Sustainable Development: hosting partner schools in Pamplona
Erasmus+ 26 students and 16 teachers from 5 countries.
Our entire team at one of Pamplona's medieval city gates (Portal de Francia)
Between March 17th and March 23rd, 2024, our school had the honor of hosting four esteemed partners for a dynamic week focused on international cooperation towards a sustainable future. This week was an incredible experience, brimming with meaningful work and enjoyable moments. It is another of a series of meetings organised to fulfil our Erasmus objectives: ecology, zero-paper usage, promotion of technology with sustainable goals.
We were privileged to welcome the representatives of four schools that align perfectly with these criteria. We hosted students and teachers from Greece (Geniko LIikio Hortiati in Thessaloniki) , Italy (Istituto Tecnico Economico Statale "Angelo Fraccacreta"), Slovakia (Základná škola), and Germany (Max-Planck-Gymnasium in Ludwigshafen), whose expertise and enthusiasm enriched our collective efforts. Together, we explored innovative solutions to pressing environmental challenges and laid the groundwork for future collaborations.
On the same occasion, a group of three Turkish teachers (Murat Kantarcı Bilim ve Sanat Merkezi) joined the event, carrying out a job shadowing practice inspired by our school's innovative approach towards high-capacity students. The key figure behind the project in our school, Ruth Bosque, shared with the teachers, whose school specialises in attending high-capacity students, an outline of how our "Atendiendo al talento" (Attending talented students) programme works. Our Turkish counterparts also had a possibility to participate in some of the sessions aimed at implementing the RACOBEO project, which is a KA220 initiative, funded by the European Union, and focused on Radioastronomy. In this project, 1st-year Bachillerato students are building a helical antenna to receive data transmitted by weather satellites and also sound emissions received from the planet Jupiter in the form of sound waves. The project is scheduled to be presented in Lithuania during the week beginning on April 22nd.
After their arrival on Monday morning at school, all the teams presented themselves, and we exchanged welcome gifts. Then, we ventured to visit our school surroundings and Pamplona's old town. Once the tiredness from the journey and welcome celebrations eased, we rolled up our sleeves and started working.
Greek Team
Italian Team
Slovakian Team
German Team
Turkish teachers
On Tuesday, in search of a deeper understanding of sustainability, we visited the National Reference Center for Renewable Energies, where our students had the opportunity of participating in four worskhops on the following topics: solar photovoltaic system, mini wind power project, bioclimatic building, river water filtration workshop. Pamplona has been a leader in clean energy for years now and, according to the Spanish administration, is one of the most sustainable cities in the country. After an intense morning, we made time for a cultural visit - exploring the beautifully restored Olite Castle and finding some moments for chatting, shopping, and forging new friendships.
At the entrence to CENIFER (National Reference Center for Renewable Energies)
At Olite Castle
On Wednesday, taking advantage of a glorious March sunny morning, we ventured in search of the perfect leaves. Afterwards, our visitors tried their hand at speaking Spanish in a class organized by our students. We had fun interacting with the Spanish language, symbols, and traditions.
Thursday was another step towards sustainability. Our students created truly magnificent masterpieces thanks to the cyanotype technique using the leaves we gathered during a walk along the river the day before. On the same day, we aslo applied the knowledge we had gathered in the previous days into practice and successfully undertook the task of designing wind farms.
Unsing cyanotype technique to create art
Designing wind farms
"Juevintxo Night"
Thursday night was a gesture of appreciation towards the teachers who had the chance to discover the charm of Pamplona's old town, strolling along its streets and tasting our famous "pintxos" during "Juevintxo Night".
Friday was a farewell day. Our visitors bid goodbye to Pamplona by visiting its bullring and took part in a closing ceremony. After the diplomas were already given away and the work was done, we enjoyed each other's company during a farewell lunch.
We all had lots of laughs, and some of us had the courage to dance and sing to the tunes of the most famous European classics. Those more talented gave a demonstration of traditional dancing from their countries of origin.
Without a doubt, it was yet another unforgettable Erasmus experience!
Thank you very much and see you soon!
All of the teams received their diplomas during the closing ceremony