As part of the
Comenius Project - PEACE , a team of two students (Maria Monteiro of TTAR6
class and Vânia Eusébio of TR6 class) and
three teachers (Berta Peixoto, António Conde and Vasco Miranda) from the Vocational School
of Esposende left on the
4th of November, to the city of Simleu Silvaniei, in Romania.
The Wednesday
program integrated the opening ceremony, with the participation of the teams
from Portugal, Romania, Poland, Turkey , Latvia and Greece (teachers and students), the host
families, education and politics regional personalities, in a very pleasant
welcoming ceremony that included songs and Romanian traditions. All team
members introduced themselves and the national flags were raised. Then, the
students from each country, talked to the community about their region, school,
habits and customs. There followed a series of workshops on traditions,
personalities, geography and domestic products, in order to know a little more about Romania,
culminating in a fabulous lunch with Romanian traditional food, typically used
in festive seasons, and its explanation.
On Thursday,
November 7th, in the morning, we were received by the President of Şimleu Silvaniei Chamber, Septimiu Turks, who
told us about the city's history and regional economy. We then visited several
business companies in the region (bakeries and typical furniture factories),
taking advantage of the trip opportunity to see an ancient church in Cehei, built
entirely of wood, considered Heritage of UNESCO. We also had the chance to know an
integrated service of civil protection with a very realistic simulation. In the
afternoon, while the students were involved in activities with the host
families, the teachers were in a meeting with the Regional Director of
Education, in which the views of the various educational systems were shared
and discussed.
On Friday,
November 8th, the day began with a workshop for teachers and students about the
Etweening platform and
a musical workshop. Then, it was time for sharing the regional candy (Sweetbox) each of the
participating countries had brought. After two more workshops on Wikispaces and sliced
fruit, we proceeded to the moment of the
School Video Presentations, culminating with a lunch gathering.
In the
afternoon, after a short city tour, we participated in the closing ceremony of
the visit to Romania, integrated in a Silvania school annual event (Miss/Mister Autumn).
On the last
day spent in Romania, we had the opportunity to visit an ancient synagogue, as
well as a guided visit to the Şimleu Silvaniei Holocaust Museum, the first thematic museum in
Transylvania. We ended our stay with a short city tour.
Ne vedem în curând în Portugalia! See you soon
in Portugal!
