Participating Schools

Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium Germany

The Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium (GSG) - named after the members of the anti-Nazi resistance group "Die Weiße Rose" - is located in Stadtlohn, in the rural western part of Northrhine-Westfalia, Germany, close to the Dutch border. Stadtlohn is part of the district Borken. The Berkel river flows through it on its way to the Netherlands. Our partner school Gerrit Komrij College in Winterswijk is only about 15 km away. The Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium is the only grammar school in a city of about 20.000 inhabitants and was founded in 1995. Today with about 1000 pupils it is the biggest secondary school in our region, with students coming also from the surrounding small towns and villages. Its main pillars as outlined in the school program are the development of the pupils in the aspects social engagement, responsibility, ability to work in a team, environmental awareness, willingness to perform, self-discipline and ability to cope with criticism.

The Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Stadtlohn has a broad spectrum of international experiences through the participation in the former Comenius projects and several language exchanges with York, Pont-Audemer, Mallorca, San Vito and Winterswijk. Having felt the satisfaction of coordinating and experiencing a well-working, constructive and beneficial project, our partners, teachers and – what is more – our students are highly motivated and equipped to make the project work. When it comes to present-day migration the Geschwister-Scholl Gymnasium Stadtlohn educates migrants and asylum seekers. First they are taught in "Welcome classes" in which they gain knowledge in the German language and cultural issues. Then they attend the regular classes aside the German students and have the possibility - just like any other pupil - to pass the A-Levels. Other schools in Stadtlohn have comparable systems. What is more, the city of Stadtlohn took in a large number of refugees since 2015 and is deeply engaged in integrating them into ist population. Regarding migrational issues in history, especially the German state Northrhine-Westphalia has a lot to offer since it has been - and still is - a melting pot in which workers from Turkey, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Poland and many other countries work(ed) together being recruited in the 1950s and 1960s ("Gastarbeiter" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastarbeiter) The staff involved in the Erasmus+ project is qualified professionally in that history and social science teachers with an advanced knowledge of English are going to take part. Also, some teachers are involved who personally have a history of migration to Germany and thus are enthusiastically invested in the project.

7th High School of Trikala - Greece

7th Senior High school of Trikala consists of approximately 25 teachers and 223 students. Students are between 15-18 years old and become from urban and semi-urban area around Trikala. Trikala is a town in the central Greece. It is situated in a distance about 25 km. from the region of Meteora, a famous rock formation hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The school is a typical public high school which follows the educational curriculum by the Greek Ministry of Education. The studies are of a three-year duration and a variety of lessons is taught from the fields of both science and humanities. The age of the students ranges from 15 to 18. Upon completion of the studies, students can take part in exams for admission to university studies. The socio-economical background of its students is middle to low.

Our school experiences the issue of immigration in three ways. 1. The city of Trikala is a location of refugees from the Middle East mediated by the UNHCR, while some schools have integration classes for refugees students (though not ours). 2 In the past migrants from neighboring countries, especially from Albania, were situated in Trikala have collapsed, while Albanian immigrant children are attending our school. 3. Since early 6ties many inhabitants of Trikala migrate to Germany. 4. Because of the economic crisis of our country, we are experiencing in Trikala a brain drain the developed countries of Europe, which of course concerns our students, who are planning their studies and future.

Τhe key person in charge of running the project in our school will be the school principal, Dr Agathoklis Azelis. In case he leaves his post in the future, the vice principal of the school. Mr Konstantinos Bleckas will take over his role. In any case, the school has very experienced staff, that can cope with the project.

In our school a comprehensive multidimensional project on migration has been carried out in the school year 2015-2016 . So here is material and the needed methodology and general know how available to extend the research to an international network, while the responsible teacher who guided the students has expressed the intention to participate in this particular erasmus + project, by offering her knowledge and experience. Thus some school pupils have migrant parents who work in Germany while they themselves live in Trikala. The school principal has worked in a poetry campaign for refugees (referral). Quite many students have a high level of English knowledge and thus the ability to communicate with foreign classmates. Last but not liest there is a team of volunteers students colaborating with the municipality of Trikala, capable to disseminate the results of the project, and teachers with experience in international collaborations.

Ozel Altin Egitim Anadolu Lisesi

Altın Eğitim Private Schools were founded in the 1997-1998 academic year and have served the Turkish educational system with qualified staff and leading edge technology for the past 23 years. As a school, we strive to educate contemporary, critical, rational, free-thinking and responsible students. Upon graduating from our school, students will be equipped with the knowledge and confidence they need to succeed and carry our country into the 21st century.

School is located 25 km's away from the city center in Eryaman. It is a rural area with a high population which most of the students live in a close distance. Our school aims to develop the mental abilities, communication skills and creativity of the individualized student. This is much easier for us to do as we have a total of 270 k-12 students, 70 of them in our high school with a staff of 50 highly qualified, experienced and professional educators, counselors and administrators. It is our aim to prepare students for continuing their education with a vast knowledge of an array of subjects and the ability to process and analyze that knowledge. In our school, the education is student centered and our methods are always being revised and developed through the cooperation of students and teachers.

Our school is in the Capital City of Turkey, Ankara which is the second largest city with around 5 million inhabitants. Being in the center of Turkey geographically, it’s a major hub connecting east to west, south to north trade routes. The main job opportunities around the region are more government, social, economic and industrial occupations. With the Universities in the city, it also holds great opportunities for students to study and work in Ankara.

The key person in charge of running the project will be Mr. Tolga Özdemir. He has had many years of experience working with both Comenius and Erasmus+ projects and also various other projects within European SchoolNet. As Mr. Özdemir is the founder of Altın Eğitim Schools and an IT teacher.

Our school has connections with government organizations, universities, businesses to provide a greater ERASMUS+ project partnership experience for partner countries. Also the school has immigrant personnel and teachers which is a great opportunity to understand the past and the future of immigration in Europe. Our school has experienced several Comenius and Erasmus projects and held a Mid-term Project Meeting in May 2014 with a group of 50 students and teachers from European project partner countries. The participant students in the project had a chance to evaluate themselves in academic, personal, social, cultural ways in the last Comenius project ‘’My Voyage of Discovery’’. Both our staff and students are highly motivated to actively continue with Erasmus+ projects as our school has been involved in some sort of way since 2004.