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This magazine represent a product of the Erasmus + project:
THE PROJECT HAS BEEN FOUNDED WITH SUPPORT FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION. THIS PRESENTATION REFLECTS THE VIEWS ONLY OF THE AUTOR AND THE COMMISSION CANNOT HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY USE WHICH MAY BE MADE OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THERE IN.
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Students and teachers from partnership schools collaborated: Ecole Simon Bolivar A, Paris, France
Ecole Simon Bolivar B, Paris, France
IC Francesco Petrarca Catania,Italy
CEIP San Jacinto,Sevilia,Spain ST.Austin’s Primary School Liverpool UK
Scoala Profesionala “Tiberiu Morariu” Salva, Romania
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BOOK IN PROGRESS
Our school is involved in the Book in Progress project, which has as its reference school the Institution Ettore Majorana located in Brindisi, which aims to develop school texts written by teachers both to improve students' learning and to respond to the high costs of books. These are very agile texts that privilege the operability completely downloadable in the various devices but parents can also purchase in paper form at the cost of reproduction, with a considerable saving compared to traditional books. In them, it is possible to visit sites, concept maps, and audios which are particularly useful for students with disgrafia ,discalculia problems. Grammar, history, mathematics and science texts have been adopted and some teachers of our school participating in editing useful chapters.
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MEETING IN SEVILLE
The training meetings for the teachers and school staff are included within the activities of the ERASMUS+ BLEND Project that we´re working in together. The first meeting was held in our school, San Jacinto, and in our city, Sevilla, on January 2018. You might be wondering…where is Sevilla? Well, it is in the south of a gorgeous country named Spain. Here it is for you…
Throughout the months prior to the aforementioned meeting the students, teachers and families were very excited and busy, preparing everything for such an important and enriching event. Our aim was to show you and share with you how our teaching methodology is, how attention to diversity is managed, how new technologies are integrated in our classes, how English is taught in a bilingual center…in brief, how the daily school life is and how we interact with our environment, of course not leaving aside the main purpose of this meeting which was to organize the work that we would carry out together in the following months. First of all, we received the teachers from France, Great Britain, Romania and Italy with an emotive welcome celebration at which students participated enthusiastically. Additionally, some representatives from local institutions like the Triana-Los Remedios District, the Civic Center “Las Columnas” or the Center for Teachers from Sevilla joined us.
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OUR LOGO COMPETITION AT SCHOOL
Some months ago it was organized in my school a logo competition. We had to prepare draws .We had to finish the logo design competition within three weeks. We all had a great fun drawing and colouring . The winner: One winning design will be chosen from each classroom and then a second selection was done. The rules: Open to all children aged 10-12 in school. It was great participating! Katrin Milton 3 c
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SOPHIE MALONE WINS LOGO COMP! Sophie Malone, a year 4 child at St Austin’s was announced as winner of the Blend Logo Competition. Here, she speaks to Mr Hughes about her thoughts and feelings now that she has been crowned the winner! How did you decide on your winning design? Well, I thought about the project and how it involved people from 5 different countries across Europe, who would be working together as a team. I wanted to have a logo that showed team work and also that everyone was all part of the same world-wide community. I thought that shaking hands was a good sign of people working together and that it is a sign of peace and friendship. I put the world in to show that we are all part of the same world. I decided to colour in the word Blend with the different flags to show the countries that were involved. I was very proud of my logo and was excited to find out if I had been shortlisted. When the international ambassadors came around to my class and told me I had been shortlisted I was so excited. My whole class cheered. My mum was so proud of me and she asked all my friends and family to vote for their favourite logo. I rang all of my aunties and uncles to ask them to vote and even my uncle and cousins in Canada voted for me to win. We were able to watch the voting on our school webpage and I was so nervous seeing each of the designs going into the lead at different times. Mr Hughes announced our school winner after the weekend and I honestly couldn’t believe I had won out of the whole school. I felt very special seeing my logo on our school website. When my design was entered into the final shortlist with the other European entries I didn’t think I would win as the other entries were so good, but I was very proud just being a finalist. I voted for the Romanian entry. I had a nervous wait, while the partner schools across Europe voted for the winner, when the day finally came and the winner was announced in assembly I was amazed that I was the overall winner. I wasn’t sure if I had heard right and I was gobsmacked when my friends started saying I had won. I was given a giant chocolate treat as a prize. I am very happy that my design won and I hope that the friendship and peace theme from my design is something that we always have in all of the member schools. I still smile to myself and feel proud every time I see my logo on a school letter or on the Erasmus website. 11
ST AUSTIN’S CELEBRATE WORLD BOOK DAY World Book Day began in 1995 and since then schools in countries around Europe have been celebrating it every year. It was set up to encourage children to read more and change their reading habits. This year, World Book Day took place on 1st March and schools across the world came together to celebrate the joy of books. In St Austin’s we celebrated this day by asking the children to bring into school their favourite book along with an object or item linked to that book. The children wrapped their book in paper and then gave clues to the rest of the class to see if they could guess what book they had brought in. We really enjoyed doing this and even the teachers got involved! We also had some special assemblies led by Mrs Kelly in Key Stage 1 and Mr Hints in Key Stage 2 which were fun and informative. Throughout the day, we did lots of other fun things; we had booklets with activities in them and recommended books to our peers, we wrote reviews and had an altogether amazing day. This year we also asked 12
each teacher in the school to swap classes for half an hour so that they could read a story to another class. It was really strange seeing Mr Burke reading to Year 3 or Miss Vallely reading to Early Years but the children absolutely loved it! In St Austin’s we have recently built a school library and last World Book Day classes were allowed to go in and read and discuss books. This must have helped place a bigger imprint on how important reading is to us all. We asked a pupil from year 6 if it made a bigger difference, she replied with, “Yes, definitely. Realising there were so many interesting books that I could read that were all around me was really amazing.” In our school we also have Reading Ambassadors selected by the children who try and give ideas to teachers about how to make reading in St Austin’s even better, so the pupils know that they have an opinion on what goes on. But is all of this hard work actually making a difference? Well, we did a survey with the pupils to find out: 53% of children surveyed said that World Book Day made a big difference to their reading and inspired them to read lots of different books. So there you have it; St Austins must be doing something right! By Esme Lockitt-Burke, Olivia Wood and Isobel Neal
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Year 6 Trip to Bewerley Park Every year in St Austin’s our year 6 children get the opportunity to go on a 3 night residential to Bewerley Park Activity Centre in Yorkshire. It is a wonderful experience for the children; for many it is their first time away from home without their families and the life skills they learn are invaluable. The children also take part in many fun activities, many of which take them out of their comfort zone and push them to face their fears. They work in teams and learn those valuable skills of co-operation and communication. They also learn a lot about themselves as an individual which stands them in good stead for life at Secondary School. Amelia Griffiths is one of our year 6 children and what follows is an extract from her diary about her experiences at Bewerley Park… The journey and first night We set off on the coach to Bewerley Park excited for the week ahead. On our way it was really fun because we could see different things and beautiful landscape outside of our coach window. The journey took a couple of hours but finally we arrived. We went straight to our rooms to unpack and settle in and then we went for dinner. We were all starving! After dinner, we got into our PJ’s and relaxed in the common room for a bit before heading to bed – we were all tired after our long day traveling and we knew we needed a good night’s sleep for tomorrow’s fun-filled day. The Next Day This was a day full of activities. We were split into three groups and I was in group three. First we went rock climbing and it was really fun. We went through small holes and some of us managed to make it to the top. After that we went ghyl walking. Ghyl walking involved walking along an old river, we got to jump in numerous times and the water was very cold but really fun at the same time. Later on we did some night time activities such as ‘pine line’ where we had to do an obstacle course blindfolded! My favourite activity of all was rock climbing because I faced my fears and made it all the way to the top. Overall, Bewerley Park was a fantastic experience and a time I will never forget. A big thank you to all of the teachers for making the week such a fun and exciting experience for us all. We are so lucky in St Austin’s that we get the opportunities to go on many educational trips. By Amelia Griffiths
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St Austin’s ‘Come Together’ for Beatles’ Recordings St Austin’s Catholic Primary School, along with Blend partner schools across Europe, came together to sing Beatles songs and record them for our Blend project.A handful of songs were chosen and each year group sang their own. The children in St Austin’s had lots of fun learning their chosen song in their music lessons and then each year group recorded a performance in front of a live camera! Here are the songs that were chosen: Early Years: All Together Now Year 1: Hello, Goodbye Year 2: Yellow Submarine Year 3: Love Me Do Year 4: Penny Lane Year 5: Help Year 6: Imagine When staff from Blend partner schools came to visit Liverpool, our year 4 children put on a fabulous performance of Penny Lane in the welcome assembly.Matthew Bowers, a pupil in year 2,was asked about his thoughts on performing Yellow Submarine: “At first I was worried because I had never heard the tune before, but after listening to it lots of times I soon picked it up and really enjoyed it.”Of course, Liverpool is the home of the Beatles and we feel doubly proud that the most famous band in the world come from our city and that their music can be enjoyed by children and adults all over the world. By Patrick Bowers, Tom Devine and Finlay Holman 15
ERASMUS + BLEND PROJECT MEETING IN SEVILIA, SPAIN Between 17 and 19 January 2018, the first learning training event for staff in project Erasmus + KA219 "Blending learning new digital" No: 2017-FR01KA219-037364- 6 ", took place in Seville, Spain. From our school attended by two teachers: Pop Anamaria and Găzdac Vasilica. The Erasmus + project is a 36-month project running between 2017-2020. This meeting was organized by the Spanish team at CEIP School "San Jacinto" in Seville, Spain, attending 13 teachers, contact persons and directors of the educational institutions. The other partner schools involved in the project are: Ecole Simon Bolivar A, Paris, France - coordinator, Ecole Simon Bolivar B, Paris France; IC Francesco Petrarca Catania, Italy; ST.Austin's Primary School Liverpool, England; CEIP San Jacinto, Seville, Spain. The project aims to build lasting ties between the schools involved in the strategic partnership on improving linguistic and digital competences, European history and democracy, art and music, the centennial of World War I for kindergarten children and the primary school. Among the activities we will carry out in the first year of the project are: designing a brochure in English with information about the locality, school, objectives, cultural tourism; recording songs from the Beatles repertoire and designing digital albums, recording a traditional local dance; exchanges of letters between the students involved in the project in English and French, designing a newspaper with information about the project in English.
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The team of participating teachers set deadlines for organizing the following training events (Liverpool and Catania), project presentation on the Etwinning portal by the Romanian team and encouraging partners to use the Twinspace space of the project with the students, designing the dissemination plan project planning, popularization of the project on social media networks, presentation of the project website which was designed by the English team and can be found at this address: https://www.erasmus-blend.com/ The training event began with a visit to the CEIP School "San Jacinto" Triana, Sevilla where the opening ceremony attended by local officials, the local and regional press.The social and cultural impact of this meeting was marked by a study visit to the Seville City Hall as well as other cultural or tourist attractions of universal importance like: Real Alcazar Palace, Cathedral and Archives, Murillio Gardens, Christopher Columbus Monument, Maria Luiza Park, Santa Cruz District, Guadalqivir River. by Anamaria Pop,Vasilica Gazdac.
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TRADITIONAL DANCE WITH FOLK ENSEMBLE “SALVA PEACOCKS “ The ensemble, the "Salva Peacock ", was founded in 1963, at the General School Salva , with pupils of the primary and secondary school, under the direction of inv. G. Androne. At that time, at the Cultural House in the village, there was a strong band of twenty (24 members) trained by old-man Furcea Toma, Puica Anchidim, Jacob Flower. These bands braided their work, presenting common shows in which the beauty and diversity of local dances were harnessed. In 1970 this band turned into the Youth Ensemble and, with some interruptions, it still exists today. Also, in 1973 at the Cultural House there was a choral formation formed by peasants and teachers (80 members) led by Teacher. Morariu Felicia and Bolog Melania. The repertoire included vocal and instrumental songs, as well as dances that played and played from ancestral landowners: The Wheel of Runc, Barbunc, The Somesul, The Căluşarul, and the vocal repertoire was a valuable source of inspiration for renowned folkloric famous singers : Maria Peter, Maria Butaciu ,Ana Srâmtureanu,Alina Ceuca and Amalia Tuturuga. Popular customs were also staged: "The Sheep Meat", "The Wedding at Salva", "The Plague Shirt", "The Saddle". After 2000, the ensemble changed its name to: “Salva Peacocks”.
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With such members and such a repertoire, the ensemble participated in various festivals and folkloric competitions both in the country and abroad in European countries. Wherever the ensemble evolved, it won the 1st or 2nd prize and it was remarked by the scenic value, the preservation of the authenticity of the Romanian song, play and customs. The ensemble "Salva Peacocks" has participated in numerous national and international artistic festivals and competitions, enjoying the unanimous appreciation of the audience and their juries and taking the leading positions. Bistrita, "THE BIRDS OF THE ETERNITY" Bistrita, "THE BATTERIES AT GURETE", "THE WEDING OF THE ZAMFIRE" (where also the bands from Croatia, Israel, Portugal) participated at Bistrita, ROMĂ‚NASUL Iasi , with the participation of other international ensembles, International Festival of Folklore Dance, SIVO, ODOORN - NETHERLANDS, as well as in Hungary, Spain several times. by Felicia Morariu, Alexandra Sas.
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BRIDGES OVER TIMES-CENTENARY 1918-2018 An unprecedented event, a show of soul, took place on Saturday 29 September 2018 in Salva under the title "Bridges Over Time", hundreds of people participated in the meeting of the pupils and teachers of the School "Tiberiu Morariu", a success achieved by principal Romana Fetti . Many of those who have just left with a bag of dreams and a soul with a memo album have come back to thank the teachers, these diamond sanders of the soul, to make reminders about childhood, village, family, school. Above all, however, the meeting was the offering of the Centenaries of the Centenary of Romania. Even though the weather was adverse, wind and rain did not prevent children and teachers from sculpting in an impressive parade of the popular harbor. Then, in the yard of the school, everyone gathered in the vicinity of the scene from where a parastas was held in memory of graduates and teachers. Among the beautiful speeches of Father Dumitru Morar, Mayor Gheorghe Onul, Deputy Doina Pană, General School Inspector Camelia Tabără, Deputy Chairmen of the County Council Ioan Ţintean and Vasile Puica, former and current people of the educational institution, the mayors who led Salva in the last half century, priests but also former and current school inspectors on disciplines or generals. Honorary guests included Leon Hogiu, the first general school inspector of Bistrita-Nasaud county, and his teacher Leonida Stefanescu - another respected teacher who led the destiny of the county education. A happy coincidence made one of Salva's most valued teachers, history teacher Ana Filip, to celebrate her birthday right in the middle of her dear friends.
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Unforgettable was the artistic performance presented by the popular ethnologist dr. Virginia Linul and in which he was admired the performance of the ensemble "Păunaşii Salvei" under the leadership of teachers Valer Fodorca and Felicia Morariu and soloists Ana Strâmturean, Sânziana Aldea, Virginia Linul, Alina Ceuca, Genuca Ceuca, Dinu Tanase, Amalia Tuturuga, Oana Filip, Diana Tanase, Ionela Ceuca. On this occasion, the popular custom of the "Wheat Ceremony" was recalled in memory. The end of the show belonged to folk music promoted with great success by Gheorghe Ani, Florin Sasmar and other guests. The feast of the school in Salva ended in the light of a campfire. by Romana Iulia Feti,Crina Linul, Floarea Simionese
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PROJECT WEB-SITE: https://www.erasmus-blend.com/
PROJECT TWINSPACE: https://twinspace.etwinning.net/50497/home
ISSN 1844-1556
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