The main aim of the project „My school is cool” is equalizing educational opportunities in mother tongue, English, mathematics and science of students 11 to 13 years old through improvement of the relations between students with high educational abilities and students with low educational abilities and the lack of work motivation. The most important priority is supporting students with gaining and developing knowledge as far as basic abiliies and key competences are concerned. We put a lot of effort on engaging to all the planned activities students that come from immigrant families, students from low status families and students with different disfunctions. High educational and social value of this project is made by drawing from European cultural heritage. Each of the project partner offers customs, traditions and historical value of his country. This way the pariticipants of the project broaden their minds and learn tolerance towards different cultures. The schools from five countries participate in the project: form Poland, Latvia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Romania. All these schools are state. Although situated in different countries they face similar problems as far as building proper interpersonal relations are concerned. Solving the issue of intolerance towards the students from poor families and those who have school problems is one of the main goals of all the activities to be taken by the participant schools. Therefore the preferred form of work is pairwork or teamwork, which assumes cooperation of gifted students and those who have difficulties in absorbing knowledge and acquiring new abilities. To achieve these goals different innovative methods and forms of work should be also used in order to make all the activities more attractive for involved students. The workshops, shows, scavenger`s hunt, exhibitions and many more events have been planned. We are working with the use of problem based learning method, total physical response method, flipped lesson and drama method. We are using ICT tools and educational games prepared also by students themselves. We are organising theme konwledge parks, chemistry labs, art atelier and tourst offices saloon. Theme trips have been arranged too. The aim of all these events is to broaden the knowledge and abilities in mother tongue, English, maths and science fields. All the activities are being implemented in the class engaged in the project. There are two or three chosen classes per school. Their representatives are taken part in short term international meetings organised in every single country. The students paticipating in the project are learning various means of both acquiring knowledge and organising their own educational process. It will raise the learnig motivation as well as the level of learning outcomes. The teamwork and integration activities will lead to better class consolidation, since the students who weren`t engagaged in their class and school life will gain self confidence and will be more open to new ideas. They will convince themselves that the school is not only the place to study, but also the space to make friends and spend time in a pleasant way. They will see that the learning does not have to be associated with tedious and monotonous process but it can be fun too. The teachers’ ideas and experience recommended during the visits in each partner school will become the inspiration for their colleagues to enrich their teaching abilities and to complete their school curricula. New teaching and learning forms will influence the quality of education. Due to innovative methods, mathematics, science, languages and other subjects will become much more appealing to students. The permanent cooperation of the schools from different countries, personal contact and via the applications and platforms will raise English communication competence. It will also increase internal motivation, the need of better and better knowledge of English in order to develop friendship started during meetings and to be open to new international events. The strengh of the project „My school is cool” lies in comrehensive development of the students, their active participation in school life, which prepares them to be engaged in innovative activities of wider perspective.
The main aim of the project "My school is cool" was equalizing educational opportunities in mother tongue, English, mathematics and science of students 11 to 13 years old through improvement of the relations between students with high educational abilities and students with low educational abilities and the lack of work motivation. Younger students, who were indicated by teachers from partner countries, were also included in the project activities, noting the benefit for the project that would result from such participation. The most important priority was supporting students with gaining and developing knowledge and key competences. Drawing on the European cultural heritage was also a great educational and social value of the project. Each of the project partners brought a rich resource of customs, traditions and history of their country. Thanks to this, the participants of this project broadened their horizons and learned tolerance towards different cultures. The schools from five countries participate in the project: form Poland, Latvia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Romania. All these schools are state-owned. Although they are located in different countries, they indicated the need for activities in the field of building good friendships. Addressing the issue of intolerance towards students from poor families and students with learning difficulties was one of the main objectives of the activities undertaken by all partner schools. The preferred form was work in pairs and groups, which assumed the cooperation of gifted students and students with difficulties in acquiring new knowledge and skills. The project was initiated by surveys, conversations and observations of students. The analysis of the obtained information showed what are the strengths and weaknesses of peer relations and which areas require special attention. The project includes measures to strengthen this sphere. Activities such as: "A friend for a break", various workshops, e.g. "It’s worth to cooperate", "Knowing me, knowing you" and "Well-cooperated class" directed participants' attention to the need for cooperation, openness and taught them how to communicate effectively, as well as how to overcome shyness in peer contacts. Joint trips, during which students spent time as a group, as well as trips to partner countries also played an important role. In the implementation of the project assumptions, innovative methods and forms of work were used to make joint activities more attractive to students. The work involved, among others, the problem method, the flipped lesson method and drama. Scientific workshops were held (e.g. workshops on optics and magnetism, "Crazy science experiments", "Credo Science and cosmic radiation", "Mathematical Escape Room", "School of Entrepreneurship"), chemical demonstrations, science classes, exhibitions of students' products, cultural, historical and scientific trips, reading happenings, or workshops on effective learning methods. Various educational games were used, also created by students. In addition, the participants prepared and presented the cultural values and geographical advantages of their country by creating folders, presentations, cards, didactic games. Cooperation with universities was initiated, thanks to which students participated in scientific activities. In some schools, meetings were organized with the families of students who emigrated from their country of birth. Thanks to international meetings and during the development of project materials, both students and teachers improved their knowledge of English and the use of information and communication technology tools. Teachers participated in courses in this field. During the lesson, they introduced elements using ICT tools, educational platforms, e.g. LearningApps, Kahoot, Padlet, and students used various tools, making videos, presentations for lessons and games, as well as programming or recording project activities. Each partner school was attended by full class teams or selected students from different classes in the institution, selected by teachers. The benefits of participating in the project are multifaceted. The school expanded its educational offer. The teaching staff got acquainted with new technologies and developed their competences in this area. Certainly, teachers will use selected tools, knowledge of English and look for new innovative solutions during lessons. International cooperation was established and developed, which may be continued in the future. Students developed key competences that will allow them to function better in a new environment.