XIII Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace im. Bohaterow Westerplatte

Newspaper from the mobility in Turkey

Comenius project on Turkish TV:

https://www.facebook.com/738593986/videos/10153328740498987/?pnref=story

SIXTH COMENIUS MOBILITY – KAYSERI 19.04 – 24.04. 2015

What do you think when someone mentions Turkey? Oriental cuisine, marvellous monuments and landscapes, Turkish coffee, muezzin's calls, exotic smells and lots of sunshine. Well, we experienced all of them, except the last point. Unfortunately, it was windy and cold, on one morning there was even snow. So Turkey can surprise.
On 19th April 2015 three teachers (Bożena Bućwińska – the project coordinator, Monika Bujas and Beata Kubianka) and two students (Natalia Stryszowska and Kamil Sakowski) from our school went on the sixth mobility to the Turkish town Kayseri. It is located in central Turkey, in Anatolia. The place itself dates back to 3000 BC and was known in the past as Mazaca or Caesarea. Now it's a big, industrial town, but still you can find monuments from as long ago as Roman, Byzantine or Seljuk times.
In order to get there we had to travel long, first by train to Warsaw, then by plane to Istanbul, where we changed planes and flew to Kayseri.
Day 1: In the morning we met in Kayseri Teknik ve Endűstri Meslek Lisesi, the school cooperating within the Comenius project 'Only Aware Can Act Fair – Students for sustainable food and trade'. Apart from the representatives of XIII LO in Krakow, there were students and teachers from other partner schools in Finland, Germany and Lithuania. The hosts invited us to the conference room and there, after being greeted by the school head teacher, we were shown presentations prepared by the Turkish students. We learned about Turkey, Kayseri and the school. Then the students explained in detail how to make traditional Turkish dishes, such as 'manti' or 'sarma', and desserts 'baklava' or 'halva'. It was essential for the programme of the mobility, as the hosts focused on sustainable food.
After the presentations we had an international snack, which is a tradition in our project and quite a joyful and educational opportunity to try food from different countries. In order to integrate the students our hosts organized a lot of 'energizing' games. Everybody had a lot of fun taking part in them or just watching (teachers).
Later the participants of the mobility went on a tour of Kayseri, however it started to rain heavily so not everybody took part.
Day 2: The first point of the programme on that day was a visit to a company called 'Nostaljii'. It is run by women, produces and sells traditional, organic Turkish food. We were shown how this food is made and were given a chance to make it ourselves. It wasn't easy but we did our best. At the end of the workshop we were invited to try this delicious food. All of us admitted that traditional Turkish dishes taste great.
After the workshop we went on a trip, first to the Kayseri Kent Museum, which is housed in a magnificent modern building, and which shows the history of the city. We could find out aboutthe history of Kayseri, which is really long. To see the remnants of the Ottoman period our hosts took us to Talas, a small town near Kayseri, where we could see a 200- year-old Ottoman street and a house which belonged to Yaman Dede, a Turkish philosopher and activist, showing how people used to live in Anatolia at the beginning of 20th century.
Day 3: On that day we were shown how other food is made. We travelled to the industrial zone in Kayseri, first to a modern drink factory. The factory produces juice, milk and other soft drinks and sells them in Turkey and also exports them to countries all over the world. The process of juice making is highly automatic, the procedures are very sterile so we had to wear protective clothes. The guide explained to us all the technological process and showed us the production line. We were fascinated by the machines which can make the drinks in the fast and ultra-modern way, and still produce very healthy drinks.
Then we visited another factory, which makes traditional Turkish halva as well as jams, cheese and butter. We could see the production line and taste all the products.
After lunch in the school canteen we went on a trip to the highest mountain in the region – Erciyes, which is a volcano and reaches the height of 3,916 m. Although it was April (and it was in Turkey!) there was still plenty of snow. We went up the slope in cable cars. Unfortunately, it was cloudy so we couldn't see all the views from the mountain, however, we could play in the snow. There was a group of skiers who after each ride down the slope danced in sang. Lots of people from our group joined in, especially the Turkish students who knew the songs. We had great fun on the mountain despite poor weather. On the way back to Kayseri we stopped at Hisarciklioglu Private School, where we were served traditional Turkish tea.
Day 4: Thursday was devoted to a whole-day trip to Cappadocia. This is a region west of Kayseri with unique moon-like landscape, rock formations, numerous caves, underground cities and monuments from ancient times. Cappadocia is a World Heritage Site known all over the world, so we were thrilled at the opportunity to go there. We travelled by coach, with a very friendly guide Fatima, who told us a lot about the places we were passing.
First, we visited a traditional pottery workshop where we saw how pots are made; some students even tried to make a pot themselves using a potter's wheel. Then we went to see the Kaymakli underground city with lots of tunnels, chambers and storage rooms. The city was used in the Byzantine era, for protection from Muslim Arabs during the Arab – Byzantine wars for a few centuries (from 8th to 12th centuries). A few thousand people could find safety in the place. Nowadays only four levels of the underground city are shown to the public, and we could visit them.
Our next stop was Uçhisar, where we admired 'the castles' – tall rock formations which, being the highest rocks in the area, served in the past as watchtowers. From there we went to Göreme. Here, all the village is situated in a valley with lots of stunning rocks. Some people still live in the caves there, there are also shops, hotels and restaurants inside them. In Göreme we had a chance to see the open air museum in which we walked around and inside cave churches from the Byzantine times. In some of them there were ancient frescoes.
The next place we went to was Ürgüp with a Valley of Monks – a name given to mushroom shaped rock formations located there. The whole area we visited in Cappadocia is a national park and it is nothing you can see anywhere in the world. The breath-taking views of rocks look like from a fairy tale or a science-fiction film (some people found resemblance to Star Wars scenery). Whatever you compare it to, it isn't what you see, it's like out of this world!
Unfortunately, it was the last day of our stay.
The Turkish team organised the mobility in a perfect way. We had a chance to find out about sustainable, organic food and drinks, we got to know about the Turkish traditions, culture and landscape. We fell in love with traditional Turkish cuisine and the sights from Cappadocia will remain in our minds for ever. What is more, due to great Turkish hospitality we made long-lasting friendships.

Newspaper from the mobility in Kraków

Mobility to Krakow 8th – 13th 03.2015

The fifth mobility of Comenius project 'Only Aware Can Act Fair-Students for sustainable food and trade' took place in our hometown.We had been working hard for a few months to prepare the meeting and to make sure our guests would feel fine during their stay in Krakow.
All the students visiting our town stayed with host families and could experience Polish hospitality and find out how Polish families live.
The mobility was held in March, when the weather can be totally unpredictable. We had only hoped it wouldn't rain. However, our guests were greeted by brilliant sunshine and everyone felt really positive about the outcome.
Day 1: The day started in our school where we organised the workshop. All the participants (teachers and students) arrived on time and were greeted by the Deputy Head Teacher Mrs Liwora, who wished us sucessful work and our guests a nice stay in Krakow. Then we got down to work. The first part of the workshop was carried out by Monika Banach, an activist from Fundacja Stańczyka. She made a presentation on traditional life and coffee growing in Gwatemala, which she had visited, and where she had done her research. She even showed us some Gwatemalan artefacts, which she had brought from her visit there.
The next topic of the workshop was '3R', which is a short term for 'Reduce, Reuse and Recycle'. First, we watched an animation showing what 3R is and then Inga Michałowska made a presentation showing us in what way the idea of 3R can be implemented on the everyday basis. Afterwards, each national team was asked to organise pieces of paper with slogans referring to 3R and then to discuss in what way they can reuse, reduce or recycle the items given to them. Each team had different ideas which they presented at the end of this part of the workshop.
After a coffee break we started working again. The next topic was 'Aware consumer'. First, the participants were shown an animated film on the subject and then Karolina Pałasińska told everyone what an aware consumer should do. After that each team wrote down and later read out their ideas of aware consuming.
The last part of the workshop was devoted to GMOs. In order to get familiarised with the subject the partcipants watched two films: one showing advantages and the other disadvantages of GMOs. Later, Katarzyna Gruszecka explained everyone clearly all the benefits and dangers connected with genetically modified organisms. On the basis of this information the students and teachers were able to do the last task – matching ideas with pros and cons of the GMOs.
It was hard, though educational work, so everybody got hungry. Thus, it was time for lunch. Each team had brought some national delicacies and we had an international snack.
The next point of the programme was a tour of Krakow. We started from the Barbican, where Mrs Kubianka gave the guests a short outline of the history of Krakow. Then we walked down the Royal Road. Our guests seemed enchanted by the beauty of the Old Town and wanted to take pictures of every house we were passing. Somehow we managed to get to the Market Square, where we admired the most important monuments and took a few group photos. From there we took a walk to the Collegium Maius – the oldest building of the Jagiellonian University, and later on down Grodzka and Kanonicza Streets to Wawel Castle. After the tour everyone had to admit that Krakow is a marvellous place.
Day 2: On the second day everybody had to show how much they had learned the day before. We played the City Game. The game is our product, so we were really anxious about its outcome. The weather was on our side: clear sky, lots of sunshine and quite warm – in this weather even the hardest task seemed easier.
We met at the railway station where each national team (teachers and students) got a map and a picture of a train. The game was called 'Fair Train' and its aim was to find passengers for the train. The teams had to look for 6 stations located in the Old Town, do a task at each station and if the task was completed successfully, the team received the passenger. At each station the teams were given different tasks: some of them dealt with the problem of aware consuming, others with 3R, yet others with GMO or Fair Trade. The finishing time was 12.45. All the teams had a lot of fun walking (or running!) around the Old Town and doing different tasks. They enjoyed some of them extremely (Bingo at Station 1, where they had to talk in English to Polish people and find those who are aware consumers), they had to show lots of creativity while designing a logo for a 'Fair Trade Bag'. One station required from them not only knowledge but also luck, and not everyone was delighted with the results there. However, each team finished the game. They liked it so much that most of them wanted the game to last longer.
In the afternoon our guests visited the Underground Museum in the Market Square, where they could find out about the history of this place dedictaed for centuries to trade.
Day 3: Unfortunately, as it happens in March, the weather changed to cold and windy. It wasn't easy for us to endure 2.5 hours in this weather visiting the next point of our programme: the Sewage Treatment Plant in Krakow-Płaszów. The plant is very modern, uses technologies which follow the strickest ecological regulations recommended by the European Union. Our guide explained to us all the procedures of treating sewage and showed us the whole plant. It was quite interesting and definitely something Krakow can be proud of, however most of us couldn't stand the smell of the place.
Luckily, the next point of the programme looked and smelled much better. We went to Ojców, where we visited the Ojców National Park Museum. The museum has a modern, multi-media exhibition of the plants and animals, geographical features and historical places typical for the area of the National Park. Everybody enjoyed the visit, but we got hungry and cold, so we were delighted to go to the traditional restaurant 'Under the bat', where we had dinner in a room heated for us by a huge fireplace. Not only the place was warm, but the atmosphere too. It was time to announce the winners of the 'Fair Train' City Game. The Lithuanian team got the first place and were awarded with small gifts.
Day 4: One of the places around Krakow which is world-famous and included on the Unesco World Heritage Sites list is Wieliczka Salt Mine. The miners have been excavating salt here for over 700 years. Nowadays it is mainly a wonderful museum, with amazing chambers, sculptures made in salt, underground lakes and the breath-taking St. Kinga's Chapel. We went to Wieliczka by train and made a tour of the mine in two groups. Both groups had their guides, who told us about the history of the mine, the ways of excavating salt in the past, the names of sculptors, stories, anecdotes and legends connected with the place. Everybody was stunned by the beauty of the place and though the tour lasted over two hours, nobody complained. After buying some souvenirs we went back to Krakow.
The afternoon was free, so everyone did what they enjoyed: visiting other places in Krakow, shopping or just sitting in a cafe and talking to friends. Krakow has so many attractions that each person can find something for themselves. The teachers met in the evening to evaluate the meeting and to discuss the next mobility.
Day 5: Unfortunately, Friday was the day of our guests' departure, so although we were very sorry to do so, we had to say good-bye to our foreign friends. We are really impressed by their involvment in all the activities prepared by us and we believe that we have all learned a lot about all the issues propagated by our project.

The winners of the contest:
1st prize – short story by Karolina Madej from class 2i
2nd prize – poem „…” by Natalia Krzywoń from class 2i
3rd prize – poem “Do Szkapy” by Jakub Janas from class 2i

Global Education Week is organised in collaboration with the North-South Centre - European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity of the Council of Europe.
Global Education Week (GEW) is an annual educational event. Its objectives are to raise awareness among young people of problems and challenges of the today's world, shape their ability to solve these problems, enable good communication with people from other cultures as well as promote attitudes of respectfulness for cultural differences. The initiatives within Global Education Week are aimed at activating young people to build a just world, showing them specific possibilities of getting involved in different activities and also rising their consciousness about the responsibility for their own actions.

Global Education Week was celebrated for the first time in XIII LO
In all classes English teachers coursed a lesson about Fair Trade according to the scenario prepared by Mrs Beata Kubianka. The students got to know the topic and English vocabulary connected with Fair Trade. They also had an opportunity to sign the petition regarding chocolate trade.
http://pl.makechocolatefair.org/
A literary contest has been announced. Studenta prepared for it a short story or a poem about the world famine problem. The winners of the contest were:
1st prize – short story by Karolina Madej from class 2i
2nd prize – poem „…” by Natalia Krzywoń from class 2i
3rd prize – poem “Do Szkapy” by Jakub Janas from class 2i
On Friday, november 24th, a meeting of all classes representant took place in school assembly hall. Mrs. Magdalena, the head master, also took part in the meeting. It has been conducted by Mrs. Bożena Bućwińska. After the contest prizes were handed (books and Fairtrade certified sweets), the winning entries were read by their authors. Karolina Pałasińska from class 2c displayed presentation about global education and global relationships. All participants of the meeting were invited to school projects “Only aware can act fair. Students for sustainable food and trade” and “Fair, active, aware- building basis for campaign of Schools Fair Trade – friendly. The meeting created an opportunity to taste products certified with Fairtrade mark – coffee, tea and chocolate.

3. XI 2014
Workshop about Fair Trade and Fair Trade breakfast at school.

Kamil Czepiel - Ecological Education coach has led a workshop about Fair Trade in our school. Students and teachers had an opportunity to taste certified products, such as coffee, tea and chocolate.

Newspaper from the visit in Lithuania

Make Chocolate Fair! (MCF!) is an international campaign that mobilizes Europeans to become active towards more justice in the global cocoa industry. In recent years many of us have been disturbed by the inhuman working conditions and human rights violations on cocoa farms in West Africa, revealed by films like the BBC investigation “Chocolate: the bitter truth” in 2010.
On the one hand, there are millions of cocoa farmers who struggle to make their ends meet. On the other hand, we, the consumers, who continue to buy chocolate at ever increasing volumes, feel helpless or ignorant to make any changes. In between, there are a handful of companies who dominate the world cocoa market and the chocolate market and reap high profits in the global cocoa and chocolate industry. Nevertheless, there is a way to make more companies act responsibly and fairly.
As part of the European campaign for equitable chocolate "Make Chocolate Fair", for three months the Chocomobile is circling in Europe. In Poland, we call the Chocomobile "Kakaowóz". Organizers of the tour are: Buy Responsibly Foundation and Fair Trade Coalition. Thanks to the cooperation with the Environmental Partnership Foundation and the Association PODGORZE.PL, the Chocomobile or "Kakaowóz" was a guest of Targ Pietruszkowy Farmers' Market.
In the event took part students and teachers of XIII LO in Krakow – Kasia Gruszecka, Inga Michałowska, Paulina Zięba, Justyna Król, Natalia Stryszowska, Dagmara Wróbel, Ola Jakubowska, Jaga Jachimczak, Weronika Guzik, Karolina Pałasińska, Olaf Szadkowski , Bogusław Sroka, Bożena Bućwińska.
They gathered signatures for petition supporting fair trade of chocolate.

http://pl.makechocolatefair.org/

Fourth mobility Lithuania 21-26. 09.2014
The fourth meeting of Comenius project 'Only aware can act fair. Students for sustainable food and trade' was held in Kaunas, Lithuania. For us, Poles, it was an unusual trip. Both of our countries shared the same history for a few centuries; places like Vilnius or Kaunas sound familiar to us. Some of the greatest Polish poets were born in Lithuania. But still... it turned out that none of us (either teachers or students) have been there before. Although we are neighbouring countries we know very little about each other. In fact, we didn't know what to expect. Definitely, the climate is the same. At the time of our stay it was pretty cold both in Poland and in Lithuania. However, warm Lithuanian hospitality made us forget about the weather.
The Food Industry and Trade Training Center in Kaunas, the school which cooperates within the Comenius project, is wonderfully equipped, boasts of outstanding facilities, such as workshops, a restaurant and a hotel. They all serve as places for students' practice. Future cooks, bakers, waiters and hotel staff train there. In such a hotel (of high standard) our students were accommodated. Everybody felt comfortable. And the school restaurant served the best food to all participants. We were all impressed by the skills of young cooks and waiters.

Day 1: The schools also has a multimedia conference room in which the Lithuanian students prepared a presentation dealing with the problem of packaging. We learned what different signs on the packages mean, which of the packages are recyclable, which are biodegradable, what to choose when we buy some products if we want to be conscious consumers. Later on, after a tour of Kaunas, we went to a supermarket where we tried to find different kinds of packaging, deciding which of them are 'greeen' and which are not. In the afternoon, during a special workshop the students learned how to make different types of packaging. And then... they were asked to go to the kitchen and prepare dinner for the teachers and themselves. Now, the students have an idea what a restaurant kitchen looks like and what it takes to make good, healthy dinner for restaurant guests.

Day 2: Most of the packaging is made of paper. So the Lithuanian hosts decided to take us to a paper mill and to show us how it is made. Inside the mill it was hot, humid and noisy, but the guide showed us all the production line – from the place where the paper pulp is made to the finishing point where the rolls of toilet paper and other paper products were packed. On the same day we had an opportunity to visit the whole school, and watch students working in the bakery and meat departments. Our students were invited to take part in the activities in the workshop and they tried to make the traditional Lithuanian tree cake, which is made on a special turnspit. As it takes a few hours to bake, so we didn't wait that long, but on the next day we could taste what our students had made, and it tasted great.

Day 3: The tree cake is part of the Lithuanian heritage. So is the mill to which we were taken on Day 3. We travelled by coach an hour to get there, but it was worth it! What we visited is a traditional mill built in 1929 and still working in the same way as years ago. The miller, who knows both the history of the mill and the technique of producing flour, showed us step by step how flour and other cereal is made. We could even try what different types of flour taste! The students had made buns which were baked when were visiting the mill. And then we could try different types of traditional pastries and drink tea. We were aware that what we ate was made on the spot, of organic products, in a traditional way. What is more – it was just delicious, and the smell of baked pastries was mouth watering!

Day 4: We were taken to an unusual museum – the Devil Museum, which prides in the collection of figures of devils from all Lithuania and from abroad. Amazing! On that day there was also some free time for students – they went to the shopping mall in the centre of the town accompanied by the Lithuanian friends – and they could even try skating there.

We came back to Poland impressed by the organisation of the meeting – everything was perfectly prepared, the atmosphere was warm, the students integrated so well that from the beginning they formed one big, friendly group, and what we saw will be well-remembered. We could learn a lot about traditional, organic Lithuanian food, learn how to be aware consumers. We were happy to find Lithuania a wonderful country full of friendly, hospitable people.