GERMANY
Riesa, Germany
Group Mobility to Germany — 4th to 10th June
In July 2023, another student mobility abroad took place as part of the Erasmus+ project. Eleven students and three teachers from Agrupamento de Escolas de Vale de Ovil (Consortium Coordinator) and three students and one teacher from Agrupamento de Escolas de Sudeste de Baião (Consortium Member) travelled to the city of Riesa, Germany, from 4th to 10th June, to take part in a programme organised by the Werner-Heisenberg-Gymnasium School, as part of an Erasmus+ project.
During the week, students and teachers took part in a variety of learning and leisure activities and enjoyed a good time socialising and sharing knowledge and experiences. The highlights of the week were the discovery of Riesa, using the Actionbound App, where they had an unexpected encounter with a local character, the Giant of Riesa, who told them the legend about the founding of the city; the excursion to Moritzburg, where they visited the palace of the same name, which is associated with the story of Cinderella; the visit to Dresden, where they explored the famous Zwinger, through a trip to the past included in the Zwinger Xperience and a climb to the top of Dresden Cathedral, from where they could appreciate all the beauty of the city. Other activities of great interest to students and teachers were the dramatisations of historical moments related to the city of Riesa, carried out by students from the Gymnasium; the science day, with various interactive activities run by teachers and students at the school; a lecture by a marine biologist about her experience of several months in the Arctic and the sports afternoon, which allowed students and teachers to row a dragon boat along the river Elbe.
The AEVO and AESB students stayed with German students whom they already knew, as they had been in Baião at the end of September last year, also on a group mobility, and some of them had stayed with the students they were now hosting. They were able to experience what it's like to live in another country, in another family, enriching their personal history and developing their European identity.
This experience, unforgettable for the students, promoted the development of language skills, social skills, collaboration, active learning and the development of critical and creative thinking, personal growth, the ability to adapt to different situations, students’ knowledge about environmental issues, and their integral formation as citizens, more open, tolerant and prepared to face the challenges of a globalised world.
Helena Cardoso (Erasmus+ Coordinator @ AEVO)
The Zwinger, Dresden
The prom at Werner-Heisenberg-Gymnasium
