Comenius Multilateral Partnership "From Icarus To Interplanetary Travels"

LICEUL TEHNOLOGIC DE SERVICII SFANTUL APOSTOL ANDREI
PLOIESTI, PRAHOVA, ROMANIA

COMENIUS MULTILATERAL PARTNERSHIP
FROM ICARUS TO INTERPLANETARY TRAVELS
12-PM-729-PH-HU
2012 - 2014

Prof. Andrei Sorina Monica, Romanian coordinator

The Comenius multilateral partnership From Icarus to Interplanetary Travels has been funded with support from the
European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the European Commission or
ANPCDEFP cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Introduction

At European level it has been recognised that education and training are
essential to the development of todays knowledge, society and economy. The
EUs strategy emphasises countries working together and learning from each
other. The strategic framework for European cooperation in education and
training ET 2020 recognises that high-quality education and training are
fundamental to Europes success. However, in a rapidly changing world,
lifelong learning needs to be a priority it is the key to employment, economic
success and allowing people to participate fully in society. The long-term
strategic objectives of EU education and training policies are: making lifelong
learning and mobility a reality; improving the quality and efficiency of
education and training; promoting equity, social cohesion and active citizenship;
enhancing creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship, at all levels of
education and training. (http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/framework_en. htm)
As the flagship European Funding programme in the field of education and
training, the Lifelong Learning Programme (2007 - 2013) aimed to contribute
through lifelong learning to the development of the EU as an advanced
knowledge society, with sustainable economic development, more and better
jobs and greater social cohesion, enabling individuals at all stages of their lives
to pursue stimulating learning opportunities across Europe. Although it is over
now being replaced by Erasmus+, it was of great importance for the European
education because it aimed to foster interchange, co-operation and mobility
between education and training institutions and systems within the EU so that
they may become a world quality reference. In this way, it addressed the
modernisation and adaptation of education and training systems in the
participating countries, particularly in the context of the goals set out in the EU
2020 Strategy, and brought European added value directly to individual citizens
participating in its mobility and other co-operation actions (http://ec.europa.eu/
education/llp/doc/call13/part1_en.pdf - LLP Guide for Applicants 2013, p.3). LLP was an umbrella
programme integrating various educational and training initiatives and funding a
range of actions including exchanges, study visits and networking activities.
Projects were intended not only for individual students and learners, but also for
teachers, trainers and all others involved in education and training.
Part of the Lifelong Learning Programme, the Comenius programme sought to
develop knowledge and understanding among young people and educational
staff of the diversity of European cultures, languages and values. It helped
young people acquire the basic life skills and competences necessary for their
personal development, for future employment and for active citizenship.
The programme addressed issues strongly related to current discussions and
developments in school policy: motivation for learning and learning-to-learn
skills, key competences, digital educational content and inclusive education.
Comenius had the following goals:
To improve and increase the mobility of pupils and educational staff
across the EU;
To enhance and increase partnerships between schools in different EU
Member States;
To encourage language learning, innovative ICT-based content, services
and better teaching techniques and practices;
To enhance the quality and European dimension of teacher training;
To improve pedagogical approaches and school management.
Comenius focused on: motivation for learning and learning-to-learn skills; key
competences (improving language learning; greater literacy; making science
more attractive; supporting entrepreneurship; and reinforcing creativity and
innovation); digital educational content and services; addressing socio-economic
disadvantages and reducing early school leaving; participation in sports; school
management; teaching diverse groups of pupils; early and pre-primary learning.
(http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning programme/comenius_ en.htm)
Comenius Multilateral Projects aimed to develop, promote and disseminate
educational good practice, including new teaching methods and materials,
develop or exchange experiences on information systems for learners, teachers
or other education staff and develop new teacher training courses or course
content. These school projects lasted 2 years and they were based on students
and their active involvement in specific activities derived from the common
topic of the partnership. The main theme had to be very motivating for students
and relevant for all the institutions involved in the cooperation. The activities of
the partnership had to be interdisciplinary and the final products of the project
had to be integrated into curriculum and used during the activities with students
even after the completion of the partnership. At the institution level, the
partnership contributed to the improvement of the school management and of
the pedagogical and methodological methods. The partnership offered the
perfect opportunity to the teams of teachers and head teachers from the partner
schools to share information, experiences and examples of good practice, to
implement new pedagogical and managerial approaches.

Comenius Multilateral Partnership
From Icarus to Interplanetary Travels
General Presentation

Comenius Multilateral Partnership From Icarus to Interplanetary Travels is a
partnership whose application form was submitted in February 2012 and
approved as a component of Comenius Sectorial Programme which is part of the
Lifelong Learning Programme. It was initially thought as a project with 8
partners, but finally there were approved only 7, therefore the activities and
project meetings were re-designed for 7 partner countries: Hungary (the
coordinator of the partnership), Romania, Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Lithuania
and Slovakia.
During this project, the students from all the seven European partner schools
have worked together on topics related to flying and have taken part into
separate or common interdisciplinary activities with the purpose of gathering
information and improving their knowledge about:
Romanian and international pioneers of aviation;
the major role played as a breakthrough by the Romanian inventors in
building the first planes and in the development of modern aviation;
the importance of modern aviation for the development of mankind in a
wide range of aspects (transportation of goods, travel and tourism,
transport of people, airlines, communication etc.);
the only Romanian astronaut who succeeded in completing a successful
mission travelling into the outer space as a member of an international
team Dumitru Prunariu;
the humans desire to fly and then to conquer the outer space by launching
space vehicles and aircrafts and exceeding the human limits;
means and devices people used throughout history in order to lift
themselves up in the air and be able to fly, starting with Icarus and his
wax and feathers wings from Mythology and ending with the spacecrafts
from today which modern civilization used to land on the Moon and in the
future wants to conquer the outer space with;
laws of Physics, Chemistry, Mechanics, Aerodynamics, Thermodynamics,
Astrophysics and Astronomy, presented during the interdisciplinary
Geography, Physics and History lessons and during the visits students
organized at museums and even at a plane factory;
the Solar System and constellations students can see on the sky while
visiting planetariums and learning about Stellarium software;
how to measure time and distances in the universe;
lifecycle of a star with its stages;
how to build a plane and what scientific laws must be used in order to
make a plane rise from the ground and fly;
building and launching kites, paper lanterns, water rackets and planes
using different materials, working in teams at school and organizing
exhibitions with drawings, posters and photos;
organising exhibitions with heads of aliens made of germinated wheat in
sawdust;
organising a fashion show in which students designed alien costumes
made of recyclable materials and wore them on an improvised catwalk;
Icarus and Dedalus legend, humans wish to fly and communication with
extraterrestrial creatures by staging role plays and acting a wide range of
parts and situations;
acting the well-known legend of Icarus.
This was a complex project at international level which involved hundreds of
students and their teachers from all Europe and its impact on people who took
part in activities was major due to the knowledge transferred, the skills
developed, the linguistic abilities improved, the mentalities changed, the open-
mindedness built, the tolerance achieved and the cooperation realised during the
2 amazing years of the partnership.
Moreover, due to this international project, students have developed their
linguistic and digital competences by communicating and working together with
their peers from the other partner schools directly (in the activities organised
during the project meetings) and via the Internet. They have learned what
intercultural cooperation and tolerance are, they became more open-minded and
sociable in their communication with the European students, they have learned
not only about different cultural aspects, but also about common things they
share with other European countries, and the last but not the least, they
understood how to live with an international perspective in their own country
becoming active citizens of the European Union.

Prof. Sorina Monica Andrei,
Partnership coordinator (Romania)

Comenius Multilateral Partnership
From Icarus to Interplanetary Travels
European Partners

There are 7 European partner institutions from 7 separate countries in this
project. The coordinating country is Hungary and the partner countries are:
Romania, Lithuania, Turkey, Greece, Portugal and Slovakia.
Here there are the schools from every partner country involved in this project:
Hungary Magyar-Szlovk Kt Tantsi Nyelv Nemzetisgi ltalnos
Iskola s Kollgium, Storaljajhely
Romania Liceul Tehnologic de Servicii Sfantul Apostol Andrei,
Ploiesti
Greece the 4th Primary School of Glyfada, Athens
Lithuania Vilniaus Prancikaus Skorinos Vidurine Mokykla, Vilnius
Portugal Didaxis - Cooperativa de Ensino de Riba de Ave, Riba de Ave
Turkey Rahime Bilici Ilkkulu, Kusadasi
Slovakia Zkladn kola, Moldava nad Bodvou.
There was a great number of teachers and students involved in the partnership
activities from each partner school, which shows that the topic was interesting
and challenging, the school subjects involved were numerous and everyone was
interested in learning new things, in developing new skills and in taking part in
the wide range of interdisciplinary activities organised during the 2 years of the
project.

Hungary

With a population of 10 million inhabitants, Hungary is situated in the
Carpathian Basin and it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and
Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest
and Austria to the west. The country's capital and largest city is Budapest.
Hungary is a member of the European Union and a popular tourist destination.
The country is home to the largest thermal water cave system and the second
largest thermal lake in the world (Lake Hvz), the largest lake in Central
Europe (Lake Balaton), and the largest natural grasslands in Europe
(Hortobgy).
Storaljajhely is a town with a population of 16.300 inhabitants, located in
Borsod-Abaj-Zempln county in northern Hungary near the Slovak border and
not only it played an important role in the region's history, but it has always been
an important town in culture as well. In the Treaty of Trianon Hungary lost its
northern territories. The border was set to the Ronyva stream, splitting the city
into two parts, one-fourth of the territory of the town becoming part of actual
Slovakia. Nazi repression, continuous bombing after 1943, the killing of most of
its Jewish population (most were forcibly sent to Auschwitz), and finally the
Soviet occupation left the town in very poor condition, but it was rebuilt and
today it is a national ski centre and tourist destination.
Magyar-Szlovk Kt Tantsi Nyelv Nemzetisgi ltalnos Iskola s
Kollgium is a Hungarian-Slovak bilingual minority primary school with a
boarding hall from Storaljajhely, educating 137 children from the age of 6 to
14. Being situated in an underdeveloped part of the country with high rate of
unemployment, the school has a considerable number of students at high risk of
exclusion and the percentage of pupils living in disadvantageous background
varies around 65%. Therefore, this school has a big responsibility regarding the
students educational development.

Romania

Romania is located at the intersection of Central and South-Eastern Europe,
bordering on the Black Sea. It shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the
west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria to the south.
Romania is the eighth largest country of the European Union by area, and has
the seventh largest population of the European Union with about 20 million
people. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest - the sixth largest city in the EU.
Romania joined NATO on 29 March 2004 and the European Union on 1 January
2007. Tourism focuses on the country's natural landscapes and its rich history:
Transylvanian cities with their medieval atmosphere and castles, rural tourism,
focusing on folklore and traditions, resorts on the Black Sea shore and at the
mountains, with hot and mineral springs, sky slopes and caves, 13 national parks
and 3 biosphere reserves. Of these Danube Delta is the largest and least
damaged wetland complex in Europe and it is placed on the World Heritage List
having one of the most extensive reed bed systems in the world. These are just a
part of what tourists can see when they visit Romania.
With a population of about 266.000 inhabitants including its metropolitan area,
Ploiesti is the main city from Prahova County and lies in the historical region of
Wallachia, the city being located at 56 km north of Bucharest, the capital city of
Romania. Established in the 16
th
century, the Ploiesti region was one of the
world's leading oil extraction sites in the mid-19th century and the world's first
large refinery was opened at Ploieti in 1856-1857, with US investment being
the only one in the world for 156 years. The city and its oil production was a
target for the enemies during the First and Second World Wars and today it is
the 9
th
biggest city of Romania, with a famous university, cultural and
educational institutions. Ploieti is the second railway centre in the country after
Bucharest, linking the capital city with Transylvania and Moldavia. The Henri
Coand International Airport is just at 45 km distance, and the ski resorts from
Prahova Valley can be reached in one hour driving.
Liceul Tehnologic de Servicii Sfantul Apostol Andrei is a public vocational
school located in the northern part of Ploiesti and its catchment area is largely
rural. It has about 74 teachers and 1200 students (25 with special educational
needs) ranging from the age of 6 to 60 because it includes the following
educational levels: primary, secondary, vocational high school (specialism:
public food services, tourism, styling, body aesthetics and hygiene, commerce),
adult education (evening classes - for those who return to graduate high school
and sit the Baccalaureate exam and post-secondary school general nurse, lab
technician, pharmacist assistant, nutritionist, stylist, tourist agent, event
organiser). The logistics include a wide range of labs: IT, Physics, Chemistry,
Geography, Biology, Hair Dressing, Beauty salons, Nursing, Cooking and
Serving Clients, but there are also a Gym, a Library and a Sports field.
Teachers have a vast experience in Lifelong Learning Programme, they have
taken part in 7 international projects so far and 48 in-service trainings. They
know the benefits of international activities for their personal and professional
development, therefore they are highly motivated to offer their students the
chance to meet and work together with European students. Between 1997 and
2014 our school was a partner in 7 projects under the umbrella of the Lifelong
Learning Programme as follows:
1997-2000 Comenius Multilateral Partnership The Development of the
Romanian Civilisation in European Context
1999-2000 Comenius Multilateral Partnership The Development of the
European Citizen Who steps into the XXI Century
2000-2003 Comenius Multilateral Partnership Du Troc l'Euro
2004-2006 Comenius Bilateral Partnership Pont entre les relations
interculturelles et les connaissances et les comptences techniques et
linguistiques POLISTHET
2009-2011 Comenius Multilateral Partnership Whats the Name?
2012-2014 Comenius Multilateral Partnership From Icarus to
Interplanetary travels
2013-2015 Grundtvig Learning Partnership Promoting English as
Means of Communication in European Adult Education.

With a vast experience in Comenius programme, our school hopes to develop a
European dimension of the education provided to our students and intends to
add European value to its high-quality educational system. 80% of our students
come from remote rural areas where there is above average unemployment and
consequent socio-economic disadvantage. Our school wishes to be partner in
European projects in order to extend the students mobility in European
countries and to bring foreign students and teachers here. We want to exchange
good practice with European partners, to improve students English skills
developing new methods of studying, to enrich our curricula after analyzing
other educational systems, to start cooperation with foreign education
institutions, to help teachers develop professionally, to disseminate projects
outcomes to our institution members. All these broaden students horizons and
show them that they have the chance to work and travel in foreign countries and
enhance their key competences if they work hard becoming competitive and
ambitious.

We strongly believe that our participation in this project through common
activities and international co-operation with partners from all member
institutions has made everyone aware of both cultural similarities and
differences from our countries. On the other hand it developed the participants
tolerance, open-mindedness and acceptance of different aspects of life. We hope
to develop the European dimension of our school and become a Romanian voice
in the European choir, searching for European common underlying realities.

Turkey
Turkey is a transcontinental country, located mostly on Anatolia in Western
Asia and on East Thrace in South-Eastern Europe. It is bordered by eight
countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the
northeast; Armenia, Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the east;
Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea is to the south; the
Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of
Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles demarcate the boundary between
Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia. Turkey's location at
the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic
importance. Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic with
a diverse cultural heritage because the Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of
modern Turkey, is one of the oldest permanently settled regions in the world
which contains the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site that was inscribed as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012. Numerous civilisations lived in this
area throughout history and many important cities were founded in this area
(including Troy, Miletus, Ephesus etc.), making Turkey one of the richest
countries in historical sites and world heritage. The archaeological sites are best
preserved and millions of tourists come annually to visit them and to enjoy the
Turkish weather and climate in the numerous resorts spread all over the
Anatholian shore.
Kusadasi is a resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast and the center of the
seaside district of the same name in Aydn Province. Kuadas caters to tourists,
arriving by land, and as the port to cruise ship passengers heading to Ephesus.
Its primary industry is tourism, therefore the town has lots of immigrants
especially from the underdeveloped and eastern parts of Turkey. Kuadas has a
residential population of 65,000 rising to over half a million during the summer
when the large resort fills with tourists. The area has been a centre of art and
culture since the earliest times and has been settled by many civilizations since
being founded in 3000 BC.
Rahime Bilici Ilkkulu is a well-known primary school from Kusadasi situated
at 100 meters far from the sea. There are 17 teachers and 314 students (10 with
special educational needs) in this school and the age of students range between 6
and 14. The school has a supportive parents' association. The building has got 13
classrooms equipped with smart boards, a Science lab and an ICT classroom as
well. The pupils learn English as a foreign language. They also got medals in
various sport and cultural competitions. This was the first Comenius project of
this school and by working with other countries, Turkish teachers wanted to
show their pupils that even if there are socio-cultural and physical differences
between people, it is possible for them to live and work together.

Portugal
Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe located in South-
Western part of the continent on the Iberian Peninsula being bordered by the
Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. In the
15th and 16th centuries, as the result of pioneering the Age of Discovery,
Portugal expanded western influence and established the first global empire,
becoming one of the world's major economic, political and military powers. The
Portuguese Empire was the longest-lived of the modern European colonial
empires, spanning almost 600 years, from 1415 to 2002 and spreading
throughout a vast number of territories that are now part of 53 different
sovereign states. Portugal is a developed country, one of the world's most
globalized and peaceful nations, a member of both the European Union and the
United Nations. It is among the most visited countries in the world, receiving an
average of 13 million foreign tourists each year, tourism playing an increasingly
important role in Portugal's economy. Portugal has developed a specific culture
while being influenced by various civilizations that have crossed the
Mediterranean and the European continent. It has considerable resources of
wind and river power, the two most cost-effective renewable sources of energy.
Riba de Ave is a Portuguese town located in the northern part of the country,
with an area of almost 3 km and 3.400 inhabitants. The town exists since before
Portugal became a country, although it was never more than a little village in the
Ave Valley. It's the only place in the region that has maintained its name since
medieval times. The town only started to develop at the end of the 19th century
when the first textile factories of the Ave Valley were opened there and Riba de
Ave was, for the better part of the 20th century, one of the richest villages of the
region. However the successive economic crisis proved fatal for most of the
town's industry.
Didaxis - Cooperativa de Ensino is a school from Riba de Ave, which has
about 2,400 students from the age of 6 to 19 or more, including primary, middle,
regular secondary school, but also developing professional, vocational and
technological courses and adult education in the evening. It is a modern, well-
equipped school which struggles to find new opportunities for students at
national and international level. With the participation in this project the
students have developed not only their skills at several subjects important for the
school curriculum, but also their communication, attitude and social
competencies. This project aims at being inclusive, because those involved in it
learn a lot, work together to build common products, testifying positive feelings
and shared knowledge and consequently transmitting their new skills and
competences to their community.

Lithuania

Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the largest of the three Baltic states.
It is situated along the South-Eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, to the east of
Sweden and Denmark. It borders Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and
south, Poland to the south, and Kaliningrad Oblast (a Russian exclave) to the
southwest. Lithuania has an estimated population of 3 million as of 2012, and its
capital and largest city is Vilnius. Its landscape has been smoothed by the
glaciers of the last ice age. Lithuania's terrain is an alternation of moderate
lowlands and highlands. It joined the European Union in 2003 and it is often
termed as the Baltic Tiger due to its impressive economic development. There
has been a steady movement of population to the cities since the 1990s,
encouraged by the planning of regional centres and by the early 21st century,
about two-thirds of the total population live in urban areas.
Located in the southeast of the country, Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and
its largest city, with a population of 535,000. Due to its beautiful architecture,
Vilnius was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and throughout history it
was named "the Jerusalem of the North". The historical part of the city is well-
preserved, many of its older buildings have been renovated, and a new modern
part emerged, a business and commercial area being developed into the New
City Centre, expected to become the city's main administrative and business
district. Vilnius was developed around its Town Hall and there are 65 churches.
Vilnius Old Town is one of the largest in Europe and the most valuable historic
and cultural sites are concentrated here. Almost half of Vilnius is covered by
green areas: parks, public gardens, natural reserves, and others. Additionally,
there are thirty lakes and 16 rivers, some of them having sand beaches where
residents and visitors bath and have barbecues in the summer. Vilnius has access
to groundwater providing residents with some of the cleanest and healthiest tap
water access in Europe.
Vilniaus Prancikaus Skorinos Vidurine Mokykla is a minority Belorussian
school from Vilnius where students speak several European languages as they
come from multilingual families. They learn in a modern, well-equipped school
and as participants in this project, they have learned how to cooperate with
European students, how to communicate and develop social competences.

Slovakia
Slovakia is a landlocked state in Central Europe with a population of over five
million and the largest city is the capital, Bratislava. It is bordered by the Czech
Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and
Hungary to the south. Slovakia is a high-income advanced economy with one of
the fastest growth rates in the European Union whose member it became in
2004. In July 1992 Slovakia declared itself a sovereign state, therefore
Czechoslovakia disappeared and the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic
went their separate ways after 1 January 1993. The Slovak landscape is noted
primarily for its mountainous nature, with the Carpathian Mountains extending
across most of the northern half of the country. There are 9 national parks in
Slovakia and hundreds of caves and caverns under its mountains, out of which
15 are open to the public and 5 are under UNESCO's World Heritage Site status.
Slovakia features natural landscapes, medieval castles and towns, folk
architecture, spas and ski resorts, the most attractive destinations being
Bratislava and the High Tatras. Folk tradition has rooted strongly in Slovakia
and it is reflected in literature, music, dance and architecture.
Moldava nad Bodvou is a town in the Koice Region of eastern Slovakia and
the town was first mentioned in historical records in 1255. It is situated on the
21st meridian and it has a population of about 11,000 people. The town is of
interest with its lens-shaped square and the Museum of Wine. On the front of the
Parrish Office of the Reformed Church, there is a commemorative plaque
honouring the person who compiled the recipe for Tokay dry wine and whose
process is still used today for the preparation of Tokay wine. The football team
based in this town was founded in 1919. There is also a blacksmiths workshop
which belongs to the Slovak Technological Museum. Near the town there are
the ruins of a medieval castle, a famous monastery and the Jasovsk cave.
Zkladn kola is a school from Moldava nad Bodvou with hospitable teachers
and primary and secondary students interested in learning new things and
developing their skills.

Greece

Officially named the Hellenic Republic and known since ancient times as
Hellas, Greece is a country in Southeast Europe with a population of about 11
million and Athens is the nation's capital and largest city. Greece is strategically
located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and
shares land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, and Bulgaria to
the north and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of a mountainous,
peninsular mainland jutting out into the sea at the southern end of the Balkans:
there is the Aegean Sea lying to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the
west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south with a vast number of islands,
approximately 1,400, of which 227 are inhabited. Modern Greece traces its roots
to the civilization of Ancient Greece, considered the cradle of Western
civilization, the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, the Olympic
Games, Western literature and historiography, political science, major scientific
and mathematical principles, and Western drama,

including both tragedy and
comedy. An important percentage of Greece's national income comes from
tourism.
Glyfada is the largest southern suburb of Athens. On the quay of Glyfada,
which is home to many of Greece's millionaires, ministers and celebrities, there
is a rescue and rehabilitation centre for sea turtles. Athens dominates the Attica
region and is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning
around 3,400 years. The heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city,
represented by ancient monuments and works of art, the most famous of all
being the Parthenon, considered a key landmark of early Western civilization.
The city is a world centre of archaeological research hosting 17 foreign
archaeological institutes and numerous museums. Athens has been a destination
for travellers since antiquity.
The 4th Primary School of Glyfada is a modern school from Athens which has
a number of 437 students and 23 teachers. It has a modern building with lots of
facilities for their students.

2012 2014

ACTIVITIES ORGANISED IN
LICEUL TEHNOLOGIC DE SERVICII
SFANTUL APOSTOL ANDREI
PLOIESTI, PRAHOVA, ROMANIA


The Romanian team

Due to the complex topic of the partnership and to the multitude of potential
activities to be organised with students of all ages, the team project was
constituted of a large number of teachers from the majority of general
curriculum areas, each of them bringing their own personal contribution to the
good development of the project and to the educational aspect of the activities,
flying being considered a perfect pretext to bring students together, to surprise
them with new knowledge, to challenge them with questions, to present
experiments, to ask for solutions at dilemmas, to organise teams and to ask them
to design and build different flight devices.

This is the Romanian team:
Pana Magdalena head teacher (2013-2014)
Sima Mirela head teacher (2012-2013)
Marin Nicoleta deputy head teacher and teacher of Physics/Chemistry
Andrei Sorina Monica partnership coordinator and teacher of English
Beatrice Fanareanu teacher of English
Steoalfa Roxana teacher of English (2012-2013)
Jigaila Marilena teacher of Economy
Visan Maria primary school teacher
Varvaruc Daniela teacher of Tourism
Tanase Ana Maria Bianca teacher of Romanian
Voicu Jean Cristian teacher of Geography
Preda George Cosmin teacher of History
Petrache Bogdan teacher of Psychology

November 2012 The initial questionnaire

A questionnaire for Romanian students has been designed by the coordinator,
Mrs. Andrei Sorina Monica, related to Icarus legend and the theme of the
partnership. They answered these questions before starting the activities, and the
aim of this questionnaire was to see how much students know about the Greek
legend, about the human flight, planes, pioneers of aviation and other things
related to the main theme of the partnership. A second aim was to observe
whether students were interested in the topic and the following activities.
The intention was to ask students to answer the same questions again at the end
of the project, after 2 years, in order to get feedback and to notice if there was
any improvement in their answers, to measure how much their knowledge has
enriched and to analyze their way of thinking after taking part in an international
partnership.
The questionnaire consists of 23 questions related to the partnership (position on
the map of the 7 partner countries, words in every language, flags), the legend of
Icarus and methods people used throughout history to fly, Romanian and foreign
pioneers of aviation, history of aviation, types of aircrafts, the Solar system and
constellations, space crafts, astronauts and rockets sent in the outer space, flight
and legends connected with flight, how a plane can fly etc.
In this survey, there were involved 30 students of different ages from 10 to14.
Here there are the results of the initial questionnaire:
1. 16% know one word in every partner language, 26% know only merhaba in
Turkish;
2. 36% can identify only Romania on the map, 16% identify correctly all partner
countries;
3. 43% match correctly all partner countries with their flags, the rest have 2-4
mismatches;
4. 43% know the legend of Icarus without any details and symbols;
5. 46% know about glider, wings with pedals, hot air balloon, zeppelin, plane
and helicopter;
6. Except Icarus, they know the following imaginary characters who can fly:
Harry Potter, Tinkerbella, Pegasus, Lilith, The Invincibles, or stories related to
flying: Around the world in 80 days. 50% dont know anything;
7. 1% knows the correct answer (the Wright Brothers), 90% dont know;
8. 13% know that Romanians played an important part in building the first
planes in the world and in the history of aviation;
9. 40% know only general information about Aurel Vlaicu;
10. 10% know only general information about Traian Vuia;
11. 43% know only general information about Henri Coanda;
12. 86% mention glider, wings with pedals, hot air balloon, zeppelin, plane,
helicopter, parachute and racket, nobody mentions kites;
13. 20% know about the hypersonic plane;
14. 80% say planes can fly due to their engines, aerodynamic shape, wings and
materials they are built of;
15. 53% consider that pilots have to know everything about the constellations
because this way they can orient themselves in case the electronic devices in
their cockpit run out of order;
16. 56% mention the US, 30% Russia, 5% Japan as countries which have sent
astronauts in the outer space;
17. 43% know that one Romanian astronaut went on a mission into the outer
space, but of them only 26% know his name (Dumitru Prunariu);
18. 70% know general information about the Solar System (the definition, some
elements, but not the planets order);
19. The questions about flight students wanted to find answers at: Was landing
on the Moon real? How can a plane be piloted? How did the flight evolve? Who
flew for the first time? How can rockets fly? Are there any other legends about
flying? How did Icarus build his wings of feathers and wax?
20. The questions about the history of aviation students wanted to find answers
at: How was the first plane built? How did the history of aviation evolve? Who
are the pioneers of aviation in Romania and abroad? What is the mechanism of a
bombing plane? What did Leonardo da Vinci invent related to flying? How do
the Moon soil and the soil from the other planets look like? How did people try
to fly in Antiquity?
21. Students technical interests: How does the engine look like and how does it
work? How can planes be fuelled? What kind of petrol is used for planes? How
is a plane built? What are the parts of a plane, the necessary materials used in
building it and what are the first parts put together? How much power has a
plane? How are the wings of a plane made? How can pilots land and take off
smoothly? What is below the passengers deck?
22. Students interests: Whats the altitude a plane can fly, what speed can it
reach and how heavy can it be? How can children build a plane?
23. Other things students are interested in: What are the parts of a rocket and
what speed can it reach? How are rockets built? What was the first rocket and
why was it built? How are parts of an engine put together to make it work? How
much time do people need to build a plane? What do the planes of the future
look like?

November 2012 Celebrating the Tolerance Day

On 16
th
November, students celebrated the Tolerance Day and on this occasion,
Mrs. Tanase Ana Bianca (teacher of Romanian) and Mrs. Fanareanu Beatrice
(teacher of English) have organised a lesson about tolerance and presented the
ABC of tolerance in Romanian and English for students from grades 5
th
to 12
th
.
The aim of this activity was to make students aware of the differences which
exist among people and to make them understand that we have to respect each
other even if we are different, we have to be open-minded and think at the
differences in conceptions, because this is the only way to make students
become European active citizens. This activity was intentionally placed among
the first ones that were organised in this partnership in order to prepare our
students to get in touch with children from the partner schools and to develop
communication with their peers. The activity started with a Power Point
presentation of the ABC of tolerance in Romanian and English, followed by an
open talk between students and teachers about tolerance and aspects of this
concept. The children asked challenging questions and seemed interested in
terms like tolerance, European citizenship, different but equal, open-mindedness
etc.

November 2012 Designing the Romanian logo of the project

On 16
th
November, 8 talented students under the guidance of Mrs. Andrei Sorina
Monica, the Romanan coordinator of the project, proved their drawing skills in
their attempt to design the Romanian logo of the project and the result was a
collection of beautiful drawings, of which it was almost impossible to choose
one. They used their creativity and imagination first at home, then at school,
where they put all their brilliant ideas together and designed a final logo that
contains aviation symbols, Romanian pioneers and national signs. The whole
activity was very interesting and students took part in it with a lot of pleasure
and excitement. The final Romanian logo was sent to the coordinator of the
partnership at the scheduled deadline as every partner school did, therefore at
the end of November the Hungarian coordinator designed the final logo of the
project consisting of all 7 national logos put together.

November 2012 The beginning of a beautiful friendship

Under the coordination of Mrs. Andrei Sorina Monica, Fanareanu Beatrice and
Steoalfa Roxana (teachers of English), our students exchanged addresses and
mails with their peers from Greece, Portugal and Slovakia and they all became
pen pals. There was a very rich correspondence between students from these
countries, they sent letters, cards and small gifts, they talked about their families
and friends, their hobbies and school, becoming very good friends and waiting
anxiously to meet each other in the future. They were very happy not only to
receive letters and cards and to find out new and interesting things about their
foreign pen pals, but also to write and send their reply along with small gifts
consisting of cards, March amulets and small toys.

December 2012 Super heroes who can fly

At the beginning of December, students from the 6
th
grade watched the cartoon
Up above all together with teachers Tanase Ana Bianca and Fanareanu
Beatrice, then they discussed about the unusual quality of the main character to
fly. Flying is a dream which many people have in order to become superior and
free. Seeing the world from above is a dear wish of humanity due to the sense of
power and freedom that comes along. Students talked about other heroes who
can fly up in the air, why flight as a super power is important for imaginary
heroes and how real people can fly today. Moreover, those who have already
flown by plane shared the experience with their colleagues. They invented and
drew their own heroes having the super ability to fly and some pupils even wrote
stories about imaginary characters that can fly. We have organized an exhibition
with all these creations in the school hall.

December 2012 Flight in the humanity evolution and the history of aviation

Inspired by the title of the project, our students guided by Mrs. Andrei Sorina
Monica, the Romanian coordinator of the partnership, worked in groups and
made some research about the history of modern and Romanian aviation and the
idea of flight in human history from the Antiquity till today, how people have
tried to rise themselves up in the air and fly with different types of interesting
and unusual devices. They made Power Point presentations in English on this
topic and when they proudly presented their materials to their classmates, a
meeting was organized with students of different ages in order to let as many
students as possible see their work and share their knowledge. There were 17
very well designed materials with a wide range of information about this topic,
small encyclopedia-like, and they were all put together on a CD forming a final
product of the project in order to be used by teachers and students during lessons
and at different extracurricular activities even after the completion of the project.

January 2013 Tourist Airlines

Mrs. Varvaruc Daniela, teacher of Tourism, organized an interesting activity on
22 January presenting flight, the topic of the partnership, from the perspective of
modern aviation focusing on the tourist aspect of flying. The activity was held in
the ITC lab with students of different ages and the Power Point material
presented covered many ideas: modern aviation, the important role of air
transport for tourism, its advantages and disadvantages, presentation of the main
types of air transport (airlines, charter and air taxi) and the well-known airline
companies, advantages and disadvantages of low-cost airline companies, the
importance of IATA for air tourism, what ticketing is, the main elements of an
electronic plane ticket and the necessary steps to make an online reservation.
The activity had also a practical phase in its second part when students had to
simulate an online reservation and to identify the tourist programs of Tarom
company. The students were very interested in this activity, some of them
having tourism as their specialism, and confessed at the end that they had
learned important things which would certainly help them in the future.

January 2013 Grade III Meeting Nonverbal Communication

On 30 January Mrs. Tanase Ana Bianca (teacher of Romanian) and Mr. Petrache
Bogdan (teacher of Psychology) organized an interesting activity with 11-year
old students. It was an activity which tried to explain nonverbal communication
as a way of communication that sustains, substitutes, completes, emphasizes,
adjusts, repeats and contradicts verbal communication. It is the easiest way to try
to communicate with people of other nationalities and due to globalization, it
has a universal character, therefore we can talk about a wide range of aspects:
mimics, look, space and territory, hand gestures and body language etc. In the
second part of the activity, teachers and students role played the meeting of a
human being with an alien, based on a symbolic and nonverbal primitive
language. Students understood the importance of gestures and mimics for
communication and they also understood better the role of nonverbal
communication in situations of communication with foreign people. They
broadened their horizons in terms of communication with people from foreign
countries, with cultures or languages totally different from those we are familiar
with. Moreover, they realized the importance of learning a foreign language in
order to be able to communicate with other people from remote parts of the
world in nowadays society when globalization and new technologies make
everything possible. There was a video made with the shootings taken during the
activity and it was uploaded on Youtube at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRdUace75gc&feature=youtu.be.

February 2013 Presentation of our project

Mrs. Andrei Sorina Monica, the Romanian coordinator of the partnership, and
Mrs. Fanareanu Beatrice organized an area at the main entrance of school for
presenting the partnership in images and photos. There are the 7 countries of the
partnership presented with their maps, flags and photos, but also the cards
Romanian students received from Greek and Slovak pupils and many photos
from the activities Romanian students and teachers organized in the 2 years of
the project. There are posters on the school walls depicting activities students
took part in and the project meetings teachers and students attended in the
partner countries. Moreover, many planes and rockets students designed and
built are presented in an exhibition down the hall of school, this way everyone
who enters the school finds out about the partnership topic and the final products
students have created. Some of the students creations and their posters cover
the walls of the Centre of Excellence in European Projects, which our school
organized in partnership with ISJ Prahova (School Inspectorate) and Colegiul
National Nichita Stanescu Ploiesti.

February 2013 Human Motivation to Fly

Mr. Petrache Bogdan, teacher of Psychology, organized with students from the
10
th
grade an activity based on the human motivation to fly and he tried to
explain why people raised their eyes up in the sky throughout history and
wanted to explore the air and space. Flying became a reality in the last century
and today it is a necessity for every human being, although there are people who
havent flown by plane yet. Students were asked what flying means and they
found interesting answers and explanations: flying is the attitude of free spirits
who have no constraints, but knowledge, intelligence, passion and creativity;
flying represents human motivation to push beyond and exceed the human
limitations; flying prepares human beings for new existential challenges to
conquer the outer space, but the inner space as well; flying gives us power and
energy to fulfil all our tasks and makes us see the world differently, as if we
were on top of the world (this can explain also the envy others feel for us, but
also the danger that we could treat our fellows as being inferiors). The Power
Point presentation made by the teacher helped students see the meanings of
flying beyond the limitations of their eyes and reflect boldly on their dreams and
wishes an on the possibility to turn them into reality one day. Students
understood that everything stays in their power to change in better their lives
and to go beyond their limits, fulfilling all their dreams with a strong motivation
and having as models the wise pioneers of aviation who didnt take no for an
answer, but turned it into a determined yes.

February 2013 Kites play, construction, joy of life

On 14 and 21 February, students from grades 5
th
, 6
th
and 8
th
took part in a
challenging activity organized by Mr. Preda George-Cosmin, teacher of History.
At first, students were told about kites in history of mankind, about who
designed and built them for the first time, then they were presented some photos.
The practical activity consisted of the following steps: gathering the necessary
materials, establishing the procedure and designing the plan, the kite
construction and launching the kites in the school yard. Students took part in the
activity with great interest and excitement, they worked in teams and built
strong kites. Launching in the schoolyard gathered together many students of
different ages and they were happy to present their work in front of their peers.

February 2013 The Solar System, Planets and Satellites

On 18 February, students from grades 5
th
, 6
th
, 10
th
and 13
th
took part in a creative
workshop which was organized by Mr. Voicu Cristian-Jean, teacher of
Geography. In the first part, the teacher introduced the theoretical aspects of the
solar system and the sun, the common and unique characteristics of the planets
and the definition of satellites with the help of a Power Point presentation which
gave the teacher the necessary background for presenting the most interesting
facts about the topic. The aim of the activity was to introduce students in
planetary research and to get them used to planets and their unique and
identifiable characteristics. In the second practical part of the activity, students
worked in groups, cut out following the drawings and made several tri-
dimensional solar systems and the sun using coloured cardboard and glue. The
final products obtained from printed cardboard - the miniature solar system and
the sun - would be used with students to study these elements and their
characteristics even after the completion of the project. Students took part in this
activity with a lot of interest especially because making a product with their own
hands was something that motivated them and challenged their talent.

March 2013 First steps to fly

On 21 March, Mr. Preda George-Cosmin, teacher of History, organized a
complex activity with students of different ages having well established
objectives and resources involved. There were two stages: the first consisted of
presenting information about prehistoric enigmas, aeronautic and astronautic
relics of the ancient world with the help of a Power Point presentation, and the
second was a practical activity in which students worked in teams, designed and
built model planes and rockets. At the beginning, students found out about
ancient relics discovered in Egypt, Colombia and Mexico which clearly depict
flying objects being the topic of vivid debates among scientists. Moreover,
students were presented the steps mankind took throughout history to be able to
fly and were informed about the Romanian pioneers of aviation and their
contribution to modern aviation. While building the planes and rockets, they
received advice and guidance concerning materials used, Physics laws,
techniques of building planes and suggestions about cutting, bending, rounding
and gluing. Students creativity was stimulated, cooperation was exercised while
working in teams and challenge provoked everyone. The final step of activity
was the assessment of teamwork and the presentation of the products.

March 2013 Constellations
On 29 March, Mr. Voicu Jean-Cristian and Mrs. Andrei Sorina Monica
organized a creative workshop with students of different ages on a very
interesting Astronomical topic Constellations. This activity was designed to
be separate in 2 parts: a theoretical one (in which students were familiarized
with essential Astronomy notions about constellations, how people from ancient
civilizations imagined and designed them on the sky and how they can use the
Stellarium software - http://www.stellarium.org/- to know everything about the
universe) and a practical one (in which students got used with the forms of
constellations and had to design spyglass-like supports of cardboard on which
they glued papers with printed and pierced constellations for watching them in a
dark room with the help of a torch on the wall). The aim of this activity was to
familiarize students with the unique and identifiable characteristics of the
principal constellations which can be seen also with the naked eye on the night
sky. Moreover, from multicultural perspective, the teachers underlined the
research contributions and observation results of antique civilisations (Sumer,
Babylon, Greek, Roman and Arab) on watching the sky. The objects students
made are good didactic materials and they can be used during the Geography
lessons long after the completion of the project. While working in groups,
students developed observation, communication, comparison, flexibility,
competitive spirit, open-mindedness and tolerance.

March 2013 Modern aviation, types of planes and their use

On 26 March, Mrs. Varvaruc Daniela, teacher of Tourism, organised with
students from the 6
th
grade an activity about modern aviation, types of planes
and how people use them nowadays. Students were very interested in learning
about air transport and the two Power Point materials the teacher brought
presented exactly the notions which captured students attention and curiosity:
airfields, airports, types of modern planes, air station, control tower and its role,
installations, equipments, technical devices, pilots, plane factories etc. Children
learned for the first time about an international organization which deals with
the air traffic and they counted the types of planes that fly today and their
purposes. The images presented by the teacher and the numerous questions
students asked made the activity very attractive and children said at the end that
they enjoyed the lesson a lot because they learned many new things about this
unfamiliar topic.

March 2013 Visiting the Model Plane Enthusiasts Club from Childrens
Palace

On 23 March, 4
th
grade students took part with their class teacher, Mrs. Visan
Maria, in a trans-disciplinary activity organised at the Childrens Palace from
Ploiesti, by the Model Plane Enthusiasts Club. Mr. Marius Savulescu, the host
teacher, spoke about the aviation history and Romanian pioneers of aviation,
presented several model planes which had been made by the children who had
attended the Model Plane Course and he also explained and demonstrated on the
spot how a simple model plane can be constructed using different materials like
thin wooden sticks of different sizes, special paper, glue and strings. The
children were very interested in taking part in this activity, not only for the
knowledge they gathered, but also for the abilities they developed in building
model planes.

March 2013 Lets build model planes!

On 25 March, Mrs. Visan Monica and children from the 4
th
grade organised
another activity related to the one which had taken place at Childrens Palace
few days earlier. If then they had only visited the Model Plane Enthusiasts Club
and watched the teacher while constructing model planes and explaining the
procedure, now they had to build simple model planes by themselves. After
gathering all necessary materials (thin wooden sticks, cardboard and glue),
students worked in groups, pairs or individually and the model planes designed
and built were finally decorated. At the end of the activity, students went outside
in the schoolyard where they launched their model planes in an on-the-spot
competition to designate those which flew the longest distance. At the end of the
competition, the model planes were added to an exhibition organised in the
school hall by Mrs. Andrei Sorina Monica, the coordinator of the project, in the
Comenius corner. Students and parents involved were delighted due to the new
kind of extracurricular activities children were involved in, the information they
received and the skills they developed.

March 2013 First steps towards the progress of todays aviation

On 5
th
March, Mrs. Jigaila Marilena, teacher of Economics, organised an
activity with students of different ages (grades 5
th
, 6
th
, 10
th
) about the history of
flight. At the beginning, there has been a teacher-students dialogue about the
human desire to fly, what motivation people had to invent flying devices, why
they needed flying for the development of the human civilization and the
benefits people have today from using planes. In the second part of the activity,
students answered a questionnaire given by the teacher to see their interest in
flying and how much they know about the history of flight, legends of flying
and the importance of flight in peoples everyday life. In the second part of the
activity, older students presented a Power Point material about the history and
legends of flight and the video A dream came true which summarized in
images and music the first presented material. After the end of the activity, the
answers to the questionnaire were analised and the conclusion was that students
knew some general and vague things about the discussed issues, but without
details, important dates or specific information. The conclusion of the
questionnaire and of the whole activity was that students are interested in
learning new and important things about this topic, they even suggested
elements they wanted to find out: the symbols of flight, the first people who
built planes and managed to fly for the first time in history, how a plane is built,
why planes are important for us and how they improve our lives.

March 2013 Flying

On 29
th
March, Ms. Nicoleta Marin, teacher of Physics/Chemistry and deputy
head teacher, organised a very complex activity involving students from the 6
th

and 8
th
grades. The lesson focused mainly on demonstrations and experiments to
help children understand the effects of gravitation on the planet, its importance
for sustaining life, how it can be defeated in order to make possible several
activities: flying, rocket launching into the outer space and the floating of
parachutes. There were experiments that showed the gravitational force (Why
objects fall down, Which one falls faster, Build a rocket) and proved Physical
and Mechanical laws, recalling the names of some important scientists and
philosophers (Aristotle, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton) and the events that
preceded the explanation of some phenomena. How must a wing be built to
sustain the whole weight of a plane? Which is the best shape for a wing to cut
the air? What are the principles of flight? These were just some of the questions
children tried to find answers at using only usual handy materials: sheets of
paper, paperclips, balloons, toothpaste tubs, drinking straws, rolls of toilet paper,
etc. Experiments like Strong flurry, Lets flap our wings, Weird balloons, Move
your tail, Flutter happily, Jet balloon... enhanced not only the main
characteristics of the aircrafts, but also the air properties they use to fly. The
basic demonstrations led to scientific principles proved by great scientists who
had contributions in the development of Aerodynamics and Mechanics of fluids
and gases (Daniel Bernoulli, Henri Coanda, Traian Viua, Aurel Vlaicu and
Hermann Oberth). The activity proved to be a real success especially because all
experiments were performed by children and for children, with basic vocabulary
and materials and at the end the general attitude was that this kind of inter-
disciplinary activity should be repeated as often as possible. The video filmed
during the activity is uploaded on Youtube at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIb1ibb8Vc8&feature=youtu.be

April 2013 Visit to ROMAERO - the biggest Romanian plane factory

On the 2
nd
of April, teachers Andrei Sorina Monica and Varvaruc Daniela
organised a visit to ROMAERO plane factory from Baneasa, with a group of 52
students of different ages and another 5 teachers (Marilena Jigaila, Beatrice
Fanareanu, Cosmin Preda, Adriana Simion and Corina Otelea). We all visited a
huge hall where components of AIRBUS and BOEING were manufactured of
different materials by well-experienced workers and students could witness how
carefully and responsibly people work there, they watched the stages in
producing even the smallest parts of a plane and had the chance to ask many
questions which stirred their curiosity. The next step was visiting the hall where
planes were repaired and mechanically tested and children had the wonderful
opportunity not only to see different types of planes from a very close distance,
but also to get in two different airliners and visit the cockpit and the body of the
aircrafts. The surprise was even bigger due to the fact that very few of them had
ever had the chance to travel by plane before. They took pictures, talked to the
employees who were working there and found out important information from
an engineer who explained what maintenance of planes really is. This visit to the
plane factory was a real success and a unique experience for students because
they learned many things about Romanian aviation and planes in general.

April 2013 Visit to the National Museum of History Aviation Section

On the 2
nd
of April, teachers Sorina Monica Andrei and Daniela Varvaruc
organised a visit to the National Museum of History from Bucharest, with a
group of 52 students of different ages and another 5 teachers (Marilena Jigaila,
Beatrice Fanareanu, Cosmin Preda, Adriana Simion and Corina Otelea).
Children had the chance to see with their own eyes famous planes or full size
dimension models of planes which made history in our country: Traian Vuias
plane which was the first in Europe to fly in 1906, Aurel Vlaicus monoplane,
Henri Coandas jet plane, Dumitru Prunarius astronaut costume which he had
used when he went on a mission into the outer space and many other real planes
and diplomas obtained by the Romanian aviation throughout its existence. This
visit helped children find out interesting things about the Romanian aviation and
the pioneers who dedicated their entire lives and careers to flight.

April 2013 Visit to the Polytechnic Museum - Aviation Section / Polizu
On the 4
th
organised a visit to the Polytechnic University Museum - Aviation Section/
Polizu from Bucharest with a group of 32 students and another teacher: Cristian
Jean Voicu. Our guide was Ph.D engineer Sorin Dinea, the president of the
association Henri Coanda, active member of ARCA and the director of the
museum. He proved to be the perfect guide because he managed to capture
everyones attention since the beginning with interesting information about the
Romanian and international aviation, about the Physics laws used in aircraft
industry and about the charm of piloting profession. Ph.D engineer Sorin Dinea
offered students the possibility to take part in a special practical experiment,
presenting the Coanda Effect on air flow. This way, students saw with their own
eyes how this Physics law works and understood its importance for aircrafts
construction. Moreover, the children observed many technical objects which
belonged to the domain of aviation and received detailed information about the
history of Romanian aviation, about the scientific reasons why a plane can fly
and how its wings must be designed, what the rules of plane construction and
the necessary materials are and about the science of flight which fascinated the
humankind since the dawn of the antique civilizations. This visit was a real
success and students said that aviation is an interesting domain which had
captured their interest.

April 2013 Visit to the National Meteorological Agency

On the 4
th
organised a visit to the National Meteorological Agency from Bucharest with a
group of 32 students and another teacher: Cristian Jean Voicu. The purpose of
this visit was to help students understand the connection between the flight and
the meteorological conditions, and how the weather can influence the flight of a
plane. The engineers who worked at the National Meteorological Agency
offered interesting information about what the movement of the air is, how
precipitation is created, how and why weather conditions can change and how
the weather forecast is designed and on what basis. The modern technologies
used by specialists and the professional explanations they offered captured
students interest and stirred their curiosity, therefore they asked many questions
and even expressed their wish to work in such a place one day. The second part
of the activity was dedicated to visiting the outdoor weather station where a
specialist presented in details all the manual and automatic components and their
role in forecasting the weather. Due to the fact that there are new technologies
today for predicting the weather conditions, the manual components of the
weather station are only parts of an outdoor museum, although they are still
functional and students could see how they work and predict the weather. They
were also explained what the responsibilities of the meteorologist on duty are
and they even saw how people work there on a daily basis. This activity not only
fulfilled the projects objectives, but also offered students the chance to discover
a fascinating domain of activity and to start thinking at a possible future career.

April 2013 Launching the paper lanterns

On the 5
th
of April, teachers from the project team organized an interesting
activity launching paper lanterns with the purpose of making students aware of
the various ways in which people have tried to conquer the air throughout
history and to travel from one place to another. At the beginning, the teachers
and students talked about the way ancient civilizations had tried to invent flying
objects in their attempt to fulfil their wish to fly, and focused on the huge
lanterns designed to travel long distances in the enemies territories and even to
transport spies with military purposes. Afterwards, the teachers and students
went to the schoolyard and launched tens of paper lanterns working in pairs or in
groups and enjoying every moment of this novel activity. Children understood
that complex activities require not only dedication and time, but also teamwork
and cooperation, because people can achieve great things in life if they put
together ideas, effort and inspiration.

June 2013 Launching the water rockets

On 11
th
of June, teachers Preda George Cosmin and Andrei Sorina Monica
organized a competition as part of the project From Icarus to Interplanetary
Travels. The children involved were of different ages and first they were
explained what water rockets are and how they work. Teachers used as reference
the pictures and videos they had taken in Kusadasi, Turkey during the project
meeting that had been organized there (19 23 May) and students observed in
detail how the Turkish children from our partner school had designed and
launched different types of water rockets. The second stage of activity was
organizing students in teams and giving them detailed instructions regarding
materials, Physics laws involved in launching the water rockets and methods to
build them. The next stage was the construction of the water rockets and
children proved to be very creative in this type of activity and also interested in
teamwork. The last stage was the presentation of the water rockets they built and
the competition which took place in the schoolyard with a numerous audience
who cheerfully encouraged every team. The launch of the water rockets was a
real success for children who not only learned interesting scientific facts, but
also developed their skills to design and build devices which actually work, and
the skills to work in teams and to be successful turning their ideas and dreams
into reality through cooperation and collaboration.

September 2013 organising the Centre of Excellence in our school

In September 2013, Mrs. Andrei Sorina Monica, the Romanian coordinator of
the Comenius partnership and Mrs. Jigaila Marilena, teacher of Economics and
member of the Comenius team, have organised in our school the Centre of
Excellence on European Projects. This centre was created in partnership with the
School Inspectorate of Prahova county and the National College Nichita
Stanescu from Ploiesti. The place was ornamented with objects students had
created as final products of the Comenius partnership (posters about flight, space
exploration and Icarus legend, model planes and rockets, parachutes etc.). This
centre is available to all teachers from Prahova county who are interested in
developing European projects and there is a weekly schedule of the centre when
the members offer voluntary assistance.

October 2013 Space planning for promoting the Comenius partnership

Since October 2012, Mrs. Monica Sorina Andrei, the Romanian project
coordinator, has planned and organised a huge space for promoting the
Comenius partnership From Icarus to Interplanetary Travels in which our
school is involved for 2 years (2012 - 2014). This space is at the main entrance
of our school, on the ground floor, and it consists of a large billboard (12.5
meters length and 1.2 meters width) placed on a wall and a great number of
model planes and rockets built by students and hanging from the ceiling on the
main hall. On the billboard there are presented: all the partners our school has in
this project, the pictures depicting the activities which took place in our school
(organised by teachers from the project team with our students), the final
products some students designed as part of the project, the cards and letters our
students received from their Greek and Slovak peers, the drawings students
created during the logo contest, the pictures taken during the project meeting
organised in Romania by our school (24-26 October 2012) and the pictures from
all the other project meetings organised by our partners. On the main and most
visible exterior wall of school there is also a banner placed by the project
coordinator, Mrs. Andrei Sorina Monica, in order to advertise our partnership in
the local community and to let everybody know about the European project our
school is involved in.

November The wings of inspiration

Inspired by the flight and under the guidance of teachers Beatrice Fanareanu,
Sorina Monica Andrei and Alina Vlad, the talented pupils of our school have
created charming stories during the project activities organized in the Comenius
multilateral partnership "From Icarus to Interplanetary Travels". Children were
told to think about the flight and all the activities they had taken part in and to
try to imagine some ideas which are related to the main theme of the project
(imaginary devices for flight) and they came up with amazing creative stories.
They read the stories in front of their peers and everybody was impressed. These
stories represent the contribution of the Romanian pupils to the final product of
our project which consists of stories written by the pupils of all partner schools.

December 2013 Little Aliens
In December, Mrs. Visan Maria, primary school teacher and member of the
project team, organised a complex activity which focused on developing the
practical skills of the children involved. The purpose of this activity was related
to the theme of the project and it consisted of designing and producing little
aliens by using various materials: fabrics, sawdust, wheat seeds and other
necessary accessories for creating the faces of the extraterrestrial creatures. The
children took part in this activity with great enthusiasm and they proved a lot of
dedication in the following weeks because their work didnt finish when the
aliens were ready... no, they had also to bring the creatures to life by taking care
of them at home and making sure they had all the necessary conditions to grow
and live: water, light, warmth and lots of love. After 2 weeks, students brought
their aliens to school and the result was a real army of creatures which
impressed everybody with their long green hair which meanwhile had grown
due to the fact that the children had taken good care of the wheat seeds watering
the aliens twice a day and taking seriously their responsibility of bringing them
to life. They talked to the teacher about the possibility that life could exist in
universe and about their wish to travel to other planets and discover new worlds
and civilisations. Finally they promised never to forget the days when they had
grown up an alien in their house.

January 2014 Human desire to fly - essay writing

Students of different ages, guided by Mrs. Andrei Sorina Monica, the Romanian
coordinator of the partnership, wrote essays in English on the topic of flight and
human desire to fly. They have started in chronological order with historical
events related to flight, presenting the attempts people have made throughout
history in order to rise from the ground and be able to move themselves through
the air from one place to another. They talked about the Greek legend of Icarus
and Dedalus, the ancient Chinese kites, rudimentary gliders, awkward devices
designed to fly which managed or not to sustain themselves up in the air,
lanterns, the first heavy-than-air planes which flew for the first time in history,
world and Romanian pioneers of aviation, the evolution of flight and aircrafts
from the first flight in 1903 till nowadays and the dreams about flying mankind
has for the future. The students wrote about the legend of Icarus, who was the
first to try in Antiquity to build wings from wax and feathers in his attempt to
save himself by flying. They explained the symbols and the significance of his
actions and talked about the limited human condition of mortal creatures who
cant turn into reality all the daring dreams they have. Moreover, they mentioned
in their essays the human desire to fly and to see the world from above, they
tried to explain why flying was the dearest wish of mankind throughout history
and to predict some dreams related to flying which would come true in the near
future. The essays were presented to their classmates and peers, this way many
students managed to read them and to enrich their knowledge about this topic.
The essays form a collection which is available in the school library for all who
are interested in reading them and it will be used as an auxiliary material at
different lessons with other students as well after the completion of the project.

February 2014 Project posters

Students of different ages worked in teams under the supervision of Mrs.
Beatrice Fanareanu, teacher of English and designed interesting posters starting
from the theme of the project. The posters were about Icarus and his attempt to
fly, about Romanian pioneers of aviation and their breakthroughs, the history of
modern aviation, spacecrafts, the solar system, planets and future space
exploration. They used not only interesting photos, but also information
gathered from different sources. Students needed some weeks to accomplish
their work and used their imagination and creativity to design the posters. They
were presented to their colleagues and teachers in a common exhibition and
some of them were used to decorate the walls of the Centre of Excellence on
European Projects from our school.

February 2014 Coanda Effect presented in experiments

On 17
th
February 2014, the students from the 7
th
grade took part in a very
interesting and challenging practical Physics lesson organised by Mrs. Marin
Nicoleta, deputy head teacher and teacher of Physics. They were given the
possibility to learn who Henri Coanda is, what his contribution to the world
aviation is, what inventions he made, what Coanda Effect is and its importance
for aviation. They found out that Henri Coanda was the first engineer in the
world who designed and built the jet plane in 1910, his invention being based on
the Coanda Effect. This discovery allowed him to create other break-through
projects which were recognised by the international aviation authorities and
some of them were built with success. The others are still waiting to be brought
to life. Using easy-to-find materials, students made experiments in order to
present and prove Physics laws, especially the Coanda Effect and the teacher
explained them clearly for students to understand everything.

March 2014 Visit to the Planetarium from Pitesti

On 27 March a group of students from the 5
th
, 6
th
and 7
th
grades took part in a
trip organized by Mrs. Varvaruc Daniela, teacher of Tourism, and Mr. Preda
Cosmin, teacher of History, both members of the Comenius project team. The
trip had as objective the visit of the planetarium from Pitesti, the only
planetarium in Romania who has been modernized in the past years. During the
visit, students and teachers watched a documentary about astronomy projected
on the planetarium dome. There was a wide range of information presented
about astronomy as science, the evolution of the universe, the structure of the
solar system, the characteristics of planets and constellations, measurement of
distances in the universe, the predicted future of the Milky Way etc. This visit
was very interesting for our students who appreciated the information they
received during the documentary and the modern equipment and professional
logistics of the planetarium which hosted them.

March 2014 Flying from Manole to Vlaicus plane and Prunarius rocket

Under the guidance of their teachers - Mrs. Andrei Sorina Monica and Mrs.
Jigaila Marilena - our students have created an interesting PPT material called
Flying from Manole to Vlaicus Plane and Prunarius rocket. It represents the
history of Romanian aviation from the first human attempts to fly up in the sky
till the most recent achievements of ARCA - Asociaia Romn pentru
Cosmonautic i Aeronautic (Romanian Cosmonautics and Aeronautics
Association) and their future goals in the attempt to conquer the outer space with
the most effective reduced-cost spaceship ever built. This PPT presentation
represents the Romanian contribution to the final product of the Comenius
Multilateral Partnership From Icarus to Interplanetary Travels, which
comprises a PPT material from each partner school containing the national
history of aviation from all their countries.

March 2014 - The Romanian acrobatic aerial stunt shows

The Romanian television Digi24 presented an interesting documentary about
Romanian acrobatic aerial stunt shows and the talented pilots who dare to
challenge gravity and all the other Physics laws while piloting their planes to the
delight of the audience. Mrs.Andrei Sorina Monica (the Romanian partnership
coordinator) contacted the television and got the documentary for educational
purposes only, Mrs. Vlad Alina (teacher of English) translated it and Mrs.
Tanase Ana Bianca (teacher of Romanian and member of the Comenius team)
added the English subtitles. The documentary is worth watching because it
presents the Romanian team of acrobatic pilots and the way they train for the
aerial stunt shows. Its easy to understand while watching the documentary that
not money or other material interests motivate them, but their love for flight and
their determination to dedicate their career to flying planes and to continue the
line of famous and talented Romanian pilots. Although it is a difficult career and
they risk their lives every time they perform aerial stunt shows, the Romanian
acrobatic pilots are determined to continue taking part in competitions following
their dream to become one of the best teams in the world at aerial stunt shows.
The documentary was presented not only to our students, but also to all
Comenius partners our school has - teachers and students from six countries and
the impact was amazing.

April 2014 - Extraterrestrial fashion

On 10 April 2014, Mrs. Marilena Jigaila, teacher of Economics, organised the
workshop Extraterrestrial fashion as a project activity in the Comenius
multilateral partnership From Icarus to interplanetary travels. The students
from the 9
th
A grade took part in this activity and they expressed their interest in
finding out new and exciting information not only about aliens and UFOs, but
also about their encounter with the human beings on Earth. Using old
newspapers, pets, and other recyclable materials, the students have designed a
kind of alien fashion presenting how they think aliens look like. They used their
imagination and at the end, their fashion products seemed very interesting. A
very cute alien wore the brand new clothes and the students were proud to
present their creations in front of their colleagues and friends.

April 2014 - Visit to the Meteorological Station from Ploiesti

On 11 April 2014, Mrs. Marilena Jigaila, teacher of Economics, organised the
visit to the Meteorological Station from Ploiesti as a project activity in the
Comenius multilateral partnership From Icarus to interplanetary travels. The
students from the 9
th
A grade took part in this activity along with their teachers
Andreea Balalia and Zenaida Iancu and they expressed their interest in finding
out new and exciting information about how weather can be predicted and what
tools and instruments meteorologists use to measure, analyze, quantify, estimate
and predict the natural phenomena. The specialist from the weather station
answered all their questions, presented the mechanical and automatic devices
from the field which are used for weather predictions and explained not only
how the modern ones are used today, but also the way the mechanical equipment
was used in the past. Some experiments took place on the spot and students
could watch every step and detail in weather prediction. The number of
questions they asked proved their interest in finding out information about
predicting the weather and the way it can be done. Some students said that to be
a meteorologist is a very interesting and challenging job and that they would
consider it as a possible future career.

April 2014 The lifecycle of a star from birth to extinction and watching the
stars through a professional telescope

On 8 April students of different ages took part in the workshop organised by Mr.
Voicu Jean Cristian, teacher of Geography, in which he presented the lifecycle
of a star from birth to extinction using a PPT presentation with the general and
unique characteristics of the Sun the most known star of our solar system. The
material was interesting and students learned about the certain stages in the
evolution of a star. The introductive part of the workshop was followed by a
practical one in which students and their teacher got out into the school yard and
looked at the stars on the sky through a professional telescope. This was a very
novel activity for all students because they had never been to an astronomical
observatory or a planetarium before. They had the chance to learn about laws of
the universe, about the types of stars, the way they evolve, the stages they pass
through in their evolution and how they transform themselves in their lifecycle.
A great number of new words and expressions enriched students vocabulary
and many scientific terms were explained for them to understand. The whole
activity stirred students interest and they seemed very pleased with taking part
in this.

May 2014 Building lunar rovers

On 9 May 2014, a creative workshop was organized with students from 9 A by
Mr. Petrache Bogdan Petre, teacher of Psychology. The aim of this activity was
to familiarize students with some Physics laws and to stir their interest in this
subject which seems very difficult at the beginning. The workshop was part of
the Comenius partnership From Icarus to interplanetary travels, therefore the
main activity was building lunar rovers and making them work using Physics
laws. First, there was a short conversation about spacecrafts and vehicles built to
function in the outer space and some photos were shown depicting lunar
machineries and their working mechanisms. Then, the teacher presented the
materials they were supposed to use to build the rovers and explained the steps.
The students started working in teams and at the end they presented their lunar
rovers and their aerial performances. Working to build something together
was a good opportunity for students to learn, to develop practical skills and to
understand what teamwork is.

May 2014 - Stories about aliens written by Romanian students

Under the guidance of Mrs. Andrei Sorina Monica, teacher of English and the
Romanian coordinator of the Comenius multilateral partnership From Icarus to
interplanetary travels, the students from the 9
th
grades wrote very interesting
and challenging stories about aliens, extraterrestrial spaceships and their
encounter with the human beings. Some stories present real events that took
place on Earth, while others are invented stories based on students rich
imagination and creativity. It was provocative for them to search for information
related to alien abductions or recorded events when people had witnessed the
presence of aliens and UFOs on Earth. There are several stories presenting
peoples encounter with alien creatures in different parts of the world: in Spain,
Romania, Russia etc. Some of the stories present unexplained events that
happened in our country either in the recent years or at the beginning of history,
in ancient times. They tried to find an explanation for some unexplained events
from history and concluded that our ancestors were in direct connection with
aliens and their wisdom. Students were very interested in writing these texts and
they considered this task a very challenging one because they had to deal with
topics that have always stirred peoples imagination.

May 2014 - Time measurement

On 21May 2014, Mrs. Andrei Sorina Monica, teacher of English, organized with
students from IX A grade a visit to the Clock Museum from Ploiesti in order to
develop a Comenius project activity based on the measurement of time. The
purpose of this activity was to familiarize students with means of time
measurement people have used since the dawn of civilization and to particularly
present the sundial, an astrologic method of measuring time according to the
movement of our planet around the Sun. Students were explained by the
museum guide how a sundial works and it is built and then the teacher presented
different types of sundials people used in different parts of the world to measure
time. Students became aware of the importance of time, how it passes without
any stop and they witnessed its measurement while watching the shade moving
on a sundial. They also understood that movement is continuous in the universe
and that the planets never stop from spinning around the Sun.

May 2014 - Distance measurement in universe

On 27 May 2014, Mrs. Marin Nicoleta, teacher of Physics and Mr. Voicu
Cristian, teacher of Geography, organized an activity with students of different
ages (grades 5
th
, 6
th
and 11
th
) about the distance measurement in the universe.
The aim of the activity was to make students aware of the huge distances in the
universe and to teach them how astronomers measure these long distances and
the measurement scale and units they use. Students learned about the
astronomical unit representing the distance from the Earth to the Sun and about
the light year used to measure the distances between the stars of a galaxy or
between galaxies. They realized how big the universe is and how difficult it is to
measure the distances even when using numbers with many zeroes. Students
were told not only about macro-cosmos, but also about the invisible micro-
cosmos and its units: micro, nano, pico and at the end of the activity, they better
understood the complexity of the universe we live in and the vast spaces human
beings cant even think about, not to mention measuring.

May 2014 Interview with a pilot

Mrs. Andrei Sorina Monica-teacher of English and Mr. Preda Cosmin-teacher of
History organized the meeting between the students from the 7
th
grade and one
of the most famous Romanian pilots. This meeting took place at Strejnic airfield
near Ploiesti, where the students could see the planes, learn about the greatest
Romanian pilots and watch a breath-taking demonstration of stunt flight. They
took an interview to Andrei Serbu, one of the most talented and fearless pilots,
who was ready to share his vast experience with our students, telling them about
his trainings and thousands of hours of flight, what to be a pilot really means and
what it is like to be up in the sky and perform stunts with the plane. Students
were very impressed by his answers and promised to watch the future aerial
stunt shows to be organized in Strejic. The interview was recorded and it will be
a very good teaching material for future lessons. The film was uploaded on
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaQqheUdBpQ&feature=youtu.be

May 2014 5 minutes after Cosmos

Mrs. Tanase Ana Bianca-teacher of Romanian and Mr. Petrache Bogdan-teacher
of Psychology organized a project activity dedicated to Dumitru Prunariu, the
only Romanian astronaut who has ever got out into the outer space during a
mission. The teachers used as a support the book 5 minutes after cosmos
written by Dumitru Prunariu and Alexandru Stark in which the astronaut
presents his unique experience in space from May 1981, and also the years of
preparation he underwent to be able to face the challenges from the spaceship.
The teachers presented a PPT material containing information from the book in
order to familiarize students with the experience Prunariu had and based on it
students were encouraged to express their opinion on the subject, to ask
questions and try to find answers. They were impressed by the serious
preparation a human being needs to survive in the outer space and by the
difficult challenges an astronaut has to face while being on a mission.

June 2014 the final questionnaire

On 19 June 2014, Mrs. Andrei Sorina Monica, teacher of English and the
Romanian coordinator of the project, asked the students who had taken part in
the project activities in the last two years, to fill in a questionnaire. The purpose
of this questionnaire is to get a real feedback from students at the end of the
partnership regarding the activities organised and to see how much their
knowledge has improved due to their involvement in the workshops, visits,
meetings and activities carried out. The results of this questionnaire were
compared to the results of the initial one which was held in 2012 at the
beginning of this partnership, and the conclusions showed clearly the feedback
of students and the fact that the project had a huge positive impact on their
education and knowledge. Not only they learned new things from unknown
fields of activity and sciences, but they also visited interesting places and
developed skills and interests which will help them in the future to decide for
themselves in different aspects of life.

2012 2014

THE PROJECT MEETINGS ORGANISED IN ALL
PARTNER INSTITUTIONS

European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.


THE FIRST PROJECT MEETING ORGANISED IN ROMANIA
Liceul tehnologic de servicii Sfantul Apostol Andrei Ploiesti
24 26 October 2012

Liceul Tehnologic de Servicii "Sfantul Apostol Andrei" has organised the first
project meeting in the Comenius Multilateral Partnership "From Icarus to
Interplanetary Travels". The objectives of this meeting were to bring together
the teachers/partners from Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Turkey, Greece,
Portugal and Lithuania, to offer them the possibility to meet for the first time
and get to know each other and discuss about the project they were supposed to
develop together. There were presentations of every country - city - school in the
partnership and hosts and guests talked about their educational systems trying to
compare them and to identify common and different aspects in teaching, school
policies and mentalities.

15 teachers from the 6 partner-countries came to our school and together with
the Romanian teachers decided on the next steps of the project. The tasks of
every partner country and the future activities in the development of our project
have been established for the following 2 years, so as all objectives to be
fulfilled and all proposed activities to be designed and organised. Our project
was about flight and the purpose of the partnership was to offer students the
opportunity to learn about the humans' dream to conquer the outer space, about
the world and national pioneers of aviation, about the role Romanian inventors
played in the development of modern aviation and about the means people used
to fly throughout history, starting with Icarus and his wax wings and ending with
the spacecrafts people have designed and used to walk on the Moon and more.

24 October - the first official activity of the meeting took place at Strejnic
airfield where teachers involved in the project, hosts and guests, had the chance
to talk to representatives of the airfield about the history of Romanian aviation.
Moreover, they talked to pilots who had dedicated their whole life to aviation
and to famous engineers who had built and piloted their own planes. In addition,
the parachute jumpers, who won many world championship rewards and medals,
talked about their experience and training. Due to unfriendly weather conditions,
the guests watched only a short flight demonstration made by acrobat pilots and
2 teachers (one from Slovakia and another one from Turkey) had the chance to
fly a plane along with a flight instructor.

In the afternoon the official visit of school followed, where teachers from every
country presented themselves and their schools and all partners talked about
their involvement in the project. The next three project meetings of partners
were established for the first school year and the project activities were also
discussed and organised.

25 October - all partners visited the Aurel Vlaicu's Monument from Banesti and
found out that Aurel Vlaicu - one of the first Romanian pioneers of aviation -
crushed to the ground with his plane in that place in his attempt to cross the
Carpathians. The next objective in the documentary visit was the Rasnov
fortress and the guests were impressed by the architecture of the place and the
landscape. Other places visited were: the Bran Castle and the city Centre of
Brasov, both of them proved to be interesting for the guests who had the
possibility to learn not only about Romanian culture, civilisation, traditions,
history and geography, but also about the ability of vampires to fly.

26 October - there was another meeting in school, which started with the visit of
our classrooms and laboratories where students welcomed the guests with songs,
flags of the partner countries and demonstrations of hairstyling. Guests met
some of our students and teachers, asked questions and learnt about the
Romanian educational system, our curricular and extracurricular projects, and
they received some traditional presents from the fourth graders. In the second
part of the school meeting all partners continued planning the tasks for the future
activities in the project and some conclusions were expressed regarding the
following visits and the final products of our partnership.

In the afternoon guests and hosts visited the meteorological station from Ploiesti
and they talked to a specialist in determining weather conditions and predictions
for the near future. He explained in detail how every manual device in the
outdoor station worked and even made some experiments to show how
meteorologists can predict weather based on the data received in the field.
Everybody learned how important weather forecast is for pilots and planes, but
also for agriculture. We saw manual and electronic devices predicting weather
and we were told how they work and send weather forecast to the airports and
pilots.


THE SECOND PROJECT MEETING ORGANISED IN
GREECE
The 4
th
primary school from Glyfada, Athens
21 25 April 2013

The second project meeting took place in Glyfada, the southern part of Athens,
and the representatives of our school were the following teachers: Andrei Sorina
Monica-teacher of English and coordinator of the partnership, Marin Nicoleta-
teacher of Physics/Chemistry and deputy head teacher, Jigaila Marilena-teacher
of Economics, Steoalfa Roxana-teacher of English and Voicu Jean Cristian-
teacher of Geography.
The hosts proposed a varied program based on the project theme and the
objectives were very clear: to enrich our knowledge about the universe and the
solar system, to take part in experiments based on Physics and Aerodynamics
laws, to understand the principles that help a plane to take off and how a plane is
built. The students and teachers from partner schools interacted very well
exchanging intercultural experiences and taking part in common activities. They
developed not only their linguistic competences and the ability to speak English,
but they also learned many things about the Greek culture, traditions and folk
dances. The Romanian team presented in detail the activities which had taken
place in our home institution before this meeting and offered a CD to all partners
which contained this information along with some presentations about Easter
and Romanian spring traditions.
21 April - there was the official meeting in school and the representatives of the
Greek Amateur Astronomers Association presented some materials about the
solar system, planets, satellites and how they can be observed. Afterwards,
teachers and students were invited in the schoolyard where 4 professional
telescopes had been installed for everybody to observe the clear sky of the night
and different planets and satellites.

22 April - there was another meeting in school and the Greek teachers presented
their educational system and school. The students offered a complex show to the
guests singing different songs, dancing traditional dances and role playing short
plays related to flying. The partners presented the project activities organized in
their own institutions and discussed about the logo of the project.

23 April - the hosts organized a visit on the Acropolis to offer the guests the
chance to discover the world heritage from Athens. Back to school, partners met
a pilot from the Aegean company who offered information about what being a
pilot means, how a plane is built and what Physics and Aerodynamics laws are
taken into consideration in aviation industry. There were also practical scientific
experiments performed by this expert in front of the audience, one of them being
the Coanda Effect on airflow.

24 April - hosts and guests visited the Planetarium of Athens, which is
considered the biggest in Europe, where they watched a documentary about the
outer space in exceptional high quality definition. Students learned many
interesting things about the universe, planets, constellations, measurement of
distances and ways to travel by spacecrafts. In the afternoon there was the last
official meeting in school and the partners could meet the Athens school
inspector on European Programmes and the mayor of Glyfada who took part in
the activities and showed their interest in the objectives and theme of our
partnership.


THE THIRD PROJECT MEETING ORGANISED IN TURKEY
Rahime Bilici Ilkkulu, Kusadasi, Aydin

19 23 May 2013

The third project meeting took place in Kusadasi, Aydin, a beautiful seaside
resort in the south-western part of Turkey, and the representatives of our school
were the following teachers: Andrei Sorina Monica-teacher of English, Visan
Maria-primary school teacher and Preda George Cosmin-teacher of History. The
program was complex and the objectives were clearly based on the project
theme: to enrich knowledge about universe and planets through direct
observation with special telescopes designed and built by Turkish students, to
build planes of polycarbonate and launch them in a competition organized on-
the-spot in the schoolyard, to build and launch very complex water rockets in the
schoolyard in front of a large audience. All guests were deeply impressed by the
hospitality of Turkish teachers, children and parents and by the involvement of
the local community in the organization of the project meeting.
19 May - it was celebrated the Youth Day all over the country and the guests
took part in the festival organized by the local authorities on this occasion in the
city centre of Kusadasi. It was a perfect opportunity to discover the Turkish
culture and traditions because the whole community took part in the event and
we could see people singing, dancing and expressing their joy.

20 May - the first official activity of the project took place in Izmir where we all
visited the space camp organized by the Americans from NASA at high quality
standards and where Dumitru Prunariu has a special place among the other
astronauts of the world. We learned there about the history of humans going into
the outer space, about space stations and orbits, how astronauts are trained to be
prepared for all possible challenges during the space missions, about the lunar
soil and the special equipments from the spacecrafts which permanently keep in
touch with the mission control room on Earth, about Physics, Aerodynamics and
Thermodynamics laws used in rockets designing and construction. A short
documentary about how astronauts live in a rocket was watched, then the full-
size copy of the Discovery shuttle was visited along with a copy of the Huston
mission control room. We were explained how plants can grow in the artificial
medium from the outer space and the employees made not only demonstrations
of the trainings astronauts perform before missions, but also experiments based
on the Chemistry laws.
The second objective visited was the planetarium from Izmir, where a
documentary was presented about the universe, planets, constellations and how
they can be observed at night. Later in the afternoon we all visited the Kusadasi
national park where students and teachers built cardboard spyglasses for star
gazing. At night the Turkish team brought on the seashore the telescopes
students had built under the careful supervision of their teacher Mert Kocer and
everybody looked at the stars taking part in a real and unique lesson of
Astronomy.

21 May - there was the official meeting in school and the hosts presented their
institution, the educational system and the project activities organized with their
students. The Astronomy teacher involved the audience in a practical
experiment which represented the building of a telescope mirror in 3 different
steps (workshops). The workshop in which everybody had to contribute to the
polishing of the glass for the future telescope was very interesting and
challenging and it was finished with the presentation of the Sagita test which
tells precisely if a mirror is good enough for a telescope or not. After this, the
students dressed up in beautiful traditional costumes and presented a wonderful
show of Turkish folk dances in the school yard. The next activity was the
launching of the water rockets and everybody was impressed by the students
abilities to use and launch the rockets they had built previously. The last activity
of the day was the documentary visit to Sirince village, famous for its special
architecture and handmade products.
22 May - Selcuk airfield was visited and the audience had the opportunity to talk
to a woman-pilot, member of the Turkish Air Agency, who presented her job
and the trainings pilots need to be able to fly. The planes on the airfield were
presented too and also the safety regulations which everybody has to respect to
avoid accidents. The next stop was at Ephesus where we visited the ancient city
which impressed with its greatness and splendor. Back to school, the second
workshop was organized for polishing the telescope mirror and it was followed
by a PPT presentation of Hazarfen Ahmet Celebi, who is considered to be the
first Turkish who managed to cross the Bosphorus wearing artificial wings in the
17
th
century. Another show with music and dance was presented by the Turkish
students and the last activity of the day was a competition in which teams of
students had to put together parts of polycarbonate planes to build them and then
launched the planes in the schoolyard in their attempt to win a prize.

23 May - the third workshop took place in school and polishing the telescope
mirror came to an end due to the hard work of students and teachers, who had
the chance to check the quality of the mirror with the Ronchi test at the end. The
next activity was the presentation of the Eclipse Hunters a Turkish association
of professional photographers from Izmir. Its representative Kubilay Akdemir
came to school, talked about the passionate photographers who travel around the
world for shooting eclipses and he answered the students questions. The last
part of the program was handing out the certificates of attendance. All
participants in this project meeting were impressed by the new things they
learned and experienced related to the theme of the partnership and by the
intercultural exchange they witnessed using English.


THE FOURTH PROJECT MEETING ORGANISED IN
HUNGARY
Magyar-Szlovk Kt Tantsi Nyelvu Nemzetisgi ltalnos Iskola
s Kollgium, Satorljaujhely
20 25 June 2013

The fourth project meeting took place in Satoraljaujhely, a small town from
northern part of Hungary situated on the border with Slovakia and the
representatives of our school were the following teachers:
Andrei Sorina Monica
Tanase Ana Maria Bianca
Petrache Bogdan
Varvaruc Daniela
Preda George Cosmin
and the students:
Buzila Ioana Malina (6
th
grade)
Ciausu Sebastian Constantin (6
th
grade)
Sandu Ioana Diana (6
th
grade)
Panca Andrei Sebastian (6
th
grade)
Cristea Bianca Gabriela (6
th
grade)
Cosma Gabriela Cristina (6
th
grade)
Ionescu Stefania(6
th
grade)
Costache Stefan Gabriel (5
th
grade).

The program was complex, the activities had elements of Astronomy,
Chemistry, Physics, Mechanics, Aerodynamics and the objectives were clearly
based on the project theme: to enrich knowledge about universe, solar system,
planets, satellites and constellations through direct observation using
professional telescopes and the mobile planetarium under the careful supervision
of expert astronomers from the Hungarian Astronautics Society, who answered
all the questions children asked; to find out important information about how
humans try to conquer the outer space, about the spacecrafts they build and the
last inventions for traveling in the universe all these from professional
astronauts; to build planes and lunar rovers of polycarbonate and to launch them
in the schoolyard; to build water rockets the pride of the Romanian students
who presented a real show launching them together with the Hungarian students
in front of the whole audience.

20 June - the Romanian students built water rockets working in teams and
designing their own creations.
21 June - The Rocket Launching Day there was the official opening of the
project meeting in the school yard and all students, parents and teachers from the
Hungarian school attended this event along with the mayor of the town. The
ceremony was followed by a show presented by the host students who danced
and sang folk Hungarian and Slovak music wearing traditional clothes and
everything was shot by the local television Zemplen TV and presented online at
the following link: http://www.zemplentv.hu/csillagaszati-tabor-a-szlovak-iskolaban/. The
following activities were held in Felsoberecki, a camp in the countryside where
students from all 7 partner institutions took part in different workshops: they
drew spacecrafts, astronauts and the solar system; the Romanian students
launched the water rockets enchanting the audience with their abilities; teachers
and students built planes and explained Newtons 3
rd
law; and they watched an
artist drawing acryl paintings depicting the universe and planets (one drawing
for each partner institution). As intercultural activities, they attended a riding
show and a folk dance show and they enjoyed canoe sailing and swimming in
the river.

22 June - The Universe Day - some expert astronomers from the Hungarian
Astronautics Society delivered presentations related to the theme of the project:
how a spacecraft can travel, how a plane is built, what Physics, Aerodynamics
and Mechanics laws are used in aviation industry, experiments and
demonstrations of these laws, the beginning of the international aviation etc.
Then children built lunar rovers and polystyrene planes which were launched in
the schoolyard. In the afternoon we all visited the town Szephalom, where we
took part in a national Hungarian festival and we learned about traditional
dances, music and food. In the evening, the Night of Museums was celebrated in
Satoraljaujhely, so everybody visited the Museum of Prisons and afterwards
went to a rock concert organized on the school premises by Danger Close, a
famous band with many fans in Hungary, whose members are graduated
students of the host school.

23 June - The Sun Day - the astronomers from the Hungarian Astronautics
Society delivered presentations about universe, the sun, sundials, the solar
system, astronauts, space travel and aliens. Afterwards everybody could visit the
mobile planetarium, which had been placed in the gym by the professional
astronomers and where we all could watch an interesting documentary about the
planets, satellites and constellations, their symbols and basic Astronomy which
stirred the interest of all children. Zemplen TV reflected this event as well on:
http://www.zemplentv.hu/mobilplanetarium-a-szlovak-iskolaban/. The Slovak astronauts
Miroslav Tirpk and Maria Gimov talked to the students and presented
information about the solar system and in the afternoon there was an activity
called Magic Chemistry in which some experiments were made by the
Hungarian teacher of Chemistry and her students. This was followed by a
contest of drawings on the asphalt which challenged all students to create
images related to the project theme. After sunset some professional telescopes
were installed in the schoolyard and students and teachers could look at the
stars. As intercultural exchange of the day, students were invited to watch how
bread is baked traditionally and they took part in a complex medieval
competition (spear throwing, archery, tournament, whip handling) in which
every partner country had a representative team.

24 June - The Astronaut Day - the Slovak astronauts Miroslav Tirpk and
Maria Gimov delivered a presentation about life in the outer space, how plants
can grow in spaceships and on the international space station, how astronauts are
trained and how they live in the spacecrafts during the missions, and at the end
they presented a chronological list of the human missions into the outer space.
Next the Adventure Park from Satoraljaujhely was visited, where students had a
lot of fun all afternoon and also they visited the bridge representing the border
between Hungary and Slovakia and which separates the town in 2 different
parts. In the evening, there was the official ceremony in which all children were
awarded the diplomas for the competitions they had won during the project
meeting and everything finished with a dance show offered by the ex-students of
the host school followed by the observation of the sky through the telescopes.

Our students came home with enriched knowledge on the theme of the project
and with a vast experience due to the interaction they had in an international
environment with teachers and students from 6 European countries. The
intercultural exchange helped them understand better what European citizenship
is and how to behave in a society where there are both differences and common
points. Communication in English helped them not only develop their linguistic
skills, but also realize how important it is for European citizens to be able to
communicate with people around using a foreign language.

On the way to Hungary and back, the Romanian team could visit amazing places
in Romania, where the students had the chance to learn about our past history (in
Sighisoara, Targu Mures and Alba Iulia) and about the natural beauties of our
landscape and the richness of our mountains (Turda salt mine and Scarisoara
cave).

We communicated with the children from the other European schools and we improved our
English skills. We made good friends there and we keep in touch with our European friends
on social networks. Now we understand how important English is for communication. I
discovered how hospitable and friendly Hungarians are and all activities were great
especially because I did things which I had never done before. It was a wonderful experience
and I will never forget it.
Panca Andrei Sebastian
The activities were great, we learned many things and we played a lot learning. We made
many friends and we could talk to them in English and now we are friends on Facebook. I
discovered the traditions and culture of different countries and the traditional Hungarian
food seemed delicious. Everything was organised well and I had the chance to visit amazing
places.
Ciausu Sebastian Constantin

I really enjoyed the water rocket launch, the scientific PPT presentations and star gazing
through the telescope. I never got tired. I tried to talk to many children and we became good
friends. Hungary is a beautiful country and I met there wonderful teachers and pupils.
Ionescu Stefania

I made friends with many children from the camp and we keep in touch using English which
is a great language because it helps us communicate with people from all over the world. I
enjoyed all activities because they were challenging. I was not very pleased with food and
accommodation, but I understood that I have to adapt myself to any situation. It was a great
experience which helped me to be on my own, to face whatever situation and to take care of
myself. Im very happy for having this opportunity to be part of the Romanian team in this
wonderful Comenius project.
Buzila Ioana Malina

All activities were very well organised on the theme of the project and, although I didnt like
the traditional food very much, our visit to Hungary was great because we took part in
interesting workshops, we talked to children from many countries in English and we became
good friends. Hungary is a beautiful country with interesting traditions and culture, but I
learned many things about the other countries as well. I would give 10 years of my life to have
again such a great experience.
Sandu Ioana Diana

The activities were very creative and we learned about universe, planets, astronauts and
planes. I really enjoyed taking part in them and I never got bored, although food was different
than ours and it was difficult sometimes to eat it. I talked to children from the other countries
and we had a lot of fun together. I was very surprised to see that we became good friends
although we were from different countries and our English was not perfect. We visited
amazing places and we understood that if we want, we can handle whatever situation might
come up.
Cosma Gabriela Cristiana

I liked everything in this camp, I learned many interesting scientific things and I enjoyed
taking part in the medieval tournament. I made new friends and Im happy for this
opportunity I had to be a part of this Comenius project.
Costache Stefan


THE FIFTH PROJECT MEETING ORGANISED IN
LITHUANIA
Vilniaus Prancikaus Skorinos vidurine mokykla, Vilnius
7 11 October 2013

The fifth meeting of the project took place in Vilnius, the capital city of
Lithuania and the representatives of our school were the following teachers:
Andrei Sorina Monica-teacher of English and coordinator of the partnership,
Visan Maria-primary school teacher, Voicu Jean Cristian-teacher of Geography,
Tanase Ana Bianca-teacher of Romanian and Bogdan Petrache-teacher of
Psychology. The objectives were clearly based on the project theme: to enrich
knowledge about universe, planets, satellites and constellations, the sun and
sundials, and all activities were focused on them: the visit to the Vilnius
planetarium; the PPT presentations made by the host students about the first
Lithuanian pioneers of aviation and the beginning of aviation in their country;
the play about the solar system, planets and satellites acted by the host students;
building the sundial etc.
7 October - the first meeting of the partners took place at the official dinner and
it was a good opportunity for all partners to get to know Lithuania better because
the cultural component of the visit was reached through the wonderful show
organized by the Music teacher from the host institution, who sang Lithuanian
and Belorussian traditional folk songs to the delight of all participants.

8 October - the activities started with the official visit of school and all guests
were impressed by the hospitality of the host teachers and students, who
welcomed us with bread and salt and wearing traditional costumes. The majority
of teachers got involved in the activities and even if not all of them spoke
English, they proved to be very friendly. They organized a surprise for
everybody because there were classrooms dedicated to each partner country,
where students had designed representative symbols of that country, presented
information about it in English, sang a traditional song in the native language of
that country, danced folk dances and offered the guests traditional food from
that specific country.

In the festivity hall, every partner institution presented PPT materials about the
activities organized with their own students back home and about their
countries. The host students talked about the first Lithuanian pilots, Steponas
Darius and Stasys Girnas, and about the beginning of aviation in their country.
After this, the host students presented a varied show with Lithuanian and
Belorussian songs and folk dances. In the afternoon, everybody visited the City
Hall and learned about the municipality and how things work in this city.

9 October - the first activity took place in school and students presented a play
about the solar system in which they acted the parts of the sun and planets
explaining clearly their unique and identifiable characteristics. In the next
activity the Lithuanian coordinator explained how the sundial was built by the
Lithuanian students in the schoolyard. After this, there was a documentary visit
to Trakai castle, the only insular castle in the eastern half of Europe, where we
learned many things about the history, culture and traditions of Lithuanian
people. In the afternoon, the Vilnius planetarium was visited, where a
documentary about the solar system, planets and constellations was watched and
children got interesting information about the universe and enriched their
Astronomy, Astrology and Geography knowledge.

10 October - the activities continued in school with presentations of students
from each partner country and teachers had a meeting in which they discussed
and established the dates of the following project meetings and the common
final product of the partnership (a document consisting of 2 parts: a storybook
with stories from each partner institution written by students both in their own
language and in English as well; and a collection of PPT materials from every
country presenting their history of aviation). In the afternoon, the old part of the
city with its churches was visited and we all learned about the history, culture
and architecture of Vilnius, which is considered the Jerusalem of the North.

This project meeting was very important in the architecture of the partnership
and partners who took part in it had a wonderful experience enriching not only
the knowledge about the Lithuanian educational system and about the certain
objectives of the partnership, but also about the culture, traditions and history of
the host country.


THE SIXTH PROJECT MEETING ORGANISED IN
PORTUGAL
Didaxis - Cooperativa de Ensino, Riba de Ave
4 8 March 2014

The sixth project meeting took place in Riba de Ave, a beautiful town in the
Northern part of Portugal and the representatives of our school were the
following teachers: Andrei Sorina Monica, Pana Magdalena, Marin Nicoleta,
Jigaila Marilena Teodora and Varvaruc Daniela. The objectives were clearly
based on the project theme: to enrich knowledge not only about universe,
planets, satellites and constellations, but also about the history of Portuguese
aviation. The program was complex comprising elements of Astronomy and
Physics in challenging activities for students: launching the water rockets made
by children; visiting the military aviation unit from Maceda, Aveiro; presenting
a PPT material about the history of Portuguese aviation; and discovering
interesting aspects about Porto.

Before the Portuguese project meeting, all partners sent to each other documents
about their own national history of aviation, PPT presentations which were
posted on the projects group from Facebook.

The Romanian team offered all partners a CD with the PPT material: From
Manole to Vlaicus plane and Prunarius rocket, which presents the detailed
history of Romanian aviation from the beginning till nowadays, including the
projects which are being developed by ARCA (the Romanian Association of
Cosmonautics and Aeronautics) with the goal of building a spacecraft with
reduced costs entirely. The second document on the CD incorporated all the
stories Romanian students had written about aliens and being inspired by flight,
which represent our contribution to the common final product of the partnership.
Another material on CD was a PPT presentation of all activities organised in our
institution in the 2 years of the project.
The program of the project meeting was the following:
4 March - the first official activity was visiting Guimaraes, the town where the
Comenius partners had their accommodation and which has a great historical
significance, being considered the place where the Portuguee nation was born.
In the evening, all partners attended the welcome dinner and this way they had
the opportunity to socialize and get to know the Portuguese traditional food.

5 March - there was a documentary visit organised in Porto, which started with a
boat trip on Douro river where partners could admire the panoramic views on
both sides of the river. Then Ferreira cellars were visited, one of the most
famous Porto wine brands, and teachers and students learned about the history
and unique specifications of the Porto wine.

In the afternoon, the historical centre of Porto was visited and students and
teachers admired its impressive buildings (Bolho market, Clrigos tower,
Lello/Prlogo Livreiros bookstore, Bom Sucesso market, So Bento railway
station with its painted walls representing historical events in Portugal history).
At the end guests and hosts went to the beach and admired the Atlantic Ocean at
sunset.
6 March the day started with the official visit of Didaxis school, where
partners were very impressed by the warm welcome and kind hospitality of the
host teachers and students, who were ready to present their educational system,
their school and the type of their organisation. The official meeting started with
a welcoming concert performed in the school yard by the Portuguese students in
the school brass band, who played traditional songs for the audience. The School

choir and band also presented a varied program of traditional songs, not only in
Portuguese, but in the language of each partner institution as well. Many
complex activities followed bringing together students of different ages, teachers
and parents and the workshops impressed the guest teachers who returned in
their own institutions with new ideas of practical activities and modern active-
participative methods to increase students motivation and involvement in
lessons.

Visiting school gave everybody the opportunity to fiind out interesting things
about the educational system of the host country and the specific characterestics
of Didaxis as an institution involved in education with an impressive space and
budget for activities and lessons. Teachers and students visited the classrooms,
labs (foreign languages, reading room where young students listen to stories to
develop their wish to read books, social studies room), specific labs (electro-
mechanics, human body esthetics, origami), the festivities hall and the gym
everywhere the guests were involved in interactive extracurricular and
educational activities. The Chemistry, Physics and Mechanics experiments
performed by the Portuguese students under the supervision of their teachers
amazed everybody. Students could develop their antreprenorial skills by taking
part actively in the open market organised in the school yard with the help of
some parents and teachers. Students became real sellers and purchasers of the
products and items they had brought from home, negociating and establishing
the market price of every item in a very serious and professional way and buying
products while getting the guests involved in the selling-buying process.

At lunch the guests joined the Portuguese students in the school canteen and
afterwards, they were invited to visit the military aviation unit from Maceda,
Aveiro, where they have learned about the activities performed there: the
military and aviation staff take part in professional trainings and resque
interventions, both military and for saving civilians in possible accidents on land
or at sea, due to the advanced technology and logistics they have in this unit
(modern fire engines, highly equipped helicopters etc). The audience witnessed
a training session of the military dogs which are prepared to take part in all
possible resque operations, guarding and protection activities. Moreover, they
also witnessed the take off of a helicopter which had on board the resque team
involved in a training session for saving survivours in case of an accident at sea
(this military unit is very close to the Atlantic Ocean). The guests also visited
the museum of the Portuguese aviation which is situated in one of the buildings
from this military unit. Here they watched an interesting documentary about the
history of Portuguese aviation and its contribution to the development of
international aviation.

7 March - the half part of the day was spent at school where teachers and
students were involved in project activities: the students from the partner
schools presented PPT materials about their national aviation, then Portuguese
students launched the water rockets they had designed and built under the
guidance of their teachers. The partners talked about the final common products
of the partnership and the way they should be made in order to be useful to
teachers and students even after the completion of the project. There were also
other administrative aspects discussed about the next project meeting. In the
afternoon, guests and hosts visited the surroundings of Braga by couch,
admiring the beautiful view over this town from the top of the hill where
Sameiro monastery is located. In the evening, all partners, teachers and students
took part in the farewell dinner organised in the school canteen. They enjoyed
not only the traditional Portuguese food, but also the artistic program with
traditional songs and folk dances offered by the members of the Serzedelo group
who were proudly wearing traditional costumes from the 19th century. The
group Tuna of the university Lusiada of Famalicao also offered an interesting
concert with traditional songs, each member wearing the specific black cloak
and having the flags with the university coat of arms.
The certificates of attendance were offered to all participants and photos were
taken to remember the beautiful moments spent together.

The program was very interesting and all participants went home with many
new things learned and a rich experience connected not only with the theme of
the project, but also with the Portuguese educational system and the way
activities are organised in Didaxis. The intercultural exchange was very strong
because the guests managed to get to know the Portuguese culture in its diverse
aspects (traditional music, dance, food etc.) and the partner teachers and students
got involved in common activities developing their English skills and
communication competences.


THE SEVENTH PROJECT MEETING ORGANISED IN
SLOVAKIA
Zkladn kola, Moldava nad Bodvou
1 6 May 2014

The seventh project meeting took place in Moldava nad Bodvou, a beautiful
town in the South-Eastern part of Slovakia and the representative of our school
was Andrei Sorina Monica, the Romanian project coordinator. The objectives
were clearly based on the project theme: to enrich knowledge about universe,
planets, satellites, constellations, planes and aviation in general and all activities
were focused on these objectives. The places we visited were representative as
well: the museum of the Slovak aviation, the University of Aviation, the
planetarium, the astronomical observatory. Flight and aviation were themes of
the activities organized in school as well, the host students presenting a PPT
material about the first Slovak pioneers of aviation and the evolution of aviation
in their country.

The representative of our school offered to all partners a CD with PPT materials
about the project activities organised in our institution and other project
materials including a documentary about the Romanian stunt pilots translated
into English during the Comenius partnership as a project activity. The program
was the following:
1 May - all partners met in Budapest and took part in the festivities organised on
this special day (aerial stunt shows offered by the Hungarian pilots high above
the city and under the bridges of Danube).

2 May - the official meeting in the host school started with a show provided by
the cheerleaders from the well-known group Twingy, many of them being
alumni of this school. The speech held by the head teacher was followed by the
warm welcome of students with bread and salt, which showed the hospitality of
the hosts. Then everybody admired the Comenius partnership billboards from
the school main entrance which presented the partners, the activities students
were involved in and the products they had made.

In the afternoon, guests and hosts went to Kosice where we visited several
important locations for our project: the history museum of aviation (where we
saw different types of planes used in Slovakia from the beginning of aviation,
through the communist era to the modern planes from today), the University of
Aviation (where professors and PhD students presented interesting experiments,
electronical, mechanical devices of the planes and their components, and
explained how pilots train to be prepared to face the flight and weather
conditions) and the planetarium (where we watched a documentary about the
solar system and spacecrafts). In the evening we visited the old part of the
Kosice centre.
3 May - the hosts organised a documentary visit in Tatranska Lomnica, a
mountain resort from the Tatras Mountains, where we used the cable car to get
to 2000m altitude to see the astronomical observatory from there.

In the evening, the Comenius team was invited to have dinner with the Mayor of
Moldava nad Bodvou, who was very interested to fiind out about the objectives
of the partnership and the activities organised in every country.

4 May - the Comenius team visited the Jasovsk cave near Moldava nad Bodvou
in the morning, then back to school they watched a play performed by students
about the solar system, planets and an astronaut who was looking for the perfect
planet to settle. It was a good occasion to present in English the unique
characteristics of every planet. The play was followed by a complex dance show
presented by students of different ages wearing traditional Slovak costumes and
in the second part they presented a wide range of Latino dances. There was a big
audience for the whole show because there were not only students, but also
teachers, families gathered to support the performers and local community
representatives.
5 May - all day was focused on project activities organised in school and the
first one was the official visit of school by the Comenius partners. We entered
the classrooms where the Slovak students were involved in project activities and
even took part in these activities helping the young ones to create materials and
project final products. This way we all admired the great number of Slovak
students and the complexity of activities they were involved in, and the project
materials and products which ornamented the walls of school. Moreover, some
students prepared a surprise, organising a classroom for each partner country
with traditional costumes and cultural aspects, maps, Geographical information
and specific food, music and dances.

The next activity was visiting the town Moldava nad Bodvou with its main
square, the cathedral and Tocay cellars, and in the evening the official closing of
the project meeting was followed by the launching of paper lanterns from the
main square by teachers, students, parents and local authorities present at the
ceremony. After the sunset there was a huge fireworks display which
represented the final key point of festivities. The departure day followed.
The program of the project meeting was very interesting and everybody was
impressed by the hospitality of the Slovak hosts, their educational system and
the way Zkladn kola is organised and involved in the Comenius project. We
all enriched our knowledge concerning aviation and Physics laws used in
building flight devices and the intercultural exchange proved to be benefic for
everybody because we got to know better the Slovak culture and traditions.


THE EIGHTH PROJECT MEETING ORGANISED IN
TURKEY
Rahime Bilici Ilkkulu, Kusadasi, Aydin
9 12 June 2014

The eighth project meeting took place in Kusadasi, Aydin, a beautiful seaside
resort in the South-Western part of Turkey, and the host school who organized it
was Rahime Bilici Ilkkulu. The representatives of our school were the
following teachers: Andrei Sorina Monica-the Romanian coordinator of the
partnership, Jigaila Marilena Teodora-teacher of Economics and Voicu Jean
Cristian-teacher of Geography, all members of the Comenius team. The program
was complex and the objectives were clearly based not only on the project
theme, but also on the organizational aspects concerning the end of the
partnership and on the common aspects of the final report which are to be
submitted to our National Agencies. The partners shared information provided
by the NAs about the final procedure: uploading the final products in the
European Shared Treasure database and filling in the final report by all partners
working together as regulations say in order to compose the first common part
of the report. Moreover, a new common final product was designed and even
printed a wall calendar with 12 photos representing project activities organized
in Romania and Turkey.
The representatives of the Romanian school offered to the partners a CD with
several PPT materials representing project activities and final products made by
the Romanian team during the 2 years of the Comenius partnership, plus a
documentary about the Romanian stunt pilots, which was translated to English
by Romanian teachers as a project activity.

The activities were organised as follows:
9 June - the official meeting in school started with the welcome festivity offered
by the host students who presented a show with traditional songs. Then, meeting
the teachers and head teachers followed and the official visit of school gave the
Romanian teachers the possibility to see the classrooms and the Turkish students
while being involved in the project activities and to fiind out the news about the
Turkish educational system. Then there was a meeting in the head teachers
office, where partners shared information from different National Agencies and
expressed their opinions about the European Shared Treasure database, how it
can be accessed and how the project products can be uploaded. In the afternoon
a tour of Kusadasi was organised and the hosts presented important historical,
cultural and traditional facts related to their city.
10 June - in the morning, there was organised a visit to the ancient city of
Ephesus, where partners could admire the remains of a millenary civilization
who surprises even today with the high level of development and their abilities
of urban organisation. In the afternoon, there was another meeting of partners in
school and they talked about the final report they have to fill in and send to their
own National Agencies. There were details underlined about the first common
part of the report, which partners have to write together, and also about the
second individual part, which the coordinators have to fill in individually and
then submit to their National Agencies.

11 June - in the morning, there was a meeting in school with the purpose of
designing and producing a common Romanian-Turkish final product and
partners established the details about it. They decided to make a wall calendar
containing 12 photos taken during the project activities organised in Romania
and Turkey and the first calendars were ready in just a few hours. The last
official meeting of partners took place in the afternoon, when they decided the
last details concerning the uploading of the final products in the European
Shared Treasure database, the writing of the final report and ways to use the new
common product (the calendar).

12 June - there was a documentary visit organised to the ancient city of
Hierapolis (Pamukkale), one of the biggest and the most important ancient cities
from Asia Minor, famous not only for its thermal and rich in minerals waters,
which had recommended it as a real spa centre throughout history, but also for
the historical events that took place here in its long existence.

The program was interesting and the guests enriched their experience about the
theme of the partnership and how teachers from a partner school decided to
organise Comenius project activities. Moreover, they learned many things about
the official procedure at the end of the partnership (EST database, final report)
and about the way activities are organised in Rahime Bilici Ilkkulu school in
the context of the new changes in the Turkish educational system. The
intercultural exchanges were obvious and the Romanian teachers managed to get
to know better the Turkish culture in all its aspects: music, traditions, food etc.,
becoming more tolerant and open-minded. They also developed their English
skills and their abilities to comunicate freely with people from other countries.

2012 2014

THE FINAL PRODUCTS OF THE PARTNERSHIP

European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.


Final products made in Romania

1. A CD consisting of 17 PPT materials made by Romanian students in English
presenting the human desire to fly throughout history, their attempts to fly, the
devices they have built and the evolution of aviation from the first pioneers till
the most modern developments in the aircraft industry from the near future.
2. A brochure formed of the following:
- a collection of stories written by students about novel means of transport and
unusual flying devices, which shows how creative children are and how far their
imagination can go. The stories are bilingually written in Romanian and English.
- a collection of stories about aliens and UFOs written by Romanian students in
English, which presents the wish of mankind to find out if there are
extraterrestrial creatures in the universe and some imaginary encounters between
human beings and aliens.
- a collection of essays written by Romanian students in English on the human
desire to fly and to exceed their limits, whose authors tried to explain the
mankind wish to fly up in the sky and the reasons why they had tried to build
devices capable of flying throughout history. Moreover, they also presented the
chronological evolution of aviation.
3. A PDF document about the history of aviation called From Icarus to space
exploration was designed by a team of students who worked under the
guidance of Mrs. Visan Maria, primary school teacher. The material represents
the history of flight from Icarus in Antiquity to space exploration in the near
future and it presents in chronological order the most important events from the
flight history. The document, which is bilingually written in Romanian and
English in 2 separate columns and which also has many photos to perfectly
illustrate the content, is available for students and teachers in the school library
both on paper and electronically.
4. This brochure written in English and presenting chronologically the activities
organised in our school (the students and teachers involved and the impact the
project had on them) and the project meetings that took place in the two years of
the partnership (the visits organised by each partner school and the activities in
which all partners and students were involved).
5. A brochure of 16 pages presenting in Romanian all the project meetings
organised by partners in the 2 years of the project.
6. All materials which had been created in the 2 years of the partnership as
products of the project (PPT materials, documentaries, videos, PDF materials)
have been put together on a DVD and it was multiplied being available to
students at the school library. Teachers can use it after the completion of the
project at different types of activities and its richness in information
recommends it as a valuable final product. It consists of:
- a video made using the Movie Maker with all the shootings from the activity
Flying in which many experiments were performed by students in order to
present Physics and Aerodynamics laws used in aviation industry. This is the
link on Youtube where the video can be found:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIb1ibb8Vc8&feature=youtu.be
- a video made with all the shootings from the activity about the non-verbal
communication Meeting an alien in which students acted out their meeting
with an alien in order to understand how they can communicate with people
from other countries. This is the link on Youtube where the video can be found:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRdUace75gc&feature=youtu.be
- an interview with Andrei Serbu, one of the most talented Romanian pilots, was
shot and the video made with the whole interview is uploaded on Youtube and
can be watched at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaQqheUdBpQ&feature=youtu.be
- the translation to English of a documentary about the Romanian stunt pilots
produced by Digi24 was made by the teachers from our school as a project
activity;
- 5 videos about flight were made by a group of six students from the 11
th
D
grade (Calin Nicolae, Tudose Alexandru, Manolache Angelo, Enache Gabriela,
Balasa Adrian and Robescu Marius) who worked under the guidance of Mrs.
Marilena Jigaila, teacher of Economics. They found the project and the topic
flying very challenging, therefore they made the videos with a lot of passion and
doing their best. Their works can be used even after the completion of the
project and they are available on Youtube as follows:
The Power of Flight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DkLuw7FReY
Art of Flight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N2kfnkoA18
King of Heaven:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv4v2cDn3Qc&feature=youtu.be
Thats all you need to fly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1avzUWeRogI
Dream came true: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylLSj1TbtTg&feature=youtu.be
- a PPT material Flying from Manole to Vlaicus plane and Prunarius rocket
presenting the history of Romanian aviation from the first pioneers till the future
plans ARCA has been trying to turn into reality about the most cost-effective
aircraft ever built it is a part of the Comenius common final product and can
be found at the following link:
http://www.ra.didaxis.pt/nfq/comenius/atividades/trab_pdf2turn/5_final_work/index.html#p=1
- a PPT material in English presenting the lifecycle of a star with its stages;
- a PPT material about the universe, solar system, the Sun, planets and satellites;
- a PPT material reviewing the book 5 minutes after Cosmos which presents in
detail the experience the only Romanian astronaut had in the outer space
mission;
- PPT materials in Romanian and English about the Romanian pioneers of
aviation;
- a PPT material in Romanian and English called The ABC of tollerance
- a PPT material about the transportation by plane, airlines, tourist companies
and charter flights;
- a PPT material about humans desire and motivation to fly and the symbols of
flight;
- a PPT material in Romanian and English about the evolution of flight in
worlds history from the first attempts to fly in Antiquity till the modern
aircrafts from today;
- a PPT material about the types of aircrafts which exist today and their usage;
- a PPT material about airlines, flight companies and aviation industry in
general;

7. A DVD comprising all activities teachers and students were involved in:
- a PPT general presentation of the Comenius partnership From Icarus to
Interplanetary travels;
- a PPT presentation of all activities organised in our school with students on the
theme of flying and aviation during the 2 years of this Comenius partnership;
- a video presenting the visits and practical activities organized during the first
year of the partnership was made by Mr. Preda Cosmin, teacher of history.
There are presented the visits teachers organized with students at ROMAERO
Baneasa, The National Museum of History (Aviation Department), The National
Agency of Meteorology and The Polytechnic University Museum. There are
also presented the practical activities in which, under the guidance of teachers,
the students designed and built planes, model planes, rockets, kites, paper
lanterns and water rockets. The video is available on Youtube at the following
link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwVnEfkD8TA
- PPT presentations of the project meetings which took place in all partner
institutions throughout the project;
- 7 videos have been made using the Movie Maker with all the photos which had
been taken during each project meeting and they are also available on Youtube
at the following links:
Romania: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o-tLF0In_Y&feature=youtu.be
Greece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whm1DuS5P3U
Turkey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAGxzThAmaQ&feature=youtu.be
Hungary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUHvfxSTVtw
Lithuania: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4AeERIB2es&feature=youtu.be
Portugal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5juUkRu5kYM
Slovakia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHAsU0XjSLg&feature=youtu.be

8. Final products made by students using cardboard and glue during the
Geography lessons, which can be used at different activities long after the
completion of the project:
- the solar system with the Sun and all planets;
- the cardboard spyglasses which can project different constellations on a dark
wall in the light of a torch;
- the model of the Hubble telescope;
- the model of the Sun.


Common final products made by all partners

1. A document consisting of 2 parts:
a) a collection of PPT materials in English, one from each partner school, in
which students present their own national history of aviation and information
about the solar system - our contribution is the PPT material Flying from
Manole to Vlaicus plane and Prunarius rocket and it presents the evolution of
the Romanian aviation;
b) a collection of stories from each partner school inspired by the theme of our
project, written by students in the native language of the authors and translated
into English as well - our contribution to this collection consists of 7 stories
about flight and unusual flying devices and 8 stories about aliens, UFOs and
humans encounters with extraterrestrial creatures.
The document which has a length of 189 pages is available for students and
teachers not only in the libraries of all partner schools, but it is also uploaded on
the Internet as a PDF document and an electronical book at the following links:
http://www.ra.didaxis.pt/nfq/comenius/atividades/final/final_work/Final%20work%20Comenius.pdf
http://www.ra.didaxis.pt/nfq/comenius/atividades/trab_pdf2turn/5_final_work/index.html#p=1
This way, the document can be read and used at different activities by teachers
and students even after the completion of the partnership.

2. A poster of the partnership which represents the front cover of the above
mentioned document and which comprises the major theme, symbols, logos and
names of all partners, along with photos from each partner meeting. It can be
used by partners as separate poster as well to promote their institutions and the
Comenius partnership From Icarus to Interplanetary Travels.

Comenius Multilateral Partnership "From Icarus To Interplanetary Travels"

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