mural project competition

One of the events organized on Tolerance Day by TIME team in our school was the competition for a new mural design. A lot of students took part in it and here we present the winning works.

album with students' works

here is the link to the album compiled by our Bulgarian partner to show the works produced by students during the Art for Tolerance that took place during the first working visit in our project
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_f26yJbKYs&feature=email

comenius conference in Szczecin

On 11th October we attended a Comenius conference in Szczecin organized by Szczecin Board of Education. We had a great opportunity to show off the products of TIME project as well as exchange experiences with other schools running Comenius projects.
http://www.kuratorium.szczecin.pl/index.php/fundusze-strukturalne/comenius-partnerskie-projekty-szko/3594-konferencja-informacyjno-promocyjna-programu-uczenie-si-przez-cae-ycie-comenius

VISIT IN HUNGARY

Our team took part in the working visit in Szent Istvan Gymnasium et Iskola in Mako, Hungary. We spent there seven days (22-29 September 2011). The programme was really interesting, full of work and fun.  At the opening ceremony each team presented a dance and we learnt a beautiful Hungarian song. Later we worked on the  „Tolerance Glossary” attending ICT workshops. We also presented our countries at  „Family and Health Day”. During the event we also worked in international teams to do project tasks such as creating a wall of tolerance, solving quizzes about partner countries, taking part in „trust game”, playing sports with disabled people and  attending joint drama workshops.

During our trip to the beautiful Hungarian capital we visited „Invisible Exhibition” which is organized in the way that the visitors can experience the world of blind people. It was one of the most valuable moments of the whole project which allowed us to become more aware of the needs and feelings of disabled people. While visiting Szeged we could see a synagogue what gave us an opportunity to broaden our knowledge of a different religion.

A very exciting part of the visit was the sports afternoon when we learnt a very popular Hungarian game „meta” and also played volleyball and football.

The visit was also an excellent occasion to strengthen the intercultural bonds and develop interpersonal skills. We brought home great memories and we have a strong feeling that we are becoming more and more conscious citizens of Europe and tolerant people.

evaluation report 3

EVALUATION REPORT – WIDER PUBLIC

We asked 20 people – teachers, parents and local people 5 questions about our project. The questions were as follows:

1.      What are the partner countries in the project?

2.      What country is the team going to visit next?

3.      What are the main aims of the project?

4.      Do you know any events organized by T.I.M.E. team?

5.      Did you take part in any of them? If so, did you like it?

Most of the questioned people knew that we have a partner in Bulgaria whereas only a few of them were aware of our Hungarian partner. That is probably due to the fact that we have already visited Bulgaria and disseminated the results of the visit widely. A lot of the polled thought that the next meeting is in Poland so now we know that we haven’t informed the public well enough of our forthcoming visit to Hungary.

Almost everyone was aware of our aims – spreading tolerance among people and getting to know  foreign cultures and languages. Most of the people that were questioned knew of our actions such as Day of Tolerance or Joint Photo of the Inhabitants of Lipiany. A lot of them were only spectators but they liked the events.

evaluation - report on the survey conducted after the Bulgarian visit

1.       All participants of the trip said that this journey lived up to their expectations. Most people said that thanks to the trip they met new friends and visited many interesting places. Students got to know different culture and Bulgarian customs. One person mentioned that the visit was really well organized.

2.       Everyone respond affirmatively, all of their expectations came true. They acquired a lot of new skills. Almost everybody said that now their knowledge of English is much better. They also learnt to work in a group and opened to the people. Three persons mentioned  skills of making graffiti and one said that she/he improved her/his knowledge of tolerance. Somebody also mentioned  increased knowledge about Bulgaria.

3.       When it comes to interpersonal contacts, most people agreed with each other. Students met new friends and got to know their characters. Another person mentioned that conversation is the most important thing, no matter what languages people can speak. Now most students keep in touch with each other. They finally overcame the language barrier.

4.       More than half of respondents said that there are significant differences in customs of countries. They got to know traditional Bulgarian dance, which is different from Polish. Others said that bread and salt greeting was similar to Polish one. Bulgarian seeing off the graduates also  was a little different. Despite this, students were fascinated by the differences between countries and by the discovery of similarities.

5.       Students found out that everyone is different, but all people are equal. We should tolerate differences in our behavior, religions, customs. Tolerance is a hard concept which must be spread and respected, regardless of the origin, appearance and skin color. We can’t judge people by their ‘cover’.

6.       All of the respondents said that they developed their language skills. They gained enthusiasm for communication in foreign languages and refreshed their abilities. One person even stated it was real English lesson in practice. Most people obtained richer vocabulary and they could check their knowledge.

7.       The most impressing was the welcoming greeting. We were really surprised. It turned out we can’t judge a book by its cover. Most of us were astonished with the folk dance and clothes. One person was impressed with the openness of Bulgarian people. Some people liked  creating graffiti.

8.        At this point everybody answered unequivocally. We enjoyed painting puzzle in joint teams and creating graffiti. Some people also enjoyed  planting a tree.

9.        Most of us changed our views. Someone mentioned that he matured and became more open in the way of foreign languages. Other people considered they became more tolerant and changed their relation to other countries. It got better.

10.    More than half of the group stated that in the future they will travel a lot and as a result they will be more open to new people. Almost all of us certified they will learn foreign languages. People from the project gained huge experience, which will be very useful in the future. One person mentioned that she will avoid airplane flights.

11.    All the people answered affirmatively to this question. One person hinted that tolerance is an attempt to create one big family. Another person said that tolerance is getting rid of barriers and mutual respect. Other participants mentioned that we can’t judge the book by its cover.  One person stated that we can’t be guided by the stereotypes. Trips like this unite people in some way. They open our eyes  despite different  language, culture, appearance all the people are the same- we are equal. ‘It is worth to arouse sense of tolerance in other people from young age’- it’s opinion of  one of the polled people. Before we judge something let’s try to look closely at it.

video clip on the Bulgarian Culture exhibition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rHj3f9I5Y8&feature=feedwll

Bulgarian Culture Exhibition in our school

We have decided to organize an exhibition in our school to show everybody the wonders of the diverse Bulgarian culture. At the opening there were the Mayor, the members of local council and representatives of  local media present. We'll publish a video material on the opening soon!

Bulgarian Culture Exhibition in our school

mural in Polish School

On 16th June we finally managed to create a kind of a mural in our school. We are rally happy that we found two graffitti artists in the lower secondary school who did most of the work. The result went well beyond our expectations!We hope to organize a competition next school year in order to cover the whole school wall with our paintings.

certificates of tolerance for our youngest friends

this week we presented all the 1st-3rd graders of Primary School with certificates of tolerance and sweets to thank them for attending tolerance activities. The most active classes also received games and books on European Union. We really enjoyed seeing the little happy faces!

comenius corner update

working visit in Bulgaria

The Polish T.I.M.E. Comenius team took part in a working visit in St. Sofrony Vrachansky Secondary School in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. There were also our friends from Mako, Hungary. From 6th to 12th May the participants worked to achieve the aims of the Tolerance In My Europe project by participating in joint artistic workshops and getting to know more about Bulgarian culture and customs. The main aim of the visit was to organize Art for Tolerance Festival and to instill tolerant attitudes and fight  prejudices in the context of cultural, religious and socioeconomic diversity.

First day, after the warm welcoming, the teams presented their towns, regions, schools and local  project products. The next day we saw The Museum of Aviation and the wonderful Monastery of Batschkovo as well as the city of Asenovgrad. The most important was the day three, when the groups took part in the celebrations of seeing off the graduates and later in the Art Festival. Joint groups painted and assembled a huge puzzle and then the teams created their murals. Then an exhibition was organized. Working together on artistic forms to express the idea of tolerance provided the opportunity to develop interpersonal and sociolinguistic skills. In the afternoon we were sightseeing the Old Town of Plovdiv which is rightly called “ancient and eternal”. The following day a trip to Sofia took place. Everybody was amazed by the wonderful monuments and buildings of the Bulgarian capital. We could also see and read the tolerance Edict which is 1700 years old. The last day of the visit the students could participate in town celebrations of St. Cyril and Methodius which was a perfect opportunity to disseminate the project products and spread its ideas. In the afternoon all participating teachers and students signed the declaration of tolerance which then was put into a decorative bottle and then buried in the school ground. After that two trees were planted in the earlier launched Alley of Tolerance. In the evening there was a great farewell party in a restaurant where the participants exchanged small gifts, ate delicious Bulgarian food and danced. On the 12^th at midday in front of the hotel, where Polish and Hungarian teams had stayed, there was a very moving farewell with a lot of warm words and tears.

Back in Poland we discussed the visit and came to the conclusion that the visit was just a great means of expressing the project ideas, work and get to know each other as well as meet new friends.

new comenius corner

that is the result of our youngest friends' work and we just adore it!

our youngest friends commitment

We have decided that the hand  (“łapka”) cutout that we used when taking a photo of the inhabitants of our town is a good symbol and it can be developed further in our project.

In the week from 11^th to 15^th April the youngest pupils of our school took part in tolerance lessons. The teachers had a brainstorm discussion with them and they enjoyed some drama and art activities.

The 1^st graders then could participate in a competition to decorate their hand cutouts according to their artistic vision. The 2^nd and 3^rd graders made colorful “Tolerance Trees” where they stuck slips with their ideas of tolerance.

They worked brilliantly and we are going to display their works in our Comenius Corner. Later we will give all the students and their teachers “Certificate of Tolerant Group” and award them with sweet treats. We are really happy to see our youngest friends being so eager to show their talents and share their precious knowledge.

our youngest friends commitment

evaluation report2

In the middle of March 2011 we conducted a second survey among 100 students and teachers in our school which consists of three levels – primary, lower secondary and upper secondary. The aim of the survey was to evaluate activities in our project done so far. We also wanted to know if our promotion actions are sufficient enough. We asked closed and some open questions this time.

Almost half of the surveyed students are aware of our project and they also know when it started. About the same number of the questionned have some knowledge of the ideas behind our actions as well as our partner schools abroad.

A lot of students in the lower secondary school did not know about the Tolerance Day which we organized or they did not associate it with our project. Therefore, we need to promote our actions more.

About 75% of the questionned know about our Comenius Corner.

To sum up, it is obvious that our project is very well known of among students that attend the upper secondary school as our team belongs there. Nevertheless, we are going to involve other students in Lipiany’s school even the youngest. Most of the questionned teachers had a very wide knowledge of our project but somehow they do not wish to encourage their students to take interest in it.

one day, one town, one idea!

27th March 2011 at 12:30 more than 300 inhabitants of Lipiany pose for a joint photo in front of the Town Hall. Our team distributed cut outs of hands in different colours so that the participants could wave to everybody in Europe. It is a friendly symbol of unity and openess. Among the people there were The Mayor, Mr Krzysztof Boguszewski, The School Principal Mrs Dorota Chrobrowska, members of The Old Motors Club, representatives of our school students' council, lovely cheerleaders and surely our team!
That was a great day and a great view of lovely smiling people enjoying this simple yet unifying activity.

getting ready for the 27th

here are some pictures - the team is getting ready for the joint photo on 27th March

radio announcement

today we visited the local radio station to give an interview about our project as well as announce our next event. On 27th March we will take a photo of the people of Lipiany to show how important is to make things together no matter social position, background, views, appearance etc.
 See you there!

poetry workshops3

WE AND THEY

(based on Rudyard Kipling poem)

Father, Mother and Me

Sister and Auntie say

All the people like us are We

And everyone else is They

And They live over the sea

While We live over the way

But – would you believe it – They look upon We

As only a sort of They!

We have legs, arms and bellies

They also have them but in a different color

We have families, We eat meat and fruit

They also eat, drink and live – as we do!

Sometimes it’s difficult for Them

To understand that We are Them

Just in a different skin.

We are different to Them, but They are Us

They work, earn, learn and buy

We go to work, spend money and go to school

They love and we know how to love

We’re different to them but They are equal

The world isn’t’ divided – They must understand

That we are Them and They are Us!

Paulina Gajek

poetry workshops2

WE AND THEY

(based on Rudyard Kipling poem)

Father, Mother and Me

Sister and Auntie say

All the people like us are We

And everyone else is They

And They live over the sea

While We live over the way

But – would you believe it – They look upon We

As only a sort of They!

We work hard at work

And eat a lot of pork

They paint their faces

And have beautiful eyes

We are very strong

And often take things wrong

They like a lot of flowers

And smell them for a few hours

Do you know who are They?

We like danger

They read scandalous magazines

We have garage dirty

They are really pretty

We are different from Them

But everybody has a common aim

Do you know who are They?

Hubert Oszczyk

poetry workshops1

WE AND THEY

(based on Rudyard Kipling poem)

Father, Mother and Me

Sister and Auntie say

All the people like us are We

And everyone else is They

And They live over the sea

While We live over the way

But – would you believe it – They look upon We

As only a sort of They!

We do a lot of homework

And have a little free time

They sign under our success with a smirk

And fight with school crime

While they watch TV

We make learning aids and pray

We eat horrible food in a canteen

And wear hideous uniforms

They are always in a bad mood

And teach Us when it’s warm outside

We really need more freedom

They can’t wait for holidays

And – impudent heathen! – They look upon We

As a quite impossible They!
Alicja Smoląg

show

our drama team has produced yet another show which entertained everybody at the school party on 5th February

journalism workshops

Joanna, a former student of our school, now a journalism student is organizing writing workshops for our journalism team. With three more meetings ahead, we are impatiently waiting for the results!

sport arena

we are really proud that in our town an excellent sport centre has been opened recently

we hope to play a friendly match with our partner schools in the future!

new Comenius Corner