Soilcontact: Nature – Identity – Learnclimate Erasmus Project

Project Title

Soilcontact: Nature – Identity – Learnclimate

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Social dialogue; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

The school partnership between the Benedictine monastic grammar school in Seitenstetten and the J. Branecký piarist grammar school in Trencin has existed since 2001. This partnership is based on the pro-European idea that “Europe grows together”, which is strongly linked to former Foreign minister Dr Alois Mock, an ex-student of the aforementioned school in Seitenstetten.
Students should recognise the advantages of reducing disparities and experience a life where the former ‘Iron curtain’ no longer separates but rather joins them. Europe is a varied and diverse continent, where people of different backgrounds, cultures and religions live. It is therefore important that students get to know Europe as a continent full of different regional identities. Living with a host family or being part of a new class with new friendship groups are great ways to experience this. It provides the opportunity to improve language skills as well as IT skills. Through EU connections a stronger geographical focus is evident. The current topic “green classes” or learning environments shows us that pupils face new challenges, deal with current issues and learn to put ideas into effect together. This is where regional identity plays a very big role. The orchard meadow for example is a typical cultural landscape for the “Mostviertel” (The region in which Seitenstetten is located). Here in Seitenstetten we have an open-air classroom located in the school garden. This offers education with a unique learning atmosphere. Known as a “green classroom”, this place is suitable for lessons and meetings alike, becoming a symbolic space for a continued school partnership. The piarist grammar school’s school-tower provides an opportunity of creating a panorama classroom and establishing new methods and strategies of communication. Especially in urban areas, it is very important to find and create alternative learning spaces as oases. What seems particularly worthwhile is to compare such learning space-oases in urban and rural areas. As the establishment of learning spaces has a strong need of creativity and sensitivity, it is necessary to involve stakeholders in the process due to the high ambitions of the projects. Finally, the aim of these learning oases is to create a learning atmosphere that helps improving motivation in and success of our students.
Two student exchange programs are planned, each lasting 5-7 days including 15 students and 4 teachers from each school: school operator abbot Petrus Anton Pilsinger, the school principal, project head Dr. Harald Tanzer, accompanying teacher Mag. Melanie Leutgeb, respectively the piarist grammar school’s school operator, principal RNDr. Silvia Baginova, Dr. Lubica Zollerova, Dr. Viera Skripcova und Mag. Diana Vylamova. Furthermore, a teacher’s congress as a meeting of project managers together with important stakeholers as well as a staff training are planned for interaction of good practice. The meetings and exchange programs do not only aim at the interaction between students and teachers, but also between stakeholders and school operators. Our intention is to create a source of inspiration within the schools, the regions and internationally by interactions in cooperation and school partnership. This collaboration needs to be supported and evaluated by stakeholders in order to guarantee sustainable outcomes.
The project aims at fostering the long-standing school partnership between the two newcomers at Erasmus+ in order to reach a new level of content in the sense of Green Erasmus. Sustainability and the spirit of learning and benefitting from each other are messages of central relevance within the project “ground contact”. Finally, eTwinning serves as a chance for a new means of communications to be discovered and established at both schools for further communication and collaboration.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 43262 Eur

Project Coordinator

Öffentliches Stiftsgymnasium der Benediktiner & Country: AT

Project Partners

• Piaristicke gymnazium Jozefa Braneckeho v Trencine