Co-operating across borders

Learning through a holistic approach could be quite fascinating as pupils from Ave Maria Primary School of Xghajra recently experienced during their participation in a Comenius school project called "Co-operating across borders".

For this project, the school joined Shanklin CE Primary School (Isle of Wight), UK, and the Grundschule of Wewelsfleth (Schleswig- Holstein), Germany, in a partnership that has proved that pupils can be in the forefront of activities when seeking to learn through teamwork and transnational collaboration.

The schools started their correspondence by forwarding samples of children's work last October. This gave pupils an opportunity to communicate, learn about each other's culture and language, develop their skills of observation, analysis, planning, documentation and communication, and to gain experience of language beyond words (through images, sounds, gestures), particularly through drama, music and dance.

Pupils from Xghajra have been drawing pictures about their village and charts about their school activities. They also exchanged letters, cards and even food samples with friends from partner schools. By the end of the first term, an exhibition on the German and English schools was put up at Xghajra primary school.

Head of school Gemma Galea Scannura, accompanied by teacher Erika Grech, also visited Wewelsfleth in February to review and evaluate the work undertaken and to discuss plans for forthcoming activities. Ulrike Müller and Meike Dietzel co-ordinated the meeting, which was also attended by representatives from Shanklin CE primary school.

The programme included visits to classes and lesson participation during which children were exposed to foreign languages. Pupils asked questions about history, geography, time zones and school life in Malta. An exhibition of works produced by Maltese and English pupils was also set up.

Ms Galea Scannura spoke about the Maltese educational system and participated in a discussion on parental involvement in school life and the Comenius project. David Kitching, head of Shanklin CE primary school, outlined a comparative study by talking about the English system of education.

Meanwhile, the partner schools will be focusing on the theme chosen by encouraging pupils to speak in a social and moral sense, to see the "borders inside myself, borders outside myself" and to seek to break these barners through self-expression by exchanging short stories, poems and messages which they will be e-mailing each other.

Work has also started on an inter-school magazine being produced on paper and on Internet and a logo competition entitled "Little Gems". The schools will be working on a three-act play, which the pupils will write and produce themselves, and also on a travelling exhibition to create a common town model.

The heads of school from Wewelsfleth and Shanklin will be visiting Malta in May. A group of German students will be coming too to meet their Maltese friends and to be able to share with them some experience of school life, educational activities, local culture and the Maltese language.

The target of the project is to give prominence to pupil active participation so as to enable them to gain experience of cultural diversity and the understanding of co-operation.