Connecting Classrooms - ENA Cluster - Newsletter nº 4 EN

April 2013

CC .EN A Cl uster

TwinSpace >>>>>

Paranhos

3

Valadares

6

Cávado

8

Braga

10

Taipas

11

Póvoa de Lanhoso

14

Matosinhos

16

Survival Guide, ESCA

18

© Cartaz da Escola Dr. Joaquim Gomes Ferreira Alves, Valadares

Contents:

Number 4 English version

Reading Relay for Peace

Connecting Classrooms (CC)

30 January

2013 Readind program in >>>>> Blog “Público” in >>>>>

QR Codes, ESCA

20 The ENA Cluster schools celebrated on the 30th January the School Day of Non-

Park High School

22

violence and Peace. This year, a reading marathon united the seven schools under the motto left by Mahatma Gandhi through the seven social sins.

One of the goals of the project was to awake in students sensitivity to the importance of their role in Peace construction. Inside this publication there are reports related to this day in different schools.

C C . ENA C lus te r

Page 2

30.January.2013 I have

School day of Non-Violence and Peace

nothing new to teach the world.Truth and Nonviolence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could.

Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi… the inspirer … … the ENA Cluster students were up to the challenge!

Non-violence is not a garment to be put on and off

Escola Secundária JGFA, Valadares

at will. Its seat Escola EB2,3 de Paranhos

is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable

Escola EB2,3 de Mosteiro e Cávado

Escola Sec. de Caldas das Taipas

part of our being.

Mahatma Gandhi Escola Secundária da Póvoa de Lanhoso

Escola EB2,3 de Matosinhos

Escola Secundária Carlos Amarante

Number 4 English ver sion

Page 3

30.January.2013… in EB2,3 de Paranhos EB 2,3 Paranhos School

forge the boundings be-

of Education of the local

Non-violence is

fully aware that Education

tween school and families,

municipality and as if this

is the Treasure of the 21st

to bring down linguistic

wasn´t enough, we also

the greatest

century

obstacles and honour mul-

had media cover from a

force at the dis-

tilingualism.

well

posal of man-

readings for Peace.

We were honoured by the

“Jornal de Notícias”.

In an opening session pre-

presence of Drª Goretti

sided

Headmaster

Coutinho representing the

Students’ creativity and

Emídio Isaías this was also

British Council, of Drª Fáti-

commitment

the perfect occasion to

ma Pereira from the board

tribute to Inclusion and

challenged

community

by

to

the

promote

known

newspaper

kind. It is

were

a

mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.

Mahatma Gandhi

NonReportagem vídeo no YouTube >>>>>

violence, which is the

visual performative arts

developed in fifteen clas-

guese, moving forward

quality of

were enhanced.

ses from 5th to 9th grade in

towards the change pro-

the heart,

Portuguese, Sign Lan-

claimed by Gandhi

“Be

Fifty five students intro-

guage, French, English,

the

you

duced by two fellow

Spanish, Chinese while

presenters from classes

two parents paid a trib-

A nd B of the 6 grade

ute to linguistic diversi-

(Filipe Pinto and Matilde

ty by reading in Italian

Prucha) showed the work

and

th

Brazilian

Portu-

change

want to see in the world”.

Fátima Veiga, Coordenadora CC - Paranhos

cannot come by an appeal to the brain.

Mahatma Gandhi

C C . ENA C lus te r

Page 4

30.January.2013… in EB2,3 de Paranhos

“Be the change you want

EB 2,3 Paranhos School celebrated Non

Sign Language and were also the right

Violence School Day through reading

occasion to strenghen the ties between school family and community promoting Inclusion and Multilingualism.

sessions which promoted Peace in 7 languages including

to see in the world” Mahatma Gandhi [Lema do Dia escolhido em Paranhos]

Texts red in Paranhos

...

Ode to Peace, Mariana Alves e Ruben Santos do 6º F Ode à Paz, Beatriz Ferreira e Paulo Carmo do 5º C Convenção de Evoramonte, Rita Oliveira do 6º A Discurso do Dalai Lama, Leonor Pinheiro do 6º A Chief Seattle’s speech, Afonso Caetano e Mafalda Trigo do 6ºA Imagine, João Ribeiro e Guilherme Almeida do 5º A Peace by Kids, Alexandre Dias, Duarte Caseiro e Leandro Oliveira do 5º G A Paz é…, 5º A & Maria Luís Rego e Rafael Alves do 5º D & Menglu Chen e Sofia Oliveira do 6º E Peace is a day with nothing to do, Beatriz Ferreira, Filipe Ferreira e Matilde Cancelliere, 5º C Peace is a surprise Kinder egg, João Pereira e Luana Havelda do 5º D Um Mundo de Paz, Inês Afonso, José Santos e Pedro Lopes do 6º D Ebony and Ivory, Isaac do 6ºG Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Bruno Lopes e João Ferreira do 6º E General, man is very useful, Gonçalo Pires e Diana Ramos do 7º S e 8º S A Paz, Nuno Moutinho, João Silva Luís Cruz e Rodrigo Costa do 6º A Que canten los niños!, Flora Pimenta, Eduarda Leitão, Luísa Dias, Luís Santos, António Vale, 8º B PAZ, PAZ, PAZ, 8º B The field where the battle did not happen, Carlos Guimarães, Teresa Carvalho, Nelson Tavares do 9º S

Leituras pelos pais, Arqt. Cancelliere. D. Neto do 5º C A wonderful world, Abraão Azevedo e Mariana Costa do 6º B La Paix sur terre, Beatriz Silva, Joana Peixoto, Sara Gil, Soraia Silva, Sandra Martins, Zaida Neves, 7º C

Number 4 English ver sion

Page 5

30.January.2013… in EB2,3 de Paranhos Jornal de Notícias, 31.01.2013

Reading was

very much appreciated …

Some teachers stated they hadn´t seen such a positive commitment on behalf of the students for quite a long time…that’s

Connecting Classrooms!

Fátima Veiga

C C . ENA C lus te r

Page 6

30.January.2013… in Secundária DJGFA,Valadares The foundation of my beliefs is the same as it was when I was 10. Nonviolence.

Joan Baez Reportagem vídeo no YouTube >>>>>

I do not hold to nonviolence for moral reasons, but for political and practical reasons.

Aung San Suu Kyi

The Connecting Classrooms group also planned a Reading Relay and extended it to all language Department so as to celebrate the week of the languages.

So the reading relay was distributed throughout a week, being the 30th January, the day of the English, the school day of non-violence and peace and the inauguration of the Connecting Classsroom activities. It was a full day for students

and the event organizers! We started with an opening session as published in our programme and as it can be watched on our school site GFA_TV with poems reci-

tation, roleplaying, music and shar-

Os textos dos alu-

ing messages of peace. We also managed to communicate via Skype with Esc. EB 2,3 de Matosinhos and communicated throughout all the activities of both schools established for the time.

The students loved it, of course!!! From 10.15 am onwards, we started the reading relay for peace with several reading circuits throughout the school and testimony handover as a true relay. All the teachers that received the

students were given a folder with a sentence or a poem allusive to the theme. Some Readings can be heard on our radio webpage.

In the closing session, the students cried words of peace while dancing at the sound of John Lennon’s song "Give Peace A Chance"! All the students present received poems or messages of peace to read in the classes and at home.

nos estão reunidos num eBook

em >>>>>

Helena Reis Coordinator CC, Valadares

Number 4 English ver sion

Page 7

30.January.2013… in Secundária JGFA,Valadares If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone, will profit from it.

This is the most basic kind of peace work.

Thich Nhat Hanh

To make peace with an enemy one must work with that enemy and that enemy becomes one’s partner.

Nelson Mandela

Page 8

C C . ENA C lus te r 30.january.2013… EB2,3 de Mosteiro e Cávado, Braga The “School Day of Non-violence and Peace”, founded in 1964 and also known as World or International Day of Non-violence and Peace, is a pioneering, non-state, non-governmental, non-official, independent, free and voluntary initiative of Non-violent and Pacifying Education, which is now practised in schools all over the world and in which centres of education, teachers and students of all levels and from all countries are invited to take part.

I believe history teaches us a categorical lesson: that once a people are determined to become free, then nothing in the world can stop them reaching their goal.

Bishop Desmond Tutu

It advocates a permanent education in and for harmony, tolerance, solidarity, respect for human rights, non-violence and peace.

It is observed on January 30 every year, on the anniversary of the death of Mahatma Gandhi.

Its basic message is: “Universal Love, Nonviolence and Peace. Universal Love is better than egoism, Non-violence is better than violence, and Peace is better than war”.

This day was commemorated in ENA cluster with a reading marathon in each of the schools involved. In Mosteiro e Cávado School we collected poems, lyrics and quotes from famous Portuguese poets.

Both students and teachers read poems with a message of peace, friendship and solidarity.

In the morning some students wrote poems on a blackboard… other students hung posters on the walls and doors.

That was fun and memorable! That was Connecting Classrooms!

Cristina Gonçalves Coordinator CC, Cávado

Number 4 English ver sion

Page 9

30.january.2013… EB2,3 de Mosteiro e Cávado, Braga Our common humanity is more important than all the things that divide us.

Mairead Corrigan

Connecting Classrooms: Reading the world in our School Library Reading is a very important issue which is not only about enjoyment but a necessity; the basic tool of education, it makes way for a better understanding of one’s own experiences and it can be an exciting voyage to self discovery. It is the art of interpreting and reasoning printed and written words, as Choudhung (1990) put it “the reading habit is best formed at a young impressionable age in school, but once formed, it can last one’s life.”

The Connecting Classrooms project has made it possible to create a section of very inter-

esting books in our library. It was officially inaugurated on January 30, School Day of NonViolence and Peace. It has a lot of interesting books related to inclusion, multiculturalism and social issues that tell and teach us about other cultures, traditions and beliefs.

Students said they were delighted to have new books.

The dear people do not know how long it takes to learn to read. I have

The new section has already proved very successful with the current pupils and is a significant resource for students and teachers of our school.

been at it all

Thank you Connecting Classrooms!

Together we are bridging the differences through culture.

have reached

my life and I cannot yet say I the goal.

Goethe

Page 10

C C . ENA C lus te r 30.January.2013… Secundária Carlos Amarante, Braga

"Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power.Then will our world know the blessings of peace.

William Gladstone

To celebrate the School Day of NonViolence and Peace, the Connecting Classroom team organised a Reading Marathon to be held on January 30, from 8:30 to 13:20, in the showroom of the school Library.

Thirteen teachers and fourteen classes, including 7th, 8th,10th and 11th years participated very actively and enthusiastically. After the official opening speech by the Director of the school, the activity started round-theclock with the reading of different

texts in several foreign languages, recitation of poems, role-playing and singing alive. The top moment of

this marathon was the videoconference with the School of Póvoa de Lanhoso. The evaluation of this activity was really positive.

Adelina Moura Coordinator CC, Braga

Number 4 English ver sion

Page 11

30.January.2013‌ Secundåria Caldas das Taipas th

The 30

of January was an awesome day, a real marathon!

We had a great participation of students, all engaged to promote reading: there was room for

all types of readings as well as music and declamation.

These are the photos of "our day".

Isabel Bessa Coordinator CC, Taipas

"Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice.

Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace."

Bhagavad Gita

Page 12

C C . ENA C lus te r 30.January.2013… Secundária Caldas das Taipas While planning activities

stands for: multicultural-

for the annual school

ism,

plan ten years ago, the

We are conastonished

forming an act of contin-

these days at

tinuous reading activity and as that happened to be the Nonviolence Day as well we chal-

uous reading named the

lenged students to read, recite

Marathon Reading.

the amazing

With a mixture of con-

discoveries in

tentment and anxiety,

the field of

was the date set for this con-

ment of Languages came out with the idea of per-

volun-

teering ... The January, 30

teachers of the Depart-

stantly being

inclusion,

and stage... texts about these topics. The students ac-

cepted

we started planning its

the

challenge

Content-

and many were the mo-

violence. But I

ment because this read-

ments of great emotion

maintain that

ing proposal has never

and reflection on these

far more un-

organization.

been done before; anxie-

dreamt of

ness of the obstacles we

and seeming-

were to face about the

ly impossible discoveries will be made in the field of nonviolence.

Mohandas Gandhi

worldwide

ty because of our aware-

worrying

problems. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Au-

organization and success of the marathon.

gusto Curry, John Lennon and Dalai Lama were recalled with their so actual messages.

Fortunately, we were rewarded

“Urgentemente” (Urgently), a

with our students’ friendly reception and

poem by Eugénio de Andrade was set

cheer participation in the first edition, in

to music by the students of the Voca-

2004. In the ensuing years (from 2004 to 2013), the activity always proved to be praised, enjoyed, enjoyable, successful and

tional Course of Social Animator making everybody believe that “It is urgent

welcomed both by the students and within

to invent joy, to multiply the kisses, the

and without the school community rein-

cornfields, it is urgent to discover roses

forcing the power and enrichment granted

and rivers and bright mornings."

by the pleasure of reading.

We thank all the participants for their support th

To celebrate the 10 year of

and collaboration!

the Marathon, we counted on the Connecting Classrooms Project sup-

The teachers of the Department of Languages

port and collaboration aiming to

and of the Connecting Classrooms Project

promote the common values it

Number 4 English ver sion

Page 13

30.January.2013… Secundária Caldas das Taipas

"If we are to teach real peace in We think that this project was a really good idea. The interaction with young and elderly was

this world,

very rewarding. It was an excellent opportunity to share various types of litera-

and if we

ture and literary interests. They granted us the good fortune to hear the likes of other gen-

are to carry

erations, making this project timeless.

on a real

Eduardo e Rita, 10.º E

war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.”

Mohandas Gandhi

Page 14

C C . ENA C lus te r 30.January.2013… in Secundária Póvoa de Lanhoso

Vídeo no YouTube >>>>>

Thirtieth January is a day that cannot be

Lurdes Silva, Rosa Martins, Rosa Carvalho, Cristina

forgotten in Póvoa de Lanhoso Secondary

Santos, Afonso Fonseca, Elisabete Costa Silva,

School…the Connecting Classrooms

Rosa Sousa, José Braga e Mihai Lupu, to the

has put an indelible mark on it so

school clerks Jorge Pereira, Eva Araújo, Maria

that the defense of peace makes

José Araújo, Céu Pereira, Fátima Oliveira, Fátima

part of this school community lives.

the school board in the person of the teacher

the day: readings, live performances

José Manuel Ramos; to the students’ parents

and musical shows.

that contributed to the accomplishment of the

the classes 8th E and F, 10th A, B, C, and E, 11th A, E, 12th A and P16; to the teachers

by students in >>>>> (inspired in José Saramago story).

Cristina Borlido, Beatriz Coelho, Rosa Oliveira; to

Many activities were accomplished through

A word of thanks to the students from

eBook made

Coelho, Conceição Santos, Fernanda Isabel Silva,

30th January, 2013 activity.

Teresa Lacerda Coordinator CC, Póvoa de Lanhoso (Thanks to Manuela Lourenço for the help with translation)

Number 4 English ver sion

Page 15

30.January.2013… in Secundária Póvoa de Lanhoso

… there was a very special song by Rui Rodrigues and José Pedro that originated the recording of a VídeoClip produced by the Audiovisual Vocational Courseof the Agrupamento de Escolas de Póvoa de Lanhoso [See the link >>>>>] Texts in >>>>>>>>>

C C . ENA C lus te r

Page 16

30.January.2013‌ in EB2,3 de Matosinhos went very well, it was a very exciting moment where students shared poems, messages and a song. The

poetry and message reading by the 3rd grade students was touching, as the simplicity of their words filled our hearts with hope.

At the end, all students sang a The reading marathon on

were read in different lan-

30th January was also a huge

guages and one

success in Matosinhos.

There was joy and happiness in everyone’s faces and a peaceful and friendly atmosphere. Every stu-

of the poems was translated simultaneously from Portuguese to Chinese.

There was even a student who performed an impro-

is the weapon of the strong.

Betty Williams

violence and peace; they

wrote messages and made small drawings on a big poster paper that will be hung on a library wall for some days

dent that participated in the

vised rap. The videoconfer-

Ana Paula Moreira Coordinator CC,

event did amazingly. Poems

ence with Valadares' school

Matosinhos

VĂ­deo em >>>>>>

Nonviolence

song together about non-

Number 4 English ver sion

Page 17

30.January.2013‌ by‌ Goreti

Coutinho

I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as

Hello to all stakeholders in the CC,

soon as you

Congratulations to all who were involved with the successful organizing, promoting and partici-

have a pro-

pation in all the activities for January 30 in favor of Non-Violence and Peace in Schools

peace rally,

I was honored to be present at the School EB2, 3 Paranhos and was moved with this event that brought together students, teachers, parents the local education authority and members of the wider community. A sense of Peace calm was tangible. Poems were read, sung and danced

in 7 languages! Magnifico!

From what I saw in Paranhos, I can imagine that this was another successful initiative replicated in all the schools; this has been the path of the CC. Thank you for all the work on behalf of the British Council.

You make me proud to lead this project in Portugal :) Goreti Coutinho, Projects Team

I'll be there.

Mother Teresa

Page 18

C C . ENA C lus te r The CC always in action…in ESCA…

ESCA >>>>>

ESCA in media: Correio do Minho

Link to “Survival

Diário do Minho

Guide” >>>>>

International Day of People with Disability

Carlos Amarante High School celebrated the International Day of People with Disability, on December 3, 2012. A colloquium entitled "Inclusive education: a path built by all" was held in the auditorium of the School, with the personal testimony of several teachers and students.

Getting to Know European Traditions As part of activities to enrich

the school curriculum, more exactly to strengthen the respect for different cultures while you find out about traditions in your own country, the school subjects of English, Spanish, Arts, Visual Education and Information and Communication Technologies developed with the 7 Year students the project

"Meet European Traditions": On October11 we celebrated "Dia de la Hispanidad" performing activities in the school library.

On October 31 we celebrated

"Halloween" with a scavenger hunt to know about the history and rituals of this tradition. We also created a bilingual special menu for the Halloween lunch in the school canteen.

We also organised traditio-

nal games, like "Spin the Broom" and "Bobbing Apples", and joined a parade for the most creative Halloween costume, the most stunning face painting, and the most reliable character, including gestures, posture, accent and talk.

were used to create the dreadful room.

There was also an exhibition of hats designed In the end we and/or decorated by the played “Treat or students with scary Hal- trick”. loween artifacts and plenty of other works

Number 4 English ver sion

Page 19

The CC always in action…in ESCA… On December 13, the 7th grade students participated in the session of presentation of the book “Jodie

and the Library Card” by the British storyteller, Julie Hodgson. It took place in the school auditorium and the writer was introduced by the students themselves.

In the end, before the autograph signing session, the stu-

Food Bank

dents were eager to ask the writer for details regarding

Campaign

her personal life and work.

The campaign of the Food Bank of Braga collected 199 tonnes of products on the 1st and 2nd of December 2012. The students and teachers at ESCA helped to the success of this campaign with their work during their

Open School Day… ESCA

free time.

On January 22, it was held in our school the "Open School Day".

Several schools in the county visited us and several activities were developed by the the students.

At about 8:15 a.m., classes of the Year 7 could already be seen in the classroom 016 organising the

space so that a huge table would present all their pro-

On the classroom walls there were pictures of the collection "Route of crops," which

posals of kid’s food from a

was hired to the Town Hall of Vila Verde, in an initiative to strengthen the knowledge of

selection of healthy pro-

our traditions and to pay tribute to our cultural identity. Visitors were challenged

ducts and all prepared with

to read jokes and riddles in English and to find the correct answer in a

art and imagination. It was

set of cards with the solutions.

meant to sensitize the youngsters to prefer home-made-food, specially vegetables, fruits and cereals.

Throughout the day the students behaved with commitment and much responsibility and particular enthusiasm while they welcomed the visitors.

C C . ENA C lus te r

Page 20

The CC always in action‌in ESCA‌

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow ESCA >>>>>

of death again and again before

The Scavenger Hunt with "QR Codes"

we reach the

The Scavenger Hunt with "QR Codes" on the history and

mountaintop

current organisation chart of our school was a succes-

of our desires.

sful activity to raise awareness on the advantages of the correct use of mobile technologies and

Nelson Mandela

Web2.0 tools, while techniques and learning methods.

It was also a remarkable activity for being a privileged

moment of social integration, enhancing the desirable harmonious social relations at school, and because it fostered active citizenship, with emphasis on the development of an entrepreneurial spirit and learning motivation, as well.

Number 4 English ver sion

Page 21

The CC always in action…in Mosteiro e Cávado…

Volunteers from Cávado participated in Food Bank

EB2,3 de Mosteiro e Cávado won a poster contest to celebrate the multilingualism.

The CC always in action… in Paranhos The occasion presented itself naturally - CC is embedded in the curriculum. Inspired by a text the title of which was “It’s a boy’s game” students wrote the poem

“Big

Boys don´t cry” and submitted it to “One World Week”

Page 22

C C . ENA C lus te r

CC … in Park High School, UK “Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life;

Ever wondered what it must be like to be a student in a European school?

Park High School Committee students went to find out how to find out!

Here’s Kareem’s story of what

forward and eventually de-

happened!

signed a three year plan with

Hi, I’m Kareem and the Chair

love harmo-

of our School Committee. Last

nizes it. Ha-

year I had the opportunity to join a project called

tred darkens

“Connecting Classrooms”. I

life; love illu-

wanted to find out what

minates it.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

was happening in other

a mutual theme of “Inclusion”. Inclusion was a more demanding theme for some of the other schools and countries than it was for us. Park High and Bentley

amazing evening.

Park High Committee members were also invited along to see how Bentley Wood celebrated its International Day in the summer, and felt privileged to join in with their feast and celebrations.

Wood are culturally, ethically and religiously diverse, so

The new project we embarked

schools across Europe, so I

Inclusion is part of our daily

upon last year was designed

joined this British School

lives; other schools however

by the School Committee and

Council Project, “ENA”.

wanted to incorporate inclu-

developed by Year 9 in their

“Connecting Classrooms” is a

sion more in their daily lives.

very successful Disability Fair.

global programme that creates partnerships between a cluster of schools in the UK

Over half a term of PSHCE So how has the project developed?

lessons they not only learned about disability within our

and others around the world.

Park High has been working

society, but campaigned to

These partnerships bring an

on joint projects both across

raise awareness and money

international dimension to the

the borough and across our

for our local disability charity

learning of young people just

European partners. One of

at Stanmore, The Disability

like us. “ENA” is Harrow’s

the most noticeable of the-

Foundation (tdf). We might

will walk in

project; it links us with Bent-

se events is our INTERNA-

have already been aware of

ley Wood and schools in

the light of

TIONAL EVENING! Interna-

Greece, Portugal and Chez

tional Evening fits our Inclu-

creative altru-

Republic, and our team has

sion theme well because it is

met teachers and students

ism or in the

viewed as the lynchpin that

from these countries on two

brings culture together within

learned so much from Sa-

darkness of

occasions at conferences

our community. International

rah and Grahame Burns

nearby.

Evening 2012 was very suc-

and Nigel Peace from the

destructive

It was exciting working to-

cessful and consisted of Bolly-

tdf about the therapy cen-

selfishness.”

gether to design a joint

wood Dancers, a Jamaican

tre at Stanmore Orthopae-

cabaret, a duet by two teach-

dic Hospital. They came to

ers and much, much more!

assemblies, joined us at the

Watch out for ticket sales for

Disability Fair and at our

International Evening 2013

Sports Day, when they taught

which promises to be another

some of our sixth formers to

“Every man must decide whether he

project which was student Martin Luther King Jr

led. All the students representing the schools debated how to take the next steps

our cultural differences but we were soon to widen our appreciation of the nature of physical disabilities. We

Number 4 English ver sion

Page 23

CC ‌ in Park High School, UK Paralympic games 2012 Paralympic Athletics Visit Fri-

"When my

day 31st Aug 2012

heart is at peace, the world is at peace."

Chinese Proverb

Here are the partially sighted runners at the Paralympic games 2012. The orange jacketed runners are the guides for the partially sighted runners.

race in wheel chairs. In addition, Steve Cunn-

ningham, a man who has learned to live with blindness since the age of 12 years, came to share his amazing achievements such as piloting a small plane around England and to talk to us about being positive and motivating ourselves to achieve. The pinnacle of this project for some was to see the disabled contestants competing in the Paralympics in the summer games of 2012! Thanks to Miss Tompsett for organising this memorable experience!

And so we begin the final year of our “Connecting Classrooms� Project. The most exciting event for some this year will be the trip to Portugal in May. A few of our students will meet the people we have been working alongside. They will visit the two schools in Braga, Portugal and spend time finding out how the project has worked there and what it really is like to be a student in a European school.

The messages for Peace from well-known people of our

In the school year 2012/2013,

CC Project began in Valadares with ...

world history resulted from the compilation made by students of Escola Secundária Dr.

Joaquim Gomes Ferreira Alves (ESJGFA) in Valadares On the next edition we will publish more sentences and we will show others written by the students themselves.

Featured: Connecting Youth Assembly debated various topics related to INCLUSION.

This school year, Esc Sec Dr. Joaquim Ferreira Alves, inaugurated the activities of the Project Connecting Classrooms with

an official ceremony of the “Workshop of Ideas”, by publicizing the results of the contest “Problems of the contemporary world: ”We and the Others.

Participation and Citizenship”, where the students produced films about ethical dilemma, translated into English and published on etwinning and GFAtv spaces. In the official ceremony we had the pleasure

to receive Mrs. Goreti Coutinho as representative of the British Council. The winners, selected from the votes online and the jury’s selection, were awarded with the cooperation of the project Connecting Classrooms and received Fnac checks and some books. Still under the scope of

“Workshop of Ideas” new philosophical markers were created and later translated into English. There was an exhibition at the school’s library.

This year we reintroduced the cycle of cinema which was inaugurated on the Freedom Day.

Read the all story in the next issue!

Connecting Classrooms ENA Cluster Edição do Agrupamento de Escolas de Póvoa de Lanhoso Rua da Misericórdia 4830-503 Póvoa de Lanhoso espl.connecting@gmail.com Telef: 253 633 338

British Council - Porto Rua do Breiner, 155 4050-126 Porto Telef: 222 073 060 DGE - Ministério da Educação e Ciência Av. 24 de Julho, 140 1399-025 Lisboa Telef: 21 393 45 00

All Portuguese schools from ENA Cluster & Park High School contributed to this issue