DESCRIBING THEMSELVES  Students wrote and shared their descriptions so that their European peers would know more about them. They also learned how to edit and add information to a Digipad capsule.

SCHOOL DAY OF NON-VIOLENCE AND PEACE

Institut Vila-seca & IC Montegranaro

Both schools celebrated the School Day of Non-violence and Peace (January 30). The activity tried to educate students in values through music and the Caviardage method to help them acquire attitudes and skills that will help them to develop as critical global citizens committed to their rights and those of others.

Each international group was assigned a main topic about peace (there are five of them: a peaceful life, peaceful relationships, peace in spaces and places, a culture of peace and peace infrastructure). Then, they had to choose an action for peace from the list of that particular topic and carry it out in their daily life. 

Moreover, they had to write a post and tell which action they'd chosen and why in their international teams.   

Finally, they had to record a video of the action they had chosen and share it in a Padlet.  

Watch some of the videos in our magazine (final project).

The Spanish and Italian pupils performed a musical activity in the school's Snoezelen room. This room linking technology and inclusion was funded by the Uffici dell'Istruzione. It is a stress-free space, which aims to provide a place where pupils can have time to find inner peace and reflection. It is usually a space reserved for one or two pupils, always under the supervision of teachers who have received specific training on how to best use it.

   The activity was conducted by the music teacher of IC Montegranaro. The pupils learned the rhythm and everything necessary to be able to sing together two of the songs of the Stand for Peace project! One of them was ‘Blowing in the wind’, a song worked with the caviardage method for the day of Peace and Non-Violence in Schools. The other was ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon, a song offered as a possibility in the Music connects people activity of the same project.

One of the workshops that all the Erasmus mobility students did was the printing of some of the Sustainable Development Goals worked on in the eTwinning projects between the two schools. First, the pupils learned the digital programme used for the creation of the images through Cricut™. Once the designs were made, they were printed on vinyl and cut out by the pupils. After they had created each design, using a specific heat press, they stamped them on their bags. 

   The process of creating the SDGs bags was collaborative as both Spanish and Italian students were assigned a specific task: cutting out the vinyl with specific tools, ironing, sticking the logos on the decorative ribbons, etc. 

   The objectives of this activity were, on the one hand, to make students aware of the ease of creating their designs in a sustainable way and, on the other hand, to be aware of the SDGs and their importance in living in a better world.

The Erasmus Accreditation allowed our students to see the photographic exhibition ‘Children’ by Steve McCurry at the Palazzo dei Priori in Fermo. This thematic exhibition, which is the only one of McCurry's work dedicated to children, offers a unique perspective on the many facets of childhood in different countries worldwide.

  The exhibition starts with a message by McCurry: “For the past three decades as I have traveled the world on assignment, I have witnessed children working in fields, factories, ditches, tunnels, mines, and ship-breaking yards. Hundreds of millions of children spend their childhood working and do not have an opportunity to play, go to school, or live in a healthy environment."

   Our students had the opportunity to learn how the innocence of childhood can normalise everyday situations in areas of war, poverty or extreme environmental conditions. In addition, the students watched the documentaries shown at the Palazzo about the photographer, the photographs and their purpose. Without a doubt, this was one of the most emotional and enriching visits for everyone.

Another obligatory and essential stop was the Maria Montessori House Museum in Chiaravalle, recently restored and renovated, it still preserves the authenticity of an inhabited place. 

   Maria Montessori was an Italian pedagogue, humanist psychiatrist and philosopher. She is known for her method of free development of individuality, in which teaching and learning materials are of great importance and, above all, motivate the learning process.

   The students were able to walk through the rooms, both ancient and contemporary, while listening to the guide's explanations and interacting with some of the educational creative games in the rooms. They had the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about Maria Montessori's life and work.