2nd Short Term Teachers' Exchange in Latvia
Between Sunday 3rd June 2018 and Saturday 9th June 2018, the representatives of the Latvian, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish and English schools taking part in the project Erasmus+ KA2 Call 2017 took part in the 2nd short term teacher exchange in Latvia.
The 2nd Short term teacher exchange in Riga, Latvia had a meeting with the following agenda:
Sunday 3rd June - Travel Day
Monday 4th June
Official Welcome
Guided tour of the school
Departure to Riga- Cultural visit to Riga –Old town( by bus)
Evaluation of the work sessions, feedback.
Free time
Traditional Latvian cuisine at LIDO restaurant
Tuesday June 5th
English club LV- presentation ( concert)
Latvian presentation (English club and scientists club activities)
Presentations of each country ( 20 min each)
Rehabilitation centre outdoor activities – Nordic Walking
Departure to Ulbroka Krivu Klets- private open-air museum- Latvian rural farm
Return to school for a Latvian dinner with the famous illusionist Roby Trankalis
Departure to Riga
Wednesday June 6th
Cultural visit to Rundale , Bauska castle ; Jūrmala
Arrival back to hotel
Thursday June 7th
Scientists trip to Getlini
Visit to Ulbrokas kindergarten ‘Pinenite’
Lunch at Azerbaidzana restaurant
Departure to school
Support program in rehabilitation centre ( salt, relax, coordination and balance, O2 cocktail, paraffin wax)
Evaluation of the work session, feedback.
Interactive folklore program '' How to become a Latvian? Traditional Latvian evening.
Departure to Rīga.
Dinner- river boat ‘Vecriga’- Riga panoramic trip
Friday June 8th
Workshop for all participants (Badges workshop )
Preparation of the activities for the next meeting. Delivery of Certificates of Attendance.
Lunch in school
Departure to Riga
Saturday June 9th
Departure of partners- travel day
Meeting Minutes– Monday 4th June 2018
People attended the meeting including principals, teachers, volunteers and coordinators.
Attending the meeting:
From Latvia
Svetlana Stepane
Julija Zagorska
Irena Frankovica
Sanita Tosena
Zane Gulbe
From Portugal
Ana Alves
Natália Rebelo
Silvia Coutinho
From Italy
Cláudia Gattella
Francesca Civico
Zaklina Bajramovska
From England
Jayne Smith
Jade Burton
William Davies
Laura Smith
Leah Curry
From Turkey
Şule Kolcu Gün
Mustafa Emre Gün
Mustafa Erol
Huseyin Dadak
Yusef Akgün
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Partners were given a guided tour of the school. We learnt of the history of the school. Partners had the opportunity to see the kindergarten as well as classes for older children. A tour of the rehabilitation centre was given and all partners learnt of the high importance well-being and good health which is placed at the heart of this school.
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Lunch was provided by the school. Traditional Latvian cuisine.
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Partners departed to visit Riga to learn of the culture in this beautiful city. Walking tour of Riga.
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Evening meal of traditional Latvian food was provided at Lido restaurant (windmill) where partners were entertained with accordion music.
Meeting Minutes– 5th June 2018
· All partners watched a wonderful performance by the children from the kindergarten. The children sang for us- songs in Latvian and English and then acted out the story of Little Bluey in English.
· Each country presented the work they had been doing in the English clubs, their song performance by the children and their story acted by the children.
· Local TV cameras attended the meeting and interviewed all coordinators.
· Lunch was provided by the school. Traditional Latvian cuisine.
· Partners all took part in a Nordic walking session through the pine woods surrounding the school. This was an activity often carried out with the children.
· Visit to Latvian rural farm open-air museum
· Evening meal at school – Latvian dinner with the famous illusionist Roby Trankalis
· Partners departed for Riga
Meeting Minutes- 6th June 2018
Cultural visit to Rundale, Bauska castle ; Jūrmala.
The day was spent visiting the above three places of culture. The first was Rundāle Palace, one of the two major baroque palaces built for the Dukes of Courland in what is now Latvia. The palace was built in two periods, from 1736 until 1740 and from 1764 until 1768. Rundale palace is one of Latvia's most outstanding monuments of Baroque and Rococo art.
Bauska castle is surrounded by picturesque scenery, located in the territory of Bauska town, on the land strip between the rivers Mūsa and Mēmele, not far from the place where the rivers meet to form the river Lielupe. The Bauska castle complex consists of two parts. The oldest of them – Livonia Order Castle – was built in the middle of the 15th century, but only ruins have remained up to nowadays. While the newest – residence for the Duke of Kurzeme (Courland) – was built at the end of the 16th century. The Bauska Castle represents an example of military architecture in the period from 15th to 17th century.
Jūrmala is a Latvian resort city on the Gulf of Riga, just west of the capital, Riga. It’s known for wooden, art nouveau seaside villas, Soviet-era sanatoriums and long, sandy Jūrmala Beach.
· A meeting with all coordinators took place whilst on the bus. Discussion of dates for next meeting and focus for the meeting.
Meeting Minutes 7th June 2018
· Science trip to Getlini. We learnt about the recycling of waste at Getlini and visited the greenhouses where waste is turned to heat to grow cucumbers and tomatoes.
· Partners visited a second school in Ulbroka, in Stopini Municipality. A guided tour was provided for partners as well as presentations from the school and municipality.
· Lunch at Turkish influence cuisine restaurant- Azerbaidzana
· Return to school to participate in rehabilitation centre treatments so that we could understand the full extent of therapies offered to the children. Partners experienced the salt room, paraffin wax treatment on the hands, drank an oxygen cocktail, physical exercise session for balance and co-ordination and relaxation room.
· We all learnt how to become a Latvian- traditional songs and dance.
· All partners departed for Riga
· Evening experiencing a Riga panoramic boat trip with dinner.
Meeting minutes 8th June 2018
· All partners attended a badge making work shop.
· Discussions regarding plans for the next meeting were had. Fly to Pescara to meet on Sunday 23rd September 2018.
· Certificates were presented.
· Meeting closed
Plans were made for the next groups. The activities will have a Maths focus.
1.
Each country is to start their maths groups. Partners will present their work in Italy.
Partners will record all activities carried out in their Maths groups between June and September 2018 and create a presentation for all partners in Italy. Please keep presentations within a 10 minute time frame.
Activities to cover with the maths groups are:
· Maths games for the children
· Organizing a chess tournament
· Preparing and playing number games with the children
· Observing geometric shapes outdoors
· Organizing orienteering activities for pupils
Other activities to be completed between visits-
· Disseminate activities from the visit to Latvia to children, staff and parents
· Inform local newspapers of the visit
· Complete impact analysis of Language clubs
Not all schools have children present over the summer. This will make it difficult to get evidence of maths clubs for September. An interim report will be given in Italy with further ‘top-up- information’ provided in the UK if necessary.
2.
As we have a very short time between visits and there are complications for gathering evidence, we will also share information about our own school’s pedagogy / theories.
Please prepare a short presentation on an aspect of your practice which demonstrates your beliefs in high quality early education.
3.
We will need to prove the impact the project has had on our children and staff. Please could everyone write a paragraph on the impact the language groups have had in your own school.
The visit to Italy will take place 23rd September 2018 to 29th September 2018 (23rd and 29th September are travel days with 5 working project days)
The focus for this meeting will be Maths clubs.
Summary of Tasks to be completed between June 18 and September 18:
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Create a presentation to give in Italy to show the work carried out with the children regarding the maths groups. Please bring an electronic version which we can share at the meeting. No longer than 10 minutes to present please. Activities to be covered are-
· Maths games for the children
· Organizing a chess tournament
· Preparing and playing number games with the children
· Observing geometric shapes outdoors
· Organising orienteering activities for pupils
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Think of an aspect of your practice and share a presentation to demonstrate theories/ beliefs in high quality early education. No longer than 10 minutes to present please.
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Apply for your Euro pass certificates if you would like them.
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Join all social media groups if not in them already- upload photographs and presentations to the dropbox facility/ WhatsApp page
Video -Vidzeme TV broadcast about the meeting in LATVIA -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_LpKJSP4Wg&t=6s
Video about activities https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq8ply6wu88
