Circolo Didattico San Giovanni Bosco, Biancavilla-Sicily, Italy
Short-term exchange of groups of pupils
12th-18th March 2023
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Sunday, 12th March 2023
Teams from Croatia, Greece, Spain and Sweden arrived in Italy. They are ready for the following week's programme!
Monday, 13th March 2023
The first day of the programme in Italy started with a welcoming ceremony. The hosts prepared a lovely programme consisting of musical and dance performances of pupils of Circolo Didattico S.G. Bosco, led by their teachers. They started with Italy's national anthem, and seeing the traditional Italian dance of tarantella was especially interesting.
The participants went for a tour around the host school, meeting pupils and the staff.
Groups from each country gave presentations on the local project activities. Since it was the time before Easter, the hosts prepared a creative workshop for making Easter cards in five languages. It was a very motivational activity in which the pupils gladly participated. It was the first activity in mixed groups of children from five countries.
In the afternoon, another workshop presented Sicily's gastronomic heritage. The host taught the participants the art of making Easter eggs and traditional sweets.
Tuesday, 14th March 2023
Circolo Didattico SG Bosco has a total school population of more than 800 students, distributed in two complexes, SG Bosco and G. Marconi. For the participants of this Erasmus+ mobility, a welcoming programme was organised in both schools. On Tuesday, another excellent show at G. Marconi School consisted of musical and dance performances of modern music and traditional dances. The hosts also took the guests for a tour around the school premises.
After the visit to G. Marconi school, the pupils and teachers visited The Municipal Library of Biancavilla (Biblioteca del comune di Biancavilla). It is an ancient municipal library named after Gerardo Sangiorgio, an Italian poet, essayist, and historian of Biancavilla. The staff presented the visitors with all the essential facts about the literary materials contained in the library: from ancient books historically significant for the municipality to modern readers, books for children and the digital library. The Biancavilla library is in The Villa delle Favare, a historical monument of Biancavilla. In the building, the group also visited the historical and cultural archive, gallery and the Gal Etna society, where they received valuable books and souvenirs from the area surrounding Mount Etna.
In the afternoon, the pupils and teachers took an educational tour of Etna Park Nature Reserve and Taormina. They learnt that Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and one of the highest in the world. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2013. The group visited the town of Taormina, at the foot of Mount Etna, a historically significant place. They visited The Ancient Theatre of Taormina (Teatro antico di Taormina), a Greek theatre built in the 3rd century BC. They learnt a lot about the history and culture of this part of Italy.
Wednesday, 15th March 2023
The third day was dedicated to a cultural visit to the Siracusa area. First, the participants had a guided tour of the Monumental area of Neapolis. It is an archaeological park that preserves the most important ancient monuments of the district, including the Roman Amphitheater from the 3rd-4th century AD.
After the visit to Neapolis, the pupils and teachers went to the centre of Siracusa. They visited the Island of Ortigia, the heart of the city, with the most important cultural and historical monuments, such as The Duomo of Syracuse, a beautiful cathedral. It used to be a Greek temple, built in 480 B.C., the remains of which are still visible inside the cathedral. Today, the group again learnt a lot about the historical and cultural heritage of Sicily and Europe.
Thursday, 16th March 2023
The fourth day of the programme started with a Reading and mini-theatre workshop. Carlo Collodi was one of the most famous writers, not only in Italy but also in the world, since he wrote The Adventures of Pinocchio. Our workshop was also dedicated to his work. The pupils learnt about the life of Carlo Collodi and other famous Italian writers. After that, they worked in mixed groups of pupils from different countries and created their mini theatre show presenting scenes from Pinocchio. They practised their literacy, communication and language skills, and collaborative work. You can see the results in the video below.
At the coordinators' meeting, plans for the rest of our project were discussed, as well as monitoring and evaluation of activities behind us.
In the afternoon, the participants again learnt about Sicilian culture and heritage by visiting Catania, the second largest city in Sicily. They visited the city centre, including the main square Piazza Del Duomo, with the statue of Liotru, a Sicilian term for elephant, the symbol of Catania. They also had a guided tour of the remains of the Roman theatre (Teatro Romano).
In the evening, there was an official dinner in Biancavilla with the host school staff, an occasion to say thank you to the host and exchange impressions and newly acquired knowledge.
Video: Pinocchio Mini Theatre
Friday, 17th March 2023
On the last day of the programme, groups of pupils from each country gave presentations My favourite book. It was interesting to hear about readers from modern literature children like. National authors write some of them, but there are authors famous in all countries, such as J.K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, or Jeff Kinney, the author of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.
Next, in groups, the pupils wrote and illustrated their Easter stories using the web 2.0 tool Story Jumper. This tool proved an excellent tool for collaborative work on children's stories. The pupils strengthened their literacy and language skills and used much of their imagination and creativity. The stories will be read at all schools before Easter.
The end of the programme was dedicated to Twinspace and evaluation. We said goodbye to our hosts with a dance! The participants all agree - an unforgettable week in Italy brought us new knowledge, better skills, new friends and lovely memories!
Saturday, 18th March 2023
The pupils and teachers are leaving the Catania Airport full of positive impressions: they learnt a lot, made new friends and expanded their horizons. They will remember this trip to Italy forever!
