BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE
Please briefly present the school and include the following information:
Finland:
Keinutien ala-asteen koulu (Keinutie Primary School)
is situated in Kontula, one of the eastern suburbs of Helsinki. Kontula neighbourhood is ranked quite low by socio-economic measures with its low incomes and low education level of its inhabitants. We have grades from 1st to 6th and the age of the pupils is from 7 to 12 years old. There are 650 pupils and 65 teachers plus other staff in Keinutie Primary School. Studying the first foreign language English starts at the first grade. Moreover, immigrant pupils get mother tongue/ home language lessons on weekly basis. Nearly half of the pupils have multicultural background, and they speak about 46 different languages. Home language lessons are given for six biggest language groups. Our pupils with different backgrounds, special needs and talents are all individual learners and need supported actions in inclusive education. Teaching these heterogeneous groups requires active co-operation between teachers, teaching assistants, other professionals and parents. We follow our own school-specific curriculum which is based on the national and municipal curriculum. School days start at 08.15 am and finish by 03.00 pm. The usual length of the school day is about 5-6 lessons per pupil.
France: We are a rural school situated in La Chapelle Janson in Brittany, France, not far from Le Mont Saint-Michel. This is ateaching regrouping with another school. Considering the both, there are about 200 children from 2 to 10 years old. In total, 8 teachers and 7 employees work in the regrouping. During the years different events are common like the fair, Christmas celebration or the “day of the educational community”. Each teacher does all the subjects. English learning starts at 6 years old. Little by little we are trying to open the school to Europe, particularly by e-twinning projects or Erasmus + projects by developing our digital practices (digital whiteboard, computers, communication tool etc.). Students, families and people who work in the school are more and more sensitive about working with partners from Europe, even if it’s still new for us. Our last ( and only) E+ KA2 project “ Feel the four seasons beyond the walls” (2017-2019) were a wonderful opportunity for this.
Greece: Our school is located in Giannitsa in Northern Greece, in the historical center of ancient Macedonia, 60 km west from Thessaloniki which is the second biggest city in Greece. It is 20 km west from Pella which is the birthplace of Alexander the Great, 30 km from Vergina, where is the tomb of Alexander's father Plillip II and 20 km from Mieza where was located the school of Aristotle.
The official name of our school is: ”Agathovouleio” 3rd Public Primary school of Giannitsa. It is a full-time School with six grades (each grade has got two classes), 176 pupils from 6-12 years old and 34 teachers. We follow the national curriculum as it is issued by the Greek ministry of education. The lessons start at 8:10 and finish at 13:15. From 13:15 to 16:00 about 30 pupils stay at school where they are having lunch and do their homework with the guidance of a teacher that stays with them. In addition to the six classes of our school there is an accession class for pupils with learning difficulties, where such pupils can meet their needs individually. The rest of their time in school they are integrated in their classes.
Our school works with the parents association and the local community in a way that benefits the pupils. Their help and support in order to reach the project goals is guaranteed.
Hungary: Due to the financial difficulties of the country, many Hungarian schools (primary schools, secondary schools) have already been closed, and some will soon be closed in the near future. In many cases, the Church takes over the management of schools to protect them, and supports these institutions. Our institute and the other school from the neighbouring village were taken over by the Church in 2012, and they had been united. Their names have been changed to Tápiószőlős-Újszilvás Reformed Primary School and Kindergarden.
Tápiószőlős and Újszilvás are two small villages not too far from Budapest, the heart of Hungary. We educate children from 3 to 14 years old (kindergarten and primary) in total we have about 530 pupils and 46 teachers and 4 special educators. We have some pupils from a foster care home and some from Transylvania. A lot of pupils come from disadvantaged families: single parent, unemployment parents, or living 8-10 people together suffering of the consequences of the CHF bank loans. Some pupils have special needs: language issues, emotional problems, hyperactivity. Almost half of our pupils display different trait problems that we need to help them overcome. Despite of being a religious school we welcome children from all religious, social and cultural background. This project gives a good opportunity to open a window to the world for our pupils. They live in a very closed community and they don’t have too much self-confidence to show themselves to others. We think that taking part in an internationation project is a chance to make our staff and students more aware of the International Dimension to education. Participation in this project will help our students to understand more about our enviroment and while realising that we have much in common that should be celebrated.
We have a lot of cultural events in our school like Green Week, Advent Fair, Carnival, Spring Festival. These celebrations are not only for our students, but for the whole village community.
In 2017 we managed to join to a KA 2 project: “What’s Your Impact of Earth” connecting to sustainability and protecting environment. This topic is a strong point of our school and we are having a really fruitfull cooperativity with the other project partners. It is inspiring for our stuff and students as well. These kind of cooperations open a window to the world and motivate them to study and learn languages.
Spain: Our school’s name is FEDAC PRATS. It’s located in a small village called Prats de Lluçanès, one hour far from Barcelona, in the middle of Catalonia, Spain.
It’s a preschooler and primary school with one class for each grade from 3 to 12 years old. The morning lessons start at 9:00 and finish at 13:00 and the afternoon timetable is from 15:00 to 17:00. There are 107 students and 15 teachers. Most of the teachers are class teachers but there are also English teachers, Spanish teachers, a Music teacher, a P.E. teacher and a Special Education teacher. All the subjects, less second languages, are taught in Catalan. Our school offers different services such as a morning reception from 8:00 to 9:00, lunch service, extra activities in the midday, psycho pedagogical help… The Association of mothers and fathers of the school is doing a great job organizing activities and helping school with everything it can. Our school has also got an excellent relation with the close environment (town hall, town services, associations…)
Every year we work on a different course project, this year’s one is “Music moves us”. All the grades use to carrying out some projects, in a course and cycle way.
U.K.:
Our School is called Margaretting C of E Primary School. It is a small village school of around 80 children. The school is a church school but we accept all religions and backgrounds. We have 4 classes and 6 teachers (2 job shares). We are very close to the city of Chelmsford and around 30-40 mins by train to London, so we are close to the London airports (closest is Stansted - around 40-45mins).
We are a primary school so have children aged 4-11. The first year is called reception which is a lot of play based learning (this is the class I teach). The rest of the classes take part in more formal style lessons and have 2 years per class.
Our school day starts at 8.15am and finishes at 3.15, except on a Friday when we finish at 12. We also provide morning and after school clubs for a small fee.
The immediate catchment area is fairly affluent, however, 80% of our intake comes from outside the catchment area so we do have a mixed cohort of children. We also have a few traveller families who attend our school, these are mostly settled travellers so we don’t have too much of an attendance issue with them. We have a few children in our school with additional needs - behaviour, physical and educational needs.
We have just joined an academy which means we are linked with other schools nearby and share events/ collaborate/ share a budget.
Finland:
This project gives our pupils personal experiences of European partnership and possibilities that they might not ever have during their childhood. They get to know five other European schools and school cultures, and their peers in partner schools. This is a perfect tool for integration and inclusion, and promote reading at the same time. Particually, we have a concern of a huge amount of boys who never read. We want to induce them to the world of stories. Phenomenon-based learning, learning by doing, internationalisation and digital education are the key goals of Helsinki municipal curriculum, and we practise them all in OWL-project. And for teachers, it is motivating and professionally developing to co-operate with European colleagues and share ideas. Together we can encourage a love of reading in children.
France: Since few years, our school tries to open up to Europe: through some Etwinning projects, the participation in a training abroad (project KA1) and especially our KA2 project in partnership with European schools " Feel the four seasons beyond the walls (2017-2019)". The entire educational community of our school, and we, teachers, measure the superb opportunity of such European projects. We evolve in our practices, we open ourselves to those of others, we learn a lot about the culture, the practices, the realities of the other countries. We load ourselves wit a great energy in our teaching profession, energy inevitably transferred to our students. Our first motivation is to continue this momentum which is just starting we hope. An Erasmus partnership project with European schools is a real chance for our small country school.
Regarding the topic of the project, the link between literature and the cultural heritage of our regions is fascinating both from a point of view of self-knowledge, of the other and in the reinforcement of an essential discipline for the development of children. In fact, the literature contributes in part to the development of a common culture within the school between students (element of cohesion) but also of a common culture to discover the different partner countries. Literature is a battle of all times and perhaps even more today in our world of instantaneity. This opportunity would weave links between our different literary and cultural heritage through stories and legends. This would allow us both to progress in our practice but also to weave mutual understanding and knowledge links within Europe. A wonderful motivation!
Greece: This is the first time our school is being involved in such a program and we expect through common activities, and communication to develop new skills, to discover new habits and attitudes, to make new friends and to share experiences as we consider all these highly beneficial at a both personal and professional level.
Although our school is inexperienced our coordinator has coordinated two KA2 projects with other schools. The first has the title: “HEART@HEALTHY.LIFE” and it is about the heart and its physical welfare, and the second “With you With everybody” is about the integration and inclusion of different kinds of students in school.
Hungary: Our school has been involved in 2-3 different eTwinning projects since 2016, when I started to work here. Personally it is my mission to open my school up to Europe, as it is a very small community in countryside. In 2017 we successfully joined to an Erasmus+ KA2 project named:”What’s Your Impact on Earth?” The collaboration with other European countries is so inspiring and exciting, that our students and teachers would like to continue this process through different topics and aeras of education.
Spain: Our school has been involved in lots of different eTwinning projects and in a KA1 Erasmus project as a host school, so we would like to go one step forwards and try another bigger chance: a KA2 Erasmus project with all the corresponding children and teacher’s mobility.
We love the idea of involve all the educational community to participate in a common project around Europe.
Another motivation is to continue learning about eTwinning world and encourage the school staff to learn more about it.
U.K.:
I have been involved in international projects in a previous school I worked at (Comenius and Erasmus+ projects). My new head is very keen to get the school involved in a partnership and wants the children involved in the partnership and mobilities as much as possible.
Finland: We have a team of International Education and International Projects. Sari Hynynen is in charge of running Erasmus Project together with Ritva Malm. If any of the six team members leave their current post, there still are a few team members who can take over their roles.
France: The key people in charge or running the project activities are first the teachers of the school. We are only four, so we are our own project team. Will be associated a fifth teacher, our referent for special needs pupils. We know also that the whole educational community (school, parent’s association, town hall, cultural associations) is able and motivated to participle in the project.
Greece:The team that is currently running the program consists of 1) Fani Papadimitriou, School Headmistress, 2) Agapi Korifidou, Deputy Headmistress, 3) Nikolaos Karapatsas, ICT teacher, coordinator and contact person, and 4) Vassiliki Tsimpouki, 2nd contact person. In the case they leave their post in the future there are also other teachers who are interested and could actively accompany the effort.
Hungary: Our project team consists of four people:
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Mr. György Szegedi - headmaster
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Mrs. Lászlóné Bozóki - financial manager
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Mrs. Szilvia Dömök - project coordinator
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an expert teacher depending of the topic of the project
Spain:The key people in charge of running the project consist of the two contact people (Laura and Carme), the 5 members of the principal team and 3 more teachers. However, we will specify it in the following days.
In case that they leave their post, we could find other interested teachers.
U.K.:
I (Bekki) will be the main person in charge of the project.
Our head will be the second contact person.
Finland:
We have been promoting reading in our school in various ways, for example establishing book clubs and with drama pedagogy. We want to develop and share and get ideas to get reading even more appealing among children.
Our teachers are experienced in practising inclusive education and co-teaching. We can contribute our practical knowledge of general, intensified and special support of education. The aim is to give the needed individual support in mainstream classes.
We have participated in Comenius-projects, but we do not have any experience of Erasmus. Both teachers and pupils are very motivated and committed to start the Erasmus+KA2 project.
France: We are participating in an Erasmus + KA2 project “ Feel the four seasons beyond the walls” ( 2017-2019). Our first and only project. It is a little experience of collaboration with foreign partners, we are still novices. But we can share it and offer our partners what we learned with that project. Relative to the topic of the project, litterature takes part of our curricula. Children literacy give a great part on legends and tales and particularly here in Britanny where legends are still living.
Greece: Since 1999 our school has been twinned with a primary school from Larnaca, Cyprus, and in this context each time a pupils’ and teachers’ delegation pays a visit, various sports and cultural activities take place at school.
Hungary: Personally I have a lot of experience in my previous school with eTwinning, Comenius and Erasmus projects. In this school I started to work in 2014 and I managed to join to 3 eTwinning and one Erasmus+ KA2 project. I have experience with organizing transnational meetings, or teacher workshops.
Spain: Our experience in European projects is based chiefly in eTwinning. We have carried out many since 2010 and we have National and European Quality Labels. In April 2018 our school was awarded with eTwinning School Label. A teacher has been eTwinning Ambassador until September 2018. We participated in an Erasmus + KA1 "Job Shadowing" (2016) as a host school. We have no experience in an Erasmus+ KA2, it will be the first one for us but all school members are committed and so much motivated about carrying out this partnership. We are all sure is a great opportunity for our school.
U.K.:
I have experience in participating in international projects.
My school teaches Shanghai maths and is involved in training other schools/ heads in this method of teaching.
Finland: No
France:We have participated in two Erasmus + projects :
| Erasmus + | 2017 | 2017-1-FR01-KA101-036798 |
| Erasmus + | 2017 | 2017-1-EL01-KA219-036140_3 |
Greece: No.
Hungary:
Erasmus + 2017 2017-1-PL01-KA219-038605_6
Spain: No.
U.K.: I have participated in one, but my current school has not.
Finland: No.
France: No.
Greece: No.
Hungary: No
Spain: Yes. Our school has got 10 National Quality Labels and 10 European Quality Labels for eTwinning projects.
U.K.: No