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 its rough translation:
Perfectly planned
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| 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
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.
