The last week of March 2022…Students and teachers from Poland, Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria embarked on a new adventure as a part of the project “MATHS IS ALL AROUND” under the program Erasmus +. It included searching for new friendships, and knowledge, and most of all, looking for the roles mathematics play in our lives.
The first day (Monday) started with welcoming our partners at PELSS “Chelopech”, followed by lively integration and icebreaker activities, a demonstration of chemistry experiments, and a presentation of Bulgaria for our guests to get acquainted with our country. We delved into the world of physics and had the chance to create our own 3-D holograms. In the afternoon, the mathematics competition started. Each of the partners had to go through various maths challenges. The winners managed to solve all the problems, found the correct answers through logic, and were the fastest in the competition. And... the winners were: our partners from Poland, the second place went to the team from Bulgaria and the third to Romania. Later on that day all the students and teachers met with representatives of Dundee Precious Metals “Chelopech”. Not only was the purpose to get to know the company but also to witness the various roles mathematics plays in the company’s processes.
The second day (Tuesday) of our experience brought us to Sofia. All the partners were divided into teams, and got quests with various questions whose answers were hidden in the cultural and historical monuments and buildings situated in the city center. This nontraditional and creative way helped our guests to get acquainted with our capital city. They got in touch with the landmarks and had the chance to wander through the streets, experiencing the spirit and atmosphere of Sofia.
We found ourselves in Chavdar on our third day (Wednesday). The morning started with an official welcome in the municipality of Chavdar (aka the European village of Bulgaria) followed by a visit to the bakery “Provence”. Our guests put on their aprons enthusiastically and started making their own bread sharing various facts about their traditional cuisine. The next activities took place in the Folklore center of Chavdar. Besides learning more about the Bulgarian traditions and customs, our partners experienced the role of mathematics in the Bulgarian embroidery. The activity which followed put all the partners into teams and had the task to create martenitsa dolls with materials that they needed to buy first. We had a certain amount of money we needed to calculate very carefully in order to buy only the necessary materials, pay for the rent, and hire the employees. At the end of the activity, each team came up with the best advertisement which would strategically bring us the highest sales. Namely, this entrepreneur activity presented the important role mathematics plays in our everyday lives. The warm afternoon was spent in “Saint Petka” park and we enjoyed the beautiful nature and had fun with all the facilities.
On Thursday, we met at school again and the task for the morning was for each partner team to create a deck of cards relating to mathematics and their own country. Later on, we had the chance to visit the municipality of Chelopech where we were welcomed by the mayor and our guests got to know a little bit about the village and its development. The afternoon was dedicated to a short trip to Panagyurishte. We had quests again and were brought to historical events, old houses from the Bulgarian national revival, and the Panagyurishte treasure.
Days slipped by and our meeting in Bulgaria came to an end. Sadly, we needed to say our goodbyes. But before that, we had the official certificate ceremony.
We experienced an entertaining, emotional, and positive week together. Although we felt sad about our guests' departure, we were happy that we were the ones to enjoy the whole adventure full of cherished memories, warm smiles, and pleasant and shared moments with new friends. We said “Goodbye” but we look forward to meeting again…some day.
Author: Kristiana Belova
Programme
What do you know about Bulgaria? (presentation):
Welcome to Bulgaria!.pdf
What do you know about Bulgaria? (quiz)
Video:
Meeting in Bulgaria, March 2022
Maths in Real Life:
Mathematics and Embroidery
Maths with a difference: entrepreneurship and mathematics workshop
CREATIVE-TOY-PRODUCTION-short-description.pdf
Mathematics competition:
Math-Competition-in-Bulgaria.pdf
Lesson "How 3D and holograms are related to mathematics?":
How 3D and holograms are related to mathematics.pdf
How 3D and holograms are related to mathematics_1.pdf
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