Project Meeting 1: Ennis, Ireland

ENNIS PROTOCOL
This is not a complete protocol of the project meeting in Ireland, but a summary of the things that were discussed and agreed on at working/discussion sessions during that meeting. If there is something essential missing, please add and inform the other partners about it.


DATE AND PLACE OF THE WORKING SESSIONS:


PARTICIPANTS AT THE MEETING: (in alphabetic order of partner countries)


THE CULTURAL BOX:
Discussion about:

We agreed that the following items have to be in the boxes, but it is up to any of the partners to add things that – in their own eyes – are important for their identity and/or culture:

• Music: at least two different pieces of music, that need not necessarily be songs. One of them MUST be a traditional one.

• Dance: one traditional (folk) dance – including step by step instructions and video

• Poetry: at least one piece of poetry – recorded (audio and/or videotaped) in the original language it was written. An English explanation what it is about (for the students) and an accurate translation (for the teacher) will be added

• Art and art craft

• Everyday life: This will include:

• Short video films about everyday situations like having meals, free-time activities, spoken in the original language of the students with a short intro in English, explaining what the scene is going to be about.
• Typical traditional food and recipes – translated into English
• A list of basic phrases (and proverbs) in the national languages. This list should contain:
• what you say when you meet someone – salutations, asking how someone is doing
• what to say at a restaurant/pub
• Asking the way
• Numbers (at least from one to ten)
• “I love you”

• Festivals

The boxes should be ready for shipping by the end of January 2009 – deadline for sending these boxes will be week 6 (which is between Feb 2nd and February 6th) to make sure that the boxes will arrive at the partner institutions before the holidays. It is the responsibility of the receiving institution to provide as many copies as needed in the institution – one box will be sent to each country.

The guideline for the boxes is the one of a bigger shoebox. If voluminous items are to be sent it may be bigger, but we agreed on the fact, that there should be no competition going on towards “Who is sending the biggest box?”

The boxes will be opened simultaneously – two boxes a week for the first “inspection”. This is to give time to the sending partners to answer questions concerning items in their boxes. After this first step students start working on the content of the boxes, comparing, finding similarities and differences to their own items/topics/traditions. It may be of good help if the sending institutions add some information/suggestion about what can be done (as a didactic and pedagogical guideline to the teachers)


WEBSITE/COMMUNICATION
It is confirmed that Clare Education Centre/Kyran is in charge of the CHOIR website and that the site will be online as soon as possible. Further talks about the site will be a matter of John talking to Kyran.
The group agrees that the website should have – among being the projects “window to the world” – three essential features:

The group also agrees that there should be the presentations of the partner institutes and as much project-work related things – pictures as possible. It is the responsibility of the partners to provide material for the website.

The group further agrees that the major way of communication will be – at least until the website is online and the internal area of that site can be used as a major medium - e-mail.

The rules for e-mail contact are set as follows:

• Each member of the project group (this means at least one person from any institution involved) has to check his/her mail server DAILY.
• They will then immediately send a reading confirmation (which can be done automatically by any major client) and answer within two days (maximum)
• E-mails concerning the project, even if there is a specific question which refers only two of the partners, are sent to all (at least as a carbon copy) for information reasons.

EVALUATION
Kirsten Schneider from the Pedagogical Center in Albertslund will accompany/shadow the project constantly as an evaluator.

Evaluation forms – a first sketch was presented by her at the meeting - will be sent to the partners These forms then should be filled in and returned until a fixed date, which she will set when sending the evaluation forms.

The first of these forms will be sent to the partner institutions right after this meeting, followed by another one in December and a third one by February.

Thus she will be able to present a first evaluation report by the time of the next project meeting.


TIMETABLE/AGENDA FOR FUTURE MEETINGS
The group agreed the place and dates of the future meetings. There will be three more project meetings and a presentation of the outcome of the project.


* I am not absolutely sure, if that date is right, because we changed it several times - if it’s not this week it is week 14

The group agreed that Monday and Friday would be the “travelling days”, giving us three full days for working.

We also agree that the project meetings will be held without students, this may be changed for the project-presentation, which will be in Denmark in 2010. There students from partner schools – maybe not of all, but this has to be discussed further - might take an active role.