I hadn’t liked English since my first year at elementary school. I thought it was a boring subject and I wasn’t interested in it.The situation didn’t change until I was 10,when I went to London for the first time. I don’t know what exactly happened, probably that beautiful city, these wonderful people and that amazing culture, but I started to like English! When I came back I started to study English in a serious way, and I was so excited to get in touch with that new world! I absolutely wanted to go back to London.
Now I’m 16, and my love for English the world grows more and more. That’s why, when my English teacher suggested I should try the Comenius selection, last year, I was so happy. So I had the possibility to travel and go to a foreign country to improve my English.
Soon came the 12th September 2012: it was time to leave, and I was really looking forward to it!
It was a long travel to go to Stratford, but it was really worth it. Finally, in the evening on the 12th September, I was in Stratford, a lovely and typical English town: small and nice houses with green gardens around and lots of parks.
The taxi took us from Birmingham Airport to Stratford high school. I literally got crazy when I heard the little old English driver speaking a typical British English, since it is quite difficult nowadays because of ‘American contamination’.
We arrived at school and it looked like it was a different world: it was a giant building well equipped , with a wonderful gym, open playgrounds and a canteen. But, most of all, I was impressed by the English school system: every student can choose which classes to attend and which not. They have different subjects, also including vocational study classes.
So, we arrived at school and there was my hosting family waiting for me. They were so nice! My new family was made up of Rebecca, the mom, Chaise, my twin, and Natty, a sweet she-dog.
They took me in and tried to make me feel as comfortable as if I were at home. Rebecca tried to cook Italian food for me, Chaise gave me her room, but at the same time they tried to make me get in touch with English everyday life , and they were brilliant on that. I spent three days in Stratford, not so many, but I visited the main tourist sites, like Shakespeare’s house, Anne Hathaway’s cottage, the Shakespeare centre, the Swan theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the clock tower , situated in the middle of the main square.
I really loved staying in Stratford, it is a little and quite town that offers so many facilities easily reachable, even better than a big and chaotic city.
During the mornings I spent in Stratford, I went to school with Chaise and we worked with all the other guys who were taking part in the Comenius project: there were two English guys from Truro, two Spanish, two German, two Finnish, two Polish, and, of course, many English guys from Stratford. They all were lovely! We didn’t have the possibility to know each other very well or to spend lot of time together, but something began in these three days. We had the possibility to get in touch with different cultures and different ways of thinking, and, according to me, it was an important enrichment for everyone. We worked together to organize the Comenius activities to do in the other cities part of the project.
This meeting lasted just three days, but on that 15th September we left Stratford knowing that we all were part of a big new European family. It was a sad and painful moment when I had to say goodbye, but I’m still keeping in touch with everyone I met in Stratford. That’s why I’m pretty sure I can say it was one of the best experiences in my whole life!
I’ve lived it as the best opportunity ever to speak English with native people and to improve it: at the beginning I made some mistakes, but the frequent input of native speakers helped me to become more fluent in few days.
Thanks to the Comenius project I lived a fantastic and useful experience, which combined together language, culture and free time.
Of course three days were not enough, but they were really meaningful to shape my cultural enrichment.
That is why I suggest a similar experience to everyone, to grow up both culturally and psychologically.
As for me, I hope I’ll go to England again in order to discover other wonderful places like Stratford and go on learning English.
I wish everyone could find a European family to love and to grow up with.
Giuliana Spinella
Liceo Vittorio Emanuele II
Palermo
Author Archive: Palermo Italy
Sicilians In Finland
WELCOME POSTER! 
At school! 
-26° and having fun! 
Writing Comenius in the snow 
The sunset on the frozen lake 
Tea and cake 
In the Town Museum
Hi! We are Martina and Roberto. We are the students from Palermo, together with Gaia and Riccardo, who travelled to Tampere in January 2013. When we arrived at Tampere Airport in the evening, our twins Helka and Olli were waiting for us and we were all excited! The families were very friendly as well.
The next day we went to school. It is a beautiful school although the building isn’t new. We met other Finnish students and teachers and the headmistress welcomed all the Comenius group.Then we had a short and interesting history lesson about Finland. After an Englishman who teaches English at this school talked about Finnish people and his experience of living in Finland. It was very funny! We had lunch in the canteen with our friends.
Then a professor from Tampere University talked to us about courses in English that are open even to students coming from other countries. That can be very useful for us in the near future!
After that, we went sightseeing and spent the evening at home with our families. We were happy to stay indoors because it was very cold outside! Some of us tried the sauna, another new experience for us!
The next day every school group made posters about the school system in their countries and then had to present them to everybody. After lunch we took to coach to Kuru College of Forestry, situated in fact in a forest. A teacher there informed us about what students learn there and how they are trained.
It was around -26 degrees! And we went on a short walk in the wood with a guide. Luckily there was a centre in the nature reserve where we went to see a documentary and buy some souvenirs and of course find some warmth! After the teachers of the Finnish school took us to a beautiful frozen lake. It was awesome with the sun setting! Nearby we had some tea and cake.
The following day was Saturday and we spent the morning in two interesting museums in town. One was inside an old textile factory and in fact it was full of information about the industrial past of the city. The second had several exhibitions. Very interesting the one about the war.
We had a free afternoon but the real highlight was the farewell party organized inside the school. There was a great buffet and then we saw videos and funny sketches in the school theatre. Riccardo showed off on the piano! And after games and lots of fun with the fabulous guys of Tampere and all the others. It was a fantastic way of ending a short but intense international meeting.
Emilio at Stratford
Hi! My name is Emilio. That’s me next to Giuliana.
It was a fantastic experience for me to take part in the first meeting, first of all
because I hadn’t ever been to England before, and then because I had the
opportunity of meeting very nice people (both students and teachers) and
exchanging ideas with them all. The principal part of our work in
the two days of meeting was to prepare the planning of what to do in Malaga
(the Spanish city involved in the project), and the best ideas were to clean
Malaga’s beach of the rubbish and to play a beachvolley match. Unfortunately,
the meeting was just for two days, but I had a real good time in Stratford and
I think it was an unforgettable experience.
Evaluation Questionnaire
Liceo Classico Vittorio Emanuele II
Evaluation Questionnaire
Comenius Project “Young People: European Futures 2012-2014
Express your opinion on the project using the following grid
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1Did the project meet your initial expectations? 2Were the activities in the programme coherent with the aims of the project? 3Was the duration of the project adequate? 4Do you think the project was organized effectively? 5Was the project carried out fully? 6Were the teachers involved in the organisation/ mobility/ies helpful enough? 7Was the experience abroad positve? 8Were the topics you dealt with interesting? 9Has your partecipation in the project helped you to acquire more knowledge and enrich yourself from a cultural and personal point of view? 10Was the experience of hosting a foreign student positive? 11Did you find it hard to get on with your partners from other schools? 12Do you think the activities in the programme have helped you to develop your creativity and/or increase your ability to carry out project work? 13How much has the project contributed to improve your relationship with fellow students? 14How much has the project contributed to improve your relationship with your teachers? 15How much has taking part in the project helped you to learn more English and improve communication in English? 16Has the experience helped you to become more autonomous and confident? 17Do you think the impact with new customs and lifestyles has been positive for you? 18
Il cDo you think this kind of project can help you raise awareness of belonging to the wider European community? 19Do you think collaboration with young people of other countries is useful to carry out a common project? 20To which extent do you think a project like this one can help to achieve some of the policies of the European Union regarding e.g. linguistic diversity, intercultural collaboration, solidarity, tolerance, fighting against all forms of prejudice and discrimination, social inclusion, integration of people with special needs? 22Do you think the opportunities you have had should have more support and visibility?
23 What kind of problems did you have during the project?
24 What would you suggest to improve this kind of project?
Volunteering In Palermo
Volunteering in Palermo
Sicilian people have always been very hospitable and they have always shown great tolerance to people of other faiths and origins.
Traditionally young people in Sicily are actively involved in church associations as well as in the Scouts.
Young people in Palermo are becoming more and more aware of social injustice and are willing to care for and work for the destitute.
Thanks to the project, the Comenius group of students successfully organized a football match in March 2013 to raise money to bring to Malaga.
Another example is how the Liceo students have reacted to the Lampedusa migrant shipwreck in Oct. 2013. Teachers and students of the Liceo Classico Vittorio Emanuele have met experts, such as journalists, doctors, NGO members, on several occasions, in order to acquire more information on the topical issue of immigration across the Mediterranean sea and how it is to be dealt with.
Many initiatives have been planned throughout the school year; some have been already carried out, such as a fundraising bazaar at school on 13 Dec., the proceeds of which were donated to the migrant shelter at Piana degli Albanesi, a small city near Palermo.
There is also active collaboration going on with the Church of Santa Chiara in the centre of Palermo, which hosts several social services aimed at temporary and stable immigrants; several students and teachers from the Liceo are engaged every week in volunteer service and are busy helping migrant children and adults with school homework, teaching the Italian language and organizing sports activities.
On 1 March, the day of the Migrants in Italy, the school held a conference inviting many people belonging to the different migrant communities in Palermo to discuss, together with some experts, about the rights of foreign people and to perform and share some dances and poem readings.
Employment in Italy
Here’s the contribution of our school in Palermo about occupation in Italy.