Scoala Gimnaziala ,Toma Cocisiu” Blaj
Our school is located in the centre of Romania, a region called Transylvania, the county of Alba, in Blaj, a well-known cultural and historical small town.There are 45 teachers and 550 students (from 6 to 14), among whom about 80 are of Romany origin and 15 are Hungarian. That makes a percentage of about 20 % students belonging to ethnic minorities, which we consider a plus for intercultural opportunity. Some of our students have one or both parents working abroad and are left in the care of older relatives/tutors. Some of them, together with other students with functional and intellectual disabilities are monitored by the school psychologist/counselor and study according to a specially adapted curriculum. Since our school is the only one in the area that has intensive classes of English, there are around 50 students from the neighbouring villages who commute to our school daily.
There are some students in our school who need to be motivated to socialize and to work in a team. A project like this will help them develop these values, meanwhile improving their language and ICT knowledge and competencies, will change the teachers’ and students’ attitude and mentality concerning the EU, the diversity and values of European cultures in order to combat racism, prejudice and xenophobia and to promote cooperation among the schools taking part in the project.
The subject is of real interest nowadays. People should take action now before it’s too late. Projects like the one we want to implement is the best way to show our students how they can stop polluting the air, water and land. The air we breathe is no longer fresh, the water we drink is no longer pure, the vegetables and fruit we grow are no longer healthy because of pollution. We use too much energy because we have modern appliances, we drive too many cars, we smoke, we simply trash the planet. The result of human actions is that a lot of species of animals become extinct and the natural ecosystems are in danger. It’s high time we saved the Earth. We should show our students how to reuse and recycle, how to save water and energy and how to plant a tree or a flower. This project provides a good opportunity for children to develop good relationships, to deal with their emotions, to include disabled children so that they can be united through project work. If students learn these activities at school, they will tell their families and they will start doing exactly what they have experienced at school. We consider that working together with their teachers and students from other schools in Europe, they will develop their communication skills and working in a team abilities. They will learn to cooperate and collaborate.
