From 14-18 Mars 2019 students from partners schools have been hosted in families in Kefalonia. the aims of the visit were:
-To live for a week in a different country and meet other European people in order to eliminate racist stereotypes and prejudices.
-To be aware of greek culture and way of life .
-To explore new natural and social environment and try to adjust to it, making friends, enjoying theirselves.
-To feel confident while presenting themselves .
-To have self awareness about their achievements and their future plans.
-To be able to collaborate with pupils from partner countries using English as a common language and produce a common work.
-To create an advertisement of an imaginative product using camera, logo, etc.
-To try horse riding.
-To enjoy playing different games and sports.
- To learn about the wine robola – a local product of an important cooperative factory of Kefalonia.
-To get to know about a family traditional pastry shop business.
-To be aware about some parts from “Odyssey” with references to the difficulties and obstacles of modern life.
Activities that carried out were:
The welcome celebration : songs and traditional dances of agricultural life and abused women in the past.
-Pupils present themselves and their future plans with a PP presentation.
-Divided in groups they prepare an advertisement for an imaginary product that they have chosen.
-They play sports, games and they dance greek dances.
-Excursion around the island, historical and natural places.
-Visit the cooperative factory of robola wine.
-They visited a family traditional pastry shop business .
-Horse riding
-They visited the “Odysseus zoo land” and have a relevant lesson there.
-They have the experience of greek traditional dances, music and hospitality.
The results of the students exhange were:
Children from partner countries enjoyed their stay in our school and hospitality in greek families. They met the natural and social environment, they were introduced to the kefalonian culture and they met new friends.
The intercultural atmosphere helps our school community to eliminate racist stereotypes and be more open minded.
Participating in the lessons all pupils gained more confidence about themselves, they improved their social skills and communication. They collaborated successfully -speaking mainly in English -and they produced team work for our project.
For the participating teachers the aims were;
To enhance learning and teaching skills by using a wide range of didactic materials and methods for support our project “YES”.
-To enable collaborative work on european projects set up during the course
-To accompany children and help them adjust in a different European school and cultural life in order to profit and learn from their experience.
-To support their professional development.
-To acquire more linguistic skills by speaking other languages –especially English.
-To be aware about Greek culture, traditions and Kefalonian natural sights.
The results from their experience were:
Awareness about educational system in Greece..
-Knowing about didactic practices and techniques, materials and programme using in the classes.
-Developing skills in learning to run a European project.
- Enhancing various practical skills related to school work and international cooperation.
-Cultural awareness and rising the tolerance of the different
-Language skills developed through continuous communication in English during the lessons and during the collaborative work.
-The social programme also provided immersion in the language to support their professional and personal development.