Our first project meeting in Oisterwijk (15th - 19th November, 2011)
25 students and 8 teachers from all four partner schools arrived in Oisterwijk on Tuesday, 15th November for their first Comenius meeting. All the students were warmly received by their host families and were overwhelmed by their generosity and hospitality.
The first project day (Wednesday, 16th November) started with a work session to make final preparations for the school presentations and the logo competition.
Due to ongoing problems with the internet access, the logo competition had to be postponed until Friday. All the guests made presentations about their schools using power point or video technology. The performance of the Czech students was particularly impressive not only technically but also linguistically.
At the end of the day, each student had to sign up for one of the six project groups for the trip on Thursday, 17th November to Amsterdam. Each group consisted of 6-7 students from at least 4 partner schools and had a different task. Together the students had to research one aspect of Dutch or Amsterdam history or culture during their visit to Amsterdam.
Although the city was engulfed in mist the students set out to complete their missions. The first stop was the newly opened Het Scheepvaartmuseum with its Golden Age Exhibition. This proved very interesting indeed and provided a great deal of information for quite a few of the project groups as it did not only tell us about the importance of the ship trade for Amsterdam and the Netherlands but also about life in the 17th century.
Afterwards we went to the famous Dam which is not really a dam anymore but the centre of the city. All the students went off in search of more information for their project but mainly for presents and souvenirs. They admired beautiful buildings, Dutch cheese shops and were amazed by the many coffee shops which were to be found everywhere. At three o’clock we went back to Oisterwijk and many would have liked to have stayed a little longer.
On Friday, all the students had time to prepare their various presentations on the Golden Age, Amsterdam as a trading centre, multicultural Amsterdam, Dutch culture, famous buildings and artists in Amsterdam. After a deserved lunch break they presented their findings to the others. Then everyone moved to the school hall for the final of the logo competition.
Three students from different schools presented the competition. At first they explained how the competition had been conducted in each school and the best three logos nominated for the final. Then the students from all partner schools could vote for their preferred logos. These results would now be made public to find the final logo winner.
Before the points were distributed, the moderators interviewed all the logo designers who had come to Oisterwijk to explain their ideas behind the logos. Then the countdown started. In Eurovision style each school awarded points to the different logos. At the end we had a clear winner who had been awarded top marks by every school. It can now be seen on the homepage of our project website.
At the end of a long day some students from each partner school stayed behind to reflect on their experience in Oisterwijk. The outcome of this was very positive. All the students were more than happy to have been involved in the meeting. They were very complimentary about their host families and the other children they had met and worked with. They all felt that their English had improved as this had been the language for communication with everyone (perhaps enriched with the occasional use of hands and feet).
Whereas the Turkish and the German partners left on Saturday, the Czech and Spanish groups used the opportunity to stay until Sunday. Finally, everyone left with many positive impressions. No doubt, they have a lot of things to tell their friends and families at home. All in all it can be said that our project got off to a good start in Oisterwijk. Now we are all looking forward to our next meeting in Jaen!
Phase 1
Logo Competition, School Presentation, Maps on Roots
This is what we have planned for the first project phase:
- Each school carries out a logo competition. Students can vote for their preferred choice on-line. In the second stage there will be an on-line vote for the best logo overall.
- Students prepare presentations of their schools on posters and/or power point. They give general information about the school, age range, subjects and school life.
- Each school gives out a questionnaire about roots / migration and produces a map reflecting the set up of their school community. Based on those results the schools produce maps to show where their students and their families have come from or where people from their community have moved to.
- At the first project meeting in Oisterwijk the winner of the logo competition will be announced in an official Logo Award Ceremony. Furthermore, there will be the presentations of the partner schools and the maps.
Scheduled meeting: 2College Durendael, Oisterwijk, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands
November 15, 2011 - November 19, 2011
