Final Producto of the Comenius Project Tales for Peace at Cristo Rei (Oleiros - A Coruña)

1. TALES FOR PEACE
A COMENIUS LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
2011-2013
HIJAS DE CRISTO REY SCHOOL
O CARBALLO - A CORUÑA - SPAIN

2. en blanco a propósito

3. TALES FOR PEACE
A COMENIUS LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
2011-2013
By:
María del Rosario Gómez (Headmistress)
Tania del Campo (Coordinator)
Isaura Villarino (English Teacher)

4. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission
cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the
information contained therein.
El presente proyecto ha sido financiado con el apoyo de la Comisión
Europea. Esta publicación es responsabilidad exclusiva de su autor. La
Comisión no es responsable del uso que pueda hacerse de la información
aquí difundida.
Edited by: Colegio HH. De Cristo Rey – Oleiros (A Coruña)

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ABOUT US
The school “Hijas de Cristo Rey” is a private school placed in the town council of Oleiros,
adjoining to A Coruña. A Coruña is a town located in North Western Spain. The educative
levels go from Preschool Education (3 years old) to Baccalaureate (18 years old).
Most of the students come from the area under the jurisdiction of Oleiros council. As for
the social economic status of our students’ families, it’s necessary to point out that most
of them belong to the middle class.
During the academic year 2010-2011, when the Comenius project was launched, the
school had 72 teachers and approximately 1100 students.
Students learn English during their stay at school.They also study French as a compulsory
subject from 12 to 14 years old.They can continue to study this language as a free choice
subject to 18 years.

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Here in after we provide you the distribution of our school according to the number of
students:
21%
14%
14%
14%
15%
13%
9%
Child education
Primary (6-8 years old)
Primary (9-10 years old)
Primary (11-12 years old)
Secondary (13-14 years old)
Secondary (15-16 years old)
Baccalaureate

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TALES FOR PEACE PROJECT
The Tales for Peace Project is marked in the Life-long Learning Programme of the EU,
more concretely in the Comenius programmes. It’s about a Learning association with
other schools that also belong to the EU:
• Liceo Classico Statale “Gian Doménico Romagnosi” (Parma - Italy)
• Gimnazium NR1 IM Janusza Korczaka (Ledziny – Poland)
• Gymnazium Jablonec nad Nisou (Jablonec nad Nisou - CzechRepublic)
Tales for Peace was set in the first place as a two years programme which would be
2011-12 and 2012-13 courses, being mainly adressed to the 4th ESO students. English
was the communication language for the project.
Its goal has been creating an space in which students can express their interests, hopes,
thoughts... approaching the following three main areas:
• Intercultural education
• European citizenship
• Fight against racism.
The methodology used for realising the afore said goal has been based on working on
these topics in the classrooms.This way different activities haven taken place: storytelling
contests, our school and our country’s presentations, works on our typical gastronomy...

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Apart from these activities, other international meetings have been carried out:
• Teachers meeting in Parma (Italy): 19th-25th November 2011
• Students and teachers meeting in Parma (Italy): 25th-31st March 2012
• Czech and Spanish teachers and students meeting in Oleiros (Spain): 25th-
29th September 2012
• Teachers meeting in Ledziny (Poland): 12th-15th November 2012
• Students and teachers meeting in Jablonec nad Nisou (Czech Republic): 17th-
23rd March 2013.
A short summary of the activities carried out along the past two years will be
provided below. The said activities have been gathered in order to ease their
understanding:
• Classroom activities
• Contests
• Language workshops
• International meetings
In order to improve the communication between learners and staff of the Tales
for Peace project, a blog was designed: http://talesforpeace.blogspot.com The
dissemination of the results and activities, the essays by the learners and other
information about the project were published on the blog.

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
2011-12 YEAR
Activity: creating a PowerPoint. Topic: Our school
Along this period the first activity in Tales for Peace consisted on creating a
PowerPoint introducing our school. This PowerPoint presentation was our calling
card to our partners and therefore it should also reflect the location of our school
in the community (Oleiros, A Coruña, Spain).
Students gathered in small groups for this activity. This presentation was carried
out in English. The best presentation was posted on the website of the project at
European level and we posted all others on our blog.This activity was assessed in
the subject of English.
After a hard deliberation we decided to name two winners in the contest of
PowerPoint Presentations about our school.The winning ones were the ones made
by the following groups:
• Group I: Ivan Rollón, Beatriz López, Sergio Palmeiro and Mayte Insua
• Group II: Maria Fernanda Cozzolino, Carla Vidal, Lucía Rodriguez and María
Conde.
Merry Christmas
Our pupils from the last two years of Secondary School really wanted to wish

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their friends a Merry Christmas and that is the reason why they have dedicated
us some carols.
Activity: Christmas pictures
This was the second activity we were promoting from our blog. We asked our
pupils to take pictures about their typical habits regarding food, ornaments, and
so on during their Christmas break. Our partners from the Czech Republic, Poland
and Italy did the same thing. This allowed us to create a “pictures’ bank” where
it was possible for us to compare the different ways of celebrating these popular
dates according to different cultures.
You can see attached below some of the pictures our pupils took:
Beatriz López
Beatriz López
Eva Pampín
Iván Rollón
Mayte Insua
Mayte Insua

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Activity: Dialogue between generations about Europe
InApril 2011-12 a meeting took place in our school,among students involved in our
Comenius project and senior students of the Senior University of A Coruña who
also participate in European projects of lifelong learning. Based on the experience
of both groups participating in international meetings,a debate concerning the
concept of Europe took place, the possible influence of such programs in the
consciousness of European citizenship, the future of Europe...
This activity was part of our little celebration on April 29th as the European Day
of Solidarity between Generations. We would like to thank Senior University for
having encouraged to visit us, and we encourage you to visit one of their current
European projects on the blog of the European Workshop “More than Neighbours!”
Iván Rollón Maffer CozzolinoMaffer Cozzolino

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Activity: Information about the EU
We were visited by two specialists in the EU who came to give a lecture to our
students in grade 4th ESO. They were two girls of the Europe Direct service of
the Provincial Council of A Coruña. Through the lecture, students were able to
reflect on their rights as citizens of the union and the consequences that derive
from them. The approach was very dynamic and they made a presentation with a
quiz so that kids would learn more about what European citizenship means. The
talks took place in English in order to continue working on the multilingualism of
students.

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2012-13 YEAR
Greetings from the Czech Republic
Our Czech friends wanted to wish us a Merry Christmas through this Christmas
stamp.
We also wished them a Merry Christmas!

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Our pupils wish you a Merry Christmas
Second cycle students of ESO sung some carols in different languages for us
and made them public on our blog. We also would like to thank Alicia from here,
because without her voice and enthusiasm this wouldn’t have been possible as
well as Yaiza, whose voice and experience made this little thing a bit easier. The
sung carols were:
• German: Frohe Weihnachten
• English: Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells and Auld Lang Syne.
• French: Petit Papa Nöel
• Latin: Adeste fideles
• Galician: Panxoliña.
Video contest winner in presentations about Christmas in our
culture
StudentsinthefourthyearofESOmadeseveralpresentationstoshowourEuropean
partners how Christmas is lived here. The winner video was the one created by:
Maria Jose Castro, Melanie Ertl, Andrea Carrodeguas, Andrea Fernández, Andrea
Rivas, Carmen Bregua and Laura Rodiles.
Typical gastronomy
Our 4th year students got into the kitchen to prepare different typical dishes of our
country so that their colleagues in the other countries would learn more about our
culture. Different recipes made by our students were uploaded on our blog.

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End of Tales for Peace Project
Our students of 4th ESO made some videos and PowerPoints giving their opinions
about the project Tales for Peace, the first one our school has been involved in,
and which is about to be over. They have tried their best at everything and we
want to congratulate them from here. In these videos they speak about the things
they are for and against and the things that could be improved .One thing is clear
for all of them: all of them have loved the project and have been happy to join it.
They all would have loved to be the ones travelling during the last two years.They
keep in touch with their host families, and the ones who couldn’t travel keep on
being in touch with the foreign students as well.Thanks to it, this summer the first
exchanges will be made in our school! Thank you indeed to all our students and
congratulations on their hard work, excitement, cooperation, and interest. All of
them have made this project possible. Thank you so much!.

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CONTESTS
2011-12 YEAR
Photo contest: Intercultural Coexistence.
In February 2012, we launched a new activity: A photo contest. This activity was
open to all the oldest pupils in this school,from the 1st year of Secondary Education
(ESO). The pupils had to take photographs that somehow represented the idea of
coexistence between cultures as something positive and enriching.
The winners to this contest were Carla Vidal and Beatriz López. You can see their
work below.
First Prize: Carla Vidal Carballo with her series “You are beautiful”

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Second Prize: Beatriz López Bernal, with her photo “One look, one smile”.
We want to thank the APA for their cooperation, and to the teacher, Noelia Casal for
the photos that she brought to us as well as her irreplaceable technical support.
Following, we attached all the photos that took part in the contest:
Friends without borders, by María Conde Zas

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We love each other, by Nuria Taboada San Julián
They would never get separated by their colour. Why do we do it because of our culture? by Eduardo Seijo Rodríguez
If family joins people, why do our culture separate us? by Eduardo Seijo Rodríguez

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What matters is the inside?, by Mayte Insua Ramos
There is no difference, by Mayte Insua Ramos
No title, by Pedro Taboada San Julián

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On Tuesday, March 20th, the awards of our photo contest “Tales for peace” were
given. Our headmistress, María del Rosario Gómez García gave the gift certificates,
provided by the APA of the school, to Carla Vidal and Beatriz López. She also
congratulated them for their work and encouraged them to keep on being involved.
The world in your hands, by Beatriz López Bernal By Noelia Casal
(Guest Artist, and also a teacher in
our school)

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The success of this event was such that we decided to organise an exposition with
the pictures in the Cultural Centre of A Fábrica in Oleiros. During a whole week,
from the 20th to 28th September, everyone interested in this could go and see the
photos and the main points of our project.
Short Story Competition
In late February, we launched a short story contest for students in 4th year of
ESO. The kids had to write a short story about intercultural education. First of all,
we would like to thank all the students who chose to participate in this contest.
Getting encouraged to convey the importance of intercultural coexistence as a
positive value through a story requires a great effort, and they have done it. The
contest winner was Eva Pampín Caneda with her story “New and Large Meetings”
and we want to congratulate her on her great work. We also congratulate other
two contestants: Alexander Sánchez Campaña on “Salhim” and Denise Gómez
Dans on “A day in a teenager’s life.”You can read the three winning stories below:
New and large meeting by Eva Pampín Caneda
It was a fine, sunny day but it wasn’t any day, it was one of the most special days
for Clara: the first day of University.While even ate breakfast, Clara already thought
all kind of students she would know. After finishing, she prepared the necessary,

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and set out to catch the bus in direction to the University. After twenty minutes
of journey and impatience, she fell from the bus and the first thing that shocked
her was the amount of students assembled in a large area of lawn with essence
to newly cut, that they went gradually to the red-orange colour, large building
to find their classes. Clara was enthusiastic, and she was more encouraged
when she found before entering, her best friend of the Institute, Rachel, who was
coincidentally at the same University that she. Both choose the same degree,
business studies, and after a small talk and laugh after the unexpected reunion,
they prepared to enter to the building and find in what class were they.
Luckily, they were together in the same class. The class was very spaced, as
they used to be the University classes, and they sat. When they beginning to
calculate the number of people who arrived, they counted as more or less seventy
or seventy-five. They also noticed on two girls, who appeared to be foreign, and
which talked. There even while, became his teacher. He looked a man of middle
age, and above all strict. It was presented to the students who said to them:
-Welcome students.First of all I would like to introduce myself,my name is Roberto.
Well, as you know, we are in the University and you’re all here to study business
studies degree, which I hope you will bring good grades. I would also explain how
it will develop. You know that longs four years...- he continued explaining all the
necessary information of as it was going to carry out, and when he ended, it was
the time to go to take mid-morning snack in the dining hall of the Centre, at mid-
morning.
Clara and Rachel sat together at a table. They took a drink and a bit of fresh fruit,
while they spoke of the new foreign mates of their class. They were seated in one
of the many tables there, and Clara and Rachel thought on why not speak to them:

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-Hear, and why not we present to them? I suppose that here they doesn`t yet know
a lot of people, even if it`s the first day of class…; but it would be nice to meet
people from other cultures. I would know something about their country of origin.
- told Clara to Rachel who was very interested of meeting people new and better
if they were foreign.
-Yes, I would like to meet them, and apart I would like to go to another country, and
like that perhaps with what they tell me, it will help me to decide to what country
I will go.-answered Rachel who was also excited to speak with them.
For a moment they left their mid-morning snack and went to the table where they
were. The first to say something was Clara:
-Hello, pleased to meet you. My name is Clara and she is Rachel. We are in the
same class which you, how you call?
After asking the question, one of the two girls answered:
- My name is Julia, and she is called Barbara. Pleased to meet you also.
These seemed very nice, and with Nordic origins. With great interest in learning
from other cultures, and as they called, because their names didn`t much sound a
Nordic country, Clara said to them:
-You are foreign, don`t you? I say this because of your accent, although your names
confuse me…
- Yes. I’m from Norway, but my mother is Spanish. He emigrated there many years
ago, where she met my father. My name is Julia due of tastes of my mother, but I
love having it. -replied Julia who was also interested in Spanish culture.
From what you say, I see that you like Spain, no?

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-The truth is that we come here on holiday since I was very small. I really like the
Spanish landscape; it isn´t like the Norwegian. It is also why I know Barbara. We
met together five years ago at a camp here in Spain. She is also Nordic, but she
is from Sweden.
-Yes, as Julia says, I’m Swedish, although I only have grandparents by my father
who are Spanish. I also like the Spanish landscape and in particular, I always
stressed the beaches, because as you know where we are, it is very cold…
- But there the landscape is beautiful too, and above all for the Norwegian fiords.
I like to be able to see that landscape any day... - said Rachel, who began to be
interested in knowing things from where they came, for deciding the country to
travel - and, if I said that I would make a trip there... what would you stress the
most?-asked Raquel, who thought that this question was the key to decide.
After this presentation, it had emerged a true conversation of cultures, where Julia
and Barbara tell them the wonders of their countries.
-Well I stress from Norway many things. First, I would stress what you have said,
the fiords. They are beautiful valleys… I live a little further away from where they
are, but one day my family and I went to see them. Nothing else see them already
you fascinate. We were camping, and while you eat and see the landscape is
a moment of tranquility and relax… I always wonder how a glacier can have
formed something so beautiful. The truth is that it is spectacular-said Julia, that
she started to remember them as if she were there.
–Istartedtoimaginethem…-andafterabriefpauseofRachelobservedthoselandscapes
created in her mind,she continued asking.–and you Barbara,what would you stress?

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-I would stress two things: the gastronomy and the architecture. Have you heard
about the Spisbröd? It is a type of baked bread, which is flattened and hardens,
and given outcome a cookie lasts, very characteristic of Sweden. It is very nice,
when I always see my Swedish grandmother I ask she to prepare me some few.
-You have to tell your grandmother that one day will make us more, I just hear you
they look delicious… - and when she said this, who was made the mouth water,
all released a laugh.
-I will say it to her - and she continued telling them - also in architecture I stress a
very nice skyscraper called Turning Torso, is a true work of art, which I assume you
will guess its form by the name, only to see it, shock… So I went to see it last year.
Rachel knew where she wanted to travel in the future, but what she didn’t know
was that her friend also wanted to travel, having heard everything said by their two
Nordic friends. After a quarter of an hour of conversation about different cultures,
in which Clara and Rachel also had told them about traditions of Spanish dishes,
bullfights of bulls, etc., was the time to study business. They also told them that
they came to study at the University to learn well the Spanish language, even
though they were already very good. Since that day, the first day of the University,
they also knew that they are very good friends, and they weren´t wrong.
After four years of degree, all had finished with very good grades, and above all, all
had learned a lot, not only in what concerning what they had chosen to study, but
to know live with different cultures and traditions its own people, and have been
interested in them.
It was the last day of University, and the four were very excited. That day they
delivered them the diplomas of Bachelor’s degree. Everyone had gathered for the
handing over and the four had plans for the future:

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-Hear, Rachel, what do you do now that you have finished the degree? I guess
even you have in mind the idea of traveling, right? - asked Clara, who was very
interested in knowing the answer.
-Yes, the truth is that since we met Barbara and Julia, I have eager to go to the
Nordic countries and learn more about their culture. I decided to travel these
holidays.
-Well..., I’ve also decided to travel these holidays there, for the same reason as
you. Since that I heard them talk, haven`t removed me the idea...
–Is it true!-answered her friend in a euphoric manner - and would you like to come
with me? So the experience would be much more entertaining, what do you think?
-Clear what I will go…; and you, what plans do you have?, will you come with us?
So we will pass a better time and you show us all that we have to see, what do
you think? -asked Clara to Julia and Barbara, who would love to go with them, fun
four boards and show them things, but they had other plans.
-We would like to go, but we have the same ideas like you, here in Spain.We want
to see the landscapes and traditions that we have never seen yet… but, if you
want, we could do an excursion the four for the next year… - asked Julia. And all
said yes at the same time.
-Look, the handing over begins… go picking up seat. -Raquel told them.
All were very excited. It had begun the handing over and all students collected
their diplomas. One gave a short speech of as he had passed the course, just like
that gave Clara: -Well, I would like first to thank to my family, to my… — after a
brief thanks to people who had helped her to advance her degree, she continued

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- these four years that I had studied here, I would like to stress a few people who
made my time here, in this University, pleasant and wonderful. Thanks to them, I
learned to appreciate the respect that we need to have to different cultures. I also
learned to live with them and assess the meaning that each culture has, by every
culture has something different that makes it special.Also,I would like to stress the
people of every culture, because these are what make them unique, and thanks to
them, you learn things that you’ve never heard of them and that are spectacular
and marvelous, and many more things that I can´t say in words, because that only
you could feel and live self in person. Thank you and congratulations to all.
Salhim by Alexandre Sánchez Campaña
This is the story of a boy whose name was Salhim. He was a guy like any other, he
used to go to school with other children and, as the others did, he lived with his
family. But the problem was that people did not treat him as an equal.
Salhim had emigrated with his family from Algeria a few months before, and just
by this fact, and because of the brown colour of his skin, his colleagues did not
consider him as an equal.
What hurt him the most was not the fact that they insulted him and laughed at
him, he had had time to learn to ignore it. What bothered him the most was that
people who distrusted and rejected him, would not be with him because he was
not considered reliable.They thought he would try to trick them, and they also had
many other kinds of absurd prejudices ... determined by the fact that he was from
another country!

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Even some of them were really afraid of him. He was just considered as an
“immigrant”. And all these things without his having said or done anything.
He really only had one friend at school. He was a boy, physically equal to the rest
of his mates, but really different from them. He did not judge him either by his
marked accent, or by his physical appearance, he seemed to be the only one who
knew how to appreciate him as a person, as a human being.
When the others laughed at Salhim, he was always there to defend him .But the
other schoolmates, whose intolerance seemed to have no limits, began to speak of
him, just for being a friend of the “immigrant”. But the boy did not get discouraged,
and stood by him.
And surely for the fact of remaining faithful to his friend, the other boys started
laughing at him as well.
But this boy, contrary to the way Salhim behaved, did not ignore these insults. One
day he got fed up with everything and faced one of the boys, called Martin, who
was laughing at them. This one talked back, and they shouted at each other and
finally he hit the boy who was a good friend of Salhim.
This one seeing that they were hitting his friend, went mad, and answered in an
extremely aggressive way, giving him a punch with such strength that he broke
Martin´s nose.

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All his colleagues were impressed, and frightened at the same time. The damage
had proliferated within them, without repairing of the reasons why this had
happened.
About what happened after that, it is not too clear to me. I know that Salhim and
his friend were expelled from the school, and I also heard that Salhim moved to a
new school, but I don’t really have a clue.
What I can say about this whole thing is that none of this would have happened if
people had been slightly, just slightly more tolerant. It is a lesson for all of us….
A day in a teenager’s life by Denise Gómez Dans
Paula got up as any other day to go to school,but this day was going to be different.
Paula didn’t like the idea of going to school too much, but not because she had
to pay attention, have exams or have to study… even when she didn’t feel like
having to do it. The main reason for Paula rejection to go to school, had a name,
Roman, a classmate. Between them there was ‘’ special affection’’. Roman told
her “compliments” all the time. Paula went into the class and Roman used to stare
at her,whispering what a disgusting person you are.
The day went by as always with the typical compliments that Roman gave during
classes and breaks, but in the early afternoon Paula was going to get a surprise.
Paula was late, although she didn’t care and she saw Roman talking to his teacher:
She wondered what had happened they had spelled Roman, or at least this is what
the other students were saying.

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Paula was delighted and even more when she saw Roman leaving the classroom
with the head teacher.
But the joy didn’t last long because when the other class started, Roman came
into the class again.
Paula was confused, and on her way home she wondered if he had been spelled.
She will have to wait for the following day in this teenager’s life, to know about it.
To be continued…..
2012-13 YEAR
PhotoContest 2013 - Tales for Peace
After the previous year’s success “Tales for peace” organised a new photo contest
for all the school pupils of ESO and Baccalaureate. This time around the topics of
the competition were peace, tolerance and conflicts.
On this occasion , the first prize went to a photograph
taken by the 4th year group formed by Cristina
Barros Morán, Carolina Barros Morán and Ana Mañas
Hernández. The photograph is titled “Love binds the
world”.

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The second prize went to Carlota Charry Casal - 1º ESO - for her photograph
entitled “Peace”.
We would also like to thank Beatriz López Bernal, who was on a one-year stay in
the U.S., for her contribution.
The school Headmistress gave the prizes to the winners of the photo contest,Tales
for Peace.These awards were given by the school APA, to which we want to show
our appreciation from here.

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LANGUAGES WORKSHOPS
Languages workshops were a constant along these two years the project lasted,
but anyway, we will highlight here some of the most significant activities.
Activity: English Workshop
In January 2012, an Erasmus student studying at University of Ulster (Northern
Ireland) came to talk to our students about the differences between our way of
living and the way young people do it in the UK. These differences refer to every
aspect of life, culture, religion and so on. Our pupils were meant to make as many
questions as possible, trying to improve their English and learn about another
culture and other races.
Activity: Italian Workshop
Before our meeting in Parma we organized an Italian workshop for all those pupils
who’d go on the trip.There were four classes during which, the teacher, Sister Ana
M ª Rifón, tried to provide them with a basic knowledge to manage in everyday life
in Italy. Although the project activities were in English, the daily life with families
would be in Italian and, therefore, they’d need a minimum knowledge in order to
handling it. From here we’d like to thank Sister Ana for the time we took up from
her and for being so hard-working.
Activity: Conversational English
Before the two meetings between teachers and students a conversational English
workshop took place in our school. The main objective was getting our students
ready for the trip they were about to go on, as all the activities concerning the

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project were carried out in English. On this occasion, Isaura Villarino was the
teacher leading this activity. Thanks for your help.
Activity: Language workshops
Robin Walker is a freelance teacher, teacher trainer and materials writer. A former
Vice-president of TESOL-SPAIN, he is a member of the IATEFL ESP Special Interest
Group, and is the Newsletter editor of the Pronunciation Special Interest Group.
In May 2012, he gave a lecture to our students in the 3rd and 4th year on Australia
and New Zealand.
He came back for a visit during the academic year of 2012-13 to give our pupils
and teachers a talk on scuba diving. They all enjoyed it a lot and from here we’d
like to congratulate them on their interest and good behaviour.

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INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS
Meeting of all the teachers involved in
Parma - November 2011
In November 2011 the teachers
responsible for Tales for Peace in our
school travelled to Parma (Italy) to
attend a Meeting of all the teachers
involved in the project. In this Meeting
there were representatives from the
four partner countries: Italy, Poland,
Czech Republic and Spain.
Those were days of knowledge and
workamongallpartners.Mainactivities
were scheduled to be carried out this
year, and are aimed at improving
the coexistence of different cultures
through knowledge and collaboration.
There was also time to visit the city of Parma and be hosted by different local
authorities, as the President of the Community of Parma.
This was the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration.

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Students and teachers meeting in Parma – March 2012
In March 2012 the first meeting of students and teachers in the Project Tales for
Peace took place.We gathered in Parma with the objective of getting to know each
other better and exchanging experiences. We’ll show below a short summary of
this experience of ours.
Our trip, on 25th March
A group of 4th ESO pupils (5 pupils) left A Coruña very early in the morning. They
travelled with two teachers, Isaura and Tania, bound to Milan. We made a stop in
Madrid. In spite of our being half asleep, you could notice the nerves in all of our
faces. It was the first Comenius trip!
In Milan we made a stop to know
the city, they were just two hours,
but time enough to make us fall in
love with Italy. In the afternoon we
went to Parma by train. Parma was
our final destination.
After two hours on the train, we reached the station, where Marzia, the project
coordinator, was waiting for us and the host families were there as well. That was
a huge surprise for all of us.
Again, all of us got very nervous because it was the first time that we all faced
each other and that would be the starting point of a one-week cohabitation. Our

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pupils left with their host families for a rest, we all were exhausted. The teachers
went for a rest as well.
Presentations, on 26th March, 2012
This was the formal day for it. Early in the morning we gathered at the Liceo
entrance, ready to meet all the other pupils and teachers. Liceo Romagnossi is a
very different school from ours. Not only in its building but also in organization,
way to work... we got into the school ready to know everything.
The Italian pupils, as host students,
divided us into international groups.
Then we were shown the school and we
were explained how it works. This group
activity ended in a classroom where
every school introduced their country.
Then, the school headmaster, Mister Guido Campanini, as a good History teacher,
spoke to us about the history of the city of Parma and the region Parma belongs
to. Later we were offered a welcome snack.
At midday we went for a walk in the city centre.We reached the Provincial council,
where the president welcomed us and he congratulated us on the project we were
taking. It was an important event and we appeared in Parma media.
The day finished with a guided visit along the city. We were lead by one of the
History teachers of the Italian liceo. He explained us everything about monuments
and historical facts of Parma.

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Coexistence and rehearsals day, on 27th March, 2012
We made several rehearsals along the day. Everyone had to work on their
performances. It was amazing that Polish and Spanish students got to make a
multilingual version of the song “A little peace”.
In the afternoon, we made a volley
competition, and our pupils tried
their best.
We had our dinner all together,
pupils, teachers and even the
Liceo headmaster. We had it in a
huge pizzeria.
Rehearsals and visit, on 28th March, 2012
Early in the morning we made some rehearsals again. On this occasion, the
pupils sang “Peace canon” directed by Leonardo Morini. This song was chosen
as a symbol of coexistence and union among the different people. All the partners
took part and they all sang together this song, which meant an important effort,
because it is a difficult one.

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At midday we went to know the Town Hall and from
there we went to visit Parma Ham Factory. Parma ham
is well known all over the world and our hosts wanted to
show us how it is made.
In the early evening we visited Torrechiara Castle. This
castle was built between 1448 and 1460. It is a factory
castle and we all were absolutely impressed.
The Festival, on 29th March, 2012
The day of the meeting was great.All the school partners
performed what they had prepared and they participated
in several common songs, such as “Peace Canon” and
“A little peace”. Ours pupils did it great. Beatriz sang
beautifully and David read aloud one of the winner tales
of our school. Apart from this, all of them participated in
the collective songs.
There was just a little rest at midday when we had a snack offered by the host
school.

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Florence, on 30th March, 2012
Our experience had got to as end and we wanted it to be very special. We organised
a trip to Florence. The Spanish pupils together with their host brothers and sisters
travelled to that amazing city.
We left in the early morning and we came back at night.We spent the day walking
along its streets, knowing its historical canter and falling in love with its streets,
landscapes and people.
We all came back to Parma with the feeling that we had fallen for Florence (Firenze
as they call it) and that we had lived a very special day.
Coming back home, on 31st March, 2012
As you all can imagine, it was a sad day. Saying goodbye to all of our new friends
was difficult, but saying goodbye to our new brothers and sisters was even worse.

40. 40
They went with us to Parma train station and from that place we started our
journey back.
Again, we took our train to Milan and from there we travelled to Madrid and then,
to A Coruña. It was a long day, but we all came back home with a lot of things to
speak about and happy for the amazing experiences we had enjoyed.
Students and teachers meeting in Oleiros – September 2012
Last September we held a Comenius meeting in our school. There were 9 Czech
pupils and two of their teachers, who had lived with us for almost a week. We’ll
share here a summary of this experience.
The arrival, on 25th September 2012
Our friends arrived on the first morning
train from Madrid.We went to look for them
and shared with them a good breakfast.
They were very tired but also very excited about coming over to our school, as
well as getting the meeting started. When they got to our school, all of them were
welcomed by our headmistress, who told them about our school and asked them
about theirs and their country.

41. 41
Then we went with four of our pupils to see
the school. A little while before the break
time the big moment arrived: they met their
host siblings. It was a very special moment
as the pupils had only met each other online
and meeting face-to-face was special.This
was followed by the presentations and the
visits of the centre accompanied by many
nerves and laughter.
Late in the morning we went back to class.Then we divided the pupils into several
groups. The Czech ones attended a Spanish language lesson with pupils of the
first year of high school .The Czech teachers went to teach 4th ESO, Jana tried
to teach English and Radek tried to teach French. We genuinely believe that the
experience was amazing for everyone.
After finishing the school time, foster parents came for the host pupils. Everyone
went home to rest from the long trip, but we also gave them time to go for a walk.
Music Festival, on the 26th September 2012
On Wednesday we celebrated our
little meeting, it was the day of the
Festival ‘Acercamiento a través de
la música popular’ (Approaching
through traditional music). During the
first part of the morning the rehearsal
took place: little ones, older ones,

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guest students… they all spent a lot
of time rehearsing.
After the break time, the party got started and
the headmistress launched the festival, which
was followed by the so diverse performances:
A group of Primary students sang: ‘Muñeira
de Alén’ and the maneo‘Foliada de Nadela’
directed by the teacher Felipe Sar.
A group of ESO students performed:
‘Compañeiro’ by Fuxan os Ventos and
‘Pandeirada de Tella’ directed by the teacher
Arantxa Concheiro.
The Czech choir quire performed: ‘Komáři se
ženili’, ‘Jájsemmuzikant’, ‘Černéoči’ and
‘Proměny’ directed by the teacher Radek.
And the cultural group of A’meda do Castro
(Sada).
The Festival allowed us to create a place
where through the music, different cultures,
peoples and languages got mixed. After the
festival the guest students, their ‘siblings’,
some more pupils and some teachers went

43. 43
and had something to eat at the guests dining
room. From here, we’d like to thank all those
who worked hard to make this meal as special
as it was.
After having eaten we started the afternoon
programme, we visited the cultural centre
A Fábrica, where the educational councillor,
Sandra Fernández, welcomed us to Oleiros’
Town Hall. Before we left A Fábrica, we could
visit the Photo Exhibition of our project, which
was placed there.
After that we took a route that would lead us
from Santa Cristina to Santa Cruz, getting to
see different emblematic spots of our Town
Hall.
This walk allowed us to talk, get to know each other, have fun… there was a good
climate of coexistence. We finished our route in Santa Cruz’s Castle, after a brief
walk.
Visiting A Coruña, on the 27th September
2012
We spent all Thursday day visiting Coruña city. In the first
hours of the morning, we went to the Tower of Hércules.
A guide walked us explaining the whole history about this
well-known monument of ours, and even though getting

44. 44
to the upper part of the tower was hard
work, the views of the city we got from
up there were absolutely worth it. Straight
after, we went to Casa de los Peces (‘The
Fish House’, which is an aquarium), where
we visited all its facilities. We all were
astonished by the seals’ show and the
Nautilus, and more concretely, our Czech
friends; they loved every bit of it!
We left again and walked to the centre of
the city where we spent pretty much a lot
of time to have lunch. We re-started the
visit at 16:00. On this occasion, Mª Luisa Fernández, one of our history teachers
and to whom we’d like to say thank you from here, guided us through the city
telling us about its history and curiosities. From the Obelisco, we walked along the
Dársena and we visited the Ciudad Vieja (‘Old City’, the old part of town). Our day
got to its end by last seeing Puerta Real. It was 18:30 and we all were exhausted.
Visit to Santiago, on the 28th on September 2012
Friday was the last day of our meeting so we decided to go on a little trip to
Santiago as many of our Czech friends had never been there yet. A group of 35
Spanish and Czech people left really early in the morning. We spent all morning
visiting different places and during the afternoon we walked freely along the city.
OneofthemostimportantplacesweweretointhemorningwastheCathedral,place
where we went after having started our visit in Plaza del Obradoiro, and after that
we went to some other places such as Gelmirez Palace, the Royal Hospital, Rajoy’s

45. 45
Palace and Fonseca School. From
the last one mentioned we went to
all the different squares which are
placed in the surroundings of the
Cathedral to finally make a stop in
Portico de la Gloria. To end up with
the visit, we went for a walk till the
Alameda, for our Czech friends to
get to know the centre of the city
better.
After this organised visit we went for lunch, we went shopping and went for a walk
to eventually come back to Coruña.
The farewell, on the 29th
Saturday wasn’t really part of the meeting
but it was a day to catch up and go for some
last walks around the city. We all met at the
beginning of the evening at the train station to
say bye to our visitants. It was a really nice and
warm time where there was laughter, tears, hugs… from here we’d like to say to
all of our friends. See you soon!.
Teachers meeting in Lędziny (Poland) – November 2012
The second teachers meeting took place in November 2012 in Poland. It was held
from 12th -15th November in Lędziny (Poland).

46. 46
These are the people who took part in it: Susanna Vallocchio
and Rosanna Zoni (Liceo Classico G.D Romagnosi, Parma
-Italy), Radoslav Skvor and Jana Hrbatschova (Gymnázium
U Balvanu, Jablonec nad Nisou -Czech Republic), Dorota
Malinowska and Lucyna Patalag (Janusza Korczaka,
Lędziny -Poland), Tania del Campo López and Isaura
Villarino Ares (Colegio Hijas de Cristo Rey,Oleiros, A Coruña
-Spain)
Monday 12th November
About 9:00 a.m. we were officially welcomed by
the school headmaster, Mr Józef Domaradzki, it was
a short meeting in the Headmaster´s office. We were
given a book as a reminder of the meeting we held
the previous year in Parma (Italy).
After it there was a short tour around the school,
and we met the students that took part in last year’s
meeting in Parma.
After that we started working on the project. We gave
our opinions about the work we had been doing so
far and we all were happy about it. We all thought it
had been a positive experience.This was our very first
time working with our Italian colleagues, because our
previous coordinator, Miss Marzia Rossi had to give
it up because of personal reasons. There was no

47. 47
problem at all and it seemed as if we had been working together for a long time.
For this reason and until the end of the current project (2013), the coordinator will
be Susanna Vallocchio.
On the other hand, we were speaking about the meeting that had been celebrated
in A Coruña (Spain) in September 2012. Just the Czech pupils attended it and both
Italians and Polish regretted not having been over here. They said that it had been
a very positive experience and that they had really appreciated the way they had
been treated and welcomed in A Coruña.That was important for us because it had
been our very first experience organizing a European meeting.
Finally we started working on the project goals for this year: activities and products
to be performed, and organized of the next Meeting in Jablonec nad Nisou the next
March.
Tuesday, 13th November
Since the early morning, 8:45 a.m, we were
working on the new project. We also went to visit
Blogoslawiona Karolina,a centre for disabled people,
with which our host school in Poland collaborates.

48. 48
After having lunch, we met the Town Mayor in the
Town Hall. He gave us a warm welcome to his Town
Hall and he seemed to be interested in all the different
educational systems of the
partner schools.
In the early evening,we visited theTyskie Brewery Museum.
Wednesday 14th, November
This was a day of coexistence among teachers, together we
all visited Krakow, which gave us the opportunity to know
each other better and go on reflecting on the project in a
more informal way.
Thursday, 15th November
From the early morning we were working on the Project
again. We made a summary of what we had been doing
during the previous days.
Friday 16th,November
Leaving day, due to the adverse weather conditions our flights were cancelled and
we had to stay at Krakow and Katowice airports for more than 24 hours.

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Spring meeting in Jablonec (Czech Republic) - March 2013
The final meeting for the Tales for Peace project took place last March in Jablonec
nad Nisou (Czech Republic). All the students from the four schools gathered to
share experiences and show each other all the work carried out. Hereinafter we
offer you a few posts with a brief summary of our stay in the Czech Republic.
The trip, on 17th March
We left A Coruña airport really early to
go to Barcelona, and once there, we
took our last plane to Prague. We spent
all morning whether from one airport to
another or flying.
We arrived in Prague at midday where
one teacher and one student from another school were awaiting us. Together,
we got a coach to Jablonec nad Nisou. It took us about two hours to get to our
destination; we were really excited and we were really looking forward to arriving.
The first thing to call our attention was the landscape, which was very different
from the ones we already knew as none of us had never been to the Czech
Republic!
We got to Jablonec nad Nisou in the middle of the afternoon. Once there, the host
families and one teacher were waiting for us. It was a very emotive moment as
we were finally meeting after having sent each other so many messages on social
networks!

50. 50
The students left happy yet nervous with their host
families, and the teachers left too as they also needed
to take a break after such a long journey. It had been a
really long day, we had woken up really early and we all
needed to do some rest as we were sure the following
day would be really intense!
The Czech school and the Food Festival
on 18th March
In the morning of the 18th we took the time to get to know each other better and
chatted for a while.The headmaster of the school, Mr Jiri Kozlovsky, welcomed us
to their facilities and to their country. The choir of the school also dedicated us a
few songs to welcome us.
Straight after that, they divided us into international groups and we carried out
different activities aimed at promoting coexistence and the knowledge among the
groups.
Some of the aforesaid activities involved:
• A presentation from the Czech group
• A presentation of the meetings that took place in
Parma and A Coruña

51. 51
• A presentation on Jablonec and their region
• Decorating Easter eggs
• Singing Easter songs
• Making a Pomlazka
• ...
At midday we had a typical Czech lunch at the school’s cantine and afterwards we
enjoyed of some spare time to do some rest, walk around Jablonec and rehearse
that afternoon’s festival.
One of the star activities of that day was the Food Festival. All the contestants
brought typical food from their motherland and put it all together in the festival.
Every country set a table with some of their most typical dishes and we all shared
a moment of coexistence and cultural exchange. It was a good idea as we got
to try typical dishes from every country, and that’s always a good way to get to
know more about them. At the end of the festival the students left with their host
siblings; some went home while others decided to go for a walk around the town.

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Comenius Festival on 19th March
The morning started early with a visit to the town hall.
Apart from getting to know the facilities, we were
welcomed by the mayor of the town.
We spent the rest of the day rehearsing our
performances for the Comenius Festival which took
place in the local theatre that afternoon.
Once there, our students performed a play they
had prepared for the occasion. Our school’s
play was called ‘The lighthouse of the dreams’,
a brief story about the relationship between
Galician people and the sea.
At the end of the day, the teachers, some local representatives from the town hall
of Jablonec and the headmaster of the Czech school gathered to have dinner.

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Visit to Prague on 20th March
We all went to Prague together on a trip. There we visited the Prague Castle, St.
Vitus Cathedral, Lesser Town, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square…
From here we’d like to say thank you to all the Czech students who helped us to
figure Prague out, but more concretely, to those who were with us all the time and
were wonderful guides.We came back to Jablonec in the afternoon and ended the
day there as we were very tired.

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A day for coexistence, on 21st March
We started off the day visiting a
glass factory in Harrachov. We were
absolutely astonished by their works
and especially, by their awesome
ability of coordination. In Harrachov
we also visited a beer factory, which
is very typical in the Czech Republic.
In the afternoon we visited Liberec,
the biggest city close to Jablonec.
Apart from doing some shopping
there, we also visited the old town,
the town hall…
At the end of the afternoon we
headed to a bowling alley for a big
competition. International groups were again made and the game got started. It
was good fun and we had the chance to coexist in a, let’s say, very playful way.The

55. 55
best of it all was the mini disco located in the bowling alley, where we went after
the game and where we danced endlessly.
Visiting Prague, on 22nd March
Prague is such a lovely city and
hides so many things that we
couldn’t have thought of any
better place to spend our last
day in. We visited the Jewish
museum, St. Wenceslao Square,
the Matinal Theatre, the Dancing
House… We also took the
chance to buy some souvenirs
along our little trip to the city.
The return on 23rd March
The families took our students to the school of Jablonec, which was the meeting
point for our trip back home. It was a sad moment as goodbyes are never pleasant,
but above all, we left with the idea of seeing each other again anytime soon and
really happy over the experiences we had shared along the past days.
When we got to Prague’s airport one last surprise was awaiting us, as our friend
Maty had driven all the way just to say bye to us! Thank you, Maty!

56. 56
We spent the rest of the day flying from one airport to another, waiting for our
planes. We were finally happy again when we got to A Coruña’s airport and our
families were there waiting for us and really looking forward to our telling them
about our wonderful adventures!

57. en blanco a propósito
HIJAS DE CRISTO REY SCHOOL
O CARBALLO - A CORUÑA - SPAIN

58. en blanco a propósito

59. en blanco a propósito

60. This project has been funded with support from the
European Commission.