Comenius Students' Exchange - Almeirim/Portugal May 2009

Friends will be friends (forever)

Project Meeting - Almeirim, Portugal

Project Meeting, Almeirim, Portugal

From May 2nd to 9th 2009, the six partner countries (Austria, The Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Portugal and Turkey) of the Comenius project Different Bridges from School to Professions 2007 - 2009, attended the fourth and final meeting in Almeirim, in the Agrupamento de Escolas Febo Moniz – Almeirim, in Portugal.

The students started their project work by preparing posters for the professions chosen by the Comenius team. Since the meeting in Estonia students have been finding information about the different ways to achieve these professions.

The teachers’ team agreed on eight categories to compare the basis of education for the chosen professions. In addition to creating six posters, each team was also responsible for presenting one profession in a PowerPoint Presentation.

Then students sat together in six groups discussing and comparing the given categories and then filled in a chart for each profession in all the countries. So they got a wide overview of achieving these professions in the six involved countries. Bearing in mind The European Year of Creativity and Innovation students had the chance to transform their ideas about Different Bridges from school to Professions into paintings. These banners were put up in the school corridors.

On Wednesday the whole team visited Santarém, the capital city of the region and the vocational school Escola Profissional de Salvaterra de Magos. There we were acquainted with different ways of learning a profession in the tourist industry.

On the final day we held a seminar entitled Working and study in the EU – sharing good practices. Emma McCarroll, the English Assistant Teacher at the host school, shared her experiences, followed by two Erasmus students from Spain who have been studying Management at the Polytechnic in Santarém since October 2008. Afterwards the Comenius students presented the project work about the professions and spoke about their experiences concerning the project. Finally a Portuguese European Deputy, Jamila Madeira, gave a speech related to the theme of the seminar.

In the afternoon students and teachers wrote their reports about the week. The team organized a press conference with the local media.

On Sunday the Portuguese partner offered an excursion to the medieval town of Óbidos and the towns Peniche and Nazaré at the coast.
On Monday morning the host school organized a welcome reception with the students. The Portuguese students performed dances, traditional Portuguese music and a sketch about famous figures from the partner countries. The Portuguese host invited the partners and the audience to travel back to the previous project meetings using films. The headmaster of Agrupamento de Escolas Febo Moniz – Almeirim took us on a tour of the school facilities, culminating in the exhibition, which had been prepared by students and teachers from the host school.
After lunch (in the school canteen), we visited a local estate which is famous for its vineyards, Quinta da Alorna. While the adults tasted the different wines, the students watched an equestrian training session.
During the week we were also given a guided tour of Santarém, the capital of the region, and visited the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.

All the partners would like to say thank you for the warm welcome, generous hospitality and the perfect organization.

Welcome to Ribatejo Region!!!!

Welcome to Ribatejo... Santarém...Almeirim!!!!

The Ribatejo, the areas bordering the River Tejo, has been a producer of wine for 2000 years but it is only in recent years that it has come to the attention of a wider audience across Europe.

Santarém is the capital of the Ribatejo region of Portugal. It has had an important role in Portugal's early history but is today more famous for its festivals and bullfighting.
Santarém sits up high on a plateau looking over the Ribatejo agricultural plains and River Tejo, river valley commanding some fabulous views over the region.

Attractions include several churches, monasteries and convents, a museum and the viewpoint of Portas do Sol. Today this whitewashed, terracotta tiled city houses a large student population which means there's a choice of good value cafes and restaurants, many around the Rua Cepelo e Ivens and Rua Dr Jaime Figueiredo behind the market. Santarem is a good base from which to explore the Ribatejo wine region.

Welcome to Almeirim!!!!

Almeirim is a small town near Santarém, where you will be welcomed!!!

Almeirim is a Portuguese small town in Santarém District. Almeirim has 11 600 inhabitants. Since 2002 it is part of the sub region of Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, till then it was part of Ribatejo Region.
It is the main town in this council with 221, 80 km² and 22 766 inhabitants in 2006, it is divided in 4 parishes. Other towns around Almeirim council are Alpiarça on the North, Chamusca on the East and Northeast, Couruche and Salvaterra de Magos on the South, Cartaxo on the West and Santarém on the Northwest.

Almeirim was once a popular place to rest for the Kings and Queens of Portugal, due to its fields for hunting, which extend into the neighbouring areas of Santarém and Lisbon, and due to its proximity to the river Tejo. In those times, the river provided easy access from Lisbon, and Almeirim was frequently visited by the Kings of the Second Dynasty.

Comenius Project Meeting - Almeirim, Portugal May 2nd to 9th

Welcome to Portugal!!!

Portugal officially the Portuguese Republic is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in south-western Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal.

The land within the borders of today's Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times. Some of the earliest civilizations include Lusitanian and Celtic societies. Incorporation into the Roman Republic dominions took place in the 2nd century BC. The region was ruled and colonized by Germanic people, such as the Suebi and the Visigoths, from the 5th to the 8th century. From this era, some vestiges of the Alans were also found. The Muslim Moors arrived in the early 8th century and conquered the Christian Germanic kingdoms, eventually occupying most of the Iberian Peninsula. In the early 1100s, during the Christian Reconquista, Portugal appeared as a kingdom independent of its neighbour, the Kingdom of León and Galicia. In a little over a century, in 1249, Portugal would establish almost its entire modern-day borders by conquering territory from the Moors.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, with a global empire that included possessions in Africa, Asia, and South America, Portugal was one of the world's major economic, political, and cultural powers. In the 17th century, the Portuguese Restoration War between Portugal and Spain ended the sixty year period of the Iberian Union (1580–1640). The 1755 Lisbon earthquake and, in the 19th century, armed conflicts with French and Spanish invading forces and the loss of its largest territorial possession abroad, Brazil, disrupted political stability and potential economic growth. After the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution coup d'état in 1974, the ruling regime was deposed in Lisbon and the country handed over its last overseas provinces in Africa. Portugal's last overseas territory, Macau, was handed over to China in 1999.

Portugal is a developed country and has a high Human Development Index. It is the 7th most peaceful and the 13th most globalized country in the world, and has the world's 19th highest quality of life, although having the lowest GDP per capita of Western European countries. It is a member of the European Union since1986.

*Portuguese Language*

Portuguese (Português) is a Romance language, spread worldwide in the 15th and 16th centuries as Portugal created the first and the longest lived modern-world colonial and commercial empire (1415–1975). As a result, Portuguese is now the official language of several independent countries and regions: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea Bissau, Macau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe. With more than 200 million native speakers, Portuguese is one of the few languages spoken in such widely-distributed parts of the world.

Portuguese, ranked fifth among world languages in number of native speakers, third most spoken language in Europe and because of Brazil, with 184 million inhabitants, constitutes about 51% of South America's population, Portuguese is the most widely spoken language in South America.
The Portuguese language is gaining popularity in Africa, Asia, and South America as a second language for studying.
Portuguese is, with Spanish, the fastest growing western language and following estimates by UNESCO it is the language with the higher potentiality of growth as an international communication language in Africa and South America. The Portuguese speaking African countries are expected to have a combined population of 83 million by 2050.

Project Meeting - Tartu, Estonia November 2008

Merry Christmas