Newsletter 1

Newsletter 1: 1st term

When I was told to participate in the Project Erasmus plus 2015-2017, I felt very pleased as in the previous school year I had realized how Cecilia, the present headmistress and the previous coordinator of the project, had encouraged our students to participate in the project, and so, to appreciate English as a vehicle to communicate effectively with other overseas students. It was a unique experience for them and for this reason in this school year we are very satisfied with the development of this new project.

As we know, the overall aim of this project is to help our students to realise the serious problems of our current European society. Consequently, the Spanish team, composed of the teachers of Maths, Physical Education. Music, Spanish language and its literature and finally English. All them are eager to be involved in the set of activities proposed for this term. Besides, other school teachers have offered their help when the Spanish mobility takes place next October. With regard to the students, those from the four years of Secondary education along with the teachers named before are actively participating in this way:

After our return from Portugal, the Spanish team started to devise a plan dealing with the different ways to help and raise some money to the first of our three organizations chosen: “Madre courage” (“brave mums”: an organization set in Peru with headquarters worldwide which struggles to provide basic rights to human beings: food, and water, education and accommodation). Then, we decided to organize a caring open air market with objects made by our students in class. They were to be sold to all the school teachers and students and finally the students’ parents on the 22^nd of December, the last school day before Christmas holidays. This caring open air market would be organized to raise some money to help this supportive organization.

For this remarkable event, some students of the second, third and fourth year of secondary education along with some cooperative teachers have been working hard during the daily school breaks of the month of November so as to draw some posters in Spanish and English which would be displayed next to the stalls. They would deal with the topics the objects belong to. Take for instance “food, household items, cakes and sweets, earrings, toys, clothes, books,  and finally purses.

In mid November the teachers and students belonging to this project took advantage of one expecting visit: the Granada headquarter coordinator of the organization Madre corage. For one hour and a half, the coordinator gave us a speech concerning the presentation of this organization, its aims, philosophy and daily activities and finally the best ways to help it. This speech was accompanied by the showing of some slides and the final talk between the students and the coordinator. Our students became very impressed by the high levels of poverty of Peru (this organization had its origins in this country) as well as the set of activities developed in the different worldwide headquarters. Finally, the coordinator promised us to come back our school once the celebration of the caring market takes place.

We hope to help this helpful organization with these activities and to familiarize our students with the serious problems of poverty of our present society.