Portuguese delegation participation on the 6th International Comenius Conference in Utajarven Lukio, Finland

 5-12 December 2014

Finnish, Portuguese, Turkish, Greek and Polish students

Scottish , Finnish, Portuguese and Polish coordinators with the Finnish school Headmaster

After weeks of preparation through contacts via e-mail, among all the partner coordinators, all the seven Comenius delegations met in Oulu to start living the Finnish Comenius experience in the most emblematic season of the year to see the Earth in white: Winter! First we landed in Helsinqui where we could see the monuments, landscape, traditional foods and customs. Apart from the cold and rain on the first day we could appreciate its beauty!

In the Land of the thousand Lakes we could witness the different stages of Water and enjoy it the most we could! The programme was diverse and very rich in cultural and social terms, and so all the participants got involved enthusiastically either at school - Utajarven Lukio-, out in the forest or at the various places we were taken into, such as the city of Oulu, Oulu Vocational School - KoRoNa Milk Factory, Rokua Geopark or Rovaniemi with its beautiful magic place!

Crossing the Artic Circle!

We dashed through the snow in a one reindeer open sleigh...and we experienced what it feels like!:)

Some of the highest points were the crossing of the Article Circle, the meeting with Santa and the reindeer sleigh ride! They all belong to our childhood imagination having the special kind of magic that triggers the best in every human being...and it did in every one of us: dreams were fulfilled!

At school our presentation on the 4ENs focused the WATER in the form of lakes in Portugal, and Leonardo Rodrigues was the student of class 12 SE (Socio economics studies) selected to do it. This was his first trip abroad and his very first flight so this meeting meant a lot especially for him! An exhibition with WATERcolours, produced by students of Arts of class 12AV, under the guidance of José Sinde, the Arts teacher, was also displayed at the entrance of the Finnish school auditorium with the purposes of cherishing this Element in its various foms, impressing all the participants with its beauty and essence and being taken to every school of the partnership, according to every coordinator´s choice. A WATER notebook was created with the images of all the watercolours and pencil drawings and offered to every school coordinator,too. The same students produced other WATER landscapes drawings and paintings with wax and charcoal pencils.

The Finnish students and teachers presented us with a warm Christmas atmosphere with sketches, songs, cheerful moments and even presents...:)

The school organised a very exciting Christmas dinner where we were served the typical foods and drinks of Finland by elves!

It was an unforgetable experience and thanking all the staff, students, families and specially Anu is not enough to express the joy and friendship we felt.:)

The working meeting took place to analyse the activities realised and plan the ones ahead, particularly the two future International Meetings in Spain and Scotland. All the participants informed these two coordinators of their travelling delegations so that the programme could be set on foot.

At the very end of the week we had the goodbye dinner offered by the Finnish host school where the Headmaster and the local Education Representative toasted to our meeting and wished a lasting contact beteween our schools.

Leonardo Rodrigues´evaluation was sent to the Finnish coordinator expressing his feelings for the fantastic experience! His photo album can also be seen with some of the best moments. The coordinator´s grateful evaluation can also be read.

Research works and presentations continue to be realised in our school, in strict connection to the syllabus of the different subjects involved, analysing how Man has been managing the Elements of Nature on the different parts of Earth.

Comenius Portuguese Expedition on the 4ENS - 2014-2015

After constant contacts among all the partners in the eight countries,  coordinators, staff and students met again in September, this time in Turkey, Akyazi, for the 5th international Comenius Meeting. We toured the school and got to know some of the culture displayed on their walls: artistic works, their iconic personalities, posters on Comenius visits and meetings.


After the formal opening of the Comenius Meeting,by the Turkish school Headmaster and Cordinator, all the delegations did their best on stage. The Portuguese students delegation presented their work on the 4ENS related to Portugal, specifically on "Earth and FIRE", to all the other seven delegations and to the Turkish school audience. A typical dance - "Vira da Nazaré" was offered to the audience at the end of the presentation, as it was related to the most famous Portuguese town today related to a Water sport: surfing.
All the partner school dekegations´presentations attracted the audience and involved everyone, informing and showing different aspects of each country´s approach of the common topic- the 4 Elements of Nature.

Afterwards, we visited the Comenius Garden, near the school, an area cared by the Turkish coordinator, other engaged teachers and their students. An example to see!

Emine,  proud of their Comeniys Garden.

The work meeting was held to prepare the next International Meetings and activities, as well as to analyse problems and solutions about all the process of information display so far, i.e. the blog and Facebook.

Many activities were realised related to the Four Elements of Nature and all the participants were very enthusiastic about the programme: visited a traditional historical town- Beypazan- the local Museum - Yasayan Museum,where we could travel to the past and see how Turkish families lived then. Participants could try their artistic talents with Water. Both Sofia and Beatriz accepted the challenge! Everyone was also eager to see the Silver Bazaar and students enjoyed the typical colourful Turkish outfits.

We enjoyed beautiful landscapes and watched birds, saw incredibly nice natural sceneries, visited the

 most hurt city by earthquakes - Adapazari - and its Earthquake Museum, visited a National Park,  tasted the typical foods and learned much about the icons of the Turkish architecture

The final closing ceremony was absolutely fantastic , very well planned and programmed and we could enjoy the typical Turkish musical instruments, their type of music and appreciate the students´talents.

The school headmaster and Emine were very welcoming and couldn´t have done better! Sofia was chosen for the main party character - The Turkish bride - and was very proud of it! The students joined the final dance and had much fun as well as we did!



The time to say goodbye arrived and it was difficult for all to leave! the days passed too fast...and tears came too. Friendly links have been created!

Before departure to everyone´s country there was the chance to visit Istambul, one of the richest and most attractive cities in the world. Monuments were very much appreciated, the Bosphorus, its customs, people and way of life. Unforgettable!

Evaluations of the international activity were sent to the Turkish coordinator, by the Portuguese coordinator, and by the two students, Sofia Pinho and Beatriz Teixeira  thanking and complimenting her, all the school staff, students, their families  and town authorities for the welcoming warm and very well organized reception and programme!

As for our school students, different classes of students have been researching and presenting works on different themes related to Earth,Water and also to the 4 Elements together, linked to the mandatory syllabus of the different subjects.

Comenius Portuguese Expedition on

 "The Four Elements of Nature and Their Effect on Our Lives"  

School Year 2013-2014

Class 11LH2

Students of  11LH2, SE,AV, 12LH1

Class 11CT1

Several teachers and classes joined the Project enthusiastically! Here are just some photos of some Comenius classes...

Contacts were established from the very beginning and all the info was displayed on two Comenius Corners in the school, apart from the school site and blog. Comenius documents were produced to announce the involvement in the Project and provide all the community with the necessary information about its importance for the school, the teachers and mostly for the students! As the school responsible for the Evaluation Forms, these were created and sent via e-mail to all the other seven partners.

Class 11AV - Arts


The first International Meeting happened in Preili, Latvia, and several types of works were produced by the Portuguese classes with the purpose of letting everybody know about our school, city, country. Some involved these three places! The 4 Elements were considered for the Portuguese presentations and for the moment " Taste my Country". A Portuguese folk dance by the three students and the teacher coordinator was shown too. After this BIG moment all the participants evaluated the international activity as a FIVE STAR Meeting. We were happy to meet each other!:) Photos of all the activities were made available.

In our school works were produced on Earth, on Earth - Human Beings ´ Impact, as well as on Earth - Human Beings´inventions and their impact on our planet, on Earth and Air, on Earth and Water , involving The English, Arts, Geography, Physical education, Sociology and Economy subjects.

Serralves Park and Modern Art Museum

The second International Meeting happened in Porto, in our school, in January 2014. We had a great time again and friendships got stronger! I was sent the Evaluation forms by all the participants with very good ideas to improve following meetings and value the good aspects.

Arts Workshop - collage on Paula Regos´s Painting

In March we, three teachers and three students, headed to Poland, to Mszana Dolna, , where the third International Meeting took place.
Our delegation presented the 4 Elements through Art, Legends, Dance and Geography - Volcanoes which exist in abundance in our islands of the Azores and Madeira. Evaluations of this fantastic Meeting were sent to the Coordinator as it was supposed to happen.

In April we celebrated Earth´s Day in our school and Comenius students from different classes donated to the President of Portuguese Environmental Association "Quercus", the amount of 120€, result of the Charity Party sales of products made and / or brought from all the partner schools, which had been held in January. On 24 April our school celebrated "Earth´s Night" when many Comenius works were made public to all the community: parents, teachers and students!

Donation to Quercus

Presentation of Comenius Works on " Mother Earth´s Night"

"Our Finnish partner school came to Portugal in April too, with the two Comenius teachers and a group of students to get to know Lisbon, its landscape, history, architecture and art. They were met by the Spanish Director and the Comenius Assistant and a similar group of Spanish students of our partner school too. Unfortunately our Portuguese students weren´t able to meet, but I joined them and did the best I could to make them feel "at home". It was a small Comenius Meeting to repeat! Thank you Anu and Aila!

In May a Portuguese delegation of three teachers and four students participated in the fourth International Meeting in Volos, Greece, where we all witnessed the History, Philosophy, and Art we have been learning in books since a young age. Unforgettable! Our presentation focused on Portuguese cultural celebrations involving Earth, Water, Air and Fire. All the Comenius participants could taste a bit of our gastronomic delicatessen and could witness and cheer along with the popular music and dance related to Porto´s  favourite and greatest celebration: S. João.

The evaluation forms were sent to both the Greek Coordinator and the Greek Director. Thank you for such an incredible experience!

Students from different classes - 11CT1, 11SE, joined the volunteering programme to fight hunger in our city, region and country, collecting food in local supermarkets for " Banco Alimentar contra a Fome" / WFP!

Our Facebook Comenius group was updated with videos, photos, articles and documents - https://www.facebook.com/groups/494466053963374/ - and our common BLOG too.

At the end of the year the Multilingual Glossary on Earth was assembled with the cooperation of the eight Comenius partner schools.

Some Comenius teachers-
Geography, Sociology, Economy,
Physical Education, English...

Multilingual glossary on Earth

Multilingual Glossary On Earth By All The Partner Comenius Schools

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The 4ENs Comenius Organic Farming Garden

                                                          We planted in the SOIL.      
            
                                                                We WATERed.

                                               They take CO2 form the AIR to grow.

                                    We will cook on FIRE and eat them when you come.