9o DIMOTIKO SXOLEIO ALEXANDROUPOLIS,
Greece
Our school is the 9th Primary School of Alexandroupolis. We have 320 students, from 6 to 12 years old, who come from various social, economic and cultural backgrounds and have different educational needs. We are 32 teachers - class teachers as well as specialist teachers - working for a modern democratic, happy and human school. Our aim is to fulfill the cognitive and socialization roles of the school through modern teaching methods and means, good planning, a good organization of the teaching facilities and a harmonious, serious and responsible cooperation of the school, the parents and the students. Primary education lasts for 6 years. In our school we have students with special needs. They are included in the general education classes but receive extra help from specialized staff at an individual level or at a group level. As far as our motivation to join this project is concerned we believe that it is necessary for us to communicate with schools of other countries in order to acquaint ourselves with other cultures, to exchange good teaching and educational practices, to improve our language level and to reinforce the citizen of the world identity of our students. The key people in charge of running the project will be the headteacher Mr Tsetsos, the two deputy headteachers and the two English teachers of our school.
In case they leave their post in the future there are several other teachers in our school who are eager to take over their role. In recent years our school has implemented several innovative projects (eTwinning and Erasmus) aiming at the strengthening of school knowledge and the enrichment of the learning process. Their content relates to environmental education, health education and cultural issues. We frequently cooperate with external partners (social organisations of our city) in order to conduct them. We also encourage learning outside the classroom in places with an educational role. The students and their parents have a positive attitude towards these kinds of programmes and there is a high participation rate. The school has an adequately equipped computer lab where the students of all classes become familiar with the basic functions of computers.
We are currently observing manifestations of intolerance, misunderstanding of cultural diversity and lack of respect in society. Often personal interest takes precedence over cooperation, and the notion of fairness is not so important. The school is the perfect place to develop Olympic ideas so that students can understand the message that is still valid today.
Further than that, they will practice English language skills and they will give new perspectives in the world around us.
Furthermore, they will meet new cultures from other countries that participate in the project. At the same time, they will develop ICT skills through different activities and electronic communication. After that they will get motivated through cooperative learning and research.