Natural Wonders of Europe, a study of our National Parks and Nature Reserves Newsletter 5 BACK TO ARGELES SUR MER It was with great excitement that I returned to Argeles Sur Mer in November 2014 as part of our second Comenius project with College des Alberes. I was looking forward to sharing the experience with one of my teaching colleagues but unfortunately, due to a bereavement, she was not able to attend. Ireland Our last visit to Argeles was in 2009. We had a planning meeting in the school to organize a new project. That project under the great leadership of Niels Brusgard ran from 2009 to 2011. While at the final meeting in Iceland of this project some of us stated that it would be great to do another project in the future and thankfully " Natural Wonders of Europe" was born in 2012 and was recognised in 2013 by The Life Long Learning of The EU. We stayed in the beautiful Collioure which is East of Argeles. Collioure is an idyllic sea side town on the Mediterranean full of history and interesting shops and crafts. We visited the Castle, the Anchovy factory shop and even saw members of the French Navy training from the seaside. It is amazing how quiet the town was considering how busy it can become in Summer. Some Highlights of our trip in the area consisted of visiting the old Alfred Noble Dynamite factory site which is now a nature reserve, walking in the mountains, having picnics the French way by the coast and in the mountains, meeting the mayor of Argeles and joking with him about rugby and visiting the city of Perpignan.
College des Alberes is getting a major makeover. Some of us who had been there before hardly recognised the school. It is a very exciting time for the staff, parents and students but I am sure with builders around everyday it must have major headaches as well. Best of luck with the building. The People of this part of France pride themselves in being Catalan. Though being in France they are proud of their own language and culture which Irish people can readily relate to and admire. We had the chance of being able to partake in Catalan dances at the Gala dinner party which was great fun.
Like all places one visits it is the people who make it. We were lucky to have such wonderful hosts in Sylvia, Maurice, Ausias, Fredrick and all the other French teachers. Our thanks to you all. This has been my second time to French Catalonia. I most certainly hope to return for a third trip. PROINSIAS MAC CURTﾃ！N
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SCHOOL TEENS AND THEIR TEACHERS WELCOME THEIR COUNETRPARTS FROM EUROPE Until Sunday, 55 participants to the Lifelong Learning programme Comenius project “Natural wonders of Europe” are visiting our city and its surroundings. At the heart of the exchange: the environment. Great excitement was to be seen at the school entrance as French students and their Mcorrespondents were meeting to discover the day’s program, exchanging their points of view and in English, of course! No need to say that, the fifth meeting of the Comenius project, proves once again the crossed interests that unite our European youth. The visiting group is made of 31 pupils hosted by French families, and escorted by 24 teachers. There are representatives from 10 countries ( Iceland, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Latvia, Cyprus, Poland, Turkey, Denmark and Portugal) to the organizing team’s great joy. The program which is centred on natural sites also mixes fun and cultural moments. On Wednesday, the group discovered Collioure, the Royal Castle, the picturesque streets, and its famous specialties: the anchovies at the Desclaux factory. After a picnic on the sunny pebble beach, some even enjoyed dipping feet in the sea! In the afternoon, the group visited the site of Paulilles where they learned about man’s past activities in this natural site (the Nobel dynamite factory), the Catalan boat workshop and of course, the Gulf of Lion marine reserve created in 2013.
France
On Thursday, under the Autumn sun, European Olympiads were organized at the stadium, including team games of skills and enigmas followed in the afternoon by a treasure hunt rally in the heart of the village. During the next days, the program included a walk in the mountains, the visit of the Mas Larrieu Nature Reserve and the museum of La Retirada in Valmy Castle. A very busy but pleasant stay that will probably leave many unforgettable memories to everyone!
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CYPRIOT STUDENTS’ MEMORIES FROM ARGELES SUR MER
“I got up at around 07:30 and we had breakfast with the host family. I liked that all the family had the time to have their breakfast together in the morning. There was lots of food to choose from for breakfast, cereals, fruit salad, hot chocolate, juice, toast, bread, butter and traditional cheese. After leaving the house we went to the Royal Castle which is in the next Cyprus town of Argeles Sur Mer. When the war began the Castle was used to stop the enemies who came from the sea. It is a huge castle. After that we visited a Catholic Church which was built to calm the people with its beauty. We also visited the Marin of Paulilles and the Museum. We learned how they can restore old boats and that the people who used to make dynamites….” Constantinos Kaniklides
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“By the afternoon we arrived at the Barcelona airport where we met with the other Comenius groups from different countries such as Spain, Portugal, Germany, Denmark, Turkey, Poland and Latvia. From there we went on a bus driving us to Argeles sur Mer. On route to our destination we had the opportunity to make acquaintances with teenagers from the other countries. I was a unique experience trying to communicate with people who speak different languages and come from various cultures. At night we arrived at Argeles sur Mer where we were picked up by the families that were going to host us during our stay. I finally had the chance to meet my Comenius friend, a girl named Socha……” Despina Melanthiou
“The first morning in France I woke up had breakfast with my hosting family and then Socha’s mother drove us to the train station where we took the train to school. At the school we met again with all our Comenius family and we rode on a bus which took us at Collioure to see the Royal castle which is a medieval castle. We were told about the history of the castle which held on the inside a photography exhibition of animals. In the castle we also were able to see cannon balls of various sizes which were used at the war during the medieval age….. “ Despina Melanthiou Newsletter 5
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“Tuesday morning and Sports day for the team! All of the students were taken to a sports center nearby the school. We then tried several sports such as football, basketball, sports competitions and quizzes. Finally we prepared ourselves for the treasure hunt in the town center which would happen in the afternoon. These games enable us to meet the town and local people better…” “I was impressed by the friendliness and hospitality of the family and children from other countries and of course with the French attractions. When I arrived in France, my host family arrived immediately and helped me with my luggage. When we arrived home they made a huge welcome table with many delicious ,traditional foods and of course sweets !! Also Eva my host student friend, welcomed me with her neighbors and her grandmother! Even they showed the town and its sights….”
Varvara Eustathiou
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OUR EXPERIENCE IN FRANCE Last November we visited Argeles Sur Mer, Coullioure og Perpignan in Catalonia in the south of France. None of us had ever been to France before so we were very excited about the trip. We all had our own ideas of the wonders of the country and France did not disappoint. We travelled to Barcelona where we and others from the Comenius group were picked up. From Barcelona we went to Collioure in France where we were warmly welcomed. The hosts had obviously put a lot of work and effort in planning the activities. The program was varied and we saw some interesting places with the Comenius group. The highlights for us were the historical castle of Collioure and also the wonderful harbour area in Collioure with its tranquility, the ocean and people. Another highlight is the hike in the Albﾃｩres mountains. The beauty of the nature, the views and the the company of the great people is all very memorable. We also found it interesting to see how nature is preserved in Mas Larrieu, the local nature reserve. We come from 11 different countries so it was great to experience how well the group connected. It was nice for us Icelanders to visit you and your warm and sunny weather, it was like an extra summer for us.
Iceland
We give our thanks to the Comenius team for welcoming us so kindly, their hospitality and wonderful days in France. We hope we will come to France again! Margrﾃｩt, Sigurbjﾃｶrg og Svanborg ﾃ行land Newsletter 5
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COMENIUS 2014 IN ARGELES SUR MER Tuesday the 11th – Sunday the 16th. November, 4 students and 3 teachers from Gug School, participated in the Comenius Project to Argelés sur Mer in South France. On Gug School we choose a main subject. We can choose between sport, innovation, naturscience, and international. The international class was lucky enough to be a part of the Comenius project which our school has been a part of for many years. The Comenius project is a project where schools in different countries apply to be a part of 2 year school partnership. Because the international class were a part of the project 5 of our classmates have been to Germany,4 in Spain, 4 in Poland and 4 in France. The international class has really loved the project because it offers a lot of cultural experiences, new friends from other countries, and better English proficiency. When we arrived late at night, all the host families were waiting for us outside the school, and we were all greeted with kisses and hugs from the Frenchmen. “To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.”
Our host families had all teenagers at our age. It was an amazing experience to be invited into another family, and experience their everyday-life with them, and we will probably never forget it. Every day we had to meet the other Comenius participants at school, and Denmark we did a lot of different exciting activities. The theme of the year was national parks, and we saw a lot of beautiful nature in the parks. All these Comenius trips have given the students/ participants so many wonderful memories, contacts, expediencies and so on. And a lot of the students are still talking to their host families, and their new Comenius friends through the social media. Followed by the trips, all the students have presented a presentation in front of the classmates and exchanged expediencies, and cultural differences with each other.
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THIS IS A SUMMARY ABOUT THE 5TH MEETING IN FRANCE DONE BY THE SPANISH STUDENTS “My experience was great. The first day we were very nervous because we hadn´t met before with the families and the students. When we arrived at France, I met my French family and they were very nice. Everyday we went on many trips to very different and interesting places. We also met a lot of people from different countries and we spent a very good time”. María Solís
Spain “What I liked most was meeting new people and discovering different cultures. It all was quite interesting”. Jimena de las Heras
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Natural Wonders of Europe, a study of our National Parks and Nature
THE SUMMARY FROM SPAIN CONTINUED “On the trip to France, I had a lot of fun time. It was an unique experience. Families were charming. I met many people. We went on many trips, but what I liked most was the game that we did around school solving proofs. When we went to the mountain, I had a lot of fun, but I ended up extremelly tired�. Ana Chinchilla This trip to France was very nice, It was a beautiful experience. I discovered a lot of beautiful places, castles, mountains and even we went to the beach in Collioure. I also met nice and friendly people. Jorge Myrick I met new friends and visited new cities. On Wednesday, we went to Colliure to see the marvellous castle. On Thursday, we participated in different sport activities around the school. On Friday, we were hiking in the mountains and in the evening we had a marvellous party. On Saturday, we visited Mas Larrieu Nature Reserve, an amazing beach, and in the afternoon we visited Perpignan, where we could visit all the city.
But the most important was my French family and the friend I met there. That week was fantastic! Miguel Angel Felices
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MEMORIES FROM TURKISH TEAM Our trip started very early in the morning.Despite everything we were really excited because we would meet new friends,explore a new country and new city.We landed to Brcelona at 2 in the afternoon and we waited fort he other groups at the airport.After a while others came .Everybody seemed to know each other before although most of them saw each other fort he first time.I think this is the main point and motto of COMENIUS.In the afternoon after all the groups came our great friend,funn person Maurice came and took us from the airport and our trip to Argeles Sur Mer started we met the family which we stayed and they took us home at home they prepared a very delicious meal for us.During the dinner we talked and learnt lots of things about each other. In the morning we went to Collioure and visited the Turkey beautiful cathedral and the castle there.The view of the castle was fantastic.We took photos from the castle and then we had lunch at the seaside.In the afternoon we went to the dynamite factory(Alfred Nobel)The story about the workers told there was really interesting.People lived there had many difficulties but I think they were Newsletter 5
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MEMORIES FROM THE TURKISH TEAM CONTINUED The most important thing is that everything in the factory left untouched.Next day we were at school we had lunch and we were wit the other students.In the afternoon we visited the city The city was olso fantastic.Especially we liked the streets of the city a lot they were full of history.Other day we went to the mountains we had a funny and nice walk and very entertaining picnic together.Although we got tired it was worth to do it.At night it was the gala night.The teachers and the students poised really hard.We listened songs from the teachers and the students.
In conclusion we really had nice days in Argeles Sur Mer. Thanks to all French teachers,students and families because they did all their best for us.
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Natural Wonders of Europe, a study of our National Parks and Nature
THE STORIES FROM THE PORTUGAL STUDENTS Hi! My name is Catarina Rodrigues. I'm 13 years old. I'm from Portugal and I went to France in November with Comenius! I really want go back for that week because it was so much fun! I really enjoyed the week! I did a lot of fun things and I made a lot of friends, like Despina (a student from Cyprus) and Nicoline (a Danish student) and so many others! I stayed at my French correspondent’s house, her name is Lena and she is thirteen years old like me! She was so nice... I’d like to thank her and her family for welcoming me so well into their family and taking such good care of me. On Wednesday all the students visited a city called Collioure and at lunch time we made a picnic. On Thursday we went to a French school in ArgelèsSur-Mer and we played games. On Friday we went to the mountains! It was so Portugal tiring! We had to walk for 4 hours (maybe… I'm not sure about how long we walked). In the evening we had a Gala! We enjoyed the dinner with all the students.On Saturday we went to Perpignan and I bought all the souvenirs I needed for my family! And on the last day? It was so sad to say goodbye to all the friends I made there, because I knew that it was the last time we would all be together! I really enjoyed the week and I hope that I can come back and see them again but I also know that it is not going to happen (I need a Christmas miracle - fingers crossed)! “To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.”
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THE STORIES FROM THE PORTUGAL STUDENTS CONTINUED Hi! I'm Hugo and I'm from Portugal. I loved the mobility to France. My favourite activity was the games in Argelès on Wednesday, because this activity was very fun and I made some friends. I loved the Gala night too! I played lots of games and I talked a lot with the students from the other countries. It was a very fun travel. I loved meeting the students of the other countries. Now we can keep in touch and talk on Facebook. I loved my host family too. It was very sad when I had to say 'goodbye' to them.
Hello! My name is Antonio and I went to France in November to participate on a Comenius meeting. My host family was very nice and friendly. They kept me entertained the whole time. I had a lot in common with Adrien, because he also likes sports and playing video games. The visit that I liked the most was to Perpignan. There we toured the city on a small train and went shopping. What I liked the least was having to say goodbye to all the friends I made during this great week. Hope I see you all again!
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THE STORIES FROM THE PORTUGAL STUDENTS CONTINUED Hi, my name is Tatiana. I am going to tell you about my week in France. In the beginning I was a little insecure about it but it turned out to be the best trip of my life, because I had the chance to meet new people and make new friends from other countries and different cultures. On Tuesday, I left home at dawn to go to the airport in Faro. It was my first time travelling by plane and it was awesome! When we arrived in Barcelona, we had lunch and then we met the German and the Danish students, we talked and also made some videos with them! Later we met the other students and teachers and travelled by bus to France. The trip took two hours and during that time I talked a lot with the other students. When we arrived in Argelès-sur-mer, it was already night and our hosting families were waiting for us. They took us home, we had dinner, we talked and got to know each other better and then we went to sleep. On Wednesday we went to Laura’s school, where I met all the other participants. We went to Collioure, visited a castle and the village and strolled in the market. Later we had lunch and we went to bay of Paulilles, a preserved site. On Thursday we had activities about the environment at school and in the afternoon we had orientation activities in the village. On Friday we went hiking in the Albères mountains, it was really difficult because there were many rocks and trees but it was worth the effort to get to the top, because the view was beautiful. In the evening we had the Gala, it was really cool and fun because we had dinner with all the students from all the different countries, they taught us games that they played in their countries, we sang and danced and took a lot of pictures so we could remember each other. At the end I went bowling with "my" family.
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THE STORIES FROM THE PORTUGAL STUDENTS CONTINUED On Saturday we went to the local nature reserve Mas Larrieu, later we visited Perpignan and its cultural sites and we went shopping. And finally on Sunday the families took us to the bus and said bye to us. We went to Barcelona Airport with all of our friends and when we got there we all went a "different way". It was really hard to say goodbye because we were already like a family, we all cried. Because our flight was in the evening, we had time to visit the city, which is beautiful. It was a really awesome and fun experience. I really hope that someday we can all meet again. Bye!! Hello, my name is José Pedro Viegas. I liked the trip to France because I had never left the country before. When I arrived in France I found a bit odd to be with a French family, instead of my own. But my French family was very nice to me and I’m very happy that I met them. What I liked the most was meeting new people from other countries and climbing the mountains on Friday!
Notre séjour en France a été fantastique et nous tenons à remercier tous ceux qui nous ont acceuillis si chaleureusement. Merci professeurs du Collège des Albères pour votre disponibilité et votre bonne humeur! Merci Françoise, pour nous avoir aubergées sans nous connaître de nulle part: nous nous sommes vraiment senties à la maison! Merci à tous pour ce séjour où l´amitié et la convivialité ont toujours été le point fort… et les croissants aussi! Salut Argelès et à la prochaine! (Celina et Ditza)
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COMENIUS TRIP TO ARGELES SUR MER What I liked best about our trip to France was to get to know a new culture, new people and to see their daily life. I liked the visit to the towns and the time we spent on the beach as the next beach is quite far from where we live in Germany. Hiking up the mountain was not easy for me, but I loved the picnic.
I enjoyed these days in France very much. I have learned a lot as we did a lot of things. I am very grateful that I was hosted by such a nice family. We taught each other words in French and German and enjoyed talking together. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to go on this trip. I had a great time. Lea I really enjoyed meeting all those students from so many different countries. Everybody is different - in a positive way. I enjoyed meeting them, talking to them and learning about their culture and life. I also enjoyed a lot staying with my host family and seeing how they live. They were a really nice host family. I also liked the visit of the castle and the picnics where we could try new things.
Germany
Thank you for this great trip and the many new impressions that I have collected during this week. Zina
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MEMORIES FROM THE GERMAN TEAM CONTINUED My trip to Argelès did not start very well: I lost my backpack at Barcelona airport. But apart from that, everything was fine. I enjoyed visiting the castle as we had a very good view from the top over the town of Collioure and the sea. I also liked the activities we did at the school and the town rally. One evening I went out bowling with my host brother. That was fun too. I stayed at a very nice hostfamily and even had my own room and bathroom. That was cool. On the last evening my host brother organised a farewell party. That was really cool! Yannick
I liked everything, but what I liked best was the last day in Perpignan when we had a tour on that little train around the town followed by free time to walk around on our own. The tour on the train was good because we were given lots of information on the history of the town. At lunchtime we all went to a Crêperie and tried savoury crêpes followed by a sweet one. I liked that! Leon I particularly enjoyed the gala night and the farewell party. There was lovely food and we had the chance to talk to everybody. I also liked the nature reserve that was right near the sea as we could walk on the sand. But I also enjoyed the hiking tour up in the mountains. I also enjoyed going bowling with my host family. We had lots of fun. Joel Page 18
Natural Wonders of Europe, a study of our National Parks and Nature
POLISH MEMORIES FROM CATALONIA We have a fantastic memories from Catalonia! We stayed at the fantastic families and thanks to the visit had the opportunity to meet French language,
culture, cuisine (there are f.ex. delicious cheese) and of course to improve our English. French people are very friendly, we felt their kindness, engagement and protection. One of the most important things during the visit there were the excursions, which were curious and well-organized. We visited beautiful places for example local nature reserve. This trip to Argeles gave us a opportunity to know another culture, taste new dishes and practice English. We think it was fantastic experience to meet new people.
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We would like to come back there to see how the renovated school looks like ;) Julia, Klaudia, Magda, Zosia
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POLISH MEMORIES FROM CATALONIA CONTINUED Visit in Argelès-sur-Mer was a great experience. For us, the teachers, it was an excellent opportunity to share our experience in the organization of the Comenius projects, meet friends and look at the smiling and happy faces of our students. It is our greatest joy. In the beautiful Catalonia our pupils were full of the greatest experiences and it was a clear signal for us that the visit was excellent!!! For us, the teachers, it was the greatest reward. Catalonia is the place where we met only the pleasant things - great people, fantastic teachers, beautiful weather, excellent organization of the visit, the charming places, friendly and tutelar families who hosted our students and us. We can’t forget the wonderful performance of students, teachers and parents during a farewell ceremony, thank you also for the Polish accent - the mention about Jacek Kaczmarski. And of course our favorite Argelès guide - we love him!!! It was a wonderful week with great people in a wonderful location, thank you so much, Catalan Friends!!! Edyta and Jola Page 20
Natural Wonders of Europe, a study of our National Parks and Nature
COMENIUS FRANCE! The
first
morning
we
spent in Barcelona enjoying the view of Sagrada Família. Our trip around wonderful city of Barcelona finished for us in Barcelona airport. We met all the project partners - both teachers and students, already at the airport. We went by bus all together to Collioure, where we were supposed to stay 6 days. France met us with spring weather. French partner greeted us very hospitable. All participants had the impression that we knew each other for a very long ti-
me, since frindly atmosphere among us. New morning came with serious work. All trip time was orga-
“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.”
nized in accordance with a certain plan. All project participants were informed about brief history of the city and about the royal castle that was built the 13th century. After the tour around the city and the castle,
Latvia
lunch on the seashore, we went by bus along the most beautiful mountain roads to Paulilles coastline. It was a protected nature reserve area. We saw A. Nobel dynamite factory that was built in the 19th century.
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LATVIAN MEMORIES CONTINUED On Thursday morning we went to school. First of all, we had tour around the school and met school administration. There were a lot of different information concerning our project at school premises: posters, photos, students` works. Project coordinators, teachers and students have created a project logo a tree with a variety of leaves, which reflected the colors of the flag of each partner country. Students worked together in international groups discussing problems of the environment. We spent Friday day in Alberes mountains, where we enjoyed a wonderful panorama. We had a picnic lunch in the mountains It turned out, that those mountains were very popular as weekend relaxation place . Walking time to and back took
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about 4 hours. Walking in the moun-
tains was a great source of energy and the French school teachers and students showed to all project participants and parents of pupils concert full of emotions in the evening. Project participants gladly took part in dance performances, parents learned about participants`national dishes, we communicated with a partner school children, teachers, parents from the French school. Six days had passed too fast, but they were filled with emotions, impressions and new information. All partner had the opportunity to meet and also to find new friends during project meetings and joint excursions.
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LATVIAN MEMORIES CONTINUED We were impressed by French students sincerity and desire to communicate. Their dance and songs would remain in our memory for a long time, as well as homemade sandwiches, clean sea, mountains, orange and lemon trees. On Sunday morning we started our trip back home under warm rays of the sun. We would like to thank French group coordinator and director of the school for the great commitment, thanks to all partner schools delegations for sincerity, as well as a huge thanks to Franch spring time, to school, students, teachers and parents for their hospitality. It was very nice to get good feedbacks from our girls. Here are some of them: "Thank you for a fantastic time spent! It was like a visit to Grandma's - warm, friendly atmosphere of the
family. Everyone cared about me. The trip will always remain in memory as an opportunity to learn about other cultures and traditions. I was able to use of English in practice. I believe that every young person should be involved in similar projects. I will try not to forget people I met and emotions I felt. I can say with confidence - France is the land where I would like to come back. "
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Looking forward to hearing more about wonderful trips in Newsletter 6 from Cyprus in March 2015. Read more about the project on: the project’s blog: http://nwe1315.blogspot.com the project’s webpage: http://www.2013en.comenius.yum.pl/
“This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”