Eve 25- Christmas Days Lights, xmas tree with balls,star on the top of the tree and other shiny things and little statues of Jesus	Family, friends About 20 people	Santa Claus
Italy	24 – Christmas Eve 25- Christmas Days Lights, xmas tree with balls, star on the top of the tree and other shiny things	Family, friends About 10 people	Babbo natale
Greece	24 – Christmas Eve 25- Christmas Days Lights, xmas tree with balls, star on the top of the tree and shiny chains and other shiny things	Family friends About 10-15	Santa Claus
Turkey	31^st December xmas xmas tree is decorated with balls, star on the top of the tree and other shiny things	Family friends	Santa Claus

To sum up

§ Everyboy said “we have Santa Claus in our country” except the Czech Republic.

§ We all invite family, and somebody invites friends.

§ Lot of people have Christmas dinner on 24^th December, but they unpack presents on 25^th December. In the Czech Republic, we open gifts on 24^th December, after our dinner. In Turkey, they celebrate Xmas on 31^st December.

§ Everybody has got very similar decorations.

Results of the Czech Republic Meeting: Xmas Meals

2010-05-15T13:26:00.000-07:00

Terezka, Verča, Nadir, Adomas, Giada, Kinga, Beatrice, Raquel, Ana, Angelica, Camelia
1. What do you cook? What is there on your Christmas table?
2. Do you sing songs? Do you play music or do you listen to CDs?
3. Do you go to church at Christmas? Does Christmas have a religious meaning or is it just a family celebration?

Poland
Pierogi with mushrooms, kutia
Yes
Yes, we go to church at midnight.

Czech Republic
Fish with potato salad, Christmas sweets, fish soup
Yes, we listen to CDs and we play on instruments
We go to church at midnight too. It is the most important celebration in the year.

Germany
Potatoes and meat, it is different in every family
Yes, we listen to music and children play instruments
We go to church or we stay at home.

Lithuania
12 dishes but no meat
Yes, we listen to music (CD), we play instruments
We don’t go to church.

Romania
Sarmale, mamaliga, carnati, cozonac and salad
We listen to CDs
We go to church.

Portugal
Codfish and potatoes, salad, eggs and Christmas sweets
We don´t listen to CDs.
We go to church at midnight and Christmas means the birth of Jesus and it is the most important

Italy
Lasagne, pasta and meat and Christmas sweets
We don´t listen to CDs.
We go to church. It is important and it has a religious meaning

Turkey
Soups salads fish and chicken
Yes listen to music on CDs.
We go to parties and we go on holiday.

1-Every country has different dishes.
2-Almost all the countries listen to music (CDs) with the exception of Portugal and Italy.
3-Almost all the countries go to church with the exception of Lithuania and Turkey.

Giulia's Diary of the Czech Republic Meeting

2010-05-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning 29th November my friends Valentina, Giada and I met teacher Giovanni Fascetti at the airport and together took the plane to go to the Czech Republic.
We went there thanks to the “Comenius project” .
We were very excited!
We arrived at Prague airport in the afternoon and there the project’s teachers and students from other countries were waiting for us. All together we went to Pacov, where our hosting families lived. We met the families and went home for accommodation and dinner. My hosting family was very nice and pleasing. It was composed by four people: mother, father, a child and my girl Michaela. That night I was very tired and I went to bed very soon.

30th November
We got up and went to school.
The teachers prepared an activity for us : workshop “Christmas in our Country” and we had to prepare a large sheet of paper and stick our photos that were connect to Christmas time(showing a decorated tree, typical clothes, dinner, customs..). Later we had to make a little exhibition to present it. We made friends with some Turkish boys.

When we finished, we visited the small village and we went to the A. Sova Museum, where we could learn about Pacov’s history.
In the afternoon we visited a big farm called “Selekta Pacov”. That farm produces: seeds of starch potatoes, chips and table potatoes, milk. It breeds milking cows. Later we went home for dinner and went back to school to see a film together.

1st December
On Tuesday we visited Tabor, a large historical town
near Pacov which was the first “democracy” in the CR.
With a guide round the town we saw the catacombs,
an old underground path system.
We went there by bus and during the trip my friends and I made friends with the students from the other countries. The Romanian girls were very funny and we spoke very much.
In the afternoon we went back to school for a workshop: we had to make a calendar of festivals in our country. After dinner Valentina, Giada and I went to a pub near the school with our hosting girls.

2nd December
On Wednesday we met at school and went to Hluboká to visit the castle.
The castle is very big and beautiful, but there were some embalmed animals. =(

Later we went to Český Krumlov, and visited that city.

We went back to Pacov and went home for dinner,but in the evening we went at a Party in the school. It was very nice!! =)

3rd December

In the morning we went to an English Lesson with the Czech students.
Later we visited the town of Humpolec and Bernard brewery. It’s really nice and later we drank Bernard’s beer, and it was very good!! =)

Valentina, Giada and I had lunch with the Polish girls. They were very funny and we
went to eat pizza together.

Later my friends and I visited the city by our-selves and took many photos.
At six o’ clock we stayed at school for the presentations of all the countries about “An unusual fest in my country”. Giada and I made a little presentation on the Epiphany and on Easter.
We had dinner with the family and later Valentina, the Czech girls and I went to the pub in Pacov.

4th December

The Czech Republic students celebrated St Nicholas at school, an usual celebration in their school. When we went to school, we made a workshop : we painted Christmas. Valentina, Giada and I had fun with the colors and our poster was beautiful… =)

When we finished celebrating St Nicholas, my friends and I took some photos with the
masked student.
In the afternoon we went to Pelhřimov, at the Museum of Records. It’s very interesting! =)

When we arrived in Pacov we had dinner with families, packed our suitcase and said goodbye to our hosting families because we left for Prague.
At the bus, some girls cried, Giada, too. We arrived at the hotel in Prague at ten o’ clock. Before going to bed, we went for a small tour round Prague. We were exhausted!!

5th December

We got up very early and went shopping. After lunch we had a guided tour round Prague, and we saw the Royal Route, Prague Castle, St. Vitas Cathedral, the Golden Lane, the Lesser Town, St. Nicholas Church. We took many photos at Charles Bridge because there was a good sight!! =)

We loved the Old Town Square where we can see the beautiful clock.

We went out for dinner and later Valentina, Giada and I, with the teacher went to the disco “Le Pantere”, near the hotel. It was very nice! =)

6th December

In the morning my friends and I said goodbye to the students from other countries.
Later we did a last tour round Prague, and we went to a typical Czech market.
And shopping, shopping, shopping!!

After lunch we went to the airport and returned to Italy.
When I arrived home I was really exhausted!! But I was very happy because I could tell my family about my experience at and all thanks to Comenius Project. =)

Giada's diary of the Czech Republic Meeting

2010-02-26T09:28:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, my school gave us a very interesting opportunity; we did a fantastic trip to the Czech Republic (Paccov and Prague). The tour started on the 29^th November till the 6^th December. I was with Valentina Cottini and Giulia Balestracci. We travelled by plane, from Pisa to Munich and from Munich to Prague. Than we travelled by bus to the little village, called Paccov where there were the all Czech guys who were waiting for us. On the bus we met the other foreign students. There were students from Germany, Romania, Portugal, Greece, Lithuania, Turkey and Poland besides us Italian students.

After arriving in Paccov, we met the girls who were going to host us, I was in Lucka’s house (Lucy) I already knew her, because she came to Italy last September, in my house! Lucy is a very nice girl, friendly and cute. She’s 18, she’s got curly dark brown hair, brown eyes and she is thin. We loved each other! Her house was very cute, like her family, she has a younger sister too, Daniela =)

The day after, we started going to school, it was a big Gymnasium school. Every morning we did some activity with the other students at school, for instance presentations about our country, our own festivities, our hobbies, etc.

In the afternoon we often went to some of the famous places near Pacov, a salt mine, a silver mine etc.

But the most interesting part of the day was at night, when we always went out at school, where there were a little disco, so every night we danced with our friends. It was very funny.

On the last 2 days of the trip, we stayed in Prague, in an hotel, only with the other foreign students, not the Czech guys. We visited Prague, it is a very nice city, with a lot of monuments and funny things! I liked it very much!

Conclusion, it has been a beautiful experience, we made a lot of beautiful relations ships, and we’ll never forget those people, and this wonderful trip. Now I’m waiting for the trip to France, I hope it will be a beautiful experience too.

Lucka Dušková'diary

2009-11-13T12:31:00.000-08:00

It was on 26th September and we got on a plane. I was extremely looking forward to getting experience from this journey. What experience and where did we go?
Gymnazium Pacov as a participant of a Comenius project and because I won a competition - My ideal future family – I became a member of a meeting in Italy. I went there with my schoolmate Michaela Plzakova and of course the coordinator of the project in our school Blanka Vondrasova. The name of the meeting was: „How young people spend their free time“. We involved all possible and impossible aspects to show how our schoolmates spend their leisure time.
As soon as we got to Rome and then to Pontedera we were accommodated in hosting families. The name of my family was Dal Canto and Misa stayed at the Fagiolini´s family. The first meet with foreign English wasn´t easy but soon I realized that sometimes it is also difficult to find some Czech equivalents, too . And thanks to great English of my Italian family I learned a lot of new information about this country, culture, customs and the life style.
Each meeting is connected with sightseeing and so was this one. The first day we saw The Leaning Tower in Pizza. In nearby cathedral and also baptistery there we could feel some really ethereal effect. In the afternoon we went to Luca, historical town with amphitheatre, St. Martin doom, St. Michele church or the birth house of Giacomo Puccini.
The second day we were welcomed by the headmistress of I.T.C.G. Fermi School and later on invited to a Vespa Museum where a welcoming by member of local government took place. In the afternoon we worked. Most of the coming countries showed their presentations -„How young people spend their free time“ (Greece, Poland, Lithuania, Romania and Turkey). The evening we spend in a table tennis bar with some Italian students.
The third day we were taken to Siena. I liked best the Piazza del Campo square. Horse riding competition takes place here every year. In the evening we got to San Gimignano, a medieval town. This town I like best of all. When we looked round we could still feel like in the Middle Ages.
Next day was devoted to Florence. It is a town of art and therefore of galleries, too. The first gallery wasn’t my cup of tea despite the fact there were displayed masterpieces of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti. But the Gallerie dell’Accademia was more interesting for us - statue of David, photo exhibition, …
And the last day in Pontedera started with our presentation of „How young people spend their free time“. The presentation consisted of two parts. The first one – a photo book – showed free time activities of me, Michaela and our schoolmates in pictures and I accompanied it with my explanation. The second part was a “brochure” explained by Michaela. It showed the most interesting activities of us and mainly the meeting with Lukáš Vlček, called– "The breakfast with our mayor”. During this meeting we, students of Gymnazium Pacov, discussed all the interesting activities that happened in our town and also the activities which we would like to have here. I think we surprised all the others participants of appointment in Italy by our originality and creativity in solution of our needs. We handed out both our books to main participants in Pontedera. And I am sure that our work was one of the best.
This week in Italy brought me not only development in English and finding out new interesting places but also new friends who I´m in touch with. My host family welcomed me to Italy any time I´d like to. This year my Italian student Giada Del Canto and also Michaela´s friend Giulia Balestracci are coming to Pacov to visit us. It is because the next meeting is taking part in our town Pacov at the end of November. We help in organizing it and look forward to having here all the participants from 8 European countries very much.

Michal's diary of his stay in Italy

2009-11-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Bologne on Saturday. We got on the minibus and set off for Pontedera. When we reached Pontedera a very nice family welcomed us. Everybody was happy and smiling which is rather a not a common sight in Poland. Although it was quite late they were full of energy having the time of their life. When I got into the car with my new friend Max we quickly started to talk on the way home. We went through the town and they showed me some things there. On arriving home I was welcomed by Max’s mother- a very kind and energetic woman. I looked around the house – everything seemed to be the same as in Poland, still I had a strange feeling that life had a different pace there. Time passes slowly and the people are kind and not as busy as in Poland. They have enough time for everything.
Next morning we were to go to Pisa. When I got on the bus I met some Turkish students and quickly made friends with them. The German girls were sitting behind me. They didn’t smile and I couldn’t work them out. But after some time they turned out to be cool – they were so serious because they didn’t know anybody there. We started to ask questions: where are you from ? what are your hobbies ? and so on. While talking we got some information about each country, for example we knew that the Greek students went to their own farm to pick olives just after finishing school. They also help their families to produce olive oil. They don’t have much time for learning. But the Turkish students have a very fine life – there isn’t any obligation, they just do what they feel like doing. The German students are very strict, everything must be planned. And finally we reached Pisa. Now I am sitting and looking at some pictures from Italy. I would like the same students to come to Poland but if others come it will be fine ,too.

Michał Skit

Katrin's diary about her stay in Pontedera

2009-10-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

I lived with a very nice and friendly family. There were the parents and an eighteen years old daughter. I did really feel at home and comfortable there because I got a really warm hearted welcome and they always fulfilled my wishes.

Their house was basically like our houses in Bocholt – I had not expected that this would be the case.

It was a bit a pity that the parents did not speak English. However this is the same in Germany: many people in the older generation are not able to speak English.

I experienced the family as very family oriented, beause we always spent the evenings together. This was one big difference to Germany.

They served a big dinner in the evening at about 20:30. We had first course, main course and fruit or desert. We in Germany have only bread for evening meal and that at about 19:00.

Breakfast was also unusual for me because they had cake ad cookies for breakfast. I did not like that for breakfast and so they gave me normal bread.

On the whole it is really difficult to say what was typically Italian in this family. Maybe I did not spend enough time so see the typically Italian things because I did not spend so much time in the family. I also saw the host student only in the morning and evening because she did not take part in the program of the visit. I thought this was really a pity.

Diary of my stay in Pontedera/Italy 26 September to 3 October 2009
By Katrin (German student):

Saturday:
We arrived in the evening and our host students came to take us to their home. Then she showed me my room and her family welcomed me. There was a family party so I also got to know her aunts, uncles and grandparents.
Some time later Elisa`s (my host student) friend came and we went to another party where I met her friends. It was in a hut in a forest and we ate their and played music. It was great fun.

Sunday:
We could sleep relatively long and then I had breakfast together with Elisa and then we went to the railway station to meet the other students. Together, but without the Italian students, we went to Pisa. There we had a guide who explained us many things. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is really leaning.
After that we had some time to walk through Pisa, but we were very tired, so we slept. Afterwards we went to Lucca by bus and there we also had time and we walked a little bit through the town and sat in a nice café.
In the evening I came home to my host family and we had dinner together . It took a long time and they eat very much in the evening.
After that we went into the village to meet some of her friends. We sat together with them and talked and had fun.

Monday:
On Monday we had to get up early and went with the bus to school. Then my host student had to go to her class and we went to the Aula Magna. There the headmistress welcomed us and the English-teacher translated it for us.
After that we went together to the Piaggio Museum and there we were welcomed by the mayor. Then we visited the Vespa museum and it was very interesting. After that we had free snack there and it was very delicious.
Then we went to the Easy Food Restaurant where we could eat lunch. After that we went back to school and some countries started to show there presentations.
Before we met our host students we went through Pontedera and saw the town. IN the evening I had again dinner with my host family and then we stayed at home, so Elisa could show me many pictures and I could also show her some.

Tuesday:
On Tuesday we went to Siena and there we visited a museum and a cathedral and afterwards we had time to walk through the town and do some shopping.
Then we went with the same guide to San Gimignano and there we sat in a nice café.
In the evening I went home to my host student and we went to Casciana and met her friends and had a nice evening.

Wednesday:
Today we went to Florence. It was a little bit confusing because we lost the others. Then we met them again and went together to the Uffizi: Afterwards we had time to go shopping and we found out that Florence is a really nice city. In the afternoon we met again and went to the Galleria dell`Accademia. Unfortunately we could not go there because one of our students felt ill. But all in all it was a nice day and it was worth it.
In the evening we went to the village again and also met her friends again.

Thursday:
In the morning we went to school to listen to the other presentations. After we finished we went to the gym and did some sports. Then there was a little free time left so we did a little bit shopping and ate the delicious ice-cream. In the afternoon we visited Vicopisano. Although we had bad weather it was a nice trip.
That was our last day were we were all together so in the evening we all went together to a pizza place and afterwards we went to a pub.

Friday:
That was our last day. Only a few students from some countries were left so we went to the seaside and we enjoyed a very nice day at the sea where we could go swimming or lying in the sun.
In the evening I went together with my host family to a pizza place where we ate together pizza and afterwards I went with my host student to a café in the village where I met her friends for the last time.

Gessica's Diary about her stay in Portugal and Sevilla

2009-06-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

Dear diary, I want to tell you about my fantastic experience in Portugal this year. I left for Portugal on 28th April with two teachers of mine and three school friends: Ilaria, Daria and Viola. I made this trip to take part in the project called “Comenius”; a project where you need to talk in English to interact with other guys of other European countries like: Greece, Turkey, Czech Republic, etc. In that week I made some friends and even today, I continue to hear them over the Internet. I’m very happy about it.
On the first day all the teachers and all of the guys, we went to visit some towns and a city called Lagos. It’s very beautiful. We visited some churches, gardens, parks… We walked a lot but it was really great! We took some pictures with the other guys and I enjoyed that day very much. In the evening, after dinner, I went out with the girl who hosted me there and she introduced me to some of her friends. We went to the beach that night, we had a drink and we talked a lot. I was very well with them. But at a certain time I was very tired and not only me, so we went back home to sleep.
On the second day, in the morning we went to school with the Portuguese students and we visited their school and the town where the school is. We stayed with them the whole day, as always, and we talked about everything. In the evening the Portuguese guys decided to take us to a dance show. That was really cool, the music was great and the dancers were nice!! We enjoyed it!
The following day we went to Spain with our Portuguese friends because we had a free morning. So we stayed there all the morning and for lunch too. I would have liked to stay there but in the afternoon we had to go to school for a presentation. Every European country had to present their work about the Comenius project. It was very funny. After this, we did a kind of game where we had to answer some questions about our life. It seemed boring, but it was interesting. In the evening we had to go back to school because we had the “final dinner”. That would be the last night there for the other countries. It was nice, there were dancers typical of that country too. After the dinner, some guys, me too, we went to a pub to say good-bye. It was very sad.
Finally, the last two days the girls that hosted us, Ilaria and me decided to go camping. I thought: Cool! But Ilaria and me stayed there just for one day because there were problems so we decided to go back to Vila Real, the town where there were our teachers and we decided to stay with them and go to the beach. Ilaria and me we were really happy about it.
Before leaving, we Italian students and our teachers went to Sevilla, in Spain. The best days!!  We visited the city, some churches and we walked a lot, but it was fantastic. Me and the other girls we had so much fun!... That was C O O L !!!
Now… I’m here in Italy, again! And I’m waiting for September, because in that month all the students from the other countries are coming to Italy and I’m very excited about it. I can’t wait! I want to see the guys again because they’re very nice and honestly I miss them. So… I’m waiting for September! Bye Bye diary… C u soon! : - )

Gessica!!

Ilaria's diary about her stay in Portugal

2009-06-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

Dear diary…

I wanted to write to tell you about my experience in Portugal.
On 28th with Gessica Daria and Viola we left from the airport of Pisa to Seville; in the same afternoon Margarida came to pick me up and took me to her house. We had dinner very late and after that I went to bed because I was tired.
In the morning, I woke up early, I had breakfast, we waited for her boyfriend and we went to school.
I met Gessica and Daria and we went to the library together.
In the evening I went to dinner at Filipa’s house. After dinner we went to a dance show!
On Thursday morning, we took the ferry and we went to Spain, we came back home for lunch, because at 3 o’clock we presented the work we had done, a video about “Our Ideal Family”.
On Friday morning, with Gessica and some Portuguese students, we went to camp on Tavira island.
On Saturday morning we called the teachers, because we didn’t like it and we went back to Vila Real. We went to the beach, in the evening we had dinner at a restaurant and we slept in a hotel.
On Sunday morning we went to the beach and in the afternoon we went to Seville; we visited the cathedral: IT’S FANTASTIC!
The next morning we visited Seville.
On Tuesday we went back home!!!
It was a fantastic experience…
I had fun!!!

2009-04-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

My Turkish Diary (by Giada)

2009-04-03T13:04:00.000-07:00

On March, the 15th, a wonderful experience started for me: the trip to Turkey!
The Comenius project allowed Joara, Alessio, Maria, Davide, Davide , Edoardo, and me to take part in this cultural exchange for one week.
The trip started from the airport of Florence, we had to take the airplane, it was my first time that I took the airplane and I was really afraid! Really, while I was climbing the stairs, I would have liked to get away from that place! But I couldn’t…the hostess led me to my seat and later, after 10 minutes, finally we took off to Zurich.
During the departure I was seated between the teacher Girlanda and Joara, but I saw very well what was happening out of the airplane! We were going very fast, and when the plane stood up from the ground I took the hand of Joara; and, yes, I think she was hurting ‘cause I was grasping her very strong XD
Arrived in Zurich, I was the happiest person in the world ‘cause finally I got out from that terrific plane! Later we took the second flight to Istanbul, and that was terrific too!
Arrived in Istanbul I met the girl that had to host me during the week, her name was Cansu and she was 18, she was a very nice girl, it has been easy to meet her because I knew her by the Internet, on Messenger.
When I met Cansu’s family I understood that it was really a united family, they were very welcoming and nice, there was always a nice athmosphere in her house.
With the other guys of the project there was a good friendship too, because we got on well together.
It has been a beautiful experience because I learnt a lot of things about the Turkish culture and I saw a lot of mosques, very beautiful mosques, and the most important thing is that I improved my English!
My stay there taught me that people from all over the world can enjoy themselves together and spend time in a funny way.

Our Turkish Team

2009-03-29T03:12:00.001-07:00

Alessio's Diary of his stay in Gelibolu

2009-03-29T03:08:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to Turkey, in Gelibolu… It was a beautiful week. The departure was from Florence Airport at 7.40 to Zurich… At about 9.30 we left and when we arrived at Zurich Airport we took another flight. I enjoyed it, except for the food which wasn’t very good.
When we arrived at Istanbul, we took the bus to go to our Turkish friends’ houses…
Once we got there, I met the parents. They were very friendly!! After the dinner we went to sleep.
I had a good night! The following day we went to school, like the next days, at 7 am. We listened to the presentation of the results of our questionnaire. We showed the pizza recipe, and the presentation of our house and our family. We listened to the presentations of the students of the other countries too. There were 9 countries: Italy, Turkey, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Greece, Romania, Portugal. The guys from these countries were very friendly. I loved them, especially the Greek and Lithuanian girls, who the other Italian students liked too. The following days we visited some mosques, and on Thursday we went to Troy, to see the ruins and the horse. It was very beautiful! We visited Troy, we came back and we went, like the other evenings, to a pub. The following day, we went to Istanbul, at the hotel, and we slept all together, in the same room. On Saturday morning we went to visit some monuments, museums, and Constantine’s house. In the evening we visited a big bazaar, where I bought a nargile, a traditional Turkish water pipe, and on Sunday morning, we took the plane and finally we went back home!

What are we doing in Gelibolu?

2009-01-11T09:05:00.001-08:00

15-22 March 2009

Sunday 15th

Transfer by bus from the İstanbul Atatürk Airport to Gelibolu (arrival at about 10 pm)

Monday 16th

At 09:00 school presentation and exhibition of photos that the students have brought. After lunch visit of Gelibolu (a visit to the education administration of Gelibolu and governor of Gelibolu- maybe a visit to the Major of Gelibolu, too). In the evening at the hotel there will be a welcome meal with live Turkish music.

Tuesday 17th

A visit to the 1st World War Battlefields around the Gallipoli peninsula.

Wednesday 18th

A full day visit to the ancient Troy and Çanakkale across the sea - in the Asian continent. Visit of the Çanakkale Province. According to the weather forecast, there will be a mountain visit (the mountain called IDA was the place where the first Best Model of the World competition was held in ancient times) with grilled salmon trout fish.

Thursday 19th

At school there will be some art activities arranged by teachers. The evaluation of the photo exhibition and the comparison of the results of the questionnaire. In the afternoon a visit to a 450-year old Mevlevihane (the temple of the whirling dervishes with sufi - divine - music)

Friday 20th

At school in the morning evaluation of the visit of Gelibolu and some activities like Ebru Art activity (a kind of painting with Turkish paper). After that visits to some villages and some bays around Gelibolu. Farewell ceremony with live music in the evening.

Saturday 21st

In the morning we are setting off for the visit of Istanbul and staying there for a night…..

Sunday 22nd

It's the day you can fly to your countries with nice smiles on your faces, we hope….

Levent, the coordinator of the project in the Turkish partner school, is doing a great job!

PHOTO COMPETITION: MY FAMILY

2008-12-08T13:22:00.000-08:00

Before the next Comenius meeting, which is taking place in Turkey, from 15th to 22nd March 2009, all schools taking part in the project are holding a photo competition.

The topic of the competition is "MY FAMILY" or "CHRISTMAS TIME IN MY FAMILY".

You can send the photos, in digital format (jpg or other), to my personal e-mail address. If you have printed photos, you can bring them at school.

You can submit more than one photo. Each photo must be accompanied by a caption in English, explaining the content of the picture.

You should also write 10-12 sentences in English, under the topic "What my family means to me".

The prize for the winners is a trip to Turkey!

Comenius Questionnaire Part One: Family Life in Italy

2008-12-07T14:14:00.000-08:00

As our multilateral Comenius project is about family life in 9 different European countries, each school taking part in the project is going to conduct a survey among the students.

To answer the questions, click on the link below:

Click Here to take survey

Comenius Questionnaire Part Two: Family Life in Italy

2008-12-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

This is the link to the second part of the questionnaire:

Click Here to take survey

What did we do in Kato Achaia?

2008-11-23T12:44:00.001-08:00

We had a great time there.

Our students, Erika and Annalisa, presented our region, town and school to our partners.

They worked with the students from the other nine participating countries to prepare a questionnaire about family life, school and free time.

We went to ancient Olympia and Athens and we enjoyed the warm climate and the capital's nightlife.

What are we doing in Kato Achaia?

2008-10-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

The program of the week seems really interesting:
we are going to present our schools and our towns, we are going to work together on a questionnaire about family life, , and we are going to do some sight seeing as well.
A visit to ancient Olympia and two days in Athens!

This is the program of the week:
Sunday 09/11/2008
Arrival to Kato Achaia. Teacher go to the hotel. Students to host
families

Monday 10/11/2008
09:00 - 09:30 Welcome and presentation.
09:30 - 10:45 Presentation of schools (3-4 schools)
10:45 - 11:15 Break
11:15 - 12:30 School presentation and group work
12:30 - 13:30 Visit Townhall

Tuesday 11/11/2008
08:30 - 09:30 School presentation
09:30 - 09:45 Break
09:45 - 11:30 Presentation of the activities of The Central Consulting Bureau and Consulting Bureau for young people
11:30 - 13;30 Short visit

Wednesday 12/11/2008
08:30 - 10:00 Group work
10:00 - 13:30 Visit Scientific Park of Patras

Thursday 13/11/2008
08:30 - 10:00 Group work
10:00 - 12:00 Presentation of Achaia Development Enterprise
12:00 - 13:30 Short visit to an Olive Oil Factory

Friday 14/11/2008
08:30 - 10:00 Results presentation
10:00 - 17:00 Visit Ancient Olympia

Saturday and Sunday
Athens

Panagiotis, the coordinator of the project in the Greek partner school, is doing a great job!

Meeting in Greece

2008-10-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

Teachers and students from participating schools will meet in Kato Achaia / Greece from 9th to 16th November 2008. The meeting is aimed at planning our future work and developing a questionnaire on family life in the communities of the participating countries.
Kato Achaia is the most important commercial and intellectual centre of Western Achaia, 20 km from Patras.
Two teachers, Luisella Mori and Mariliana Salvini, and two students, Erika Meini and Annalisa Peroni, will go to the meeting.

What is the project about?

2008-10-01T12:48:00.000-07:00

Nine schools from nine different European countries agreed to work together for a period of two years. We would like to get to know and understand each other. We will therefore compare the way young people live in our communities.

The official topic is "The influence of cultural environment on the development of a young person - a citizen of a native country and the EU".

We will first look at the family environment of our students - structure of families, traditions, celebrations, the way young people spend their free time. In April 2009 we will have photo exhibitions and reports on this topic by all schools and available to all schools.

The schools are very diverse in their locations and the situation of their students. They range from schools in disadvantaged areas of their countries to grammar school environment with students from a better than national average background. It will be an interesting experiment to see how we can all co-operate and learn from each other.

The students of the ITCG Fermi come mostly from a peaceful and well organized small town and village background. They are mainly of Italian origin. However we have students of foreign origin in most classes. Students, however, do not normally notice the difference of ethnic background and there are no ethnic conflicts at school. We are, however, concerned about the issue of racism in general.

Our project is aimed at helping students to understand the situation of young people in other European countries and therefore overcome stereotypes and cultural barriers.

Project outline

Content
- students get to know the structure of a family and its traditions in different European countries; its influence on a young person´s character and the system of values of a young person
- improvement of the students´ and local community´s knowledge on the youth´s everyday life in other European countries, ways of spending free time, celebrations, activities of sports clubs and culture centres
- students know the influence of the local and European culture on the development of a young person
- students know the opportunities of education in other countries and learn how to meet the demands of the job market in EU
- students suggest a programme for the local policy concerning the youth
- students know the tradition , culture and history of other countries
- students learn how to be tolerant and open to other cultures
- students learn multicultural approach through work in international groups
- students and teachers make friends with the staff from other countries
- students improve their knowledge of foreign languages and increase their vocabulary
- students improve their practical knowledge of foreign languages
- students improve their knowledge of IT ( e. g. preparing presentations, using the Internet for communication)
- students learn how to carry out statistical research and evaluate the results using mathematical methods