REPORT OF THE VISIT TO GERMANY (27th November to 1st December 2013)

Köln, from 27^th November to 1^st December 2013

This was the second visit of the Comenius Project “European Passport to Employability”. Participants arrived in Cologne on Wednesday 27^th of November. The school was the meeting point for all the arriving countries. Students were collected by the families while teachers were brought by the hosting teachers to the hotel, which was in the city center.

On Thursday 28^th all the participants met at the school by 8:00 a.m. First of all, the headmaster welcomed all the participants. After this, a guided tour through the school was made for teachers and students. Then, teachers and students could attend some classes. As a special activity to be mentioned, an ICT teacher showed us the new technologies that the school used for teaching. Lunch was held in the school. After that, some local teachers prepared some funny activities for students. There, some teachers participated too! In the afternoon, Irish students did the presentation that couldn’t be done in Ireland. After the presentation, a logo contest was made in order to create the project logo; to do that students made groups from different countries. Then, each country began to prepare the products they brought for the intercultural Christmas market. Meanwhile, coordinators had a meeting to talk about the organization of the activities for the next visit, among other questions; a minute of this meeting was written. Finally, students went home and teachers had dinner together and then went back to the hotel, finishing the exhausting day!

On Friday German teachers arranged a visit to the shoes factory ‘ARA’. We took a train and then a bus to arrive to the factory, which was in the outskirts of Cologne. It took the whole morning. We were shown how they organized the whole process of shoes production; we had also the opportunity to ask some questions. Back in Cologne, we had lunch in the brewery ZIMS in the city center. The cold bad weather didn’t prevent us from enjoying an interesting guided tour around the city center organized by the host country. After that, people was free to visit the different Christmas markets around the city and do some shopping. Teachers had dinner and then they went back to the hotel.

Saturday was a special day. At 11:30 the group met in the Rautenstrauch Museum, which displays a lot of diverse clothing and materials from cultures all over the world. It was an amazing experience. Finishing the visit, the group took a bus to the amusement parc Phantasialand, where the group spent the whole afternoon. It was a great experience, especially for students, but also for teachers. Back in Cologne students went back home and teachers had the last dinner in a typical German restaurant and went back to the hotel.

On Sunday, each country left for to their homes.

Juan Pablo García

Spanish coordinator

REPORT OF THE VISIT TO IRELAND (25th to 29th September 2013)

Milford, from 25^th to 29^th September 2013

This was the first visit of the Comenius Project “European Passport to Employability”. Participants arrived on Wednesday 25^th of September. They were collected by a hired bus in Dublin. Visiting countries met the locals in Letterkenny, 20 km far from Milford. Students were hosted by local families while teachers stayed in two hotels of Letterkenny.

Activities on Thursday started at 9:00 a.m. at the school. Visiting teachers were picked up by local teachers and students by hosting families. The first activity was a guided visit to the school, to classes and to the main facilities. After that, a concert took place in the gym. Before dinner, the group had lunch in Rathmullan, a village by the Atlantic 15 km far from the school. After dinner, participants came back to the hotel and students stayed with the families till next day. In the evening, teachers had dinner in another typical restaurant, in Rathmullan again. Finally, all the participants were brought back to their hotels.

On Friday 27^th we met again at the school at 9:00 a.m.. The activities began with the presentation of the students. The presented their schools and their own countries. It was not possible to finish all the presentations in the first hour so it was necessary to find another moment along the morning. Even then, Irish student couldn’t go ahead with the presentation, and it was decided to do it in the next visit in Germany. Then, visitors could attend some classes. Around 12:00 pm coordinators held a meeting to agree on some details of the project and to prepare the tasks for the next meeting in Germany. A minute of this meeting was written. A bus took the group to Termon to have a light and fast lunch. In the afternoon, visitors and hosting students visited the Glenveagh National Park and Castle, an interesting natural area not far from Milford. We had dinner made in Lettenkenny. It was possible then, to have a moment of fun for all, teachers and students. After that, students were collected and brought home and teachers left for their hotels.

On Saturday, the group took a bus to Derry in North Ireland, approximately one hour far from the school. Once there, a local guide showed the Walls of Derry and explained the history of the city. After the tour, teachers and students had time to visit the rest of the city and do some shopping. Back in Letterkenny, students went back home and teachers had the last dinner in a typical restaurant of the city.

Next day, all the visitors left for home.

Juan Pablo García

Spanish coordinator