1. As part of the innovative project “Me and the others”, which is implemented in our school this year, emotions appeared once again! While students were taught the parts of the body, such as the heart, the blood, the lungs etc., they correlated everyday idiomatic expressions and phrases with an equivalent emotion, under the guidance of the speech language therapist Mina Miha.
For example, break heart: to cause someone great emotional pain, freeze (someone’s) blood: To affect with terror or dread; horrify, to take one’s breath away: Astonish or shock one, with pleasure, surprise, or some other emotion. Your heart bleeds for someone: you feel sadness and sympathy for someone etc. Students enjoyed the activity and also had the chance to express themselves, through interactive games and imitations, once more in a very productive way!
2. Our colleagues from Spain presented their very interesting custom La Castanyada, which is happening these days in Barcelona. La Castanyada is a popular festival, celebrated in Catalonia and Galicia/Portugal. In Catalonia, celebrations involve eating roast chestnuts, panellets (special biscuits, i.e. cookies), roast or baked sweet potato and preserved fruit (candied or glazed fruit), typically with moscatell to drink. Around the time of this celebration, it is common for street vendors to sell hot toasted chestnuts wrapped in newspaper. In many places, confectioners often organize raffles of chestnuts and preserved fruit. It seems that the tradition of eating these foods comes from the fact that during All Saints’ night, on the eve of All Souls’ Day in the christian tradition, bell ringers would ring bells in commemoration of the dead into the early morning. Friends and relatives would help with this task, and everyone would eat these foods for sustenance. The festival is usually depicted with the figure of a castanyera: an old lady, dressed in peasant’s clothing and wearing a headscarf, sitting behind a table, roasting chestnuts for street sale. In recent years, the Castanyada has become a festival of All Saints and is celebrated in the home and community. It is the first of the four main school festivals, alongside Christmas, Carnestoltes and St George’s Day, without reference to ritual or commemoration of the dead.
Our Spanish partners sent us the story and some relevant activities in order to teach it to our students. The speech language therapist, Mina Miha, translated them into Greek language, read the story and did the activities with several students.
The material is available in pdf form below.
LA CASTANYERA, TRADITIONAL TALE – ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ
Mrs Theodora also read the story and did the activities with her lillte students…
3. As part of the planning of our Christmas bazaar, we created a calendar. Our students made several drawings with great commitment, in order to put the best of them in the calendar. Soon you will see the final result. Art is in every aspect of the school life, especially now that Christmas is coming!
4. The innovative program emphasizing on the Art of music, is continued with great success. This time the students were asked to imitate animal voices and expressions, through images, music and sounds. Certainly they enjoyed it!
5. Once more, we celebrated the National Anniversary of 17 November 1973 while trying to connect Art and emotions. The teachers Mrs. Athena and Mrs. Georgia narrated the Athens Polytechnic uprising and showed a photo and video presentation. Finally, the celebrations ended with songs about the Anniversary of 17 November 1973, from Mr.Tasos Anitopoulos, who played guitar, Mrs. Athena chioti, who has a wonderful voice and also our students, who played tambourines and sang.
“BREAD – EDUCATION – LIBERTY”
Mrs. Evagelia with her young students created excellent handicrafts about the Polytechneion. Once again, the Art of painting is used within the daily routine in order to understand the meaning of the National Anniversary of 17 November.
6. After the 3rd short term joint staff training and learning event, we had to complete a project based on the “Photo report” seminar we attended in Romania. All the partners had to narrate, in an adventurous or funny way, the trip to Romania, using a power point presentation with photos taken during our staying there. The “photo report” was presented to our students and colleagues and was sent to all the partners.
We hope that you like our approach and you will find it entertaining.
The adventures of Andresseus GREEK
7. Mrs. Georgia with her students expressed their emotions by creating little snowmen with plastic plates. The students certainly enjoyed the activity, which gave them the opportunity to express themselves through handcrafting, practice their fine motor skills, improve their concentration and attention as well as the recognition and expression of emotions.
When teacher’s imagination is limitless, they always find alternative ways of teaching. Let’s travel with the wonderful air balloon that Mrs. Georgia and her students created.
8. A group of our students with their teachers visited the planetarium. They watched “The paths of the Stars”, which traveled them to the miraculous worlds of our galaxy. The students had the opportunity to learn about the solar system, the planets, their satellites and the birth and death of the stars. Back to school they recruited the Art of painting and depicted their impressions and emotions in beautiful drawings.
9. Students from the 12th primary school of Nikea with their teachers, Mrs. Natasa Michalopoulou and Mrs. Olga. Rouva, visited our school on Friday, 2 December 2016. The children along with 2 groups of students attending the upper grade in our school, played interactive games and made constructions. They used the art of group painting in order to express their emotions and connect.
10. On Friday 9th of December 2016, our students participated in a festival about Disability Awareness, entitled “Something … Plays”. They had the opportunity to be involved with different kinds of Art. For example, they participated in interactive games, played in a creative game park, did soap workshops and watched theatrical and music and kinetic performances.
11. Our school worked with the Art of Literature through its participation in the International Competition for Student’s Creativity: “School Sports – Participate and Learn the Olympic ideals through the Olympic and Paraolympic Sports”. Thus, students and teachers tried to write a story.
Specifically, students who attend the Upper and Middle Grade classes of the school were taught the basic rules, painted, discussed about some Olympic and Paraolympic Sports (tennis, boccia, water polo, soccer, basketball) as well as the Olympic ideals (fair play, effort, cooperation, commitment etc.). The result of the new knowledge and teamwork was the story they created called: «The ball dreamt of becoming….». Once again, the imagination, the expression and joy of creativity strengthened and facilitated learning and emotional development.
The Evaluation Committee evaluated the creations of hundred and thirty (130) schools of Primary and Secondary Education and chose the best in the following categories: Poem, Essay, Spots, Fiction Film, Photography, Tale, Story, Homepage, Documentary, Three-dimensional construction, Multimedia Presentation, Drawing, Singing and Journal.
Our school was distinguished in the category: Tale. A few days ago we received our award and we are very proud of it!!
12. Christmas is coming and small groups of students created Christmas ornaments in order to decorate our handmade tree. Thus, they designed, cut, glued and decorated using all their imagination and mastery!
Mrs. Thalia’s class created beautiful Santa Claus calendars counting down the days until Christmas. The students expressed their joy through Art and creation, because their favorite holiday is coming.
13. Christmas bazaar and workshop
For second year in a row, the Parents Association in collaboration with the school staff and the head coordinator of the programme “Artemotion Xpress in Europe” Mrs. Mourelatou Stamoula, occupational therapist, held a Christmas bazaar.
The bazaar was based on donations and on the workshop, in which several Christmas decorations and ornaments were created. It was organized within the European program Erasmus+ “Artemotion Xpress in Europe” and aimed to strengthen the relationship between the school and the parents, to involve them in the program “Artemotion Xpress in Europe” and to make them understand the benefits of Art in expressing our emotions. One of the most beautiful creations was the school calendar with students’ drawings, which was sent to all partner schools along with our holiday greetings!
14. Since Art has no limit, we have tried to experience it using pastry. Thus, we invited a great confectioner in our school, who organized an amazing workshop for students and teachers, with great love and inspiration!
Happy groups were created…the colorful sugar paste, the cookies, the stencils, the sugar and the molder returning from hand to hand. Once more, creativity gave the opportunity to our young students to express their emotions and have fun.
15. Christmas celebration and an innovative theatrical play
The last Erasmus+ activity for this year was a theatrical play where pupils would become actors and actresses for a while and feel the magic of Christmas. Our christmas celebration was divided in two parts. Firstly, we presented a dramatized song where pupils with rapping (spoken rhyming lyrics) at first and gentel melodies later, sang a song written by Mrs. Kelly Kotoula, our psychologist and composed by Mr. Tasos Anitopoulos. The song is meaningul and truly inspiring.
Later on, all pupils had the chance to participate in the theatrical play “Rudolph the red nosed reindeer“, and played a part in the reindeer’s adventures, while finally saving the day!
It was a wonderful celebration filled with beautiful feelings. The arts of music and theatre helped us feel the Christams spirit.
Enjoy our video!