POLAND MOBILITY 29.05.2022-04.06.2022

Teachers Daiva Leonavičienė, Ilona Galeckienė, and students Augustas Šulskis, Aisėja Leonavičiūtė, Giedrė Mikalainytė, Rokas Žiburis and Jorė Gudiškytė  participated in the last meeting of partners from Turkey, Poland, Spain, Croatia and Romania of the project "Music to all" in Piaseczno, Poland.

On the first day of international teaching and learning activities, we visited the host school, Prywatna Szkoła Podstawowa nr. 72 "Szkoła Marzeń", where the opening ceremony of the sixth stage of the project was held. The little Polish soloists sang the anthem of each partner country. After the flag-raising ceremony, we watched the installation "Europe". After the event, we had the school tour. Later students participated in music workshop: they created music themselves. In the afternoon we went to the forest recreation complex Zimne Doly. After walking several kilometers along forest paths, admiring the views of ponds and meadows from the lookout tower, we made a bonfire in a huge tourist shelter that could accommodate over a hundred people, sizzled sausages and marshmallows on skewers, and sang songs to the tune of guitar chords. And that's not all. A celebratory dinner was waiting for us at the White Giraffe. Although we already had good acquaintances from the previous stages of the project, we felt shy on the first night, but we wanted to get to know each other better.

On the second day of the visit, we took part in a meeting with the mayor and deputy mayor for education of Piaseczno. We learned about the city's history and current affairs, the educational situation, and introduced ourselves. We then went to another host school building, more like a mansion than a traditional school, as it is set in the forest and covers a huge area with blooming bushes, flowers, park paths, mowed lawns, an outdoor stage, a garden and a living corner. The building itself is round in shape, with huge windows and spacious terraces. Here we learned the anthem of the European Union and the song "Zombie" based on the piece performed by the group "The Cranberries". The lyrics of the song is very meaningful: about the pain of mothers when their sons die in war, about the fact that people must stop killing each other. It's amazing and incredible how a song performed together can bring people together, unite for a common goal - to seek peace in the world.

On the third day of the project, we visited the Vilanow Palace, the former residence of the king, in the Vilanow district of Warsaw. The Vilanow Palace reflects the culture of the Polish state before the troubles of the 18th century. It is one of the most important historical monuments in Poland. We were looking forward to a tour of the Palace of Culture and Science, located in the center of Warsaw, a 237-meter-tall building, the second tallest building in Poland. We visited the exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci, Italian Renaissance painter, architect, poet, sculptor, musician, philosopher. The inventions of the famous engineer and architect are exhibited in the modern halls, and a documentary film narrating the biography of this outstanding personality is continuously shown on the ceiling and walls. We took the elevator to the thirtieth floor of the palace - a stunning panorama of Warsaw took breath away. Later we visited the Folklore Center. National clothes of different regions of Poland are displayed in the halls of the museum. Here you can listen to folk music and get acquainted with national dances. We also had the opportunity to see the backstage of the concert hall of this folklore center. We were surprised to learn that the Mazowsze folklore group (about 150 professional performers) has also performed in Lithuania.

On the fourth day of the visit, we had a meeting with a representative of the European Commission. She presented the activities of the Commission, ongoing projects, emphasized that environmental protection projects are especially important, and gave examples of how each of us can contribute to the preservation of clean nature. In the music workshop "Percussion" we learned to play various percussion instruments: drums, cymbals, drums, gongs, triangles, timpani. Although playing was not easy, all project participants were happy with the achieved result - a piece o music played and recorded. After lunch, we took part in the concert of the band "Łysa Góra" on the outdoor stage of the school. Krystian, the host school's music teacher, plays percussion in this band. Everyone was impressed by the unique style of this group - a mixture of folklore, rock and heavy metal.

On the last day of the international teaching and learning activities in Poland, we sang again and recorded all the learned pieces in audio and video. We visited Warsaw's Old Town and the ultra-modern Frederic Chopin Museum. We got to know the audio and video material collected in the museum, we learned a lot about the composer and his era. The museum also houses a large collection of items related to F. Chopin, including manuscripts and first editions of his musical scores, letters, portraits and personal items. While visiting the Seimas of the Republic of Poland, the guide not only showed the building, but also presented the Polish political system, the activities of the Seimas, and the work it does.

 All the days of the "Music to all" project in Poland were full of good emotions and established friendships. Both students and teachers gained invaluable experience, improved their competences, broadened their horizons, gained knowledge and strengthened their desire not to stop learning, traveling, getting to know and sharing.

CROATIA MOBILITY 03.04.2022-09.04.2022

On the 3rd-9^th April 2022, the team of Kybartai "Saulės" progymnasium - students Justė Skeltytė, Greta Matusevičiūtė, Gustė Maciulevič and Arijus Matveičikas, accompanied by teachers Neringa Kastanavičienė and Vilma Žvirblienė-  participated in the fifth partner meeting of the European Union-funded Erasmus + school exchange partnership project "Music to all" in Ravna Gora, Croatia. Students and teachers from Turkey, Poland, Spain, Romania and Lithuania met here.

      On the first day we were welcomed by Dr. Branimir Markovič school choir with their songs. The project teams actively participated in activities aimed at making friends faster and getting to know each other better. Since the goal of the project is music to all, it is the language that is understood all over the world. This is how the joint choir of the project participants was assembled, which learned the song "Stand by me" by Michael Jackson. All five days of the project we were united by activities related to music and dance. All teams not only completed project tasks at school, but also travelled and got to know the mountainous region of Croatia.

Everyone was fascinated by the beauty of the lakes of Plitvice National Park. The park is famous for its 16 lakes flowing into each other with impressive waterfalls. In 1979 The Plitvice Lakes were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

On the third day we had a trip to the city of Rijeka, where we were welcomed by municipal authorities who supervise educational institutions. The meeting took place in the Museum of the Coast and History of the City of Rijeka. We also visited Trsat Castle, which is built high on a hill and offers the most beautiful views of Rijeka. This castle is one of the oldest defensive fortifications on the Croatian coast.

It was so interesting to learn the national dance of each country. Our team presented and taught our partners the Lithuanian folk dance "Sėjau rūtą, sėjau mėtą".

The participants of the project experienced a lot of good emotions while learning the dances of their country and other partner countries, thus revealing the similarities and differences between the music and dance of their countries.

The first half of the fourth day was devoted to the rehearsals of the joint song "Stand by me" and the Croatian traditional dance "Diridika". For half a day the students intensively rehearsed the common song and learned the steps and movements of the Croatian folk dance. The purpose of all these rehearsals is to prepare as good as possible for the evening concert, where we had to perform as artists ourselves - singing the song "Stand by me" and showing how well we learned to dance a folk dance. So in the evening we rushed to the cultural center where the concert was to be held. We were all impressed by the songs performed by the choirs led by teacher Žaklina, but the most exciting thing was that we could participate in the performance as artists.

 On the last day of the visit the students had to reveal who their secret friend was. At the beginning of the week, the students pulled out a piece of paper with the name of their secret friend written on it. He had to watch and talk to his secret friend for a whole week, but not to give oneself away. Everyone was excited to find out who their secret friend was. Some were able to guess, others not.

Throughout the project a strong friendship developed between all project participants. The students returned home full of unforgettable impressions, they gained not only invaluable experience, but also improved their English speaking skills, made new friends with whom they communicates even after the end of the Croatian mobility.

TURKEY MOBILITY 09.03.2020-14.03.2020

      On March 9-14 2020 the second meeting of Erasmus+ project "Music to all" participants took place in Anafarta school, Unye, Turkey, where our school was represented principal’s deputy for education Daiva Leonavičienė and  teachers of  English Evelina Šlivinskienė and Ilona Galeckienė. The main goal of LTT activities was to get acquainted with the school and teaching methods, culture, education system in Turkey. The opening ceremony of the second meeting was attended by the school community, local media representatives and teams from all countries. 

The guests were welcomed  with traditional dances and music. The city government organized a reception during which the importance and benefit of such projects for schools, teachers and students was discussed.

During the classes and workshops we made various musical instruments from secondary raw materials, performed various rhythmic tasks and created our own rhythm, and danced traditional dances. We also learned Ebru art, the subtleties of drawing on water, we had the opportunity to get acquainted with the country's traditional instruments, songs, national clothes, and dishes. We visited the Unye Folk Museum, got acquainted with the Baglama, a traditional Turkish instrument, and observed lessons at school.

We visited two cities - Ordu and Trabzon. We got acquainted with the history of the cities, their historical objects, admired the nature and architecture. The Sumela monastery, built on a steep rock slope 1200 m above sea level, left the greatest impression.

Each country's team had to present the country's national holiday(s). In this way, we learned even more about each other, about the history of and important events of project countries. This week was very interesting, full of new experiences, impressions and unforgettable moments.

SPAIN MOBILITY 24.11.2019-30.11.2019

Kybartai "Saulės" progymnasium participates in the school exchange partnership project "Music to all" funded by the European Union program "Erasmus+".  The first meeting of the representatives of the partner countries of this project – Spain, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Turkey, Lithuania  - took place  at the Ceip Lope de Vega school in Leganes, Spain.

Our school was represented by teachers Ilona Galeckienė,  Neringa Kastanavičienė and Daiva Leonavičienė.

The opening ceremony of the project was attended by the Ceip Lope de Vega school community, representatives of Leganes city council, local media, and teams from all countries.  The goals of the project, activities and expected results were introduced. Leganes city authorities organized a reception in the city hall.

Ceip Lope de Vega School is bilingual. In it, children from the age of 3 are taught English, some subjects are taught in English. Unique educational environments have been created in the school. All classrooms are equipped with the latest equipment and modern teaching tools. The educational process is organized differently than in Lithuania: lessons for students of all classes take place at the same time every day - from 9 am to 2 pm. During breaks, all students must go to the school yard. Mutual relations between all members of the community are very close and warm.

During the visit, we participated in classes, workshops  and discussions. It was very interesting to feel students in the music class together with Spanish fifth graders. In the music room, there are no desks, students sit comfortably on the floor. They create music, sing, play, combine rhythm with dance movements. We willingly performed rhythmic exercises, improvised, and danced together with the students.

We had a creative workshop "Making a musical instrument from secondary raw materials". Students with special educational needs also participated here. We all made percussion instruments together - drums, rattles, tambourines from secondary raw materials (packaging, disposable dishes).

In the workshop  "Universal language of music and other types of art" we drew, listened to music, danced and acted. We realized that art has no any limits, we all have abilities and talents, we just need to be able to reveal them.

During this visit, we had the opportunity to get to know the Spanish capital, Madrid, we visited the Zarzuela Theater, where we listened to the Spanish opera "Three Hats". In the city of Segovia, we saw a Gothic cathedral of the 16th century, a castle of amazing beauty and an aqueduct built during the ancient Roman Empire. Toledo, the first capital of Spain, is characterized by extraordinary beauty and architecture. European, Jewish and Arab cultures are intertwined here.