PROJECT PARTNERS’ FIRST ONLINE MEETING
The international project ES4SS has already started and it's time to get know the project partners more closely. On the 29th March, 2022 the first online meeting of project partners took place on ZOOM platform. All the countries’ project members participating in the project (Spain, Sicily and Lithuania) were preparing carefully for the meeting with partners. It was agreed in advance that during the meeting, project participants from each country will briefly present their home town, school and answer to the questions about the importance of sustainability, why sustainable development goals (SDGs) are important for them, what activities are carried out in their schools that contribute to the improvement of sustainability, and what are students' expectations participating in this project. At the end of the first part of the meeting students participated in a question-answer session during which the participants asked each other pre-prepared questions not only about sustainability and its improvement, but also about daily nutrition, physical activity and after-school activities, traditional national holidays, their customs and traditions.
After the meeting it became clear that all of the students had fun seeing and meeting their project friends on the other side of the screen, learning a lot about the hometowns of their mates from the other countries, schools where they study and comparing their knowledge of English with knowledge of their peers.
EMPIRICAL ACTIVITIES OF THE PROJECT- ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY FOR SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS (ES4SS)
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The time has come for the participants of the project "Environmental Sustainability for Sustainable Schools" (ES4SS) to try out practical activities related to the project's goals, which according to the children are no less interesting and engaging than the activities taking place online. All project activities are related the main objectives of the project. One of them is uprecycling into new items/products and sustainable reuse of waste. Just before St. Easter, members of project participated in the workshop "How to make Oliziukas"? As you know, Oliziukas is a man's head made of a thin stocking or pantyhose, sawdust, cotton wool and some seeds, with grass hair growing on it. Therefore, the participants of the project had to find used socks, also think about other natural materials that can be used for Oliziukas decoration. One more important condition was to make/find the pot for Oliziukas from reused materials. Making Oliziukas is a great exercise for improving of fine motor skills, and watering it every day introduces the child to the characteristics of seed sprouting, develops a sense of responsibility and patience.
Another no less inclusive activity for project members was "Hunting for goods marked with organic labeling" in various shopping centers. The project participants were given a practical task to go to any shopping center, find 5 different products with an organic EU or Lithuanian product label, take a picture of the product, write down its price and find an analogue of the same product only without organic labeling also recording its price. Later students had to prepare a Power Point presentation, compare the prices of organic and non-organic products and draw conclusions. The students' presentations exceeded all expectations and the activity according to the students was interesting and useful. Some students had to try really hard while finding the ecological products in the shopping center and some of them even asked the employee of the shop where to look for them. All in all, the activity was challenging and beneficial for project members.
DOCUMENTARY VISIT TO LAPĖS LANDFILL AND OTHER ACTIVITY OF THE PROJECT- (ES4SS)
ES4SS-Environmental Sustainability for Sustainable Schools project members not just actively participate in various practical, experiential activities but also have the opportunity to participate in educational ones. One of them is a documentary visit to the village of Lepšiškės where the regional Lapės landfill of Kaunas district is located. None of the students had visited the landfill before so the documentary made a great impression on the students... Students learned how waste is stored, how much waste is delivered per month and many other things related to sorting, reusing, waste incineration and future plans that are going to be implemented in this landfill. The students were surprised when they heard that before landfill has been assigned for collecting the household waste from townspeople, there was a training ground for tanks and armored vehicles and the biogas extracted from the garbage mountains reaches Domeikava settlement and heats its inhabitants. The documentary visit was undoubtedly useful, interesting and made our students think about our Earth and its preservation.
Apart from visiting Lapės landfill project members participated in the largest and longest global, online event dedicated to the World Environment Day "THERE IS OnlyOneEarth TOGETHER WE CAN PROTECT IT, ACT NOW!", which started on the 5th June and lasted even for 24 hours! Students had the opportunity to participate in various activities arranged by the organizers. A few students created a video how energy can be saved, the importance of trees and sorting in our gymnasium. Some of them made posters and some students drew illustrations on their models faces. We are happy having opportunity to contribute to this important worldwide event with the works of our students, we are proud of the possibility to represent Lithuania by participating in the global event.
WATCHING DOCUMENTARY “MICROPLASTIC MADNESS”
Although the international project "Environmental Sustainability for Sustainable Schools" (ES4SS) started quite recently on the 1st December, 2021 but active and enthusiastic participants of the project-5th/6th grade students- actively involved in various project activities. One of them- watching a documentary film. At the end of February, 2022 the students together with their teacher were watching the documentary film "Microplastic madness" (directed by Atsuko Quirk and Debby Lee Cohen) which in 2019 was evaluated and awarded as the best documentary film in the 11-12-year-old age group at the Boston International Children's Film Festival. The film was screened even in 42 countries worldwide and was highly evaluated. The main theme of the film is microplastics and the damage it causes to nature. Project members were deeply affected by the true story of 56 fifth-graders from Brooklyn, coming face-to-face with the global climate crisis and especially the damage caused by plastic to the environment around us. The brave and curious heroes of the film not only took part in various campaigns collecting and sorting out plastic on the ocean shores but also interviewed experts, collected material about plastic and even took part in the city hall council meeting asking various questions to the city mayor. After watching the documentary, students had a discussion, filled out the evaluation form and shared their impressions of what they saw and learned. The film left a deep impression on the participants of the project and we have no doubt inspired for the new ideas and actions in the future.
PROJECT "ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY FOR SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS" (ES4SS) ALREADY HAS ITS LOGO!!!
The international project has already started and it's time to create and choose the most beautiful logo of the project. First of all, project participants had to learn how to use the canvas.com app that is simple and easy. So, because of that our ICT teacher- Mantas Mikulėnas helped students and during practical session he taught the children how to use an easy-to-learn program and the students dived into work enthusiastically.
At the beginning, the evaluation criteria were presented to the students and what important aspects are while creating a logo. When designing their logo, participants were required to use the acronym of the project name, at least one common symbol of all participating countries and the background/illustration of the logo had to be related to the project’s name. Students’ creativity and active participation exceeded all expectations. Some participants created two or even three logos and at the beginning of the voting there were 26 logos. When the voting started, it was decided to choose the best 5 logos, but as some of them got the same number of points, 8 logos got into the final voting. We want to congratulate Gustis, Livija, Gustė, Milena, Migle, Austė, Justina and Vilmantė whose logos persistently competed in the final!!! And eventually, after one more voting project Environmental Sustainability for Sustainable Schools (ES4SS) has its own logo!
From our deep hearts we want to congratulate Austė from the 5d class whose logo got the biggest number of votes and became the winner. The second place was won by Gustis logo from class 5a and the third place by Miglė from class 5c. We congratulate all the winners and say a big thank to all project participants who took part in the logo contest!!! By the way, our logo has become the winner logo among our project partners from Spain and Sicily. We are proud of our creative students and particularly we are proud of our AustėJ. Thank you Austė, well done job.
SUMMER-HOLIDAY TIME? YES!
HOW WAS IT SPENT BY PROJECT ES4SS MEMBERS?
Everyone knows that summer is holiday and relaxation time but not for the hardworking, energetic and curious members of the international project ES4SS. The students were given various tasks related to the development of sustainability, ecological literacy, as well as the improvement of certain competencies. Project members had to observe natural phenomena, record reflections/thoughts related to sustainable transport/diet, pollution, people's attitude towards nature, energy saving and sorting in their personal diary. The students also had to prepare slides following the certain requirements on the topic: "SUSTAINABILITY IN LITHUANIA/MY CITY/MY SCHOOL/MY FAMILY". And that's not all.... . The creative work
(a product had to be made using recycled materials or creating a video) was a real challenge for some participants but the students overcame it without much difficulty. And the very last task forced the project participants to think about ideas/ways how they could spread the message to others about sustainability and its improvement, nature protection and record their thoughts in a diary.
During the first meeting after the summer holidays the students were presenting their works and we have to admit we were surprised with their creative ideas and manufactured products, prepared slide presentations and their presentation methods.
We share the children's works and say our sincere thanks to everyone who found the strength and desire to work and share their thoughts with others during the summer.
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LESSON FOR STUDENTS-THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES IN THE WORLD
Summer ended and the members of the international project ES4SS eagerly dived into new project activities. 20 th September the founder and owner of the “Kupu Kupu” company Tomas Solovejus visited the gymnasium with a collection of the world's most beautiful butterflies. Why Kupu Kupu? It turns out Kupu Kupu means butterfly in Indonesian. Indonesia is home to some of our favorite and most prized tropical butterfly species. Tomas Solovejus raised the first butterflies back in 2011, and as the years passed, the interest in this life form of special beauty and fragility only grew.
The hobby has gradually grown into a business, which currently includes not only raising butterflies for events and celebrations, but also framing butterflies for room decor, education for children in schools and the project "Grow a butterfly yourself".
During the education, exhibits of tropical butterflies of impressive size and beauty were shown to the children. The students were introduced to the diversity of tropical butterflies and insects, their life cycle, they had the opportunity to learn through experience, during the lesson their social and natural knowledge skills, attention concentration and emotional intelligence were developed. During the session, the students were presented with a collection of insects, and the king insect tarantula did not leave anyone indifferent... .
But that's not all... . At the end of the education, a fun and cheerful photo session with a butterfly and a question-and-answer marathon awaited for the students.
WORKSHOP FOR STUDENTS: HOW TO MAKE A WINDMILL
Project’s “Environmental Sustainability for Sustainable Schools” (ES4SS ) students 27th October gathered to test how renewable energy sources work, namely wind energy. During the lesson, practical work was carried out, the purpose of which was to show how a windmill functions when generating electricity. The students were divided into small groups. Using the model, they made a small windmill. The goal was to use the wind to generate enough energy to start the light bulb. This task was very successful for all groups.
WE LEARN BEST THROUGH EXPERIENCE…
A few weeks passed and ERASMUS+ project members again participated in the practical workshop- activity during which they continued studying on renewable energy sources. This time students deepened their knowledge on the topic of solar panels. After watching a short video, the project participants got familiar with the principle of operation of the solar collector. Later, students had the opportunity to try solar collectors and see how they work themselves. They lit the lights with the help of the solar collector and tried to charge their phones.
UPCOMING CHRISTMAS-TIME WHEN ALL THE WISHES WILL COME TO TRUE
The participants of the ES4SS project decided to cheer up their friends from Spain and Sicily on the occasion of the upcoming holidays. Our gymnasium’s students made eco-friendly Christmas greeting cards from already reused materials. This is a great opportunity not only to say hello but also to chat with new friends they recently spent time with in Sicily . Students send their wishes and a warm word of thanks not only to their friends but also to their host families. Let’s hope all their wishes will come to true during upcoming year! We can't wait to see everyone again!
Apart from makıng Christmas greeting cards, students also prepared Ecological toys for Christmas tree and decorated it in one of the classrooms. Students used creative ideas in order to make Christmas toys from reusable and upcycled materials. Let those handmade Christmas toys made by our hardworking pupils spread our word of Sustainability throughout the world.
PEACE FOR LIGHT-WORLDWIDE ACTION FOR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES
Each year the global network of communities and schools ENO (Environment Online) organizes the global action-project "LIGHT FOR PEACE". This year was not an exception as well and the action started on 2nd December. One of the goals of the campaign is to encourage students' creativity making lanterns from reusable materials, emphasizing how light is important to each of us and what are the possible ways to save it.
On 2nd December, at 5 p.m. many lanterns lit up in the yard of President Valdas Adamkus gymnasium. Joining the action students of our gymnasium along with participants of ES4SS project wanted to create a chain of light that would cover the whole world and bring the light and peace to all suffering people and especially to those who tirelessly fight for the freedom and peace of Ukraine.
President Valdas Adamkaus Gymnasium - the coordinator of ECO school network in Lithuania (more than 44 schools belong to this network) and also the coordinator of ENO worldwide network (Environment Online) invited other members of the Lithuanian ECO school network to join this campaign. We are happy with the increased interest in the activities of the network and the fact that this campaign helped to think and evaluate the values, also to increase students’ creativity using reusable materials for making lanterns. We want to thank all the children who made the lanterns and their teachers who contributed to this creative process.
PRACTICAL EXPERIMENTAL ACTIVITY: MAKING A SOLAR BUG
Winter holidays finished and the students returned to the gymnasium for further education. The members of the "Erasmus+" project ES4SS gathered again for the practical-experiential workshop of the project. This time students were trying to sort out what solar energy is, how and when it is used for, what is a solar collector, solar batteries what they are made of and how they are widely used both in Lithuania and the world.
At the beginning of their workshop students were watching a short video on solar energy, discussed the main idea of the video, found out the most important things that are related to solar energy and how with a help of sun energy electrical energy is generated. Later the students were divided in small groups and using instructions started to install a solar bug that has a small solar panel on its back and starts moving from the sun energy. The main goal of this activity was to make a solar bug, take it out and watch how it is working. As the construction of the bug was not so simple, students could not finish their activity during one workshop and had to gather for one more workshop. During the next workshop students were able to finish monting their solar bugs and try them out. Unfortunately, as the weather was gloomy and cloudy outside, so students were using lamps in order to see how a bug is moving. It was really enjoyable activity that brought much of happiness to students, what is more, they could test, see and understand that solar energy is very important nowadays and wider and wider is used worldwide.
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES STUDENTS HAVE PERFORMED
SINCE 1 SEPTEMBER 2022
CONSTRUCTION OF ROBOT
Since March, the students of the Erasmus+ project "ES4SS" have been persistently delving into other subtleties of the renewable energy source -the sun. During the classes, the project participants deepened their knowledge of how a solar battery works and how to use it for energy production. Students learned how a robot works and how to design it to perform certain functions, how to combine different technologies to create an efficient and effective robot, and how to connect the fields of science and technology with practical applications, such as making a robot that can be used for environmental monitoring or plant care. In addition, by constructing a robot with a solar panel, children acquired and improved engineering skills such as creativity, designing and constructing devices, improved their creativity competencies and decision-making skills, learned how to adapt to new challenges and apply new ways to complete tasks successfully. After several sessions, the students finished constructing the robots and after they finished, tested them outside in front of the sunlight.
