News from our Erasmus plus team

The Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth, and sport in Europe.  We are delighted to announce that we will be hosting students from Italy and Poland this week.

The Erasmus+ project “FIT-Food for Thought” was designed to help us re-think our diets/nutrition plans, eating habits, and the food products we buy!  The European Union funds this project. 

Food sustainability has become an essential subject, and having our youngsters partaking in sustainable food practices is vital.  Sustainable food aims to avoid damaging or wasting natural resources and minimise the contribution to climate change.  It often means eating more local foods, which are not transported too far.

Day 1 was packed with fun and exciting workshops and activities, including team building activities, a seminar on reading food labels with Ms Eirini Lazarou (food scientist), and learning about intolerance to lactose with hands-on activities at our biology labs!
In the evening, interactive activities took place in the old city and developed our cultural awareness!

Day 2 'Say Cheese, Say Halloumi', the theme for the day. The Erasmus+ team went on a day excursion to the Golden Donkey farm located in Skarinou, a village halfway between Larnaca and Limassol. The Donkey farm is home to around 170 donkeys and is one of the biggest sanctuaries for donkeys in Europe. Arriving at the farm, staff and students viewing the scenes of nature brought a feeling of serenity. The students were introduced to Cypriot tradition and the simplicity of farm life; they took in the colours of the sky and earth. 
Our students had a workshop where they learned how to make Halloumi at the begin the day. For those who do not know what Halloumi is, it's a firm and rubbery cheese that is traditionally salted and eaten raw or fried. It was created here in Cyprus and soon spread worldwide, becoming a fixture, particularly in people's diets in Greece, Turkey, and countries in the Middle East.   The students were further in for another learning experience; they were asked to make olive pie! Believe it or not, they did an incredible job! 
They took a short tour around the farm, learning about its history. They visited the olive mill and learned about the olive trees and products produced from olives. They further learned about the nutritional value of Donkey milk and how it heals and beautifies because of the many vitamins it contains and low-fat contents. Taking pictures, stroking, hugging, and feeding the donkeys was an experience that put a lot of smiles on our students' faces. 
At to end of such a fun and educational day, students were invited to enjoy a traditional Cypriot brunch. The food included Cyprus salads, tzatziki, olives, koulouri, baked potatoes, pasta with grated Halloumi, grilled chicken, and two Cypriot dishes, Pourgouri (bulgur wheat) and Tavas.  Tavas is a traditional Cypriot meat-based dish. The meat is usually lamb and baked in the oven in a clay dish and closed on top with a Tava lid, where it gets its name. 

Day 3 
Thursday, May 5th, was another productive day. 
The Erasmus+ team headed off for the Ancient Kourion amphitheatre in the Limassol district.  A guided day trip tour was organised with active learning activities.  The highlight was the beach cleanup, where the students were given the challenge to gather as much garbage as possible in 15 minutes.  Despite the limited time, the students managed to fill their bags with cigarette butts and other plastic objects, eventhough the summer season is not even here yet!  Unfortunately,  beach pollution usually ends up in the sea and endangers sea flora and fauna, so our efforts were a small step towards limiting this.  
Once they finished this activity, the students had lunch with sandwiches made from local foods such as halloumi, lountza and cucumbers.  Both the beach clean-up and choosing food using local products were our students' contribution to supporting a sustainable environment. 
Since our Polish team planned to leave at midnight, the Erasmus+ Farewell party was organised at The English School Year 6 and 7 Study Centre.   
Students were awarded their certificates of participation, and we said farewell to our Polish friends. 

Day 4
Our Italian team enjoyed a visit to the Leventio museum in Nicosia and learned about the fascinating history of Nicosia through fun interactive activities.
Following this, we were delighted to meet Dr Maria Vassiliadou, Associate Professor of Artistic Education at Frederick University and a parent at our school, for a guided tour of the State Gallery of Contemporary Art. 

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end.
With Hugs… Tears… we said farewell to new friends until we meet again!

 

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