Care or Scare

Care or Scare

mercredi 29 novembre 2017

Our Turkey guests

Köprülüler Anatolian High School represented our country and city in an international project,Erasmus Plus, funded by European Union.2 English teachers E.B and H.A;4 students joined the meeting which was hosted by Spanish partners of the project.There were the delegations of 6 countries in order to study the project topic "improving the quality if life via technology".
During the week in the host school IES 9 d'Octubre of Carlet, a factory producing parts of cars and whose workers are disabled (%70 of the staff) was visited by the whole group.Origami activities in an old people house was succesfully practised with students and the people living there.The visit to a local cooperative that is packaging kaki and mandaring was very interesting.
There were also some activities done at school such as presentations about the subject,sports- dancing activity etc..
The students and teachers were hosted by Spanish families so, that was great chance to exchange cultural differences and practise English and learn about new people and places
On the last day of the meeting the whole group went to Valencia to see historical and modern parts of the city.
In conclusion ,We were welcomed and hosted very kindly.As the fourth step of the project,Vezirköprü will host 6 countries in April 2018.

vendredi 24 novembre 2017

Ltt Carlet "Care or Scare" Wednesday 15th November Improving the quality of life


Wednesday 15th November 2017

Once upon a time on a beautiful Wednesday morning with an astonishing Spanish sun the amazing group of international students gathered for the 3rd day in a row in the cosy canteen of IES 9 Octubre... 
After a little delay they were treated to a very interesting lecture on biomedical engineering by four students from the British school of Alzira. Their project ‘stand again’ won a prize in the politécnic university of Valencia because of the highly innovative level regarding the price reduction. (...)

This inspiring, in-depth presentation was followed by a transnational tournament for the students. It didn’t take long before they were semi-experts in the regional game of colpbol. 
After a delicious coffee break the teachers were taught bachata by a swinging student. It was obvious that compared to Mediterranean hip shaking Joan the international teachers still had a lot to learn. It was an interesting experience to see the cultural differences, such as jumpy Rutger from Holland in a pair with Hürriyet from Turkey trying to convince him to shake his hips like a belly dancer. 

Some Spanish students organized an activity to entertain the elderly at a nearby nursing home with an origami folding workshop. They counted on the international delegation to help them help the elderly. It came as a shock to some of the international students and teachers when they realized that some 90 year olds were able to fold origami a lot better then them. Luckily, it was also very interesting to engage in a conversation with these lovely people and they weren’t forced to stick to origami. That way they learned about what life in Spain was like some years ago and about the variety of different cats that live in the garden of the caring home. 

Lunch time was perfect for the headmaster to once again show off his cooking skills. Within the blink of an eye he threw off his suit and appeared in an apron. Impressing us with the Fideua on Monday wasn’t enough, he went for a second round and prepared paella for everyone. 

After lunch both students and teachers had time to relax a little bit and enjoy the sun or prepare the last parts for their presentations. Some teachers went for a digestive walk and discovered a work-out park.

After lunch the Aquaponics project was presented. Aquaponics is a system that combines conventional aquaculture with hydroponics. By combining both systems, synergy effects can be exploited, and fish and plants then benefit from one another.
The group could see how much work and effort the host school put into this project.

To maintain the vibe of the day (and maybe a little bit of the Spanish culture) the school presentations also started a tiny bit later. The Romanian delegation hit it off with a level of interactiveness that should win a  prize because they made everyone experience what it is like to live with a seeing or hearing impairment in a fun and active manner. The Dutch followed with some very practical solutions to improve a walking cane and a sling. 
The bar was set high by these groups but the Italian students who followed weren’t intimidated and delivered a great in-depth presentation about inclusion and the technical tools which make life of disabled or older people easier.
The Spanish students closed the presentation round with a very interesting demonstration of the (...) project.

These were the last presentations of this week, but even though it all happened in a relatively short time they became pretty famous. In fact, even Spanish students who don’t participate in the project did everything he could to be able to attend them.

jeudi 23 novembre 2017

Ltt Carlet "Care or Scare" Tuesday 14th November Improving the quality of life


Ltt Carlet – Tuesday 14th November 2017
Tuesday was field day. Snoozers with few hours of sleep were able to catch up during the trip by coach. The trip went southwards to the town of Gandia – crossing beautiful hill land. Our first adress was one for culture vultures – the castle of the local Dukes`family, the Borgia who also gave the world two Renaissance popes involved in rather doubtful activities. The guided tour focussed on one of the Dukes, Francis, who, at a later stage of life, turned mercilessly religious  by joining the Jesuit monks. The castle itself prides itself of marvelous azuleios tiles and lots of both gloomy and pious pictures.
After a short refreshment the crowd crossed the town centre to reach the local Faller museum that illustrates the doings and undoings of the regional feast in March. People build figures or groups of figures, more often than not in satirical and exaggerated shape to comment on local events. These monument sculptures of paper mâche are carried around the towns during Faller week, duly admired and then burned. Only bits and pieces are preserved for at least the following year. Anyway – everybody then had a chance to try their luck by cutting wildly around in order to create little monument sculptures themselves. Before leaving the town of Gandia the group had lunch in the outskirts of this peaceful place. Whilst the professorial group was forced to have, once again, a go at regional dishes the group representing humanity´s future was dismissed to find grub at an International burger place whose name will not be disclosed here...
Body, spirits and brains refreshed – everybody dozed off in the bus again to wake up in a stretch of land between sea and the Albufera lake. Boats took us out along the lakeside with thick reed, a noble restaurant and arrogantly looking birds. Tons of selfie photographies were taken, thanks to the impressive background – wide and large.
Those who assumed that it had been a full day were positively disappointed because our coach took us to a further destination. CEE Schneider is a factory that assembles parts of cars of all brands – in the industrial estate of Picassent. Whyever would our tour managers, Joan Linares and Francis Sangil, want everybody to visit this production site? A large part of the personnel is disabled, either physically or mentally. The firm`s philosophy is to tailor the production lines and machinery to the staff´s needs – a great chance that not all economic enterprises offer. To the enjoyment of the Young lady teachers and old female students not Dr Schneider, the owner, himself gave the introduction. He left the field to a Young engineer who upheld the honour of the firm.
This meant the end of another intense day for the group – leaving the rest of the entertainment to the trusted hands of the host families.

mercredi 22 novembre 2017

Ltt Carlet "Care or Scare" Monday 13th November Improving the quality of life



Care or Scare Monday 13th November Improving the quality of life:
Ltt Carlet – day 1
This morning a big surprise – students from 6 schools in arrival at the Carlet school, an extensive complex of buildings in midst of Orange and khaki plantations. After a short and friendly welcome speech by the school`s principal – a distinguished figure with the air of a successful soccer coach – everybody flocked into the working hall – icebreaking activities to get to know everybody. This was followed by an interesting guided tour through the school, its numerous technological workshops where students were trained as car mechanics, technicians etc. Afterwards time for a mid-morning brunch in the cafeteria – to reload the body exhausted by too much listening and talking in English, a Language which was nobody `s mother tongue after all.
Spirits and bodies refreshed the whole bunch set out for the town centre where the Mayoress of Carlet was already waiting to welcome all the guests. The music, sort of Celtic sounds, gave a somewhat nostàlgic note to the encounter. It quickly became clear that Carlet seldom sees such a motley crowd of people from so many diferent countries. Then the whole group set out for a town walk – to appreciate the many examples of gracious early 20th century architecture.
The Non-Spaniards, by that time, were eagerly awaiting lunch – not being used to such long interlapses between breakfast and midday meal. To the guests`s utter amazement the Carlet school´s principal was to be found with an apron wrapped around his loins – the chef Fideuà cook. This dish is, by and large, a paella with pasta instead rice.
 The afternoon was meant for more academic work. First of all several groups, in turn, attended a presentation by one of the science teachers, the Cyrano project, called like this after the famous long-nosed French poet and minstrel singer. The project itself, though, has nothing whatsoever to do with long noses. Rather it dealt with help for disabled people who, through computer Applications are enabled to transmitter commands and thus make things move in help of their handicap. Like moving roller shutters up and down, zapping through tv channels and operating air condition as well as heating at the exact temperature desired.

In the early evening the students from three countries started giving their talks about their work prepared at home. There was a whole range of topics, from the situation of disabled people at school to the scary significance of modern technologies in literary dystopia, thus providing gloomy pictures of a possible future of mankind. The students were then dismissed home to the human warmth of their Carlet host famílies. Everybody to their individual evening programme covered by the mantle of privacy. At school only the participating teachers remained to complete their Planning of the things to come.