Environmental Action of the 4th G.L. of Rhodes.

For one more year, loyal to our appointment, the 4th G.L. of Rhodes in collaboration with the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association (HELMEPA) and the Center for Environmental Education of Butterflies (C.E.E.) of Rhodes took part in the Global Voluntary Coastal Cleanup Campaign (ICC). The problem of waste is particularly critical for our island and it was therefore considered necessary to help, so that our students through their participation in the program will understand the magnitude of the ecological disaster that is taking place in the marine wealth of Rhodes.

The action took place in the wider area of the Rhodes Aquarium on 4/11/2022 with the participation of 40 students of the 4th GEL, with accompanying and coordinators of the effort, the teachers Thomoglou Konstantinos, Durdouni Elias and Frangeskaki Nikolaos.

The situation recorded by our students can be described as at least disheartening. In an area of just one kilometer, there were more than 1,500 cigarette butts, plastic straws, lids, bottles, pieces of paper, lines, strings, household batteries, pieces of fabric, styrofoam, plastic pieces, condoms, pacifiers, syringes and a damaged projector. This tragic account may concern us, as individuals, families and local bodies, so that everyone can act individually and as groups, in order to reverse this unpleasant situation.

The action continued with a guided tour of the Aquarium. In this context, students were informed about the invasion of alien species in the Mediterranean and the danger posed by the aquarium biologist Luizidou Paraskevi. For her full support, we would like to thank her warmly, as well as the other staff of the Aquarium.  We also thank Mr. Syrigiannis Charalambos and the colleagues of the C.P.E. of Rhodes, for the undivided help they always offer us.

Students in the 4th GEL of Rhodes can now be members in one of the following Educational Clubs:

Science Theater Club – every Saturday 17:00 -19:00

Within the Club, students are invited to perform a theatrical performance related to scientific subjects and learn science in a creative way.

S.T.E.M. Club – every Saturday 17:00 -19:00

The STEM Club objectives are to help students develop problem solving skills that require research, innovation and cooperation, through dealing with issues related to the fields of Natural Sciences, Technology, Engineering Science and Mathematics. The integration of these scientific fields will help students apply knowledge and research processes to better understand and influence the world around us.

Active citizen in my town, in my country, in Europe, in the world Club – every Tuesday 14:00-16:00

Our school operates the group “Active Citizen in my country, in my country, in Europe, in the world”, which aims to cultivate the democratic spirit and the activation of citizens.

Table Tennis Club – every Monday 17:00-18:00

A table tennis club operates in our school, providing students recreational sport time.

1st Star Observation Night by 4th GEL of Rhodes.

On Sunday 23 rd of October in the courtyard of the aquarium we had the opportunity to observe through the telescopes of the observatory “Evdemos” and under the guidance of the amateur astronomer Stratos Koufos the planet Jupiter and some of its satellites, as well as the planet Saturn.

It is worth noting that the event organized by the 4th GEL of Rhodes with the cooperation of Mr Koufos was open to the public. Indeed, many people attended the event during which Mr. Koufos showed the constellations present at the night sky that period of time, while explaining basic elements of uranography. On the occasion of the inability to observe many stars, due to the light pollution of the night sky, Mr. Koufos explained to the attendees the importance of the dark sky, the existence of a particularly dark sky in the area of Monolithos on the island and the effort to integrate the Monolithos region into a global network of dark sky areas through IDA (International Dark Sky Assosiation) certification. The students who attended the star observation arrived early in the area and stayed until late, taking an active role, even in the telescope settings, in order to make the planets visible in the ocular lens. In general, the response of the attendees was enthusiastic, while most of them showed particular interest in repeating the astral observation in the area of Monolithos as well.

Dark Sky — Extinct Natural Resources?

As part of the School Activities Program: “Natural Resources Management”, the amateur astronomer Stratos Koufos was invited to our school and informed a group of students of the 1st and 2nd class about the concept of the dark sky as a natural resource and the necessity of preserving it. During the briefing, Mr. Koufos referred to the effort to integrate the Monolithos region into a global network of dark sky areas. At the same time, he presented photographs of celestial objects (planets, sun, nebulae, galaxies, etc.) shot by him with the telescopes of the Eudemos observatory. Among other things, Mr. Koufos presented basic elements of uranography to the students in order to activate their interest in astronomy and astronomy.

The students found particularly interesting the data presented to them by Mr. Koufos and showed intense enthusiasm for the modern space programs that are underway worldwide. It is worth noting that at the end of the presentation, Mr. Koufos received a special surprise to the students, after presenting them with a particle of meteorite.

Participation of the students of the 4th GEL of Rhodes in the

“Management of Disaster Victims”

On Friday 21/10 and Saturday 22/10, 40 students from all classes of our school, together with the teachers Anastasiadis Anastasia, Elvanoglou Vassilis and Filipaki Kalliopi, took part in the emergency exercises of the Master’s program “World Health — Medicine of Disasters” which took place in the framework of the conference “Management of Disaster Victims”.
The Master’s Program “Global Health — Medicine of Disasters” aims at theoretical and practical training as well as the acquisition of skills in the management of mass incidents — such as mass accidents and terrorist attacks — and health crises, emergency medicine, humanitarian law and medical vulnerable groups.
A prominent place in the program’s actions is the hands on course “Management of Disaster Victims”, which in previous years was implemented in Kefalonia, Kos and Cyprus and the last five years in Rhodes. The objectives of the program are the practical training through scenarios of simulation of young scientists in disaster management and the dissemination of this special know-how to professionals and volunteers of the civil protection network, with emphasis on issues dealing with major incidents, such as earthquakes, fires, and accidents with massive health losses.
Simulation scenarios have an educational purpose and are carried out in conditions of simulation of real events. They include space movement activities and role playing (injuries/victims of an event). The pupils carried out the activities under the supervision of the responsible teacher of the team Mrs. Filippiaki. The exercises in which our students took part included scenarios of fire and management of mass victims. For this reason, the children, after training and makeup, played the fire victims in Philerimos and in the local gallery.
Every participation in corresponding actions is a life experience for all participants and especially for the students who were lucky enough to be involved in such an unprecedented action. We thank all those who took part in this event and helped in its implementation and its excellent organisation. May our children always be given the opportunity to approach knowledge experientially.

The 4th GE.L. of Rhodes meets the Doctor of the World, Agis Terzidis.

The teachers of the subject of “Political Education” Ms Filipaki Kalliopi and Mr. Thomoglou Kosdantinou invited Mr. Agis Terzidis,

who visited our school on Thursday, October 20th.

Mr. Agis Terzidis spoke to all the pupils of the first class. Mr. Terzidis is a pediatrician specialising in public health and has a PhD in preventive medicine — epidemiology. He is one of the first active members and general secretary of Médecins du Monde of Greece with participation in missions in many areas of Greece and the whole world that are plagued by serious survival problems. In the past, he has been active in addressing inequalities, while helping to provide assistance to Ukraine, by helping those affected by the recent war.

Mr Terzidis spoke to children about the modern humanitarian crisis as well as the ways with which anyone can help facing it. Children were able to hear a man, who has seen the misery closely, but did not close his eyes to the problem; he took action and — to the possible extent — helped in making life easier for people who are unhappy.

Motivated by his warmth to inspire the children’s desire to offer, Mr Terzidis had a meeting at our school with all the students participating in the group “Active Citizen in my country, in my country, in Europe, in the world”. At the initiative of Ms Vrontaki Anastasias and Ms Filipaki Kalliopi, Mr Terzidis spoke with the children in an extremely constructive dialogue and answered all their questions.

He focused particularly on his personal path in the field of volunteering and of helping the suffering person, explaining to the children that they in turn can offer to all those who are suffering.
On the same day, pupils participating in the programme “Ambassadors of the European Parliament Schools” interviewed Mr Terzidis on the radio station: “Radio Lichnari”. They discussed with him the current situation on the planet, the initiatives taken and the support the European Union has provided to Greece for both the recent refugee crisis and the war in Ukraine. This action was also organized and coordinated by the teachers of our school, Mr Vrontakis and Mr Philippakis.

We hope that our children, who with such admiration and interest listened to Mr. Terzidis, will become the lighthouse that will illuminate the lives of our fellow human beings who are suffering. May their lives and actions signify change in practice, offering our neighbor the obvious: clean water, food, access to health and education. Let’s each be the change we dream of…

Live connection between the 4th GEL Rhodes and the Ocean Exploration Trust.

On Tuesday, October 4th, 2022 students of the 4th GEL of Rhodes made live connection with the Ocean Exploration Trust and National Geographic Ocean Exploration Trust: ‘From the Coast to the Abyss: Exploring the aquatic heritage and microplastic pollution on the main Hawaiian islands. During the connection, dr. Thodoris Anagnostopoulos presented through the exploration ship Nautilus the major theme of microplastics in the oceans, which is one of the thematic sections of the mission.

At the end of the presentation, teachers had the opportunity to

ask questions, in written form, on behalf of their pupils. The questions were about the subject of the presentation, the mission or the life of the explorers in Nautillus, which the speaker fully replied.

The online kick-off meeting of the European Programme for the  KA220-SCH – Cooperation partnerships in school education entitled “The teacher burnout and the new educational reality as a challenge of cooperation and professional enhancement” and code 2021-1-EL01-KA220-SCH-000031629 took place on Monday 3rd October 2022.

The meeting was attended by all the representatives of the six organizations from Greece (Panteion University – Department of Communication, Media & Culture, I.CO.N Educational Institution M.C.O.), Lithuania (Joniškio rajono Švietimo įstaigų vadovų asociacija M.C.O. ), Italy (LICEO SCIENTIFICO STATALE N.COPERNICO – scientific public high school), Norway (Fyllingsdalen videregående skole – senior high school), Georgia (UMBRELLA Educational Institution), while the 4th GEL Rhodes is the coordinator of the project.

The meeting took place in a climate of constructive cooperation. The agenda of the meeting included:

• The presentation of the objectives and the outcomes of the project
• The distribution of tasks to each partner
• The scheduling of the mobility trip of the project to Norway.