The first international meeting of project participants from Turkey, Spain, Italy and Cyprus took place in Krosno, Poland. The three-year project: Play with me and teach me- tradition and modernity in active teaching” is founded by Erasmus +, Action 2, School Education, Strategic Partnership. The main aim of the project is to improve the quality of education through the use of active methods of teaching, the development of emotional intelligence as well as the psychological and social skills of the students. The project aims at building intercultural and intergenerational dialogs, teachers’ professional development, improvement of language skills and development of practical use of ITC technology in order to ensure equal educational opportunities for students with special needs or difficult living conditions. The meeting took place between 9 and 14 November 2015. Teachers from Turkey, Cyprus, Spain and Italy met to discuss and plan key actions of the project
During workshops the project group discussed the specific tasks in the three- year project. The analysis began with the presentation of the project evaluation carried out by experts, discussing its strengths and weaknesses. We also made an initial evaluation of the project. We talked in detail about activities that will take place in the first year of the project. We discussed partner schools key
responsibilities and tasks. In addition, we established criteria for the international competition for logo design and we set the date for the international meeting in Cyprus. Another important part of our meeting was devoted to project financing, promotion, evaluation and dissemination. To standardize the layout and content of project documentation – in digital version and in paper, we prepared models documents; rules and regulations for participation in the project, schedule of activities in the first year of the project, declarations for students and the model report.
An official meeting with the mayor of Krosno Piotr Przytocki and the city authorities took place in the meeting room of the City Council. During this visit we presented the main aims and objectives of the project. In the evening, we organized “Polish dinner” forp project participants. Teaching staff of our school had the opportunity to meet the teachers from Turkey, Italy, Cyprus and Spain. We talked about the project and exchanged our personal experience.
An important part of the day was an interview. Local TV station ‘Lens’ made an interview with Mrs Alice Szepelak, Mrs Matilda Gronicka, Mrs Agnieszka Kmon and the headmaster of the Sicilian school Mrs Rita La Tona. Our goal was to promote the idea and topic of the project in the local community.
In the afternoon, our guests took part in the celebrations of national holiday in Krosno. The main Independence Day celebrations were held in the market square near the monument of Marshal Józef Piłsudski. We participated in the mass in the Basilica Minor “Fara”. After the mass, we took part in the march and laying flowers at the monument of Marshal Józef Piłsudski. The public ceremony was attended by soldiers of 5th Battalion of Highland Fusiliers. For our partners this was undoubtedly a unique opportunity to see and learn about the history of our
country.
We decided on the terms of further cooperation between schools and the main objectives of the project. All the conclusions and findings were gathered in a report, which was signed by the teachers who participated in the international meeting.
In the afternoon we organized for our European partners a trip to the Glass Heritage Centre. Our guests had the opportunity to see the production of glass and learn the history of glass industry in Poland. In addition, they saw a beautifully displayed collection of contemporary glass art made by local artists and glass designers.
In the evening we organised a farewell dinner as the teachers from Cyprus had booked a flight on Friday. It was a very important meeting, summarizing the first international assembly. During the meeting teachers from the partner school got the certificates confirming their participation in the international visit in Krosno
The international meeting of teachers was a great occasion to show not only our school but also our city and region. The meeting contributed to getting to know one another better, broadening participants’ minds and the exchange of professional experience. Our students and teachers will participate in short-term visits in our project partners. They will travel to Cyprus, Turkey, Spain and Italy.