Nicosia, Cyprus March 18th - 20th 2015

Notes from visitors

Good Practice inDometios 2nd Primary School

Notes on good practice from visitors• We visited the “2nd Elementary School” of Agios Dometios which is attended by children in the

fourth, fifth and sixth grade. The school is well organized (computer rooms, science labs, …) and its main characteristic is the multicultural diversity of the school’s classes.

• The 2nd Elementary School of Agios Dometios is a multicultural school .. a school of creativity, friendship, respect and acceptance of the different.

• Welcoming staff and well-behaved children who enjoyed showing their knowledge of greetings in the Comenius languages.

• Children are immersed in the Comenius programme – the pre-school teacher showed how the children used Google Earth to name each country in the Comenius project. The older children had learnt songs to celebrate diversity, performing a well-known Greek story about difference.

• School Timetable - apparently the class period during the morning is better for attention and learning and students have the opportunity to spend more time with family.

• One teacher from the first until the sixth year. • Students in the classes are small in number - Class with a reduced number of students

Language learning• Diversity of materials and visual supports for learning language • Most of the non-Greek speaking children enter school at pre-school and grade 1 level – these

children learn through play and speaking and listening opportunities. Displays with pictures, writing and numbers are abundant.

• Older children who enter the school without Greek are kept a year back so that they have time to develop their language. Additionally the Greek government have provided money to pay for a specialist Greek teacher to work one-to-one with these children to teach them Greek.

• The older children’s English was very good. They are exposed to the language from grade 1 in an informal way - through play.

The beach trip

• All pupils and teachers of Agios Dometios Elementary school shared a lovely partnership day.• Outdoor activities. Children Interaction and autonomy. Including students from several countries. • The beach trip: all pupils and teachers of Agios Dometios Elementary school shared a lovely

partnership day.

Art

• “Artistic creations” of the students emphasize the attention which is given in this school to the cultivation of feelings of caring, friendship and respect of diversity!!!

• The art teacher: a teacher especially trained to give classes to all pupils in the school. • Furthermore, they have an art room for doing activities where they can make

optimum use of the materials. • Arts and crafts room: A creativity workshop where the ideals of friendship, of

acceptance of others, of collaboration and of communication find a warm home to flourish!

Well equipped classrooms

• We have observed that the classes and common rooms are equipped with computers and video projectors• The classrooms are well equipped for specific uses: the technique classroom, the computer one, the

classroom for sharing emotions. Significant details highlighted by us, are the components of functional furniture, as the classrooms equipped with sinks.

• It is also well equipped multipurpose facility used for physical activities and performances, with a large stage.

• Every classroom has an adjoining room where they keep the material for the activities that they do. • Collaboratively and experientially with the use of simple implements (paper, scissors, ...) and with the use of

Information Technology, the teaching of the lesson gives the potential for assimilation of the subject matter.

Educational cornersGames Corner: in the younger pupils’ classroom there are different corners” (puppet theatre, a cooker, a shop, musical instruments...) where, while playing, they can practise oral expression and other skills.

Comenius decorations

• The Comenius Corner: There is a specially designated space, in the 2nd Primary School of Agios Dometios, where there is a display of the products of the exchanges which are related to the Program and which help the students feel a sense of continuity in the Program.

• School decoration: beyond the Comenius corner, every classroom had a great amount of motifs remembering all countries in the project, cultural aspects, etc.

Welcoming decorations in theatre

• Especially the theatre where the final party was held, the decoration was lovely. • Exceptional creations of the students, which were connected to the program, decorated the school’s

multi-purpose events hall, one more indication of the importance given to the Program by the students and teaching staff.

Students

• The students have shown a great openness towards us, approaching often spontaneously to teachers who came from other countries, with the desire to communicate

• This last aspect, added to the sense of hospitality that the boys have shown us, makes us think that the teachers have worked very well transmitting values such as solidarity, the 'inclusiveness and acceptance of different.

• Students are helpful and polite.

Math lesson

• Teachers have demonstrated a high ability to interact with the kids, the math lesson was well structured and the guys focused and motivated learning

• Putting maths into words: in Maths lessons children are called to explain what they did, how they did it and why they did it. Then they discuss the different solutions.

• Use of ICT in the learning process.• The opportunity for students, to work in small groups to solve the exercise and to present the

solution.• Teaching of Mathematics: With subject matter the conversion of mixed numbers into improper

fractions.

Room of feelings

• The school has got a room where the teacher can bring their pupils with the aim of working on social mobility, feelings’ management and conflict resolution.

• Room of emotions • We loved the idea of a special room for feelings and how to be good friends to each other.

Diverse math around school

Celebration in School theatre

• The drama to raise awareness about multiculturalism, respect and acceptance of difference.• Top proof of the importance which the school gives to the cultivation of these ideals is the artistic

expression through performances• The performance of theater and music has been prepared with great care, the guys appeared

concentrated, yet casual and at ease on stage. Appreciable content of the representation and the expressive form adopted.

• How the children in an excellent way, with songs, music and theatre celebrate diversity and clarify how it feels in an exclusion.

• To end the party, a display of traditional participatory games. The active organisation and fun was shared among pupils, teachers and visitors.

• The performance was presented to the Comenius team, the parents and special guests including 2 sisters of a famous Cypriot soldier. The wider community is involved in celebrating our project.

• As well as this, the children are taught to embrace their own culture, playing traditional games.

Thank you Cyprus!