Theme 6 - Healthy lifestyle - Comenius Fitness Test

While working on Theme 6 The Polish Comenius Club decided to meet and do the Cooper test together, as we thought that could be lots of fun (and we were right :-))
We met on Saturday at 7.30, which was actually the only day (and hour) that suited all the people who were brave enough to take part in the test ;-)) I think we all did very well, nobody walked, everybody kept running (well, Alicja even wanted to run home afterwards, she liked it so much and the test seemed not enough). The boys overtook the girls, unfortunately, but that's because their legs are longer ;-))
Here are some photos (thank you, Magda, for taking pics and notes):

Theme 5 (Environment) - summary

And once again Ania prepared a summary of another theme which we talked about in our project. 

 

Theme five – Environment

            Some of us dreamt of becoming a famous TV presenter in childhood. We wanted to be one of the faces who say ‘Hello there’ just like a weather forecaster on BBC ;) Well… Comenius students had a chance to become someone like that lately. They had to make a film about the environment. They could chose any form of making the film. The basic thing which had to be common for every group was to tell us how to protect the environment nowadays. How to do our best! One of the groups decided to make an interview.

At the beginning of the film one of the students made a short introduction. Right after that we could see Aneta talking to Mr Waluga who works in the local wastewater plant. They were talking generously about the protection of the environment but also about the functioning of the plant. The pollution is increasing nowadays so it’s important to know how we can reduce it. The knowledge of how the wastewater plant works is really important, too.

While watching the film we could hear many difficult terms such as: neutralize the municipal waste, use the active sludge method, eliminate the compounds of carbon, phosphorus, and suspension, etc. But don’t worry! Everything was explained later on ;) Mr Waluga also told us something about his own environment protection. Especially when he was our age. He told us about ‘Earth days’ when he and his school friends were cleaning streets from litter, when they were searching for rubbish etc. They did it instead of classes, one day a year.

After he told us about his methods of protecting the environment nowadays and in the past, we were able to compare them with our own methods. We could see some similarities and a few differences. We’re sure that today we are definitely more aware of the problem of pollution and that’s why we want to reduce it more than in the past. We have to take care of the place where we live. Earth is the only one. There’s no other place like this. And that is why we have to put an effort to keep it clean! ;)

Theme 5 by Group 1
Theme 5 by Group 3
Theme 5 by Group 4
Theme 5 by Group 5

Theme 4 (Gender roles / Family life) - summary

And once again, Daria Hałas gave us a hand and wrote the summary of Theme 4.

After talking about media, the time came to talk about family and sharing duties in a typical home in Poland. The most popular model of a family in our country consists of parents and two children, but the number of children is going down, and now more and more people has only one child. 

Usually, household duties are divided between parents, and kids help them to keep the house in a good condition. In an average family the mother raises children, cooks, cleans, washes the dishes or does the ironing while the father does the DIY jobs, takes care of the car and the garden. Parents receive help from their children with small things, like dealing with flowers, cleaning or making dinner, etc. Sometimes teenagers look after their younger siblings, like Agata does.

The distribution of duties mainly comes from the stereotype of a traditional Polish home for the past, where the man was the primary breadwinner and woman's role was to run the house. Women did not work, so they had time to look after children and let men support home.

People in the past had more obligations, mostly because of the fact that they lived in villages so they had to work on the farm, which was a very demanding job for all of them. Our parents and grandparents had a lot of responsibilities apart from going to school, but as Aneta said, today we have more worries.

Nowadays the situation is changing. The majority of women work and both parents raise children (not only mothers) and make decisions (not only fathers - heads of families). We walk away from the patriarchal type of a family.

Theme 4 by Group 1
Theme 4 by Group 3
Theme 4 by Group 4
Theme 4 by Group 5 

Theme 3 (Media and communication) - summary

The summary has been prepared by Daria Hałas, 
who wanted to help her Comenius friends write 
the summaries of themes they worked on :-)

The third theme, which VAGAB people had to do some research on and talk about was "Media and communication". The results were easy to predict. 

Obviously, the most popular media among teenagers is the Internet, similarly like in other countries. Young people find it the easiest way watch movies, help with homework, find information or to communicate with friends (in Poland for example we use an instant  messenger called "Gadu Gadu"). The majority of Polish adolescents has an account in social networks like Facebook, Twitter or Myspace. What is worth noting, almost 95% of teenagers in Poland is online, which is totally impressive news. The Internet is a connector between us and the people we want to be in touch with.

Music is also one of the most important thing in our lives. We are not able to imagine a day without some piece of music by our favourite artist, so we use devices such as mp3 players, Ipods or even mobile phones, which in fact have a lot of various applications and are not used only for talking. 

Less popular media is television, because we find news and information online, but some of us watch films or sporting events there, which in fact is a good way to spend some time with our parents -   they are important media users and they watch more television than teenagers. A popular source of the latest news among them, especially the busiest ones, is the radio. The rate of popularity of this media was the highest after the Second World War, because of the lack of television sets, but what is important, people didn't have a full view of what was going on - the communistic government used to censor information. 

Nowadays even elderly people learn how to use the computer and surf the Net, which makes the World a "global village". The boys from the Polish group number 3 even said: "Nowadays, communication is as easy as cycling".

Theme 3 by Group 1
Theme 3 by Group 3
Theme 3 by Group 4
Theme 3 by Group 5 

Visit to the Netherlands – publicity

Some publicity is always good...

As we want to make the project as popular as possible, we asked our local newspaper to publish an article about our visit to The Netherlands. 

Here is the scan of the article

Here is its rough translation:

Perfectly planned

- It was a great trip. The Dutch made us feel at home - say Maria Sklodowska-Curie Comprehensive School students, the participants of the trip to the country of windmills and tulips, which took place in March as part of the project "Values ​​across Generations and Borders”.

The Netherlands was a third country, after Norway and Spain, which high school students and their teachers visited as part of the EU project. The meeting in Tilburg was attended by approximately 80 people from six countries. Czechowice was represented by the school director Jan Bieroński, teachers of English: Dominika Owsiany and Ewa Zemanek and students: Karolina Wegrzyn, Aneta Biernot, Klaudia Wegrzyn and Bartek Kopec.

The students and teachers speak very highly of the trip – they praise the organization, time management and the openness and helpfulness of the Dutch hosts. -Everything was perfectly planned, and the programme of our stay in Holland was very attractive – said E. Zemanek.

The most important part of the trip were the activities that led to the exchange of information and knowledge of the customs and languages ​​of the partner countries. On the first day each group gave a presentation on their country, cities and schools and all the groups learned basic words and phrases in their partner countries languages. They also learned some songs and dances. The students from Czechowice taught their international colleagues the basic steps of the polonaise (a traditional Polish dance) and at the end of the lesson they also gave CDs with Polish music to their friends. The CDs included the Polonaise – so that the Polonaise learners can continue their education.

There was also a "Sports Day", where teams of mixed nations competed in such disciplines as volleyball or football. Of course, there was also a cycling competition, because this is the main means of transport in the Netherlands. The hosts also encouraged everyone to take part in their traditional Dutch games. In the evening, all the participants could demonstrate their culinary skills, cooking their national dishes. This night definitely belonged to the Polish team because everyone just loved the potato pancakes with mushroom sauce, which the queue in the kitchen for second helpings proved.

A lot of time was also devoted to visiting attractions and places of interests in the Netherlands. The programme included a bicycle tour to the dunes, a visit to the Efteling amusement park and a visit at the Van Gogh Museum combined with a class in modern computer labs, where all the participants could create their own paintings. In addition, Dutch students prepared a guided tour of their city - Tilburg, and their school - St. Odulphuslyceum. The last two days students and teachers spent in Amsterdam. They went on a boat trip along Amsterdam channels and visited the Rijksmuseum, where they had the chance to see the works of famous Dutch painters. Most participants also visited the famous Flower Market, which amazes visitors with thousands of colors and scents, and where you can purchase any species of flowers. The biggest attraction of the market, however, are by far the Dutch tulip bulbs, which many participants purchased as a souvenir of their visit to the Netherlands.
- During the week there was not a single moment in which we might have been bored, everything was so well-preapared. We did not feel any communication barriers while speaking to students from other countries. We talked about everything, we helped one another - says Karolina Wegrzyn. - These trips are very short, but they connect people in an amazing way. It was great to meet the people with whom I had already made friends in Norway again. When we met, we talked like old buddies – added Aneta Biernot. The girls cannot stop praising the commitment and concern that the Dutch hosts showed to project participants from other countries. - When they found out that the Spaniards were cold, they brought them blankets and asked all the other participants if there was anything they needed. They kept surprising us in most pleasant ways. One day they invited us for a pizza, another – with some help from their parents - they prepared dinner for us. They gave us bags and T-shirts with their school logo, and as a "goodbye gift" we were given a packet of traditional Dutch wafers and a key ring with a miniature of a traditional wooden shoe. They were constantly doing their best to make us feel welcome - say the girls. 




And if you want to practice your Polish, here you have a chance:

Doskonale zaplanowane

- To był wspaniały wyjazd. Holendrzy sprawili, że poczuliśmy się jak w domu – mówią uczniowie Liceum Ogólnokształcącego im. Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie, uczestnicy tygodniowego wyjazdu do kraju wiatraków i tulipanów, który odbył się w połowie marca w ramach projektu „Wartości na przestrzeni wieków i granic geograficznych”.

Holandia była trzecim, po Norwegii i Hiszpanii, krajem, do którego licealiści i ich opiekunowie pojechali w ramach unijnego projektu. W marcowym spotkaniu w Tilburgu wzięło udział około 80 osób z sześciu krajów, a Czechowice reprezentowali dyrektor LO Jan Bieroński, anglistki Ewa Zemanek i Dominika Owsiany oraz uczniowie: Karolina Węgrzyn, Aneta Biernot, Klaudia Węgrzyn i Bartłomiej Kopeć.

Licealiści i nauczyciele o tygodniowej wycieczce mówią w samych superlatywach – chwalą organizację, zagospodarowanie wolnego czasu oraz otwartość i uczynność gospodarzy. –Wszystko zostało doskonale zaplanowane, a program naszego pobytu w Holandii był wyjątkowo atrakcyjny – mówi E. Zemanek.

Najważniejszą częścią wyjazdu były zajęcia integrujące uczestników, służące wymianie informacji oraz poznaniu obyczajów i języków krajów partnerskich. Pierwszego dnia każda z grup przedstawiła prezentację dotyczącą swojego państwa, miasta i szkoły, a następnie uczyła pozostałe grupy podstawowych słów i zwrotów w swoim języku oraz piosenek i tańców. Czechowiczanie nauczyli swoich międzynarodowych kolegów podstawowych kroków poloneza, a na zakończenie tejże nauki podarowali wszystkim krajom płyty z polską muzyką – także z polonezem - by mogli oni kontynuować naukę.

Zorganizowano także „Dzień Sportu”, gdzie wymieszane narodowościowo drużyny, rywalizowały ze sobą w takich dyscyplinach jak siatkówka czy piłka nożna. Oczywiście nie mogło się obyć bez zawodów rowerowych, bo to przecież główny środek transportu w Holandii. Gospodarze zachęcali także do udziału w ich tradycyjnych zabawach sportowych. Wieczorem wszyscy uczestnicy spotkania mogli wykazać się umiejętnościami kulinarnymi, gotując swoje narodowe potrawy. Ta noc należała zdecydowanie do Polaków, ponieważ placki ziemniaczane z sosem borowikowym cieszyły się największym uznaniem, czego dowodem była kolejka po dodatkowe porcje.

Sporo czasu poświęcono również na poznawanie zabytków i atrakcji Holandii. W programie znalazły się wycieczka rowerowa na wydmy, wizyta w parku rozrywki Efteling oraz zwiedzanie Muzeum Van Gogha połączone z zajęciami w nowoczesnej pracowni, gdzie przy użyciu komputera i rysika można było stworzyć obraz własnego pomysłu. Ponadto, uczniowie holenderscy oprowadzili gości po swoim mieście – Tilburgu i szkole - St. Odulphuslyceum. Dwa dni uczestnicy międzynarodowego spotkania spędzili także w Amsterdamie. Zwiedzanie miasta rozpoczęli od wyprawy łodzią po tamtejszych kanałach, a następnie zawitali do Rijksmuseum, w którym mieli szansę zapoznać się z pracami najsłynniejszych holenderskich malarzy. Nie zapomnieli także o wizycie na sławnym Targu Kwiatowym, który zadziwia tysiącami kolorów i zapachów, a gdzie można zakupić wszelkie gatunki kwiatów. Największą atrakcją targu są jednak zdecydowanie cebulki holenderskich tulipanów, które wielu uczestników spotkania zakupiło jako pamiątkę wizyty w Holandii.

– Podczas całego tygodnia nie było chwili, w której moglibyśmy się nudzić. Najważniejsze jednak jest to, że w kontaktach z uczniami z innych krajów nie czuliśmy żadnych barier komunikacyjnych. Rozmawialiśmy o wszystkim, pomagaliśmy sobie – mówi Karolina Węgrzyn. – Te wyjazdy są bardzo krótkie, ale w niesamowity sposób łącza ludzi. Z osobami, z którymi widzieliśmy się już w Norwegii, od razu się poznaliśmy i rozmawialiśmy jak ze starymi dobrymi znajomymi – dodaje Aneta Biernot. Licealistki nie mogą się także nachwalić wielkiego zaangażowania ze strony gospodarzy i troski, jaką okazywali oni uczestnikom projektu z innych krajów. – Kiedy dowiedzieli się, że Hiszpanom jest zimno od razu przynieśli im koce i zapytali pozostałych uczestników, czy czegoś nie potrzebują. Ciągle robili nam jakieś miłe niespodzianki. Jednego dnia zaprosili nas na pizzę, innego – wraz ze swoimi rodzicami przygotowali dla nas kolację. Podarowali nam torby i koszulki z logo szkoły, a na „do widzenia” obdarowali paczuszkami z tradycyjnymi holenderskimi waflami i breloczkiem w kształcie drewnianego chodaka. Widać było, że starają się na każdym kroku – podsumowują uczennice LO.

Visit to The Netherlands

Welcome to The Netherlands!

A long awaited day came… On 13 March 4 students (Bartek Kopec, Aneta Biernot, Karolina Wegrzyn and Klaudia Wegrzyn) and three teachers of our school (including the school headmaster) left for the Netherlands  to participate in another Comenius project meeting. The meeting was attended by teachers and students from all the project countries – The Netherlands (the hosts), Germany, Portugal, Spain, Norway and Poland. We knew (more or less) what the plans for the week were (thanks to Zina's film, which you can see here) but there were some very nice surprises awaiting us. That was a brilliant week and we enjoyed it very much. Our Dutch friends did a great job!

During the days spent in Tilburg and Amsterdam, we had the chance to take part in a guided tour of the school (St. Odulphuslyceum), teach our project friends some Polish and a typical Polish dance – the polonaise. We also learned foreign languages, went sightseeing around Tilburg, visited Van Gogh’s drawing room, participated in a Sports Day, rode wonderful Dutch bikes, went to the dunes and to Efteling – a theme park in Tilburg and we also tested our cooking skills preparing our traditional dish – potato pancakes – for the international food evening. The last two days we spent in Amsterdam. There we went on a boat trip, visited the famous Rijksmuseum and looked around the city. Of course we also bought some souvenirs, among them absolutely delicious stroopwafles and tulip bulbs, which we bought at the breathtaking flower market.

Thousands of photos have been taken. Here there are just a few of them...
(OK, maybe more than just a few):

This is where we lived :-)

Another view of "our" place in The Netherlands

Present for the school from the Polish team - doll in a traditional dress from the region of the Tatras

Warm welcome by Marieke, then we watched a brilliant film by Zina

Time to start presentations - the German team

The Polish team teaching their friends the Polonaise - a traditional Polish dance

Even Jehennes decided to learn some basic steps of the Polish dance ;-)

Comenius Club from Norway and their presentation

The Portuguese team prepared a quiz

So did the Spanish Comenius Club ;-)

Guided tour of the school

Bikes everywhere - "bike park" by the school

The VAGAB team in front of the school

Polish Comenius Club

Polish Comenius Club - less serious version (with a ladybird ;-))

Wonderful Dutch bikes which we rode for a couple of days

Jehannes giving instructions for the cycling competition: "Speed does not matter, elegance does."

Sports day - volleyball

Sports Day - football: Bartek vs Karolina

Traditional Dutch games - the cake was delicious!

Traditional Dutch games - the prize was very tasty

Time to relax after sports

Group photo at the dunes

Having fun at the dunes

Bike trip

Getting ready for international food evening - peeling potatoes...

... grating potatoes...

Karolina and her problem - onions!

More preparations

First potato pancake...

Tastes great!

Polish potato pancakes and mushroom sauce - one of MANY trays ;-)

Waiting for the potato pancakes (and that was just the beginning of the queue ;-))

VAGAB team at Efteling

Who said that you can only ride rollercoasters?

Up, up, up! And then...

... you can enjoy the view of the amusement park

The Python

Dominika says that was our boat ;-)

Happy to have survived "The Flying Dutchman" rollercoaster

Souvenir photo from The Flying Dutchman

Souvenir photo from The Python

Us and our bikes ;-)

Guided tour of Tilburg included tasting some traditional Dutch food - herring

Aneta did not like the herring she had to eat, but she was very brave

Do you think Karolina liked the herring?

At stroopwafels stand - the smell, the taste - divine!

Enjoying freshly made stroofwafels

Our Dutch guides and Bartek

At Van Gogh's drawing room

Modern drawing room - who said you need a brush or a pencil?

Evening with performances - singing a Polish song

International dance - "Nossa, nossa..."

Unforgettable view from Amsterdam - is it a bus or a boat?!?!?!

For most of us - symbol of The Netherlands

Walking along canals in Amsterdam

I AMsterdam

I AMsterdam - close-up

Rijksmuseum

Art lesson at Rijksmuseum

Bikes, canals...

...cheese. Are we in The Netherlands?

At a cheese shop

Eye-catching bike

At the Flower Market

Tulips... Countless and colourful

At the Flower Market (no idea what the flower is called, but I liked it very much ;-))

Impressive tulips

Last view of Amsterdam

Time to go home...