Comenius Project Friday 24 April to Friday 1 May 2015 “Striving 4 Success�
Day 1 On Friday 24 April 2015, five students, Anna Pringle, Darcey Spenner, Kaja Karpowicz, Matthew Brewer and Jakub Drawert, along with four staff members, Mrs Johnson, Mr Booth, Mr Symes and Miss Pierce flew from London Luton Airport to Warsaw Poland, where we waited for our partner countries to arrive. Once we were all together we boarded our coach and set off on the first of many adventures. First stop Krakow.
We arrived late in the evening to Hostel Centrum, perfectly located near the Main Market Square and The Royal Castle on Wawel Hill. After a night of rest, we spent the day walking and exploring Krakow. Day 2
Pictured below, Kazimierz, Krakow’s former Jewish district, was the setting for Steven Spielberg's Oscar winning film Schindler's List. Kazimierz is situated in the district of Podgórze, which is rich in natural beauty, tragic history and unusual attractions.
Next we visited St. Mary’s Basilica. After Tartar raids in the 13th century left the original church in a heap of ruins, St. Mary’s was rebuilt in Gothic style on the existing foundations. The northern tower was raised to 80m high and made into a watchtower for the city. It is from here that the Hejnał Mariacki - the city's famous bugle call - is played every hour on the hour. One of the city's most enduring traditions, the tune ironically breaks off mid-melody in honour of the mythical trumpeter who was shot in the neck while belatedly warning the city of Mongol invaders. Pictured left is Krakow’s must-see destination, Wawel Castle. This massive 14th-century Gothic castle, towering over the city from its position atop Wawel Hill, was once the home of Poland’s royal family and
still houses the Polish royal jewels.The grounds are amazing! We visited the courtyard three times on our walking tour. Once inside the Palace courtyard there were several places to see. The Crown Treasury, Armoury and the Royal Private Apartments. The Crown Treasury and Armoury were great to see, some of the weapons are unbelievable!
The Royal Private Apartments were incredible and our guide was excellent! It is beautifully preserved and very interesting. However, after all that walking it was time to sit down, have a rest and enjoy the beautiful views and weather. Not for long though. Off we headed, through the park and on to
the Old Town.
Here we sampled traditional Polish food.
These are dumplings called Pierogi.
Late in the evening we headed back to the hostel, as we knew day 3 would be a long day. We would spend the morning in Oswiecim, visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps. Day 3
None of us were sure how we were going to feel as we looked around Auschwitz. It was interesting, informative, harrowing and difficult to imagine the despair felt at the hands of the Nazis; difficult to take on board the scale of something that should never have happened. Birkenau (Auschwitz II) was probably for us what brought home the sheer scale of it all; the remaining brick chimneys reach as far as you can see; the wooden sheds that prisoners were kept in. This is bearing in mind that only 25% of those brought by train to Birkenau weren't gassed on arrival. After our morning touring the camps it was time to board our coach for the long journey to TorĂşn, which would be our base for the remainder of our time in Poland. Day 4 Off to school and the first lesson of the day was Chemistry.
As you can see everyone was keen to get involved testing a variety of substances to find out if they were acid or alkaline.
After our lesson we headed to the Gymnasium to watch the welcome celebration. First of all the students from our host school wanted to show us what they thought best represented all partner countries taking part in the project. A student demonstrated that the best way to represent Italy was to act out a scene in a restaurant, with candles, red wine (juice) and pasta. A beach scene was the representation for Portugal, with the students enjoying a water fight and playing volley ball.
Finally it was England's turn and yes, football. Poland v England to be
exact. The match was exciting, but wasn’t without controversy. After Beckham committed a foul on one of the Polish players Poland were awarded a penalty, which brought the score level to 1:1. The match went to a penalty shoot out. The end result, Poland 2:1. Hmmmm, suspect! I think we should have a rematch. During the welcome ceremony we were also treated to traditional Polish dances, performed by the Primary students of our hosting school. Also, the school's choir sang for us. The
school’s choir has won many national and international awards. They were spectacular. After the welcome ceremony we were given a tour of the school. Zespół Szkół nr 1 Lubicz is a primary and middle school with over 1000 students. Many subjects are taught and there is
a huge and varied curriculum. Most popular with the students though was the Tuck shop.
Even Mr. Booth couldn’t help himself.
It was time for lunch. We all ate at school in the canteen. School dinners in
Poland are nothing like those back home. Tables are set out in rows, each table has 2 or 3 large bowls of soup on them. Students then share the soup out between each other. The soup pictured here that Mr Symes is eating is Zupa ogorkowa — Polish Cucumber Soup. You could say it’s an acquired taste. Once you have finished your soup you have to take your bowl to the main serving hatch where you are given your main meal.
Below is traditional Gnocchi.
After dinner we went to explore TorĂşn. Our host students had prepared our tour for us. First stop was the statue of Copernicus. Copernicus is sometimes referred to as the father of modern astronomy. Nicolaus Copernicus created the modern concept of the solar system and changed cosmology forever. With his theory of a heliocentric model of the Sun and planets, the Copernican Revolution gave way to modern astronomy. Next was City Hall and The Flisakiem fountain. According to an old legend, the city of Torun was overrun by a plague of frogs. The mayor offered the hand of his daughter to the person who would rid the city from the plague. Flisak played violin and removed all
the frogs from the city, so as a reward he received the hand of his beloved and they were very happy. After a short rest it was off to St. Mary’s church. In the 14th century Torun was thought to have had a population of 15,000. That may seem small, but in the Middle Ages towns were much smaller than they are now. By the standards of the time Torun was a large and important town. In the 14th century Old Town City Hall was built. St James's Church and St Mary's Church were also built in the 14th century. However the rule of the Teutonic Knights ended in 1454. Not only Pisa has got its leaning tower but Torun as well! Originally a triple-wall defensive tower from the 14th century, soon
after it was built, the soil slid away making the tower lean by 1.4 metres to the north. More walking and it was off to St. John’s Cathedral and the ruins of the old castle. In 1236, due to frequent flooding, it was relocated to the present site of the Old Town.
To say we were all tired was an understatement. Our final stop at the Planetarium was a very welcomed one indeed.
Day 5
On day 5 we met the Mayor of Lubicz. This was very informative. We were given a brief history of Lubicz and Torún. Then we were told about the plans for the future. To round off the final part of the mayor's presentation, we were informed of the famous places in and around Lubicz and Torún.
When the presentation was over all the co-ordinators from the invited countries gave gifts to the Mayor. To keep up with tradition we gave gifts of Tiptree Jam and souvenirs from Witham Town Hall. We left the Mayor and headed back to school. Our lesson that day was Maths. Our task was to make the boxes but without glue. With Darcey’s help we managed it!
Next to try was another style of box. Again we weren’t allowed to use glue. For some of us this proved to be much more difficult. Mr Booth and Mr Symes needed extra help. Time
to
bring
in
the
reinforcements. Well done Anna. At least one of us knew what to do.
Time for the Talent Show. First was another performance by the school's choir. This was
followed by performances from a singing duo and finally a handball demonstration.
Ok, so, we had the Handball demonstration and now it was our turn
to play! Poland.
Step 1: The warm up
This proved to be just a little bit too energetic for most of us. And this was before we’d even started to play a match.
Team
Comenius
verses
We were off to a good start. We’ve already scored one goal here, but now Poland has possession.
WATCH OUT! Mr Symes. I think that ball’s got your name on it.
We won the ball again and, thanks to a great pass by Matt, we scored again.
Matt comes to the rescue with Mr. Symes on one of those frighteningly fast goal attacks. WE WON! It’s only taken four years for this rematch to happen. It was a great way to end, with Comenius verses Poland 2015 scores leveled at 1-all.
After lunch it was time for all participating countries in the project to present our projects. The projects that had to be presented during our visit were about Jobs of the Past. These jobs either don’t exist anymore because technology and progress has made them redundant, or people don’t want to do these jobs anymore. Mostly all the presentations that were delivered were to do with the later.
The presentation from Poland was a surprise as we had to leave the school and were taken to the Museum of Ethnography. The Museum of Ethnography, and in particular the Ethnographic Park, is the oldest in Poland and dates back to 1767. The Museum of Ethnography in Toruń is one of the three ethnographic museums in Poland. The items have been gathered since 1946 and include the whole of folk culture, customs, rituals, household appliances and farm architecture of northern Poland. The Museum also has one of the biggest collection of contemporary folk art and rural crafts. Firstly, we were treated to a performance of traditional Polish dancing. At the entrance we were met by our guide and accompanied throughout the tour with stories of the history of the buildings. In some of the houses we were allowed inside. The Ethnographic Museum consists of the outside area where you can stroll past several northern Polish farmers housings with fitted interiors and beautifully planted gardens. There is a Fire station with car and cart, a Mill, a Blacksmith shop and a pottery.
Day 6 We
were all up early for our day out in Sopot and Gdansk. Like Southend-on-Sea, Sopot is also a seaside town. Located on the coast of
the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, they too have a pleasure pier that frequently hosts events and entertainment and like Southend, their pier is also the pride of their town. They claim to have the longest wooden pier in Europe at 515 metres. The small seaside town of Sopot has a population of approximately 41,000 residents. Though a smaller figure than Southend’s 174,800, Sopot boasts a huge range of attractions that couple well with Southend’s own. Much like how Southend-on-Sea built a name for itself as the local tourist destination for Londoners, Sopot built its
reputation as the tourist getaway town
for day trippers from Gdansk.
As you can see in the pictures, a must do event in Sopot is to feed the Sea Swans. Our students were amazed and even commented that they didn't think that Swans lived by the sea.
From Sopot it was off to Gdansk.
Oliwa the for
in
when on it the many
Cathedral is on the small side compared to many other Cathedrals in Northern Poland. However, what it lacks in size it makes up beauty. We all enjoyed looking at the various decorations and found the organ so stunning. Every day there is a recital and the organ starts to play, the wooden figures begin to move: the angels lift their trumpets, gargoyles' mouths open and close and other parts rotate.
After
an astounding recital we headed to the Museum of Solidarity. The 5-storey building, which has been designed to give the impression of walls cracking and tilting and is covered in rust-coloured sheet metal reminiscent of a ship’s hull. The Museum has been designed as a symbol of the victory of the Solidarity movement and the way that victory was achieved peacefully thanks to the power of people uniting in solidarity with each other. The first hall we entered was called ‘The Birth of Solidarność and is devoted to the strikes of August 1980. We saw the cab of crane operator Anna Walentynowicz, whose sacking close to her retirement created
the spark that saw the shipyard rise up in protest. Moving into hall B, entitled ‘The Power of the Powerless’, we saw the world that preceded the strikes of 1980, which give us an insight into the roots of the opposition movement and what the totalitarian regime looked and felt like.
There are operational records from the security services and memories of the failed protests in 1970, which resulted in 45 deaths as they were ruthlessly crushed by security and military personnel. Hall C brou ght us into the roo
m dedicated to ‘Solidarność and Hope’. It was here that we gained a sense of the unexpected and unfamiliar freedom the strikes brought to the country in August 1980 and the sixteen months that followed until the movement was outlawed and the country placed under Martial Law on December 13, 1981.
Next came ‘The War with Society’ and we were graphically given a sense of how the freedom and hope of the sixteen months following August 1980 was methodically destroyed. This chapter of the exhibition ends with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Lech Walesa in 1983.
Hall E hosts ‘The Road to Democracy’, which demonstrates the important role played by Polish-born Pope John Paul II (the former Bishop of Krakow Cardinal Karol Wojtyla). His messages of hope delivered during his pilgrimages to his homeland fuelled the struggle for freedom and inspired youth movements and society as a whole to renew their fight. The growing demands and the worsening economic crisis resulted in the governing regime agreeing to the Round Table talks in 1989. The subsequent partly-free elections saw Solidarity storm to victory and Poland became the first Communist Bloc country to win its freedom.
‘The triumph of Freedom’ in the final hall shows how the changes in Poland reverberated across the Communist Bloc as country after country rose up and demanded democracy. Countries were reborn and countless new states emerged.
After a whistle stop tour of the Museum, it was a very short walk
into the old city of Gdansk.
Students and staff were given free time to explore and get a bit of lunch before continuing our guided tour of the city.
The Gothic Artus Court is decorated with paintings, sculptures and models of ships of the greatest artistic value. However, it is the beautiful, tiled stove from 1545, the largest of all stoves built in the age of the Renaissance, that tourists come to see. This tapering stove is almost eleven meters tall and decorated with some 500 sculpted, glazed, colourful tiles (more than 460 of which are original), bearing the effigies of kings and allegorical characters with the coats of arms of Gdansk.
All these features make the Artus Court stove a unique, unparalleled work of art.
The Artus Court assembly also includes a late fourteenth century residential building redesigned in the Baroque style and called the New Lawa House. Its historical interiors are referred to as the Gdansk Hall and date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In addition to the interiors - undoubtedly the major attraction of Artus Court - visitors can also see the permanent exhibition "The History of Gdansk's Artus Court". Long ago you would have found old Gdańsk carved into four quarters, Szeroki, Wysoki,
Rybacki and Kogi (Wide, High, Fish and Ship quarter) and today the geographic point where these historical areas met has been immortalised by an installation that makes use of lions, light and water. Better known as the Four Quarters
Fountain, this piece of street art was officially unveiled on September 7th, 2009. It features four life size lions (ancient symbols and protectors of Gdańsk) guarding each corner and glass coloured blocks embedded into granite panels. After
visiting
the
Four
Quarters
Fountain we headed for what can only be described as the most beautiful and ancient streets in Gdansk. Mariacka Street is located in the historic Old Town of Gdansk and is an absolute must-see for visitors. The Street is a unique, one-block long cobblestone street that significantly adds to the character of Old Town. Along with several cafes and small eateries, there are small shops, a museum and the oldest home in Gdansk is at the end of the block. From The Street it is just a short walk to the river front of Motlawa and what a treat we had when we arrived, as we were just in time to see a restored 17th Century Galleon.
Day 7 and our last day in Poland had arrived. The
day
started
back
at
school and was a physics lesson. Our starter was optical illusions.
Have a look below. What can you see?
It was then time to test out displacement. Matthew was the bravest of us all and took up the challenge. Well done Matthew!
We were allowed to finish school early as we all had to get prepared for the evening’s final celebration. We discovered on our return that the school had been transformed. The school and parents had pulled out all the stops and had decorated the school hall and prepared an absolute feast for us all.
To start we all had Zurek; Zurek or zur is a very traditional Polish soup. A distinctive feature of this exclusive food is its sour taste. However, this is not like the sour taste of lemon. Zurek is much more delicate and extremely palatable. The taste of this Polish soup comes from so-called sour leavening, originating from fermented rye flour and bread crumbs. Afterwards followed platefuls of delicious traditional cuisine. When we had all eaten our fill, Gosia, our Comenius Project Co-ordinator, summed up our very busy and exhausting week.
After our meal it was time for the certificates of attendance to be presented. First to receive their certificates were the participants from portugal, along with their hosting families.
Next
were
the participants from Italy also with their hosting families. Lastly, it was our turn to receive our certificates with our hosting families. Wonderful memories and lifelong friendships have been made on this, the final leg of the Comenius project “Striving 4 success�. But for some of us it was all too much.
Lots of sleeping on the way home! Dziękujemy za wspaniałe wspomnienia. (Thank you for the wonderful memories).