Hotel an tourism Proffesional School "Akad. Nedelcho Nedelchev"
Bulgaria
The school’s focus is to make known the various European and non-European cultures, so that there is a democratic and mutual exchange among different people.
We promote European opportunities and learning through experience, learning by doing, networking and exchange. We believe in multilingualism, human rights and mentoring as a set of practices for inclusion and attention to those who suffer socio-economic, geographic and psycho-physical disadvantage. We are specialized in European Internships projects thanks to the experience in Lifelong Learning Programs, and in particular, Comenius and Erasmus. The school acts as partner and coordinator.
Moreover, we work in:
• educational workshops/meetings for our students;
• training and activities for teachers etc., both at local and international levels;
• advise in relation to cultural heritage, tourism, environment, and civil infrastructures.
With the purpose to give the youngsters the opportunity to make deeper knowledge of other cultures and customs, we work in Erasmus project and national programm. Moreover, sustainable development and heritage are own strengths. The team has extensive experience in the implementation of educational projects under European and National programs:
1. In 2010 - Comenius Sector Program; Preparatory visit - France, Biarritz
2. In 2012 - A language assistant
3. In 2014 - Leonardo da Vinci "Sharing professional experience in the restaurant industry" - Vienna, Austria
4. In 2016 - Erasmus + "Mediterranean cuisine" - Málaga, Spain
5. Participation in Christmas in Europe - Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Portugal
6. Participation in the project "Students Training" - 2016-2018
7. Participation in the project "Your Class" - 2015-2018
Our students conduct their practice and work during the summer months at the resort of the Council of Ministers in Sunny Beach. Our students are eager to learn and to develop. Our teachers are competent and flexible. Our educational level is our main objective. Every year teachers undergo training courses. We use digital resources and we try to implement new technologies and strategies. The theme of quality standards in tourism and certification in tourism is particularly relevant for Bulgaria. The application of high standards, norms and requirements through the introduction of various control systems and systems of quality certification, are strategic approaches to the development of tourist companies and destinations. With its wonderful resources our country can be an attractive center for many tourists who have requirements for higher standards in quality of tourist products.
The high quality of tourism products can be guaranteed by highly qualified and educated professionals acquainted to the European quality standards in tourism. Students from our school are among the most attractive in the summer season to conduct their practice and work in tourist sites on the Black Sea.
Music School of Ilion
Greece
Ilion Music School, located in the western suburbs of Attica, is a secondary public school that involves not only formal education but aesthetic culture through music and the arts in general.
The learning environment of the school enhances innovation and creativity. The students are admitted to the institution through competitive audition and educated in sciences, humanities, foreign languages, technology, music theory, history composition and performance. They are taught three different musical instruments and have the chance to participate in the school orchestra, the chamber choir, the byzantine choir, music groups related to folk musiс, traditional music dance group, photography group, environmental group.
To enhance the quality of partnerships within the community and beyond. To ensure leadership is committed to high standards and excellent outcomes. To embed aspirational attitudes and effective procedures that value and enhance personal development, behavior and welfare. By the end of the year all school groups present their work through reading, discussions, performances, presentations and mini exhibitions.
Last year twelve (12) different projects were successfully completed and five (5) were presented in school competitions for best practices and innovation. An active environmental group has been created at Ilion Music School that has been collaborating with Institutions, Schools, Universities, NGOs, Centers of Sustainability, local organizations for the past eight (8) years. The themes of our projects are: Migration, Financial Crisis, Climate Change, Pollution of the Environment, The Importance of Indigenous Varieties, Active Citizenship, Solidarity.
The eco-team of our school participated in a successful program I CARE and ACT which motivated the students on solidarity, volunteering and active citizenship. The program was implemented in 2017 and we collaborated with the university of Peloponnesus in Greece for the questionnaires, before and after implementation. In the beginning we gave the questionnaires to the students to find out if they comprehend the concepts of solidarity, volunteering and active citizenship. Then we had a brainstorming with the team and we tried to explain the different subjects. There was a book that they could look it up to find out past actions by other schools.
In the meantime, the teachers were responsible for creating a detailed plan for the project and include possible partners and bibliography. After many meetings the students started finding out innovative ideas on how we were going to be active citizens. They did amazing things, for example one female student learnt out by heart a song in the Arabic language to be able to sing to children refugees in one of our meetings with them. Furthermore, our ideas were so unique that other school teams started following us in our actions.
Italy
I.S.S. “Mario Rutelli” is a Secondary Technical School covering three fields of study: Constructions - Environment and Territory, Tourism, and high school Science.
The school has: 1126 students, 125 teachers and 26 administrative personnel (included Secretariat, technical staff, etc.). Moreover, the school has the following laboratories:
1 Chemistry and Science,
1 Physics,
1 Constructions,
1 CAD/BIM and 3D Modelling/Printing,
1 Topography,
3 Computer labs,
1 Environmental lab and system.
Concluding: Library, covered Gym, and outside areas for sports and athletics. The school is based in Palermo. It focuses on teenagers and youth development. The school wants to create the premises for a better development of the young people and their more suited integration within their respective communities.
The key to I.S. “Rutelli” success lies in the quality and professionalism of our Staff. Tourism, Cultural Heritage, Environment, Science, Spatial Planning, Design and the world of the Construction industry are our own skills. The team is full of innovative spirit that deeply desires to encourage young people to study, work or volunteer aboard. We truly believe that this can significantly help to the personal development of each youngster or young adult and international experience required this way is the right tool to deal prejudices.
On the local level, we focus on Youth Empowerment, we support youth's ability to participate actively in society. For this reason, we organize various seminars, educational training, youth exchanges and workshops related to our mission. We strongly believe in the importance of education and experiential learning. On the regular basis, we organize workshops at the local schools and introduce these educational approaches to students, youth leaders, and youth workers. The school’s focus is to make known the various European and non-European cultures, so that there is a democratic and mutual exchange among different people.
We promote European opportunities and learning through experience, learning by doing, networking and exchange. We believe in multilingualism, human rights and mentoring as a set of practices for inclusion and attention to those who suffer socio-economic, geographic and psychophysical disadvantage.
We are specialized in European Internships projects thanks to the experience in Lifelong Learning Programs, and in particular, Comenius and Erasmus. The school acts as partner and coordinator.
Moreover, we work in:
• educational workshops/meetings for our students;
• training and activities for teachers etc., both at local and international levels;
• advise in relation to cultural heritage, tourism, environment, and civil infrastructures.
With the purpose to give the youngsters the opportunity to make deeper knowledge of other cultures and customs, we work in Erasmus project and national program. Moreover, sustainable development and heritage are own strengths.
Istituto Superiore Statale "Mario Rutelli"
RIGA PURVCIEMS SECONDARY SCHOOL
Latvia
Riga Purvciems Secondary School is one of the prestigious schools in Riga, Latvia with the number of students 1400. Students study here from the age of 7 till the age of 18-19.
The main focus is on languages, especially English, which the students start studying from Form1. The students start learning one more foreign language in Form 5. It can be German, French or Spanish. In high school the students have two subjects in English - Literature and Business English. There is also an option of choosing Technical English as a subject as well. The staff of the school organizes events for teachers of Riga and other countries (Estonia for example).
Apart from the intensive academic process the students can perfect their talents in dancing, singing and sports. The dancing ensemble enjoys popularity in other EU countries where it tours with concerts and gets first places in numerous contests. The school organizes a lot of cultural events for students, but also for the neighboring community which are a success. The school has strong ties with the Embassies of the USA, UK, France. The school is one of the first in Latvia to participate in Comenius projects.
The students get a unique experience in cooperating with their peers from different countries which makes it easier to improve their knowledge of English and other languages, their IT skills, to widen their outlook. They get lifelong connections with students-project participants. In other words, they get the invaluable knowledge from the point of view of culture, traditions and education.
In the given project the students will use their knowledge of Business English, English/other foreign languages and other subjects to contribute to the overall outcome of the project. The theme of the project is topical and the students will get a precious experience of how to form firms, to write a business plan, to present their work, to cooperate with other firms, etc. The teachers involved in the project have a wide knowledge of participating in international projects and their prior knowledge will help the students to succeed in the implementation of the project. The students' command of English makes it possible to express their ideas freely. The knowledge they get during their Business English classes will put theory into practice. Moreover, it is common knowledge that entrepreneurship is the area which young people are interested in a lot.
Thus, the joint efforts of the staff and students plus motivation on both sides will add to the success of the project
Liceum Ogólnokształcące w Wołczynie
Poland
Zespół Szkół w Wołczynie is a new and modern school founded in 2002. The institution consists of a primary school and a high school, Liceum Ogólnokształcące w Wołczynie. Students of the high school who are the recipients of this project are 15 - 19 years old. Altogether there are around 400 students with 100 in the secondary school with over 50 teachers in both units. Over the years our students have gained success in different contests on the field of humanities as well as sciences, participated in international projects and students exchanges and have had high results of the end of school exams and maturity exams what allows them to study at colleges and universities across the country.
Unfortunately, the institution is located in socio-economically disadvantaged area. Part of our students come from broken or separated families because of work migration of one or both parents at risk of abandoning school and social exclusion but they are willing and eager to learn and participate in different kinds of activities.
Participation in this project would contribute to the development of competences, knowledge and skills useful to young people on the labor market. Majority of the students commute to school from the rural areas around the town. By involving them into the Erasmus + project we hope to motivate them to better school work and give all the students equal chances to develop their interests, key competences as well as the entrepreneurial spirit and help them take the right decision about their future career.
This project will enable our students to develop self-confidence by sharing communication with their peers and international partners. Furthermore, they will be able to learn about other cultures and widen their European knowledge and broaden their minds. The cross-curricular subjects in Poland related to this project are Entrepreneurship, Information and Communication Technologies, Civics, Culture studies.
Entrepreneurship competence is shaped through school subjects as well as during extracurricular and out-of-school activities, and their development is monitored and directed by teachers as well as in cooperation between school and home. We also have a team of experienced teachers of Entrepreneurship and school counsellor and career advisor who are accustomed to creating and managing links between students and local businesses and promoting entrepreneurship.
Our school organizes meetings and visits with the local business incubator, as well as visits to local universities and careers fairs. The school has been engaged in five multilateral Comenius projects, e-twinning projects and students exchange projects. The school staff gained experience in international cooperation. One of our projects: “Today child – tomorrow entrepreneur” was recognized as an example of “good practice” in 2013.
IES Pablo Picasso
Spain
We are a comprehensive secondary school (12-18 years-old) located in a working-class neighborhood in Malaga. We have compulsory and non-compulsory secondary education students and a vocational training course on ICT. We have approximately 600 students. Most students are Spanish but we also have approximately an almost ten percent of immigrant students, not to mention second generation students, with Spanish nationality but foreign parents.
The school staff consists of 55 people, including janitorial staff, teachers, one school counsellor, a special needs teacher. We deal mostly with formal academic training but we eagerly try to engage our students in activities which are not strictly academic, to encourage cultural awareness, social inclusion, critical thinking or personal development.
Spain, as the rest of our partner countries has recently been stuck with a hard-economic crisis which is just starting to recede. This has resulted in visible disaffection for school among our students, mainly disadvantaged students coming from families with financial problems. Interest in pursuing university degrees has dropped significantly. We firmly believe a great way to counteract this problem is to give them entrepreneurial tools to feel significant and open their possibilities in the world of work or to continue their education.
This project aims at working on ways to include entrepreneurial skills, so it's perfectly suited for our needs. Furthermore, it's a great opportunity to introduce European intercultural values in our school as we need to develop our European Development Plan. The main coordinator of the project; Laura Moreno, in a permanent employee in this school. Many teachers (including the principal and her team) support the project and are keen on taking part, as we all promote an education that goes beyond academics and tries to make our youth more active and committed to current social issues in the world around them.
In case of necessity the headmaster would take over coordinating responsibilities. Although we haven't got previous experience in Erasmus+ at our school, the main coordinator has some experience in Comenius projects in other schools and is aware of the requirements such projects entail. We can offer, though, a wealth of experience on social inclusion practices.
We yearly develop some programs which include working for education for sustainable development, intercultural education, entrepreneurial education and education for peace and gender equality. Such projects include a program on “Entrepreneur culture” (Innicia) which focuses on encouraging students to develop entrepreneurial skills and take on social projects to make significant changes in the world around them. We also belong to the network of “Schools for Peace” in our city, coordinated by our school counsellor, which promotes humanitarian and intercultural values and social awareness among our students.
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