III High School, Gda sk School project coordinator: Ma gorzata Klimek

NEWSLETTER

Cultural Differences in Europe – an Opportunity for Using Synergic Effects in Lifelong Methodical Learning 2015-1-ES01-KA219-016157_4

Project partners: • • • •

IES Hermanos Machado, Dos Hermanas, Spain Evangelisches Heidehof Gymnasium, Stuttgart, Germany B/R/G Dreihackengasse, Graz, Austria III High School - Topolówka, Gda sk, Poland

Project coordinator: Maria Teresa Dominguez, Spain Key action of the project: "Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices"

SUMMARY OF THE STAY IN STUTTGART In November, an International Students

The next few days were a balanced mix of

Meeting in Stuttgart as a continuation of an

a group work, sightseeing and lessons.

Erasmus+ project was organised. Students

Students had an opportunity to share some

from Germany, Spain, Austria and Poland

information about their schools, countries

gathered

some

and cities, try some traditional Christmas

important global issues and get a first-hand

food, design a logo of the project and

experience of cultural differences .

discuss how to be a perfect student.

together

to

discuss

Sunday was a special day which the youth spent with their host family, experiencing German Christmas traditions and generally getting to know new people and a foreign culture.

Arrivals of the German’s guests took the whole Thursday, it was also the time when students had an opportunity to get to know their host family and spend the afternoon with them. Friday started with Official Opening Ceremony where exchanging greetings took place. After that, there was organised a small tour around the school and some interesting warming-up games which helped the students to break the ice.

After the five days of stay, it came the time to say goodbye and come back home. Although the project did not last long, both the students and the teachers left Germany with a far wider knowledge and awareness which surely will not become forgotten.

THE OPENING-SPEECH FROM STUTTGART Dear friends, I would like to welcome you to the Evangelisches Heidehof Gymnasium here in Stuttgart. I am happy that we are all here together for our first international meeting within the Erasmus+ Project

“Cultural differences in Europe – an opportunity for using synergetic effects in

lifelong learning”. During our project I am sure you will get to know a bit about our German culture and our city and that we will all experience a few cultural differences while working together – as that’s what synergy means in Greek: working together. And it has been proved that teamwork will produce an overall better result than if each person within the group were working towards the same goal individually. And here is an example: Say person A is too short to reach an apple and person B is too short as well. Once person B sits on the shoulders of person A, they are tall enough to reach the apple. In this example, the product of their synergy would be one apple. Our product at the end of the project will hopefully be a European leaflet on method learning.

STUDENTS’ OPINIONS ABOUT THE VISIT IN STUTTGART

We, as a multicultural group of young people, had a chance to notice our differences and see that they were not barriers, but means we could use to develop ourselves. We've done multiple integrating exercises, presented our customs to each other and listened to a lecture about techniques of learning. We have all made some good international friends, educated and had a lot of fun. Zuzia Muszyńska

Erasmus+ gave me the opportunity to get to know how it is to live in foreign family and country. I also got to know their school system and learning methods. I still have contact with my exchange student so I have the opportunity to use another language than just Polish. Emma Hartig

Christmas traditions, school systems, food - they are all different in every country. In our host families we had a chance to learn more about Swabians traditions and everyday life. During various activities we also got to know more about different cultures from other exchange students. Every country brought their typical food for a food fair and so they brought parts of their culture to Germany. After this project we can see how many cultural differences are in Europe and that it is good to know them better. Carmen Cabrera - From the Poles we learned that sometimes you have to fight for your - From the Spanish people we learned that it is possible to be all the time friendly and motivated - From the Austrians we learned that you also could be quiet and only could listen sometimes, because you needn't always to talk or want attention - From the Germans we learned how important organizing is because with a good organization everything is easier Eduardo Navarro I visited Stuttgart for the first time and I really like it. I think that this exchange gave me a lot of experience which I would have never got If I hadn’t gone there. Marta Piackus

Why will I remember the week spent in Stuttgart for the rest of my life? There isn’t one simple answer. Mainly because I’ve met dozen or so of inspiring, talented and unique people from 3 countries. We had different opinions, experiences, cultures but we broke every barrier. We worked in multinational groups and played same games which gave us a chance to get to know one another better. The week was fully packed with jokes, laughing and creating nice memories. Daria Ciarczyńska

WHAT’S GOING ON IN OUR SCHOOLS NOW?

Ø The partners are creating twinspace uploading the presentations and pictures from our meeting in Stuttgart.

Ø New members are being added to our eTwinning community. Ø The issue of interculturality in each country is being researched to prepare suitable and relevant presentations for the meeting in Gdańsk. Ø The students are tackling the topic of interculturality in their neighbourhood by trying to take pictures that will best capture this idea. Ø The film "One Day in My School" is being prepared in each partner school.