MONDAY 24/10/2011

The day started early, at eight o’clock, when the exchange students – from Poland and Turkey – came to school and met the Head Teachers and their counsellors – Ms Kornelia Magiera and Ms Małgorzata Zabiełło-Grochowska. They then went to Pszczyna for a trip to see the castle, ethnographic museum, to walk through an old park and to take part in nature workshops organized just for them at the European bison reserve.
teachers, on the other hand, were greeted at the school door by Lady Ania and Knight Mateusz and in the school hall – by the Head Teachers. After tasting delicious cakes baked by the parents, the visiting teachers took their time to walk around the school, to meet students and Polish teachers. Finally, the time came for them to have lessons with our Polish children. The teachers from Turkey told us legends from their country, such as a legend about the Snake Queen, and prepared a crafts activity for the kids to work on; the Italian teachers gave our students beautiful pictures with personal messages prepared for them by their Italian peers and answered millions of questions about life in Italy and about their schools; the teachers from Spain showed us a lot of magnificent Spanish castles and told the amazing story of the last battle of El Cid, a famous Spanish knight.
In the evening the teachers met in a traditional restaurant to try some delicacies of the Polish and Silesian cuisine.

TUESDAY 25 X 2011

On Tuesda all teachers did two important things. The first one was taking part in the Legend Show prepared by the children of our school theatre. The show was preceded by welcoming and introducing the guests to the students and by giving prizes to the winners of various competitions organized by our school.
The legend used for the show was about the Dragon of the Wawel Hill. Its new, comic adaptation was prepared and directed by Ms Beata Węgrzynek, our school theatre leader. The guests really enjoyed the show.
After the performance, the teachers went to the conference where they discussed - step by step - the most important programme issues of the project. After lunch a group of teachers went for a trip to Auschwitz.
The children saw the Legend Show and then went for a trip to a local forest centre where they took part in ecological workshops and had a campfire with delicious sausages.

WEDNESDAY 26 X 2011

Wednesday was dedicated to visiting castles. All guests - teachers and students - took a trip to the castle in Będzin and to the ruins of a huge medieval castle in Ogrodzieniec. There was no time to visit other castles of the Eagles' Nest Trail, but everyone could see what they look like while wandering around the minature park, situated just next to the Ogrodzieniec castle.

THURSDAY 27 X 2011

Thursday was a busy day. Since the very morning the guests taught lessons to our students, which must have been very tiring! The Turkish students took part in lessons along with the classes of their hosts and at the end of the school day they participated in a meeting of the school's tourist club.
In the evening the whole group of guests, Polish teachers and parents met in the school lounge for a farewell party. All the guests received certificates, the Polish teachers prepared a number of dishes and the mother of one of our students organized wonderful entertainment for children and adults, for which we are all deeply grateful!

FRIDAY 28 X 2011

To już ostatni dzień konferencji w Katowicach. Rano wyjechali nauczyciele z Włoch i ze Szkocji. Friday was the last day of the Comenius conference in Katowice. In the morning we all said goodbye to the Italian and Scottish teachers. The others, accompanied by all students and a group of Polish teachers, went for a day trip to Cracow. The programme included visiting the Royal Wawel Castle, Our Lady's Church and the underground vaults of the Old Town. There was also time to visit some of Cracow's numerous cafes and restaurants and to do some shopping. In the evening the Spanish group left Katowice and on Saturday morning - the whole group from Turkey.