ESCAPE PROJECT NEWSLETTER No 6

August 2015 No. 6

ESCAPE after first year Erasmus+ badge

Inside this issue: Closing ceremony in Papa

2

ESCAPE T-shirts

2

International conference

3

On the road

3

The future in my hands

4

International Danube Day

5

Closing ceremony in Sturovo

6



All partners contribution



School leaving ceremonies



Holidays activities



ERASMUS+ recognition



Celebrating the Danube

Shortly before the end of the school year we had a pleasant surprise. BHAK Linz International Business School was awarded the Erasmus+ badge from the Austrian National Agency. This badge is handed out to all schools that have made a successful application for an Erasmus+ grant, and can hang up the badge on the school premises.

Here we share with you a picture with the proud ESCAPE project group with the Erasmus+ badge Austrian team

Summer holidays in Slovenia In April, May or June graduates attend the so-called maturantski ples or a prom.

It is a special night for them, their parents and teachers, even though most of them don’t yet have all the final grades.

In Slovenia summer holidays last from 26 June to 31 August. For those unlucky ones, who have to take re-sit exams, holidays start a week later. If they are even more ‘unlucky’ and don’t pass the re-sit exams in the first term, they can re-take them again in the third week of August. So hard work during the school year definitely pays off later!

A lot of students go to Slovenian coast or neighbouring Croatia for their

summer holidays. There are also a lot of summer activities organised by the city of Ljubljana, which children and students can attend during these two months. A lot of students, however, decide to work during the summer and earn some extra money.

At the end of holidays, third-year students also go on the so-called ‘maturantski izlet’, an organised trip where there is a lot of partying and other fun activities.

Slovenian team

Page 2

E S C A P E

N E W S L E T T E R

Closing ceremony at the Pápa School of Economics

„Several students were awarded for their achievements in different fields such as study, sports, cultural performance and c o m mu n i t y activities.“

Every school in Hungary has an opening ceremony at the beginning of the term and a closing one at the end of the school year.

Our closing ceremony took place in the school yard on 19 June a week after the last day at school. It is a ceremonial event where we have to dress up. The girls have to wear our uniform: a sailor’s blouse with a dark skirt, and boys have to put on their suits. All of us have a uniform tie with the school’s logo.

At the beginning of the cere-

mony we sang the anthem, then we listened to the head teacher’s speech. She evaluated the school year and praised the best students.

Several students were awarded for their achievements in different fields such as study, sports, cultural performance and community activities. They got nice books and diplomas.

This is the time when the Student of the Year is announced. Réka Kertész (13 D) got the award for her excellent academic record and outstanding sports results in swimming and triathlon.

The Freshman of the Year Award was divided between to students (Alexandra Polhammer 9/A and Kíra

Porkoláb 9/B) who did really well in their first year.

We listened to a funny poem about students’ life and the choir sang a joyful song about summer.

At the end of the ceremony we sang our second anthem together.

Dukai Máté, Magyar Anita Hungarian team

ESCAPE t-shirts painted and printed On Wednesday, 8 July 2015, the ESCAPE project team met at school for a last creative activity in this school year. We painted and printed Tshirts with the ESCAPE logo to be able to show up in ESCAPE gear at the next event.

Prof. Hasiweder supplied the then the girls painted and printed accolours, cording to their liking and ideas. each of the participants Austrian team brought along a Tshirt, and

N O .

6 /

A u g u s t

2 0 1 5

Page 3

International Danube conference in Vidin On 21 and 22 May 2015 an International Danube conference "Danube partnerships for growth" was held in Vidin. The workshop was attended by Mrs. Marieta Georgieva Director of Vocational School "Prof. Dr.Assen Zlatarov "-Vidin and Mrs. Eli Cvetanova - school coordinator of Project" ESCAPE ".

They participated at the invitation of the organizers - Regional information center and Vidin municipality.

The conference is part of the European program "Danube partnerships for growth", which brings together people from Schwarzwald to the Black Sea. European Union Strategy for the Da-

nube Region is precisely this philosophy, tools and resources. Any effort of residents along the Danube, makes us equal, committed to each other and connected in the community of the Danube region citizens.

The conference was attended by representatives from Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine. A memorandum was signed for establishing a Transnational Institute "Danube pearls".

Eli Cvetanova presented the objectives of the project "ESCAPE" and the ac-

tivities during the first year of implementation. Attendees expressed interest and satisfaction that young people from seven countries have a common cause practical application of the Danube Strategy.

Bulgarian team

On the Road London, Linz, Pápa, Hamburg, Luxembourg, Alicante, Bolungarvík (ISL) are just some of the cities/towns to which our students set off to have their project meetings within EU programmes of Comenius, Leonardo, eTwinning or Erasmus+.

In long-term Comenius projects we covered topics like Fair Trade, training firms, entrepreneurship or lifestyle and economy. In each project one class was involved which means about 30 – 40 students had a chance to get in touch with counterparts from European schools, be together, collaborate and make friends.

In the year 2014 our school first offered its students a possibility of work placements

in Hungary and England. Thanks to contacts and great help of prof. András Molnár 10 students spent three inspiring weeks in the spa of Bükfürdő working in information and spa centres. Their younger schoolmates got their work experience in London companies and their administrative and business departments later that year.

What do the participants of international projects agree on? They learnt to be more independent, self-confident and tolerant in the European environment. What´s more they improved their language and IT skills, explored different school systems and work places. They hope to make use of all this in their future life.

Czech team, Tábor

“The conference is part of the European program "Danube partnerships for growth", which brings together people from Schwarzwald to the Black Sea”

Page 4

E S C A P E

N E W S L E T T E R

The Future in My Hands Every year, during a week in June, the most motivated 11th graders from Lugoj highschools have the chance to take part in a program called “The future in my hands”, sponsored by a local firm, Honeywell Life Safety Romania. Some of our ESCAPE project members participated this year and they share their experience:

„Every student has the capacity to succeed in school and in life. Yet far too many are not sure of what they really want to do for a living, or how should they become good at it“

“Every student has the capacity to succeed in school and in life. Yet far too many are not sure of what they really want to do for a living, or how should they become good at it. After taking part in the "Future in my hands" program, organized by Honeywell Life Safety Romania S.R.L. Lugoj, I can now say for sure what my calling is, and most importantly, how I can properly follow it.

First of all, they taught us that what we should really follow during our lifetime, is not a job or a career, but our very own

vocation/calling. Man was made to embrace his unique destiny, not soldier on as a hamster in a wheel. In other words, if we really want to master a certain occupation, we should do work for its own sake. Another aspect that we emphasised on was feedback, and how fundamental it is for achieiving effectiveness in a team. Last but not least they taught us to respect and support every person for following his/her vocation, no matter how mundane or crazy it may sound to us.

To sum things up, Honeywell managed to deliver a life-changing experience for every participant of the project and I am grateful for having had the chance to be part of it.” (Caius Debucean) “Thank to this project, I had the chance to take part in different activities, quite new to me, activities that involved team work, patience and focus, in

order to be able to understand and follow all the instructions that we were given and then put them to practice as well.

I managed to reflect on so many things in my life, and now, I can say that I have a clearer set of goals which I intend to achieve in the future.

One of the greatest things about Honeywell was that I had the opportunity to meet and also work with extraordinary people to whom I am completely thankful for the knowledge they have passed down to me, changing my perspective about the environment that surrounds me and helping me understand what positive thinking can do to you.

For all I have mentioned above, thank you, Honeywell!” (Timeea David) Romanian team

N O .

6 /

A u g u s t

2 0 1 5

Page 5

June 29 - INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE DANUBE RIVER Danube Day is a holiday for a cleaner and safer river and is the result of twenty years of international partnership of countries of the Danube basin.

The river is the second largest in Europe. It and its tributaries are one of the most important river systems on the old continent, bringing together more than 80 million people from Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine.

Danube Art Master 2015 ". The competition is held under the auspices of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) and the Global Water Partnership for Central and Eastern Europe (GWP CEE). It is an ambitious race, which brings together children and teenagers from 14 countries in the Danube region and the motto is: "The biggest Danube masquerade".

After a short musical program and numerous photos of the Danube, students released white balloons with blue ribbons. They were marked with the banner of the initiative.

The river always fascinates and captivates those who love it!

Eli Cvetanova School Coordinator of Project "ESCAPE" Bulgarian team

„Danube Day is a holiday for a cleaner and safer river and is the result of twenty y e a r s o f international partnership of countries of the Danube basin. “

We can rightfully say that the river is the source of life, energy, food, water, transport, recreation. All the people living along the river can contribute to its sustainable use and protection. The Danube basin is home to its inhabitants - fish, birds, insects, mammals, and to us - people.

So this year's appeal is "Be active!"

On 29th June 2015 students and teachers from Vocational School "Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov "- Vidin participated in the competition"

School leaving ceremony in Štúrovo Grammar School

This is probably the most well-organized ceremony of the school year all over the country, as it means saying goodby to the school and to the secondary studies and it is a preparation for the last part of school leaving exams, for what they have been preparing for for the past school year, the oral maturita exams.

It takes place at the beginning of May, always on a Friday, and the school leavers have the next week off, for the final revisions for the exams. For the third-year students it is means preparations and hard work, because according to the traditions it is their duty to decorate the classrooms of the school-leavers and the corridors. The decorations for the classrooms are planned well in advance, as they need to be witty and funny, and they always do the parts of the decorations by themselves. It is usually a top secret, a surprise for the school- leavers to be seen only in the morning on Friday. It is usually hard work done for days/weeks, and taken apart after a few hours.

In addition there is an extra ceremony, rather unofficial, the previous afternoon, when the school-leavers visit their

With the support of the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union

teachers in their homes, and thank for their effort to give them good education. They dress up in funny costumes, and put on thick make-up, so they are hardly recognisable, and hire a coach, and on their way to their theacher´s homes they shout and yell, in order to attract the attention of the passers-by. The teachers usually invite them in, and offer them some snack.

The most important ceremony is on the next day, when all the teachers and students wear formal dresses. The seniors get flowers, nice bouquets from parents, friends, and they can finallly enter the redecorated classrooms with their class teachers. They have their final lesson, saying good-by to each other, wishing well and good luck for the exams and future studies. They receive the last school report as well. They get a small bag, containing a coin, a piece of traditional pastry to follow them on their long journey and a list of names of the classmates. Wearing this, after a final indication for the lesson being over, they set off for a walk in the school, singing Gaudeamus Igitur, the international song of students.

After they have visited all the classrooms and said goodby to all students, there is an official ceremony in the school yard. Speeches are performed by the headteacher, one of the school-leavers, one of the third year students, the best students get diplomas for their good results. When everything is over, they go to their families and usually have a formal meal with them.

Adriana Góra, Slovakia

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsi-ble for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.