C2- Short-term exchanges of groups of pupils

Topic: Diverse perspectives on news headlines

Leading School: Centro Educativo Zola S.L., Las Rosas, Madrid-Spain

Date: 28th January- 1st February 2019

Following the teachers’ meeting in Saarbrüken, Zola-Las Rozas school in Madrid hosted the first meeting of French-German, Greek, Finish and Spanish students. The topic of the meeting was Diverse perspectives on news headlines.
The meeting was organised by the Spanish Zola-Las Rozas school Erasmus+ team who hosted the project partners: 11 students accompanied by one teacher and one coordinator travelled from Germany, 9 students with two teachers and a coordinator from Greece and 10 students with one teacher and a coordinator from Finland. Students had already had some contact before the meeting, they wrote introduction letters which were shared by email and they had created a WhatsApp group with all the participants.

After taking into consideration the approved application and the agreed goals in Saarbrüken, the following activities were organized in Madrid.

Saturday 26th January ‘Welcome, French-German team’
Arrival of the French-German team. The host families met the foreign students at the school. They took the students home and teachers were taken to their hotel. The team of Spanish Erasmus students organized a dinner out with the French-German team of students.

Sunday 27th January ‘Welcome, French-German and Finnish teams’
Arrival of the Greek team in the afternoon. The host families met the foreign students at the school. They took the students home and teachers were taken to their hotel. The team of Spanish Erasmus students organized a dinner out with the French-German team, plus the Greek team of students.
The Finnish team arrived in the evening, the host families met the foreign students at the school. They took the students home and teachers were taken to their hotel.  After a long journey, they were all willing to rest.

Monday 28th January ‘Comparing front pages’
On Monday morning all the participants met at the school, where they were welcomed by the head teacher and the Erasmus+ coordinator at the theatre hall. During the event, videos made by the students in each country were displayed to introduce their schools and education systems to their peers.
After a quick breakfast, students started working on front pages. The coordinator from each country had brought a variety of papers which had been bought on an agreed date: 22nd January, and students had to compare the front pages from each country (type of news, layout, pictures, adverts). They worked cooperatively together in small internationally mixed teams.
Also on Monday, students were taken to the town hall where the mayor gave them a warm welcome, he shared some facts with them about the area and he gave them tips on what to do in Las Rozas. He also listed to the students’ expectations on the Erasmus+ program.
Back to the school, the Erasmus group had lunch at the school’s canteen and the Spanish students took their partners on a tour around the school.
In the afternoon students continued the work started on front pages. The had to fill in a form to show their findings.
During the afternoon the Spanish team of students was in charge of the leisure activities and the evening was spent with the host families.

Tuesday 29th January ‘Advertising and visual Icons Madrid city centre’
On Tuesday the Erasmus+ group visited Madrid on a tour bus. They discovered the historical and emblematic Madrid with the Madrid City Tour Route, an itinerary which took them to Madrid's heart, over the magnificent woodland and artistic Paseo del Prado, and to the architectural jewels of the Hapsburg. The history of Madrid and Spain has been written in the most classical area of Madrid's streets, districts and more symbolic highlights. From Triángulo del Arte to Palacio Real and from Plaza de Cibeles to Puerta de Toledo, a complete historical, artistic and monumental tour to visit the most emblematic city's landmarks.
After the tour, the students took part in a Gymkhana, a race which started in Puerta del Sol and finished in Plaza de España. Students were organised in teams, each of them with the name of a European paper. They were given a set of images which they had to find in the city, they always had to stay together to find the landmarks or iconic signs. When they were in the target places, they took picture and share it with the coordinator.
During the afternoon the Spanish team of students was in charge of the leisure activities and the evening was spent with the host families.

Wednesday 30th January ‘Creating a European front cover’
On Wednesday, there were various activities at the school.
In the morning Colegio Zola-Las Rozas in collaboration with Vaughan Systems organised a radio workshop for the Erasmus+ team. We will be able to listen to it live on the 2rd and 3rd March.
At the same time, students kept working on papers. First, they had to fill in a form comparing the similarities and differences that they had found in quality papers and tabloids. Then, they had to create their own European front cover using Chromebooks.
After lunch, in the afternoon, there was a Slogan and Logo contest to choose the ones which will represent the project spirit.
Then, the Spanish team of students was in charge of the leisure activities and evening was spent with the host families.

Thursday 31st January ‘Visiting Segovia’
Students went to visit Segovia where they had a 2 hours walking tour organized by the tourism office. They could explore its rich history through its remaining architecture including medieval walls, Romanesque churches, a former royal palace and most notably, its Roman aqueduct. They also visited the castle, a medieval alcazar located in the city of Segovia, a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
During the afternoon the Spanish team of students was in charge of the leisure activities and the evening was spent with the host families.

Friday 1st February ‘The Monastery’
Before leaving for the visit of The Monastery of El Escorial, students worked on a digital collage in groups using Chromebooks. They used the digital tool Padlet to upload the selected
photos with a sentence which for them represented the meaning of ERASMUS, an expectation or emotion.
Then, students visited San Lorenzo de El Escorial, one of the most interesting touristic and cultural towns in the area. Its main attraction is the Monastery and Real Sitio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. An audio guide was provided.
During the afternoon the Spanish team of students organized a farewell party.

Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd February ‘Goodbye Madrid’
The groups departed during the weekend. It was very emotional to say goodbye. Families and students were very pleased with the experience.
After everyone returned to their home countries, an evaluation questionnaire was shared with the students to collect feedback of the meeting.