Partners

Romania

,,Dr. Aurel Vlad” Middle School is a school with legal personality, established in 1954. Because the number of students increased a lot, in 1977 the school was divided into Middle School No. 1 and Middle School No. 2. In 1982, the new premises of the Middle School no. 1 – a 3-storey building is built.

On September 15, 2000 – Middle School no. 1 Orăștie receives the name of “Dr. Aurel Vlad” Middle School. In the years 2005 and 2008, two more premises were built within the radius of the center premises, which are intended for primary education, a library and a medical and speech therapy office. In 2009 the school received the title of European School. The current educational space has 44 classrooms, 5 laboratories, 4 offices, 1 gym, library, banquet hall, etc.

The school has 949 students, of which 862 are Romanian, and the rest are Hungarian and Roma. 598 students are in primary education, of which 176 attend the Step-by-Step system, 38 are in the Hungarian section in the simultaneous education regime and 51 students of the Roma ethnicity who also learn in the simultaneous regime. 82% of the students come from the town and 18% commute from the surrounding towns. 186 students have requested help for school supplies, 272 have social scholarships, 77 students have merit scholarships, 26 have study scholarships, 64 have food allowance for children with CES; 207 students benefit from social vouchers. Out of the total number of students, 143 are socially assisted at risk of dropping out of school. They come from families with unemployed parents or who support themselves from seasonal activities. The teaching and auxiliary teaching staff consists of 84 teaching staff (59 full-time and 20 substitute), 1 school counselor, 4 support teachers, 1 speech therapist, mediator, administrative staff. There are 37 teaching staff in the primary cycle, and 42 in the secondary school.

Numerous students from both the gymnasium and the primary cycle participate annually in Olympiads and competitions, obtaining very good results. The school organizes numerous extracurricular activities: trips, hikes, summer camps, sports activities, volunteering, artistic activities, greening, etc., in which many children, teachers and parents participate. The school’s collaboration with students’ families is generally good, but there are also situations where parents do not respond to the school’s requests.

Portugal

EB1/PE Cruz de Carvalho is a primary and kindergarten school located in the heart of Funchal (the largest city on the island of Madeira). It is located in the western part of the city, in the middle of the Hospital district. Funchal is a city with over 500 years of history. Founded in 1510, the island’s capital offers a historical and charming context, set in a strong landscape between the sea and the majestic mountains. Its history can be witnessed step by step throughout the city, which has given the city a cosmopolitan character over the centuries. The many tall ships, steamships and modern ships that dock in Funchal’s busy port have brought new customs to the city. Today, Funchal has 110,000 inhabitants and it  has become a city with an urban and sophisticated character. Its natural beauty and easy access to the rest of the island are the main reasons why most hotels are located here… It is the perfect starting point to explore Madeira’s most remote and natural secrets. Some say that the town is called “Funchal” because of the abundance of a plant called “Funcho” (fennel) encountered by the early settlers. The school was opened in 1981 and it currently has almost 250 students divided into classes between the ages of 3-11. We have 11 classes (3 preschool and 2 for each class). In kindergarten we have 73 students and in primary school 179. Of these students, 30 have special needs (learning difficulties and/or disabilities). There are 37 teachers in the school (curriculum, arts, physical education, ICT, special needs, study and music).Half of the school’s students are from low-income families. Several were taken from their families (they didn’t have the conditions to keep them) and another small group of students are from immigrant families (mostly from Eastern Europe). The education system in Madeira Island is a little different from mainland Portugal. Most public schools have divided classes. Years I and II (children aged 6-8) have curriculum classes in the morning and Years III and IV (students aged 8-10) have curriculum classes in the afternoon. They have extracurricular activities in the schedule opposite to the curriculum hours. Once a week we develop a project in the extracurricular program that allows the students to choose between 4/5 activities (it can be something like exploring the city, healthy food, paper making, etc…) The students are not organized by classes, but are divided according to what what they want to do. Our school is involved annually in projects related to: Environment – ​​Eco-Escolas (National Environment Project), Coding and Computational Thinking – (GMTE – Local Educational Authorities), Escolartes – Performing Arts (DSEAM – Local Educational Authorities), Desporto Escolar ( School sports) – Sports competitions – (DSTE – Local Educational Authorities), Little Euro Guides – Erasmus+ Project, Water source and sewerage – Erasmus+ Project. Gosto Disto – School Project – Students select the projects they want to participate in once every 6 weeks. During this period, one day a week, they have to investigate, explore, discuss the topic and present the results on the last day. All these projects use problem-based learning and the project-based learning method, Risk and Protection – Safety Project (Civil Protection – Local Authorities). In addition to the curriculum teachers, we have a very specialized thing as an ICT teacher, an English teacher, a music teacher, an art teacher, a PE teacher and also four special needs teachers. Integrating all these specialties into the curriculum allows us to promote better and more effective approaches, resulting in more meaningful learning for students. With this project we expect to be able to create other teaching approaches.

Spain

CEIP Maximiliano Gil Melián is a public teaching institution located in the municipality of Tacoronte, in the north of Tenerife, in the Canary Island. Our educational offer includes pre-school and primary education. The school has approximately 190 students divided into two educational stages: Infant Education and Primary Education. The teaching staff consists of twenty people. In addition, there is a caretaker and ten people who work in the kitchen, living room and cleaning. Throughout our history, our school has been characterized by the development of several innovation projects to provide our educational community (students, teachers and families) with a quality education. Some of the main projects are the Cultural Week, celebrated around World Book Day (April 23), school radio, Choir, Gomeran Whistle (whistle communication system of the island of La Gomera) and Timple (the most important musical instrument of the Canaries Islands).In this sense, we have firmly committed ourselves to the implementation of European projects with excellent results, providing the center with an improvement in linguistic competence in other languages, knowledge of other cultures and the promotion of European identity. In recent years, we have participated in various Comenius and Erasmus + projects KA201, KA229 and KA219. The educational offer of our school includes learning English from the age of 3 to the 6th grade, and in the last stage the students participate in a CLIL program experience of several years, which means teaching one of the artistic subjects in English. Content Integrated Language Learning (CLIL) is an approach where students learn a subject and a second language at the same time. A science course, for example, can be taught to students in English and they will not only learn about science, but also acquire relevant vocabulary and language skills. The values ​​we promote in our activities are respect for self and others, appropriate use of resources and materials, tolerance and dialogue, work well done, etc. In accordance with these principles, every quarter we organize a campaign to help disadvantaged families (“Solidarity Race”) in which we collect clothing, shoes, toys, non-perishable food for needy families. Our school is a truly inclusive school because we have developed specific procedures for students with special needs. In fact, the entire school policy is based on the principle of “a school for everyone”. We are a school organized on the principles of the Amara Berry pedagogical system (creativity, individualization, the freedom to think, choose and express ourselves as we are, etc.), therefore our entire learning activity is carried out through play and creativity. In accordance with these principles, every quarter we organize a campaign to help disadvantaged families (“Solidarity Race”) in which we collect clothing, shoes, toys, non-perishable food for needy families. Our school is a truly inclusive school because we have developed specific procedures for students with special needs. In fact, the entire school policy is based on the principle of “a school for everyone”. We are a school organized on the principles of the Amara Berry pedagogical system (creativity, individualization, the freedom to think, choose and express ourselves as we are, etc.), therefore our entire learning activity is carried out through play and creativity. In the primary cycle, we do not use textbooks, but follow a methodology that allows students to live, feel, discover, share, express themselves, relate, activate their minds, analyze and make decisions. Hence the multitude of internal projects that we run according to clear procedures, with responsibility and dedication

In accordance with these principles, every quarter we organize a campaign to help disadvantaged families (“Solidarity Race”) in which we collect clothing, shoes, toys, non-perishable food for needy families. Our school is a truly inclusive school because we have developed specific procedures for students with special needs. In fact, the entire school policy is based on the principle of “a school for everyone”. We are a school organized on the principles of the Amara Berry pedagogical system (creativity, individualization, the freedom to think, choose and express ourselves as we are, etc.), therefore our entire learning activity is carried out through play and creativity.In the primary cycle, we do not use textbooks, but follow a methodology that allows students to live, feel, discover, share, express themselves, relate, activate their minds, analyze and make decisions. Hence the multitude of internal projects that we run according to clear procedures, with responsibility and dedication.

Holland

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School is a public educational institution located on the island of St. Maarten in the Dutch Quarter area, an area classified as “at risk” but with a high level of talented young people eager to learn and improve to make a difference in their society. Our main objectives: to provide adequate education to children in the area and neighboring areas of the Middle and Belvedere Region, to provide opportunities for growth, development and advantages to children in these areas, to help train them to become worthy citizens who can truly make a difference in their community, to provide additional training through afternoon school in several activities such as Sports, Education, Art and Culture. We offer students and teachers experiences that will improve both the teaching-learning process and their preparation to enter the various high schools on the island. As a school, we aim to support students in their personal and holistic development, to promote students who demonstrate an interest in developing their interpersonal skills, to establish models and practices of behaviors and cooperation between students, which will help them both in secondary education and in their afterlife; to encourage the development of creative arts such as Drama, Music and Dance. Among others, these are activities in which this organization is involved: it provides basic education to students between the ages of 4 and 12/13 or primary education, it provides a healthy breakfast through its breakfast program to over 50 students every day, it trains teachers (educational assistants, possible teacher trainees) in the various aspects of education such as classroom management, teaching methods, how to deal with stress, preparing and executing lesson plans, how to approach problems of behavior among students, among others, it provides students with the tools and instruction necessary to acquire the necessary skills that will equip them for postsecondary education. It teaches the students ways and mechanisms they can use to improve their interpersonal skills, it provides school uniforms and other related school supplies to students in need (over 20 students), it helps students develop sportsmanship and other skills they can use every day, it offers interesting experiences to students through extracurricular activities such as sports, cheerleading and others to help with comprehensive training. Our island faces many ecological problems: from the invasion of tourists to erosion and the extinction of some species. That is why it is necessary for the school to prepare students in the field of prevention and combating pollution. Plastic pollution affects birds and marine species of fish, molluscs, small invertebrates, etc. In order for students and parents to be aware of the effects of human actions on the environment, we periodically do observation activities in nature followed by art sessions. We recently had a plastic art competition that had recycling as its theme; this turned the little artists into supporters of recyclable materials. We also encourage teachers, children and parents to volunteer in the field of environmental protection.

ITALY