A round-up on various EU-sponsored projects and related overseas meetings, in which schools and other local educational institutions have participated in recent weeks through funding allocated by the Maltese EU Programmes Agency (EUPA) under the Lifelong Learning programme.
Europa - Casa Comune
Local partner: St Francis School, Victoria, Gozo.
Foreign partners: Schools in Poland, Spain, Slovakia and Italy.
The three-year project was concluded with a visit by the overseas partners to St Francis School for a week-long programme of activities.
The week's highlight were the 'Games without barriers' at the Victoria sports complex, where school pupils were split into five groups, each representing one of the school involved in the project. Students from Sannat Special Unit (SSU) and teachers from the foreign schools were also invited to participate.
At the end of the event, school head Sr Francesca Abela presented a cheque to SSU head Saviour Portelli as a token contribution from the school and parents to buy a badly-needed motorised standing frame. Gifts were also given to all participating children, including those with special needs, who received a music book and a musical instrument.
Other activities held during the week included a variety show put up by the school pupils including puppet shows, songs and mime with the common theme being the elderly, refugees and persons with special needs, and a meeting with Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono and Education Minister Dolores Cristina.
The visitors were also taken on outings to various cultural and historical sites around Malta and Gozo.
Mariella Sciortino organised the activities, while the project was co-ordinated by Maria Zammit.
Open Windows
Local partner: St Clare College's Madonna tal-Mensija Primary School 'A', San Ġwann.
Foreign partners: Schools in Italy, Germany and Northern Ireland.
School head Joseph Mallia, accompanied by a Year 1 teacher, attending a project partners' meeting at the Gianni Sandri Primary School in San Bonifacio, a town in Italy's Veneto region. The aim was to present ICT best practices in schools and discuss the impact the project was leaving in the four schools.
The San Ġwann school presented the ICT project work undertaken with the partners during the project meeting held in Malta last April, which was successfully tested by the pupils of San Ġwann primary A in their 'Under the Sea' project.
In this project the pupils made small action films by using the 'Trick film' medium to depict various types of sea contamination and its impact on sea life.
Plans were also discussed for the forthcoming scholastic year, the last year of the project.
The team agreed to prepare an action plan to be discussed in the next meeting St Aloysius Primary School, Belfast, North Ireland in October.
The visitors also visited Verona, Venice and Lake Garda, and met the mayor and the education representative of San Bonifacio.
Healthy eating contributors for the 21 century
Local partner: St Theresa College's St Venera Primary School.
Foreign partners: Schools in Scotland, UK, and Sweden.
The St Venera school hosted a visit by its overseas partners for the second project meeting, which was intended to offer a taste of Malta's traditional Mediterranean food, lifestyle and culture. The school organised an event during which pupils from the local school sang songs and performed plays onstage on the topic of healthy food and good eating habits.
During their visits to classes, the foreign teachers familiarised themselves with Malta's educational system and shared common practices, effective learning strategies and inspiring methodologies with their local counterparts.
Various meetings were held to review the work done so far, and to set targets for next year. The foreign guests were also taken for visits to Mdina, Sliema, Valletta, the Mosta Dome and Gozo and took part in a programme on the local educational TV channel, during which they spoke about the project and their impressions of the island.
The third meeting is due to take place next month in Sweden.
For further information on the project visit the blog: www.stayinghealthy4ever.blogspot.com.
Our Culture, Our Environment
Local partner: St Nicholas College's Mtarfa Primary.
Foreign partners: Schools in UK, Poland, and Spain.
Two teachers from Mtarfa Primary, Antonella Ferrante and Edith Galea joined colleagues from the other partner schools at Bure Park Primary School in England to evalaute the three-year project.
The partner schools have learnt about each other's cultures, feasts, famous people, wild flowers, trades, crafts and historical sites through a creative and coherent experience. Children had to conduct research, take photos, present and share their work with others. They were also able to make new pen friends.
Teachers were able to go abroad to see how other schools face the challenge of teaching and shared ideas to adopt in their own teaching practice.
Preserving the Environment of Europe - Now and for the Future
Local partner: St Ignatius College's Maria Regina Girls' Junior Lyceum, Blata l-Bajda (co-ordinator of the project).
Foreign partners: Schools in UK, France, Greece and Poland.
Two teachers from Maria Regina, James Evans and Portia Mizzi, accompanied by four students, Nicole Dick, Elena Schembri, Renchrist Vassallo and Jessica Vella, met up with representatives of other partner schools at Rugby High School, England for a project meeting.
During the meeting an evaluation was carried out on this year's activities on the theme of fossil fuels, energy conservation and renewable sources of energy. Discussions also focused on how awareness of environmental topics can be enhanced through cross-curricular links and extracurricular activities.
Project activities were planned for forthcoming scholastic year, the project's final year, and will focus on flora and fauna found in conservation areas in each of the participating countries. The four students participated in drama workshops and music sessions linked to environmental themes.
Outdoor environmental educational visits were also organised, such as to Ryton's Organic Gardens, where pro-environmental and natural regeneration methods are practised. The teachers and students were also hosted by the mayor at Rugby Town Hall.
Meanwhile, teachers Emanuel Gafà and Maria Gauci represented the school at a meeting at the Polish project partner, Zespol Szkol Nr 1 in Bialystok.
Visits were organised to the Podlasie region, which is referred to as 'the green lungs of Poland' because it contains a huge natural expanse of unique biodiversity. It includes Bialowieza national park, where a great number of endangered species of birds are protected under the Natura 2000 network, and Wigry national park, to learn about the educational programmes taking place on the local flora and fauna.
Meetings were held to discuss ways in which environmental issues are approached at school. The Maltese teachers also learnt about the Polish education system, while teaching and assessment methods were compared and exchanged.
European in-service training course - 'Plant diversity and health'
Local participant: Rita Darmanin Ellul, science teacher at St Margaret College Boys' Secondary, Cospicua (formerly Ġużeppi Despott Boys Junior Lyceum).
Foreign participants: Twenty educators from UK, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Slovenia, Romania, Hungary, Norway and Finland.
Held from July 21-25 at the University of Barcelona's School of Pharmacy, the course focused on plant biodiversity and its relevance to health. It highlighted the importance of using scientific methods to understand the chemical biodiversity of plants and their application to health. In addition, the course enabled educators to exchange their professional experience teaching methods in a multinational context.
The practical sessions in laboratories included chemical analysis, microscopy work, demonstrations, observatory work and making of preparations using plant products. These were complemented by lectures delivered by various specialists.
A one-day botanical excursion was organised to Montseny Natural Biosphere Reserve, a natural park especially rich in medicinal plants. Visits were also organised to the University of Barcelona's centre of plant biodiversity and to firms involved in the production of herbal medicines and perfumes.The course was co-ordinated by Dr Francesco Perez Garcia.