On the 21 December 2011 Natálie, David and Michaela met students from prima, sekunda,tercie and kvarta classes (more than 100 students) to share their experiences of our stay in the Finnish city of Jyväskylä, where we worked on our EU project with pupils from Kuokkala koulu.
David began the presentation with basic information about Finland and its capital city Helsinki.He talked about interesting places which we had visited and told funny stories which had happened during our stay in the beautiful northern country at partner school, at new Finnish home and while travelling there in November 2011.
Natálie went on and she talked about our flight from Prague to Helsinki Vantaa airport and journey by coach to Jyväskylä.Younger students could see pictures of our partner school called Kuokkala koulu. Natálie talked about school subjects, timetable, breaks, school canteen and afterschool activities.Which place of interest did the students really like ? The beautiful Old Church in Petäjävesi, which is the main focus of our project. The Old Church is on the list of the UNESCO World Heritage sites and our project deals with the importance of religious buildings (this church and the Church of St. Jan Nepomucký on the Green Hill) in the 21st century. Students visited the new church in Kuokkala, Suomenlinna fortress in Helsinki and Alvar Aalto´s museum near the city centre in Jyväskylä. Natálie talked enthusiastically about various kinds of free time activities. She mentioned evenings with Finnish partners in their homes, where they played various plays and games, talked, danced and listened to music, watched DVDs and worked on computers. All students spoke English but of course, they tried to introduce and teach one another their own languages. Students met Pavel Skrbek, a Czech ice-hockey player in Jyväskylä , after a match with Helsinki ice-hockey club.
All students enjoyed Home economics class because they together made delicious pancakes and offered them to the teachers of the school as well as the headmaster.
At the end of the presentation Michaela introduced herself in the Finnish language and younger students could see how difficult and beautiful the language is.
In the end Mrs Stráská thanked Natálie, David and Michaela for their presentation. She spoke about the importance of learning English as it is the language of international communication which enables its speakers to meet different cultures, find new friends and broaden their minds. The presentation showed that Czech students really enjoyed their stay and work in Finland.
The students of lower grades liked the presentation and we hope that in the future they will participate in similar Comenius Lifelong learning programmes.
Natálie Zelinková
Jitka Stráská
