Dear readers, Welcome to the third issue of BAF magazine made by the International BAF TEAM from Italy,

Germany, Turkey, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Poland. Many thanks to the teachers and students who participate in shaping the layout and deciding on the contents of the magazine. We hope you will enjoy reading our magazine. Best wishes, Project coordinators: Pawel Posnik (Poland), Peter Ferrari Demski (Italy), Maria Zographou (Cyprus), MuradiyeSubasi (Turkey), Ulrike Peterhoff (Germany), Verginia Veselinova Rakadijeva (Bulgaria) MANY THANKS TO OUR ITALIAN FRIENDS FOR PREPARING SUCH AN UNFORGETTABLE VISIT TO MASSAROSA 6-11 MARCH 2011 With appreciation to all the Italian students and teachers who were our hosts and the visit.

Newspaper of "Pellegrini"-school
Once a week in class 2c of Maurizio Pellegrini middle school, we go in the classroom of Informatics to create a school newspaper that is published every fourmonth period.We have different categories including: -spetteguless, which speaks of new love in school; -interviews impossible, where a number of questions to people who do not exist or are dead; -english corner in which we talk about topics in English; -book reviews of books or film which tells their story and our opinion.; -ranking professors, where we take them around a bit; and finally, games and jokes. To do this we are divided into groups of two people.we are very happy to do so because only one class throughout the school could do it and we have been chosen among all. Virginia Pellegrini, Massarosa, Italy

Our school orchestra

Im a student from Karlsgymnsium Bad Reichenhall and Ill write about our school orchestra. I play in the first violin. Until last year Mr Ruhland conducted our orchestra, but he retired, so now we have Mr Janoschka. He is our new music teacher at school and is a great conductor.Once a year we give a big concert in spring.At the moment we play Pirates of the Caribbean , The children of Mr. Matthieu, and It don't mean a thing . Our next concert will be on April 14th.We made some trips with Mr Ruhland:The orchester was in Egypt twice, there we had some wunderful concerts together with the choir of the German School of Alexandria.Every year we visited Pflersch, a village in Sdtirol,Italy, in the last week of school. There we rehearsed our music pieces for about four hours per day and afterwards we had leisure time, hiked in the mountains or had a lot of fun together. Maria

Award in a maths competition

This year our school has participated in Skytalodromia, a maths contest for secondary schools. We were nine people in the team. We did quite well and we came third! It is a great feeling to win or just participating among a number of schools. When our school was announced to have the third place, we screamed loud. We struggled and fought. Eventually our fights have been fruitful. This was one of the greatest moments in my life.In the winner team they are two more students of our comenius team.Vivia and Giannis and I hope to meet them soon. Demetris Skottis

Differences between the Italian and German school

My impression of the school M. Pellegrini in Massarosa was very positive. The orange-coloured building with the blue windows and stairs is very bright and modern and almost everything is colour-coordinated. The school there is one building with the classrooms and for sports they have an indoor swimming poll and a gymnasium. The Karlsgymnasium is composed of 5 different buildings. The gym, the villa for higher grades, the science wing, the main building with the assembly hall and the grades 7-10 and at last the part for the 5th and 6th graders. But one of the biggest differences is the number of the pupils: In our German school are the grades 5 -12, so there are about 1000 pupils. In Massarosa are the grades 6-8, so there are far less students. The school starts just like in the Karlsgymnasium at 7.55, but it ends not until 4 or 5 oclock, then they have got spare time. Our school in Germany lasts in average until 2 oclock, but then we have to do our homework first. For food there is a kiosk, which sells sweets and food in the Karlsgymnasium. And you can have lunch in our cafeteria but not many pupils do that the bigger part buys something at the kiosk. In the M.Pellegrini they also have a kiosk, but this one is smaller and most of the children have lunch in the cafeteria. Marlene

Tsiknopempti
On the 25 of February we celebrate in our school Tsiknopempti. The word Tsiknopempti derives from the word "tsikna" which in Greek means the smell from grilled meat and the word "pempti" which is Thursday in Greek. Fat Thursday is a traditional Polish, Greek and German feast marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival. Because Lent is a time of fasting, the next opportunity to feast would not be until Easter. Traditionally it is a day dedicated to eating, when people meet in their homes or cafs with their friends and relatives and eat large quantities of meat, cakes and other meals forbidden during Lent. We were very happy when we heart that we were not having lessons that day but celebrate with traditional games and food.From the morning a group of parents with the members of the Parents Association came to the school and started the barbeque. The day was full of music ,food and traditional games .A wonderful day. Enjoy our pictures .

Clema Theodorou , Vivia Varnava

An Edible School Yard

The Slow Food Association has started several projects all over the world and, from America to Europe, a lot of schools have joined them. In our school, this project is important for our alimentary education. The teacher tutoring us is Science professor Giancarlo Righini. We have planned the garden with the help of our local authorities. The cultivated area is in a part of our garden , it consists of two small fields and we can cultivate herbs, sage, camomile, chicory, etc Everything is fertilized in a natural way, with macerated grass and vegetals, and compost from diversified garbage collecting. No chemical material is added. The products from our yard are then eaten at the school canteen for teachers and students together with food served usually. Our professor, Mr. Righini, is very interested and devoted, so he's always trying to make more and more classes join the project. In the current school year, he's organizing a course for other teachers so that they too can tutor sstudents in this interesting and consumer-friendly activity.

Karlspreis Musikwettbewerb (Music Competition)

At my school, there is a competition for all pupils playing an instrument, called "Karlspreis". This competition is a tradition because it exists since 48 years. It works so: Every spring, the pupils who are interested in taking part have to enrol themselves. A month later, when the competition has started, they have to play their programme while the adjudicators are listening to them. The judges consists of our music teachers, some professional musicians and two pupils. They are the ones who award the prizes. You can win different kinds of prizes: first, second and third prize, or just one who appreciate your participation.The pupils who win a first prize have to play at a special concert a few weeks later. At the same event, there is the presentation of awards. (Apart from that, the orchestra and the choir of our school take part in it, too.) This year, I organized the competition together with a friend. We did it the first time because the pupil who did it before has gone, so we are his successors. We had to design the posters, print the enrolements and make out the timetable. Furthermore, it was our job to make announcements or to draw up the certificates. That often was not easy, but we made it. The competition was held in February this year. It lasted three afternoons and was very amusing. There were shy fifth graders up to the experienced twelfth graders of our school who played their instruments. Sometimes, there were made little breaks in which the adjudicators discussed which wasnt always easy! They needed a lot of time to come to a conclusion. But finally, it worked well. The only thing which is left to do now is organizing the concert for our firstprizewinner in a few weeks. Bernhard STUDNIOWKA (Graduation Ball) On 5th May 2011, there was a graduation ball for the last-year students of our school. It is called Studiowka, which means: 100 days before matura exam. Matura exam is the most important exam for students of secondary schools in Poland because it decides whether you can study at university or not. The ball always starts with the traditional Polish dance Polonez. The students and all the invited guests have fun eating, dancing and talking throughout the whole night. L.O. Grojec, Poland

My favourite subject
My favourite subject is English.I like it because I like learning new words and write them.I even have afternoon English lessons at school. I don't like the English lessons in the morning because some boys don't behave well. We have afternoon English lessons two times a week-on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I like them more. We are only three children in the group.The lessons last one hour and a half. On Thursdays Miss.Anka teaches us. She's from Romania and she doesn't speak Bulgarian so we have to speak English only. It's great! Rositza Mihaylova, Sofia, Bulgaria

My favourite subject
My favourite subject at school is physical education (PE). I like it very much because I can play with my friends, I can learn new things,I can play outside and breathe fresh air. Except my school lessons I train volleyball twice a week. Volleyball is an Olympical team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. The complete rules are extensive. But simply, play proceeds as follows: A player on one of the teams begins a 'rally' by serving the ball (tossing or releasing it and then hitting it with a hand or arm), from behind the back boundary line of the court, over the net, and into the receiving team's court. The receiving team must not let the ball be grounded within their court. They may touch the ball as many as three times. Typically, the first two touches are to set up for an attack, an attempt to direct the ball back over the net in such a way that the serving team is unable to prevent it from being grounded in their court. The rally continues, with each team allowed as many as three consecutive touches, until either: a team makes a kill, grounding the ball on the opponent's court and winning the rally or a team commits a fault and loses the rally. The team that wins the rally is awarded a point, and serves the ball to start the next rally. The ball is usually played with the hands or arms, but players can legally strike or push (short contact) the ball with any part of the body. I like my teacher of physical education .There are three playgrounds: football pitch,volleyball pitch and basketball pitch. One of them is very big. In winter we play in the gum at school. There we can play volleyball,basketball and football. Irina Atanasova, Sofia, Bulgaria

The school in Massarosa - Scuola Media "Pellegrini"

When I saw the school in Massarosa at first I especially loved the outside colour of the school (very bright orange)! I was surprised that it was smaller than my school. When I entered I saw a very big hall with lots of blue chairs, and the buffet. The next room that I saw was the library. In the library there were many books. The library was not very big, but it was very confortable and the libraty could be a nice place to do your homework. The next thing that I saw was a gym. It was very big and there was a lot of space to play. While we were going to the music room I saw the elevator. It was very strange, because they had only two floors. But I took the stairs to the music room. In the music room I felt great, because there were drums. I always wanted to have drums in my school. In a few minutes we were in the computer room. All the computers were black. Also they were with slim screens. Then I went to the gallery room and I saw many However I can say that the schopictures and scluptures and vases, related to different projects. Because all of us were very hungry we went to the caffeteria. I was lucky that I had a sandwich in my bag, because the food at the caffeteria wasn't very good. The first day we had a pizza. OK but it was cold. On the second day we had potatoes with rice. I didn't like it. ol in Massarosa is very, very modern. It also is very bright (not like my school black and grey). In my veiw the best room is the music room. I am so happy that I had the opportunity to see this school. Viktoria Karakasheva, Sofia,

RECENT SCHOOL EVENTS in L.O. Grojec Valentine`s Day Normally in Poland we celebrate St. Valentine`s Day on 14th February but teenagers from our voievodship had a winter holiday at that time so we celebrated it on the 11 th February. It was a day full of love. Our students` board organized a competition for the most beautiful decorations in our classrooms. If you wanted, you could send a valentine postcard to your beloved person. Everybody knows that red is the colour of love. That`s why we were wearing red clothes. At the end of the day everybody said goodbye to each other before winter holiday. Play Truant Day The first day of spring is also called Play Truant Day. It`s held on 21st March every year. On this day there are no lessons at school. This year students in our school listened to the orchestra concert. Then the students who belong to the Comenius group gave the presentation on the Comenius visit to Italy. After that, some talented teenagers played instruments and sang songs. In the end some students watched a volleyball match: teachers vs. students , which ended with the teachers` victory. We enjoyed this day and had a lot of fun. Blood Donors On 21st March, there was also a special day for those who care about others and are willing to donate blood for those who need it. A number of students and teachers donated their blood, hoping that it will save other peoples lives.

10th English Song Festival The Xth Festival of English song took place in GOK on 23rd March 2011. During this festival singers from different schools met and sang English songs. This festival started at 12 o`clock. The topic of this year`s festival was Fairytales. All the people, who took part in the singing competition, had special clothes and make-up. At first, children from primary school gave their performance, next students from lower secondary school and at the end other teenagers. There was great decoration. At end there was a performance by a famous Polish band Carpe Diem with their lead singer Szymon Wydra. We liked the festival very much. Class Id (Poland)

The nearby school

Geri Gymnasium The Geri Gymnasium invited us to celebrate with them the arrival of their Comenius Partners .They have decided to perform the Traditional wedding .It was a program full of dance ,songs and traditional foods for their quests. We were happy we were invited because we saw how nice is to host your European friends. We are looking forward to see you in Cyprus and ready to show you the Cypriot Hospitality.

A UNHCR TENT IN THE HEART OF THE CITY

A part of our team, visited the tent that was for set for the public at the Multi functional Centre of the Nicosia Municipality .Mrs Emilia Strovolitou informed us about the refugees and the problems. She had a special way to make us all listen to her and ask questions about the subject .Nobody wanted to go back to school, we wanted to stay more and learn more about the problem. Sitting inside the tent we try to felt like the refugees. After that we went to a room full of pictures and videos about refugees .It was a unique experience for all of us. Many thanks to United Nation Refugee Agency of Cyprus for giving us the opportunity learn more about the refugges and their problems.

Donation of clothes
2011 has been designated the European Year of Volunteering.Our school organized gathering of clothes ,games.The children and the parents responded in this call and we gave clothes for Kenya and to Green shield an organization that gives clothes to people in need.We had also a lecture about the envirovment from Mr Charalampos Theopemtou ,Commisioner for the .

Living in Bavaria
When people hear the word Bavaria, which is the most southern state of Germany, most of them immediately think about beer, white sausages, traditional dancing groups, farms and all the different kind of sports you can do in the mountains. Of course its right that, if you open a window, you can see mountains everywhere around you. But that doesnt mean all people in the area are interested in hiking, skiing and mountainbiking. Teenagers, like we are, mostly prefer normal activities, which are followed everywhere in the world as well. The most common hobbies in our periphery are playing football, tennis, modern dancing, playing an instrument or just meeting friends, hanging out and going to parties at night. Although white sausages are a typical Bavarian meal, half of our friends dont really like them. German food is pretty heavy, because it often contains pork, potatoes or noodles. But we also eat pizza, pasta, Asian food; have fast food restaurants in our neighborhood, which means there are a lot of multicultural influences. Beer is another thing. Its probably one of the clichs that is almost completely true. The best and biggest amount of beer in Germany is produced in Bavaria. In a radius of 30 kilometers around our home site, you can find about five different breweries. Germany is the country that drinks the second most amount of beer per year per head. To sum it all up, we Bavarians are friendly, open-minded and not just an-traditions-focused crowd. We, who live at the border to Austria, are not isolated from metropolises. Munich is only an hour away and it takes 15 minutes to get to Salzburg, avery popular and important city in Austria just think about Mozart. We are also interested in other cultures, even adapt parts of their habits and are always happy to learn new things about foreign countries. Laura and Tobi

SAMI'S READING TOO

Books... Books express many things for people. A book can be a friend for someone; A book can be a teacher for the other. Book is a director to see the dimn light of illumination. Nowadays because there's a campaign in our region, in Krkkale named as "Krkkale is reading", a large number of people, parents, teenagers, students are very willing to read and finish the books in very high speed. Even the very young students who have just learned to read and write are very eager and happy to participate in such a campaign. Sami Serta is one of them. He's a first grade student and he has just learned to read. His class teacher has intended to give 'Book Love' to the pupils and to let them read much more faster, has a promise to give gifts to the pupils who can read more than fifty books in a specific time. Sami Serta is very ambitious and he has succeded in reading more than fifty books in a time. As a result, his teacher rewarded him a toy car, which can move here and there, which can give light and very special sound out . In fact, Sami has got lots of interesting and very nice toys at home and his room is full of toys. But this one is a very special gift for him, for him maybe it's the best one. Cause it's the gift of his dear teacher. And it's for his dear friends: books. He's now much more happy, much more motivated, much more enthusiastic and much more determined.Congratulations Sami and thanks to your teacher... Dilek ztrk- TURKEY

Memories from Italy

Pisa Pisa is an old but very beautiful town. When I first saw the leaning tower the first though that came in my mind was that the tower would fall because it was so inclined that it looked like it is going to fall. Near the tower there was a hall with graves in the ground. There were a lot of tourists there taking pictures of the tower and with the tower. I had a great time! Pisa is very beautiful. Lucca Lucca is a wonderful town. There were many cathedrals and inside of them there were many drawings. It was very beautiful, and also there were high towers built by rich people, and we learned that the longer the tower is the more rich is the man . There are old houses from the past and also there is a very long city wall. There were also many tourists that were looking at the cathedrals and at the churches. Lucca is wonderful and I hope I can visit it again. Plamen Iliev, 122nd Primary school, Bulgaria

Interview with Ada

Welcome. Today our group are interviewing Ada Posnik from Poland, a teacher in the Polish school participating in the Comenius Project. Here are some questions and answers: Question: What is your hobby? Answer: My hobby is designing and decorating rooms. Q: What is your favorite singer or maybe band? A: My favorite singers are Alexander Rybak and Michael Bubble. Q: Why are you doing this project? A: I like projects which teach students about different cultural aspects and gives them a chance to practice their language skills. Q: What is your favorite book? What types of books do you like? A: I like the biographies and my favourite one is Tom Cruises biography. Q: Do you have any children? A: Yes I have 1 son and 1 daughter: the girl is 8 years old and her name is Kaya and the son is 14 and his name is Kamil. Q: What is your favourite movie? A: I dont have one favourite movie. I like all romantic comedies. Q: In which country did you spend your last holiday and did you like it? A: I spent my last holiday in Croatia. This is a very beautiful country. Q: Are there many differences between your school in Poland and the school in Italy? A: In Italy the school is new and my school is one of the oldest in the region. Whats more in our school we havent got a canteen. Q: And the last question. Do you like Italy and why? A: I really like Italy. This is a very beautiful country, very warm and with amazing views. Thank you for the interview. Sergiusz and friends

Interview with Giancarlo

One day we made an interview with one of the Comenius Project teachers. My group, number six, made an interview with Italian teacher Giancarlo Baccelini. He teaches English in the school in Massarosa. 1.What do you do in you freetime? Answer:I like reading books and listening to music. My favourite music is jazz. 2.What is your favourite sport? A:Tennis. I like watching tennis on TV a lot. 3.What kind of films do you like? A:Detective, thrillers 4.How long have you been teaching? A:I ve been a teacher for 25 years, but in Massarosa for 12 years 5.What kind of food do you like? A:I like food from all over the World. But I think that Italian food is the best. I like pasta and pizza a lot. 6.Do you like travelling? What countries have you seen? A:Not often Ive been to the USA; France, Greece, Germany, and other European states. 7.Which country did you like most? A:Hm.. the USA is my favourite country, because there is a lot of jazz music. 8.Do you like your working with children? A:Yes, I like my work at school.

.9. If you could change something in your life, what would it be? A:I would like to be a musician. Music is my life, but I like my work, I like working with children. 10.What was the best and the worst day of your life? A: My worst time in my life was the death of my parents. But I havent got the best day., Because I have a family, I have a job, so Im happy. Zaneta and the team

Interview with Darina

On 9th of March, during one of a-day visits in Italy we interviewed with some teachers. We were divided into 6-person groups. I was in a group with friends from Cyprus Avgi, form Bulgaria Martha, Germany- Martin and with 2 friends form ItalyJ . We made an interview with Bulgarian teacher Darina Dushkova. She is a very sensitive and nice person with a big heart. During a short talk I could say that she must be a good teacher, and I felt positive emotion. We want to show a small part of the interview with her. Hello, could you tell us something about yourself ? - Im Darina Dushova, Im an English teacher in Bulgaria. Do you have any children ? - Yes, I have two children. My son is 22 and my daughter is 19. Do you live in a village or in a city ? -I live in Sophia the capital city of Bulgaria. What kind of music do you listen to? -I usually listen to pop and rock music. What kind of food do you like? - I like the most trying new dishes form other countries. Its a new experience , and then I can get to know the countrys cuisine. Have you been to other countries before? - Yes, I have been to Sweden, Spain, Poland, the United Kingdom , Italy, France. Do you like shopping? -(smile) Yes, of course. I like shopping like other women. How many languages do you speak? - I speak fluently Russian, Bulgarian and English. Do you like dancing? - yes, I like dancing Are you going to dance at the Festival tomorrow? - Maybe Do you promise ? - Oh, yes I doJ Have you got any pets? -No, I havent. What is your favorite writer or poet ? - Its difficult. My favorite poet form Bulgarian is N. Vapcarov , form Russia A. Akmatova. My favorite novelists : contemporary is Elizabeth Arden and Agatha Christie. Thank you for the interview. Katarzyna Urbanek and team

Interview with Filippo

I and other students from the group interviewed Filippo, a teacher from Cyprus. Interviewer: What was your favourite subject when you went to school? Mr Filippo: My favourite subject was Physics. Interviewer: What are you responsible for in this project? Mr Filippo: I take photos of our group and buy tickets to museums or cinema. Interviewer: Do you like travelling? Mr Filippo: Yes, I love travelling. Its very educational. You meet new people and their cultures. Interviewer: What kind of music do you listen to? Mr Filippo: I like romantic music. Interviewer: Can you tell us something about your country? Mr Filippo: I love the weather in my country. Its very sunny and hot. There are beautiful beaches and people are very friendly. Interviewer: How long have you been teacher? Mr Filippo: Ive been a teacher for 10 years. Interviewer: How many students from your school participate in the project? Mr Filippo: About 35 students take part in this project. Interviewer: What do you do in your free time? Mr Filippo: I play football, watch movies, go fishing and hunting. Interviewer: Whats your favourite sport? Why? Mr Filippo: My favourite sport is football, because its very exciting. Interviewer: Have you been to any country involved in this project before? Mr Filippo: No. Italy is the first country. Interviewer: What did you want to do when you were a child? Mr Filippo: I wanted to build a very small house in the forest and I dreamed of travelling around the world. I wanted to be free. Angelika Gwiazda and the team

Interview with Muradiye

Interview with a Turkish Teacher - Muradiye. 1. What is your favourite leisure activity? Answer: Surfing on the Internet. 2. What is your favourite food? Answer: All kinds of salads. 3. What is your favourite fruit? Answer: Strawberries, bananas. 4. Why is Comenius Project important for young people? Answer: Because young people can learn English and it is very important for cultural interaction. 5. Do you like Italy? Answer: Yes, because the people are very friendly and everybody is smiling. 6. Have you got a family? Husband, children? Answer: Yes, I have a lovely husband and an 8-year-old son. 7. Do you like animals? What is your favourite animal? Answer: Yes, my favourite animal is kitty (baby cat). 8. Decribe your culture in a few words. Answer: Turkish Culture = wide + old + civilized 9. What is the most bautiful place in Turkey? Answer: Cappadocia.

Agata and the team

Interview with Christian

We made this interview with Christian a teacher from Germany. BAF: How many people from your school are here in Italy, in this project? Christian: 6 pupils and 3 teachers. BAF: What do you think about this project? Christian: Its really good to have a project like Comenius. I like being in touch with other countries and to gain new experiences. I also think that our BAF- magazine is a really good idea to remember all the impressions and experiences. BAF: Can you tell us something about every country in this project? What do you know about them? Christian: I know other school systems, cultures, many, many things. I am looking forward to visiting other countries. BAF: What music, films and books do you like? Christian: Im interested in sport and travelling. Music: hip hop and almost crazy things. BAF: What subject do you teach? Christian: French and Italian. BAF: Do you like our meeting? Christian: Yes, of course! BAF: What do you like in Italy? Christian: Italian food, Italian people, see Italian way of life. BAF: Were you a good pupil at school? Christian: Yes, I was. BAF: When was the first time you had met the other people from Comenius project? Christian: In Bulgaria, our first visit in November 2010. BAF: Which three things you would take to a desert island? Christian: Id take a knife, someone to accompany me and a light. BAF: Thank you for your time! Christian: Youre welcome. Sandra and friends

Buse's memories from Italy

My name's Buse Kayalk, from Krkkale, Turkey. I'm twelve years old and I'm a 7th grade student at Tpra Primary School. Because of Comenius Project, we had the chance to visit Italy between 6 th and 12 th of March, 2011. I went to Italy by plane, that was the first time I had been abroad. When I arrived in Pisa Galileo Airport, I was very excited first but later I got used to. Italy's a very beautiful country and there are lots of similarities between Italy and Turkey's western part. Both are on the coast of Mediterranean Sea, both are full of olive, tangerine and lemon trees, both have generous Sunshine and warm people and so on.. I loved my host family a lot in Italy, they're very friendly and they took care of me very well. Let me introduce my Italian family to you. LUCCA is the dear father, CHRISTINA is a thoughtful and very polite mother. She cooked delicious meals for us. They've got a daughter called Cecilia who is a very nice friend for me and at the same age with me. She has got a lot of things and she shared everything with me. They all behaved me very well, they're hospitable. They presented me gifts while leaving Italy. Lucca took us to Psa Airport. They waited at the airport till the time of our departing for the plane. I would really like to thank to my Italian family for everything. I miss you very much and I will be very happy if my Italian family comes to Turkey. Buse Kayalk- Turkey.

Halloumi A Cyprus Traditional product

Halloumi is a traditional Cypriot product that is also popular in the rest of the Middle East and Greece, and is now made in many countries and regions around the world. It is made from a mixture of goat and sheep milk, although some halloumi can be bought that also contains cow's milk. It has a high melting point, and so can easily be fried or grilled. Halloumi originated in Cyprus and was firstly made during the Medieval Byzantine period, gaining popularity throughout the rest of the Middle East region. Industrial halloumi contains more cow's milk than goat and sheep milk. This reduces the cost but changes the taste and the grilling properties. Halloumi is white, with a layered texture, similar to mozzarella, and has a salty flavour. It is often garnished with mint to add to the taste. Traditionally, the mint leaves were used as a preservative. This was discovered when the fresh Halloumi was kept wrapped for freshness and flavour from the mint leaves. Hence, if you look closely, many packaged Halloumi will have bits of mint leaf on its surface. Halloumi is used in cooking, as it can be fried until brown without melting due to its higher-than-normal melting point, making it a good product for frying or grilling, as an ingredient in salads, or fried and served with vegetables. Cypriots like eating halloumi with watermelon in the warm months, and as halloumi and lountza - a combination of halloumi and either a slice of smoked pork, or a soft lamb sausage. Although it is made worldwide and is of rather disputed origin due to the mixed cultures in the Levant and East Mediterranean, halloumi is currently registered as a protected Cypriot product within the US (since the 1990s) but not the EU.. .

In expectation of visiting Poland

In expectation of visiting Poland I have never been to Poland, so I will go there for the first time. My teachers told me that I would visit Grojec city. I looked for the information on the internet and I found that there is a famous monastery in Grojec. I expect to visit it. I hope to make new friends and to practise my English. I will tell my new friends about Bulgaria. I will tell them about my school and me. I want to know more about their country, history and population. I hope to see their school and to know something interesting for it. I expect to try their national food. I will ask the people in Poland how they spend their free time. When I have spare time I go to school and play with my classmates in the school yard. I often play volleyball or football. I like playing on my computer. I am sure, there I can see this and many other things. I thing there will be exciting. Irina Atanasova, Sofia, Bulgaria

Memories from Pisa

My name is Hristiyana and I'm from Bulgaria.On the 11th March I came back from Italy. I was there in a connection with the project BAF. On one of the days we went to Pisa.When I first saw The Leaning Tower it was amazing! For real the tower is very inclined.The Leaning Tower is a Bell Tower.It was build in 1173 and it starts to tilt to the north, because of the low earth base and due to inaccurate calculations of the builders. Construction was halted for about 90 years.When the tower constuction continues the tower start changing her direction of the slope from north to south.Under all physical calculations tower has long been dropped. Next to the tower there is a cathedral named Santa Maria Asunta.It was build in 1305. Inside it you can see many graves. On the walls there are depicted scenes of the Old Testament. We could see a picture of mading the Noah's Ark.In one of the halls there were two very old pictures.They depict Paradise and Hell. We could see how God distributed the people- should they need to go to Hell or to Paradise. The cathedral was very Beautiful from the outside. I understood that Pisa was the birthplace of the important early physicist, Galileo Galilei. I'm very glad that I went to Pisa. I've learned many interesting things from the World History! Hristiyana Despotova, Sofia, Bulgaria.

United Buddy Bears Come to Sofia Square The world tour of the exhibition United Buddy Bears The Art of Tolerance reached Sofia on April 3, opening on Saint Nedelya Square. The exhibition comprises 120 individually painted bear sculptures, just over two meters tall. Each of them represents a nation recognized by the UN and painted by an artist from that nation. The United Buddy Bears project was initiated by Eva and Klaus Herlitz of Berlin. With the first exhibition in Berlin, they wanted to raise thoughts about cultural diversity in the world and tolerance between peoples. Message: The Buddy Bears stand together hand in hand in a peaceful circle, promoting tolerance and under-standing among different nations, cultures and religions. Art and Culture: Each Buddy Bear has been designed by an artist on behalf of his or her native country. The international artists different styles are joined together in one work of art, spreading zest for life. The diverse design of the Buddy Bears always typical for the respective countries enables the visitors to experience a journey around the globe. Buddy Bear Bulgaria has been designed by Sofia-born artist Klio Karadim and features, scribbled on it, the very first sentence of Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya, the second modern Bulgarian history by Saint Paisius of Hilendar: "Why are you ashamed to call yourself Bulgarian?" As soon as a country decides to commission a new Buddy Bear, the predecessor is sold at an auction in aid of UNICEF or other child relief organizations all over the world. So far, over EUR 1,700,000 (since 2002 till 2010) have been raised at auctions in various cities of the world. Verginia Veselinova, Sofia, Bulgaria

Interesting events in Grojec 1. Swimming competition: On 26th March 2011 there took place a swimming competition called: Delfinada. The sixth time children and teenagers competed in this event. As usual they brought a lot of emotions for their teachers, fans and parents. There were 52 competitors and the gold medal went to: Team Ciapciaki, silver medal went to: Team Targowica and in the last level of podium were: Team Wymiatacze. At the end of the competition there was a big lottery, fourty fans won rewards. 2. English Song Festival: Ten years ago there took place the first English Song Festival. The whole thing was started by English teacher Ada Posnik. This event is still one of the top local music events which attracts contestants even from all over the country. There were many fantastic awards like: DVD Player or MP4 and MP3 Players. The participants were divided into three age categories. Julia Wasiak was the winner in the youngest category, Ewa Tetera in the second and Katarzyna Zaporska in the third ( LO student). The organizers invited special guest and musician Szymon Wydra with his band Carpe Diem. It was great fun for everyone to sing along with the leader of this famous Polish band. See you next year. 3. Religious festival: In the Church of God Mercy in Grojec on the 27th March 2011 there took place a religious festival. The priest of this parish invited famous. Polish folk band Mazowsze. They performed songs connected with Lent: Ludu, moj ludu, Ogrodzie Oliwny. Remigiusz Szewczyk

Miraculus Mesir Paste Festival in Neruz March is a very special month because it's accepted as the beginning of Spring Season. Spring is rebirth. The fascinating blossoms of flowers, warming breeze of weather, the putting forth leaves of trees. Especially in Anatolia-Turkey- in some regions 21 st of March is celebrated as Nevruz Day. Lexically the word of nev means 'new' and ruz means 'day' together it means new day. On the same day a traditional festival ' Mesir Paste' is held in Manisa, in the Aegean Region city of Anatolia. Approximately five centuries ago, when Ottoman Empire's mother, the Sultan, was heavy sick, nobody could have cured her except for Merkez Efendi, the head of theological school. After many trials, he mixed 41 different types of plants and spices together and he formed a medicinal paste. After the Sultan had eaten this mixture, she recovered from illness. As a thanks to God, she wanted Merkez Efendi to distribute the paste from Mosques' rooftop to the public. Every year in a form of festivity on or around March 21 st which is also known as Nevruz Spring Festival, hundreds of people come together around Sultan Mosque to grab and to catch the small packets wrapped in colourful papers in a belief of recovering from illness or in a belief of preventing the sicknesses. Mesir Paste's traditional receipt is very special; there're 41 herbs and spices such as ginger, fennel, cinnamon, crocus, mustard seed, black pepper, clove, honey and thirty-three more If you visit Turkey and if you've the chance to participate in Manisa Mesir festival, try to taste this miraculous paste..and we wish you health, happiness and good luck forever.. Bra Bay- TURKEY Trip from Sofia to Bankia by a steam engine A steam engine will set in motion the trains on Sofia-Bankia line in the course of twenty days. In this restored ancient machine is included one wagon from the Tzar Boris III`s train Crown express. The wagon is produced in 1940 in German factory Linke Hofman Werke in Breslau for the necessity of the Iran`s shah. The seats are upholstered in dove-coloured blue plush. The engine is produced in the remote 1953 in Switzerland. The engine has been used in a shooting films and in attraction trips. On 20th September 1989 it was used in the train Orient express during its trip through Bulgaria. Now it can travel with speed of 90km per hour. The distance between Sofia and Bankia (Bankia is a small village near Sofia) in both directions is about 40km and the engine needs about 2 tons of coals. That`s why the steam engines are so different from their more modern cousins. Darina Dushkova, Sofia, Bulgaria

Tollwood - a festival in Munich Tollwood is a big festival which takes place in Munich every year. The summer festival (in June and July) is at the Olympiapark which was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics and the winter festival (in December) is on the Theresienwiese an open space which serves as the official ground of the Munich Oktoberfest. Tollwood which tooks place 1988 for the first time is one of the biggest national (but also international) events in Germany.More than one million people visit it every year. Attractions: -Food & drink: You can eat exotic meals from India,France,China,Thailand,Arabia or many other countries. Is`s very delicious and cheap. -Concerts & performances: Many national and international celebrities like Ich & Ich,Amy McDonald or Milow perform their songs on stage.Also wizards,comedians and actors appear. -Products: At Tollwood you can get almost everything: special/unique clothes (T-shirts with funny prints, reversible jackets etc.), drums, oriental clothes and stuff and much more. Corinna & Maria The salt mine in Berchtesgaden The salt mine in Berchtesgaden was built in 1517. The first tunnels` name is the Petersburg tunnel, and the first saltworks`name for the salt mine is the Schellenberger saltworks. One hundred people are working in the salt mine nowadays; fifty of them as guides for visitors. Now is the Bad Reichenhaller saltworks the saltworks for the saltmine. There are different kinds of salt winning , e.g. by disolving the rocksalt with water. The salty water, the brine, is pumped from Berchtesgaden to the Saline Bad Reichenhall. Here it is heated to evaporate the water and to get the white salt. The salt mine can be visited by tourists. The tourists average is 400.000 people in a year. The people can drive with a electric train into the mine in miner uniform. One of the greatest attractions is a salt lake, where you can ferry with a boat. There are many informations, for example the facts of the salt lake There is a exhibition about miner and miner uniforms, too. A little shop with salt and souvenirs can be visited in the end of the guidance. The salt mine of Berchtesgaden is ahighlightfor everybody! Luisa

Spring in Bulgaria In Bulgaria the spring is very nice and warm season.The trees are blossoming and there are many nice spring flowers.The most famous spring flowers are the snowdrop,the tulip and the crocus. One of the most important celebration is Baba Marta on the 1st of March. Martenitsi. They bring the name of March, in Bulgarian Mart.Behind the name Mart stands an angry old lady, who changes her mood very rapidly. Her name is Grandma Marta, in Bulgarian Baba Marta. On March 1, Bulgarians give martenitsi to their family, friends and neighbours. This may be in the form of a simple bracelet of entwined red and white wool or a brooch of red and white wool tassels. Front doors are decorated with enormous red and white pompoms or with woollen dolls called Pizho and Penda. Pizho is the male doll and is usually crafted from white wool. Penda is the female, red doll and is distinguished by her skirt. Animals are also adorned with their own specialv martenitsa. Young people, in particular, can be seen with a wrist full of red and white bracelets. We celebrate many Spring holidays too. We celebrate many namedays too like St. Constantine and Elena,on the 21st of May, and St. George,on the 6th of May, and many others. All the students love spring because then is our Spring Vacation. Valeria Yankova, Sofia, Bulgaria International puppet and Pantomime festival. The International Puppet and Pantomime festival is a reality for our municipality.For all of us the citizens of Latsia is a special event and we feel proud about it. This year we had the 4th festival at October from 15 to 22nd .It was a fascinating journey to the magic of art and culture. We had artist from five countries such as Greece, Hungary, Russia, Argentina and Spain .Every group presented a different play which was appropriate for children and grownups. The theatre of Latsia was full the whole week because everybody wanted to enjoy the play. From our school the special need class went to watch the festival. Fragkoula Michael.

Planting Trees On Saturday at the 29th of January , the Eco program of our high school with the cooperation of Latsia s Municipality organized planting. They took part students from our high school and the private school Grammar School with some of our teachers and the Parents Association. We planted trees in three different areas. It was a fun and creative morning!! Mirela Spanou Georgia Savvidou

Writers competition The class 3 b of "Pellegrini"-middle-school of Massarosa, Italy, participates in a contest for the best articles written by schoolclasses. Watch their page on "La Nazione" - a well-known newspaper - that talks about Comenius-project and more:

Doener Kebap at Massarosa Thanks to globalization the word is getting more and more multi-ethnic. An example is the new Doner Kebab in my city.This place is attended by young people, you can stay there together and eat something. This kind of food is very appreciated by youth because it is very tasteful, quite cheap, fast to prepare and fast to eat. Its different from the other fast food because the food is healthy, genuine and you know what you have in your sandwich. This place is run by Neapolitans and Pakistanis people.

School for Special-Needs Students in Grojec

There is a group of schools in Grojec where children who are mentally handicapped or disabled have a possibility to learn. Children who cannot see or cannot hear also can learn here. The group of schools consists of primary school, grammar school and vocational school. 75 students learn there now.It started on 1st September 1968 and in the beginning there were many difficulties. There was no educational equipment or textbooks. A few years later the students got many achievements in different fields. Paula Witkowska

Special need students

Last Year, has been announced from Ministry of Education and Culture that our school will start an ongoing educational program regarding the attendance of children with special needs from September 2010. The special units are incorporated and integrated into mainstream schools and work in places convenient and to children with disabilities. The Director of the ordinary school that houses a special unit is responsible of its operation. We have a number of five children in our school, three girls and two boys. Their names are Eleni, Rafaella, Antrea, Stefanos and Christos! The total number of children in each individual unit is determined based on age, special needs, and individual characteristics together with the functioning of the special unit. Competent to decide the total number of students in the special unit is the educational superintendent, an educational psychologist, a special education teachers unit and the principal of the school. Our children follow 37 hours attendance per week. 13 hours are part of the normal class and the rest 24 hours follow particular lessons such as design and Technology, Modern Greek, Maths, Home Economics, Information Technology, Physical Education, Art and Music. Only these 5 students are having these subjects as an individual team. Working with these students is a truly grace! Visiting their own classroom you may see what they have lready done! Full of paintings, a lot of build structures, maths tables, made and printed their own CVs. They may laugh, they may cry, they may shout, they may run out of the classroom, they may feel asleep, they may forget very easily, they may abstract for many minutes but they are very sensitive and we all truly love them a lot!! Louis Loizou

Aleksandra a Serbian girl in Germany

Hello everybody, My name is Aleksandra Kostic and Im 16 years old. My parents are originally from Serbia. My mother, Jasmina, comes from Turija and my dad, Sasa, from Rakova Bara. Turija is the neighbor-village from Rakova bara. These villages are marginal to Romania and so we speak Serbian and Vlaski, a Romanian dialect. Some people ask me how I managed to learn 3 different languages fluent in my childhood but honestly, I really dont know. The first language which I learned was vlaski, and thats also the language which I speak the most at home. With 5 years my parents began to teach me how to speak and write the Serbian language, because we have the Cyrillic alphabet: I started to learn German in school it was very hard for me because I hardly understood what the teacher was speaking so I started to read German books. Two years and a lot of books later, I was the best in German of my class. I realized that it is not very hard for me to learn new languages. Ive learned Latin, and now I learn English, Spanish and French at school. Of course, sometimes Im confused with so much languages but I take it with humor. Im thankful for the long way my parents put me through to learn these languages but in the end, Im sure it will be helpful. Aleksandra

Interview with a foreign girl Rountaina is a girl in the second grade in our school When and from which country do you come from? I came to Cyprus in 2005 from Palestine In which city did you live in Cyprus? We went with my family to Paphos Did you have friends there? No, because I did not know Greek. Did you feel any incidents of racism? I thought that people were talking behind my back. When did you come to Nicosia? I came to Nicosia in 2008. Was it better? Yes because I have already learned Greek and make friends more easily. How do you feel in our school? I feel happy and I dont feel any racism. Diamanto Kasapi

Visit in National Polytechnic Museum

In March 2011 the pupils from 3rd and 4th grade visited the National polytechnic museum, Sofia. One of the major activities of the National Museum of Polytechnic is the training programmes aimed primarily for the pupils. In 1990 the museum experts have developed a place with entertaining physical trials at the temporary exhibition "Get acquainted with the museum for science and technic". The major principles "see, touch, understand" inspire a huge interest. The success of this non-standard approach is the reason to be applied the same principles in the demo office of physics at the permanent exhibition of the museum. They are priorities also in the training programs "The colour", "Radio-activity without secrets", "The ozone the shield of the planet", as well as the permanent exhibition in the Palace of physics. The demo office is destined for pupils with the idea to fill in some spaces in the training system by showing the attractive side of the physics and its practical applications. The pupils watched the production and printing paper from the Gutenberg`s method. They succeeded to print on themselves some drawings of the ancient machine and were very impressed by the history of inventor`s life. Johanne Gutenberg was born in Germany in the city of Mainz. His father was a merchant and worked with the mint where they made the coins. Gutenberg grew up learning a lot about goldsmithing. In 1411 there was political unrest in the area and more than a hundred families had to flee the city. He and his family moved to Strasbourg where his mother's family lived. Around 1436 there is mention of his name in a court record. It seems he promised to marry a woman and something happened that he broke his promise. We don't know the outcome of it. At one point in his life he was making what was called the "pilgrim-mirror"; small mirrors attached to a pin. People would pin them on their hats and then when they were looking at an exhibit of religious relics, the image would be caught by the mirrors and their friends at home would benefit. At least that's what they were told when they bought the mirrors. Gutenberg was trying to invent a method of printing. He didn't have very much money left, but he would not give up. He continued to work on the great project. While he was teen-ager working at his town's mint ; the place where money was made, he got the idea for creating books by machine. Up until this time all the books had to be copied by hand. It was very slow, and it took a long, long time to make one book. After the book was written, they would take a metal punch and spell out the letters for the title on the front of the leather cover. Maybe this gave Gutenberg the idea for metal letters to write the words on the pages of the book. His work at the mint helped him in making the metal letters for printing. The letters had to be the same height to look right. Also at the mint he worked with a stamp press used to make government seals * . He used this knowledge to help him make a printing press. It is believed that the first item ever printed on the printing press was a German poem. Before the printing of the Bible he established a good business printing school books of Latin grammar. It is assumed he had two workshops, one for printing the Bible and another for all other print jobs. When he needed money he went to John Fust, a moneylender . He got the money to buy the material to make 46,000 pieces of movable type. He also hired 16 workers. He was able to print the first Bible, the Gutenberg Bible. Then Fust, his moneylender accused Gutenberg of stealing some of the money. They went to court and Fust won. Gutenberg had to turn over the Bible printing workshop and half of all the printed Bibles. Fust also took Gutenberg's co-worker with him. All this was quite a blow to him. Some of the first copies still exist today. They are among the world's greatest treasures. The method he invented for printing remained unchanged for many years. In his later life he was honored with the title of Hofmann which means "gentleman of the court". He was given a small pension and some yearly grain and wine. He died a highly respected person. In 1900 the Gutenberg museum was established in his home city of Mainz. Also the International Gutenberg Society was started. Darina Dushkova

A Special School for All Hello, I'm Elisa Rossi and I work in the Scuola Media "Pellegrini" at Massarosa in Italy. Before talking about my work like a specialized teacher for pupils with disabilities let me talk about the younger history regarding school-laws: Only at the end of the nineteenth century in Italy did we begin to exchange labels of problem students inappropriately called "abnormal", by referring to them with the proper indication of students with disabilities (or disability). The next step was to expand the sphere of education dramatically through the two watchwords of limitations and differentiated measures. In the sixties it was vehemently reiterated that the principle of the right to education was for all. Society was critical of the special schools and special classes: separate and isolate schools could not be an adequate solution. So, during the sixties and seventies, the concepts of normal and abnormal disappeared, substituted by the concept of equality which dominated, encompassing diversity, which was to be understood as special features and richness. So it all started in the seventies that the former 'abnormal' pupils in the Italian school-system became "students with handicap or disability" who went - like all their peers - to public schools The rules encoding this can be found in art. 28 of L. 118/1971, which states the basic norms: in this context the expression of "savage integration" was created to describe the wrong way for the students with disabilities to enter school: without analyzing and discussing the type of disability and its gravity and without expert assistance, although this was widely expected by the law cited above. Just checking and resolving the problem of the indiscriminate inclusion of handicapped children, and in order to avoid to create a situation of 'helplessness" or "uselessness", in 1975, the Ministry launched the "Falcucci-document", that described the basis of integration outlining the task of "BEING A SPECIAL SCHOOL." This new form and a new essence (substance) aimed to facilitate socialization and give space to intelligence in all its forms (logical-abstract, sensory-motor, practice, emotional, etc.). The new motto was "A MINIMUM OF SEGREGATION - THE FULL OF SOCIALIZATION" The L. 517/1977 in Italy, also known as Daughter of Falcucci, presented legislation for the school integration of pupils with disabilities: open classes and group-activities outside the class itself were developing a HAPPY INDIVIDUALISATION of educational intervention, which is not longer separation, but "a special school for ALL, a special school of ALL" suited to the needs of each student. The school should be flexible and suitable, accepting the individual learning-methods of each student.

This need is reiterated nowadays by the Q.L. 104/1992 (Article 14 1b), which speaks specifically of flexibility in relation to the individualized educational planning. It's important to underline that individualized teaching is not targeted teaching for individual students, but it is to be achieved with collective group and individual work in the class and / or open classes. Finally, the focus is no longer on the limits established by the disability, but on special educational needs and potential residues of students with disabilities. The L. 104/92: still states the integration of a disabled pupil without an individualized educational plan is just a pure and simple insertion and an even more serious marginalization, since it amounts to place a disadvantaged person in a set, where they are unable to act and interact profitably without the presence of specialized personnel and / or appropriate educational facilities. In this regard, taking a step backward, already the L. 148/1990 outlines the figure of the specialized support "insegnante di Sostegno", whose duties are to coordinate individual educative actions with the general teaching-plans. The supporting teacher also assumes the co-responsibility for the classes in which it operates, working with teachers with curriculum planning and implementation of PEP (Personalized Education Plan), and in fruitful synergy around the child with disability to achieve their active and conscious participation as much as possible.Further confirmed in L.104/92: The PEP, now IEP,( Individualized Education Plan,) is to be integrated into didactics in the classroom and the school. The integration of the pupil with disabilities is extended so that students participate in regular class activities, which are already planned and attuned to their individualized paths, as well as for all so-called "normal" pupils if any special needs arise.It is worth mentioning the Presidential Decree 416/1974, which describes the overall setting of educational integration for individuals with disabilities, all round care, in effective collaboration of all school stakeholders (teachers, assistants and specialist teachers, staff ATA). In the annual plan of school activities (POF, Piano dell'Offerta Formativa) educational programs should indicate GENERAL EDUCATIONAL GOALS and METHODS OF DIDACTIC ORGANIZATION for the integration of students with handicap. It is also necessary to mention the "International Classification of Functioning, Disability, Health" published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2001. In the adult version (ICF) and 2007 in the version for children and adolescents (ICF-CY), the instrument clarifies the meaning of the term "disability" and outlines the method of operation underlying the construction of the PEI (Personalized Education Plan) and / or a "Life-plan" for individuals with disabilities.It's important to remember the definition for "disability" given by the ICF, as "the result or outcome for a complex relationship between the health condition of an individual and personal and environmental factors that form the context in which he lives " The focus of attention shifts, therefore, onto the health of the individual, how they work to satisfy the special needs, to ensure that disadvantaged individual lives and make the most of their potential, forcing an end to isolation and discrimination and promoting real integration. This indicates that disability is not defined once and for all with stereotypical characteristics and then crystallized in the functional diagnosis, but lies in the interaction of the specific health conditions with factors related to the context that according to the presence of HELPS and SUPPORTS and may give different weight and space to the disability itself (the biopsychosocial model of disability). So the ICF enables us to build a profile of useful features to create a custom design.The ICF-CY defines the main ideas of the team approach, which collaborates in the construction of the PEI and the Project for the subject's life with disabilities and acts as the instrument to describe and measure health and disability offering the possibility to: consider all possible areas (functions and body structures, activities participation and environmental factors) for all- round care of the person; define the health condition for life and the environment, describing the functioning of people, both participation and environmental factors; - work on the person and their environment; translate clinical information in understandable language;- "speak and use the same language" (coming from different disciplines and different countries) through a common language putting the person at the

center of the project with its real needs; - ensure continuity of information across the life span of a person with disabilities; - allow the person with disabilities to participate actively in the project life, enabling reporting personally to eliminate barriers to ensure their active involvement, indicating participation as the primary and essential goal of each individual project. Now - knowing the legal context - let's talk about our concrete work. The middle-school "Maurizio Pellegrini" at Massarosa has got 14 students registered with disabilities for which 3 involved in a serious impairment of the sphere of personal and social development. The inclusion of students with disabilities in classes follows the various criteria and takes account of many factors including: - the severity and characteristics of various disabilities (eg.: in the case of a person with autism particularly sensitive to the turbulent and noisy environments we try - if it's possible - to "compose" a class consisting of calmer students). - the origin of the pupils from the same institution of primary education (the student with disabilities will be joined by some friends who they already know, who can through tutoring make less traumatic integration, facilitating and mediating the interaction with new companions). The students not autonomous (affected by autism moderate to severe mental retardation Cerebral Palsy etc...) are benefiting from full-time support appropriately divided between the teachers and support assistants and special needs teacher. More independent students (affected by mild mental retardation, emotional relationships, disturbances, or behavioral conduct, with or without associated with specific learning disabilities, etc..) benefit from the "Insegnante di sostegno" for a reasonable number for hours, distributed on the articulation time inside the various disciplines, depending on the specific needs of the individual, highlighted in the periodic Class Council of the teachers.The efforts of school staff (teachers and assistants) take place in class, individualized activities and / or in groups, study support, out of the class, targeted for individualized activities with a view to verification, revision, recovery and study, extracurricular and workshops, etc..In our Institute we were awarded 119 hours of support-teaching, divided into 6 full-time-contracts (made up of 18 hours each), distributed among the teachers Domenici Mario, coordinator of support-teachers, Vangelisti Vera, Dello Siesto Stefania, Del Fiorentino Carlo, Rao Caterina and me - Elisa Rossi, in addition to 11 hours allocated to Leonardo Altamura. The hours of teaching are supported by 37 hours of specialized care for the nonautonomous pupils. More independent students are also benefiting from a slight reduction in working hours (on average 1-2 hours per week), having more time for therapies to be conduct at specialized centers affiliated with the ASL (Local Health Organisation). Each student is provided a personal file, kept in special archives, which contains all the documentation. This profile is built when the student comes to our school, and accompanies him throughout the educational process. These documents should be supplemented and updated every year. The documentation includes: - Functional Diagnosis (DF), an analytical description of the functional impairment of physical or mental condition of the pupil with special needs, written at the time when access to health facility for the planned interventions (L. 104/92 artt.12 and 13). Dynamic Functional Profile (PDF), defined on the information of the FD, which outlines the impact of functional impairment in several areas (cognitive, affective relationships, communication, language, sensory, motor praxis, Neuropsychology, personal autonomy and social aspects). - Individualized Education Plan (PEI) or life-projects, built according to the PDF and the "cooperation" of the pupil. - CEP, in which agreements are concluded at the beginning of each school year, including the family of the pupil, school and ASL, a triangulation of skills that work together to collaborate in the construction of the project of the life of the disadvantaged pupil. In middle school "M. Pellegrini " the presence of a student with disabilities is no doubt considered as a huge resource, as the presence of the support-teacher allows the enrichment of educational offers and the process of studying together in the classroom, giving a benefit to the whole school-community.

Interview with a Volunteer

I have interviewed Agnieszka about the charity where she is a volunteer. I would like to show you what her job looks like and what she does as a volunteer. Which charity do you belong to? I belong to the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. It is the most popular and the biggest charity organisation in Poland which organizes the main charity event once a year. What does the organisation do? The organisation collects money for children in order to help those who are ill. All volunteers in Poland collect money in each city, especially in places where there are a lot of people for example: churches or supermarkets. Then, the money is donated to public hospitals to buy special medical equipment which can cure some serious illnesses of children. How long have you been a volunteer in the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity? I have been a volunteer in the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity for 2 years and I hope that I will be able to help the charity for a long time. What do you do in the charity as a volunteer? As a volunteer I go out in the street and I collect money in special cans which are labeled with a read heart and text: ''The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity ". Everyone who gives the volunteers any amount of money, gets a red heart sticker in return. Then, all the collected money is counted by volunteers .The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity also organizes one of the biggest concerts which takes place on the first or second Sunday of January every year. When the money is counted, some volunteers go to the concert and give the money which was collected in their cities to the organizers of the charity and then, we donate the money to public hospitals. Are there many volunteers in the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity? To the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity belong a lot of volunteers in Poland. In Grojec where I am a volunteer, there are also a few. Is it very hard work for you? Not much, maybe a bit, because The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity takes place in winter and when I collect money it is a bit cold outside, but I manage myself very well. Does it give you pleasure to belong to The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity? Yes, because I am very glad that I can help children in need by collecting money for them. This one day is exceptional for me, because I feel that thanks to my engagement I give happiness for all ill children in Poland. It also gives me pleasure that people appreciate my work and they are very polite to me. I would like to encourage all young people to join the organization and help children as a volunteer. Rafal Nowicki

The school of the Future The school of the future will be amazing. There will be robots in order to study us. But they wont exactly study us. They will control a machine which will make students very smart. The headteacher will be a robot too. The classrooms will be amazing. There will be three or four computers and an electronic board. The floors, the walls and the windows of the classrooms will be invisible but when you walk you wont fall down! There wont be desks. There will be big computers with touchscreen. There will be five computer rooms. In every computer room there will be fifty computers! The PE (Physical education) saloon will be the most amazing room at the school. There wont be a basketball courts or a volleyball net. There will be a big pool but the pool wont be full with water. It will be absolutely invisible but when you jump from the trampoline you wont hurt yourself! That wont be the best thing. There will be a huge rocket with which you can go to the Moon or to all the planets from the Sun system. Valeria Yankova, Sofia, Bulgaria I'm Muslim Hello, I am Sara Laala and I am Muslim. My religion requires to wear a veil and behave in a certain way that can be different to others. My life is not complicated at school ... why should it be? I am wearing only a dress more than the others. But out of school, however, is different: people often judge and insult me before even beginning to know me and this makes me very angry and sick. I'd never asked my parents why people behave this way with me, because I always knew to be "different". Then i grew up i understood that being muslim is very demanding and i'm proud, because my religion has made me stronger and has taught me that in life there are not happen only beautiful things happening, but bad things and we must always accept also that. During my days, i spend most of my time with God, and it is hard not to think of him. So for me it comes naturally to pray five times a day. You should always look for the positive in our lives and we should not always listen to the people for any reason. People can be different and live together. Greatings from Massarosa, Italy, Sara Laala 3a

Agata's memories from ItalyMY DIARY

6th March 2011 At 6.40 a.m we met at the school and we went to the airport in Warsaw. Our plane was delayed and the flight took off at 10 o'clock. We had a transfer in Zurich. Finally we landed in Florence about 2.15 p.m. Next we went by bus to the city centre, where we met friends from Bulgaria. Later we visited the city and we saw for example Florence Cathedral, Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella, The Palazzo della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio. Ponte Vecchio is famous for jewellery shops. After visiting we went to the station and we went to Lucca, where Italian families were waiting for us. I was staying with Arianna Fabbri. That day I ate pizza in a restaurant. 7th March 2011 At 8 a.m. we met in school in Massarosa. We participated in lessons: we were creating crowns for Carnival in Viareggio and a big poster. Then we went to Massarosa City-hall and met the Mayor Franco Mungai. Next we ate lunch in school. After lunchwe transferred by school-bus to the Massarosa Station and by train we went to Lucca. We visited the centre of Lucca (Cathedral, City-hall, Wall, Towers). We came back to our home at 6 p.m. We met in school again about 9 p.m. and we participated in a party. We integrated with people from the project. We came back home at 11.30 p.m. 8th March 2011 I woke up about 9 a.m. and I went to Viareggio with Arianna and Ariannas brother and grandmother. I went to the beach and I saw theTyrrhenian Sea. Next we meet at the Massarosa Station and we went by train to Viarregio. We participated in a parade. Everybody had costumes. Our group from Poland had traditional costumes. We were on a big paper platform and in the evening we saw a show of fireworks. We came back home at about 12. p.m. 9th March 2011 At 8 a.m. we met in school in Massarosa. We met a teacher who works with childrent with disabilities and we talked about disabilities in our countries. Next we had a sport lesson and we played volleyball championship in the gym. At 3 p.m. we went by train to Pisa and visited the place where there are the Leaning Tower, cathedral and cemetery. Next we had abreak. Our group went to the restaurant, where we ate pizza. About 8 p.m. I was with my family at home and we spent time at the table and we watched an Italian programme. 10th March 2011 At 8 a.m. we met in school in Massarosa and by bus we went to Sant'Anna diStazzema (Memorial centre) and we had a guided visit in English. Next we visited a marble-factory at Pietrasanta. At 7 p.m. we returned home and at 9 p.m we participated in a goodbye-party in the school with European students and Italian host families. Agata Matulka (Poland)

MUHAMMED'S ITALY IMPRESSIONS

At that morning I was unusually excited; It was the first time I had got on a plane. It' s the first time I had been going another country. There Italy was waiting for us. When we arrived at the airport, I noticed a poster on which it was written some Turkish words: "Hogeldiniz" means Welcome to Italy. Roberto and my dear host family were meeting us with very sincere smiles on their faces and with very warm hearts. My family took me to the restaurant for lunch then we went to their house. The next day, we were very busy: Going to the host school, visiting the Cityhall and meeting with the Mayor- Franco Mungai. He made a speech for Comenius Project Team. Then we visited Lucca, Cathedral, Wall and Towers, attended a Big Costume Party at Scuola Media Pellegrini in the evening and had great fun and joy On Tuesday, 8 th of March, for the Carnival all the students, teachers, partners, host families dressed either traditionally or imaginatively met at the station and took train to Viareggio. Viareggio, I couldn't believe in my eyes there were colourful giant platforms, enormous chariots on which lots of imaginative creatures or figures were put, loud music, hundreds of spectators, thousands kilos of confettis, limitless joy, boundless friendship...At midnight, we witnessed the splendid night fireworks show. The next day, playing volleyball with the European partners made me happy. After that visiting the leaning tower of Pisa, Cathedral and Cemetery were unforgettable. I took lots of photos in order to keep the beautiful memories. On Thursday we went up steep but beautiful landscaped mountains by coach. I impressed by the Sant' Anna di Stazzema, Memorial Centre. I wish all the Humans Peace everytime. In the evening there was Goodbye-party at Scuola. Though it was a Farewell Party, for me it was welcome party; Welcome friendship, welcome my new friends. My host family, my Italian friend Stefano and the European partners will never be away from me, they will always be in my heart. I will never forget them. On Friday Stefano and I went to his school we took lessons such as English, Physical Education lesson etc. I made new friends, taught Turkish words to them. After school, with my family we went to a Turkish Restaurant and eat Turkish Kebab, it was delicious. Then we went to Mediterranean coast, wandered at the beach. My Italian parents took me to the Amusement Park and to a vey large shopping center. I had wonderful time there. STEFANO, is my friend's name, I can introduce him as my brother. He's very helpful. SIMONA-our mother- who behaved me just like my mother. I learned counting in Italian language up to ten from Simona. Whenever we were going out for the school, she was always preparing provisions-food and putting them in my school bag. She is as my real mother, she took care of me very well. Very thoughtful, talented, generous, polite Lady. Stefano's father-ROMANO- is very kind and merciful too. Alessia, Stefano's sister's very nice; I liked them very much. I love them. THANK YOU STEFANO, SIMONA AND ROMANO . You are a wonderful family for me, thanks for everything that you did for me. Hope to meet again but this time in Turkey, OK? Muhammed Kksoy

To colleagues from Massarosa school

Dear colleagues, Thank you for the hospitality! The meeting was very interesting and useful for me! It was very important to see how the school process in the Primary school and Kindergarten is organized . What is more, my opinion is that the meeting between pupils from the partner schools was very important because the pupils learned that although they come from different countries, their interests and dreams are close. The pupils enjoyed the Carnival in Viareggio, they felt the enthusiasm from preparing the costumes and the real Carnival. The beauty of all the national costumes helped us to see that the clothes and different languages just enrich and supplement our eyesights. The visit of St. Anna memorial was very strong and useful experience. The trip in the mountain and meeting with the great tragedy of peaceful civilian population remembered us that people must live in peace and to look for a dialogue between themselves. People must never been involved in such a human`s tragedy! I was impressed of the sculptures on the road to the place of execution of Italian people and the association which their author had made with the last road of Jesus Christ to his crucifix and the road which those people had gone to their undeserved death. I was impressed from the pain which we saw in the eyes of the old people who survived from death but have worn this pain for sixty years! I think that pupils and adults were shaken by this tragedy. There is no ideology or human system which can be a reason for such human attitude and we have to teach our children of this! We were impressed by the poster with children`s hands in the big hall in Massarosa school too. It contained the promise that children will never use violence. This poster reminded me about a wall with hearts in my classroom which was made as a task from my children. Each child had to bring a heart made by a cardboard and to write on it some ideas and thoughts about friendship and love. We put all hearts on a notice board on the wall. Then each child read his own writing made with the help of his parents in front of the class. Now when somebody enters our classroom he reads the pupils` writings. In this way many pupils, teachers and parents can make comment on our wall. Greetings from Antoaneta Sokolova

Sightseeing in Pisa and Lucca

LUCCA Lucca is a very wonderful town. There are many cathedrales and churches. The cathedrales are very big and they have high towers. The food is good, I think. Many houses in the town are very old. And there is the long, long city wall. There are so much tourists, too. Everybody had visited the old churches, because when I was standing in front of the building I saw many, many tourists, but there weren`t any children. Lucca is a wonderful town and I hope that I can visit Lucca in another time. PISA Pisa is an old, nice town. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is great, I think. The tower is white and near a hall with many graves in the ground. In this town are old houses, too. The Leaning Tower of Pisa in front of big meadows. On the meadows lied many people in the sun. It was warm, because the sun was shining very brightly. In the old town of Pisa are good restaurants, and the ice cream is good, too. I think Pisa is one of the best towns which I had already seen! Martin

Visit in Italy
Its difficult for me to choose how to start this article, because in Italy our whole group had great time, always and everywhere. But here I go. We were 9 people in our group: 3 girls, 3 boys and 3 teachers. We started our adventure on Friday, 4/3/11, and It finished on 11/3/11. We passed our first 3 days in Rome and It was awesome. I have not travelled to so many countries, but I am sure that there is not another city like Rome. For me It is like a huge, live museum. We saw many and beautiful buildings. Some of them were the Pantheon, The Coliseum, Fontana di Trevi and much more. We also went to Vatican. There we didnt see the Papa, but we saw Capela Sistina, Basilica di San Pietro and other things too. And all that happened before the start of Comenius. The real start of Comenius was on 7/3/11 when we meet the other groups at the Instituto Comprensivo in Massarosa. All was good with each other and we all became friend from the first day. At night we had carnival party and It was very funny. But the true carnival was on the following day. We passed It in Viaregio. It was GREAT. I had never seen something like that before. There were huge, moving constructions, a lot of music, dances and colors and these things made us forgot about the low temperature in that day. The next day we went to Pisa and we took tones of photos with the famous tower of Pisa. The day after this was the sad one because It was the last one. At the morning we went to the Memorial Centre in S. Anna di Stazzema. At the night we had our last party. For me that party wasnt funny because I knew that It was the last night with my new friends. On the following day we travelled to Milano with train and then we went in Cyprus by airplane. Now everything has finished but I am sure that no one will forget this adventure. Everything was organized perfect. The families we were living with was great. All the children was friends with each other. We had a lot of funny moments with the teachers too, because in these days we (and they too) forget that they are our teachers and they was acting like our friends too. For finish I want to say one huge THANK YOU to all children, families and teachers, who took a part in Comenius for the great time and memories, which they gave to me! Nasko

Italian food
The food in Italy was always good. Pizza, Pasta and Bolognese, do exist in Germany too, but in Italy, it is the best. At the first day, at my exchange-partners home we ate Spaghetti Bolognese. It was as good that I took a second piece of it. When I finished the exchange- mum, came with a big plate of meet and chips. So I realized that the Bolognese was just a starter. One day we went to a restaurant. We ate pizza with sausages and chips. (It was a bit strange), but it was OK. In Germany there are a lot of kebab kebab-fast food restaurant in Italy there are much more pizzarias. All together Italy is a great country (not only because of the food)! Jonas

Marilenas Memories from Italy I spent one week in Massarosa that I will never forget. The family I stayed together with them was very kind, polite, friendly and always with a smile in the face! The name of the girl-student I spent many many hours together is Matilde. Matilde my friend, I take also this opportunity to say a big thank you and lots of kissesI love you.. The family wanted and tried a lot to make me feeling like home. And I felt like home because of them. Ill always remember of them and always loved them! The school was wonderful, the students, the teachers were all very smiling and friendly, ready to serve us whatever we needed. The environment was fantastic, vibrant with many beautiful trees. Massarosa place is very beautiful and I hope i have a chance to go again visiting all of them! Bogy's memories from Italy Hi I am Bogy from Bulgaria. I had a great time in Toscana Italy. I have lived in big house with my Italian friend Ricardo. He has got two brothers Alberto and Giorgo and a cat. His parents are very nice. Every evening they prepared for me Italian food pizza, pasta. I like it. We went together to a lake near Massarosa and to carnaval in Viarego. I was mummer and Ricardo was tiger. In the last evening we had a great party. I want to say again thank you to Ricardo and his family for everything! I will never forget this time! Bogomil Ivanov Thankfulness Dear Italian friends, Dear teachers from Massarosa school, dear host families, dear host children, our Bulgarian team would like to express again and again its wonderful and unforgettable expectations from all of you and your lovely country! We will never forget our lovely trip, we will continue showing pictures and telling about everything! Thanks a lot! You all were great! THANK YOU, ITALY!!! Darina and all Bulgarian team

Georgias Memories from Italy Sunday We arrived on Sunday afternoon at Massarosa train station. Weve got the train from Rome and took us approximate 3 hours. The families and the students from school were there and they were waiting for us. Also students kept colas which they had written " ". Teachers went to the hotel and we went to their homes. Monday The family who feasted me was very polite and nice. We awoke up and we went at their school. School there starts at 8 o'clock and it was very clean and painted in different beautiful colors. We had the opportunity to meet with Italian, Bulgarian, Polish, Turkish and German students. We spent some hours to the school and then we all met the mayor of the Massarosa. After that we went to the Lucca by train. We all walked through the beautiful small roads of Lucca city. Tuesday We went to the "carnavale di Viareggio". It was very amazing. The chariots were very huge and fantastic. Many people were dancing and singing for many hours. It was an excellent experience for all of us. We stayed there the whole afternoon and night as well. At night the chariots were much more impressive because of the lights! Wednesday During morning we participated at the lessons of school with the Italians students. Imagine a classroom with so many nationalities? It doesnt matter the nationality of each student but the atmosphere and communication we had with other students. The most important thing is to respect each other! During mid-day we had championship of Volley-Ball. After lunch at school we visited Pisa. The tower of Pisa was exactly as the pictures I saw from internet
Thursday The last day of our journey was different than the others. We had a school trip at Sant'Anna di Stazzema-Memorial Centre and after we went for a while at the sea. We ate at a pizza restaurant and they served us a tasty pizza with nutela. When we ate we went at the "Pietrasanta" and we saw how the marbles made off. At night we had a goodbye party. NoooooooooThe following day, we took the train to Milan and plane back to Cyprus! We had a really good time in Massarosa. Italian people are very hospitable. I stayed together with one family that I enjoyed it a lot. They were very friendly and helpful all the days .Sofia thank you very much for everything. The children at school were polite and kind as well. Italy is a very beautiful country, with good people. The most I liked it was their language, it has a magic behind the words, and for sure next year I will start learning Italian!

Georgia Miliotou

Kate's memories from Italy On Sunday morning all the group met in front of the school in Grojec. Everyone was excited, we couldn't wait to leave. When I said goodbye to my mum and later when I passed the first gate at the airport in Okecie I felt very responsible. The flights lasted about 3 hours. In Florence I met a group from Bulgaria. We like each other. I was delighted with the beauty of Florence. Mamy old buildings attracted my attention and hypnothized me. The beautiful was sunset , when I stayed on the bridge. The tradition of hanging padlocks by couples was really good! There are hundreds of padlocks with initials there. That evening I met my family who were very nice and hospitable people. On Monday we met at school and had activities in mixed groups. Also on the first day we visited Massarosa City-hall and had a meeting with Mayor Franco Mungai. In the afternoon we went to Lucca to visit the city (Cathedral, City-hall, Wall, Towers etc.). In the evening there was a party at school. There was very cool atmosphere. Everyone wanted to have fun. On Tuesday we spent time in Viareggio. There was a carnival. That was a really amazing party, big colorful platforms with sculptures and on the platforms there were people who were dancing. Although it wasnt warm everyone had great fun. On Wednesday we played volleyball. Everyone could show their skills. I played in great groups! My team was really good. Two times we won. After the sport activities we went to Pisa. During the travel we had an interview with Bulgarian teacher , whose name is Darina Dushkova. She teaches English. I liked her very much, because she is very outgoing, clever caring and calm. The conversation with her was very instructive for me. In the center of Pisa I could see the Leaning Tower and Cathedral. Of course everyone took photos with the tower . I think Pisa in one of the cities, which wakes up only in the evening. On Thursday we were in the Sant'Anna di Stazzema (Memorial centre). The history of this place is very sad. In my opinion the worst was that the youngest victim of the massacre was 20 days old. Later we went to sea the local area. That was a nice view, blue sea, hot sand, green palms and behind my back there were mountains with snow. For dinner we went to pizzeria. There we ate a delicious pizza, better than in Poland. After that we went to visit a marble-factory at Pietrasanta. When I came back home in Massarosa I spent time with the host family. After that I went to school to a goodbye party. I ate a lot of delicious cakes and snacks made by students and their families. On Friday , the last day I said goodbye to my family. I was sad, I liked them and I got used to the lifestyle in Italy. There I met a lot of interesting and great people! I hope I will be keep in touch with them. It was a nice experience. I would like to go on a trip like this once again. Kasia Urbanek

Avgis Memories from Italy

The trip we had to Massarosa was full of beautiful experiences, such as staying with families, meeting Italian students and learning new things, which were only some of all the experiences we gained! Firstly, the family, which hosted me for those days, was hospitable a lot. All the members of the family were warm-hearted. They also taught me new things. For example, I have learnt a lot of Italian words! In spite of that, staying with this family gave me the chance to meet nice people and make new friends! During the days we stay in Massarosa, we visited some notable places. Some of these were the Massarosa City-hall, where we met the mayor of Massarosa Franco Mungai and Lucca where we visited some buildings such as the cathedral. Lucca is a beautiful city and has a special character. In addition we visited Pisa where we entered to the cathedral and saw the tower of Pisa. On the 5th day to Massarosa we visited SantAnna di Stazzema which is a memorial centre. After that, we visited Marina di Pietrasanta, a seaside town and a marble-factory. From all these visits we had I really liked the city of Lucca and the tower of Pisa, because of its figure! On the third day in Massarosa we visited Viareggio, where the carnival was taking place. We were there until night when all the carnival chariots were lighted! The carnival was really amazing! There were exciting, colorful and impressive chariots, which ones theme was different! The Comenius students had the chance to enter to a carnival chariot, which was a unique experience! At night the carnival chariots were much more impressive because they were lighted! At the end of the event there were exciting fireworks! I was excited about them, why they were really amazing, because of their colors and the rhythm that they were turning out!! The school, the teachers and the students of Massarosa and the teachers and the students of each country were friendly, polite and socialized. The teachers from Massarosa School helped us create masks for the carnival! I met people from different countries and became friend with them! All experiences in Massarosa are amazing and important for me and all the people who participated in this trip! I will remember all these experiences for a long time and I am sure that they will seem unique every time they come to my mind!! Avgi Iosif Comenius Cyprus Team

Sandra's memories from Italy

I was in Italy from 6th March to 11th March with five students and three teachers from my school. I was very excited because it was the first time I had flown in my life. Firstly we visited Florence, a beautiful city in Italy. I was very surprised when I saw buildings which looked different from the buildings in Poland. All day I thought about my host family. It was the first time I had lived with people whom I didnt know. When I met the family I was very pleased because they were very nice and friendly. In Italy I also liked the food. It was fantastic. I found out that Italians are very friendly and happy people. I like Italy and I think that I will fly to this place in the future. Im so happy because I found out that my English wasnt so bad. By Sandra Frydrych from Poland

Sergiusz's memories from Italy On the first day we went to the airport in Warsaw and our plane took off at 10 a.m. and we went to Zurich and from Zurich we went to Florence and we were in Florence at 2 p.m..We had free time and we visited Florence.I really liked this city because it is very old and beautiful. Next we went by train to Lucca and I went home with my host family.The family was really nice and friendly. I talked with my host family all evening about Italy and Poland. On the second day I went to school with my Italian friend and I met all the people who participated in the Comenius Project. It was really friendly atmosphere. I met new people. After that we visited Lucca. It was fantastic. We went back to Massarosa, ate supper with falimies and went to the party at school. Everyone was dressed up, we had red T-shirts and hats with a white eagle (the symbol of Poland) and with the word POLSKA on it. It was a very funny party. On the third day we didnt go to school because that day was a day off school. We went to Massarosa Lake. I saw the neighborhood of Massarosa and I can say that this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The mountains , forests , lakes , rivers and the sea. This day we were at the carnival in Viareggio and I think it was a carnival you wont see anywhere in Europe. It was a fantastic experience. On Wednesday we went to school and we watched how lessons are held in the school in Italy.This school is really nice. Next we went to the gym and we played a volleyball tournament. After that we went to Pisa. We visited the most interesting places there and of course the most important point in this city the leaning tower. This is a beautiful city. On Thursday we went to school and from school we went to St.Anna di Stazema where the Nazis killed all the residents of this village. It was about 560 people. Next we went to the factory where marble is processed. We saw beautiful marble slabs. It's very interesting what the earth can produce. After that we went to the farewell party and we said goodbye to all. On Friday the families took us to the airport and we said goodbye and went for our flight to Poland. It was a fantastic trip. I had been on that trip the first time but if I could go on that trip one more time I would go without hesitation. It was something new for me. I could practise my English and learn it more, and learn something about Italy. Sergiusz Zieja

Zaneta's memories from Italy

On 6 March at 10 oclock we departed from Warsaw to Zurich, where we took our flight to Florence. At ten past two pm we were in Florence- the capital of Toscany and we went sightseeing. I was very shocked, because this city was very beautiful, streets narrow and romantic. We saw the third of the biggest cathedrals in Europe, the most popular and romantic bridge and a lot of padlocks with names of people who love each other. Unfortunately, we had to go to the station and with the Bulgarian group we went to Lucca. I was a bit stressed before meeting my host family. In Lucca, there was a very nice surprise. The Italian people had prepared a board with Polish words Witamy we Woszech. I met Italian teachers and students. Then we went with one of the teachers to Massarosa where I met my family. They were very very nice and next we went to their restaurant where I ate supper. Of course, we ate pizza-the most popular food in Italy. That day was full of new experiences and I was tired, so when we were in one of Italian families' houses, I said good night and went to sleep.On 7th March we went to school at 8 oclock and met all the students and teachers from BAF countries. Then we made crowns for the carnival. Id never made one, so it was very funny. About 10 oclock there was a break and we visited the City hall of Massarosa and had a meeting with Mayor Franco Mungai. From 11 to 13 oclock we decorated our crowns. Then we ate lunch in the school and went on a trip to Lucca. Lucca is a smaller city than Florence but as beautiful as Florence. All the students went to Massarosa by train but I went to the Theatre Puccini with Lisa, when there was a small carnival performance. Lisa was singing in it. When we came back home I dressed up as cowboy and we went to a school carnival party. There were a lot of different costumes and a lot of fun. We were dancing and having a good time. The party finished at eleven oclock and we came back home. Tuesday morning I spent with my host family on the beach. We picked shells, took some photos. Near the sea there is fantastic scenery. You can see the sea and on the right the mountains. Then we ate dinner in their restaurant and I had to dress up as a traditional Polish woman, because at 14 o clock we were going to the carnival in Viareggio. It is one of the biggest carnivals in the world. All the people in the carnival have costumes. I could see a lot of platforms with people who were dancing. About 4 oclock we had some free time and me and my friend went to Mayor of Viareggio. I think that carnival is the most beautiful at night. About 11 oclock there were some fireworks. Wonderful fireworks with music. I was very tired, but very happy that day! Wednesday was a sports day. But before playing volleyball we took part in lessons in Massarosa school. I was in English and Arts lessons. Then we played volleyball, my group was one of the worst groups, unfortunately. In the afternoon we went to Pisa. I saw the most popular Leaning Tower in the world. We took some photos and then we had some free time, so we went shopping and then we went to eat something. I spent my evening with my host family in their home. We ate supper, talked about Poland and Italy and differences betwen them. (To be continued on the next page)

On Thursday we went on a trip to Sant'Anna di Stazzema. There is a memorial centre. I saw a church where was the massacre and a museum dedicated to the massacre. After that we went to dinner in PietraSanta, but before that we went to the beach and took some photos near the sea, watched a pier and then we went to the restaurant and ate pizza. Next we visited a marble-factory at Pietrasanta. We had seen how hard it is to make marble. Next we visited marketplace of PietraSanta and we had twenty minutes free time. In the evening there was a goodbye- party in the school. There were students with host families and teachers. There was a lot of fun! The evening was very sad, because we had to say Good Bye to the people that we had met in that week. On the last day, on Friday we met at eleven oclock in front of the Hotel in Massarosa. Then we went to the airport in Florence and at 14 oclock we left Italy. We were in Poland at about 19 oclock. I am very happy that I could meet a lot of fantastic people. I practised my English and I had a good time in Italy. Id like to say: Thank you a lot and I promise that I will miss you! Im sure that time in Italy was unforgettabble. Zaneta Wykowska

Lucca
Luca is an interesting town. When we were there we saw that the city is surrounded by a wall. In the 20th century the wall was using for car racing. As the wall lost its military importance, it became an alley for pedestrians. But Luca isnt important just for its wall. Theres a cathedral called St Martin (in Italian Duomo di san Martino). It was started by Bishop Anselm. The cathedral was rebuilt in Gothic style in the 14th century. It is composed of three magnificent arches, and above them there are open galleries adorned with sculptures. The chapel shrine contains the most precious relic in Luca, the Volto Santo di Lucca or Sacred Countenance. This cedar-wood rood and image of Christ, according to the legend, was carved by his contemporary Nicodemus, and transmitted by a miracle to Luca. Yana Deliyska, Bulgaria

Living in a foreign family

What is it like to be without your parents abroad and to live in a foreign family? To live in a foreign family is great! You can see and learn the activities and the life of these people. Of course in the beginning you feel a little bit scary but very exciting too. When you got there in the first moment you dont know what to expect. But then you see that every family is good and friendly. The other good thing is that you can try food from this country and you can learn more about the culture and traditions of the nation. You go sightseeing and more. But the most unpleasant part is the leave-taking. You dont want to leave the place because youll miss the kind family and the other people from the project. And of course theres a good side of the leaving because you were away from your parents and friends and you`ll see them again. I feel very glad and proud that I had a chance to live in Italian family and to make new friends. I`m very thankful to my hosts and I`ll never forget the days I spent at their home! Yana Deliyska, Bulgaria

Warsaw Uprising (During World War II)

The Warsaw Uprising began on August 1 and ended on October 2nd 1944 and was the occurrence of armed forces against the Germans occupying Warsaw, organized by the Army as part of the "Storm" campaign, combined with open and official activities of the highest structures of the Polish Underground State. The main cause of liberation was to regain power to Polish hands before the arrival of Russian troops. The Uprising began at about 5 o'clock in the afternoon. There participated in the uprising about 25,000 insurgents, of whom only 3,000 had guns. In front of them stood a well-armed army numbering 15,000 troops fully armed, having aviation, armor and artillery. The Poles fought bravely and after a few days they took control over most districts of Warsaw, but they were not prepared for such a long struggle. Lack of ammunition, killing of civilians and problems with food were the main causes of the collapse of Warsaw Uprising. On October 2nd the act of capitulation was signed, the insurgents were not able to fight without weapons. The battle lasted 63 days, for which the Warsaw inhabitants were not prepared. Przemyslaw Moskal (Poland)

Obersalzberg - a place to remember the dark sides of our history

This winter my and another class from the 9th grade of the Karlsgymnasium visited the museum Obersalzberg, the old Fort of Adolph Hitler. The little village Obersalzberg was founded only because of the agriculture, but since Hitler made his first holidays there, the area was used for the bad targets of the national socialists. At first Hitler had bought or had stolen the entire area around his apartment. While Hitler was living in this apartment with his girlfriend Eva Braun a lot of Nazis came to see their leader until the security boss of Hitler has forbidden the meetings from his ,,fans. When the war started, very long tunnels were built for Hitler. You can go into some of the old tunnels, too, in which Hitler wanted to defend his family, if the enemies came to Obersalzberg what never happened. But after the war the English destroyed all the buildings around Hitlers house and his tunnels with planes and now some areas are rebuild as a museum. The museum also gives information about the old inhabitants of the Obersalzberg with some videos with interviews of the people who lived there at this time. In our days the Obersalzberg is a center to inform and remember about this dark side of our history. It is important that this time will never be forgotten so hopefully something similar will never happen again. Benedikt

Historical Museum of Resistance SantAnna di Stazzema

In spring 2011 I visited Italy with 5 other pupils from my school. There was a meeting of six different countries (Italy, Germany, Turkey, Cyprus, Poland and Bulgaria) because of the so-called Comenius-Project from the European Union. One day we visited the National Park of Peace in SantAnna di Stazzema. It extends over the hilly area around the village. It was built to remind of a cruel crime against the Italian people that lived in the village. What happened at that time? It was in the year 1944: The German Nazis have fought against Italian troops in that area. They have thought that there were Italian partisans and so they tried to catch them in the village. When they attacked, they did not find much men, but innocent old people, children with their mothers and refugees from around the valley. First they took out a lot of people from their houses and gathered them in the small square in front of the Church. The Nazis shot all of them and burnt their corps. They also came over the complete village, murdered everybody who they could catch, burnt all the houses, the stables and the cattle. They did bestiality to the inhabitants and the refugees and made no exception to anybody. My impressions: The Historical Museum of Resistance is a very peaceful area today. It is located in the mountains and there are a lot of woods. In the museum you can see a lot of objects reminding of the people who lived there: rings, a childs dolly, brooches, chains, watches, pictures, a big bell A path outside the museum building guides to the Ossario Monument, which was built to remind to all the people, who were killed by the massacre of the German Nazis. I never heard before of this crime, so it was very interesting, but shocking for me. I never thought, that mankind could do those cruel things to fellow men. It makes me sad to see, what happened. We should never forget, what happened at that time and should try to learn to become more peaceful all around the world! Ina

The National Park of Peace of St'Anna di Stazzema Hello!My name is Hristiyana and I'm from Bulgaria. On the 4-th of March I went to Italy in connection with the project. I would like to write about The National Park of Peace of St'St'Anna di Stazzema.On one of the days we went there and I was very impressed of that place. St'Anna di Stazzema is a village in Tuscany, in the central Italy.In 1944 it was the site of a notorious atrocity during the World War 2, the St'Anna di Stazzema massacre. Since 2000, it has been the site of the Italian National Park of Peace with memorials and a museum dedicated to the massacre.The history is very tragic. On the morning of August 12th 1944, in Sant'Anna di Stazzema, one of the most terrible crimes during the Second War, was commited.The Nazists from Germany, came to the mountain to look for partizans, but they didn't found them so they suddenly flinged against everything and everyone. Then the civilians (mostly women, children and older men, as the able-bodied men of the village fled into the woods) were killed in groups with machine guns in the open air and with hand grenades in basements; All the livestock was also killed and the whole village completely burned. All of this barbarism took only three hours; the soldiers then ate their lunch nearby. The victims included some 110 children . Eight pregnant women were also killed. But there is now one men who survived from the massacre. In that time he was a little boy .The Nazists killed his family, but he hide in the basement and he survived. On the top of the mountain there's the National Park of peace Memorial. Next to him there is a Massacre Memorial Scupulture, which is showing a woman with her children. There's a church, too. After the war, the church was rebuilt and the Charnel House Monument, dedicated to the massacre, and the Historical Museum of Resistance were both built nearby. We could see pictures and maps from the massacre. The pictures of the people-their faces shown pain from the torture. There was a wall with all the pictures of the killed kids - the youngest one, Anna Pardini, was only 20 days old. This was the worst massacre in the history of Italian people. Hristiyana Despotova

The 3rd March - the Day of our National Celebration In the period 1365-1370 the Ottomans conquered most of the Bulgarian towns and fortresses south of the Balkan Mountains. In 1393 the Ottoman Turks captured Tarnovo, the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, after a three-month siege. With the fall of the Vidin Tsardom following the defeat of a Christian crusade at the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, the Ottomans finally subjugated and occupied Bulgaria. During those hard times for the Bulgarian people, the Ottoman Empire conducted a policy of discrimination of the Christian population, especially as regards Bulgarians, as well as made attempts for assimilation and annihilation. The Bulgarians was forced to reject the Christianity and to accept the Islam. As a result of the Ottoman invasion many religious documents and Christian sanctuaries were destroyed or turned into Muslim shrines. Bulgarian Revival began in the middle of the 18th century. Throughout the five Ottoman slavery centuries Bulgarian people organized many attempts to re-establish their own state. The National awakening of Bulgaria became one of the key factors in the struggle for liberation. In the 19th century there came into existence the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee and the Internal Revolutionary Organization led by liberal revolutionaries such as Vasil Levski, Hristo Botev, Lyuben Karavelov and many others. In 1876, the April uprising broke out: the largest and best-organized Bulgarian rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. Though crushed by the Ottoman authorities, the uprising prompted the Great Powers to convene the 1876 Conference of Constantinople, which delimited the ethnic Bulgarian territories as of the late 19th century, and elaborated the legal and political arrangements for establishing two autonomous Bulgarian provinces. The Ottoman Government declined to comply with the Great Powers decisions, making it possible for Russia to seek a solution by force without risking military confrontation with other Great Powers. The Russian Emperor Alexander II declared war on Turkey in 1877. Finns, Polish volunteers, Romanians and numerous Bulgarian volunteers took part in it together with the Russian and Ukrainian soldiers. After heavy and epical battles fought for about a year, the most memorable in which took place in Shipka Pass and around Pleven, Turkey was forced to declare capitulation and sign the San Stefano Peace Treaty in front of the walls of Istanbul. That was how Bulgaria gained back its independence on 3rd March 1878. Nowadays the 3rd March is the Day of our National Celebration. Bulgarian people are proud of our Independence which was gained by the blood of many brave men. There are many monuments all over our land in memory of the known and unknown heroes who gave their life for our Liberty! Verginia Veselinova

American or English? Part one: At School

"Stop mucking around and get on with your work," shouted the teacher to two students who were off task.

British English Friend / Mate Rubber Maths Public School State School Holiday Packed lunch School dinner Staff Room Plimsolls "Mucking Around" / Off Task Friend Eraser Math Private School Public School Vacation Sack lunch/bag lunch Hot Lunch Teachers Lounge Gym Shoes

American English

Off Task / Fooling Around / "Goofing Off" Recess Open House Grading Scheme pushpins or thumbtacks Principal

Play Time / Break Time Open Day / Open Evening Marking Scheme Drawing pins Headmaster/mistress Headteacher Caretaker/porter

Janitor

Find the words

Find the words hidden in the grid of letters.They are 21 words related with our project and the participants countries. Maria Zografou Cyprus

Exercises in memory of Massarosa

Ex.1: Present Perfect Tense: Put since or for in the blank places: I haven`t seen hima long time. I have been waiting hours. I have known himhe was a child. He has been abroad .many years. He has been in Italy..October. Bulgaria has made great progress .1989. We have been listening to musichour. He has been studying English.months. They have been friends.since their first international school project. They haven`t seen each other ..their last workshop. Ex.2: Put the verbs in brackets in Present Perfect or Past Tense: (be) ..ever to Italy? (be) I in Massarosa last month. (spend) We .. lovely time during our workshop in Massarosa. (go) We .on a trip to Italy one month ago. (make) We a performance especially for the workshop. (make) I unforgettable friendship since my trip to Italy. (see) I ..never..such a lovely Carnival! (eat) I ..never ..a lot of pasta. (write) I lots of letters since I returned from Italy. (see) you. fireworks last night? Darina Dushkova, Sofia, Bulgaria

An interview with Christian Spizak

Hello everybody. Below there's an interview with a teacher. After reading the text, please do the following True/False statements. Hi everybody! My name's Muhammed Kksoy, I'm a primary school student from Krkkale, Turkey. I was in Italy between 6th and 12th of March for Comenius Project. There I met Christian Spizak, a German teacher from Germany. He was in Italy for Comenius too. He's a very kind teacher. While we alltogether were visiting the Marble Factory, I had the chance to make a short interview with him. I respectfully thank Christian for everything. And here are the results of my dialogue: Christian Spizak is a teacher at a German School. He was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1981 but he lives in Germany. But the region where he has been living and working is very close to Austrian border. Christian has got a nice family; Both his mother and his father are also teachers. He has got a brother but he has no sister. He likes animals and he's got a cat called Sunny. His hobbies are playing football, travelling, swimming, climbing and doing hackey sack. Spizak's favourite football team is Red Bull Salzburg. In his opinion both Germans and Austrians are open-minded nations and the people of these countries are friendly. Moreover, they like nature and their nations. Among the World couisines, he generally prefers Austrian Cousine to others. Christian likes travelling too. He had been different countries before and almost six years ago he went to Turkey, the south-west part of Turkey around Alanya region. He hopes to go there again in the future. Christian's happy to participate in Comenius Project and to be in Italy. He believes that this project is an opportunity to see different countries to meet new people and new nations, to understand various cultures and to learn new things. Thank you Christian for interviewing with me and sharing your ideas with us. Hope to see you again. According to the text above write if the statements are True ( T ) or False ( F ). 1) The interviewer is a Primary School student from Italy. _____ 2) Though Christian Spizak is an Austrian, now he lives in Germany. _____ 3) He likes animals and he cares a hamster, called Sunny. _____ 4) Years ago, Christian went to the Eastern part of Turkey. _____ 5) He believes that Comenius gives chances to see different cultures. _____ Muhammed Kksoy

Comenius quiz
Across 1. name of our magazin 5. When foreign students are visiting each other we call it a student ... 6. this country will be visited in may 2011 7. capital of Bulgaria 8. number of participating countries Down 2. an important aspect of this project is to create new ... 3. Massarosa1 is of one of our ... 4. a participating island in the Mediterranean Sea 5. language of our magazin

The blackbird and the

Bulgarian tale In a forest a blackbird is sitting on her eggs in her nest. A fox comes and asks for an egg to make a soup for her mother and father. The blackbird gives her an egg because she is afraid of the fox. The next morning the fox comes again for another egg. The fox comes again and again. The blackbird gives the fox all her eggs. The blackbird starts to cry. Some women who are going through the forest hear the blackbird crying. They come to the tree and ask: - Why are you crying Blacky-pecky? - I havent got any eggs in my nest. Im afraid the fox wants to eat me, too. the blackbird replies. The women say: Dont cry Blacky-pecky. Our hound can help you. Tell the fox to eat the chicken which is near the tree under the dead leaves. The next morning the fox comes again. The blackbird says: - Dont eat me. Theres a chicken for you under the dead leaves. The fox wants to catch the chicken but the hound jumps up. The fox runs and the hound runs. Finally the fox hides in her den. She says: - Thank you, my dear little legs, arms and eyes! Now I am safe at home. Next the fox tells her long tail: - You dont help me to run fast. You are bad! Then she puts her tail out of the den and shouts: - Eat my tail, Doggo! The hound pulls the fox out and eats her. Translated by Diana Teneva

My passion
My passion the dance Ive been dancing since I was 6. I love dancing because I like the music and the moves which our choreographer teach us. Our teacher has two children. The little one is ten and she is in my age group (in our dance classes there are age groups from 1-4, 5-6, 7-9, 10, 11-16, 17-20/22)and the other one is 20 but shes steal dancing.The other thing I like its because we have many concerts, festivals and competitions. Youll think I like it because of the awards but actually it gives me pleasure. To see the audience stand up and supporting you, to be proud of yourself and in this moments Im thinking that Ive reached the unattainable. Marta Deliyska, Sofia, Bulgaria

My hobbies
Hello, my name is Monika, I'm 17 years old and I'd like to share my interests with you. My biggest hobby is playing the piano. I started playing when I was 12 years old. To the piano lessons I had to go before the school lessons, so I had to get up earlier, which wasn't easy for me (I love sleeping). However I don't regret this and I cant imagine my life without music. Earlier I had taken part in some piano competitions but now I don't have enough time for this. I play the piano only to relax. But this is not my only hobby. I'm crazy about bollywood films too. The first film which I have seen was "Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sorrow". I can watch this film many times and I never get bored. Bollywood films are very interesting, touching and true. Moreover, there are great special effects and beautiful music. I personally recommend these films to everybody. And finally, my third hobby- cooking. My cooking passion started a year ago. I wanted to try something new. The beginnings were obviously difficult but practice makes perfect. Now, I can make delicious dishes. In my opinion it is important to have some hobby. It makes us happy and we can develop ourselves in this way. :) Monika Neska (Poland)

My free time
In my free time I love playing volleyball and I love swimming. Every summer I go to the seaside and spend a lot of time in the sea. And I really love drawing. Some time ago I visited lessons for drawing but now I cant because I have a lot of study. I love drawing and I draw most fortresses and houses. I and my family often travel. We visited many interesting places in our country the seven Rilas lakes, the fortress Carevetz in Tarnovo, the fortress Baba Vida in Vidin, the Assens fortress near Assenovgrad, the caves Saeva dupka, Ledenika, Magurata, Yagodinska, Dyavolsko garlo, Orlova chuka.I like skiing in winter. This winter vacation I went to Vitosha to ski-school. It was great. After that I went to Maljovica it is a ski resort in Rila mountain. I like my country Bulgaria it is very beautifulin every season. Bogomil Ivanov, Sofia, Bulgaria

My favourite band
I would like to present the German punkrockband, called Die rzte (the doctors).It is one of the most famous and successful bands of Germany. There are three band members, called Farin Urlaub (Jan Ulrich Max Vetter), Bela B. (Dirk Albert Felsenheimer) and Rodrigo Rod Gonzlez (Rodrigo Andrs Gonzles Espindola) The band was founded in 1982, split up in 1989 and reunited again in 1993. And although I have never visited one of their concerts yet, they are famous for their unique performances because of reinterpretation some of their songs live on stage. That means that they improvise parts of the lyrics, so that the songs get a completely new or a completely senseless meaning. Their lyrics are generally criticized because they are provocating and socio-critical. The result of this is that many of their songs got indexed, because they contain material that is liable to corrupt the young. But during their live performances they avoid singing these songs just by playing the melody and they have the audience sung the texts. One of these songs is for example called Schlaflied, a lullaby in which the dialectic lies in the sweet and silent sung tune versus the violent text, in which a child gets killed by a monster in a very bestial way. But of course does the band sing about other topics as well, such as love, conservation or just about random things like Whole Milk (Vollmilch) All in all they do not take themselves too serious and perform their songs on stage more because of the fun than because of their income. One of my favorite songs of them is called Deine Schuld.The song is about the unjustified political power relations in which everybody claims changes but no one is willing to realize them. Die rztecriticize that the single individual does not even try to express its op inion especially when it is against the majority of people. The consequence of this attitude is that we are in danger of destroying democracy by not using our voices. Here is a translation of the songs lyrics: Your fault Were you angry today, was it bad again? Did you ask yourself, why nobody interferes? You dont have to accept, what you dont like at all, If your head isnt just for wearing a hat.It is not your fault, that the world is like it is, It would only be your fault, if it stayed like that. Dont believe anyone who tells you, you cant change anything. Those who claim this are afraid of changes, They are the same who tell you the world is good like it is, and when you want to change something, you are a terrorist automatically. Because everyone who does not want to change the world, signs its death sentence. Let us discuss because in our beautiful country, Theoretically everybody is tolerant. Words dont change anything, words dont hurt anybody, so let us discuss about it, discussions are ok. No! - Go on the street again, demonstrate again, Because if you stop fighting you only can lose. You voted those, who fool you, So let them hear your voice, because every voice counts

Robin

My hobby- Origami
Origami- this is the traditional Japanese folk art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD and was popularized in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form. The goal of this art is to transform a flat sheet of material into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques, and as such the use of cuts or glue are not considered to be origami. I am doing another kind of origami called origami 3 D or the modular origami. This art consists of forming triangles, in which small pockets are formed from small rectangular slips of paper (5,3cm x 3,6cm) and thanks to that it is possible to link individual triangles getting various figures. I like to do things of this type of paper, because they are delighting the eye and everyone is enthusiastic about them. About a year ago while I was watching films on the side: www.youtube.com I came across the brief film titled ,,How to make a swan origami 3 D. After watching the film, which fascinated me, I started more and more being interested in an origami 3 D. After a few films more and more I was willing to do my own figure in dimension 3 D. The beginnings were difficult... I sat in the evening for a few hours, trying to fold up one small triangle. After a few times I managed to make it. Next I thought for myself that at the beginning I should try to do the rather small swan. After folding up about 550 small triangles I started linking them into the whole. The most surprised me how it is possible to do something so beautiful without using a drop of glue. After long hours of putting a triangle into a triangle I created the first swan. It looked like the on the right. After the pretended undertaking I felt like doing something larger and more colourful. For a few days I searched for the tailor-made animal which would be shown at the how-to video. At eventually I found one After a month I gathered all my strength and I started again folding different colour triangles. In the evenings for about the weeks I folded sheets of papers and my new work came into existence- it was a peacock. After making this figure I left myself alone for about 2 months and I started doing my biggest so far animal. But this time on the side was no film of the type: ,, how to make.. '', so I decided to do it alone and to test my abilities. After two weeks with pauses, sitting and folding the sheet of paper about 2 hours per day, there came into existence my next animal, caledl Yoore. Then I stopped doing any figures. That year I have done only 2. At present I don't have as much time as once in the past for attending with my hobby. Therefore I created nothing new. However, in the future I would like to be able to find the time for coming back to my favourite activity. I hope that will happen. Michal Mikowski (Poland)

Saxophone My name is Kyriaki Kyriakou and I am 15 years old. I have many hobbies, but my favorite is playing the alto saxophone because that makes me happy! I have been studying the saxophone since September 2008 and I decided that because not only did I want to play the piano but a wind instrument as well, so I chose the alto saxophone because I like its sound and its shape, it is a fantastic musical instrument with a special sound that everybody enjoy hearing! At the first lesson I was so excited with the saxophone, that all the day I was only playing it! The most difficult with the saxophone is how you have to blow air by the time you close the keys, thats the point of the saxophone! Now, i participate to the schools celebrations by playing different songs with the other children. I am also a member of Nicosia Schools Orchestra which is an orchestra that plays classical, jazz and traditional music. And every year we have concerts all around the Cyprus. The feeling of playing music for the public is unexplained, but its a wonderful felling! I wish I can play the alto saxophone for the rest of my life! Dancing is very pleasant activity When I dance I practice not only my body , but my feelings , mind and soul too . Dancing can be in couples single or in groups. Single dancing is the most difficult type of practicing it, because all my energy and emotions are concentrated on my movements and grace. If I play as a single or solo dancer all the other people watch me and sometimes it is embarrassing. Dancing with a partner is the most pleasant type of dancing .I feel the movements of my partner and that helps you to be more confident and artistic. My partner must be my friend so that I can express my feelings better in my dance. Group dancing is the most difficult of all , because I depend on the other people in the group and if they make mistakes , they spoil the dance . If I dance in a group , I should practice more than usual . Dancing is a nice pleasant and interesting activity. It makes you feel healthy and happy . And my best friend is a dancer. Elina Nikolova, 122nd Primary school, Bulgaria

ONDINA Ondina perhaps the most famous variation of the name Onda (Wave), and can be considered its diminutive form. In 1939 the mask was baptized through an official act transcribed on a parchment, signed by Uberto Bonetti and countersigned by representatives of the Carnival Committee, the Tourist Office and the Dopolavoro Ferroviario. In this occasion the bather was given the name of Ondina. On December 21st, 1988 Burlamacco found place as official mask of Vareggio Carnival at the Museum of Folklore and Traditions in Rome. This figure, faithful to the design of Uberto Bonetti, wears a costume made by Cerratelli fashion house in Florence. Obviously the head is in paper from plaster and was created by the manufacturers of paper-mache floats in Viareggio. A monumental figure of Burlamacco, built in paper-mache is exhibited in Paris at the Muse de l'Homme; at the feet of the statute is a caption with an allegorical wagon which parades along the Promenade in Viareggio. The mask Ondina is partly autonomous since, in a certain sense, its name is taken from the marine nymphs, typical of Noreen mythology. Carnival Our experience The feeling was amazing. All of the floats, the masks and the whole carnival were great experience. When we were walking with the bulgarian flag and with the other students I was amazed and happy (and a little bit tired). All of the students and the teachers were taking photos and all of the people were staring at us. It was like youre important and part of the carnival.

Marta Deliyska, Sofia, Bulgaria The carnival The carnival is a festive season right before Lent or Green Monday which is when the feast usually starts. In Cyprus the carnival is celebrated with a parade in Limassol a week before Lent. At the carnival in Cyprus people usually dress with funny and scary clothes, they wear masks and they put on face paints and other such items to make them look funny, scary and simply different. Although children usually parade in this carnival parade the past few years adults have also been joining in. I belive the carnival is a great time for fun and joy Alexander Hannides

EVERYBODY WAS IN VIAREGGIO CARNIVAL

Viareggio Carnival is an annual festival held in March in Italy. How can I express my feelings I don't know. I feel myself lucky to participate in such a magnificent organisation. It's being held once in a year and we're there and we experienced it. The streets, where the streetsband pass, were closed to traffic so that groups of people would parade through the roads accompanied with the enthusiastic rhythm of music. The teachers of Italian Host School were also there but dressed colourfully in various characters. For instance, Maria Vittoria Nardini was in a costume of an African tribe female chief, Roberto was in a nice tiger costume, Brunella dressed like a little cute girl, our teacher's costume was a traditional Anatolian woman; In fact our European partners generally had the traditional clothes on them too. There were parades which meant to be watched by the public. Parading was through the streets and public was interacting directly with them. Different cartoon characters, famous singers, famous film stars, politicians, robots, pirates.. Crowds were following the floats on the enormous chariots through Viareggio City Streets. How colourful, how impressive, how glorious everything was. Some said that this carnival might be a farewell to bad things and cruel policies of the politicians. Viareggio Carnival is very valuable and important for the Tuscany citizens I think. It sums up their feelings and thoughts. Designing chariots, preparing dresses and selecting music must have taken a long period; It's the result of months of preparation. Organisators of Carnival and participants worked a lot. Picking themes, making figurek and preparing the dresses and costumes, deciding on the performances with the rhythms required great work and effort. Every figure on the giant chariots represented a theme and it's an euphonic event where people danced, sang and had joy. Everybody was there for example President Obama, Michael Jackson, Berlusconi, African and Arabian Tribes, Aliens, Robots, Smurfs, Snow White and Seven dwarves and people all over the World. What about you? Muhammed Kksoy-TURKEY

Blossoming Apple Tree Days Apple tree festival is an event which is organized in our district every year .Everything started 51 years ago when a group of inhabitants started to celebrate very abundant harvest of apples. Today this is the biggest event in our area. Every year thousands of people come to our city to have a great time with their friends. It lasts two days. The main target is good fun. You can hear a lot of local bands or the most famous Polish music stars. You can try a lot of local food which is the best in whole country. If you want you can go to the most frightening funfair. There are a lot of interesting and imaginative competitions you may take part in. This causes that people from my city talk about it and cant wait for the next apple tree festival. Maciek Warpechowski

HARLEQUIN The Harlequin is a famous mask of the carneval in Italy. He was "born" in Bergamo. At the beginning his dress was white, but then because of continuos patches with pieces of cloth of all kinds it has become the multicolored dress. It consists in a short jacket and tight trousers both very very multicolored. Harlequin has got a very extravagant character, but he is very imaginative. For me Harlequin is the niciest mask in the carneval !!!! Sara Nardelli

Carnival CARNIVAL IN CYPRUS! The carnival is like the American Halloween. The carnival in Cyprus starts from the Fat Thursday (Tsiknopempti) and it finishes on Green Monday. During these days we have the tradition to masquerade. People dress up and cover their face and they go to the neighbors houses and the neighbors have to find who they are and they treat them. Old people, adults, teenagers, children and babies dress up whatever they want to like super heroes, Disney characters, celebrities, vampires, animals etc. They go to a lot of parties and have a lot of fun! In most of our towns there is a parade but the biggest and the most famous one is Limassols parade. This year was the biggest parade ever there were about 10 000 people and 100 floats. Our school organised a party on the 5th of March with food and music. We really had a great time with our friends! Rafaella Evridivadou Eleftheria Christou BURLAMACCO THE CARNIVAL'S ICON: THE BURLAMACCO!!! The icon of the Viareggio Carnival is Burlamacco. This new mask was created in 1930 by the imagination of Uberto Bonetti for the Viareggio Carnival's Poster . Uberto Bonetti created a clown who was a "puzzle" of the main Italian masks: Burlamacco has the Rugantino's high red hat, the Doctor Balanzone's mantle, the Arlecchino's chesscustom, even though red and white, the Captain Spaventa's ruff white, the Pierrot's pompom, the only foreign mask who took ispiration from. Later, Ondina, a girl in bathing suit, has been flanked to Burlamacco, to remember the female masks. In the poster, they are walking along the wharf holding hands. Elisa Ferrari

COLOMBINA
The only female mask in the middle of so many male characters is Colombina or Smeraldina, a Venetian mask. Shes a smart, lively, charming and liar servant. Usually shes dont wear a mask. She wears a white and blue dress, red stockings, a coif, an apron tiered with a pink ribbon. On her buckle shoes there is a light blue little ribbon. Shes likes to make jokes to the people. Giada de Luca, Massarosa,

THE DOCTOR BALANZONE

The Dr. Balanzone is a mask with origins from Bologna and is the symbol of a cultivated, good-natured and pedantic person. He always wears a black dress and a big belly, a small mask on the face that is covering only eyebrows and nose and leaning on his two big mustache. He wears the uniform of the Bologna University professors: a long coat, starched white collar, knee shorts, socks and a hat with raised edges. He has lots of big dusty books under his arm as a symbol of his knowledge. Letizia Ferrari, Massarosa, Italy

The carnival in Viareggio

The carnival was the best part of our trip. While we were walking to the carnival we all were listening to a loud music. When we finally arrived to the street where the carnival took part I saw a big, big, big platform of the same kind of an alien. It was coming directly to me and I lost my mind because it was so close to me that I told that it will ford me. After a second my teacher grabbed me and pull me to a safe place. I was so amazed because every platform was very big and interesting. I just cocouldn't stop taking photos. At 2 o'clock the carnival had a break but before that we danced on one of the platforms. I was very happy and was very excited because the carnival was going to continued up to 7. A few hours later we were in a cafe eating chocolate cake. Finally we went back again to the Carnival and we walked at the front of the platform that we had danced on. We walked about 3 or 4 hours. When we finally stopped there were fireworks. They were accompanied with music. It was very amazing and very romantic. It was a wonderful sight for me. I would be very happy if we have Carnivals in Bulgaria, too. But I am sure that I will not have such a good time as I had at this Carnival. Because it was the first Carnival in my life! Viktoria Karakasheva, Sofia, Bulgaria

THANK YOU ITALY !

IN THE NEXT EDITION:

AN APPLE A DAY. ( The Big Issue) More articles on school and local events Comenius visit to Poland (17-23rd May, 2011) School exams, preparation for the summer holiday. And many more

Editors: country coordinators: Pawel Posnik (Poland), Peter Ferrari Demski (Italy), Maria Zographou (Cyprus), Muradiye Subasi (Turkey), Ulrike Peterhoff (Germany), Verginia Veselinova Rakadijeva (Bulgaria) Contributors (writers): pupils/students from INTERNATIONAL BAF TEAM (Italy, Germany, Cyprus, Turkey, Bulgaria, Poland) Technical support for BAF website: Massarosa Team (Peter Ferrari Demski) Technical support with BAF3 layout: Bartosz, Michal, Damian, Mateusz, Sergiusz (Poland)