This is the Romania - Suceava portfolio.

1. COMENIUS PROJECT
2011—2013
ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP THROUGH
FAIRY CONTENT TALES
ACT-
ACT-FACT
Portfolio
Life school
and education
PROJECT PARTNERS:
♦SECONDARY SCHOOL NO 10, SUCEAVA, ROMANIA
♦MELIKŞAH İLKÖĞRETIM OKULULU, ANKARA, TURKEY
♦NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL PERPETUO SOCORRO SCHOOL, ROTA, SPAIN
♦OSNOVNA ŠOLA DR IVANA KOROŠCA BOROVNICA, SLOVENIA,
♦GRADINITA CU PROGRAM NORMAL "CASUTA POVESTILOR", VATRA
DORNEI, ROMANIA

2. A project to help us
gain better understanding of each other
through the participating
countries’ culture and traditions
and to help us understand
our own culture and traditions better.
This project has been funded with support
from the European Commission
through Lifelong Learning/ Comenius program.
This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible
for any use which may be made of the information
contained therein.

3. THE EUROPEAN
PARTNERSHIP
The Comenius program, addresses the teaching and learning needs of all those
in pre-school and school education up to the level of the end of upper secondary education,
and the institutions and organizations providing such education
Specific objectives
To develop knowledge and understanding among young people and educational staff of the
diversity of European cultures and languages and its value
To help young people acquire the basic life-skills and competences necessary for their per-
sonal development, for future employment and for active European
citizenship
Operational objectives
To improve the quality and to increase the volume of mobility involving pupils
and educational staff in different Member States
To improve the quality and to increase the volume of partnerships between
schools in different Member States, so as to involve at least 3 million pupils in
joint educational activities during the period of the programme
To encourage the learning of modern foreign languages
To support the development of innovative ICT-based content, services,
pedagogies and practice in lifelong learning
To enhance the quality and European dimension of teacher training
To support improvements in pedagogical approaches and school management
ABOUT COMENIUS MULTILATERAL PARTNERSHIPS

4. ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP THROUGH FAIRY
CONTENT TALES - ACT-FACT
The project aims to develop active citizenship competencies to both pupils and
teachers involved in its activities, by emphasizing different living values, such
as friendship, respect for themselves, for others (parents, children, other peo-
ple), for animals and nature, equality. It also proposes to enable pupils from
the participant countries to share a variety of culture through fairy tales and
traditional stories and to gain a better understanding of each partner’s culture.
During this project, partners will develop communication skills, living values,
democracy, tolerance and active citizenship. It also promote inclusive educa-
tion, access for all pupils to a quality education.
The project “ACT-FACT” aims to encourage pupils and teachers to work to-
gether and to widen perspectives through their traditional fairy tales in order to
discover a common heros, or a common living value differently emphasized in
every country. It will valorize common European traditions; they will show
differences and similarities, as traditions, lifestyle, literature and culture.
Within the activities, pupils will research specific moral values, including
work, friendship, self-respect, family, as a society's fundament, through tradi-
tional fairy tales. During the exchange visits pupils will produce collaborative
portfolios on the selected themes.
The project is designed for two years, it will bring together partners from Ro-
mania, Turkey, Poland, Italy, Spain, Greece, who will work in order to achieve
the project’s aims and objectives and to design final products agreed among
the partners, such as: a common fairy tales book, a handbook containing com-
mon living values and a DVD containing role-plays, photos, pupils’ songs and
theatre on the project thematic, a puzzle.

5. THE PARTNER COUNTRIES
ROMANIA
SPAIN
SLOVENIA
TURKEY

6. THE PARTNER SCHOOLS FROM:
ROMANIA
SPAIN
SLOVENIA
TURKEY

7. SECONDARY SCHOOL NO 10
SUCEAVA, ROMANIA
Coordinating institution for this project
Secondary School No 10 Suceava is sittuated in Burdujeni district, Cuza Voda 1
area; it opened its gates on 1st September 1981, with a school population of 639
students. The school year 1990 - 1991 recordered the highest number of students -
1755. Recent demographic studies show that the number of students is espected to
decrease in the following years. Thus, the school population numbered 1264
students in 2000-2001 (629 in primary school, 635 in secondary school) and in 2007
-2008, only 864 students (430 in primary school, 434 in secondary school).
School must become the center of interest for the local community and involvement
must replace indifference in the parents’ mentality; thus, these changes will
influence their children’s education and their attitude towards education.
7

8. According to the Law on Education adopted in 1995,
the Romanian Educational System is regulated by the Ministry of Edu-
cation, Research, Youth and Sports. Each level has its own form of organization and
is subject to different legislation. Kindergarten is optional between 3 and 6 years
old. Schooling starts at age 7 (sometimes 6), and is compulsory until the 10th grade
(which usually corresponds to the age of 17 or 16). Primary and secondary education
are divided in 12 or 13 grades. Higher education is aligned onto the European higher
education area.
Education is free in public schools (including some books and auxiliary materi-
als), but not entirely (some textbooks, notebooks, pencils and uniforms might be re-
quired to be purchased). .
The Romanian System of Education
DOCTORATE
MASTERS POST-UNIVERSITY COURSES
TERTIARY EDUCATION UNIVERSITY (18- …)
POST – SECONDARY, NON-TERTIARY
(TECHNICAL/VOCATIONAL)
(18-21)
SECONDARY UPPER COLLEGES HIGH-SCHOOLS SCHOOLS OF ARTS AND
EDUCATION SECON- (15-18) (15-18) TRADES
DARY (15-17/18)
SCHOOLS
LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL
(11-15)
PRIMARY EDUCATION JUNIOR SCHOOL
(7-10)
INFANTS SCHOOL
(6-7)
PRE-SCHOOL NURSERY KINDERGARDENS
EDUCATION SCHOOLS (3-6)
(1-3)

9. Education in our school
In our school, we teach children aged 6/7 - 14/15 years old.
* Primary school: I-IV: 6/7—10/11
years old
* Lower secondary school: V-VIII:
11– 14/15 years old
At the end of the eighth form
students get a school leaving cer-
tificate.
School starts in the middle of Sep-
tember and ends in the middle of June the following year. It is divided into
two semesters (September to January and February to June). There are four holiday
seasons (Christmas — 3 weeks in December/January;
Easter (either Orthodox or Catholic) in April or May — 2 weeks; and Summer or
The Great Holiday, spanning from June 22 to September 1), with an additional fifth
holiday in November (one week) for students in the first 4 years.
A class can have up to 30 students (25 is considered optimum), and there can
be as few as one class per grade or as many as twenty classes per grade. Usually
each group has its own
classroom and a class/
form teacher. Each group
has its own designation,
usually the grade fol-
lowed by a letter of the
alphabet (for exam-
ple, VII A means that the
student is in the 7th
grade in the 'A' class).
3

10. For the first four years a system similar to E-S-N-U is used, known
as the calificative. These are Foarte bine (FB) — Excellent, Bine
(B) — Good, Satisfăcător/Suficient (S) — Satisfactory, actually meaning (barely)
passing, Nesatisfăcător/Insuficient (N/I) — Failed. Students who get an N/I -Failed
must take an exam in the summer with a special assembly of teachers, and if the
situation is not improved, the student will repeat the whole year.
Qualifiers' (calificative) are given throughout the year, in a system of year-
long assessment, on tests, schoolwork, homework or projects. For grade 5 to 12, a 1
to 10 grading system is used with 10 being the best and 1 being the worst and 5 is
the minimum passing grade. The system of continuous assessment is also used, with
individual marks for each test, oral examination, project, homework or class work
being entered in the register (these individual marks are known as note).
By the end of the 4th grade, the classes/groups are reshaped based on academic per-
formances. Many schools have special classes (such as intensive English classes or
Informatics classes, providing one or two more courses in these subjects). Selection
for such classes is done based on local tests. Assessing the students' performance is
also different between primary and gymnasium cycles.
Starting with the 5th grade, students have a different teacher (profesor) for
each subject. Furthermore, each class has a teacher designated to be class principal
(diriginte), besides
teaching his or her
usual subject. Addition-
ally, counseling may be
provided by a spe-
cial counselor (consilier
pe probleme de educa-
ţie — counselor on edu-
cational issues) or by a
school psychologist.

11. At the end of the 8th year of school (at age 14 or 15) a nation-
wide test is taken by all students. The subjects are Romanian Language
and Literature, Maths The passing
mark is 5. If the student passes, he
is allowed to enrol in a high
school or he will have to join a
School of Crafts and Trades for
two years. The finishing grade
(also known as the admission
grade) is computed as an average,
taking into account for 50% an average of all the Yearly General Averages starting
with year 5 and for the rest of 50% the mark obtained at the National Test (1-10, 10
being the highest, not rounded, precision 0.01). Despite the exams not being pub-
lished, the marks are public, lists being placed both in schools and on the Internet. In
order to enroll in a high school, the student must choose a list of high schools he or
she desires to attend (there is no automatic enrolment this time), based on his mark
and options by filling in a nation-wide form. A national computer system does the
repartition, by taking into account students in the order of their preferences and their
"admission grade". Thus, somebody with an 9.85 average (this is a top 5% mark)
will certainly enter the
high school he or she de-
sires, while somebody
with 5.50 has almost no
chance to attend a top
ranked high school.
However, based on this
system, the last admis-
sion averages for some
prestigious high schools
are over 9.50 or 9.60.

12. Our school officially
became an ECO School
and was awarded the
Green Flag, the symbol of
the schools participating
IN projects related to
environmental education.
The Green flag
Music, dance, parade for children dressed in clothes
designed by recyclable materials. Children learn
how to protect and save the nature.

13. Learning about the European institutions.
30

14. 8 March
Celebrating Mother’s Day
“A smile for nobody’s Granny”
Celebrating Mother’s Day with the
old people in an old people’s home.
34

15. We celebrate Birds’
Day. We learn from
birds to fly into the
sky, to give perspec-
tive to our wishes and
to feel the high of our
hopes
always visible.
The students prepared posters about
birds, also they made birds using re-
cyclable materials
38

16. The Eco program was assessed
by our agency in Bucharest.
They were really impressed by
the activity our students were
doing.
Our colleagues, Angelica and
Cristian Murarasu are speaking
about the project “LEAF -
Learning about the Forest”
Our school hosted the last meeting
of the Comenius project “PEACH–
Parents as Educational Assurance
for their Children”
Small artists, future big musicians
Our school hosted a big teachers’
meeting, where the students performed
wonderful lessons

17. Celebrating with...
...Santa Claus.
“Oh, Christmas tree,
Oh, Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!!!”
Singing carols into the
newspaper redaction. The
editors are impressed.
Children learn how press
works and what means to
be a newspaper redactor.

18. Celebrating the most important poet in the Romanian
literature, Mihai Eminescu. He was born on 15th Janu-
ary 1850 and died on 15 June 1889, at the age of 39.
His poetry was a model for all his successors, and the
contemporary literature is indebted to him, considering
him the best poet our literature has ever had.
The students celebrated his
birthday in the Town Library,
reciting of his poems, singing
songs on his verses.
24 January 1959 was the day when Moldova joined Tara Romaneasca, and Alexan-
dru Ioan Cuza was the first leader of the new born country called Romania. The dis-
trict our school is located in bears his name: Cuza Voda.

19. GRADINITA CU PROGRAM NORMAL
"CASUTA POVESTILOR", VATRA DORNEI,
ROMANIA
The kindergarten is situated in a rather pe-
ripheric area of Vatra Dornei town, which is a
small town in a balneo-climaterical area of
Suceava county, between mountains. It is a
very nice area, as landscape, but far away
from the heart of the county, which means a
barier in pupils' development and access to
educational facilities. The institution has as
subordinates other 3 small kindergartens, all
together having 225 pupils from 2/3 to 6
years old. In these four kindergartens there
are 9 pre-primary teachers, very well pre-
pared, working with these pupils and offering
them a qualitative education.

20. Preschool education
Preschool learning plan:
The categories of activities listed in this learning plan are: Curriculum areas for kin-
dergarten, Games and chosen activities and Personal development activities.
1. Curriculum areas for kindergarten are the integrated activities or subjects per-
formed with children according to the planned themes, age level, needs and interests
of children in group. The teacher can develop independent activities – language edu-
cation activities, mathematics, knowledge of the environment, physical education,
education for the society, practice activities, musical or arts activities, in which are
mixed knowledge from many fields.
2. Games and chosen activities are the one
that children chose for their one, it helps
them to socialize and to initiate them in
knowing the physical world, the social and
cultural environment, mathematics, knowl-
edge of reading and writing language. The
games are held in small groups, in pairs and
even individually. These must stimulate the
child, invite him to participate in activities.
The space organization in the classroom it’s
done in areas of interests: the house corner,
buildings, science, arts, water and sand, li-
brary. The space organization is done taking in count the material resources, the ex-
isting space and the theme of the week.
3. Personal development activities include: the routines, transitions and the ac-
tivities in the afternoon for the kindergartens with overtime, as well as the optional
activities.

21. a. Routines are benchmark
activities that are related to
the whole day’s activities.
They cover all the kids’ basic
educational needs and con-
tribute to his global development, such as: his arrival at the kindergarten, early in the
morning (the morning meeting: greetings,
presence, nature’s calendar of the day, the
daily news, the group activities), the meals,
his leaving by the noon.
b. The transitions are short activities that
move from routines to activities in differ-
ent moments of the day. These can be dif-
ferent according to the child’s age: count-
ing, a singing game.
c. The optional activities are chosen by the parents. These can be developed by the
teacher or by a specialist. Their role
is to develop and discover children’s
skills. Games are the fundamental
activity for children. Principal means
of achieving educational instructive
process are free game, didactic game
and didactic learning activities.

22. The annual studying program it’s organized around six big themes:
1. Who am I?
2. When, how and why it’s happening?
3. How is, it was and how it will be here on Earth?
4. How do we express our feelings?
5. How do we plan/organize an activity?
6. What and how do I want to be?
A class lasts between 15 and 45 minutes, depending on the children’s age, the con-
tents and the objectives proposed on the activity.
For the groups of kids with the age between 3-5 years the activities are focused on
their socialization: collaborating, cooperating, negotiation, taking decisions and fi-
nally gaining a kind of self-autonomy. For the kids being 5-6/7 years old, the accent
goes on activities to prepare them for the school life.
The pre-primary teacher’s activity consists in 5 hours a day developing activities
with the children and 3 hours of methodical activity, preparing activities for the next
day, manufacturing didactic materials, individual study, trainings, methodological
committees, educational circles, experience changes.

23. Educational activities

24. Artistic moments

25. Cleaning the park around
Cleaning the kindergarten
yard
Recycling paper

26. Celebrating children`
birthday
First of June—Children`s Day
Preparing cookis for dols

27. Visiting the Science of Nature Museum
Common activities with the
town`s library and the munitipal

28. Different materials made
by recyclable things

29. Educational tools made
by recyclable materials

30. MELIKŞAH İLKÖĞRETIM OKULULU,
ANKARA, TURKEY
Mustafa Kemal was born in 1881
(probably in the spring) in Salonica,
then an Ottoman city, now in Greece.
The account of Atatürk’s fifteen
year Presidency is a saga of dramatic
modernization. With indefatigable de-
termination, he created a new political
and legal system, abolished the Caliph-
ate and made both government and
education secular, gave equal rights to Malik Shah was the third sul-
women, changed the alphabet and the tan of the Seljuk from 1072 until
attire, and advanced the arts and the his death in 1092. He was born
sciences, agriculture and industry. in 1055. He became the sultan
In 1934, when the surname law was adopted, the national parliament gave of the Seljuk when he was 18
him the name "Atatürk" (Father of the Turks). years old. In 1072 he succeeded
On November 10, 1938, following an illness of a few months, the national his father to head an empire
liberator and the Father of modern Turkey died. But his legacy to his people that controlled parts of Arabia,
and to the world endures. Mesopotamia, and areas near
the Persian Gulf.
The school is in Ankara,Sincan,Gazi Osman Pasa district. It is named after the
historical Great Seljuk Empire’s eminent statesman and commander, Malik Shah. It
was opened in 1991 with its 8 classes, 250 students and 20 teachers. The principal
founder was Hüdaverdi ŞAHAN.
Charitable businessman Özkent AKBILEK got the 14-classed new additional
building done in 2006, which doubled the school’s capacity.
There is a pre-school class in the school. It serves both to morning and after-
noon groups.
There is a computer lab, a projection room, a counselor service, a science lab, a
conference hall, a technology design class and there are two libraries in the school. It
continues education with the principal Şaban İPEK and two assistant principals Er-
sin ÖZKAN and Aysel KARAKUŞ. The school has got 1090 pupils and 50 teachers.

31. EDUCATION SYSTEM AND SCHOOL LIFE
IN TURKEY
Education is one of the fundamental functions of the state and performed
under state control and supervision. The Ministry of National Education (MoNE) is
responsible for offering the educational services; the right to education is ensured by
the Constitution.
Formal education includes pre-school education, primary education,
secondary education and higher education institutions. There are both public (free of
charge) and private schools providing education for all these levels.

32. Pre-school Education: It is optional for the children between 3-5 years old.
Preschool education is provided by independent nurseries and a variety of ministries
and institutions in
k i n d e rg a r d e n s ,
nurseries and
preparatory
classes as well as
day care and
children care
centers.

33. Primary Education: For children between 6 and 14 years old, compulsory and free
of charge in public schools. Primary education is uninterrupted for 8 years and the
graduates receive a primary education
diploma.

34. Secondary
Education:
Secondary
education is
divided into two as general and vocational & technical education. General high
schools offer 4 years of education for 15-18 years old to prepare them for higher
education. They include the Anatolian High Schools (schools offering education in a
foreign language), High Schools, Science Schools, Anatolian Teacher Training
Schools, Anatolian Fine Arts schools and multi- curriculum high schools. Vocational
and technical high schools train the qualified manpower required in various fields of
industry and prepare students for professional life as well as higher education. They
include technical schools for boys, vocational schools for girls, vocational schools
for commerce and hotel management and religious high schools.
Turkish education system is highly academic and teacher centered. There is a solid
exam system, in which students have to get prepared almost all through their
education life
to get a better
education
opportunity.

35. The national exam after primary
education defines which type of
school the student is going to study.
Anatolian High schools, science
schools and some popular private
high schools only accept students according to the ranking of the student in the
exam. Thus, starting from the early years of their secondary education, the students
also attend to private courses as to support their school life and get better prepared
for the national exams. This fact makes young people's life occupied mainly by
education and only a limited time remains for social activities.
In all secondary schools, students wear uniforms as a rule. The style and the colors
may differ from school to school, which is also considered as the identity of the
school. Except the few existing examples of schools for only girls or boys, at all
schools girls and boys are studying together. Depending on the facilities of the school,
different social activities are available for the students.

36. Most of the social activities are based on sports and music. All schools may have
different student clubs. The efficiency of the clubs depend on the students and the
support of the school.
Higher education: Higher education is offered by several state and private universi-
ties. There are higher vocational schools, offering practical education for 2 years and
academic universities providing undergraduate studies for 4 years, except medical
studies vary from 5 to 6 years.
An additional 2 years is re-
quired for graduate degrees.
All universities accept students
according to the results of the
national university exams.
Every year more than 1.5 mil-
lion students enter this exam in
order to be able to get into a
good university.

37. Exchange Students: Exchange students, are placed in a high school
matching their age and the studies they have completed in their home
country. Students are placed in General High Schools, Anatolian High Schools or
Private High Schools that YFU Turkey is cooperating with. Exchange students do
not pay any tuition fee, but they all have to pay for school transportation, school
lunch, school uniforms and books regardless of the type of school they are placed in.

38. NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL PERPETUO SOCORRO
SCHOOL, ROTA, SPAIN

42. Spanish students aged 6 to 16 undergo primary (colegio) and secon-
dary school (instituto) education, which are compulsory and (like the
preceding preschool from age 3) free of charge. Successful students
are awarded a Secondary Education Certificate, which is necessary to enter the post-
compulsory stage of Schooling (principally the Bachillerato) for their University or
Vocational (Formación Profesional) Studies. Once students have finished their Ba-
chillerato, they can take their University Entrance Exam (Pruebas de Acceso a la
Universidad, popularly called Selectividad) which differs greatly from region to re-
gion. The compulsory stage of secondary education is normally referred to by its ini-
tials: ESO (Educación Secundaria Obligatoria).
Primary school
Structured as three 2 year cycles:
OUR SCHOOL HOURS
♦ First Cycle (6 to 8 years of age) Infantil and Primaria (3 to 11 years)
♦ Second Cycle (8 to 10 years of From 9:00 to 14:00, Monday to Friday.
age) ESO (Secondary Education)
♦ Third Cycle (10 to 12 years of age) From 8:30 to 15:00, Monday to Friday.
Spanish Baccalaureate (Bachillerato)
Spanish Bachillerato is the post-16 stage of education, comparable to the A Levels/
Higher (Scottish) in the UK, the French Baccalaureate in France or the International
Baccalaureate.
At undergraduate level, some degrees have their own branch requirements (such as
medicine, engineering degrees, law...) and some courses accept students from any
branch, such as Language studies, Social Work, Educational Sciences or Tourism.
We don’t have “Bachillerato” in our school. Our students must study at a
“instituto” (Upper Secondary School) for two years before entering university.

43. The current system of education in Spain is known as LOE after the
Ley Orgánica de Educación, or Fundamental Law of Education. Edu-
cation in Spain is compulsory, and free from 6 to 16 years of age, sup-
ported by the Government in each Region.
Up to Secondary level
Below Higher Education the system can be seen as consisting of four levels:
• Pre-school (Educación Infantil, segundo ciclo) - 3 to 6 years of age
• Primary School (Educación Primaria) six years of schooling - 6 to 12 years of
age
• Compulsory Secondary Education (Educación Secundaria Obligatoria) four
years of schooling - 12 to 16 years of age
• Post-Compulsory Schooling (Bachillerato) two years of schooling - 16 to 18
years of age.
Our school offers the first three levels,
from 3 to 16 years of age, having a single group (class) for each year.
Children 3 to 6 years old in Spain have the option of attending the Pre-school stage
(infantil or popularly known as preescolar), which is non-compulsory and free for
all students. It is regarded as an integral part of the education system with infants'
classes at almost every primary school. There are some separate nursery schools
(Colegios Infantiles).
Children (whose parents chose that they should) enter pre-school (Educación In-
fantil) in the autumn of the calendar year in which they turn three years old. Follow-
ing this pattern, the ages given here as corresponding to the different phases are the
ages turned by children in the calendar year in which the academic year begins. Age
ranges are inclusive: 3 to 5 years of age is 3 academic years.

45. Comparative with British Qualifications
The Spanish School Leaving Certificate (ESO) is equivalent to a number of GCSEs,
Junior Cert(in Ireland).orStandard Grades(in Scotland).
The Bachillerato is equivalent to A-levels, Leaving Certificate(in Ire-
land).andScottish Highers . Therefore, Spanish students obtaining the appropriate
grades required for entrance into universities in other parts of Europe, including
Britain, are not precluded.
In our school about 85% of our students get the ESO Certificate the first year they
study 4th ESO. About 10% get it the second year, and only about 5% has to leave
without getting this certificate (these results are better than the Spanish national
average).
Vocational Training
The vocational training is also a common possibility after ESO or after the Spanish
Baccalaureate. There are two different types of programs: Middle Grade Training
Cycles (Ciclos Formativos de Grado Medio), which have the ESO diploma as a re-
quirement, and Superior-level Training Cycles (Ciclos Formativos de grado Supe-
rior), which have the Spanish Baccalaureate as the principal requirement. After com-
pletion of the Superior-level Training Cycle, students are entitled to direct entrance
to several related University degrees.
Provision and Costs
Schools in Spain can be divided into 3 categories:
♦ State schools (Colegios Publicos)
♦ Privately run schools funded by the State (Colegios Concertados)
♦ Purely private schools (Colegios Privados)
According to summary data for the year 2008-2009[1] from the ministry, state
schools educated 67.4%, private but state funded schools 26.0%, and purely private
schools 6.6% of pupils the preceding year.

46. Our school is a “Centro concertado” – private but funded by the
Andalusian government. We need some economical help from par-
ents to balance our budget!
All non-university state education is free in Spain, but parents
have to buy all of their children's books and materials. This,
nominally at least, also applies to colegios concertados. Many
schools are concertados = state funded up to the end of ESO but
are purely private for the bachillerato years. This drop in the
fraction of pupils in educacion concertado is matched by increases of approximately
equal size in the fraction in both state and purely private education for bachillerato.
There are private schools for all the range of compulsory education. At them, parents
must pay a monthly/termly/yearly fee. Most of these schools are run by religious or-
ders, and include single-sex schools.
Schools supply a list of what is required at the start of each school year and which
will include art and craft materials as well as text and exercise books. Expect to
spend a minimum of around ninety pounds (GBP) per child (from 2009, this figure
is nearer 300 pounds (GBP)), but in some regions, the autonomous government is
giving tokens to exchange them in book shops for free. InAndalucia, kids from 3 to
16 will get the books for free. School uniform is not normally worn in state schools
but is usually worn in private schools.
Our students wear a school uniform, with special clothes for sport lessons. There is
also a “summer uniform” for September, part of October and May, and June.
School terms
Broadly similar to the English three term system, but with slightly shorter holidays
at Christmas (December 23-January 8) and Easter (one week - "Semana Santa"), and
longer in the summer (normally from 23th June to 15th September). The English
half-term holiday does not exist, but there are frequent odd days and long weekends
relating mainly to religious holidays and regional and national holidays.

47. School life in Spain
School Hours in Spain
School hours vary from school to school, but are usually from 9am until 4pm with a
one-hour break for lunch, although an increasing number of schools don’t have a
lunch break and finish classes at 2pm. Lessons are usually divided into teaching pe-
riods of 45 minutes. Some schools offer school lunches, although many children
bring a packed lunch or go home for lunch if they live nearby. Most schools provide
a subsidised or free bus service to take children to and from their homes in outlying
regions. Some schools are now opening early (e.g. at 8am) and providing activities
after school until 5 or 6pm in an attempt to make childcare provision easier for
working parents.
School Holidays in Spain
The academic year in Spain runs from mid-September to mid-June, with the main
holidays at Christmas, Easter and the long summer break. Spanish schoolchildren
have very long school holidays (vacaciones escolares) compared with those in many
other countries. The school year is made up of three terms, each averaging around 11
weeks. Terms are fixed and are generally the same throughout the country, although
they may be modified in autonomous regions to take account of local circumstances
and special events (such as local fiestas).
Some provinces (e.g. Malaga) also include a week’s holiday in the middle of the
spring term (usually in February), known as ‘white week’ (semana blanca). Pupils
transferring from primary to secondary school are sometimes given an additional
two weeks’ summer holiday, which usually includes an ‘end of school’ trip (viaje de
estudios) with fellow pupils. Schools are also closed on public holidays when they
fall within term time.
School holiday dates are published by schools and local communities well in ad-
vance, thus allowing parents plenty of time to schedule family holidays. Normally,
you aren’t permitted to withdraw a child from classes during the school term, except
for visits to a doctor or dentist, when the teacher should be informed in advance.

48. OSNOVNA ŠOLA DR IVANA KOROŠCA
BOROVNICA, SLOVENIA
The school consists in elementary school (children from 6 – 15 years old and kinder-
garten (children from 1 till 6 years old). It is situated in a very quickly evolving
environment. So the need of taking care of our surroundings is one of our school's
primary issues, the other aim is to teach children of equality in society. The project
is designed in such a way that the special needs of the pupils and the kindergarten
children will be taken in to account. Special attention will be given on different areas
gift pupils and also for pupils with other special needs. A lot of pupils stay at school
from 6 a.m. till 5 p.m. and we think that their inclusion in the project will be a big
opportunity for them to get knowing other cultures in Europe.

49. THE SLOVENIAN
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
The Slovenian school system has seen a number of changes in recent years, aiming
to ensure that as many people as possible realize their right to education and achieve
a higher educational level. The framework has been established (9-year basic educa-
tion, higher vocational education), and the basic premises are known; however, the
program of reform continues in terms of implementation at the levels of secondary
and higher vocational education (the introduction of the credit system, connecting
subjects, integration of theory and practice, open curriculum).
The reform of the curriculum from pre-school to secondary school education, which
took three years, is now complete. The nine-year program, for which no pre-school
education is compulsory, is divided into three periods of three years, beginning when
children are six years old. In the academic year 2006-2007 there were 166,000 pu-
pils enrolled in elementary education and more than 13,225 teachers, giving a ratio
of one teacher per 12 pupils and 20 pupils per class.
After completing elementary school, nearly all children (more than 98 per cent) go
on to secondary education, either vocational, technical or general secondary program
(gimanzija). The latter prepare students for further studies and are divided into two
groups: 'general' (classical gimnazija) and professionally oriented (technical, eco-
nomic or art gimnazija) leading to external matriculation examinations. Children of
foreign residents are also appropriately provided for in Slovenia and can receive
education at all levels. 84 per cent of secondary school graduates go on to tertiary
education.
The educational profile of Slovenia's population is improving. According to the 1991
census there is 99.6 per cent literacy in Slovenia. Among people aged 25 to 64, 12
per cent have attended higher education, whilst on average Slovenes have 9.6 years
of formal education. The best educated are those employed in the area of education
and public administration. Lifelong learning is also increasing.

50. THE SCHOOL LIFE
We have a lot of classrooms in
our school. There are also a lot
of teachers. We usually have a
lot of fun in our school. But
when we are writing a test it
isn't fun. I love my school.
Some teachers are great but
some aren’t. My favourite sub-
ject is Science. I have few
best friends from school. There is also a kitchen in our school. Lunch isn't very
good. Our school is in Borovnica in Slovenia and very close to Ljubljana. We have a
gym. We have 35 teachers. My subjects are Math, English, PE, Science and others.
Our school is interesting but not for all people. (Lana Garin, 7.b)
In our school we have ten classrooms on class level. On subject level we have
twelve classrooms. We have a library, school canteen, secretary's office.
I have: Geography, Science, Math, Slovene, English, PE, Music, Art, History.
My best teachers are Tanja
Plohl and Darjan Geohelli.
The best subject is PE. We
start at 8 o'clock. In
school there are 35
teachers and 300 pupils. I
hate Science and History.
(KLARA ZAJC, 7. B)

51. We start at 8 o'clock. Our school has 19 classrooms. I like classroom for
History. Classrooms are very nice and comfortable. They are very
colorful and they have a lot of pictures and posters. We have a lot of
school subjects. I have Math,
Geography, Science, History,
Slovene, English, Spanish,
Music,…
My favourite subject is
Spanish and Math. I hate
Geography because it is very
boring. The best teacher is
Darjan Geohelli. He teaches
History and Ethics. He is the
best becouse he is a kind of
father and my idol !!!!!!!!:D The school food is quite OK. I like cereals and jam. I
hate vegetarian meat-patty. I have courses like dance and choir. (NIKA
I get up at six o`clock. Then I have
breakfast. Then school bus comes.
At school we wait till the classes
begin. I don`t like Geography and
Math, because I have bad grades.
We have nice school and very
good teachers.
Primary school subjects are: Art,
Geography, History, Languages,
Slovene, Music, Science (By Doroteja Košir, 7.B)

52. In our school it is pretty good. The school has 35 teachers. My favorite
subjects are art education and music education. The school has more
than 300 children. (Sergeja Pelko J )
Hi! So you were at our school already so you know how it looks like every day. So
in our school I like the most our free time. There are a lot of things we have to talk
about with friends. I like food too. Haha . I don't like teachers and yeah… I don't
know what to say about school life… so that's it. Miss you! (Eva Novak 8.a)
Hi ! We start school at 8 am L. Subjects in my school are very very boring so I'm
boring too . I don 't know what to say. Our teachers are very friendly and funny :D.
So we like them. (Rok Novak)
The first lesson in our school starts at 8am. It takes 45 minutes. Then we have a
short rest and a new lesson starts. After that lessons we have longer break, so we can
eat our meals. Then we have two, three or five lessons and then the school is over.
We can go to the canteen to eat lunch or we can go home or wait for other activites.
Our school is an average school with average pupils and with a little strange
teachers, but in the same way they are very easy-going and I like that. (Nika Čepon)
School starts at 8am. Each lesson takes 45 minutes. After this lesson we have short
break. Then we have another lesson. Then we have longer break for snack. After that
we have three or four lessons, and then school is over. I don't like school very much
because we have a lot of tests. (Matic Trček)
I go to school at 10 o'clock. I have only physical education and technical subject.
There isn't any math and English in my school. I have school only 2 days a week and
my holidays are six months. This is my dream school. (Miha Rus)

53. We have a lot of different lessons. Our school starts at 8 o'clock. We
have breakfast, lunch and snack. We don't have uniforms. I hate Science
and Technology. Our teachers are very nice and some teachers are
strange. (Luka Novak)
Our school life's always boring. I can't wait till school finishes. I only like going
to school becouse I meet my friends there. That's it. Bye! (Sara Klaj)
I quite like school becouse I can meet friends almost every day. In our school there
are 22 classrooms and 35 teachers. My favourite school subjects are math and
tehnology. (Amadej Kumberger)
I don't know a lot of the school life.I mostly sleep in it.But when I wake up they
study for exams and other school stuff.Between classes we have five minutes. To get
to the other class. (Klemen Kavčič 8.a)
I really do not like school.But my favourite school subject is Athletics and English.
I’m sometimes bored but sometimes it is funny when the teacher tells jokes. But it
is always cheerful in the corridors. In our school there are 35 teachers and it has
approximately three hundred students. (Urban Pevc 7.b)
School life in Borovnica is different from school life that you can see in some
American movies.And that is because we don't have lockers. I think it will be great
to have them. For me school life is boring because we don't have enough exciting
things to do. That is about school life from me. School life in Borovnica is very
different from your school life. We don't have our school uniform.We have one hour
45 minutes. Our school is very exciting because we have some good and some bad
teachers. (Jaka Himmelreich Kovač)

54. In Slovenian school we are sometimes having very great time, that is when we go
somewhere like a trip because we are looking something new and we laugh. So like
I said sometimes is not a very good time, because we have to be asked or we have to
take a test. I really don't like school, but we are forced to go to school. So I can't
wait to be over, but I'll be sad, because I won't see all of my friends and I will miss
some teachers too. Hahahahahaha!!! (Lejla Hotić, 8.a/9)
My school is very great. I like going to school. In our school my teachers are funny
and very friendly. My best subject in my school is P.E. In our school there are 35
teachers and 301 students. My subjects are Maths, Slovene, English, P.E, Science,
Music, Art, Technology, German. We go to school at eight o'clock. (Peter Urh, 7.b)
Our school life is anything but fun. We have a lot of classes. We all love having
break during classes. We always have fun in the hall, but sometimes we study before
tests. A year ago we were ''the worst class in school'' but we are not anymore. I don't
like our school life, it's boring bye. Love, Oksana
Hi. Our school life is funny
and great. In our school break
we have breakfast. We've got
a lot of tests at school. Some
school subjects are interesting.
We've got a lof of school in
nature. We sometimes go
abroad to see some interesting
things. Bye, Jan Mazi

55. Designer, editor and techno redactor,
RODICA ZIMBRU,
project coordinator on behalf of
Secondary School no. 10 Suceava,
Romania