Comenius Multilateral School Partnerships’ Project “A Journey Through Changes of Life” 2012-2014
The Meeting in Lithuania “The Changes in Mass Media” 2014 03 30 - 04 04
THE REPORT OF THE MEETING IN LITHUANIA
The aims of the meeting: to broaden the knowledge about Lithuania, Klaipeda and “Varpas” gymnasium to broaden the knowledge about changes in mass media to acquire the skills of working in the international workshops to create the 8th chapter of the e-book to design the e-portfolio to write the e-photodiary to improve the English language to improve IT skills to develop creativity to strengthen the connection between all the countries
The participants of the meeting:
Country Teachers Students Poland Marzena Skotnicka Marcin Sudoł Wioletta Piotrowska Dariusz Kępa Germany Andrea Stadler Lisa Knitter Alexandra Tomczyck Chiara Schnalke England Jackie Westerby Jade Mansbridge Sheila Burnage Olivia Ann Bagley Turkey Adnan Özsirkinti Furkan Yildirim Kasif Özcan Volkan Aydin Latvia Kārlis Strautiņš Martina Dege Roberts Rožkalns Alina Isajenko Portugal - - Greece - - Italy - -
The team of “Varpas” gymnasium:
The headmaster Valerijus Kuzliakinas
The headmaster’s assistants: Zina Buivydienė Irena Pluškienė Neolė Jucienė Rima Stainienė
The teachers of English: Aušra Čigienė Irena Lukošienė Dalia Vilijošiutė Odeta Gečienė
The teachers of IT: Vaida Skliuderienė Gintas Andrijauskas
The students – hosts: Andrius Endrėkus Andrius Armokavičius Rūta Lakiūnaitė Skaistė Venckutė Arina Dumčiūtė Liucija Paniuškytė Lukas Dvarionis Evaldas Snukiškis Santa Jančiauskaitė Erika Jonušaitė
School’s Lithuanian folk music ensemble ruled by the teacher of music J.Petrauskas School’s Lithuanian folk dance ensemble ruled by the teacher of choreography V.Gilys
The students - journalists:
TV journalists: Muravjov Artūr Nekrevičiūtė Gabrielė Petrauskytė Greta Rakovskaja Kristina Razutis Deimantas Simaitytė Ema Sriebalius Laurynas Stankevičiutė Karina Strakšys Svajūnas Škimelytė Meda Vaičekauskas Evaldas Venskus Deividas
Radio journalists: Škimelytė Meda Venskus Deividas
Press journalists: Jokšaitė Aistė Mažeiva Gytis Bukytė Egidija Drukteinytė Gabrielė Kontenytė Ieva Girčiūtė Gabrielė Bružas Armandas Ašmontas Kevinas
The agenda of the meeting:
Date Time Activities Venue 03 30 Sunday Arrival to Vilnius, Palanga or Ryga Arrival to Klaipeda by minibuses: from Vilnius or Ryga: 3-4 hours from Palanga: 30-40 minutes Accommodation The teachers stay at the hotel http://www.ambertonhotels.com/klaipeda “Amberton”, students - at the Gathering at VIVALAVITA on the 20th floor families 03 31 Monday 10:00 The opening of the meeting School hall Presenting: Lithuania Klaipėda “Varpas” Gymnasium Headmaster’s speech Coordinator’s speech Presenting the guests Volkan and Evaldas The performance of our school’s Lithuanian folk music and dance ensembles 12:00 Coffee break School cafeteria Radio Program 13:00 Sightseeing in Klaipėda Old Town: The ship Meridianas-the symbol of the city http://www.klaipeda-tourism.lt/lt/lankytinos- vietos/80-danes-krantine-meridianas The monument for the millennium of the name of Lithuania The Klaipėda City Coat of Arms Trading Bridge The Arch The meteorological column Walking along the river Danė Klaipeda City Hall The sculpture “Fisherman” Castle Bridge Walking along the left bank of the river Danė Six bollards The smallest inhabitants of the city The symbol of the old town 14:00 Lunch “The Fat Cat” http://www.nationalhotel.lt/lt/restoranas-baras/ 15:00 Sightseeing in Klaipėda Old Town: John’s Hill Walking along Market Street Theatre Square Aukštoji Street The Art Yard 18:00 Traditional Lithuanian dinner http://www.trysmylimos.lt/ with the Lithuanian folk music, songs and dances (for the teachers and students) 04 01 Tuesday 10:00 Klaipėdos Pilis (Klaipeda Castle) http://www.mlimuziejus.lt/ 12:00 Coffee break Anikės kavinė 13:00 Excursion to Klaipeda TV “Balticum” Taikos pr. 101 D http://www.balticum.lt/lt/televizija/ 14:00 Excursion to Klaipeda Radio Station “Laluna” Taikos pr. 81 and presenting our music - the mix of Portuguese, Polish, German, English, Turkish, Latvian, Greek, Italian and Lithuanian music http://www.laluna.lt/ 15:00 Lunch http://www.senojihansa.lt/ 16:00 Excursion to the editorial office of the daily Naujojo Sodo g. 1 a, "K newspaper “Klaipeda” centras" http://klaipeda.diena.lt/ 18:00 Dinner http://www.pasazas.lt/ 04 02 Wednesday 10:00 Workshops Group 1 Vaida’s IT classroom writing an e-book: creating chapter 8 “In Lithuania” (Animated Powerpoint Presentation) Lithuanian fairy tale in animated ppp prepared by Germany Group 2 Gintas’ IT classroom designing an e-portfolio “Changes in Mass Media” (Microsoft Office Publisher) Presentation prepared by Poland Group 3 103 designing an e-photodiary “The Meeting in Lithuania” (Wondershare DVD Slideshow Builder Deluxe) TV Group School TV studio Radio Group School radio studio Press Group School editorial office 12:00 Lunch School canteen 14:00 Old Ferry Terminal (North Horn) http://www.keltas.lt/ 14:30 Bus 15:00 The excursion to the Dolphinarium and Lithuanian Sea Museum http://www.muziejus.lt/ 17:00 Going to the sea 19:15 Ferry to Klaipeda 20:00 Dinner Senoji vyninė 04 03 Thursday 10:00 The meeting with Klaipeda city mayor Klaipeda City Municipality V.Grubliauskas 12:00 Coffee break School cafeteria 12:30 Workshops Group 1 Vaida’s IT classroom writing an e-book: creating chapter 8 “In Lithuania” (Animated Powerpoint Presentation) Group 2 Gintas’ IT classroom designing an e-portfolio “Changes in Mass Media” (Microsoft Office Publisher) Group 3 A.Č. designing an e-photodiary “The Meeting in Lithuania” (Wondershare DVD Slideshow Builder Deluxe) TV Group School TV studio Radio Group School radio studio Press Group School editorial office 13:00 The meeting of the coordinators 103 14:00 Lunch School canteen 15:00 The closing of the meeting School hall Presenting the results: the 8th chapter of the ebook the e-portfolio “Changes in Mass Media” the e-photodiary “The Meeting in Lithuania” TV program Radio program The newspaper The task about Lithuania Assessing the meeting Headmaster’s speech Coordinator’s speech Certification 17:00 Free time at Akropolis - shopping and entertainment centre 20:00 Dinner at the hotel “Amberton” Open Kitchen Grill Restaurant (for the teachers) “XII” http://www.ambertonhotels.com/klaipeda- viesbutis/dvylika 04 04 Departure Friday
The activities of the meeting:
2014-03-29, Saturday
The teachers and students from Turkey arrived to Klaipeda in Lithuania. The teachers were accommodated in the hotel, the students were taken to the home of the host families.
2014-03-30, Sunday
The teachers and students from Poland, Germany and England arrived to Klaipeda in Lithuania. The teachers were accommodated in the hotel, the students were taken to the home of the host families. At 20:00 the teachers gathered at VIVALAVITA on the 20th floor of the hotel for the first dinner together.
2014-03-31, Monday
At 9:30 the teachers and students from Poland, Germany, England and Turkey came to school and at the entrance were met by the students - journalists. After short interviews about the arrival, accommodation and first impressions, the guests were lead to the school hall.
At 10:00 all the teachers and students decided to wait for the team from Latvia.
At 10:45 the team from Latvia arrived.
At 11:00 the Lithuanian students started the opening of the meeting.
Liucija Paniuškytė and Evaldas Snukiškis
They presented Lithuania – the country which is situated in the center of Europe; the country (the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) which during the 14th century was the largest country in Europe but now is one of the smallest ones with the population of only 3 million; the country whose capital and largest city is Vilnius, followed by Kaunas and Klaipėda. Then they presented Klaipėda – the third largest city of the country and the city- port located on the coast of the Baltic Sea and Curonian Lagoon. And - “Varpas” Gymnasium – the school which was established in 1989 as Klaipėda 27 secondary school, in 1993 called “Varpas” secondary school and in 2008 became “Varpas” gymnasium; gymnasium with about 550 15-18 year-old pupils and 50 teachers; gymnasium of 4 years which correspond to the 9th to 12th forms of secondary school; gymnasium which provides an atmosphere of cooperation between students, parents and teachers and aims at the total development of the students: not only academic but also psychological, physical, social and spiritual.
Lithuania Klaipėda “Varpas” gymnasium
After the presentations the participants of the project were welcomed by the headmaster of the school Valerijus Kuzliakinas.
After the welcome speech, I - the coordinator of the meeting in Lithuania - presented the main aims of the project – to create: e-book e-portfolio e-photodiary.
Then the guests from Poland, Germany, England, Turkey and Latvia were invited into the stage. Each country was greeted with its traditional music.
After that Volkan and Evaldas played their favourite musical instruments together. The opening of the meeting was finished with the performance of the school’s Lithuanian folk music and dance ensembles.
At 12:00 the participants of the project had a coffee break during which the radio journalists of the radio “Varpas” broadcast the program “Top 9” – the international music mix created from the pieces of music of all 9 countries.
At 13:00 the participants of the project went sightseeing in Klaipėda Old Town. The guests were guided by the Lithuanian students:
Meridianas Santa We would like to start here because this is the symbol of our city. This ship is called Meridianas. It is a wooden barquentine which was built in 1948 in Finland. It’s 1 of 49 ships Finland had to give to Soviet Union as a war reparation and it’s one of some still left. Until 1967 it was a training-ship of Klaipėda maritime school. In 1969 the sailing-vessel moored at the Dane river bank. After two years there was a restaurant opened. Then its owners allowed the vessel to fall into disrepair and it became nothing but a shadow of its former glory. But in 2001 the lawyer Artūras Žičkus bought it for a token sum of 1 litas, organized a support fund and restored it. In 2008 Meridianas celebrated its 60th anniversary. This year is its 66th. Lietuvos vardo paminėjimo tūkstantmečio paminklas Erika Now let’s take a look at the monument opposite. This monument was built in 2009 when we were celebrating the millennium of the name of Lithuania. Namas Tiltų gatvėje And on this house you can see the Klaipėda City Coat of Arms. The little boy is Cupid and symbolizes our love to our city. Biržos tiltas Now we will cross the bridge which is called Biržos Tiltas (in English - Trading Bridge). It’s a steel drawbridge. And it’s included in the list of immovable cultural values of Lithuania. Arka Arnoldas Let’s stop here. This Arch was built in 2003 when Klaipėda region was celebrating the 80th anniversary of joining Lithuania. So, this monument is the symbol of the United Lithuania. This smaller red granite column symbolizes Lithuania Minor, this larger grey column - Lithuania Major and the upper one - Kaliningrad region which, unfortunately, now belongs to Russia. Here you can see the words written by one of the most famous Lithuanian writers I.Simonaitytė: „Esame viena tauta, viena žemė, viena Lietuva“, which mean „We are one nation, one land, one Lithuania“. Now let’s cross the street… Informacinis stulpas Andrius And stop here… In 1889 (125 years ago) here in this place the merchants built a meteorological column. It was more than 5 meters high with the vane on the top. In 1908 during the reconstruction of the Trading Bridge the meteorological column was demolished. But in 2002 when Klaipeda was celebrating its 750th anniversary the information column was rebuilt. Although this one is far less shorter, it still serves the same way. It shows the main information about Klaipeda. Klaipėda Skaistė So, you can read here that Klaipeda is the oldest city in Lithuania. It was first mentioned in 1252. And it was called Memelburg. Until the 15th century the city was developing closer to the castle. Over there…We will visit it later…So… In the early 16th century the territory of the city was divided into small rectangular blocks and after that it wasn’t changing a lot. You can see it on the map here. Until the 19th century the old city was the place for market fairs which lasted for two weeks. Klaipeda was destroyed by a lot of fires but was always rebuilt trying to preserve the same look. Until the middle of the 19th century the old city was the center of spiritual life. But during the second World War it was destroyed. And only at the end of the XX century it was rebuilt and given the status of an urban monument. Pasivaikščiojimas dešiniąja Danės krantine Now let’s walk along the river Danė… Klaipėdos miesto rotušė Rūta This building was built in the end of the XVIII century and in the beginning of the XIX century in the style of classicism. In the beginning it belonged to Danish Consul Lork. During the Napoleonic Wars the king of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm III with his queen were staying here. In 1846 the building was bought by the city magister and turned into Klaipeda City Hall. Now it is the residence of Klaipėda city mayor V.Grubliauskas. Skulptūra “Žvejys” This is the sculpture “Fisherman” which was given as a present to the city during the Sea Festival. Pilies Tiltas Now let’s cross one more drawbridge. This bridge is called pilies tiltas. It means castle bridge. Pilis Grįžimas kairiąja Danės krantine Now let’s walk along the left bank of the river Danė… Šeši paminkliniai knechtai (prisišvartavimo stulpeliai, užkabos) Evaldas Klaipeda is the city-port. So, on this side of the river you will see six bollards which eternalize the heroic achievements of Lithuanian sailors. These bollards honor the sailors of three yachts “Lietuva”, “Dailė” and “Audra” who in 1989 - in the times of Sąjūdis - the Reform Movement of Lithuania - sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, from Klaipeda to New York and from New York back to Klaipeda showing the world our struggle for independence. This honors the sailors of the yacht “Lietuva” who in 1992-1993 sailed around the world showing our survival after 50 years of Soviet occupation. This bollard decorated with bronze honors the sailor Gintaras Paulionis. In 1994 he crossed the Baltic Sea by a rowboat “Alfred Jensen”. Unfortunately, on his way home he was sunk by the titanic storm. This is the newest bollard. It honors the sailors of the yacht “Ambersail” who in 2008 sailed around the globe uniting all Lithuanians in all the continents for the celebration of the millennium of Lithuania. Senamiesčio katinas Arina Now we’ll introduce you the smallest inhabitants of our city: This is the cat. And it’s not a simple but a special cat. If you rub its tail, your dreams will come true… Senamiesčio pelė And this is the mouse. Also not a simple but a special one. Now you have to whisper and only whisper your dreams into the ear of this mouse and they will come true. Skulptūra „Viduramžių Klaipėda“ Jono gatvėje This is the symbol of the old town. The sculpture shows the people who lived and loved in medieval Klaipėda. You can see...
At 14:00 the participants of the project had lunch at the restaurant “Storas katinas”. At 15:00 the participants of the project continued sightseeing:
Jono kalnelis Lukas Here you can see only small remained fragments of the former complex defensive fortification system of Klaipėda. The city was surrounded from the East and from the South by these fortifications. Because of its size this bastion was categorized as one of the great royal castles. Now you can see only the fosse and the only one ravelin. And the place is called Jono kalnelis, in English John’s Hill because of the Saint John’s church which was built here in 1706. Now we celebrate the annual John’s festival here. Ėjimas link teatro aikštės Now let’s walk along Turgaus gatvė, in English - Market Street… Teatro aikštė Meda In the past this place used to be a market-place. A square was built only in the XIX century. The fountain in the center was designed in 1912. The monument is dedicated to Simonas Dachas - a German poet who was born in Klaipėda. The poet fell in love with the girl who was engaged with the other man. Suffering the poet created a poem “Taravos Anikė” (“Ann from Tharau”) and dedicated it to her. Here you can see the sculpture of that girl. Behind the monument you can see the drama theatre. Now this square is called Theatre Square and it’s the heart of the city. It’s the place for the main events of the annual Sea Festival, the international jazz festival and the other celebrations. Ėjimas link Aukštosios gatvės Now let’s go for a walk again… Aukštoji gatvė Mantas This is Aukštoji Street. Here you can see the oldest buildings of the city. They are warehouses which were built in the style called fachwerk. Fachwerk is a German word and means frame-work. This German method of construction is the method of creating frames using straight horizontal, vertical and sloping timbers filled with wattle and daub. Sandėlis (Aukštoji gatvė 3) And this is the highest warehouse in Klaipėda. It’s even 16 meters high. In the past this warehouse was used for storing linseed. Ėjimas link menininkų kiemelio Lukas Now the fachwerk warehouses are used by various art organizations. This is ... By the way, if you want to bring some souvenirs home, you can buy them in these shops.
The student-guide-Meda Škimelytė telling about the Theatre Square
After a couple of hours of rest, at 18:00 the teachers and students had traditional Lithuanian dinner at the restaurant “Trys mylimos” with Lithuanian folk music, songs and dances. The teacher of music Jonas Petrauskas and the teacher of choreography Vaidotas Gilys with their students of Lithuanian folk music and dance ensembles and students’ parents of the senior group of the ensemble taught the guests to sing a Lithuanian song “Išėjo tėvelis į mišką” and to dance traditional Klaipėda region dances.
2014-04-01, Tuesday
At 10:00 the participants of the project had a guided excursion at Klaipėda Castle.
Workshops at the castle
At 12:00 the agenda had to be changed because Klaipeda TV “Balticum” due to its reconstruction cancelled the planned excursion there at the last minutes. But the staff of the Dolphinarium and Lithuanian Sea Museum agreed to change the planned excursion on Wednesday to the excursion on Tuesday. So, the participants of the project took a ferry from Old Ferry Terminal (North Horn) to Smiltynė and from there they were driven to the Dolphinarium and Lithuanian Sea Museum. At 12:30 the participants of the project were watching the “Dolphins’ Show” which was organized only for them. After the show they had an excursion to some parts of Lithuanian Sea Museum which were also opened only for them.
At the same time they participated in the workshops:
After that the teachers and students walked from the Dolphinarium and Lithuanian Sea Museum to the Old Ferry Terminal (North Horn) and took a ferry back to Klaipeda. Since it was not 14:00 but already 15:00 Klaipeda Radio Station “Laluna” didn’t agree to meet the participants of the project an hour later than it was planned. So, at 15:00 the teachers and students had lunch at the restaurant “Senoji Hansa”. At 16:00 the participants of the project went to the editorial office of the daily newspaper “Klaipeda”. The teachers and students were shown the main offices and then they had an interview with the managing editor Saulius Pocius.
Lisa Knitter from Germany during the interview
The dinner for teachers was booked at the restaurant “Friedricho pasažas”.
2014-04-02, Wednesday
At 10:00 there was the workshop for all the teachers and students at the school hall. I (Aušra Skeivytė – the coordinator of the project in Lithuania) reminded the main aims of the meeting – to create the 8th chapter of the e-book, the e-portfolio and the e- photodiary. The teachers and students from Germany taught the basics of the Animated PowerPoint Presentation, which had to be used for the 8th chapter of the e-book, and showed the Lithuanian fairy tale “Eglė – žalčių karalienė” as an example. The teachers and students from Poland showed the presentation “The Changes in Mass Media”.
After that I reminded the list of the groups and shared the responsibilities:
Group 1
writing an e-book - creating chapter 8 “In Lithuania” (Animated PowerPoint Presentation)
The teachers and students had to improve the draft of the story which was prepared by Lithuanian teachers and students using the ideas sent only by Poland, Germany and Turkey before the meeting.
The teachers: Cutting eight characters: Sheila Burnage (England) The editorial office of the daily newspaper “Klaipeda”: Andrea Stadler (Germany) Dolphinarium: Kasif Özcan (Turkey) Castle: Roberts Rožkalns (Latvia) Vaida Skliuderienė – an IT teacher Aušra Čigienė – an English teacher The students: Cutting eight characters: Dariusz Kępa (Poland) Andrius Armokavičius The editorial office of the daily newspaper “Klaipeda”: Lisa Knitter (Germany) Rūta Lakiūnaitė Dolphinarium: Volkan Aydin (Turkey) Evaldas Snukiškis Jonas Gadeikis Castle: Martina Dege (Latvia) Santa Jančiauskaitė
Group 2
designing an e-portfolio “Changes in Mass Media” (Microsoft Office Publisher)
Before the meeting the students of all the countries were asked to talk with their grandparents and parents about TV, Radio and Press and send their photos with the texts for the e-portfolio “Changes in Mass Media” and the students from Poland, Germany, England, Turkey, Portugal, Greece and Italy did. During the meeting the teachers and students had to choose the photos with the texts and design three parts of the e-portfolio.
The teachers: Adnan Özsirkinti (Turkey) - changes in TV Wioletta Piotrowska (Poland) - changes in Radio Alexandra Tomczyck (Germany) - changes in Press Gintas Andrijauskas – an IT teacher Irena Lukošienė – an English teacher The students: Olivia Ann Bagley (England) - changes in TV Liucija Paniuškytė Chiara Schnalke (Germany) - changes in Radio Skaistė Venckutė Alina Isajenko (Latvia) - changes in Press Erika Jonušaitė
Group 3
designing an e-photodiary “The Meeting in Lithuania” (Wondershare DVD Slideshow Builder Deluxe)
The teachers and students had to choose the best photos of the activities which were done during the meeting, write short texts to them, choose Lithuanian music for the background and put everything into the photo video making program “Wondershare DVD Slideshow Builder Deluxe”, add some effects and create a video – an e-photodiary “In Lithuania”.
The teachers: Marzena Skotnicka (Poland) Jackie Westerby (England) Kārlis Strautiņš (Latvia) Aušra Skeivytė The students: Jade Mansbridge (England) Arina Dumčiūtė Furkan Yildirim (Turkey) Lukas Dvarionis Marcin Sudoł (Poland) Andrius Endrėkus Arnoldas Daunys
At 10:30 each group went to its classroom. At 11:30 there was a coffee break. At 12:00 the teachers and students continued working in the international workshops.
From 13:00 to 14:00 there was a lunch time. After lunch the agenda had to be changed due to the above mentioned reasons, so, the teachers and students went to Neringa.
Witches’ Hill in Juodkrantė Workshops in Juodkrantė
Nida Workshops in Nida
At 20:00 the teachers were driven to the restaurant “Senoji vyninė” for dinner and the students had a party at Arina’s house.
2014-04-03, Thursday
At 10:00 the headmaster of the school Valerijus Kuzliakinas, the teachers and students had not a planned meeting with Klaipeda city mayor Vytautas Grubliauskas but a meeting with the adviser of the mayor Simonas Gentvilas who emphasized the importance of Comenius projects which strengthen the connection between all the countries.
After a coffee break at school the teachers and students went to the classrooms and continued working in the international groups until the lunch time. Meanwhile at 13:00 the meeting of the coordinators took place. The coordinators had to discuss about the next and the last meeting of the project in Italy but since the coordinator of the project in Italy Teresa Lucy Ferragine wasn’t at the meeting in Lithuania and the coordinators couldn’t open the material she sent by e-mail because it was sent during the first days of the meeting in Lithuania when all the coordinators were busy and the date of opening the sent material expired till the meeting of the coordinators, it was decided to prepare for the meeting in Italy via e-mails. At 15:00, after lunch, the Lithuanian students started the closing of the meeting. The students from the group 1 presented their created parts of the e-book – chapter 8 - “In Lithuania” (Animated PowerPoint Presentation): the eight characters were cut, the parts of the editorial office of the daily newspaper “Klaipeda”, Dolphinarium and Castle were added to the draft of the story which was prepared before the meeting. Since animated powerpoint presentation contains photos, videos, visual and audio material and a lot of animation effects and all these items require a lot of time and more teachers and students than we had, it wasn’t finished but it will be finished after the meeting by Lithuanian teachers and students. The group 2 showed all three parts (changes in TV, changes in Radio and changes in Press) in both the e-portfolio and the printed leaflet versions “Changes in Mass Media” which were designed using Microsoft Office Publisher and the photos and the texts sent by all nine countries after students’ chats with their parents and grandparents before the meeting. The group 3 showed the e-photodiary which wasn’t finished but will be finished (the photos from the closing of the meeting, last evening, departure and some other moments will be added) after the meeting by Lithuanian teachers and students. All three finished products will be sent to all the countries via “wetransfer”. During all the meeting in Lithuania whose topic was “Mass Media” the Lithuanian students – the students from I(9) forms – were acting like journalists and were trying to treat all the guests like the stars.
At the end of the meeting TV journalists showed a TV program – filmed interviews with the teachers and students – the guests. Press journalists designed the magazine “People” about 20 guests – 10 teachers and 10 students – and gave a printed version for each of them. After that the guests from 5 countries were given the tasks about Lithuania, Klaipeda and “Varpas” gymnasium:
To draw a poster “Lithuania” and to tell where it is, if it is a big or a small country, 1. what the capital city is, what the population is, who the most famous people are, and so on…
2. To sing a Lithuanian folk song
3. To dance a Lithuanian folk dance
To show three most important objects of Klaipeda: Meridianas 4. Dolphinarium Castle To show in the way, the others could guess…
To create a short poem using these words: 5. “Varpas” Gymnasium Valerijus Kuzliakinas
After 15 min the guests from 5 countries showed their knowledge about Lithuania, Klaipeda and “Varpas” gymnasium, which was excellent.
Latvians dancing Lithuanian folk dance
15 min were given for assessing the meeting in the assessment sheets: 1 2 3 4 5 100 1. Transportation 1 4 9 6 70 2. Accommodation 1 19 98 3. The opening of the meeting 2 3 5 10 83 4. Sightseeing in Klaipėda Old Town 1 4 10 4 74 5. Traditional Lithuanian dinner at “Trys mylimos” 1 2 5 3 9 77 6. Visit to Klaipeda Castle 3 4 6 7 77 7. Excursion to Klaipeda TV “Balticum” 8. Excursion to Klaipeda Radio Station “Laluna” 9. Excursion to the editorial office of the daily newspaper “Klaipeda” 2 6 6 5 71 10. The excursion to the Dolphinarium and Lithuanian Sea Museum 3 17 97 11. The meeting with Klaipeda city mayor V.Grubliauskas 1 1 9 8 71 12. Workshops 1 1 8 2 7 70 13. Broadening the mind 1 2 8 9 85 14. Broadening the knowledge about Lithuania 1 3 6 10 85 15. Broadening the knowledge about changes in mass media 1 8 5 6 76 16. Improvement of the English language 1 1 6 11 82 17. Improvement of IT skills 1 3 5 5 5 67 18. Development of creativity 1 1 7 5 6 74 19. The results of the workshops 2 3 8 7 80 20. Coffee breaks/lunch 1 4 7 8 82 21. The closing of the meeting 3 3 6 11 94 22. Human treatment 2 1 16 90 23. Relationships between teachers and students of all the countries 2 3 15 90 24. Strengthening the connection between all the countries 7 13 93 25. Other comments: ……………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………......
After the speech of the headmaster Valerijus Kuzliakinas, the participants of the project were awarded with the certificates of participation.
The last word was said by Aušra Skeivytė - the coordinator of the project in Lithuania - and the meeting was finished by the work of Radio journalists – the radio program “Top 9” – the international music mix which was created from the pieces of music from all 9 countries sent by e-mail before the meeting. After the closing of the meeting the participants of the project were given some time for Akropolis – shopping and entertainment centre and at 20:00 there was a farewell dinner for teachers booked at the Open Kitchen Grill Restaurant “XII” at the hotel “Amberton” where they were staying.
2014-04-04, Friday
At 7:00 the teachers and students from England and Turkey were taken by minibus to Ryga airport. At 10:00 the teachers and students from Poland were taken by minibus to Vilnius. They left earlier than they had to because they wanted to spend some hours in the capital city of Lithuania. After saying goodbye to England, Turkey and Poland, I, my colleague Aušra Čigienė and two German teachers – Andrea Stadler and Alexandra Tomczyck went to Palanga, where we met two German students with their host families.
2014-04-05, Saturday
At 5:00 the teachers and students from Germany were taken by minibus to Palanga airport.
Aušra Skeivytė – the coordinator of the project in Lithuania
P.S. I am very grateful to those teachers and students who felt that the meeting in Lithuania was not the meeting of Lithuania but the meeting of us all and did everything they could to make our meeting successful.