eTwinning “ S.O.S.: Save Our Sea” - Part 1

 

We have dynamically launched our second eTwinning project for the current school year, titled “S.O.S.: Save Our Sea”!
The month of November was dedicated to introducing the students from the participating countries to one another.

Our students:

·         Wrote their personal introductions, mentioning their nationality, favourite school subjects, and free-time activities.

·         Then, in the ICT lab, they created their own avatars (virtual figures with which they will appear in the project).

·         The avatars were brought to life through Chatterpix, a talking-image application, as students recorded their presentations.

·         These talking images were uploaded to a collaborative notice board, allowing everyone to get to know each other in a more playful and creative way.

At the same time, both students and teachers completed the initial project questionnaires online. The aim was:

·         to identify their perceptions, expectations, and prior knowledge,

·         to enable a comparative analysis with the final questionnaires at the end of the project,

·         and to evaluate the project’s overall impact on both the student and the teacher community.

From the outset, the project was filled with enthusiasm and creativity and we are looking forward to the next activities!

eTwinning “ Do you need me? Because I need you” - Part 1

 

It was with great excitement, creativity and passion that we kicked off our eTwinning project “Do you need me? Because I need you”, which focuses on sensitising learners to responsible pet guardianship (with emphasis on cats and dogs) and active citizenship. This project brings together learners and teachers from Romania, Poland, Spain and Turkey all of whom join forces to share ideas, creativity, and—of course—their love for pets!.

Back in October, our students painted their self-portraits with artistic flair and used them as a fun way to introduce themselves. They shared details about their classes with students from the other countries via a collaborative online noticeboard.

The learners of one of the participating classes (E2), guided by the teacher of the integration class in collaboration with the English teacher, went a step further: they highlighted their unique traits and created a colourful word cloud in the form of pets to showcase their individuality.

Next, the students introduced their schools, their cities, and their countries by writing and uploading photos on a collaborative online book, giving all partners the chance to get to know each other better.

In November, both students and teachers filled in the project’s initial online questionnaires about their knowledge and attitudes toward the main theme. Then came the exciting challenge of designing the project logo! Each class brainstormed and sketched out creative ideas and then voted for their favourite design. Afterwards, the chosen logos were recreated digitally, enriched with meaningful symbols and messages reflecting the goals of the project. In total, 18 logos from all partner countries were gathered in a collaborative presentation and put to an online vote.

We are incredibly proud to announce that the winning logo came from our very own school, and it was the one conceived and designed by class E2 (pictured below)! Their creativity and originality truly shone through, earning recognition and appreciation from all our partners.

Warm congratulations to our students for their imagination and effectiveness!
And of course… stay tuned, because there’s more to come!

European Quality Label for our eTwinning project "Let's become friends"

 

2023-2024

We were delighted to receive another distinction for the eTwinning project titled “Let’s Become Friends,” which was implemented during the previous school year. Following the National Quality Label, the project has now also been awarded the European Quality Label.

This is a particularly prestigious recognition, granted to projects that achieve very high scores in their evaluations. We are proud of the participating students, who have already received their Student Quality Labels, as their excellent work has been fully acknowledged.

We would therefore like to congratulate them once again on their teamwork and imaginative creations, and to wish them continuous growth and success so that they keep challenging themselves and reaching new heights!

EU Code Week 2024 - (14-27 October)

 An entertaining and creative way to promote computational thinking in learners is through their participation in the EU Code Week, an initiative funded by the European Union in order to boost decoding and coding skills as well as collaboration among schools (For more information visit: https://codeweek.eu/ ).

During a two-hour English session one class of 5^th-graders took part in an activity titled: “And now, what do I feel?” (which was chosen in order to be combined with emotional expression activities for World Mental Health Day). Our learners read and decoded picture codes and, as they were colouring the squares which corresponded to the pixels of each image, they named the feeling that was revealed each time in the form of an emoji.

Afterwards they roamed around the classroom in order to read riddles related to feelings. Those were posted on the classroom walls and the learners matched each of them with the appropriate feeling.

Finally, using the digital app ZaplyCode (https://www.zaplycode.it/)  they designed and created digitally their own emoji related to another feeling (they opted for calmness), which was coded automatically by the app.

Find the calm emoji code created by our learners below:

Look at the calm emoji image:

Certificate of excellence

National Quality Label for our eTwinning project "Let's become friends"

 

2023-2024

Our first eTwinning project was not only successfully completed, but it also received the National Quality Label! The excellent collaboration and interaction with our partners, as well as the imaginative ideas of the students who participated in the project during the previous school year, were wonderfully reflected in their creative work, which helped them climb “the first step” of European programmes. And as Greek poet C.P. Cavafy says in his poem of the same title:

“Arriving this far is not a little thing,
So much you’ve done, a great glory”

They truly deserve warm congratulations, along with the encouragement to keep climbing higher and continue to progress!

eTwinning “Let's Become Friends” – Part 7

 

Friendship knows no borders—and our eTwinning project “Let’s Become Friends” proved it very creatively! In the month of May, the students from the partner schools joined forces to weave a single story about the power of friendship. Each school concocted its own character and continued the narrative from the point at which the previous partner had left off. Page by page, our students built a magical tale together with one voice flowing into the next, one culture meeting another, until the final product blossomed into a heartwarming story of unity.

All learners participated actively and enthusiastically, eagerly awaiting their turn, curious to discover how the story had evolved and excited to add their own splash creativity to it.

Our learners were assigned the rising action and the climax of the story, collaborated in groups and made use of the best ideas provided by everyone.

When the story ended all learners participated in an online poll to choose the best title for it, so below you can enjoy the ‘Notes of friendship’ in a video form.

Through this shared storytelling, students learned that even though we live in different places, we all understand the same language of friendship.

Benefits for our learners:

·         Creativity & Imagination: Students didn’t just write; they invented worlds, dialogues, and heroes that reflected their dreams.

·         Language Skills: Writing and reading in a foreign language gave them a real purpose for communication.

·         Teamwork Across Borders: Each group learned to listen, respect, and build upon others’ ideas—a true practice of collaboration.

·         Cultural Awareness: Meeting characters from different countries sparked curiosity about traditions, perspectives, and values beyond their own.

·         Confidence & Motivation: Seeing their contributions become part of a shared final story boosted pride and a sense of achievement.

This month we also had our last online meeting where our learners recited their friendship poems to each other, sang the friendship song they had composed and shared experiences from the project. Eventually they were also asked to evaluate the project as a whole, and each one of its activities on Google Forms.

The whole project stands as a symbol of what happens when young minds join together across distances and proof that friendship can be celebrated even from afar!

eTwinning “Let's Become Friends” – Part 6

 

In April, learners from all partner schools came together to celebrate the spirit of friendship through a unique and creative project: the creation of an Anthology on friendship. They were asked to write poems but they were also given the option of contributing with mottos, songs or thoughts on the subject. This collaborative work reflected the voices, ideas, and artistic expression of students across all the participating countries.

To be guided in the process, our learners received an information sheet with a variety of poem categories –and examples- to choose from: acrostics, cinquains, senses-based poems, black poetry and alphabet poems. Working in groups, they selected the type of poem that inspired them most, then wrote their own verses celebrating the themes of friendship, including eTwinning friendship, and friends.

Younger learners  illustrated the poems written by the older ones, bringing them to life with drawings, colours and symbols that expressed their creativity and emotions.

One class wrote a song on friendship in their mother tongue with the help of the music teacher and sang it for their foreign friends.

This activity helped learners to:

·         explore the beauty of poetry as a way of expressing friendship,

·         work collaboratively in groups, sharing ideas and talents,

·         create an interplay between writing and visual art,

·         and contribute to a collective product that represents the spirit of our eTwinning project.

The final anthology stands as a colourful mosaic of poems and illustrations, a true celebration of friendship that connects all our schools and reminds us that creativity has no borders.

Browse it below:

 In March, as part of our European eTwinning project “Let’s Become Friends,” students worked together in transnational teams on a creative and collaborative activity. Using Canva, each team designed original logos that would represent the spirit of our project.

The process was both fun and meaningful: students not only experimented with shapes, colors, and design elements, but also searched for inspiring quotes and created catchy slogans that highlight the value of friendship, unity, and cooperation across countries.

Altogether, the teams produced five unique logos, each reflecting the creativity and teamwork of our international community. To make the experience even more engaging, an online vote followed, allowing all participants to choose the best logo that will serve as the visual identity of our project.

This activity encouraged students to:

·         express their creativity through digital tools,

·         practice collaboration in international groups,

·         reflect on the meaning of friendship in a global context,

·         and make collective decisions through democratic participation.

The winning logo now proudly represents our project, reminding us that true friendship has no borders!

eTwinning “Let's Become Friends” – Part 4

 

In February we dedicated a special activity to the celebration of Safer Internet Day as part of our European eTwinning project “Let’s Become Friends.” This day reminds us how important it is to use the internet responsibly, carefully, and respectfully, so that we can all enjoy its benefits without any risks.

It is important for young learners to realise that the online world entails risks which require awareness and protective measures just like the real world. For this reason, continuous and well-structured education about both the nature of these risks and the strategies to address them becomes imperative because only through such awareness can we minimise exposure to the most fundamental online threats and promote a safer, more responsible digital culture.

To mark this occasion, students from all the participating countries worked collaboratively on a shared Jamboard. There, they exchanged ideas and wrote down rules regarding safe internet use.

Subsequently, they all took part in an online vote in order to choose the top ten of these and to create the “Decalogue of Safe Internet Use”, which sums up in a simple and clear way the most important practices for protection and responsible digital behaviour.

Through this activity our students:

·         learned to collaborate creatively with peers from different countries,

·         developed critical thinking about internet use,

·         realised the importance of kindness, respect and caution in the digital world.

The Decalogue will serve as a guide for all of us – both young and old – so that we can enjoy our journeys in the online world wisely and safely. 

eTwinning “Let’s become friends” – Part 3

 

One of the most beautiful ways to build friendships across countries is by getting to know each other’s cities, traditions and way of life. When students share the places they love, the history that surrounds them, the way of entertainment, the cultural events and the flavours that make their hometown unique, they provide a pathway into their culture and create bonds of understanding and respect.

In the month of January, within the framework of our eTwinning project “Let’s Become Friends”, our students had the chance to become little ambassadors of their city. By presenting Thessaloniki to their peers from the participating countries not only did they showcase the beauty of their hometown but also strengthened the ties of friendship that connect us all.

The learners worked in the computer lab and carefully selected the most beautiful places, photos and interesting information in order to create a presentation that highlights everything a visitor should see, admire and taste in our city.

All of this work has been brought together in an interactive map and in the video below, where you can discover Thessaloniki through the eyes of our young tour guides. We hope you will enjoy it and feel inspired to get to know our wonderful city better!

Through this project we discovered that every city has its own story to tell—and by listening to these stories, we come closer together as friends and as part of a wider European family!

Thessaloniki Video από Theofani Iatropoulou