Our town: Old and new

Two pupils visited the old Inner-german bordehttp://www.sks-burgbreite.bildung-lsa.de/seiten/comenius.htm

Christmas Greetings from Germany

Christmas Greetings

Christmas in Finland

Christmas preparations start early in Finland with ‘Little Christmas'. Little Christmas or "pikkujoulu" means a certain kind of pre-Christmas celebration, for example many companies offer their staff a restaurant outing (often with alcoholic beverages) before Christmas. It can also be thought of as a period of time in late November through early December when such feasts most often occur.

There are three other Advent Sundays before Christmas. One candle is lit and put either in a special candlestick that holds four, or as the first of the four candles on the Christmas tree. Other times, the four candles of Advent are placed in the home often near a window where they can be plainly seen.

Children get their first Christmas present then. Small children get an Advent Calendar with a window to open each day before Christmas.

Everyone helps to make "piparkakkuja" or gingerbread, shaping it into stars, hearts, moons, pigs and other figures. Cold ham, salted meat and pickled herrings are also eaten, as is herring salad with chopped carrots, turnips or salted cucumber. (The ham is usually 5-10 kg in weight, is coated with mustard and equals to a Christmas turkey as known to the Americans; very few Finns eat Christmas turkey.)

Tulips, hyacinths or poinsettias or gifts are given to friends. Families gather at home around the tree and drink a cup of glögi, made of red wine, spices and raisins.

The main Christmas celebration starts at twelve o'clock on December 24th by the Mayor of Helsinki, who says everyone should pay their respects to the Christ Child's birth. So early on Christmas morning, around six o'clock, every body gets up and goes to church. The churches are lit with candles at all the pews. When the snow is extremely deep, the service is watched on television.

We will tell you about Christmas in Finland. We have a Christmas
tree in the house. We eat very much ham, salad, potatoes and
everything tasty, chocolate, of course, and sweets. Santa Claus
usually comes with his presents on Christmas Eve. Santa Claus
has a long beard, red clothes and a silly hat. Santa Claus lives in
Korvatunturi, Finland. There are a lot of brownies helping him.

Christmas is very traditional celebrations in Finland. People spend Christmas in 24.12. At that time is usually snow and frost in Finland.

At Christmas people buy a Christmas tree and then they decorate it. People buy presents to each other, pack them and then put them under the Christmas tree.

Traditional Christmas dishes are ham, Swede casserole, escalloped potatoes, carrot casserole and rice porridge.

At Christmas people bake ginger biscuits and Christmas cakes. There is plum jelly in the Christmas cakes. On Christmas Eve evening Father Christmas comes to give presents for everyone. Then everybody sing Christmas songs and they open the presents. Everybody is happy at Christmas.

Christmas in Finland. One day before Christmas we
usually go into the forest and cut down a good Christmas tree.
We put that tree inside our home. Then on Christmas Eve
we put a golden star on the top of that Christmas tree
and other beautiful things on it. We decorate our homes beautifully. On Christmas Eve we go to the Finnish sauna.
Father Christmas visits every family and gives presents.
He is an old, friendly man who wears red clothes.
And we have a Christmas meal, too. It is ham, rosolli salad,
carrot cassarole, rice porridge, plum pudding and ginger
bread and tarts. Early in the morning on Christmas Day we go to Christmas church where we listen to Christmas songs.

Greetings from Wernigerode

Hello, we are Ramazan and Mahmoud. The idea blokspot of you is very good. We have seen the images and read the comments. We liked to read. We are going in the 10th class. The 10th class is running well for us. Now we hope that we find a good work because it is our last year at school. We look forward to meet the Turkish pupils here. We want to see them and get to know them.
Greetings from Germany

Student’s walkout.

Last Thursday 22nd, in Vigo, young students from different high schools went on a strike against fascism. The Syndicate of Students of Vigo was the organizer of this walkout and the group that had a speech about this problem, a problem that (they said) must be eradicated because it is inhuman and unmoral.
But the strikes started even before of this one. It all started when a pair of neo-Nazi people murdered a young anti- fascist boy that was walking to a demonstration in Madrid. Since then the TV has been trying to hide it but the problem’s been getting bigger and bigger. The demonstrations against any kind of racist ideologies or doctrines have gathered a huge number of people in all Spain, something that shows that tolerance, equality, multiculturalism, and peace aren’t values for a small bunch of people but values of all the society.
In the pictures you can see the students concentrating in America Square and walking along Gran Vía Avenue.
By Javier Irazábal

Meeting with our Dutch friends - SPAIN

MEETING WITH THE DUTCH PEOPLE

This summer, the days 6 – 20 August, some boys of the exchange with the Netherlands came again to Vigo. Then, we saw again Selwyn, Maikel, Ricardo and Sjoerd.

The weather was really good, so we were most of the days on the beach. One of these days we visited Cies.Another day, we went shopping and we had a party to welcome them. In the party, we had a lot of fun chatting, eating and dancing.

They went to San Roque’s Festival too, because it’s a famous festival in Vigo, and they went to Arenal’s discos.

It was really nice to share again some days with them, although we miss a lot of dutch people that didn’t come. We love them so much and we’re happy because we keep in touch with them all.

We hope we can share again good moments together next summer.

By Carmen Rodriguez and Beatriz Gómez

My Irish Experience

In the last month of September I spent four weeks in Ireland. I was with a very nice family in a place called Tullamore, a town in the centre of Ireland, in the county of Offaly. Now I feel my Irish family like my second family, they are great! Real good people. I really miss them but I hope to see them in June. This experience was amazing for me because I improved my English very much and I made a lot of Irish friends in the school, because, in Ireland I went to school every day with my partner, Patrick. I think that this is the key to improve your English, the school, if you really want to learn English, you only must pay a little attention in the different classes and it is impossible not to improve your English. So if you are a student that is thinking about going to a foreign country to improve your second language and you ask me, my sincere answer will be “Do it!” because if I went back in the time I would do it again.
By Pedro Conde (1º Bach) SPAIN

Thank you

Dear all,

Thank you for wonderful time we had in Vigo. Our journey back was easy and smooth.

Now at home, above all we want to thank Carmen and Maruxa for organising those lovely days in Vigo with many delicious meals. Thanks to our visit to Vigo, seafood like clams, mussels, langoustines, spider crabs and octobuses have got tastes and forms in our minds (here in Helsinki we don't meet them every day :)!). Our visit to Santiago de Compostela was very memorable. And at present, not few of us are walking around in brand new Spanish shoes!

We want to thank Christina, Bettina and Wolfgang for organising a very effective conference, so now the filling of the application form will be easy and our schedule is clear.

It was wonderful meeting you all in Vigo, and we are delighted to know that we will have a chance of meeting you and our new partners, Jolanta and Yasar, in Wernigerode in sping 2009!

The afternoon in Helsinki is rainy, but despite that, they are going to put on the Christmas lights in the city center tonight.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Hilkka and Anna

Our town: a comparison between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’.

HELSINKI

Presentation

Promoting a better behaviour. Video clips from Finland

Topic: promoting a better behaviour (protecting the environment, stop drinking, smoking, bullying)

Greetings from northern Helsinki

Hello to you all!

Here is a group picture from the Helsinki meeting last April. There are pupils and teachers from Germany, the Netherlands and Finland.

This is Hilkka Roininen writing a short message to you. I am one of the teachers working with the project "Flying over Europe" in Jakomäki Comprehensive School. Our Comenius year is well on its way.

It is wonderful to be able to meet all our partners (teachers) at the project meeting in Vigo in a few days' time. It will be a very busy conference, as we have so many things to discuss. Together will make a schedule for pupils' project meetings, too, so hopefully we will soon be able to welcome some pupils from Germany and Spain to our school. And our pupils are eager to travel, too.

The weather is turning a bit colder here in Helsinki and it is nice to get some snow to brighten up the darkness.

With best wishes to you all,

Hilkka R.

Comenius Conference in Vigo from 20 -24 November 2007

Great news!!!
According to my latest information our friends Christa and Peter from Vlaardingen (Netherlands) will take part in the conference. Although they didn't get the grant for this project year they will participate in some of our projects. We are really happy about that.
Looking forward to meet you there.
Hugs,
Christina

Heroes from Konya

Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi , the great Turkish philosopher and poet, was born in 1207 in Afghanistan. His family moved to Konya in 1228 at the invitation of the Seljuk Sultan. The people regarded him as the sole intellectual and spiritual heir, and a source of inspiration. In the following years, as a scholar and theologian, he became even more popular. Mevlana gives extraordinary value to man' s free will and exalts the human being to virtually the level of a sacred being. So he gives special importance to a person's knowing him or herself. With no discrimination based on differences of birth or later acquired differences, he values all humanity.

With the torch of broad tolerance, joy and hope, which he represented, Mevlana held forth a light not only in his own time but for all ages to come. In every age his ideas are fresh, new and in the vanguard. He is able to see sins and faults with the kind forgiveness of God.

Mevlana called humans to unity, to give up themselves in the Unity of God. Mevlana is a great person who was against any institution or way of thought which held women as inferior or was not based on human sensitivity.

"Our mother is love! Our father is love!

"We are born from love! We are love!"

"All loves constitute a bridge leading to the divine love."

"To love human beings means to love GOD."

Come, come whatever you are,
it doesn't matter Whether you are an
infidel, an idolater or a fire-worshiper,
Come, our convent is not a place of despair.

Come, even if you violated your swear A hundred times,
come again.

In generosity and helping other be like a river

In compassion and grace be like a sun

In concealing other's faults be like night

In anger and fury be like dead

In modesty and humility be like earth

In tolerance be like a sea

Either exist as you are or be as you look

Nasrettin Hodja

(This is the story about wit and wisdom of a man who has been dead for hundreds of years. But he is also the most important Turkish hero, the delightful and inimitable personification of Turkish humor.

According to most reliable sources, he was born in 1208 in Turkey. On his tomb­stone, the date of his death is given as 1284.

After the Hodja got the recipe for liver from his friend, he bought again some liver and because he liked it very much, he wanted to eat it often.
But everytime when he brought livers he couldn't eat it, because his wife said that the cat took the liver and fled away.
One day the Hodja became angry and said:
“Woman, I brought liver! Where is it?”
“Oh”, said his wife. “The silly cat took it and fled away.”

At the same time the cat was in the room. The Hodja caught it, brought a steelyard and weighted the cat. Then he said:
“That is exactly two kilos. And the liver which I brought was also two kilos. Now tell me: If that is the liver where is my cat, if that is the cat, then I want my liver.”

RIGHT RIDING

When the Hodja was going out with his students, he sat on the donkey facing the tail. They asked him why and he explained:

“As a teacher I must be in front of you. But if I face the front, I cannot see what you are doing behind me. Therefore, if I sit on the donkey this way, I can see you all quite easily.”

Nice Greets from Germany

Hello...
My name is Janine, I'm 16 years old and I'm from Germany. I'm in the 10th grade at the ,,Ganztagsschule Burgbreite''. Our school was rebuilt last year. Inside, our school is very beautiful and new.
I was in April in Finland and it was fantastic. I was there with 3 other people from my school. We flew from Berlin to Helsinki. Our exchange people were very nice and the atmosphere between us was perfect. We was there for 5 days, but it was a short time.
Greets to Laura, Joana, Samuli and Emilia from Jakomäki school. (Finland)

I hope, I see someone of you next year.

Bye Janine.. :)

What's up in Wernigerode

The Harry-Potter-Photosession went well, as we live in a wonderful old town. We also have many souvenir-shops wher witches are sold. So you can imagine, that we nearly live in Hogsmeade. The photos will be posted after the children have written their comments.
Christina Schaper, Germany

Greetings from Helsinki

Hello,

We are Jarmo, Lotta and Niina from Jakomäki comprehensive school. We are in 8th grade. We are nice pupils and we have a good sense of humour. At the moment we are in English lesson.

Helsinki is the capital of Finland, over 500 000 people live here. This is a beautiful city with magnificent nature. Winters are cold, white and snowy. Summers are sunny, warm and green. At Christmas the city is beautiful because of its Christmas lights in the main streets.

The weather in Helsinki is cloudy at the moment. At the weekend in Helsinki rained snow, and the ground is little white now.

Hugs, Jarmo, Lotta and Niina

A warm greeting from chilly Poland

Dear Friends,
It's windy and rainy in Poland. By the way, I envy Anna and Hilkka the first snow.
First of all let me introduce myself to the project participants I haven't met before. I am new to the project as well and feel delighted and honoured to be a part of such a great project team. My name is Jolanta Gajda, I teach English in junior high school (Gimnazjum nr 16 im. Fryderyka Chopina) in Lublin, Poland. You are welcome to have a look at our school web site: www.g16-lublin.eu.
As far as our city is concerned, let my students tell you a few words about it:

Lots of beautiful places
University where Pope John Paul II was teaching students
Bystrzyca River
Lots of restaurants and hotels
Interesting museum in the castle
Nice people

Agata, class 2g

Lovely
Unfortunately, there are not any mountains
Buildings are cool
Lollipops are the best in Lublin
In Lublin there is a castle
Notice that Lublin is the best

Maciej, class 2g

Lovely Lublin
Usually the weather is nice
Beautiful landscape
Lublin is wonderful
Interesting city
Nightlife

Ola, class 2g

I am looking forward to working with you. My students just can't wait either. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend the conference in Spain but would be very happy to help you with the project outline in any way you wish. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Some news. We went on a class trip to Krasnobrod on the 25th-26th October and you are very welcome to have a look at the photos.
Looking forward to your news. Have a great new week.
Regards,
Jolanta Gajda

Greetings from Finland, Helsinki!

We are 5 pupils from Comprehensive school of Jakomäki. We are in the 8^th grade. Our names are Henna-Riikka, Ella, Sonja, Enni and Ville.

It has been snowing already in here, and we are excited about it. Maybe we can snowboard and ice skate soon. Some of us like to ski, some of us don’t.

It has been a fun year and the Christmas is coming. We are at school for 1,5 months before Christmas holiday. We are all waiting for the holiday, and New Years Eve.

We hope that we will see you soon, bye!

Henna-Riikka, Ella, Sonja, Enni and Ville.

What's up in Wernigerode

A week ago the seventh part of the Harry Potter books came out in German language. That's the reason for working on a project. Students of the form 6a will read some parts of the books for old people who live in the school's neighbourhood. Another group will take photos of muggle and wizzard houses in their town Wernigerode. You will see some of their photos tomorrow.
Christina Schaper (German teacher, Ganztagsschule Burgbreite Wernigerode, Germany)

Welcome

Welcome to our Comenius-Blog where you can communicate with all the partners of our Comenius project.

We also welcome new partners who are interested in cooperation with us :-)

Activity calendar

Activity calendar (not including mobility activities )

The eligibility period of activities starts on 1 October 2007 and goes on until 31 July 2008 .

Approximate date	Activity description	Actors involved
Whole year 2007-2008	What’s up in your school? Articles written for the Blog about the projects and other activities.	All partners
Whole year	Exchanging e-mail: Pupils participating in project meetings or hosting their guests exchange e-mail.	All partners
October 2007	Our town: a comparison between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’: The students create a pp. presentation showing the changes made in their area/town/city. For example, they can use pictures or photographs of old/ancient buildings and the more modern ones that have been built in their place.	All partners, coordination: Italy
November-December 2007	Video: Creation of one, two or three advertisement video clips. Topic: promoting a better behaviour (protecting the environment, stop drinking, smoking, bullying, having better eating habits etc.)	All partners, coordination: France
January –February 2008	Choosing a career: Pupils interview people working in different jobs and make them questions about their work.	All partners, coordination: France
March-April 2008	Recycling project: The pupils of each participating school research into what is done with waste in their home countries. The pupils create new things (artworks) out of old things.	All partners, coordination: Germany

Expected results, including products

Approximate date (month/year)	Description of results
Whole year 2007-2008	Using a new BLOG :-) Each participating country is directly involved in publishing the articles in the Internet. This contributes to rapidity and enhances a more active participation by all the partners. The pupils have a chance to comment on the articles published. Improvement on ICT-skills.
Whole year 2007-2008	What’s up in your school and other activities? Articles written by the pupils. Pupils get up-to-date information on what is happening in their partner schools and the lives of the other pupils (e.g. conference meetings, projects). Improvement of English language skills.
Whole year 2007-2008	Project meetings. Preparations for the trip and for welcoming guests (exchanging e-mail, scheduling for the trip; composing an interesting programme for the visitors and hosting/ taking care of the guests), reporting on the trips and organising exhibitions at school. Results: Discovering things about one’s own environment and home country from a different point of you and getting familiarized with a partner country (intercultural awareness). Enriching concept of world and increasing tolerance and acceptance of difference. Increased independence of pupils and a greater motivation for learning foreign languages (mostly English, but also French, German and Finnish) Strengthening of the multicultural atmosphere of each institution.
October 2007	Our town: a comparison between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’. Each participating school makes a powerpoint presentation of changes that have taken place in their town/city or region. Development in ICT skills of pupils. Written and oral reports on this powerpoint, finding out things about the local environment in the old times and at present, reflecting on the changes and development of the town/city or region and reasons for these changes (war, urbanisation, economic development, recession, changes in town planning etc.). Getting to know about the environment of pupils in the other participating countries and making comparisons.
November-December 2007	Promoting a better behaviour. Each participating country makes a video of two or three clips. The objective is to encourage a better behaviour of a person and a better behaviour towards others as well. All the clips will be compiled on a CD. The pupils choose themselves the themes, the type of presentation and the way they want to treat the subject. Results: Awareness of the risks for health caused by smoking, drinking and unhealthy food. At the same time, encouraging others to quit these habits for better health. Reflecting on a person’s responsibility when facing certain problems of society (bullying, violence…) and getting aware of the fact that in all the participating countries the young sometimes face these problems. Aid and support in overcoming these problems.
January - February 2008	Choosing a career. Interviewing people on their work to find out about their studies, salary, advantages and disadvantages of the job, career prospect, and the qualities needed for the job they have chosen. Each pupil participating in this activity chooses a job on the basis of his capabilities and interests. Articles published in Comenius Herald and a chart comparing the six countries about a few of the jobs studied and a conclusion. Improvement of English language skills (writing articles t Comenius Herald).
March-April 2008	Recycling project. Researching into the amount of waste produced and what is done with waste in each of the participating countries (depositing, separating, burning, recycling etc.). The role of recycling in each country and in pupils’ lives, the fees paid by average families. Interviews, questionnaires, comparisons between different countries, statistics and articles in the Comenius Herald. Creating works of art (clothes, sculptures …) out of waste material. Making a calendar illustrated with photos of the works of art produced. Fashion shows and making a video. Better knowledge of the problem of waste in industrialized countries, solutions made and the costs for the community. Being conscious of the responsibility of each individual towards this problem. Using imagination and creativity in recycling old things to make works of art and other things out of them. Improvement of English language skills (articles written for Comenius Herald). Better command of the English language?