Erasmus+ trip to Crete
In March, three teachers from our school Rosemary, Monica and Heather made a magical trip, to Heraklion, the island of Crete’s largest city. The most important part of their trip involved visiting the 21st Primary School of Heraklion on the outskirts of the city. From the first moment it was obvious this, was a very happy school and we were wowed by the fantastic views. Some of the very talented students treated us to a display of traditional Greek dances. After a quick tea break, the children amazed us with a shadow puppet display based on the legend of the Minotaur’s palace. Everybody really enjoyed the show and couldn’t believe all the hard work the children and teachers had put in. Afterwards, we visited all the classrooms in the school. We saw how teaching and learning happens in Crete, and looked at all the wonderful work the children have been doing in their classrooms. In each class we visited we were given little presents which will always remind us of our time in Crete. In some classes we were treated to music and songs and we really saw how proud the children are of their rich culture. A special thanks must go to the staff and parent’s committee of the school for treating us to a special lunch with Cretan flavours.
After visiting the school, the teachers all held a meeting to discuss the project. We talked about the project so far, ideas for the next activity and preparations for the final trip to Ireland. Of course, an important part of this meeting was viewing all the music videos the partner schools made for Activity 7. They were all of a really good standard and all the work, planning and participation was evident. Please take a look at the fantastic video Kim’s class made about Turkey’s Amazon warriors on our website www.magicandmythsuniteeurope.weebly.com The first day ended with a beautiful dinner in a traditional Greek restaurant where some of us tasted goat meat for the first time!!
The next day started with a trip around the historical city of Heraklion. We learned how the city would have looked in Ancient Greek times and how it has changed over the years. We explored the fascinating Venetian fortress and strolled through the Agora market place. Another highlight was the Nikos Kazantzakis exhibition which taught us all about the life and times of the famous Cretan writer. Later that day we spent some time at the Boudari Vineyard and admired the stunning and vibrant scenery. We finished the evening, enjoying the beautiful, narrow cobbled streets of Archanes, a traditional Greek village.
On the final day, we spent time wandering around the archaeological museum learning all about Crete’s long history. This prepared us perfectly for visiting the Minoan Palace of Knossos. Not long after this we all said goodbye, but everybody is looking forward to coming to visit Le Chéile and Drogheda in May. We are super excited about their visit and have lots of great things planned for them.
