Building bridges with music

While our partnership and common colaboration all the participants were able to promote and explore music and creativity, together with the using of English language in a variety of European schools and cultures, enriching this way the learning processes in each school. This was achieved through continuous and varied activities in our schools and communities, which has taken place for a period of two years. This project used and taught a variety of learning methods for learning musical, craft and language skills. All our activities were been as comprehensive as possible and we have sought the cooperation of teachers, students, their families and our local communities. There was been a variety of exciting and motivational activities that has dfacilitate the cross-fertilization of ideas and outcomes. Intercultural learning and the promotion of heterogeneity was been the focus of our project. These were music, making music together, singing and dancing, the introduction of relevant places, musicians and others played the main character. Musical learning was used to enable the inclusion, this meant inclusion of the whole student body of every school as well as between the partner schools. In particular, socially disadvantaged students, children with special needs, refugee children and all other students were be able to became active through the bridges which were created during the project. Project work has involved the using of a foreign language learned in exchanging for pre-defined tasks, in different writing events or mailing, and also while communication with each other during joint workshops, including student activities and video conferencing. All involved teachers have contributed their broad experience and were able to operate and taught methods while the short term staff trainings successfully. In addition, teachers could benefit from the project by introducing new methods to their participating teachers during the meetings at the respective partner school in the workshops or after the teaching activities. They were empowered to incorporate new teaching methods into their future lessons and integrated them into the existing school curricula. The main milestones in our project were: -learning activities of the students and short-term staff training of the teachers to exchange pedagogical methods through workshops and applying them in the respective teaching work in each school -intercultural learning-applying the foreign language skills -inclusion: While all our project activities we have included all groups of pupils ( for example: refugees, children with special needs) We have planed mobilities for two teachers to Spain, Greece and Germany. In addition, students from the Czech Republic, Italy and Poland traveled to Germany. Thus, these students were be able to participate in 3 mobilities, too. Unfortunately we couldn't execute our last two meetings planned in Greece and Italy. The reason was force majeure because COVID 19. Travel wasn't allowed and schools were closed. During our meetings we did workshops / lessons / projects / excursions on the following topics: -Creating the text for the common rap -Presentation of project results -Bodypercussion -Playing drums -Composing rap music -Evaluation and planning of the next project steps Overall, there were three mobilities for each school, involving student groups and teachers from all partner schools for Italy and two for the other partners because force majeure. There were workshops / lessons / projects / excursions. Topics were: -Using of our homepage -Evaluation and planning the project work -Learning typical dances -Writing a story line for the musical performance ( included all project steps) - Making a videoclip anstead the planned final musical -Build musical instruments and play on these (rap) - Introducing the teacher's handout on our homepage During the mobility there were been interviews and teaching samples in the classroom of the host schools. In addition, in all planned events parents, teachers, students and other important people were integrated. Furthermore, each school has introduced their countrie's school system. Pupils, teachers and others could know the closer surroundings of the partner schools and visited project-relevant institutions. Our goal was to involve media that should report on our project work. In addition to the planned mobilities, there were be a variety of activities. These included: - Create an own project homepage, upload the results of the project work and the evaluation results - Story line for the musical - Writing an "Elfchen" about music - Musical Christmas wishes and introducing the Elfchen by video conference - regular evaluations of project work / pupils, teachers, parents) - Introduce the own favourite musician as a poster or PowerPoint and while videoconference - Project Days around European Day with a small exhibition of the respective project results (only in the first project year because COVID 19) - Videoconferences about summer holidays, concerts or theatre visits - Presenting venues in the hometown or in the vicinity such as theatres, stages, etc. -Videoconferences with singing Christmas carols and using home-made instruments -Intodruce the own favourite instrument -Creating a teacher's handout - Final Videoclip about the whole project work anstead the planned final musical performance