Creating Competent Citizens using 4Cs

Newsletter #3

Short-term exchange of students Fuentesaúco, , October 2019

From 8th to 10th October 2019, the Spanish small municipality located in the province of partner hosted the third mobility of the pro- Zamora, Castile and León. The theme of the ject, at IES de Fuentesaúco, in Fuentesaúco, a meeting was “Creativity”.

he three-day meeting started with a gath- notebook. T ering at the host school. The teams were The headmaster of the host school and the reorganised into mixed groups, with students coordinator of the project delivered welcome from different nationalities. speeches. Then the groups visited the school There was a welcoming programme with premises. interactive and cooperative activities, such as The IES de Fuentesaúco has about 180 stu- knowing each other’s names or creating a col- dents and 30 teachers. Many students com- lectively personalised cover for the project mute by bus from 14 small villages.

he mayor of Fuentesaúco welcomed the T visitors in the Town Hall, giving a wel- come speech and offering a typical Spanish tapa meal. Fuentesaúco is situated in a rural setting. where farming and livestock are the main productive sectors. The town and its neigh- bourhood are known for the excellent quality of the chick-peas raised there. The nearest cities are Zamora and Salamanca. The local folk group performed some tradi- tional regional Spanish dances.

t school, the national teams presented A the conclusions of their work. The top- ics were human rights activism and the na- tional citizens who fought or are still fighting for a better world. Everybody learned about Jerzy Owsiak from Poland, Queen Helen from Romania, Maria Montessori from , Antonio Guterres and Maria Barroso from , Greta Thunberg from , and the socially active Spanish musicians. Apart from the classical PowerPoint pres- entations, there were interviews, a role-play, music and a Photostory.

reative games. The teams presented and C made other teams play the ingenious games they prepared, which checked the teams’ knowledge about the partner coun- tries and raised cultural awareness. The games were diversified and fun. Students and teachers solved a crossword puzzle, played an internet-enhanced card game, spun the wheel of fortune, and carried out outdoor activities driven by general knowledge questions.

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he teams went on a visiting tour of Za- T mora, the capital of the province, guided by the host school students and the school principal, who talked about its legends and monuments. Zamora is located in the northwest, near the border with Portugal, crossed by the Due- ro river. With its characteristic Romanesque style churches, it has been called a “museum of Romanesque art”. The most important celebration in Zamora is the Holy Week.

n the last day the teams visited Sala- O manca on a guided tour. The city was a leading cultural centre of Europe until the end of the 16th century. The students went to see the University, the Cathedral and Plaza Mayor. The University of Salamanca was founded in 1134. It was the first institution to receive that title, in 1254. It is the European universi- ty with the ninth largest number of incoming Erasmus students and ranks number five among Spanish universities. Salamanca is wonderful and surprising. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

he students had the opportunity to visit T the Salamanca Urban Gallery while play- ing an outdoor city game. They were organ- ised into mixed teams, got maps of Salaman- ca and started their quest for mural paintings in the city. Fortunately, art is not only present in muse- ums, but it gives colour to everyday life and transforms streets. The students were invited to discover works with a variety of underly- ing messages.

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The meeting through students’ eyes

anesa Rodriguez, Portugal ederica Buosciolo, Italy V It was an unforgettable week! Loved the F One of the best experiences of my life, places and especially being with people from everyone should have the opportunity to par- other countries. They were all very nice. ticipate in this kind of experience. No doubt I’ll be back! The people were very kind and hospitable, I made nice friendships that I hope they will continue over time.

R ui Araújo, Portugal I loved the town, the people, the views, everything. The students from the other aja Zió kowska, Poland ł countries were nice and good as well. They MIt was such an amazing experience that taught me songs of their countries and facts I can’t put it into words. I met plenty of won- about their culture. derful people there, tried loads of delicious food and saw many adorable landscapes. I will never forget that trip and I hope we will all keep in touch. Thank you very much! rika Stjärnborg, Sweden EI liked Spain, I met a lot of nice people there. There are very nice and beautiful cit- ies. It was really fun and I think I got some friends for life. Everyone was so nice and welcoming!

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