Pimp My School Routine! Better middle schoolers will become responsible European citizens Erasmus Project

Project Title

Pimp My School Routine! Better middle schoolers will become responsible European citizens

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Health and wellbeing; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

“Pimp My School Routine! Exchange practices and healthy tips to better live the tough middle school years.” is an Erasmus+ school exchange project of two schools. Laihian Keskuskoulu, a lower secondary school of 300 students situated in western Finland, serves as the project coordinator. Project partner is St Antoine Middle School, a 400 students’ secondary school in Lannilis, west coast of France. The original project idea came from Finnish students and was presented in eTwinning. The project partner got interested in the project topics and contacted coordinator. Common interests between the participating two schools were found quickly and cooperation is up to a promising start.

This is a 13 month project that consists of multiple virtual meetings, some “homework” in between meetings and two mobilities, first one to Finland in April 2020 and the second one to France in May 2020. Participating in the mobilities of the project are three teachers and 26 students from both schools, but the whole school communities in both schools are involved in the project.

The most important objectives for the project are to share and to come up with good ways to enhance our students’ school motivation and to help them succeed in their studies. To help them find their strengths and reach their full potential and eventually grow up as responsible European citizens and members of their society. To share and to come up with good ways to reduce early leaving from school and to improve transition between different levels of education so that fewer students quit education without acquiring a profession. And last but not least, to support students in making healthy lifestyle choices and to help them understand the importance of lifestyle choices in school motivation, success in education and in general well being.

To achieve these objectives, we have planned interesting activities. During mobilities we aim to visit local companies and organize job shadowing experiences for students both in Finland and in France to help our students figure out possible career options for the future and hence improve their school motivation. We are going to plan and organize events on the topic of healthy lifestyle involving students, teachers, parents and other members of school staff and community to support students in making healthy lifestyle choices and to improve cooperation between schools, homes, businesses and other institutions within the community. We will explore and compare our two schools in their practices regarding supporting students’ healthy lifestyle choices, school motivation, career plans, transition to other education system and exchanging good practices. We will listen to our students as they make suggestions as how they think we should develop our schools’ practices and let them organize “a school day of dreams” where they can for one day decide how things are done in schools. And as a conclusion to this project, we will create a “European Declaration of the Happy and Resourceful Middle Schooler”, that we aim to display in both schools with pride!

Project results will be shared and used in developing standards of activity within the whole school community in both participating schools. Our special target group within our schools is students that lack motivation and are in danger of leaving school early. We also mean to spread the results wider in our areas. We plan on writing blogs, making posters, hosting events and inviting local media to have visibility around the area. We will also spread our results within the European community via eTwinning, Erasmus + Project Results Platform and/or School Education Gateway.

This is also and foremost a training opportunity for both teams of teachers who will be involved into the project : the two original contact persons in both countries will identify every other teacher of their team willing to share their expertise through this project, a first to both schools. We expect to learn a lot from one another in regards to teaching methods and school practices. Becoming better teachers is also a long term objective of this project. Working as a team locally and at a European level to get our schools known to be trying new activities and approaches, is a great motivation factor to pursue our quest to experiment soon on yet bigger projects.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 36560 Eur

Project Coordinator

Laihian keskuskoulu & Country: FI

Project Partners

• OGEC Saint Antoine