06 Ιούν Mobilities’ experiences in Portugal
Between the 3rd and the 5th of May, the Secondary School of Paços de Ferreira (Portugal) received the teachers and students from 2o Gymnasio Geraka (Greece) and Virolai School (Spain). Read their testimonials…
During these 3 days, students from the three countries had the opportunity to socialize, interact and get to know each other, face to face. On the first day, students and teachers were welcomed at the School and at the Town Hall of Paços de Ferreira. To better understand the culture of the region, they visited the Furniture Museum, the Archaeological Museum and the Sanfins Hillfort, one of the biggest in Europe. The second day was dedicated to participative activities at school. In the morning, they had the opportunity to participate in several classrooms (science labs, robotics, Portuguese, English, Spanish and dance). They were integrated in the activities in the classrooms and produced written material to include in the project “Our Book”. In the afternoon, the small scale event took place, where all the students participating in the project presented their work and the MYP’s implemented. At the end of the day, there was time for the students to socialize. Finally, on the last day, a leisure time was provided for the students to understand and “feel” the culture of the north of the country, through a visit to the city of Porto and the Gaia coast.
Escola Secundária de Paços de Ferreira
The Greek team of the European program ERASMUS+ KA3 “BePart” had a three-day transnational meeting in Portugal and specifically in Paços de Ferreira, the capital of furniture, from 3 to 5 May 2022 with 2 teachers and 4 students.
On Tuesday the 3rd of May 2022, it was with great emotion when our team met for the first time face-to-face with the Portuguese and Spanish partners in the school, Escola Secundária de Paços de Ferreira, which is a secondary school, Gymnasium and Lyceum, with 1800 students.
We were welcomed by the principal of the school, who guided us to all its premises. A school that really impressed us with the well-equipped classrooms and workshops and the many auxiliary spaces, such as a two-storey library, a working room, rest room and meeting rooms for teachers and students, a workplace for European programs, indoor and outdoor sports venues, art exhibition space, auditorium, cafeteria and restaurants.
On the same day we were welcomed at the City Hall and then we were guided to the Furniture Museum. We were surprised to learn that the city has 5,000 furniture factories and supplies the whole country with furniture and exports it all over the world. Then we visited the Archaeological Museum, where the archeological findings from the whole Municipality are exhibited, such as pieces of pottery, gold, silver and bronze coins. We visited also the archaeological site of Citânia de Sanfins, a fortified village of the 2nd century BC, which was a typical type of village in the Bronze and Iron Ages. We were impressed by the archeological findings, the landscape but also the efforts of the archaeologists to reconstruct the circular houses, with a diameter of about 5 meters and conical roofs so that the visitor has a complete picture of how the village used to be in the ancient time.
On Wednesday the 4th of May 2022, we attended Robotics, Portuguese and English classes. In Portuguese the students composed a welcome poem about friendship and unity, which was translated into Greek and Spanish. Also, words in Portuguese, were translated into Greek and Spanish while the Greek team mentioned Greek words that are found in other languages. We noticed that the two languages, Portuguese and Spanish, have a lot in common. The attendance was completed with the dance lesson, where all the partners had fun learning a contemporary dance choreography.
After the lunch in the school restaurant, the presentations of the three partners were made by the students regarding the implementation of the Youth Participation Models of the two years of implementation, 2020-2022. The Greek team, after making a presentation of its country, Athens and its school, it made an overview of the two years of implementation of the program with students and specifically it presented the implementation of the Youth Participation Models, EAR, yMIND and 5 stages Model of online participation – Gilly Salmon. The EAR model aims to introduce the dialectical method in school education and promotes the active participation of students in a democratic society, with the support of theater techniques. Through this model we dealt with the issue of individual and social responsibility in relation to the school environment in the year 2020-2021. This school year, 2021-2022, through the yMIND model we deal with understanding diversity, respect for diversity, the promotion of gender equality and the prevention of gender-based violence as well as the prevention of bullying and discrimination. This year we also implement the 5 stages Model of online participation – Gilly Salmon, creating an online community on Instagram.
The presentation of the Portuguese team was particularly interesting, because the students, dressed up as professionals of various specialties, presented the Youth Participation Model that focused on their professional orientation.
It was also of interest the presentation of the Spanish team, which manages a part of the school budget.
The presentations were also attended by our partners from Mentortec and the University of Porto.
The day ended with the dinner offered to us by our Portuguese partners in a restaurant where we had the chance to enjoy traditional Portuguese cuisine.
On Thursday the 5th of May 2022, we enjoyed a tour of the enchanting Porto, the second largest city in Portugal, after the capital Lisbon. Located along the mouth of the Douro River in the north of the country, it is one of the oldest European centers and was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1996. The city left us with the best impressions of its natural beauty, the colorful well-preserved buildings and the many wineries along the river.
The transnational meeting was especially beneficial for our students because they are given the opportunity to develop active citizenship skills, broaden their horizons, create new friendships and experiences and exchange cultural elements, which are all life supplies to plan their future. This intercultural dialogue, the strengthening of friendly ties as well as the exchange of good practices will continue at the transnational meeting in Athens, May 17-19 2022, where our school will have the role of the host.
We thank the Portuguese partners for their very warm welcome, friendship and love.
2o Gymnasio Geraka
During the week of May 2 we traveled to Portugal. We exchanged 4 days with colleagues from Greece and Portugal. It has been an experience that has opened our minds and allowed us to close the project. The cultural exchange has been very great and the learnings obtained during the trip have made us value more the project and its main goal, the exchange of the work done. We have learned that you have to work for what you want. We need to value everything we have achieved. We believe that it is a project to promote, as it is a great opportunity for any student to see the world and cultures of other places.
Escola Virolai