Mobilities

C1 - Mathematics and arts: November 2019 - Romania;

C2 - Distractive mathematics: February 2020 - Italy;

C3 - Mathematics in motion: November 2021 - Portugal;

C4 - Mathematics in forms: February 2022 - Republic of North Macedonia;

C5 - Innovative methods in mathematics: May 2022 - Turkey.

Erasmus Project represents one of the best way to establish a real and nice “bridge” between teachers and students from all over the world.

“Constantin Romanu Vivu” High School in Teaca, Bistrita-Nasaud county, Romania, is the initiator and coordinator of the project: ERASMUS +KA229 “MATHS IN DAILY LIFE” (2019-2021). The five participant countries in this project are: Italy, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Turkey and , of course, Romania.

The activities started in November the 11th of 2019 and the students were involved in nice and interesting activities for a week. The theme for Romania was MATH AND ARTS.

The ice-breaking activity “Nice to meet you questions” was the first and the students had the opportunity to meet each other and introduce their own school and country, and also to use English and make new friends. The clew of strings used by the coordinator of the activity represented the connections between our countries. They also tried to learn new expressions in all languages such as “Thank you”, “Please”, “Hello”, etc. The saying “Life is the art of drawing without an eraser” means that we can use an imaginary pencil and “draw” fine lines and friendships between us. They also visited “Constantin Romanu Vivu” High School, the school labs and classrooms.

Another interesting and relaxing activity was “Geometrical figures on the Romanian traditional blouse” where the teachers and students had the opportunity to discover geometrical figures on the traditional costumes of the Romania and the other countries, to familiarize with their symbols. At the end of the activity the teachers and students had to create a scale model of their traditional costume using plywood, cardboard, watercolours, pencils. Finally everybody took photos.

The activity “Musical Folklore - a source of inspiration for the musical worship” offered the participants to give a hearing to the Romanian traditional songs created by George Enescu, one of the greatest composers of Romania. The students were asked to write some composers of their own countries. Also the students had to read rhythmically the musical “Geographical Fugue” using the percussion. At the end of the activities the students and teachers sang the Romanian Erasmus Song and the atmosphere was super-nice and pleasant.

Also, going on a trip was one of the most relaxing activity where everybody visited Bistrita, a nice town in the northern part of Transylvania. They visited “George Cosbuc Town Library”, The Evangelic Church, the parks and the churches in Bistrita and Teaca , they saw “Dracula’s Castle”, Piatra Fantanele Monastery, where they admired the workshop and studio where the nuns create religious paintings on wood and they sew religious costumes for priests. The students got the novel “Dracula” written in English. The students had to discover figures and geometrical figures, dates, shapes, connections with Mathematics.

Of course, Mathematics was the “Queen” of the activities and the Maths teachers and students had a great activity using rules and geometrical figures, shapes, calculus, they guessed mathematically speaking their age, phone numbers, their birthday. In conclusion , everybody said that Mathematics represented a universal language.

Everybody loves stories! And…the best way to relax themselves is telling stories, creating stories and jokes. Another funny activity was recreating one of the well-known Romanian story called “The little bag with two gold coins” written by Ion Creanga, one of the most beloved writers by Romanian children. The participants used pictures representing parts of the story and , working in groups, they had to recreate the story. Finally, they read the original variant of the story.

We live in a modern world and the modern technology has a special place in the students’ timetable and schedule . The activity “Web Design” was a splendid and creative activity in which the students understand the structure of a web page with all its elements.

During this activity the students were asked to create five web pages, one for each group, and the combination of them to create a site web. Of course, they used the best resources such as computers, cameras, video, etc.

Another relaxing activity was “The Romanian traditional evening”. Here, everybody tried to be himself, to dance and sing and try our Romanian cuisine. Each country danced on their traditional music and learnt or , at least, tried to learn the step dancing of the other countries.

Finally, the play “A Christmas Carol” interpreted by the Romanian students was magnificent. It was a present for our special guests because, step by step, everybody was feeling the wonderful Christmas atmosphere. The super-pretty elf offered the audience nuts, presents and sweets from his magic basket and everybody was overwhelmed.

In conclusion, ERASMUS PROJECT was amazing! We made new friends, we played, sang, we learnt and discover new things . We realized that we have the same feelings, ideas, dreams even if we speak different languages .

At least, MATHEMATICS is a universal languages and we can use it to “build bridges “ and solid friendships between us.

C2 mobility took place in Italy and it was called “Maths is fun”.

The participants had the opportunity to discover that they had many common points of view and Maths rules are the same wherever they were in the world. They were really nice to make new friends, communicate and study together. They also managed to gain new learning methods . We all can say that it was a beneficial meeting.

The first day was the day of opening ceremony and the school introduction. The first activity was “Conics and roman monuments” where the space geometry was taught by teachers. After that we went sightseeing and visited some of the monuments that had taught architectural elements.

The second day activity was called “Maths and board game “ where the students played mathematical games such as Mathopoly and Crosswords. In the afternoon they had another activity named “Maths and origami” where the students review their knowledge in plan Geometry. Finally there was a drawing and caricature exhibition about mathematicians and jokes called “Caricature and picture exhibition”. At the end of the day there were sports games in the school yard.

During the third day the students visited Rome where they studied the geometrical architecture, they learnt about its history, arts, they visited Colosseum, Panhteon, Fontana di Trevi, Traian’s Column, The Arch of Triumph of the emperor Constantin the Great.

During the fourth day they visited Vatican where the students gained some information about Geometry, architecture,, Sculpture, History and Painting. In the afternoon there was another activity called “ Maths and Astronomy”. In the evening there was a concert of the school orchestra and a meeting with the host families.

The fifth day was the day of the “Maths and Music “ activity . the students composed and played the piano different musical parts and combined mathematical and musical elements.

Another activity was “Playful Geometry”. The students played Tangram game where they made figures. Finally there was the closing ceremony of the second Mobility.

The students gained and shared different information about school subjects which are combined with Mathematical knowledge. The result was a benefical one because the students from five countries had the opportunity to meet each other and realised great activities . We really can say that Maths is everywhere.

The activities were full of dynamism, the students learnt Maths, they discovered new methods of learning (Geogebra) using intelligent boards, they improve their English and managed to communicate one another in an easier way.

C3 mobility entitled "Mathematics in motion".

The place of the project is Joao da Silva Correia School Group, from Sao Joao da Madeira, a town located about 50 km from Porto.

Between 22 and 26 November 2021, the Erasmus + project "Maths in Daily Life" took, with the theme "Mathematics in motion". Sports, scientific, environmental and cultural activities carried out that contributed to the full development of the students involved and made possible the synergistic intercultural interaction that was very healthy!

On the first day, a meeting with the mayor of Porto was organized in the morning. The mayor gave a speech on the importance of mobility programs.

The activities moved to the school, where a small concert was organized, which preceded the moment when each member presented his own school.

The next activities of the day focused on the homogenization of the group involved in mobility.

The next day we went to Aveiro, a town 50 km from Sao Joao da Madeira, where we visited the Museum of Science and various workshops, where we participated in various experiments, involving both mathematics and physics.

The third day in the morning begins with a visit to the Viarco pencil factory, where the students learned the techniques and technologies of pencil processing.

At school the first activity is robotics. The students were divided into mixed groups and had the task of creating a program through which the robot to perform several maneuvers: to walk, to color, etc.

On the same day, route activities were carried out, using the Wikiloc application, in which group activities were established.

The fourth day begins with documentary trips, in which students value and develop their ability to speak English.

The fifth day was dedicated to mathematical activities about symmetry and reflection and ended with the closing ceremony.

"Here in Sao Joao da Madeira, I can really say it's perfect! There is both urban, car and natural part, placed in an ideal balance. The people here are very nice and benevolent, they always try to help and ensure all the conditions for our well-being. Words are not enough for the joy that this mobility has brought to my heart! I am grateful to be part of this project! ”

(Moldovan Petrică, 11th grade)

C4 mobility entitled "Mathematics in forms".

C5 mobility entitled "Innovative methods in mathematics".

On Monday, the representatives of the Romanian, Macedonian and Portuguese schools met in the Conference Hall of Samsun Ugur Okullari for the presentation of each one`s school, city and country. The students included many numbers and mathematical notions in their presentations and made reference to famous people from their countries who became famous after bringing innovations in the field of Maths and other sciences.

Another activity involved the visit to the Municipal Library where the Ss have been presented on exhibition of Mathematics: charts, tables, fractions, geometrical forms, a prototype of the forms Old Bridge from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Fibonacci sequence etc. Afterwords the students made some wood carving and created their own forms.

On Tuesday the students attended a presentation about the most famous bridges in the world and about the famous Turkish Architect, Mimar Sinan. After this they were involved in a STEM workshop related to bridges constructions. Students had to build, in teams, their own bridges, made out of polystyrene, cardboard, paper, sticks and glue. The resistance of the bridges has been tested using paper glasses and glass balls.

In the afternoon the whole group made a visit to the city museum where they could see an exhibition about Ataturk, the Amazon Village and a trip to the Amazon Hill by the cable car.

On Wednesday an English Fair was organised in the school courtyard. There were many different activities and games prepared by the students: cardboard games, chess, darts, guessing games, Twister etc. The students and the teachers visited the stands one by one and involved in different activities. Each one had the chance to win a small reward.

After this, the students took part in traditional Turkish folk dance preparations.

On Thursday there was the Ending Ceremony at school, envolving the Turkish folk dance demonstration, the teachers meeting, the Certificate Handling Ceremony and afterwords bowling game in town.