ACTUALITIES
Germany - May 2010
COMMENTS ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE

100 students from different classes were asked to fill in the questionnaire. 78 of them returned the sheets which is a fairly good rate. Nevertheless this survey is not representative but it gives an impression of the relations between young and old people.

All of them know at least one part of their grandparents. We didn’t ask who knows who as we thought this is not important. Nevertheless it is typical for all countries that the women live longer which can also be seen in our little survey.

It was astonishing to find out how many of our students visit their grandparents very regularly although many of their grandparents live in other towns or even in other countries. But this is something special in Friedrichshafen and the countries where their grandparents live range from France, Austria to Russia, China and Kenia. This is also shown in the high percentage of students who see their grandparents only once a year. This also shows the structure of the background of our students.

On the other side a large number of students see their grandparents every day or at least once a week. This leads to the conclusion that many of our students, especially in the lower grades, spend some of their time together with the grandparents, probably because both parents are working.

This aspect is also shown in two other questions: For a high percentage of students the grandparents play an important role in their lives and mot of them have good or even very good relations with their grandparents.

Very interesting was the last question. Many of the pupils said that they expect more respect from the seniors. In another survey done among seniors they complained that the young people have no more respect to the seniors.

Maybe both sides should talk about this …

The Results - Questionaire for the grandparents
The Results - Questionaire for students

 
 
Latvia - May 2010

From 4th till 9th May ,2010, the second Comenius project meeting took place in Daugavpils State gymnasium. There were presented the results of this project year, made new plans for the next 6 months. The students from 4 countries taught each other some words in every language, some dances, they learned a lot about partner schools and states. We visited the senior house and brought our presents – greeting cards with different wishes. On the last day we made a trip to the bread museum in Aglona.

In the 2nd week of May there is Mothers` day celebration in Latvia. Our students visited our partner institution –senior house and gave a little concert. There are about 275 elderly people of different nationalities (Latvian, Russian, Polish people) living in this house. For this reason we sang songs and prepared greeting cards in different languages.

 
Poland - May 2010

In May we visited school in Latvia. For the first time our students met with students from Turkey, Germany and Latvia. We had the opportunity to visit the Polish Secondary School in Daugavpils. Latvian students who acted as a guide to our pupils showed us the most interesting places in the city.

During our meeting in Daugavpils we visited the Old Citizens Home. We were invited for a concert prepared by some students. The elderly were very happy to meet with students from Latvia, Poland, Germany and Turkey. Students gave them some handmade cards with greetings written in all four languages.

All students returned from Latvia full of new impressions, happy to get to know new country and happy to make new friends.

In May we also celebrated Mother’s Day. Our students invited their mothers and grandparents for the ceremony. Children prepared an artistic programme and a small snack for all the invited guests. They also prepared stage scenery and made some costumes. Students from each grade recited poems and sang some songs. The main attraction of the show was multimedia presentation about students’ mothers. Pupils used some old photos of their mothers and compared them with the present appearance which gave rise to a great happiness and enthusiasm among all gathered. A meeting like this was a salutary experience. It helped us to integrate and develop better relationships between school and family society.

Results from interviews

In May a group of students interviewed their grandparents. Then , during English lesson students presented their results. That was a great experience for both students and grandparents. Some students confessed that they didn’t know much about their grandparents’ past. All pupils listened to their friends and watched the presentations with curiosity. Some grandparents gave their grandchildren very old, beautiful photos . The grandparents were happy to think back to the time of their childhood and happy that the young generation wants to know something about their lives.


The results of a survey.

In May we finalized the results from questionnaires. We carried out two surveys. We questioned one hundred students and one hundred grandparents. Here are the results:
 
Turkey - May 2010

The month of May was full of lots of interaction and fun. It started with our visit to Daugavpils – Latvia with six children and two teachers. It was great to see the children working, sharing and integrating together as they presented their experiences and ideas.

Many thanks to our host country who made our visit so memorable.

After returning to Turkey the students gave a short presentation about their time in Latvia to their fellow classmates. Suna and Ali prepared a panel in the school foyer for those interested to read.

On the first Friday of the month the 5 and 6 year old children gave a concert for the mothers and grandmothers to celebrate Mother’s Day. The children sang, danced and recited a few poems.

Mid-month the Year 4 class had a grandparents and family day. Everyone enjoyed themselves picnicing, playing and listening to one another’s stories.

The weekly afternoon sessions of folkore and music with students and seniors continues. They are in the final preparations for thier concert in June.

A great month of meeting new and old firends.
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