Sunday 27 September 2015

Comenius Meeting Sweden Thursday 4th June 2015

Comenius Partnership 2013-2015 On the Wings of Friendship
Minutes from Meeting Thursday 4th June

Present partners from: Sweden, France, Italy, England
Notes taken by:  Emma Gorman
Meeting Opened: 1300
Meeting Closed : 1800

    Welcome
    Sharing of Travel Logs / Carnet de Voyage

England: Children from Nursery to Year 6 took part in a local study of local rivers, Dartmoor and the school environment and created a travel log of their learning. Nursery – Water, Reception – Rivers, Year 1 – Whole Comenius journey linked to the journey of the river, Year 2 – Coast and the seaside, Year 5 – Dartmoor. The travel logs included examples of the children’s writing, artwork, geography and poetry. England also presented to Sweden a wooden box containing artefacts from Dartmoor and a recording of a child’s story which played when the box opened. On top of the box was an Aurasma.
Sweden: Printed a book telling the story of the character of Zlatan who travels with a football through all the countries and eventually scores the winning goal! Children (4 and 6 years old) painted pictures and made nests. The travel logs included the story that had been written especially for the project which was illustrated by the older children from the pre-school.

Italy: 5 classes each produced a different travel log based around the whole two years of the project. This included: the migration of the swallow and the crane; the planning of the logo; letters to and from the English pen friends; pictures from a festival of dances with a dance from each partner country and the bird games that the children had designed. The travel logs included examples of children’s writing, artwork and pictures from geography field trips. Italy also shared that there was a film for each project that was available on their website.

France: One travel log with three stories – ‘Three little books for a long journey’
1st story: Made by 4 year olds – each page contained single words in French and English that are linked to the project which were then illustrated by the children. There was a page for each country.
2nd Story: Made by 5-6 year olds – A crane’s journey across all the partner countries. Contained illustrations, images and artefacts from each country collected throughout the project
3rd Story: The crane in Sweden. Each page contained images that had been taken from the first visit.

France (Luc): Find the crane! Based on one of the children’s favourite class stories. Sandra the crane starts from Sweden to reach France and goes through Italy and England. On each page was an image that the children had selected from photographs that had been taken throughout the projects visits to each partner country. The reader has to find the picture of the crane which is hidden on each page.
2nd book: Based on the idea that a crane flew over the school and a feather fell down. When you picked it up, the feather told the story of the journey of the crane who flies through each partner country. Mireille will send this as soon as it is complete.

    Writing the final report for the project. All partner countries to complete. One section ( section A)  of the form needs to contain the same information for each country.
    All countries to complete a survey using ‘Survey Monkey’ analysing the responses of children and teacher from the partner countries about the project. Most countries have completed. Kate Lee to collate the responses and analyse the results and produce a final report.
    All partner countries to submit the final report by September and publish a description of the project on to the EST website. This needs to be a ‘Selling Summary’ of 250 words containing concrete examples. E7 also needs to include examples of how the original plans changed and why (France to lead on this). E8 needs to include examples communication. E10 conclusions including examples and summary from the survey. E5 all about the key competencies

    Things to include in final report to ensure all the original objectives are illustrated and examples are given:
- What the children have learnt about Europe
- What the children have learnt about the partner countries
- What the children have learnt about birds and the local environment
- What the children have learnt about art
- What the teachers have learnt from visiting the schools including new technologies
- What value has been added to the project by working with partner countries

Comenius Meeting St Pourcain Thursday 19th March 2015

Comenius Meeting St Pourcain Thursday 19th March 2015

Meeting opened: 9:30
Meeting closed: 11:00
Notes taken by Kate Lee

Skype
For Ecole MB this did not work very well as there were technical issues. We would like to do this again.  Friday.  Best times are Italy between 9-1030, France 9-11, Sweden 9:30-1100. Friday 22 May.  Show some of the pictures etc for the  travelogue, sing a song,  questions. 10 mins.  Kate will send a timetable.

Future Activities
Travelogues - these are in progress in every country and will be ready for the final meeting in June

Sustainable development
           French pupils will be working together to clean the banks of the river.  They will also be taking part in the Photosynthese exhibition to show photos and travelogues.  This is an European event in July
           England - Eco Council and Forest School are working to develop the school grounds and have already built a bird watching hide and developed areas for outdoor learning.  Eco council will look at doing some fundraising for the RSPB.  Year 6 will be doing a litter pick up at the beach.   We are trying to find a location in the community where we can display our travelogues and put more information about the project out in the public domain
           Sweden - children will take part in a day in May where they will collect litter from the local area.  The children from the pre-school will work with older children.
           Italy - have been working with 2 associations, one for the protection of nature and the environment, including recycling.  The other project is for the expo in Milan - the children will be collecting natural materials to create large pieces of art.  Ariel photos will be taken and put on display at expo Milan.  The children will also be growing seeds to grow their own food in the school garden.

Travelogues for the next meeting
Each partner country will bring copies of the finished travelogues to give to the other partners.
France - 1 copy to share
Sweden- 1 copy
Italy - 1 copy
England - 1 copy

Plans for Sweden
Fly to Landvetter airport, Goteborg
This time we will be staying in the city - Goteborg City Hotel

Final report
Anne Laure will send the partners a copy of an old report so that we have an idea what type of questions we will need to answer.  Partners to make some notes on the document ready for the meeting in June.

Actions agreed and deadlines
           Kate will create a timetable for the next Skype call on Friday 22nd May
As soon as possible
           Each country will bring their copies of their completed travelogues to exchange at the meeting in Sweden
June meeting
           Each country will continue with their own ecological projects and bring information about this to the meeting in Sweden.
June meeting
           Anne Laure - send a copy of a final report for us to see.
As soon as possible
           All partners to make some notes on the final report document in preparation for the meeting in Sweden.
June meeting




Comenius Meeting Vichy Wednesday 18 March 2015

Comenius Meeting Vichy Wednesday 18 March 2015

Meeting opened 9:30am
Meeting closed 12:00pm
Notes taken by Kate Lee

Programme for the week
           Shared the itinerary for the rest of the week to make sure that everyone in the group has a clear understanding of what is happening each day

Comenius activities from Sept to March

France
           Luc was able to share the games that his children had made. These are board games with questions with blank question cards to add extra questions. This is a migration game with questions about the cranes.
           France have added some of their learning to the website
           Each school has been completing activities and we will see them when we are in the schools tomorrow.
           All the photos of learning are on the website

Italy
           Partners have sent Aesop's fables to Alberto who is working on the multi lingual book. The wolf and the crane. This was created in didapages .  French partners have some guidance documents for this program.
           Alberto showed the partners the book that he has created.
           Partners can send other language activities and words ( like similes) to Alberto to be added to the book
           Alberto has also put other stories on the Comenius blog
           The Italian partners have created a DVD from their Christmas celebration, "Christmas Around the World"

England
           We shared a film of the learning at Shiphay from Sept to March
           Forest School Club started in September and is now in its second successful term. Developing the outdoor environment to include a bird hide, dens in the trees for creative play, environmental art.
           Eco- Council developing a range of environmental projects around school.  This will include Phil The Bag later this term where children will bring clothes to recycle.
           Whole school theme - local study.  A geography based theme to encourage children to learn more about our local environment . LST rivers, MST Coast, UST Dartmoor. From this study, children have begun to compile their travelogues.
           Travelogues - forming the main corridor display in the school building
           Recorded Christmas songs on to a DVD to send our Christmas greeting to our Comenius partners
           Writing letters to our Italian pen friends
           Easter cards to share our Easter greetings


Sweden
Sweden shared the Easter gifts that their children have made for the partners

Evaluation questionnaire
 KL has created 3 questionnaires, one for pupils, one for colleagues and one for the leadership team.  These were agreed in principle with the addition of "other languages" in the language section and some re-arrangements of questions.
           Jill and Kate will put these questions into Survey Monkey so that they can be completed in partner countries.
           The survey will be completed so that teachers can complete these with the whole class rather than the pupils as individuals.
           SurveyMonkey will be created and sent out by the end of April
           Colleagues will complete the SurveyMonkey before the meeting in Sweden



Actions agreed and deadlines
           England - complete Wolf and Crane and send to Alberto as soon as possible.
           France - send some pictures for the French version of the Wolf and crane story
           All partners - send other word exercises to Alberto to add to the book as soon as possible
           All partners - add pictures, children's work etc to the website as soon as possible
           England - prepare SurveyMonkey as soon as possible

             All partners - complete surveys with pupils, staff and management. Mid June 

Comenius Meeting Italy Friday 26 Sept 2014

Comenius Italy Sept 2014 Meeting 2 Friday 26th Sept 2014
Item 1 Travelogues
Our French partners had prepared a presentation about travelogues to ensure that all partners were clear about the purpose and creation of these.
Mirelle shared the presentation and this will also be sent to all partners.
We now have a common understanding of this part of the project.

Some time was also allowed for colleagues to look at the examples of travelogues that the French partners had brought with them.

Subject - this will be linked to the children's learning about birds and migration with a possible focus on each country's locality; the types of birds, the flora and fauna, the characteristics of the environment etc. so that partner countries can better understand the differences between the different places.
Number of travelogues - each partner will complete 4 examples of travelogues, one to keep for themselves and one to give to each of the other partners.
Presentation  - the travelogue should take the form of a book but that is the only limitation on the presentation. The more creativity the better. We should not put any limits on the children's creative ideas.
Deadline - At the March meeting we will share progress so far.  The travelogues should be completed for exchange at the final meeting in June. 

Item 2 Sustainable Development
Each country will get involved in some sustainable development or ecological action.  This could be clearing the banks of the river, picking up litter from the beach, improving recycling facilities, raising money or awareness of the work of an environmental charity.
Each partner to put some photos , a film or some evidence of the event on the website.  Partners will try to gain some media coverage for this event.

Item 3 France March 2015
French partners had prepared a presentation to introduce the meeting in France.

Suggested programme
Tues 17 March - partners arrive
Wed 18 March Vichy - working session 1
Thurs 19 March St Pourcain
Fri 20 March Moulin by train
Sat 21 March - working session 2 

Getting to Vichy - Partners can Fly to Paris or Lyon and then take the train to Vichy
Please could everyone bring an old shirt that they don't mind getting dirty
Hotel - 60 Eur per night, including breakfast

Travelogues actions
          French partners to put the presentation about Travelogues on the website and email this to partners. ( France as soon as possible)
          All partners to begin creating travelogues ( deadline - June meeting)

Sustainable Development actions
          Children to be involved in some environmental action

          Partners to try and gain media coverage for this action ( all partners - June meeting) 

Comenius Meeting Italy Wed 24th Sept 2014

Comenius Italy Sept 2014 Meeting 1 Wed 24th Sept 2014
Location : Dante Aghileri
Notes taken by : Kate Lee

Item 1 Sharing Games
Each country had created games as part of the project and the first part of the meeting was sharing these games.
Each country exchanged their games with the other partners and explained how the children had made their games.

Item 2 Update on the project in each country

France
Children in all 3 schools had worked to produce games for the project.  Some of these are cross curricular and focus on skills such as Maths as well as language and learning about birds.

Sweden
In the Summer term, Swedish partners held an exhibition for parents to celebrate the project and show them all the different parts of the project.  Parents were very impressed by what the children and the project had achieved.
In the Autumn term the project has continued and children have prepared presents to share with the partners at this visit.
The children have re-enacted the journey of the cuckoo and learnt a lot about this.
Children have also made nesting box models using corks

Italy
Peacock Story - Didapages.  The Italian partners had created a bilingual Italian / English didapages book with a story about a peacock that had been written by the children.  The book has the text, an audio version of the story and also some activities to go with it.
The Italian pupils had been busy preparing for the Comenius visit and welcomed us with music and singing.

England
Children in Years 5 and 6 ( 9-11 yrs) had worked independently in teams to produce the games for the partner schools.  Each game has a bird theme and the children investigated other games so that they could ensure their bird games were suitable for the younger children in the project. The children had to plan and carry out the project on their own and this was part of "welcome week" . At Shiphay, the first 2 weeks of the Autumn term are known as "welcome weeks" .  These are off timetable and are focused on developing team work skills, settling children into new classes and giving them time to get to know each other and their new teachers.
The children from Shiphay had also written letters to their Italian pen friends, telling them all about their Summer holidays.  This gave them a real purpose for their learning and they are hoping that they will be able to keep in contact with their pen friends  throughout the year.

Item 3 Intermediary Report
All 4 countries have submitted their interim reports and received confirmation from their local agencies

Feedback from French authority
Advice from the French agency is that the project needs more press coverage and that the website needs to be updated regularly to show how the project is progressing.
           Action- each country to update the website with photos and texts about the project so far. (All partners)
           Action - each country to keep the website up to date throughout the rest of the project. ( All partners)
           Action - Élanore will send instructions for putting film on the website ( Italy -as soon as possible )

Item 3 Self Evaluation
           Kate to write a questionnaire for Comenius  self evaluation and circulate this to all schools.  Each partner will have the opportunity to review and add their thoughts to the questionnaire so the the final document can be prepared at the March meeting.
           At the March meeting we will agree the final document and decide how this will be presented to the children. The evaluation will allow each school to gather data about the impact of the project.
           Action - Kate to prepare first draft of the evaluation document ( Kate - end of October)
           Action - each partner to review the draft and add their comments ( All partners - before March meeting)

Item 4 4th 5th  October - European Day of Migration
All partners will celebrate this in their own country on or near the day.


Item 5 Skype communication
           Week of 10 Nov arrange for children to have some face to face contact - a class to talk to each other. England will take the lead in organising this and ensuring the tests have worked.  If it is not possible for all 4 countries to Skype at once, England will organise a timetable of Skype calls.
           Technicians from each partner country to test the Skype connections by the end of Nov
           Mon 10 Nov - test connection
           Thurs 13 1030 (9:30 in England) for real communication
           Focus for the Skype call :  Feedback from the games / children to prepare 3 questions about school in the partner countries.

           Action - England to arrange a test of the Skype calling to make sure the connections work ( by end of October)
           Action - England to prepare timetable for Skype calling ( England)
           Action - All partners to play games and prepare feedback and questions ready for the Skype call ( all partners - before Nov 10th)


Item 6 Aesop Fables
The Italian partners have prepared a Didapages version of the Aesop fable, the Fox and the Crane.  It was decided that this would be turned into a multi lingual resource.  Alberto will take responsibility for creating the book if partners end him the audio and text files he needs.
           Action Each country to find text of wolf and the crane Aesop fable and ask the children to read aloud. Send text, pictures and audio files (mp3) to Alberto to add to story.  ( all partners - end of December)
           Action - Alberto to finish didapages book ( March meeting ) 

 Item 7 Christmas Greetings
           Each country will send a card or decoration ( or something else that we create) to wish each other Merry Christmas.
If the Skype session is a success, we will Skype again nearer to Christmas to wish each other Merry Christmas and also for each partner school to sing a Christmas song.

Website Actions
           Action- each country to update the website with photos and texts about the project so far. (All partners)
           Action - each country to keep the website up to date throughout the rest of the project. ( All partners)
           Élanore will send instructions for putting film on the website ( Italy -as soon as possible)

Self evaluation actions
           Action - Kate to prepare first draft of the evaluation document ( Kate - end of October)
           Action - each partner to review the draft and add their comments ( All partners - before March meeting)

Skype actions
           Action - England to arrange a test of the Skype calling to make sure the connections work ( by end of October)
           Action - England to prepare timetable for Skype calling ( England)
           Action - All partners to play games and prepare feedback and questions ready for the Skype call ( all partners - before Nov 10th)

Didapages - fox and crane actions
           Action Each country to find text of wolf and the crane Aesop fable and ask the children to read aloud. Send text, pictures and audio files (mp3) to Alberto to add to story.  ( all partners - end of December)
           Action - Alberto to finish didapages book ( March meeting ) 

Christmas Actions

Each country will send a card or decoration ( or something else that we create) to wish each other Merry Christmas