Project coordinator: Spain
Institut Maria Aurèlia Capmany
Institut Maria Aurèlia Capmany is located in Cornellà de Llobregat, a town in the metropolitan area of Barcelona (in 15 minutes travelling by underground we arrive in the centre of Barcelona). Our students come from different places, our school is multiethnic and multicultural, most of our students were born in Catalonia (Spain), but we also have a lot of students coming from foreign countries, especially from South America and Morocco; this fact implies some diversity among them, and the reasons for these differences are varied: what the students have learnt previously, their ability to learn, the way they learn, their motivations and interests, their character or their family’s culture. We try that our students will be open-minded so we pay special attention to tolerance and acceptance. Our school has a really low range of problems of discipline… the management team is always working subjects as mediation, tolerance and respect, so I think we are in the right way and we would like that our students know and meet other different cultures, they are really motivated to work with students from different parts of Europe.
Our students are aged between 12 and 18 (there are around 550 students and 60 teachers).
We have four lines of ESO (compulsory education) and three lines of Bachillerato (pre-university studies): one of arts, one of science and technology and the third one of humanistic and social studies,
We are trying to prepare our students in order to develop their proficiency in English, their autonomous and cooperative work and their interest in using audiovisual and internet resources. The use of these resources is important because they help to develop their autonomy and their group work, give access to different types of information and promote interactivity. Moreover, their use is highly motivating for students. We find that motivating students through topics close to their own interests is very important, so co-operation with other different high schools around Europe can enrich their culture and open their minds. Working together with different students can be wonderful and really motivating for them: making new friends, learning about different culture and traditions, improving their knowledge of English and learning new languages.
The LICEO STATALE “GUGLIELMO MARCONI” was founded in 1935, but it was dedicated to Guglielmo Marconi only in 1938. It is located in Southern Pescara (Pescara Portanuova), the biggest town in Abruzzo with 120.000 inhabitants. Pescara economy is based on the tertiary: tourism, trade and commerce, different types of services. It has three Universities; the faculties are Foreign Languages, Architecture and Economy, and they host thousands of students. In Pescara there is also an Airport, a modern Railway Station, a Fishing harbour and a Touristic harbour. Due to the Italian economic crisis families are facing every year more serious economic problems and a quite high porcentage of unemployment. Lately there has been an increase in migrants from Eastern Europe, Asia and Northern Africa.
The LICEO STATALE “G. MARCONI” was built in the area called Portanuova. Therefore it enrolls students from all over the provinces of Pescara and Chieti. 65% of its more than 1400 students are from the outskirts of Pescara. They are from 14 to 19 years old. It has students from the medium social class; some of them suffer for particular personal difficulties and family or economic problems. In our institute there are some immigrant students and some disabled or special educational needs students. For these reasons our institute organizes projects to reduce social and education exclusion and early dropout. The project “Icaro”, for example, aims to organize successful peer education: older students teach to younger ones. The project C.I.C. (Counselling and Information Centre) with which nutritionists, psychologists and youth problems experts help our students in their life.
In our institute there are three different kinds of fields (Academic High School course):
1.”LICEO LINGUISTICO” This is our high school main course: students have to study at least three 3 modern European languages. Students can choose among English, French, German, Russian and Spanish, and classes include joined native-speaker conversation teaching once class a week. One week Language stages courses are organized every year in England, France, Germany, Ireland, Russia and Spain as well as courses for Foreign Language Certifications.
2.”LICEO delle SCIENZE UMANE” (ECONOMIC/SOCIAL OPTION) This course is characterized by the study of subjects in the area of human and social sciences, law and economics, two foreign languages, enabling students to understand and consider contemporary social and economic issues.
3.”LICEO DELLE SCIENZE UMANE” This course is for students who wish to develop their scientific education through laboratory practice in scientific subjects, physics and Information technology.
BUILDINGS: Aula Magna for meetings, Library, Laboratories (Languages Lab, Chemical Lab, Physics lab, Biology Lab, Computer Labs), Video Projection room, Music and Drawing room, Gym, 2 Classrooms with multimedia boards, a Lift for disabled people, Infirmary, Headmaster and Secretary Offices, Vice Director Office, Administrative Rooms, Staff Room, Bar, Car Park. The entire school building is covered by wi-fi.
SKILLS
Our institute is online with local associations, cultural associations and producing world with conventions and protocols of agreement helping the students in their future research to fulfill their ideals, mature their capacities and abilities, and accepting the challenge of team work, leadership, reliability and other responsibilities. Our experts try to find organizations that want to host young people workers, to organize working stages, to motivate students to do these stages.
Lately students had been offered the opportunity to practice training and experience participating in 20 hours working stages. Four areas had been taken into consideration: entrepreneurial, sanitary social assistance, scholarship, service facilities (tertiary sector). Our institute had conventions that allowed almost 300 students to work and study with many local organizations and enterprises.
Partner schools: Turkey
The Turkish school,Orhan Dengiz Anadolu Lisesi(O.D.A.L), is a secondary general school and located in a urban area in development in Usak.The city that has so much culturel richness, such as Ulu Mosque (Ulu Camii ), Bleundus,Croesus’s Treasury,Ulubey’s Canyon that is second longest in the world. Our city has about 200 thousand inhabitians. The school has 850 students and 65 has about 200 thousand inhabitians. The school has 850 students and 65 teacher .The female and male pupils involved in the project are age from 15 to 18.They all have a basic knowledge in foreign language English and German. The school prepares all students for University.All Students have to pass an exam to come to the school. Some of the students comes from socio-economically disadvantaged families. The school provides them with accomodation in a school dormitory.
Partner schools: Latvia
The Nitaure’s secondary school is situated in the historical state of a count Wilhelm Fermor since 1936 and it is a secondary school since 1987. It is 70 km from capital Riga. This year Riga was the capital of EU culture.
The building was renovated in 1928, the last repair was in 2009; in the school there is a central heating and the water system is renewed. In our school there are only 100 students (7-19) and 15 teachers .Our students are active, creative, friendly and openminded.
In our school there are five educational programmes – basic education, special education program for students with learning disabilities, special education program for students with mental disabilities, general secondary education programme and general secondary education programme for evening school. Our school helps students to get ready for the next education in other schools and high schools.
Since 2004 students have been offered a business education course: Be a leader!, which is taught by programme of Latvian business manager academy programme. Ending the course, students receive certificates. Since 2009 students can get driving licence but since 20011 it is for free provided by our municipality.
Our school is a health promoting school. Students have health studies, they take part in first aid activities and get good results in first aid competitions. Our students study three languages-English, Russian and from 10th form -German.
Our municipality provides our students with free, warm, healthy lunch and fruits and vegetables from organic farms.
The collaboration between students and teachers is improving more and more. We know that a big success comes only working in a strong and friendly team.
After lessons students develop their personalities working in different hobby groups. There are groups like art, first aid, sport, information technology, discussions groups.Students dance in dance collective”Šurumburums”, and sing in a vocal troupe.
We have a students’ council which has worked since 1997. It organizes activities and leads our students’ life. It represents interests of students, promotes the social life in school, and supports a learning process. The school’s council is working in different spheres like education, career, health, culture, media and sport.The council takes organizes entertainments for students, finds out students’ opinions about important questions.
Partner schools: Greece
Our school, which is called 1st EPAL of Kalamaria is situated in the east region of Thessaloniki, called Kalamaria. It is a Vocational Senior High School that specializes in technical subjects. The subjects are distinguished into general knowledge, theoretical vocational education, mixed subjects and subjects with two or more cognitive objects. The number of the students is about 760 from 16 to 19 years old and the number of teachers is about 90. We are the biggest school in Greece. Our pupils attend many lessons in different Laboratories, according to the specialization they have chosen. The Sections of Specialties we have in that grade are the following: 1. Mechanical, 2. Engineering, 3. Automotive Engineering, 4. Electrical, 5. Electronics, 6. Computer Science (informatics), 7. Economy and Administration, 8. Tourism, 9. Agriculture and Food Technology. Most of our study fields are ICT, electronics and automatics e.g. programming, graphics, multimedia, web applications, robotics, PLC, automatics etc. The study includes practical lessons and practical training at school. When they graduate, they acquire two diplomas: The first is a degree of their special Vocational knowledge and the Specialty they have attended. The second one is a Senior High School diploma and with this our students have the opportunity to enter in the University after National Examinations to study in higher education and become professionals. We have two sites: http://www.sek-kalamarias.gr/ and http://1epal-kalam.thess.sch.gr/autosch/joomla/ but unfortunately they are only in Greek language. As you can see at the photos our school is a new one, it’s highly bioclimatic building and fully controlled by an electronic system. It has 26 labs, 26 classes, various other offices and a big theater.
Our students also take part in EU projects the last ten years like Comenius and Leonardo Da Vinci. Our last Comenius project had the title “Download my Emotions if you Can” (2011-2013) in which the coordinator was Poland. Me, my colleagues and my students are glad to cooperate with you to your project.
Partner schools: Poland
VII Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Juliusza Słowackiego
We are a 93-year-old general secondary school preparing 16-19 year-old students for university education. Currently there are over 560 students and 50 teaching staff. We specialize in humanities and media education, but we also have a profile with extended teaching of biology and chemistry and a “banking” profile with extended teaching of entrepreneurship and geography. Our students come from the area of the capital city of Poland – Warsaw – and its suburbs, since we are centrally located in Warsaw, in the district of Ochota, which is well linked to the rest of the city and its suburbs by public transport. We are involved in the programme run by one of the leading banks in Poland providing opportunities of education to gifted but economically excluded students from underprivileged small rural communities. They live in the school dormitory, which also provides them with full board and sports and cultural programmes.
Our students actively participate in extracurricular artistic, sports and charity activities that broaden their intercultural competences and develop soft skills, as well as expand their knowledge and the awareness of the current global and regional economic, political and social issues. They eagerly take part in various competitions and school Olympiads both at the local and national level.
Since future employers appreciate all kinds of soft skills acquired through various forms of informal learning our school encourages the students to take part in voluntary and charity events, which are aimed at the local community – picnics for the neighbours, collection of electronic waste in the neighbourhood; the whole city – Slowak film fest, collection of therapeutic toys for autistic children, fairy tales reading to children in kindergartens; and national – The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. We would like to share these good practices with our partners.
In the growing competition on the market of educational institutions we are constantly trying to improve the quality of teaching in our school and raise the level of skills and competences which our graduates are equipped with. We achieve this aim not only in the classroom environment but also through involvement in various projects outside the school.
