Europe day, Codema and the media

Our school has appeared in some local newspapers that talked about our iniciative at the European day. We not only celebrated the day with Mr. Garriga but also received the plaque that identifies our school as a Comenius centre.

Here you have a link to the school’s official webpage where you can see all the information about the Comenious iniciative and about 9th May events.

Comenius activities

School web: European day

Adding to this, you can read more about this day and Europe in our school in some local newspapers. Here you are some pics and links…

El Comercio.es, 10/05/2013

La Nueva España.es, 10/05/2013

Recorte de prensa de la edición impresa de El Comercio, 13/05/2013

European day 2013

9th of May was a busy day for us, the group of 2nd of Bachiller. In the last days of the academic year, surrounded by tests and homework we started the Day of Europe with an oral exposition with the pupils from 3rd and 4rd of ESO.

We explained them what it really is being european, and they also colaborate with their own ideas and opinions, transforming the speech in a meeting about the european idenity that grows inside each of us.

Reaching eleven o’ clock in the morning we had to leave to prepare our photographic exposition “Europe, where are you?” that we had been preparing. Each pupil, and our teacher, took a photogragh that explained how we see Europe in our city.  It took hard work but finally it was worth it.

Then we went to meet Mr. Salvador Garriga, a MEP, who kindly came to our school to celebrate this special day with us. Our whole school attended to an act in the theatre where one of the pupils of our group, Julián Martínez Pérez, conducted a little orchestra formed entirely by pupils from our school that played the European anthem.

Here you have the video:

European anthem by Codema orchestra

After the act, some of us had the opportunity to have a colloquium with him, in which he answered to all of our questions and we debated topics as diverse as a possible European army, the economic budget for the programme Erasmus, or the importance of speaking several foreign languages.

To sum up, we had a bustling day, but it was a special form of celebrating Schuman’s day.

“Cooperation: task of all”

Cooperation, collaboration, support, commitment, perseverance. After this intensive course and, at this point, I think these words are not just that for us. Like a gear connection, in which each of its parts is fundamental to its operation, each of the members of this group, ECI, is essential to have managed to carry out all the projects that we have proposed. These values ​​are fundamental in a team and how hard it is to put them all in line. They combine different ways of thinking, character and above all, a different way of interpreting and giving opinions to the issues we have discussed, a different way to see Europe. Connect these ideas trying to make each contribute its part has not been easy but I personally think that is what has enriched our work, the plurality has not been an impediment, but rather the opposite.

Actually, our group is not so different as that formed by the countries of the European Union. Mutual support is needed between themselves and with the rest of the countries that are not part of it, impartial cooperation glorifies the common goal of any country and away the differences that confront. However, this is one of the biggest problems, disinterest. Currently, dominates the “help” of a powerful country to another with less possibilities but can offer something enriching, and there are few altruistic acts.

From my point of view, this aspect is where is needed to put in practice the values ​​mentioned at the beginning: “Cooperation, collaboration, support, commitment and perseverance, to function as a gear, a group, a team. In short, to achieve the common good”

Although remains much work to ensure that these values ​​prevail in international relations, the European Union has launched some agreements as “Partnership and Cooperation Agreements (PCAs)” with Russia, Eastern Europe, the Southern Caucasus and Central Asia.

The aim of these agreements I to strengthen their democracies and develop their economies through cooperation in a wide range of areas as preventing illegal activities or financial cooperation and therefore through political dialogue.

http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/external_relations/relations_ with_third_countries/eastern_europe_and_central_asia/r17002_en.htm

Another example is “The Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional & External Affairs (CIVEX)” which includes topics such as coordination in justice and home affairs, the rights or freedoms. Also deals extensively with the external dimension of the EU, focusing on neighbouring countries and the expansion and decentralized cooperation for development.

http://cor.europa.eu/en/activities/commissions/civex/Pages/civex.aspx

Finally, we also include the “Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO)” that is responsible for the provision of aid to the victims of crises and Natural or man-made disasters, treats including in country clubs outside the European Union.

http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/humanitarian_aid/r10003_en.htm

Achieving this objective is everyone, of every one of us. One of the most important things to note for this year is that we should not stand by and wait for things to change; we must begin for oneself and bring what is in our hand.

The European Anthem

Since 1985, a song has been ringing around all Europe, invading our hearts and awakening our european feelings. It is the European Anthem, but its history is longer than it seems to be.

The anthem, which nowadays is one of the 4th European symbols, has its origins in the “Ode to Joy”, the final movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony composed in 1823. In 1971 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe decided to propose adopting it as the European anthem, taking up a suggestion made by Count Richard Nikolaus von Coudenhove-Kalergi in 1955.

The anthem was launched via a major information campaign on Europe Day in 1972. In 1985, it was adopted by EU heads of State and government as the official anthem of the then European Community – since 1993 the European Union. It is not intended to replace the national anthems of the Member States but rather to celebrate the values they all share and their unity in diversity. It expresses the ideals of a united Europe: freedom, peace, and solidarity. But, in my opinion it also represents the joy of being part of Europe, a large community with many different cultures of which we must keep learning about.

As a curiosity, the European Anthem has lots of unofficial lyrics even before it was considered as an anthem:

• Due to the large number of languages used in the European Union, the anthem is purely instrumental, and the German lyrics Friedrich Schiller wrote and Beethoven based the melody upon have no official status. Despite this, the German lyrics are often sung by choirs or ordinary people when the anthem is placed

 

• In France, several adaptations of Beethoven’s Ode were known long before the onset of European Union. The version by the librettist Maurice Bouchor entitled Hymn to the Universal Humanity, adding several verses to a preceding version of Jean Ruault and another version by the Catholic writer Joseph Folliet are the most known.

So, in my opinion, this is the perfect anthem that could be choose for represent all Europe, in it we can find the joy of being part of Europe and also the values that represent this Community: freedom, peace, and solidarity which we must to improve for create a better world. In fact, it is because of it that we are going to perform it the following 9^th of May, Day of Europe.

Font: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthem_of_Europe

The European Flag

 

The European flag, also known as the flag of Europe, consists of twelve golden stars arranged in a circle on a blue background. It was designed in 1955 by Arsène Heitz, a painter of Strasbourg, and adopted on December 8 of that year by the Council of Europe, which encouraged other European institutions to adopt the same flag. The European Parliament accepted it in 1983. Finally, in 1985, the logo was adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the EU as the official emblem of the European Communities. All European institutions using it since 1986.

Contrary to popular belief, the number of stars has nothing to do with the number of Member States. There are twelve stars because the number twelve is traditionally the symbol of perfection, completeness and unity. So the flag does not change with the enlargement of the EU.

Finding a common symbol

The most popular were the flag of the European Movement (A large letter “E” green on white background) and the International Pan-European Union.

None of them intended to represent wider Europe and ended up being replaced by the current European flag.

Description

• Symbolic description: Against a background of blue sky, twelve golden stars form a circle, sign of the union of the peoples of Europe. The stars are fixed, twelve being the symbol of perfection and unity.
• Heraldic description: On an azure field a circle of twelve golden stars of five points, their points not touching each other.

• Design and proportion of the star: Each of the five-pointed star is and is registered within an invisible circle whose radius is equal to the height of the flag

• Design and proportions of the flag: The flag is a blue rectangle whose base has a length of one and a half the height

• Location of the stars: The twelve golden stars are aligned regularly along an invisible circle whose center conrresponde with the crossing point of the two diagonals of the rectangle forming the flag. The radius of said circle is equal to the height of the flag
• Orientation of the stars: All the stars are arranged vertically. That is, with one point up and two points resting on a line perpendicular to the mast invisible. The stars are arranged as hours on a clock face. Their number (twelve) is unchanged.

Colors

The main color of the flag is dark blue (Reflex Blue, a mixture of cyan and magenta), while stars are represented in yellow gold.

Common errors

The most frequent errors in representing the European Union flag usually involve the addition of a greater number of stars to the set, because of the false belief that each star represents a state. This belief is due to the influence of the American flag, in which the number of stars does represent the country’s federal states.

Another of the most commonly committed errors is to place the stars oriented incorrectly.

Flag incorrectly. The stars should make a point up.         

Flag incorrectly. The stars are poorly positioned.

Sports, sharing culture and ideas

Yesterday I’ve played a handball match, it was awful but it has made me think about the capacity of working as a team. During this time we have been talking about the different events the EU has developed since its foundation. I believe that if making seven different girls, with different opinions, likes and dislikes, interest, etc; agree, is almost impossible, how all the countries of the Union managed to work together? In terms of sportive events, of course, the problem is that people only like watching sports events, not practicing them.

Addressing the challenges caused by the lack of physical activity has become an important topic for the cooperation at EU level leading to Commission initiatives aimed at promoting physical activity both on the policy and on the funding side. Consequently, over the past years the exchange of information and good practice between Member States has been fostered and relevant projects as well as research have received funding. The Commission co-operates closely with competent international bodies on these issues, the WHO in particular.

On the sport policy side, following the Commission’s study ‘Young people’s lifestyles and sedentariness (2005), a political process was launched with Member States to exchange good practice regarding the use of physical activity and sport to combat overweight and obesity. In line with the 2007 White Paper on Sport, experts appointed by Member States in the informal Working Group ‘Sport & Health’, developed EU Physical Activity Guidelines, which were endorsed by EU Sport Ministers in 2008.

On the sport funding side, the Commission has provided grants to 9 transnational projects in the field of HEPA under the 2009 Preparatory Action in the field of sport. The 2012 Call for proposals also addresses physical activity, with regard to active ageing and with regard to awareness-raising in the municipal context.

Personally, I believe that Members States have to improve the public initiatives in favor of sport, and support local events such as free classes of “unknown” practices. Furthermore, Estates should reduce the importance football has, even though the Euro Cup provides a lot of money, in spite of the huge work it represents; to enrich the sportive diversity in Europe and increase the rest of sports’ popularity.

By CNICE free photos album

Making the “European feeling” grow

We believe that European citizenship is a feeling people have to develop since they are young. For that reason, we have decided to do a quiz for the children of our school, which consists on some questions related to Europe and the European Union. It will take place on the 9th of May, coinciding with Europe Day. Our aim is to discover how much they know about this place we live in, and also offer them the possibility to learn a lot more and become even more interested about this topic. We hope this opportunity will be useful for them to feel more European and make a contribution to our continent when they are older. It is vital to make this feeling grow in them when they are little, because they are the generation who could change the world tomorrow and this way they will think of Europe as something own. If we didn’t try to do this at these ages, maybe they would never be willing to do something for Europe.

The early childhood education is very important for the mental development of children and adolescents, therefore, the global trend is to achieve a stimulating educational purpose, increasingly early in children.

Education is a key when it comes to getting a number of lifestyle habits. Since we are small education has an important role in our life, and therefore it must be correct.

When they are little, children experience an extraordinary development of their skills and motivation to think about what they do, predict the outcome of their actions, language and recall their experiences showing that the experiences they gain in school are significant for their integral growth.

The role of the school in the child’s psychological development is important and, therefore, essential because at this age the little child is trained and educated not only by the interaction of the family and community, but also by the activities within the institution, where the stimulus, rules, values ​​and resources are part of their overall development.

It is true that knowledge is necessary, but, with the pace of today’s world it makes more sense to help the child gain the skills needed to perform effectively in any situation that they may encounter.

The main purpose of school is to enable each child during their early school years, to be active and independent in their own learning. For this it is necessary that the small possesses a positive self image, as a person and as a learner and as part of a society based on their skills and abilities. The maturity of the child is perceived in terms of intellectual functioning, the strength of their self-confidence, initiative, creativity and ability to relate to others, allowing them to participate in the social, political and economic life of their country.

In the educational process parents have an important role. His behaviour and way of acting at certain times will be a clear reference to us.

It is true that the environment in which we grow up and we live has an important role in taking a series of habits in life. So from here we want to encourage parents to cooperate with us and make their children have a European identity since they are little.

Finally, we think an educated person can better educate their children than an uneducated one, so if the European feeling finally grows in this generation, we will be able to have a much more “European society” in the future.

By CNICE free photos album

2nd of May

 

This painting by Francisco Goya represents the shootings that took place in the Surroundings of Madrid on the morning of May 2 by the French army.
Some will say that is history, that something that has happened in 1808 should skip no impact on the political decisions of 2013. against this I say, and why not?
For many yearsdue to these events, Spain and France had several conflicts, but I think one of the things that has made all there is a climate of warmth, is the role that the European Union has taken on external relations members countries of the Union.
After thinking a lot about the initiative we could take, I thought of the idea of ​​inculcating through some series of activities to students in the lower grades of school should have the importance that EU countries need foreign relations of friendship and peace .

1st of May, Labour Day

Today is the 1st of May, also known as The Labour Day. We have shelved our preparations for the European day, to talk about this contoversial theme.

A lot of strikes have been celebrated in almost all cities arround Spain and even Europe (the picture is taken in the strike of my city Gijón). Now we would like to say that if we think as Europe, not as an Isolated country, the fight for the rights will be much easier.

EU labour law defines your rights and obligations as employees and employers in the workplace. Labour law also plays a key role in ensuring that a high level of employment and sustained economic growth is accompanied by ongoing improvement of the living and working conditions throughout the EU.

EU law operates alongside the law of EU Member States and in some cases is superior to national law. When a conflict arises between EU law and the law of a Member State, the former takes precedence ,so that the law of a Member State does not apply.

With the aim of protecting workers’ rights and anticipating and managing change, these rules cover four main areas:

• Working conditions:  these laws cover issues such as working time, part-time and fixed-term work. For example, under EU labour law, part-time workers have the same rights as full-time workers             such as taking public holidays. Also, young workers, pregnant women and mothers of young children are protected by special laws.

• Information and consultation of workers: these rules determine what issues you – as a worker in the EU – must be told and consulted on. Workers thus have to be informed through their representatives if substantial changes are going to be made in the company’s  work organisation or in contractual arrangements, for example if the company is planning to close a business unit. A European worker also has the right to a written statement of terms and conditions of employment.

• Protection of workers in case of transfer, collective redundancy and employer insolvency: for instance, if a company is taken over by another, the workers of the acquired company keep their employment contract with the new employer in the same conditions as before the acquisition.

• EU labour law also determines what rules to apply to posted workers: for instance workers that are temporarily  sent by their employer to work in another Member State. These are the rules in force in the host country in a number of core areas – maximum work periods, minimum rates of pay, paid annual holidays and health and safety at the workplace.

So, you should remember that if we think as Europeans things will be easier. I am almost totally sure that people from the countries that conform Europe, did not know that the European Union, interveenes in their labour rights.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

EU labour law
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/labour_law/index_en.htm

EU Directives on employment
http://ec.europa.eu/ employment_social/labour_law/Directives_en.htm

Complaint form
http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/your_rights/your_rights_forms_en.htm

Another picture of the strike in Gijón

Europe, where are you?

On the first post in our European blog we are going to present one of the many activities that we are preparing for May 9^th, the Day of Europe.

The first thing we thought about was a photographic exposition named ‘Europe, where are you?’  We thought it would be a visual and easy way of showing how we see Europe in our own city (Gijón) and a great way of start the activities. We want to show that being an active European citizen isn’t just about voting in the elections and preparing projects for the parliament, but also about working in Europe in the small dimension.

Our entire group (the pupils and teacher from 2^nd of Bachillerato) spent some time taking pictures out in the city that were lately discussed and selected in class. A picture for each “participant” would be shown on a photographic exposition in the school’s library the marked day.

Empty ballot box or our voice in EU