The first year of our project could only take place online due the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The teacher of the partner schools kept in touch with each other via e-mail and regular video conferences.

The eTwinning platform was used to work on the project topics.

This video was made by the German group.

Monday

The groups arrived on Saturday and Sunday before the project week. The project in school started Monday morning with an icebreaker game in form of geocatching around the school. The fact that the students and teachers have already known each other from introduction videos, video calls and social media made the ice break even faster, so that the atmosphere was very friendly and positive from the beginning. During the game the guests got an impression of how the Latvian people live and grew up by exploring the neighbourhood and school. The participants discussed differences and similarities of Riga and their hometown. Students also discussed among themselves the differences between life in Latvia and life at home. Despite the fact that we all live in the EU, the differences are very big. Pupils clearly had to get used to this on Monday. Afterwards, the guides from the participating countries discussed this week's assignment for the pupils. The final objectives were briefly discussed. Pupils all gathered in a classroom. The coordinating school told the pupils which 7 topics they could choose from which they would delve into that week together with the Latvian partner. Important here is that the climate change topics fit among the pupils. The choices were then formulated and the groups split up to start the first preparations for the assignments. After lunch, the tour of Riga city centre took place under the guidance of a local guide in English. In it, the entire history of the city (foundation by Germans) and recent history (separation from Russia) were discussed. Afterwards, students dispersed with their Latvian partner for their own activities in the host family.

Tuesday

Under the guidance of the teachers from the different countries, students worked on the chosen project. Finally, students have to present their elaboration on Friday. Mid-morning, a master class took place in which pupils, under the guidance of Latvian teachers in the context of climat change, recycled a product together with the partner. From used fabrics, pupils sewed a personalised carrier bag. After the joint lunch, all project participants were given a tour in the National Library. Pupils and teachers were informed about the history (origin of the library) and its current use.

Wednesday

Under the guidance of teachers from the different countries, pupils worked on their chosen project. Finally, students have to present their elaboration on Friday. After lunch, a guided tour of the Getlini Landfill took place. Here, all participants were explained the extent to which the landfill tries to generate energy and use it to grow fruits and vegetables. The rest of the day the students spent with their partners with their own curated programme.

Thursday

Under the guidance of teachers from the different countries, students worked on their chosen project. Finally, students have to present their elaboration on Friday. Mid-morning, a master class took place in which pupils, under the guidance of Latvian teachers in the context of climat change, recycled a product together with the partner. Pupils turned used fabrics into reusable packaging material for private cooling products using bee wax. Due to the full programme, pupils were given this afternoon off to do their own activities. Many pupils took advantage of this to play sports, go shopping or buy something for back home (souvenir). 

Friday

After four mornings of hard work on the chosen climat change projects, this morning the final results were presented by the groups of pupils in the main hall to the participating pupils and supervisors. As throughout the week, the target and main language was English. The beautiful presentations were followed by another master class for the participating pupils and tutors where, led by a Latvian teacher, the results and any new good intentions were discussed. What did we learn? What can we do differently? What can we also adopt in our home country? After the free afternoon, a joint dinner took place at school with the host families providing dinner. Here the tutors from the participating countries thanked the host families warmly for their hospitality during which many showed the participating students much of the area. The joint meal was followed by the final party in the main hall for all participants of the project supplemented by students from other classes of the Latvian school.   

Saturday

Saturday morning, the host families took the students to the airport. The Latvian hostfamilys made sure the students were taken to the airport. There they said goodbye to each other on which the participating students with teachers travelled back to their home country.

We started the first project day in bright sunshine at our partner school "Liceo Scientifico statale Leonardo Da Vinci" in Jesi. To warm up and get to know each other, there were a few ice-breakers, funny games that, for example, provided information about animal sounds in different languages or special quirks and habits of the students. Then the project work began. Accompanied by excellently prepared scientific presentations by the hosts on the topic of "water pollution" and "effects of climate change on water bodies", the participants worked out overviews of weather and climate changes over the last 75 years. After an extensive lunch break in the sun, the tour of the old town of Jesi began. The Italian students provided information about the many historic buildings, the churches and monuments. A round of Twister and bouncy boxes in the street provided a welcome break from this cultural program. At the end, there was ice cream for everyone - Italy, after all.

Tuesday we went to historic Urbino. Urbino is a municipality in the province of Pesaro and Urbino and is part of the world cultural heritage due to its unique architecture and cultural history. We visited the fortress "Fortezza Albornoz" and explored the art museum "Palazzo Ducale". At the end, we were able to observe the fortress from above and enjoy the breathtaking view of the municipality and the mountains.

At 6 p.m. we went back to the host families and spent the evening individually.

On Wednesday morning we worked on our project about water evolution. For this work we were divided into 6 different groups, the first 3 groups did different experiments to see what happens when the ice on the world melts and how it affects the climate. Meanwhile, the other groups worked on the presentations that will be presented on Friday. After an hour and a half, the groups switched. Each group had three experiments to do. When all the groups had finished the presentations and the experiments, we finally had a break. In the afternoon, we took the train to Senegllia to the beach. The water was too cold to swim in, but a few of us dared to put our feet in the cool sea water. After cooling down, we felt like an ice cream, so we walked back into town, where we found a small shop that sold ice cream. After we had eaten the ice cream, we took the train back to have dinner together in the evening. And that was day 4 of our stay in Italy.

On Thursday, the participants of the Erasmus+ project visited the "Grotte di Frasassi". They were given a guided tour through the 5 rooms of the cave. In the evening of the day, all the pupils celebrated the closing party of the project in an amusement arcade, as the Latvian pupils were already leaving the following day. There were offers such as bowling or various slot machines and also a large selection of lace was provided for dinner.

On Sunday, the students and teachers from Italy, Latvia and Germany arrived in Almelo. They spent the afternoon with their host families and got to know their new surroundings.