Let's discover hidden talents

Let’s Discover Hidden Talents

THE SIXTH MEETING IN GREECE

1st  - 7th JUNE 2015

 

Monday 1st June (Holiday of the Holy Spirit)

 

In the morning our Comenius partners from Poland, Lithuania and Turkey arrived at Thessaloniki airport. Mr. Anthidis and Mrs. Pavlidou welcomed them and escorted them to the school on a coach. On their arrival at the school they were offered an informal welcoming by the school head teacher Mrs. Ioannidou, by Mr. Kasotakis, the Greek Comenius coordinator as well as many other teachers of the school. After that, they met the hosting families and finally they were taken to Hotel Olympia for their accommodation.

In the afternoon, our Comenius partners from Catalonia arrived at the airport and they were driven to schoolboy Mr. Anthidis, Mr. Davatzis and Mr.Trontsios. There, they met the hosting families and they were driven to Hotel Olympia.

 

Tuesday 2nd June

 

All Comenius teachers came to school by coach. MrsChatziioannidou was with them. The school was decorated with the flags of the participating countries. There were also noticeboards with pictures and information about these countries and their traditions. On the noticeboards the guests could also see various projects and activities realized during the programme. When the Comenius teachers arrived, they were welcomed in the schoolyard by pupils dressed in traditional costumes and they were offered some coffee and traditional Greek breakfast delicacies.

This warm, short welcoming was followed by a brief presentation of all Comenius teams in a classroom decorated especially for the occasion as the school lacks an assembly hall. There, the teams offered the hosting team presents and souvenirs. Our school offered all Comenius participants a folder with stationery and brochures about Thessaloniki and Oreokastro. Each participant was also given a T-shirt with the Comenius programme logo and the coordinates of our school printed on it.

After that, Mr. Kasotakis and Mrs. Pavlidou accompanied the Comenius teachers and pupils on a short sightseeing of the local church of Agios Athanasios. Upon their arrival, the priest of the church, Father Emmanuel welcomed our guests and Mrs. Koufounakishowed them around the temple and gave a short speech on the history of our town. Finally, the Comenius partners were taken to the town hall where they were welcomed by the mayor and some city council representatives.

In the end, all Comenius teachers and pupils went on a visit to the “Dinosaur Park”. Finally, they were taken to “Chrysikos Restaurant” for a formal lunch. On their leave, the Greek teachers offered each Comenius teacher a souvenir basket of traditional Greek products.

 

Wednesday 3rd June

 

All school pupils and some parents went on a daytrip to Yippee Camp in Chalkidiki. The Comenius teachers and pupils came along and at the camp they had the opportunity to take part in various activities such as games, dancing etc. They returned to Thessaloniki late in the afternoon.

 

Thursday 4th July

 

The Comenius teachers and pupils went on a visit to Aegae. Mr. Kasotakis and Mrs. Pavlidou were with them. At the museum, they attended an educational programme about the royal tombs of Vergina. After that, they had lunch at Agios Nikolaos Park in Naoussa. Finally, they went back to Thessaloniki late in the afternoon.

 

Friday 5th July

 

The Comenius partners came to school early in the morning. First, they were offered coffee and snacks. Then, they participated in an art craft workshop organized by Mrs. Chatziioannidou in two classrooms. The teachers were guided into making a mosaic of the (monogram) decorative initials of Thessaloniki and the pupils were guided into making a mosaic of an owl the Greek symbol of wisdom. After the workshop, they all went to the schoolyard for some games. The activity served as a follow-up of a previous project during which all participating countries had presented one traditional game and one sport game played in their country. Some of these games were played by pupils from all countries in the schoolyard with the guidance of the teacher of Physical Education Mr. Matsaridis.

Early in the afternoon all Comenius teachers and pupils had lunch at the school. The meal consisted of many homemade traditional Greek dishes, delicacies, drinks and dessert cooked by the Greek teachers.

After lunch, there was a coordinators meeting. The coordinators of the programme made a review of the previous activities because the Greek meeting was the last one and they agreed on how the last report was to be written.

 

Saturday 8th June

 

Late in the afternoon the Comenius partners attended the closing ceremony of the programme that was held at the 2nd Junior high school of Oreokastro. The ceremony was also attended by pupils and parents of our school as well as several town representatives. During this event pupils and teachers from all participating countries took part in a knowledge quiz (concerning the Comenius programme countries) with the help of some Greek pupils. After the quiz, a video was shown about the two-year Comenius programme. Finally, the Comenius teachers and pupils participated in a dramatized presentation of the modern history of Thessaloniki. The ceremony was organized by Mrs. Koutri, Mr. Kasotakis, Mrs. Pavlidou, Mrs. Chatziioannidou, Mrs. Valsamidou and Mrs. Tsoleridou.

After the closing ceremony, the Parents’ association of our school held a fest in the school yard. There, the Comenius guests were offered dinner, they tasted local products, they watched traditional Greek dances from Macedonia and Crete and they danced Greek dances. The party finished late at night.

 

Sunday 9th June

 

Early in the morning and late in the afternoon MrKasotakis accompanied the Turkish and the Lithuanian team on their way to the airport. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon MrKasotakis and Mr. Davatzis accompanied the Polish and the Catalan team on their way to the airport.