As the project coordinating school of the European ERASMUS + project "The Little Prince’s Journey Through Europe ” the GGS
“ An der Burg ”in Hückelhoven was the center of the first Project meeting from January 27th to 31st 2020.
Since September 2019, and in addition to their teaching activities, the dedicated team of teachers Schella Ennulat, Kristina Price and Gabriele Krause, organized and coordinated the stay of and the program for the host schools.
A total of six teachers and 12 students traveled from the partner schools in Poland, Portugal and Romania to spend a week together learning with and from each other.
After a warm welcome from the entire school community, the theater group introduced the guests to the topic with a performance of their play "The Little Prince".
To everyone's surprise, the Romanian delegation had prepared its own little scene in which the "Little Prince" got in first touch with Romanian history and culture.
By attending various classes during the project meeting the guests, teachers as well as students, got in touch with several "cooperative learning methods", that are important teaching tools at the GGS “An der Burg”.
Moreover the teachers participated in a workshop on eTwinning and planned the further steps of the two-year project, that will end up with a handbook on theatrical work in schools. Parallel to the coordinators' meetings of the teachers, theater workshops were offered for the students. Their topics dealt with “Facial Expressions and Gesture”, which will form the first chapter of the handbook.
In addition to these internal school activities, the program included extracurricular activities in the afternoons to allow an insight into cultural aspects of learning and living in Germany.
Together with the children of the host families, around 30 participants explored Hückelhoven on the first day. The delegations were warmly welcomed in the council chamber by Mayor Bernd Jansen, who informed them about the city and surprised everyone with a Hückelhoven T-shirt. On a vivid tour in the "Museum of Minerals and Mining Friends in the City of Hückelhoven e.V." and the attached Barbarastollen the participants were given lots of information about the Sophia-Jacoba coal mine and Hückelhoven's mining history.
After having lunch together in the school's OGS, the group went to Aachen on the second day of the project. Their path led to Aachen Cathedral. They passed the City Theater and Elisenbrunnen before stopping at “Nobis” bakery to test the entire variety of “Aachener Printen”. During the cathedral tour many secrets of the exciting and rich history of the cathedral were revealed and opened everyone’s eyes to the time of Charlemagne. The rest of the afternoon was at leisure and was rounded off by a joint dinner.
Very dedicated host families organized the third and last afternoon individually, before everyone met again at the farewell party - certificates were handed over and a busy and eventful project meeting was drawing to its close. Headmaster Dirk Gröbert summarized: “The promotion of the European idea is - as you can see - not only the task of the political stage. Keeping Europe together and letting it grow is a challenge especially for the local people with their different languages and cultures and at the same time a rewarding task for future generations. ”
Within this week, first bonds of friendship were tied, which can be further strengthened when meeting again at the second project meeting, which will take place in Poland.
Erasmus Schedule Germany 16.12 (1).pdf
Link to the local newspaper report about the mobility in Germany:
https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/erkelenz/stadtgespraech/erasmus-in-der-grundschule-an-der-burg-schueler-aus-polen-portugal-und-rumaenien-in-hueckelhoven_aid-48880225
The first learning and teaching meeting of our project took place in Germany from 27th of January to 31st of January 2020.
The Romanian team want to thank to the puils, teachers and parents who made possible such a great meeting!
