Comenius Partner Finding

How to Find Comenius partners  

The hardest part of Comenius projects starts with partner-finding. It is hard but not impossible . You should be very patient, though. Never yield even if you can’t get any answers for a long time. Keep up searching and sending emails explaining your intention to as many schools as you can. We hope that schools in existing European partnerships will add new partners for a new Comenius application.

There are some ways that can be useful for finding partners : 

Contact seminar

Contact seminars across Europe are run by all the  national agencies and they are intended as partner finding events. Funding is available to cover your travel by your national agency. Moreover, contact seminars are really fun to attend, you meet 20-30 or more colleagues from different countries who come to the seminar to find project partners. You are usually given a corner  to show posters, souvenirs, pictures, etc., to introduce their country, school and mostly their Project  on the exhibition and they lobby and also discuss their Project plans after a kind of ice-breaking party. You also have a chance of city tour for sightseeing and dinner- parties so you have a nice time with fun and work together. 

Global Gateway

This is also for international partnerships. If  you register on the Global Gateway and include details about your planned Project and put Comenius into the keyword search, you will see that there are always schools looking for Comenius contacts, global partners.You can be one of their Comenius Contacts.

Personal contacts

You can search new partners and contacts if you, your family, friends, colleagues or admins know teachers abroad. Local or regional authorities may also have some other close contacts with other European Schools and provide you to be in touch with them.

European Schoolnet

This is an active forum where teachers in the EU advertise for project partners. It is possible to get lots of ideas right across the curriculum, many are for Comenius partners. 

www.europeanschoolnet.org/eun_org_pforum/index.cfm

PartBase

Register your school and project with the Comenius partner-finding website or browse schools who have already registered.

http://partbase.eupro.se/frameuk.htm

eTwinning

This is a popular program in the UK because eTwinning website hosts a forum for teachers looking for eTwinning partners - project based European partnerships between two schools. There are project templates and good support available.

• eTwinning is a good way  into Comenius - suitable for initial projects before you decide to apply for Comenius funding, and a very useful project space to help run your project. If you find your Comenius partners on eTwinning, you will have funding available to arrange a Preparatory Visit to meet your partner schools. www.etwinning.net

 You see you are supposed to make use of every opportunity to run int’l links in your school!
   http://www.globalgateway.org.uk/default.aspx?page=1557 is a good link to get the info above.

This is for making use of the rain water  

  

COMENIUS SCHOOL PROJECTS

European Union Comenius Projects

Comenius Projects are part of Lifelong Learning (LLP) programs of European Union for Preschools, Elementary and Secondary Schools.
Comenius 1 is for school partnerships.You share your project ideas and plans with other schools of EU in order to find at least 2 or 3 partner schools to carry out the project which will last 2 years. Preparation period is almost a year.Your National Agency will provide you financial support if you are the coordinator school and  if you are a partner school of the project.The fund they give is based upon the type of your project and the number of mobilities.  The rules and principles may vary in 3 years' time period in general so you should follow the updated news at www.ua.gov.tr ( or your "national agency" website address) if you are a Turkish partner. Although Turkey is not a member of EU, its partnership was accepted in 2004.
The main objective is to improve the quality of education. Partner Schools learn a lot from each other in terms of modern techniques of teaching and learning, language and cultural differences, being tolerating and moreover, getting pleasure of diversity.
I have had the opportunity of participating in  a lot of Comenius Projects since 2004.Your "letter of invitation" to the partnership of your project or to be a partner of a school's project are the first but hardest steps of this event.
In other words, you have to find a school seeking a partner for their project or you prepare a project subject and present it to look for partner schools.
So your conditions, project theme, target age group, but on top of all, your "word power" are the crucial points to find an appropriate partner school or schools ."Word power" here is your capability of persuasion. It is getting harder and harder to find a partner or coordinator school each year.
At the beginning of my work in 2004 before we were accepted, a group from Denmark came to the private school which I was working for those times and wanted me to be their partner for their Language Project. And wondered if our students were able to do this project in English.I was studying with a group of students to participate in Harvard Model United Nations so I called  a few of them immediately and wanted them to see by themselves by making conversations with them .They liked them and told me as we weren't a member of EU we were supposed to wait and gave me their card and went away. A short time after this event I saw Turkey at the end of  list of eligible countries who can participate in Comenius projects and madly I looked for the card they gave me.
Oh my Gosh! I couldn't find it. I was so desperate  but they sent me an email to give the good news right away. Imagine: they offered me this partnership.They thought Turkey was an interesting country to learn about.
Later in 2007, so many amendments were made. I remember I was writing 30 or more mails to find a partner for my school. I also sent a project plan to draw the attention of candidate partners.
This went on for a long time, no sooner had I lost my hope than I got an offer from the UK.
What I am trying to say is it was  easier to find a partner in the beginning, but now it is terribly difficult. However, if you start a job or project ,"consider it done".To start a job means half of it is over. As an experienced project coordinator at different schools, I can say that mobility Comenius Projects really play a very important role to maintain good human relations by raising awareness to be respectful for diversity of all kinds through crosscultural activities. I think I am one of the lucky people who have lived this experience many times.Thanks a lot for all my partner schools  in Norway, the UK and Wales, Denmark , France, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Lithuenia and so on.Thank you, my National Agency  for giving us this wonderful opportunity.And thanks my project group of students, their parents, teachers and admins.

These are the photos taken in Wales '09  while the students were trying to study life in the ponds.They totally focused on their research. They didn't even notice the cam.

I hope everybody lives this wonderful opportunity and believe it or not, it is far more fruitful than limited lessons in classroom environment.

THE WILL- FUTURE

THE WILL- FUTURE TENSE

We use the will-future for predictions, assumptions, promises and when we do something spontaneously.

We use the going to-future with planned actions.

Form

will + infinitive(basit mastar hali )

Examples:

Affirmative sentences:

He will play football.

He'll play football.( contracted)

I will be back soon.

I’ll be back soon.(contracted)

Negative sentences:

He will not play football.

He won't play football  or He'll not play football.

Questions:

Will he play football? Yes, he will. (Or No, he won’t.)

 Use of will-future

The will-future is simple future tense. There are other future tenses, like the going to-future, the Present Progressive, the Future Progressive/Continuous and the Simple Present.
We use the will-future:

1) Future actions happen without the speaker's intention (birthday, weather, etc.)

The sun will shine tomorrow.
Tom will be 21 next Tuesday.

2) Predictions, assumptions (I think, I hope, I'm sure, I'm afraid)

I think Sue will arrive in Paris this evening.
I hope you will win the match.
I am sure she will pass in Math.
When there is evidence of some kind , “going to” is used.
Oh Gosh! Black clouds. I think it is going to rain.
She got 3 out of 4 in the final exam. I am sure she is going to pass.

3) Spontaneous actions (not planned)

Hang on! I'll have a word with you.
Come here. I‘ll show you something.
OK. I'll come with you.

4) will-future – Special: Shall/ Shan’t

We sometimes use shall instead of will in the British English in the first person singular and the first person plural.

In spoken (and in written) English more and more will is used in affirmative sentences nowadays.

We frequently use shall in questions as an offer: teklif durumlarında soru şeklinde kullanılabilir: yapayım mı ?

Shall I carry this box?

Shall we... is also an offer and the question form of “Let’s .....”

Shall we dance?/or Let’s dance.

Will is also used for polite requests/offers usually with please:

Will you dance with me, please?

Will you marry me ?

Help me , will you ?

Come here, will you ? ”will you” burada “ne olur/ lutfen” anlamındadır.

We use the will future in written language (especially in newspapers), where in spoken English we often use the going to-future.

spoken:

The headmaster is going to close the old gym.

written:

The headmaster will close the old gym.

Short forms in the will-future

We often use short forms of the auxiliaries. The will-future is formed with the auxiliary will, so short forms are very frequent, contracted WILL(’ll) is not used in short forms.

Example:

-Who will help me?

 - I will.

-Give my regards to your mom .

-I will.

Future Time Expressions

Tomorrow, next ...(week ) soon( in a short time), later ,..

Exercises

Put in the verbs in brackets into the gaps and form sentences. Use the will-future.

Example: The weather ______ nice at the weekend. (to be)

Answer: The weather will be nice at the weekend.

1) Tomorrow it in the north-west. (to rain)

2) My friend 12 next Monday. (to be)

3) Hey John! Wait a minute. I a word with you. (to have)

4) She her boss next week. (not see)

5) I think you this job. (to get)

6) They at about 6 pm. (to arrive)

7) The teacher this exercise. (to explain)

8) He the bottle of water. (to drop)

9) Lots of accidents in that weather. (to happen)

10) She if you show her the spider. (to scream)

---

    1.will rain  2.will be   3.will have  4.won’t see  5.will get  6.will arrive 7.will explain  8.will drop   9.will happen  10.will scream

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Road Not Taken

  
In general, life brings us two choices, two different ways that we should decide and choose  one without knowing what the end even the next step will be. Our life consists of all our preferences. Choosing our life partner and our carrier or all our qualifications are the most difficult and important ones. Our character plays an important role on our choices. There is also an unknown  mystery of "chance" in our lives.

 

















Road at Chantilly by Paul Cezanne

I chose a poem for you. Here is the poem and the interpretation afterwards:

  

Road not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.                                                                           

 I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and   I--                                                                               
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

by Robert Frost

Here is the interpretation line by line but this may change from person to person:

1. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

The narrator probably standing at a fork sees two roads which split going different ways. These two roads are in a yellow wood, it is yellow as it is autumn, the leaves on the roads and the trees are yellow, not green. This maybe means the poet is not very young.

2. And sorry I could not travel both 3.And be one traveler,

The narrator wishes he could go down both roads as one traveller but he can’t, because then he'd have to split himself in two.

4. long I stood, and looked down one as far as I could  5.To where it bent in the undergrowth;

For a long time the narrator stands at the fork and examines one of the roads as far as he can. But he can't see the end of the road because the road curves away out of his sight.

6. Then took the other,

He takes the "Second Road", not the one he examined.

7.as just as fair,

This one is just as good as the "First Road"

8. And having perhaps the better claim,  9.Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

This "Second Road" may be more deserving of the narrator walking down it as there was grass and seemed to have wanted him to walk on it.

10. Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same.

Both the "First Road" and "Second Road" were equally worn down by people walking down them.Namely,grassy "Second Road" was walked on as much as the first road.

11.And both that morning equally lay  12.In leaves no step had trodden black.

Both roads were equally not stepped on and walked on as the leaves on the ground weren't crushed by people walking on them, breaking them up on that morning.

13.Oh, I kept the first for another day!

He wanted to save traveling on the "First Road" that he examined for another day in the future.He decided to take the Second Road now but couldn’t give up the first one and he wanted to give it a shot next time.

14.Yet knowing how way leads on to way, 15.I doubted if I should ever come back.

But he is not sure this will come true as when he takes the second road, that road will lead to another fork. He knows he'll encounter other future road choices so he thinks he's unlikely to ever come back to see what this first road is like.

---

16. I shall be telling this with a sigh  17. Somewhere ages and ages hence:

In the future, when he's much older, he will remember and tell about this decision he is making now with a sigh. “Sigh” may mean  satisfaction, pleasure or  regret?

18. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- 19.I took the one less traveled by,

He will say that there were these two roads going two different ways in a wood and he took the less traveled one.

20. And that has made all the difference.

He changed his life taking the less traveled road. But we don’t know if that  was a good or bad or neither good nor bad difference.The choice of the Second Road has a great impact on his life for sure.

I guess, whatever our choice brings us, we should learn how to be satisfied with what we have in our hands. Having the opportunity of a life on this universe is a great chance, right? To be one of the 7 milliards unique people living on this planet. Each of us is unique. Instead of thinking and worrying too much, we'd better go with the flow and let's hug the life as it is.

Instructions for Life

 It was said that The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of The Tibetan people wrote these Life Instructions in 2000 for the milennium. Is it hard for you to imagine that he had sat and typed all these on the computer especially  this one about "love" and "cooking"? :
 "Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon."
 Anyway, whatever the case is, they are so useful and contributive instructions.
 Before reading his  Instructions for Life, let's have a brief look at a piece from his biography:

His Holiness the 14th the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, is the head of state and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He was born Lhamo Dhondrub on 6 July 1935, in a small village called Taktser in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama, and thus an incarnation Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of Compassion.

The Dalai Lama's Instructions for Life
(With Turkish Translations)

• Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
•  
• Büyük aşklar ve büyük kazanımların büyük risk taşıdığını hesaba katin.
•  
• When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
•  
•  Kaybettiğinizde, aldığınız dersi de kaybetmeyin.
•  
• Follow the three R's:
  - Respect for self.
  - Respect for others.
  - Responsibility for all of your actions.
•  
• Üç 'S'yi hep uygulayın: Saygı, kendiniz için
• Saygı, başkaları için,
• ve Sorumluluk, tüm  davranışlarınız için,
  
  
• Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
• 
  
•  İstediğinizi alamamanızın bazen ne kadar büyük bir şans olduğunu hatırlayın.
•  
• Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
•  
•  Kuralları iyi öğrenin ki, onları düzgün şekilde ihlal etmeyi bilesiniz.
•  
• Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
•   
• Küçük bir aksaklığın, büyük bir arkadaşlığı yaralamasına izin vermeyin.
•  
• When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. .
•  
•  Hata yaptığınızı anladığınız zaman, düzeltmek için derhal gerekli adımları atın.
•  
• Spend some time alone every day.
•  
• Hergün biraz yalnız zaman harcayın.
•  
• Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values. .
•  
•  Kollarınızı değişime açın, ama değerlerinizin kaybolup gitmesine izin vermeyin.
  
  
• Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
•  
• Sessizliğin bazen en iyi yanıt olduğunu hatırlayın.
   
  Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
•  
•  İyi ve şerefli bir hayat yaşayın. Yaşlandığınızda ve dönüp geçmişinize baktığınızda,  ikinci kez keyif alin.
  
  
• A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
•  
•  Sevgi dolu bir ev, hayatinizin temelidir. Sakin,
   düzenli bir ev yaratmak için elinizden gelen herşeyi yapın.
•  
• In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

•  Sevdiklerinizle anlaşmazlığa düştüğünüzde, sadece mevcut durumla ilgilenin. Geçmişi getirmeyin.

              

• Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
•  
• Bilginizi paylaşın. Bu ölümsüzlüğe giden yoldur.
   
  
  
• Be gentle with the earth.
•  
•  Dünyaya karşı nazik olun.
•  
• Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
•  
• Yılda bir kez, daha önce hiç gitmediğiniz bir yere gidin.
•  
• Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

•  En iyi ilişkinin, birbirinize karşı duyduğunuz aşkın, birbirinize olan ihtiyacın daha ötesine geçtiği zaman olduğunu unutmayın.
•  
• Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
• 
  
• Basarinizi, ona ulaşmak için nelerden vazgeçtiğinizle yargılayın.
•  
• Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
•  
•  Aşka ve yemek pişirmeye, sonuçlarını hiç düşünmeden girişin.

• Remember that your character is your  destiny.

• Unutmayın "Karakteriniz kaderinizdir".

Determination for Your Target

Are These Answers that I am Looking for  ?

Do you know what I am looking for? Some quotes which will affect me so much so that they will direct me to a wellbalanced diet and exercise that will make me lose weight.”Magic words”:

The other day I watched “Jay Leno". His guest was Jennifer Aniston. Jay asked her if it was true that she liked pizza and ate every day. She said she did and told him her favorite flavor. And Jay wanted to know why then she was so thin but he wasn’t. She immediately asked him how much he ate. And she added she exercised a lot after she ate pizza.

Then everything depends on what you eat and  how much you eat and how much you exercise.The balance between the calories you get inside and the calories you release.

Another important quote is also from “Jay Leno program”. He offered one of his guests sort of candy and he refused saying his body was so sacred that he didn’t eat such things: “Never fill the sacred body with empty energy giving junk food.”

Yes, we should raise awareness to be successful and try to change our bad habits that will do us harm if we don’t.

Here is an example from the newspaper: A British lady who was overweight  had an accident and they couldn’t take her out of the car so they had to cut the door to take her out.She was so embarrassed that she decided to lose weight after that car crash and in a year she lost 50 kilos: from 119 kg to 69. She looks so beautiful in her “after photo”.

A few years ago, I met one of my students. Actually, he came to visit me at school. He came towards me smiling but I couldn’t recognise him because he had lost  40 kilos. Unbelievable!! He looked so unfamiliar. I asked him how he managed to do that. He advised me not to try so hard as he did because he had to torture his body eating so little and doing so much exercise.

So the most important thing is “determination”. In a way “motivation”. We hope that we have this sort of motivation that contributes to achieving our target. Do you think it is easy? Life is tough, anyway.