The basic idea of the project was to get our pupils and teachers more interested in the world, to lose the shyness of travelling, to get the participants to travel in an ecological and environmentally friendly way and mindset. We wanted to offer English language courses to our non-teaching staff, but they are a very valid part of our school and their knowledge of the language will help us in the daily running of the school during international exchanges or communication with our partners abroad. We wanted to achieve more support for the German language in our school. We wanted to try out the possibility to participate in long-term pupil mobility in the primary school. We wanted to deepen the idea of the ecological practice in the ninth grade, where young people go for the first time independently to organic and demeter farms to learn to be more conscious about the quality of care for the soil, plants and people. Another goal was to continue to work on making new contacts or maintaining existing contacts with Waldorf schools across Europe at both pupil and teacher level. This project was a preparation for obtaining accreditation in school education, which we also obtained in the spring of 2023 thanks to this experience.
Waldorf Primary and Secondary School Semily is a contributory organization established by the town of Semily. As one of the oldest Waldorf schools in Czechia, it celebrated 30 years of its existence this year and represents a significant alternative in our region. Our school is attended by 231 pupils in nine grades with the possibility of preparation in the kindergarten and continuation to the Waldorf lyceum, which this year is attended by 114 pupils. There are 37 teachers and 9 operational staff working in the whole school. This project has impacted both pupils, teachers and operational staff with its many activities. The school focuses on the holistic development of each person in education. We strive to develop the intellectual, emotional and free spirits of the pupils and our aim is to achieve harmony between science, art and spiritual values. We prepare people for life not only knowledgeably but also by encouraging their creative abilities and social skills. We start from the premise that the only truly reliable and lasting path to lifelong learning is the awakening of curiosity and self-interest in knowledge. We favour mutual cooperation over competition. We tend to integrate the general knowledge throughout the curriculum.