DISSEMINATION OF THE PROJECT

The Polish school has been actively involved in the dissemination of the 'Ethno Treasure Hunt" project. We have devoted several notice boards to promote our partner schools and countries and to make our students aware of all the activities within the LLP-Comenius program.

At the end of the school year we could already boast of plentiful of end products and impressions after three visits to Romania, Italy and Turkey. Take a look and enjoy!

NIGHT PICNIC AT POLISH SCHOOL

On The 19th March 2011our teachers organized the annual „Night Picnic at School”. The meeting was devoted to the “EthnoTreasure Hunt” project and was attended by students and teachers who are involved in this LLP-Comenius project.

We wanted topromote the LLP program among our students and make them closer to the aims of the project started by the coordinator from Romania, Mrs Daniela Buda. The school coordinator from Poland is Mrs Joanna Wilczyńska.

The picnic was also an opportunity to present the short-term and long-term goals, end products from Poland and other countries and to create new products.We also wanted to show our students how to organize their free time and that what we call “ethnography” is not such a distant idea as we usually think.

Other teachers, namely: Ms Izabela Marczak, Mrs Agnieszka Szymańska, Mrs Agnieszka Strzelecka, Mrs Dorota Zajączkowska and Mrs Monika Rzepecka-Tranda took care of our students very well and instructed them in different tasks: cutting out from colored paper, drawing, singing, preparing meals, and playing interactive games.

The main focus of the meeting was performing of the project anthem created by our students: Ola Stasiak, Oliwia Ormaniec and Tomek Lenczewski and played and sang by Ilona Grzewińska, Agata Witkowska, Piotr Fedzin and Witold Machoń. Mrs Monika Rzepecka-Tranda, the music teacher, was the source of inspiration for us all.

Alongside with these takents, we doscovered yet other talents among our students:

Agata and Paulina tried to cut out beautiful shapes from paper, Magda made a gymnastics show,

Tomek and Nikodem turned to be fantastic cooks…

We worked till late at night.

We prepared the meals together… the toasts were delicious!

We had a time of our lives!

1st of June art exhibition

1st of June is the International Children's Day, according to UNESCO.
It is already a tradition in the Romanian school "Vasile Alecsandri" from Baia Mare to organize an art exhibition to mark this day.
As usual, this year, too, we opened the exhibition on the 1st day of June. It was an interesting exhibition, comprising art works made by students from our school, as well as from our partners' schools.
This year it was organized as an intercultural activity within the Comenius project "Ethno treasure hunt".
We also had some works made by students from other schools, who have participated in our exhibitions for a few years now, such as Szkoła Podstawowa z Oddziałami Integracyjnymi Nr 342 im. Jana Marcina Szancera in Warsaw, Poland, and some more Romanian schools

Reminiscences from Sicily, Italy

Ola Stasiak and Olivia Ormaniec, both 15, Polish students:

„ On 27th March, we set off for Sicily together with our four teachers. It was the 2^nd meeting in the ‘Ethno Treasure Hunt’ project. We lived in Savoca with a girl whose name is Martina. Her parents and her hosted us very well. We have travelled all over the beautiful Sicily and visited places such as: Etna mountain, Taormina, Agrigento, and Santa Teresa di Riva, where our teachers were staying. During our stay in Sicily, we had a chance to learn Sicilian culture and taste delicious food. We also met friends from different countries participating in the Comenius project. We had a lot of fun together. The wonderful time spent in Sicily couldn’t last long and on 3^rd April we had to come back to Poland. Fur us both, it was an amazing time and a reward for our hard work within the project. We will never forget this experience.”

Reminiscences from Baia Mare, Romania

Tomek Lenczewski, 15, Polish student:

“When on Saturday, 6^th November I was at the Lodz railway station waiting for a train, I didn’t know what it would be like in Romania. Not knowing what to expect, I was a bit anxious. At 19:01 we went from Lodz to Warsaw. 2o minutes after coming to Warsaw, we boarded another train to Budapest. We had a sleeping compartment. I was glad because we had comfortable conditions and we could unpack easily. During the trip I was accompanied by Mrs Joanna Wilczynska and Mrs Agnieszka Szymanska. In the evening we started taking photos on the train and it was a lot of fun for me and the teachers. Then we went to sleep on thetrain, my bed being on the 3 level just above my two teachers. On, Sunday at around 1 a.m. we crossed the Polish-Czech border. At 5: 21 a.m. we crossed yet another one, this time Czech-Slovakian border. At 6, we decided to get up, wash and dress properly for the journey. An hour later, we were given breakfast. The service on the train was excellent. 15 minutes later, we crossed the Slovakian-Hungarian border. At 9:30 we were in Budapest. We had to change the station for another railway station to go toDebrecen. So we started looking for a bus that would take us there. After the bus ride, we got to the station. Since we had 2 hours of free time, we went to a nearby café. Then, we went by train to Debrecen. When in Budapest, we admired its architecture but some beautiful parts of the capital were littered so much and I had some negative feelings about the city in general. At around 10 p.m., we arrived at Baia Mare. We met the coordinator of the project, Mrs Daniela Buda and parents who hosted me. They had a son, called Vasile who took care of me during my stay in Romania. Vsile and I had not much to talk about at that time. The only question that I was able to say was: “What’s your name?”. I simply had a blackout and had to use a dictionary all the evening.Monday, I got up at around 7 a.m. and after 30 minutes I went to school with my new friend. After the first lesson, Vasile’s whole class came up to me and we had some chat. A lot of them were asking me questions and once instead of “How old are you?” I understood “How are you?” and it produced some misunderstandings. After two more lessons, I went down with Vasile to meet our teachers at the principal’s office. All our project partners were there. They came from: Bulgaria, Turkey, Lithuania and Italy. There were of course Romanian and Polish team as well. After this meeting, we went to Vasile’s home. My friend was very caring and nice to me. We spent this day together getting to know each other better.

On the next day, we went to school again and we startedwith the PE classes. We played football. I liked it. The next lesson was Romanian literature. I thought that I would go mad, because I didn’t understand anything, but this class was like any other class. They were explaining things to me, and helping me all the time. They were helping one another as well. After lessons, we went home. I was happy on that day because we found a way of communicating effectively with Vasile and other friends. Then, we went to the municipal library. In the evening, we played poker with Vasile and his brother. We also played some games such as “naughts andcrosses”. After that, we had dinner and went to bed.

On Wednesday, it all started the same way, i.e. getting up, breakfast and school. This day, we had origami classes during which all the other partners participated. We had a lot of fun. After that, we went home to prepare for the evening gala at the theatre hall. The gala was very long but there were lots of attractions: first we saw presentations of each school and country, then we heard national anthems sang by the school choir, and then we admired dancers dancing folk dances and some modern ones. I met a nice girl there, her name was Lorelei. We talked for a long time. After the ceremony, me, Vasile and his colleagues went for a pizza. After that, we went home, ate dinner and went to sleep.

On the next day, everything seemed to go wrong. We reached the school late, at 8:05. The second lesson was PE. Again, we played football. In the middle of the game, accidentally my teammate hit me in the eye ball with his left leg. Fortunately, nothing bad happened J. After the sports activities, we had French lesson. It was total disaster for me, as I couldn’t comprehend a thing J. After this lesson, we attended another Romanian lesson during which Romanian students presented drama scenes. They were dressed up in nice costumes. It was a very good show. The lesson was watched by all the other partners and teachers from abroad. The best actors got diplomas from the guest teachers. After coming home, we ate something and prepared for going out to the Museum of Mineralogy and History. After visiting this interesting place, we went for a walk in the park, and then back home. At home, we dinner, played computer games, some card games and checkers.

Time flies fast, it was already Friday a day as usual. At school, I saw Biology lesson. I was so hungry then that I ate during the lesson. Some students fell asleep J. This was my last day in the Romanian school and it wasn’t bad. In the afternoon, we went for a pizza. Then we went to see the Museum once again, but it was closed. So we went to a café. There by chance we met our teachers and teachers from other countries, too. It was a nice coincidence. We exchanged our impressions about the day, had some chat with kids and went home.

On Saturday, I started packing for the two-day trip to Bistrica and Maramures. During the trip, we visited the Dracula’s castle in Transilvania. I loved it there, especially when they scared us by jumping out of the coffin and all of us wanted to run away. I also scared some girls and they screamed J. It was fun. On the bus, I taught my foreign friends Polish words, and also some longish tongue twisters such as “konstatynopolitanczykowianeczka”. I loved being a Polish teacher.

On Monday, at 4 a.m. we left for the railway station. Earlier, I said goodbye to Vasile and his family. I was sad then. The whole stay in Romania was an unforgettable experience for me and I am glad that I could be a part of the project. I will never forget it.”

Lithuania celebrates RASOS on ST. JOHN day (Midsummer day)

From ancient times people marked the time of the return of the sun, the shortest night. In olden times it was called the Feast of the DEWS, (RASOS in Lithuanian). When Christianity was established in Lithuania, the name was changed to Feast of St. John, according to agrarian folk calendar, the start of haying.
On the Feast of St John a special role was granted to the sun. The sun is constantly mentioned in songs sung on the longest day of the year.
Farmers paid special attention to water's special powers in reviving soil and making it productive. Maidens tried to get up before sunrise, collect the dew and wash their faces with it to make them bright and beautiful. They would also get up at night, go outside to wet their faces in the dew and returned to bed without wiping their faces dry. If that night they dreamt of a young man bringing them a towel, they hoped that he would be the one they would marry.

Flourishing plants were worshipped because it was believed that plants collected on the eve of the Feast of St. John posses magic powers to heal, bring luck and foretell the future. Nine plants with healing powers were called Kupole, plants of the Feast of St. John. Folklore shows that Kupole was the Goddess of plants, living in aromatic plants, blossoms or in buds in summer and in snowdrifts in winter.
It was believed that wreaths concentrate perpetual life's forces and are symbols of immortality and life. Walk around three fields and gather bunches of nine flowers, twine a wreath and place it under your pillow. You will marry the man, who in your dream comes to take away the wreath. At midnight, twelve wreaths were dropped into a river and observed if they were pairing off. If no pairing off occurred, there was to be no marriage that year.

The rites of this day continued till sunrise around bonfires. The site selected for ritual bonfires was always in the most beautiful area, on hills, on river shores and near lakes. Jumping over fires or around it had magic meaning. Ritual bonfires cleansed both physically and psychologically. Jumping over the fire was carried out with the belief of making better health, increasing body strength for hard summer labors and assuring better growth of grain and flax.

During the night of the Feast of St. John, the miraculous fern bursts into bloom. It is difficult to catch sight of this blogom. Some say that the fern bloom is like birch dust, others describe it as round and white like carp's scale.

Feedback after the project meeting inTurkey

Hi, friends! The experience in Turkey was very interesting! I met very nice people and I had a really good time in my host family. In Turkey we visited very nice places, in particular Pamukkale. I hope I can come to Turkey again and meet my friends again.
Thanks for this opportunity!
Constanza, student from Italy


It is beautiful in Turkey. We have met a lot of nice friends here. We saw a lot of beautiful places. We like Turkish food. We hope we will come to Turkey again.
Magdalena and Klaudia, students from Poland


First of all I want to thank for this project because I have the opportunity to visit Turkey, the country I always dreamt to visit. I am happy I have learnt so many things about this country's culture. Here all people are very friendly and helpful. I believe I will never forget this wonderful visit.
With love, Gabriele, student from Lithuania


I want to say thanks for the "Ethno treasure hunt" project. It's the best project that helps us all learn about other countries' cultures. Now I know that Turkish people are very friendly and funny. Their culture is very interesting, too. I want to thank Ozgur, for he made our visit to Turkey the best and found me the best host family.
Urte, student from Lithuania


I'm very impressed that Turkish people are so warm and friendly. I didn't expect that I would meet so many friends here. 
My host family are very good people and I loved them even if we didn't understand each other very well. I feel my host sister as if she were my real sister. It was a pleasure for me to be in Turkey - such a beautiful country!
Velie Velieva, student from Bulgaria


The visit to Turkey ... I have been waiting forward to it even since the Turkish team left Romania, and here it is already over! It has been one of the best periods in my life. The Turkish hospitality and their warm smiles have amazed me all this time we spent here.This experience taught me that no matter how many differences there may be between peoples, we can always be friends.My first impression was that Turkey is a big and well developed country. But after I got in touch with the people, I think it is an amazing country. Istanbul is an amazing city, with its cosmopolitan flavor, with its sights and and the many people from all over the world who visit it. I was fascinated by the Turkish mosques, especially the Blue Mosque.
For me this adventure proved to be a first in many ways: the first time I traveled by plane and by boat - on the Bosphorus, my first visit abroad and to Turkey, and many others.
Once arrived in Denizli, it was a very intense experience: meeting the host family and the friends from the other partner countries. I loved the host family because they tried to learn some things about the Romanian culture and traditions. The Turkish food was another extraordinary experience. When I had left home, I decided to try all kinds of food I was offered there. And I am not sorry for that. 
The first day at school was very interesting. We were in the center of attention and we soon adapted and enjoyed all the activities planned for us.We made a lot of friends and learnt many new games. We visited Denizli, which proved to be much bigger than I had thought, even if I knew some geographical data about it.
I will always remember this trip and I hope some day I can visit Turkey again.
I am happy to be part of the "Ethno treasure hunt" team, for this has offered me the opportunity to visit Turkey.
Bogdan Cernestean, student from Romania


I have waited forward to visit Turkey even since the Turkish team came to Romania in November 2010. I had tried to imagine how it would be. The longer it seemed to wait till getting here, the shorter the the time spent here seemed. We visited Istanbul on our way to Denizli. I had thought it was an ugly and boring place, full of many people. But it turned out to be a very clean and beautiful city, visited by very many people from all over the world.
The plane flight was a first for me, too, and a very pleasant one. I learnt how to behave on the airport and what documents we need for travelling by plane.
One thing astonished me in Turkey: they made an idol of Gheorghe Hagi, the Romanian football player and coach.
I liked the activities organized at school and the fact that we made many new friends. I also liked the activities organized by the host families for us.
All in all, I enjoyed the visit to Turkey and I hope I will have another chance to visit this beautiful country.
Dan Cont, student from Romania


The 3rd project meeting on our "Ethno treasure hunt" project shows again that participants are great human beings. We are creative, friendly and can understand each other even without words.
Turkey is a very beautiful country. I have had the chance to see a lot of interesting places which I will never forget. It was an amazing time with excellent people.
I love Turkey and Turkish people. Well done!
Mariola Zajollic, Headmistress from Poland


I absolutely love the 3rd project meeting here in Turkey! It is full of surprises, full of the "events" and trips. Everything is very well planned and organized. I'm thankful I could be here in Turkey and attended this meeting ( the 2nd meeting for me). I found new friends and the friendships started with those I had met before just strengthened. I hope to see all my new friends in the future. Thanks you for the great opportunity to experience it all!
Hugs and kisses!
Iza, teacher from Poland


The visit to Turkey has come to an end and I feel tremendously sad that we have to part with our ethno friends. The third meeting has strengthened our friendship, made us closer, gave us a chance to laugh again and experience the wonder of Turkey and hospitality of their warm-hearted nation. I will never forgwet the smiles, kind gestures, delicious food, interesting talks and tea parties we had during those few days. Our Turkish coordinator, Özgür, has done his best to make us feel at home and for that I am grateful. Though some of us have had some minor injuries (Georgi - his eyes, Daniela - her legs, me - my toe), it is really unimportant, because we were together with friends. Those moments will last forever in my heart and mind.
Thank you, Özgür Boyaci, and thank you - all the other teachers form Turkey!
I'll never forget you and your hospitality, not to mention your great organisation.
Till we meet again .... in Lithuania, Kisses!
Asia, teacher from Poland


In the the 3rd meeting I met my Ethno family and I am very happy about it. Our Turkish friends, Özgür Boyaci, Özgür Yücesoy, Tahir Ekelik, Hairyie, and the others, are very hospitable. I am happy to meet them and their country. I am waiting for you in Lithuania.
Renata, teacher from Lithuania


The country without its people is like a mother without her children. The visit to Turkey has helped me to rediscover human values, such as kindness an hospitality. The aim of the 3rd project meeting is reached. I have found a lot of cultural and ethno treasures. Wishing Turkey the peace and prosperity,
Rima, teacher from Lithuania
See you all in Lithuania!


Turkey is a country which left me with an unforgettable impressions. I am glad to meet your kind people, historical monuments, gorgeous nature and delicious food. The flag I bought in Turkey will be hung in my classroom and will remind me of you.
Good luck!
Jonas, teacher from Lithuania


This visit gave me more than I expected. I liked the nature, the historical heritage and fantastic food. I was impressed by the Turkish hospitality and the children's folk dance at Sarayköy Anadolu Lisesi school. I want to say thanks for this project meeting and I will return to Lithuania with an enriched heart.
Lina, teacher from Lithuania


After each meeting our friendship becomes bigger and stronger. We make new friends in each country, which I believe will last forever. I'm very satisfied from the hospitality and rich nature and, of course, from the great culture and archeological treasures you have. I enjoyed Pamukkale, Efes, and everything I saw. Turkish people are very hard working, polite, warm and I like them so much.
Georgi Ivanov, headmaster from Bulgaria


Everything was wonderful. As we expected, we spent some days with good friends, we made new friends and we completed the project tasks. We will remember the Denizli good days.
Galin Ganchev, headmaster from Bulgaria


Wonderful food, lots of impressions and so many things to remember. Excellent atmosphere and many new friends. Thank you all!
Vladislav, headmaster from Bulgaria


We loved Denizli. We felt great here and most of all we are impressed by the warm hospitality of Turkish people and by the cultural heritage they have. Personally, I can add this: I feel so lucky I came, because I made friendships which I shall keep forever in my heart.
Marry, teacher from Bulgaria


At the end of the third Comenius meeting I'd like to thank the Turkish school and teachers who organized this event in an excellent way! The Turkish people left in our hearts a strong sign of their hospitality and kindness. The aim of the project was reached completely thanks to the punctual work of all the teachers and coordinators of each country, It has been positive for the families and students involved in the project.
Rosa Crupi, Headmistress from Italy


Maximas agendas gratias hospitibus Asiae minoris atque docentibus qui, Comenii praeceptis oboedientes ad hunc tantumfinem persequendum summo studio menteque animum intendunt ut e multis gentibus unum in pace et concordia populum fiat
Fobbiamo ringrazziare moltissimo il popolo turco che ci ha ospitato e i docenti che, obbedendo agli insegnamenti di Comenio con grandissimo impegno profondono le loro energie affinche da molte genti si realizzi, in pace e concordia, un unico popolo.
We'd like to thank Turkish people very much, we'd like to thank  all the teachers who, faithful to Comenius guidelines, make any efforts to build up a country in which pece and love may create a new world.
Scripsit Duilius Franchina, professor from Italy




 Hi, friends!
Here we are in Turkey at last!! I've been waiting for this meeting for a long time and not it is almost over. What a pity! It has been a pleasure to meet all my Ethno friends after their visit to Sicily last month. This meeting has been a special one, because people in this country are special. We spent such a nice time with our Ethno friends, we had a joyful time and high spirits all together. We know each other much better now and our friendship is stronger. We discovered beautiful treasures in Turkey, but the most impressive for me was the visit to Pamukkale. I hope to come back some day. A special "thanks" to our host Özgür: he did his best for us all. Thanks, Comenius! See you in Lithuania!
Nina. teacher from Italy


Hi, friends! Unfortunately it is my last day in Turkey, but, thanks to this project, I discovered a wonderful land and I'm sure that I'm going to return here in the future. I had the pleasure to meet very nice people and to appreciate Turkish kindness. See you soon!
Mariausilia, teacher from Italy


This meeting was fantastic! I liked the people, food and places very much. Hospitality was the number one and my heart will remain in Turkey.
Mimma, teacher from Italy




Cari amici, un grazie di cuore a tutti voi per questi indimenticabili giorni trascarsi insieme e scoprire questa terra affascinante, meravigliosa e ricca di storie, tradizioni e luoghis bellissimi. La turchie e ancora piu preziosa per il suo popolo ospitale, cordiale e generoso. Grazie ad "Ethno treasure hunt" che da la possibilita ai popoli di conoscersi meglio.
Dear friends, I want to thank you from my heart for these unforgettable days spent together with you and for discovering this fascinating land, wonderful and rich with history, traditions and beautiful places. Turkey is more precious for its hospitable people, warm and generous. Thanks to the "Ethno treasure hunt " project, which gives people the opportunity to meet and know each other better. (Translated into English by Daniela Buda)
Linda, teacher from Italy


The visit to Turkey was extraordinary from all points of view, especially as I spent all these moments with my "Ethno treasure hunt" friends. I was expecting to see aspects of relief, cities, mosques, climate, as I have read about them, but I did not expect to find such warm and hospitable people. I was very well surprised to see that, even if I can;t speak Turksih, all people around me were kind and patient enough with me and very polite.
I want to thank Özgür and all the other teachers for the excellent organisation of the meeting. I saw many new things and special places: Efes, Pamukkale, Meryemena, Kuşadasi, Şirince, Denizli, Istanbul, etc, which were amazing. I also liked Turkish cuisine, which is very interesting and tasty. It was an amazing experience for me. Thank you all.
Lucian Paul, teacher from Romania


And to end the list of impressions from the meeting, I can say that I knew that Turkish people are very friendly and hospitable, that is one reason why I wanted to have Turkish partners within the project. So, Özgür and his team, as well as the teachers and children from the other partner countries, have proved once again that, irrespective of their religion, social and historical background, people from different countries can be friends and get on very well together and enjoy sharing their cultural heritage with their friends. I think that most of the project's objectives have been achieved so far each time we met, and will be improved each time we'll meet again. The Ethno family is great and rich in treasures which we discover around us and inside us. I believe that the best treasures we found while treasure hunting in our partners' countries are FRIENDSHIP and MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING, which can eventually bring PEACE.
Daniela Buda, Teacher from Romania, European project coordinator