[HAND IN HAND FOR THE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION] May 1, 2012

1 IES Ciudad Jardn

[HAND IN HAND FOR THE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION] May 1, 2012

Our high schoolIES Ciudad Jardn, which is located in the Spanish town of Badajoz, has been involved in a Comenius project calledHand in hand for the Environment Protection since 2011 together with Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland and Romania; being the latter the coordinator country. When it comes to the activities which have been undertaken by a group of ten Spanish teachers who have willingly filled in a final questionnaire in English, these range from making up PowerPoint Presentations related to environmental issues, forms to collect information on water consumption, different models on the greenhouse effect & acid rain, pieces of work regarding the sun (together with interviews), solar devices, dictionary about recycling... Other tasks have been performed in line with packaging, recycling and the clever use of energy, as well as helping coordinate the meetings when Spain was the host country in March 2012. In order for these sessions to run smoothly, several arrangements were also needed, such as the proper decoration of a Comenius workplace. Last but not least, different translation activities have been part and parcel of our work during the last 24 months, with a view to making communication feasible between the countries taking part in this European project. As for the major benefits associated to this Comenius, we would like to highlight the interaction with both students and international colleagues through the English language and the possibility of being in touch with different people and cultures. Other positive aspects for us teachers, have been the involvement in activities that are not related to our daily work with students and the sharing of personal experiences on education. As far as students are concerned, we do think that the main profit for them has been the chance to travel to other countries, which in turn, made them put their English into practice, plus providing them with the perfect scenario to develop personal skills and getting to know peers from other countries. What is more, they are nowadays more aware of the fact that taking care of our planet is of paramount importance.

2 IES Ciudad Jardn

[HAND IN HAND FOR THE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION] May 1, 2012

Improving and working with the English language, acquiring new skills to motivate students and interacting with other cultures are the major reasons why teachers got committed to this project in the first place. Virtually every teacher involved in Hand in hand for the Environment Protectionis greatly satisfied with the way this Comenius has been coordinated and the level of enjoyment upon working in this project is very high, since the entire group has felt part of a team. Moreover, enhancing our IT knowledge, changing our working style for better, and of course embracing the culture & know-how of Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland and Romania constitute for all of us a very valuable asset, which has been undeniably achieved thanks to the cooperation with the aforementioned partners. Accordingly, we would not doubt to encourage other colleagues to participate in a future project with similar/identical features. Needless to say, we consider the relationship among the members of our team to be excellent. There is even more rapport than before between the teachers who have taken part in this project. The general outlook on the tasks that were devised to accomplish the goals set in each meeting is highly satisfactory, not to mention the perspective we have on how advantageous the collaborations with the other partners have been to the whole high school. It must be stressed that the strengths of this Comenius outweigh its weaknesses without any shadow of a doubt. The eagerness and enthusiasm when working together with fellow European teachers, as well as the activities carried out with the help of students are the strong points of this project to name a few. Motivation and determination arising during the lifespan of this Comenius are other beneficial aspects to take into consideration. On the other hand; in our opinion, the physical distance between the partner countries, together with the time given to do certain tasks, has been the downside of this project. Besides, we would have been delighted to travel with more students, hadnt it been to the lack of economic resources.

3 IES Ciudad Jardn

[HAND IN HAND FOR THE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION] May 1, 2012

4 IES Ciudad Jardn