Proyecto Comenius en C.E.I.P Tartessos (Jerez de la Fra.)

Diversity from asanher

MEETING IN LEYLA SARIGÖL SCHOOL(TURKEY)

Leyla Sarigöl Ilkögretim Okulu is a public primary school with 612 students located in the town Kartepe, Kocaeli- Izmit which is one hour away from Istanbul. The school is located in a nice neighbourhood out of the city centre. The area is pleasant, but due to its distance from the city centre many families and the students are unable to take part in social activities such as visit to museums and art galleries.

There is mixed socio-economic level largely made up of middle-low class including, unfortunately, some unemployed families too.

The staff of the school consists of mostly young and harworking teachers who are highly motivated and eager to provide students a better education, not only through the education programme but also through extracurricular activities.

I.D.E.A.S, encuentro en Izmit, Turquía

Nuestro proyecto avanza a su final; la semana del 10 al 14 de marzo, nos encontramos en la ciudad de Izmit, Turquía; aunque estuvimos a punto de perder el avión, ¡llegamos!. Nos acogía una escuela de la pequeña localidad de Kartepe (Kocaeli, a una hora de Estambul). Allí estábamos el domingo nueve por la noche, junto con los grupos de profesores(esta vez no viajaron alumnos) de Italia e Inglaterra.

La hospitalidad turca, manifiesta desde nuestra llegada, se prolongaría a lo largo de toda la semana; se prodigaron con el grupo en todo momento. Ya el lunes por la mañana nos recogían en la puerta del hotel para trasladarnos al colegio, Escuela Leyla Sarigöl, donde nos esperaba una bella acogida en la que tras el discurso del Director y Coordinadora dos alumnas presentaban el coro del colegio que nos deleitó con sus instrumentos, baile turco y danza folk. Durante el recorrido por la escuela (se imparten los 5 años de Primaria y los tres de Secundaria) nos informamos que se encuentra fuera de la ciudad, en un ambiente agradable, pero que la distancia dificulta la vida social y cultural del alumnado, causa quizás de que algunos/as alumnos/as desarrollen hábitos solitarios (mucho tiempo ante el ordenador) y sedentarios. El profesorado, muy joven y trabajador, trata de contrarrestar esta tendencia promoviendo numerosas actividades extracurriculares para la mejora de sus alumnos. Recién terminado este tour inicial, asistimos a un almuerzo que había sido preparado por las madres de los alumnos y al que asistió todo el profesorado. Nos resultó innovador el taller de “ebru”(técnica tradicional turca para estampar sobre el papel los efectos del mármol), y disfrutamos realizando nuestro propio producto. La jornada se prolongó con una visita al alcalde de la localidad y una cena de “bienvenida” en un bello restaurante local, amenizado por un grupo de profesores amigos que con su música y actuación animaron el ambiente.

Al día siguiente, tras encontrarnos en la escuela nos dirigimos a la montaña, a un complejo turístico –estación de esquí- donde pudimos disfrutar de una copiosa nevada pre-primaveral. De allí fuimos a visitar otra escuela en Izmit, la escuela de Alper (está sustituyendo a la coordinadora del Proyecto, ya que esta se encuentra al fin de su embarazo) y nos la enseñó con gran entusiasmo. También nos invitaron a un almuerzo en el colegio. Fin dulce de la tarde, visita a una fábrica de “delicias turcas” y recorrido por el centro de la ciudad.

¡Estambul!, ciudad mítica en la imaginación de tantos y tantos. ¿Quién no ha soñado en visitarla alguna vez, deambular por la calles de una urbe de más de 14 millones, entremezclarse con la población, admirar la Mezquita Azul, extasiarse ante Santa Sofía, conocer la historia que encierra el palacio de Topkapi, o , tras perderse por el laberíntico Gran Bazar hacer una buena compra?. Lo hicimos, un frío miércoles de marzo donde pudimos ver como el estrecho del Bósforo une ( ¡no separa!) dos continentes.

El trabajo no nos abandona. Dedicamos el encuentro del jueves en la escuela a intercambiar ideas, repartir los trabajos de los alumnos para esta cita, ver los power points hechos, planificar el trabajo pendiente y delinear el próximo y último encuentro de I.D.E.A.S que será en Jerez, del 26 al 30 de Mayo. Las ceremonias formales anuncian el fin de una experiencia que se anclará por siempre en nuestras memorias. Con la entrega de certificados e intercambio de regalos llegamos al almuerzo de despedida (problemas internos obligan a que el director tenga que abandonar la comida).

Visit to Turkey-March 2014

We had a fabulous visit to Kartepe in Turkey. Our partner school was approximately 90 minutes from Istanbul. There, we met up with our colleagues from Turkey, Spain and Sicily.

The first day of our visit was a busy one. Firstly, we visited our partner school where we were warmly greeted by the staff and the children. We were then treated to some songs, including The Beatles’ “Ob La di…” which was followed by some traditional Turkish dance from the younger children which was wonderful. During our tour of the school, it was lovely to see how friendly the children were; some even tried out their English skills by asking us questions! After the tour, our lunch was provided by a group of parents which was very kind of them and it was absolutely delicious! During the afternoon, we learnt how to make an Ebru painting. We were shown how to do it by one of the teachers; she produced some beautiful paintings although ours were not quite of the same standard! Later that afternoon, we were very honoured to meet the Mayor of Kartepe. In the evening, we went to a Turkish restaurant for an evening of food, songs and dancing! Even our Sicilian colleagues sang for us!

On Tuesday, we visited Kartepe Mountain where we had a nice surprise-snow! We visited a hotel to admire the views from the top of the mountain. During the afternoon, we visited another school in Izmit and the factory where Turkish delight and other traditional Turkish sweets are made. There, we were given a guided tour and we even got to taste the sweets too! The evening was spent at Ali (the Headteacher’s house) where we had some lovely food and were able to spend an enjoyable evening in the company of our friends.

A visit to Istanbul took place on Wednesday. This is such a vast city and after out guided tour, we realised that is was a beautiful one too. Our guide told us lots of interesting facts about the historic buildings in the Sultanahmet district. We visited the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sofia, Basilica Cistern, followed by a visit to the Grand Bazaar. Here, we all managed to do a bit of haggling!

Thursday was our last full day in Turkey. We went to school to share the work all four schools had completed on our IDEAS project. We could see how hard everyone had worked and were able to share the successes of our project with each other. Then we discussed our ideas for the next stage of our project and the final product which will be shared during the final visit to Jerez in May.

Our visit to Turkey has so many happy memories for us all. We were welcomed so warmly by our friends and had a wonderful time there, one we will never forget. We all had a great time and were able to share our ideas for the project and indeed the final project.