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Dear friends of our Comenius project, this is the final newsletter for the project “Make a Difference – European Footprint on our World”, in which seven schools from Belgium, England, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway and Slovenia worked together since August 2008.

We want to inform you about the progress made since July 2009 when we published our last newsletter. There will be reports about project meetings in the partner schools during the last year and the impressions of the final meeting in Waregem which was definitely the highlight of our project. We signed our “Charter of Environmental Responsibility” at the EU Commission in Brussels and presented our project and the work done to the European Commissioner for Climate Action, Mrs. Connie Heedegard and some Members of the European Parliament from Belgium and Germany. It is also the time to say good bye to some friends and project partners and to look forward to the next project which we will start in August 2010.

Comenius Project: Make a Difference – European Footprint on our World

Newsletter Nr.3

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Coordinators’ meetings in 2009/2010 Bushey (UK) 24th – 27th September 2009

The new academic year, our second project year, started with a coordinators‟ meeting

hosted by our partner school in Bushey, England.

As it was a first time visit to St. Margaret‟s School for some of the colleagues we had guided tour in the school and around the school grounds where we could discover the new school pond and the bees which contribute their honey to the boarders breakfast.

In the evening we had the welcome dinner in school and we had the opportunity to

talk to some of the school‟s governors about our project and our ideas. The

headmistress gave us not only a warm welcome she also presented us with the new

book about the schools history which was written by some former teachers of the

school.

The next day was dedicated to project evaluation and the planning of the events of

this academic year. We had to discuss the final meeting and the end products of the

projects as well as the topics we wanted to be covered during the students meetings in

the next months. During our lunch break we could admire the new school uniforms of

the St. Margaret‟s girls.

Left: Mrs Lynne Crighton, Headmistress SMB

Above: SMB girls in the new school uniform

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The late afternoon and the evening was excellent for socializing and we enjoyed a

perfect evening in a pub in the countryside where our English friends had ordered an

excellent meal for us. Too early came the next morning where we continued our work

until noon when we had accomplished as much as possible and we started out for our

excursion to Kew Gardens by using public transport to minimize our carbon

footprint.

The weather was brilliant all the time we stayed in Bushey and so it was a perfect

afternoon to walk in on of the oldest parks of London and to see all those interesting

trees in the park and the special plants in the greenhouses, e.g. the oldest pot plant in

the world which came to Kew Gardens in 1775. The tree top walk offered a beautiful

view of the surrounding areas and we enjoyed our time there very much.

The Tube brought us back to the centre of London where had the opportunity to see

some of the important and interesting sights of London like St. Pauls Cathedral and

the Millenium Bridge with a wonderful view of all the other bridges and a very nice

sunset on a wonderful warm evening.

The Millenium Bridge

offered us the

opportunity for a group

picture before we had our

farewell dinner on the

north bank of the Thames

with some final

exchanges of ideas and

some good talks between

friends.

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Novo mesto (Slovenia) 13th – 17th January 2010 This was a special meeting for all of us, as we had to work on two projects at the same time – finalizing the current project and applying for a new project with new schools. Our Slovenian friends did a great job to make us feeling comfortable and providing us with working space at all times of the day and night! The Comenius gang on their way to a new project

It was also a new experience for our Hungarian fried Ferenc Kovacs who wrote the report for us. “I participated at a Coordinators‟ Meeting with the title “Make a Difference – Our

footprint on Europe” in Novo Mesto, Slovenia between 13th January and 17th January

2010.

I arrived there in the afternoon, on 13th January 2010. It was already dark and I also

had some problems with my car but at last I was able to find the hotel. My teacher

colleagues from other countries who also came for this meeting had accommodation

at the same hotel, namely “Apartments Ravbar” in Novo Mesto.

As this event was my first Coordinators‟ Meeting, I had the chance to get to know my

teacher colleagues next day, on 14th January.

After having breakfast in the hotel I was taken to “Gimnazija Novo Mesto”, which is

the local secondary school of the small town. The meetings were held in the library of

the school every day.

On the first day I presented an overview of our school, “Xántus János Secondary

School for Tourism and Hotel Management” and so did my colleagues, presenting

their schools one by one.

To participate in the next Comenius project as well, the representatives of all schools

had to complete an application form which contained school data and other school

information. We also had a brainstorming session about the summary of the project,

the rationale, the project objectives and strategies, the table for results and outcomes,

the European added value and the impact of the project on the schools.

After lunch we had to agree on three of the topics, educational fields and key

competences we were offered in the application form and we had to choose the

horizontal issues offered by the European Commission as well. We also had to agree

on distributing the tasks, cooperation and communication, participants‟ involvement,

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integration into the curricula of the participating schools, evaluation and

dissemination.

On the next day, 15th January 2010 we had to formulate a joint text for the application

form and we also had to find a final title for the project. We agreed on the title:

“Common Roots, Common Future” for the next Comenius project. We also had to

work out the project programme, to distribute the tasks and to arrange a plan for

meetings and student exchanges.

After lunch we had to finalize the planning of the current project “Make a Difference”.

We evaluated the work done so far, exchanged the results achieved in the student

meetings since the last coordinators‟ meeting. We discussed what needed to be

finished before the final meeting in Waregem, Belgium, which was going to take place

at the end of March 2010. The representatives of all schools handed the digitalised

creative writing work produced by the students and the photos of the illustrations to

our colleague from England, where a booklet containing the students‟ writings was

going to be produced.

The details concerning the final meeting in Waregem were also finalized, namely the

programme, the planned workshops, the charter which was prepared in order to be

signed at the EU headquarters by the headmasters of all schools. We also updated the

timetable and worked out the joint mobility descriptions for the final report between

the participants of each mobility.

On 16th January we finalized the application form and the plan for the Waregem

meeting. In the afternoon we enjoyed a trip to Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia.

I left Novo Mesto and Slovenia the next day, on Sunday, 17th January 2010.

Our hosts, our teacher colleagues from Slovenia, the headmaster of the Slovenian

Secondary School were all very kind and we, participants from other countries at the

meeting, were all very thankful for their hospitality.”

Novo mesto and the river Krka Our working space in the school’s library

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Students’ meetings in 2009 – 2010 Exchange Novo mesto –Belgium, October 2009

The first impression that I had of Slovenia was “wow” because of the huge view of the

forest. We‟ve got a great welcome of the girls and they gave us a tour around the

village. That was great, but then the food in the restaurant … I didn‟t like it, thank

God that the mother of Petra and Karmen could make a very good pudding!! Ok she

can make other very good food but that pudding en cake was on the top of my list of

favourites. Bram and I had a warm welcome in the house of Petra and Karmen.

What I am going to remember for a very long time was the friendship, the jokes of

Bram and of course the disco! I can‟t wait when they come to Belgium. Also what is

shocking for us is the clothes of the girls, they are so different from our girls!

The presentations of different companies were very good but sometimes too long and

boring. For example Renault, we didn‟t see anything of the production of the cars

because of a newly designed car. Too bad, but the trip was fantastic!

I wasn‟t sure if I was going to like it, but now I have done this exchange I‟m very happy that I did it. One of the major things that I liked was that we had a very good relationship with our Slovenian exchange students and also the relationship between the Belgian boys has improved. It was also nice to learn a bit about the culture of a former Yugoslavian country and how they changed their lifestyle. The exchange was also a good opportunity

to improve my English. We have visited

some factories: Renault, Krka and Ursa (

which is surprisingly also manufactured in

Desselgem, Belgium). In those factories

we discussed how they try to cut their

emissions and try to save the environment

against pollution. We also visited the capital of Slovenia, Lljubljana. And there I

noticed that there are a lot of differences between our capital Brussels and Lljubljana.

The size for example and also the style of the buildings. I‟m looking forward to March

when the Slovenian girls come to Belgium. (Gordon Blondeel)

My impression of the exchange week in 1 word would be simply „awesome‟.

It was lots of fun with the Slovenian people and also the Belgians, but there is more in

life than having fun. I also learned a few things there about the Slovenian culture and

also about the huge difference between Belgium and Slovenia. Although they are not

so far apart in distance, there is a world of difference in shoes, food, landscape, work,

school, cars, ...

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Something which I didn't expect

was the tight group you form with

the other Belgian students and

teacher the only ones who “klap

West-Vlaams” (speak Flemish).

But it doesn't matter if you can't

always understand your hosts: fun

is universal. The exchange is

something which I would

definitely recommend to the

others at my school too. Wait until

I write my diary!

I learned a lot about the cultural differences in a country that isn‟t that far away from

mine, that really surprised me a bit that some things were just so different. I also met

a lot of interesting people while visiting Slovenia. But the thing that I liked most was

that you stay in a host family for one week and you meet other persons with other

house rules... (Louis Vanhaecke)

Waregem sent its daughters to Bushey (October 2009)

Saturday the 17th of October we went with six girls and Ms. Comyn to Bushey,

nearby London. We had already had some contact via the internet with the girls

and there was a click between us from the start. We were ready for an unforgettable

week.

When we arrived at the train station near Bushey, the school bus of St. Margaret‟s

School for Girls was waiting for us. During the drive to the school, we had the chance

to enjoy the beautiful environment. The school itself looked like a castle from a

fairytale. A breathtaking castle among a picturesque village, were we would be

spending the upcoming week. Our partners were boarding pupils. So we didn‟t go

home with them to their houses but we stayed at the boarding school. The girls have

everything you can image there. When the school day is over, you can have a chat

with some of the other girls or play a game in the recreation rooms. But you can also

take music or drama lessons or participate in the cookery club. St. Margaret‟s is a very

nice place to spend a week. The first contact with the girls was a bit rigid but after a

tour around the school and an evening of acquaintance the ice was broken.

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On Sunday we went to London. In the

morning we visited the British Museum.

The building on its own was already very

impressive. But the collection of art was

even more impressive. We saw

mummies, Greek statues, Roman

columns, … After the visit we ate in

Chinatown. We needed some time to

cope with the chopsticks, but the food

was delicious. In the afternoon we went

shopping in the streets of London. Of

course you don‟t have to ask that twice

to a group of twelve girls.

On Monday morning we had to

introduce our country during „the Great

Assembly‟ for the whole school. We

climbed the stage, everybody was a bit

stressed. About 400 girls, all wearing

blue uniforms, listened to us with great

interest. Fortunately we succeeded. The rest of the day, we were allowed to follow

some classes. They have classes like psychology and drama that we don‟t have here in

Belgium.

Although we weren‟t far from home, we noticed the differences between our cultures.

The English schools are completely different from those in Belgium. When you get

older, you are able to quit some classes. You don‟t have to do them anymore. That

makes that the students have at the end of their college a personal and specific

programme. So the students are more motivated to study and are totally fixed on

their courses. Several of us, the Belgian students, found the eating habits a bit

strange. Sometimes we didn‟t like the food, especially in the morning. We were

surprised that they eat red beans and sausages this early. England isn‟t really the

place to be for food. Luckily we had salads with every meal. On the other side fast-

food is here a daily routine. Behind every corner you can find a shop.

On Tuesday we went to the „RES‟-company. It‟s a company that produces windmills

all over the world! The main office is established in Kings ‟Langley. The company only

uses green power for their electricity. Not only the wind energy but also sun energy.

The visit to „RES‟ was very interesting! We learnt about new en unknown possibilities

to produce green energy. We even made our own windmill park with a simulation!

The school also spends a lot of time on sports! St. Margaret‟s possesses her own sport

centre with al lot of facilities: a swimming pool, a big sports hall, a ballet room for

dancers,…

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We joined a class of aerobic, that was really enjoyable! One evening we went

swimming in the swimming pool of the school to relax. And we learnt a new, typically

English sport: lacrosse. It isn‟t an easy sport but it was certainly a nice experience!

On Thursday we gathered to talk about the 'Comenius project'. In groups we

discussed global warming and other environmental problems. we searched for

solutions and ideas of how to reduce the carbon footprint of the school. there was also

a project about changing sea levels (causes, processes and the effects)

We had a really great time there in Bushey, we met a lot of people and learned how to

work and think as a group. It was an unforgettable week and we're really looking

forward to the visit of our partners in March. They let us have a taste of their culture

(China as well as Great Britain), so now it's our turn to make them a little bit Belgian!

Hungry for Hungary, November 2009

We arrived Friday the 6th of November. When we saw our exchange students it was

pretty weird, we knew we weren‟t going to see each other for 2days because it was

weekend so we had to spend the weekend with total strangers. It was a treshold, but it

stopped nobody from having fun. The family where I spent my exchange week wanted

me to tell about our national dishes. So every evening we ate a traditional meal.

The next day was Saturday, it was weekend and there were no activities, nothing

organized by school. So we could sleep until noon and we enjoyed it. Everybody was

exhausted from the trip. We just stayed home and relaxed, got to know the family a

little bit better. Too bad the parents of my exchange student couldn‟t speak English.

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Sunday we saw everybody again, we had an excursion together! We did a one-hour

trip to a city with a name I can‟t pronounce, but that was located near the Danube

bend. And in that city there was a castle where we participated in a medieval

tournament. But first there was a guided tour through the castle. The thing I love

about Hungary is that they have history and culture, something Belgium is missing…

After the guided the tour we saw the medieval tournament and at the end we could

try some medieval sports, like dagger throwing,.... And after this we had a medieval

lunch. Those medieval Hungarians sure knew how to eat well!

The start of school, Monday. The first day at their school was really calm. We did our

presentation about Waregem and Belgium and they did their presentation about

Hungary, culture, school, … We had 2 presentations, they had like 5. But Belgium is

much smaller than Hungary. Is that a good reason? The school was really nice, really

big, architecturally it was beautiful. And there were some fine students to!

Tuesday we were late. We had a presentation about the environment by someone

from the ministry. It wasn‟t bad we were late, because it was quite boring to be

honest… Not that the environment is boring, not at all! But the way the man

presented himself and his presentation... After the presentation we had lunch and

then we visited Gödöllö Castle. It is a beautiful castle and the view you have is

unbelievable! Too bad the weather wasn‟t really participating to let us enjoy

everything.

Wednesday we visited the synagogue and parliament! The biggest synagogue of

Europe. To enter we had to put on a funny hat which is typically Jewish. After the

synagogue we visited the parliament, funny that politicians want to change the

environment but when you see their workspace, we wouldn‟t say that they want to

change the environment. We had a guided tour, but it wasn‟t really long actually, and

it is a really big parliament!

Our last full day, Thursday. The last day was really enjoyable. First we had to make a

presentation about the environment, my tribute was the suggestion to eat more

chicken! This because the cows release a lot of gas… We had lunch and then we were

thrown in the city, it was a delight! We did some shopping, presents for the parent

and girlfriends. And the last night, we went to a party! It was awesome but too bad we

didn‟t know a lot of people, but it

didn‟t stop us from having a blast!

Friday. The final day, we packed out

bags, met with the others at the school

and left for the airport. Arrived at the

airport we said goodbye to everybody

and had a tight, firm hug! And sitting

at the airplane I fell asleep wondering

if anything had changed in Belgium...

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Francavilla Fontana (IT), October 2009 and January 2010

At the visits to our Italian friends we always had a very enjoyable program prepared for us. Next to the work in different workshops on Climate Change, rising sea levels and environmentally friendly agriculture we were offered the opportunity to visit the wonderful towns of Lecce and Ostuni, to go to the sea and to see the traditional crafts that are still popular in Southern Italy. Here is a small selection of the impressions brought home by the students.

The whole group from Italy, Hungary, Germany and Norway

One of the special labs at IT IS “E.Fermi” A stormy outing to the coast of Apulia

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Mozzarella, one of the ingredients for Caprese Ostuni

There were so many beautiful and tremendously old olive trees in the region around Francavilla Fontana...

Impressions from Lecce

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One day a film team from the regional TV station accompanied us all day and took interviews with hosts and guests. They produced a feature that lasted for nearly 45 minutes. We were very impressed about our “importance”.

Exchanges Bushey and Schelklingen May 2010 and July 2010 In May 2010 eight girls from Urspringschule Schelklingen and two teachers went to visit St. Margaret‟s School in Bushey. They couldn‟t be stopped neither by the volcanic ash cloud nor by a strike of BA‟s cabin crews. That only added some excitement to the trip and lengthened their stay by a day. The trip to SMB was arranged due to the fact, that some of the younger girls in SMB are studying German and we wanted to give them the opportunity of an exchange and to get them started in international work in small groups. After a very early start in the middle of the night – at least it felt so at 4 am - the German guest arrived just in time to get a full English breakfast.

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The first day was spent in school , being shown around by the girls of St. Margaret‟s School and taking part in the various lessons of the hosts. Some were quite lucky as they had some German lessons on that day …

The Saturday was spent together with all the hosts and guests. The program was arranged by the SMB girls and so we went to Camden Town, had a boat tour on Regent‟s Canal and explored Oxford Street before going back home to the families for the weekend. Each host family had planned a special program and so all the guests were quite excited. How would they “survive” the day alone in the family? Would they understand everything? But all went well and there was a lot to tell on Monday morning on the tube journey down to Westminster on Monday. The days‟ program were the famous sights of London and a flight with the London Eye.

Camden Town London Eye

On our walk through the parks and the city of London we met with an elephant invasion. There were a lot of beautifully painted elephants that will be sold for a charity.

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That reminded us of the sparrow invasion we had some years ago in Ulm, the town which is near Urspringschule. Other excursion lead us to Windsor Castle and the extra day was spent in London as well- The weather was beautiful and none of us wanted to go back to Germany where the weather was cold and rainy. This had changed totally when the English girls came to Germany. We had ordered fine weather and it arrived only two days before the guests came for their visit. The first big task on their excursion to Ulm was to climb the steeple of the Cathedral which is 161 meters high. After a walk through the old city center everyone was very happy to have a meal in the shadow in a nice pizzeria.

well done, girls

The Sunday was used for an excursion to Lake Constance, to visit “Insel Mainau” an island in the lake that is well known for its beautiful flowers and parks, which are quite different to the surrounding region due to the subtropical climate on the island. The group was joined by our youngest member of the Comenius family, Franz.

We crossed the lake by ferry boat to visit the small town of Meersburg, where we wanted to have a bath in the lake but the thunderstorm lingering above us made us decide otherwise and so we enjoyed ice cream and a cold drink in the old part of the town. On Monday the guests had an up-and-down-program by going up the hill to visit Lichtenstein Castle and down underground into a cave called Nebelhöhle. The cave has very large and beautiful flowstones and we enjoyed the colder moments in there immensely as the sun was doing its best to keep us hot!

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The most impressive event was still to come on the next day. After spending several hours in classroom we went to a baker where the guests and the hosts learned how to make Brezels, a local speciality.

…. and you have to admit, that we did very well. All in all we produced about 240 Brezels which were then divided between all participants and brought back to the families.

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n February 2010 every school involved in the project had to calculate their

carbon footprint for the third time and to send the data to Inge in

Germany, as she was responsible for supervising our progress towards the

aim to minimize the groups carbon footprint by a minimum of 5% in the two

project years. Here are the results :

This was a very promising start for the coming main event of the second project

year, the “Charter Meeting” in Waregem.

Hugo had been in contact with the EU Commission for Environment and the newly

appointed EU-Commissioner for Climate Action, Mrs. Connie Hedegaard, was not

only willing to hear and see what we had achieved in our project but also to sign

the “Charter of Environmental Responsibility” together with our schools head

teachers. This led to the necessity to pay several visits to the commission and to

discussions about the text of the document. We would never have managed that

without the help of Mr. Jos Delbeke and we want to thank him for his efforts on

our behalf.

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Comenius Project 2008 – 2010

„Make a difference – European footprint on our World“

School Carbon footprint

School 2007 (in t CO2)

2008 (in t CO2)

2009 (in t CO2)

Reduction (in %)

Heilig Hart College (Bel)

927 876** 990** +6

Urspringschule (Ger) 1140 1030 969 -15 IT IS „E.Fermi“ (It) 737 754 711 -6

Sykkylven vgs (Nor) 119* 118* 131* +10 St. Margaret’s School

(UK) 913 811 613 -33

All schools together 3836 3589 3414 -11 *using only hydropower for heating and electricity

**Increasing number of students (1545 1645)

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Charter Meeting in Waregem, Belgium 22nd – 27th March 2010

After a long period of preparations for teachers and students it finally arrived, the

week of the Charter Meeting in Belgium. There was a lot to do and plan beforehand as

we had not only to work in mixed groups at the meeting we also had to present our

school and our project at the EU Commission for Environment.

Early on Monday everyone started from all corners of Europe to Brussels, the Italians

came from Francavilla Fontana, the Slovenians from Novo mesto, the Hungarians

from Budapest, the Germans from Schelklingen, the Norwegians from Sykkylven and

the English from Bushey near London. All in all it were 52 students from six different

countries arriving in Waregem in Belgium, to be met there from nearly the same

amount of hosts. The students were accompanied by 18 teachers and head teachers

and all had to work together in various workshops we had agreed upon at the meeting

in Novo mesto.

This banner was greeting us next to the schools entrance together with the flags of all

participating schools.

In the afternoon of Monday we had to show the school presentations at home and

this was followed by the instructions how to shorten it to meet the demands of the EU

Commission.

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Then we started the workshops by collecting ideas and giving tasks for the next

morning before we went to another building to prepare everything for the Food

Court. There we presented our local specialities to the other groups and the host

families, who came to take their guests back home for the next week.

Norway Italy Germany

On Tuesday we started by updating the presentation for the EU in the agreed way

before we met in the workshops to do the research work and the visits to special

companies arranged by our host school. Our aim was to prepare the presentations

and videos, role plays and documents required by the workshop outcome.

Project work : News of Europe Meeting in Waregem Townhall

We stopped work when it was time to present our project work at Waregem

Townhall, where the deputy mayor was awaiting us. When we had mastered that task

we were invited to sign the town‟s “Golden Book” which we did proudly, before

leaving for a very pleasant evening organized by the parents‟ association of our host

school. We had a brilliant evening going to do some bowling.

Waregem street

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Wednesday meant finalizing the presentation for the EU on the next day and we

presented our final version to all the head teachers who had arrived by now. We were

very happy to get the “GO” and showed what else had be done during the morning

and afternoon by working on the tasks of the workshops given to us. In the morning

we had enjoyed the singing program, which Frank, a teacher from Belgium offered to

us and we participated in that happily. In the evening we enjoyed the home

hospitality offered by the host family and prepared mentally for the next day.

From Waregem to Brussels

Thursday was the big day, not only for Hugo Delbeke, the Belgium coordinator, who

had arranged the meeting in the EU Commission. We all were very excited about our

appearance on the international stage. When we arrived at the building of the

commission we were welcomed by the personal assistant of Mr. Bart Staes, who

showed us, where we had to hold our presentation. After setting up all the electronic

equipment we started our presentation. Present were among others

Mrs. Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner for Climate Action

Mr. Bart Staes, MEP The Greens, Belgium

Mrs. Elisabeth Jeggle, MEP EVP, Germany

Mrs. Oda Helen Sletnes, Norwegian Ambassador to Mission of Norway to the EU

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Mrs. Hedegaard and the headmaster of the Belgium school, Mr. Jean-Marie Noreillie,

gave a speech after our presentations in which they focused on the importance of

acting instead of talking about climate change and the responsibility of the younger

generation for the future of the environment.

After that the heads of school signed together with Mrs. Hedegaard our “Charter of

Environmental Responsibility” in which we committed ourselves to future actions

towards the reduction of our environmental footprints as a school and as individuals.

Group picture taken in the European Parliament after the signing session

Then we were invited to visit the European Parliament together with Mr. Bart Staes,

who explained us a lot about the work of a member of the European Parliament. That

was very interesting and we want to thank him for taking the time to talk to us so

elaborately.Then there was the first interval of free time for us in the whole week so

far and we explored the city of Brussels with its many churches and the main market

place and all the interesting shops. It was a pity that the time was too short to do that

in the length that would be necessary. But we promise to come back to this wonderful

city in the heart of Europe.

Brussels

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The bus took us back to Waregem and after all the stress we had so far we enjoyed the

barbeque and the folk dance evening the host parents had arranged for us immensely.

On Friday we had a day kept free for sightseeing in the medieval town of Bruges.

Bruges is a World Heritage Site and the largest city and the capital of West Flanders.

The town has its roots in pre Roman times and its golden age was between the 12th

and 15th century. After that Bruges became a Hanse city with rich merchants whose

houses can still be seen around the big market square and in the streets surrounding.

The town was very impressive and we were happy about the boat trip organized by

our hosts around the town‟s canal system. So we could see the main sights as well

from the water side as also from the street side. This was possible by following the

guide book prepared by our hosts.

Bruges

In the evening we had a farewell party and it was really hard to say good bye to all the

engaged hosts we met during the week and the hospitable Flemish families, who did

so much to make us feel at home in their wonderful city!

So there were many tears shed in the following morning when we had to leave. But

we are sure that we will see each other again as we have made friends during that

week and we will never forget the wonderful time we had in Waregem. Thank you so

much!

Students’ impressions

My Comenius experience

The Comenius project “Make a Difference - European footprint on our world” has

involved me since January when I hosted a Belgian student. It was a very nice

experience not only for the exchange of cultures there has been and the opportunity

I‟ve had to strengthen my language speaking abilities, but mostly because it has showed

me which common problems afflict us nowadays and the risks we are running through.

The confirmation of what I‟m talking about arrived in March when I stayed for a whole

week in Belgium.

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It was amazing to see how beautiful it is to spend time with people from many

different countries such as Belgium, Norway, UK , Germany, Hungary, Slovenia that

work for a common purpose : to show that it‟s possible to change the things!

This was possible mostly going to the European Parliament and showing to some

members of it, how we have improved our will to change our environmental behaviour. I

think that what has principally “struck” them was this sentence: “Stop talking, start

changing!” and this is what we have really tried to do.

I believe that an experience like this will never happen again in my entire life, and I

would suggest it to everyone because it would allow you to understand how important it

is to know the English language when you‟re abroad, and how it‟s easy to prosecute own

dreams just believing in them.

Giuseppe Di Brindisi, Italy

The Italian delegation in the European Parliament

Memories from Belgium

The experience in Belgium has been great. During this project I’ve known new

friends, and I’ve visited wonderful places. I’ve noticed that life in Belgium is very

different than in Italy; for example in Belgium lots of people use the bikes to move,

and the houses are made with environmentally-friendly materials, such as solar

panels, wooden roofs, etc. In fact, inside the house where I was hosted, it was very

warm!

I liked the school, with its big and well organized structure. There you can do a lot of

activities during the school day and the organization is amazing. I’ve never seen

anything like this in Italy. The visit to the European Parliament was really interesting, I

feel really lucky to have this opportunity, and I know that I won’t live anymore this

experience.

I think that this experience was very constructive. I thank everyone: my teacher, the

exchange partner, all the staff, and especially my friends and the other guys of the

project.

Mirco Sternativo, Italy

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MY EXPERIENCE IN BELGIUM

This experience was great! The first days I was a bit upset. The difficulties with the language and all

the new things I had to face made me a bit shy, but day after day I have become more confident and

I’ve enjoyed the various activities done. I felt a very important person when I was at the European

Parliament with my friends. I think that it’s not so simple to have such a beautiful experience again!

Debora Schiena, Italy

The coordinators and Mrs. Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner for Climate Action

The exchange with Belgium

When we arrived at Brussels airport on the 22th of March this year, we were immediately driven to Heilig-Hart-College in Waregem. There we had to do our school presentations that each group had prepared at home. Right after the presentations there was the Food Court where each group offered one or two specialities from their region. This might sound stressful especially because it was the first day, but this “quick start” into the project made it easy to get to know the others. This made it very easy to form groups for the project work. The teams enjoyed the advantages of the many facilities Heilig-Hart-College offered, with lots of computers and a projector in each room. It was astonishing to see how fast the first teams had concrete results. The presentations of the outcome of the project work even outranged my first impression of the single projects. A complete newscast (including a REAL weather forecast), various presentations, a handout and even a play that was performed live on stage! After this experience, everyone was very curious and excited about our visit to Brussels. The school presentations in front of the European Climate Commission were the highlight of the exchange. Especially those who had to perform in the presentations were very nervous (including me ) But shortly after everything worked out well everybody came into a relaxed mood and we enjoyed the lunch in the European Parliament. Unfortunately it started raining right after we had finished our guided tour through the European Parliament. But anyhow this was not an “normal” boring guided tour, we were guided by a member of Parliament, Mr. Bart Staes, MEP Greens, Belgium. This made the introduction into the Parliament very vivid and we even had time to ask questions about the daily routine of a member of Parliament and about the functioning of the European Parliament. We spent our last day of the exchange in Bruges where we experienced the contrary of Brussels: A relatively small, cute town with a lot of channels, churches and frame houses. What we liked most about the exchange was the international experience, the making of friends

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across borders and the discovery of what it feels like to be a “citizen of Europe” and of the world of course. Jonas Jaenicke, Germany I am very glad to be a part of the Comenius-project. I met at Belgium a lot of different personalities and cultures. I got to know people of my school, I even didn´t notice before. It´s always exciting to live in an unfamiliar family. The first meeting is the most exiting moment. I liked my family a lot and they cared perfectly for me. The group with the TV-news topic was the best, I think. It was a lot of fun to make a survey in Waregem. The people there were only a little bit different than the Germans. The presentation at the EU-Parliament was disappointing. There were nearly no other people, then the involved ones. The free time after the presentation was nice. We were shopping and we ate a lot of chocolate. Unfortunately it was raining all the time. The weather altogether was very cold and bad in Belgium. It rained nearly every day. The day in Bruges was nice, too. The little boat tour showed us all important sights of Bruges. Even if I didn´t understood any word of the coxswain. I am excited to go to another exchange and I want to thank all organizers especially my teachers Mrs Banholzer and Mr Wetzler. Thank you for your help and your dedication. Lena Eckert, Germany Have you been there? Leaving your dwelling place especially with a view to visiting another country is always an interesting thing. I would not say I love being a typical tourist, but normally, I do not have any other choices. While travelling I often feel like an alien. However, the week I spent in Belgium was rather different. The fact that I could stay wih a family and that we went to school in the morning made me feel as if I were at home. Though I have always thought that people I do not know must be different, never mind talking about people of different nations, I had to realize, I was wrong. Just because they live in a different country and speak a different language from mine, does not mean that they are very different. Even though our habits and lifestyles are not totally the same, we are basically very similar. Some would say that this is due to globalization. I do not absolutely share this

opinion. I think we are mainly similar, because we are human beings. It was a pleasure to feel that teenagers in different countries of Europe have the same problems, and the same attitudes to life. Although we have different eating habits and different wardrobe styles, I could feel to be part of their life. We had parties together and we worked together. All the nationalities mixed, and it was no longer important to be Belgian, Italian, German, Norwegian, Swedish or Hungarian. We were all part of the same project, which was finished in Belgium. So since then when I am asked the question: “Have you ever been to Belgium? My answer is not simply a “yes” but I can add: “Yes, I was a Belgian for a week!” Viktória Veresegyházy, Hungary

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First I would like to tell you that this was my first exchange programme and I really enjoyed it.

Every group had an exciting topic about our carbon footprint. My favourite one was the movie

making but I was happy to visit a passive house, too.

We had quite a lot of time to make the presentations. I was amazed when I saw that students

from other countries with different mentality could work together easily and we made

something which can help us to know more about the environment.

We visited Brussels and this was the most important event during this week because a lot of

people would like to see the European Parliament and I felt lucky to have the opportunity to

visit it, take pictures and listen to the presentations. It was great to see that the headmasters

of our schools signed our charter to promote the reduction of our carbon footprint.

My favourite city was Bruges with the boat sightseeing and I think the next year it will be

better if the students can visit more cities. The barbecue was funny and I liked the typical

dancing of every nation. My host family was friendly and they did everything to make my

week fantastic. I got a lot of presents, for example delicious chocolates and some famous

Belgian beer. I had never been to Belgium before and this trip was a good experience, I

enjoyed it and had a great time.

Zsófia Kozma, Hungary

The week, which I spent in Belgium, has been one of the best weeks of my life. The first day, we arrived after a 2 hour flight at the National Airport of Brussels. We went to the school in Waregem, which is a really huge and beautiful school. We met the other exchange students there. In the evening, we had a food court where everybody could try the special foods from different countries. The second day, when we started our project work, was really good day, because we could get acquainted with each other much better while doing our project. I was a member of the group, which had the task of setting up an environmentally – travel agency. Working together was very good. I think the bowling was a really good program for the evening. When I heard that on Wednesday we would have a 'singing and dancing' program, the first question I asked was; “What will we do?” I got the answer in that morning. Singing together was the funniest

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program -I think-, because everybody can sing, but it’s not easy in Dutch or Norwegian. This was a very good beginning of the second project day. This day we also practiced our speech, which we were to present in Brussels. On Thursday everybody was excited, because we went to Brussels, to give a speech in the European Parliament. Everybody was really good and presented their speeches well, so our teachers were very proud of us. After the charter signing ceremony we could go and discover Brussels on our own, which I really enjoyed. Bruges is a wonderful city! We got a little leaflet with pictures and information about famous sights of the city. There were also questions about these sights. If you followed the directions and answered the question, you could really discover the city. Me and my friend did this little test, and we discovered Bruges...moreover, we won the prize. In the evening, the farewell party was a really good end to this beautiful and adventurous but short week. We were very sad, when we had to say goodbye to everybody. I can't wait until the next change-program I am really looking forward to meeting my friends again. Orsolya Flaskay, Hungary The experience with Comenius was great: I think Comenius is a good opportunity for students to exchange their traditions and getting to know different cultures. This is also a way to improve English and to become aware of our European citizenship. I appreciated every single moment in Belgium since the beginning of my stay: from the first day when we had to introduce ourselves by offering each one of us our traditional food. The visit of the European Parliament was extremely interesting. I had the opportunity to live as a Belgian student for a few days, so I could appreciate their excellent school organization and also getting to know their daily lives. I was impressed by the fact that students go to school by bike, which is a responsible way to go around. In conclusion, I think that the Comenius experience is unique and I'd like to take part in other similar projects again. Antonio Ribezzo, Italy

International Student Conference in Belgium – March 2010

It was a lovely and meaningful journey. Six of us went to Belgium for the Comenius Project for

1 week in the last week the of Spring Term. We departed from the school on Monday after lunch and

travelled by Euro Star with our teacher, Mrs Rees. We were very excited and nervous because we just

could not wait to see our partners, as it had been a long time since their last visit to London. We

arrived in Waregem late evening and met our partners who were waving and cheering. We hugged

each other and we could see how much we had missed each other by the welcome we received. At

about 10 o’clock, our host families came and took us to their homes and we all had a good sleep at out

partners’ houses.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we did project work. All the students had been allocated into twelve

groups with a mixture of nationalities from our partner schools in Germany, Norway, Hungary, Italy

and Slovenia in each group. Each group had to investigate a topic based on reducing our carbon

footprint, for example road congestion charge, renewable energy and ways to reduce carbon footprint

in schools. Each group did their research with guidance from a teacher from one of the schools. We all

presented our findings in various ways for example news report, newspaper article, role play and

power point presentations. The presentations from each group were very interesting and we learnt a lot

from each other. Once the project work was completed it was all put together onto a C.D which was

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then given to the European Commission. On Wednesday night, all the students went bowling and it

was great fun. During the evening we chatted with many other students and found out even more about

their countries and we all agreed that it was the night that our friendships were further strengthened.

On Thursday, we went to Brussels – the capital of Belgium to visit the European Parliament. In

the Parliament representatives from each school did a presentation about their school. The headteacher

of each school then signed a charter pledging to try to reduce the carbon footprint in their school. We

then had lunch in the canteen of the Parliament. We were invited to go and visit the other parts of the

Parliament which are not usually open to the public. This was followed by shopping in Brussels. It

was then back to Waregem by coach followed by a barbecue night. We had a folk dance session when

some folk dancers taught us step-by-step. We gathered around and danced with our friends. The folk

dance music suddenly changed into disco music and it became a disco dance floor. Everyone got even

more excited with the brilliant atmosphere. The party finished at mid-night.

On the last day of the journey, we went to Bruges. We went on a boat trip and visited the historic

buildings around the river. After the barge trip we went shopping with our partners and we all got

some Belgian chocolate for our friends and families. But time was passing quickly, and, at about 4pm,

we met Miss Corbach and got our luggage from the coach .At that point, many of us couldn’t hide our

feelings any longer and we burst into tears. We didn’t want to leave our partners and just couldn’t stop

ourselves crying. We took some group photos and then we departed. On the way back to the train

station, everyone was feeling sad because all the flashbacks were starting to flow in our heads.

However it was a joyful and meaningful week and we all have many happy memories. During the trip,

we met many students from different nations and learnt a lot about their culture and of course, much

about Belgian family and social life.

Students from St. Margaret’s School, UK

Members of the former students’ association in Urspringschule

are signing the Charter as well as teachers and students

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The Charter of Environmental Responsibility

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Now it’s time to say good bye:

Firstly after two years of shared work to our friends from Italy.

To borrow a phrase from Emmanuel:

“Principessa” Antonella, we had a

good time together, it was really nice

to work with you and your group and

we will always have wonderful

memories of our time in Francavilla Fontana.

In two years time we might apply for a new project, you might be interested ...

Just give us a call, you will be always welcome in the group!

Secondly after the very long time of 13 years to our friends from Bushey, UK.

Xantus Janos School(Hungary), Urspringschule(Germany) and St. Margaret‟s

School(England) started the project group in 1997 with the project: “European

Cultural Panorama”.

We started from scratch, learning together how to write applications, reports,

evaluations and how to organize meetings and how to find new members for the

group, coping with new forms every now and then and above all, having a good

time together and making friends all over Europe.

I think we managed to infect at least some of our students with the European

virus and whenever we came to SMB for students meetings, coordinators

meetings or the Water Festival, you always made us feel very welcome in your

school and over the years I nearly felt like a member of staff in your school ....

We have to say thank you to Anette, Carol, Chris and Lynne and all the other

members of staff who worked together with us.

It was not always easy for you to convince parents and students of our shared

ideas, especially when we decided to meet in the middle of the week or the term

instead of your holiday periods when you normally travel with your students, but

I „m sure in the long term it was worth the effort and the students learnt

perhaps more than in a week in the classroom.

I‟m quite sure, there will be some bilateral exchanges during the next years and

we will continue to work together in many ways, as we have not only found good

colleagues in St. Margaret‟s but also a number of good friends with whom we had

and will have lots of fun.

Best wishes to all of you in Francavilla Fontana and Bushey from the whole

“gang”!

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Dear friends…

…is not only a warm start to a promising

article, but also famous words to

remember a certain person by. A dear

friend and colleague, I may add. Mr.

Hugo Delbeke has addressed his

audience in the exchanges numerous

times with this famous line and so I

found it appropriate to start my article

with it.

The year 2010 is not only the end of our

Comenius project “Make a Difference-

European Footprint on our World” with its final meeting in Waregem in March, it is also the

last project in our school that was directed by Hugo. He was one of the pioneers for us to start

off European exchanges. The fact that we can offer to so many young people the opportunity

to get to know another culture and get into contact with the European idea, is one of the

many stamps Hugo has put on our school and on our group of colleagues in school

responsible for the exchanges. It is, amongst others, his work that we are in close contact with

colleagues from different countries and that we have become close friends with many

teachers and coordinators across the borders.

Hugo was not always an easy man to work with, but he had a clear idea of the goal he wanted

to achieve. That goal was making young people rise above themselves in working together

across boundaries. And he succeeded: I was only a new and inexperienced teacher who could

join this older and wiser man on one of his many trips (some say to check on him, but I soon

ran to the dark side myself) and I immediately noticed that he could make students rise

above themselves and excel through the hard effort they put in workshops and presentations.

Isn‟t that why we started teaching in the first place? So I became involved in the exchanges

myself, and a few years later, I am proud to take over the torch from Hugo and carry on his

spirit.

We worked together, but what is more… we had fun together (this is becoming one of my

famous sentences). Just think about our adventures in Hungarian spas, our cycling trips in

Germany and Budapest (don‟t try this at home. That goes for the spa as well, by the way) and

Hugo‟s Italian courses on buses to and from various destinations. All of them prove we had

great fun together and he will be sorely missed as our companion and friend. Dear Hugo, you

may have left the bunch, but we will never forget you. And from the bottom of my heart:

thank you for everything you have meant and done for Comenius…

Sincerely

Emmanuel Vercruysse

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What’s next?

As Hugo Delbeke is going to start a new life as an eco

farmer in Tielt the other coordinators are moving on

for a new project starting in August 2010.

We‟ve got the OK from the EU for the next project with

the title “Common Roots – Common Future”.

The group working together will consist of old and new members:

Urspringschule Schelklingen, Germany

Heilig Harthandelsinstituut Waregem, Belgium

Xantus Janos School Budapest, Hungary

Sykkylven vidaregaande skule, Norway

Fjölbrautaskolinn i Breidtholti Reykjavik, Iceland

Wallace Hall Academy Thornhill, Scotland

СОУ “Екзарх Антим І”( SOU Ekzarh Antim I) Kazanlak, Bulgaria

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