Shortly before the end of the school year we had a pleasant sur-prise. BHAK Linz International Business School was awarded the Erasmus+ badge from the Austrian National Agency. This badge is handed out to all schools that have made a successful application for an Erasmus+ grant, and can hang up

the badge on the school premises.

Here we share with you a

picture with the proud ESCAPE

project group with the Erasmus+

badge

Austrian team

No. 6

August 2015

All partners contribution

School leaving ceremonies

Holidays activities

ERASMUS+ recognition

Celebrating the Danube

ESCAPE after first year

Inside this issue:

Closing ceremony in Papa 2

ESCAPE T-shirts 2

International conference 3

On the road 3

The future in my hands 4

International Danube Day 5

Closing ceremony in Sturovo 6

Erasmus+ badge

Summer holidays in Slovenia

In April, May or June graduates attend the so-called maturantski ples or a prom. It is a special night for them, their parents and teachers, even though most of them

don’t yet have all the final grades.

In Slovenia summer holidays last from 26 June to 31 August. For those unlucky ones, who have to take re-sit ex-ams, holidays start a week later. If they are even more ‘unlucky’ and don’t pass the re-sit ex-ams in the first term,

they can re-take them again in the third week of August. So hard work during the

school year definitely pays off later!

A lot of students go to Slovenian coast or neighbouring Croatia for their

summer holidays. There are also a lot of summer activities organised by the city of Ljubljana, which children and students can attend during these two months. A lot of students, however, decide to work during

the summer and earn some extra money.

At the end of holidays, third-year

students also go on the so-called

‘maturantski izlet’, an organised trip where

there is a lot of partying and

other fun activities.

Slovenian team

P a g e 2 E S C A P E N E W S L E T T E R

„Several students were awarded for their achievements in different fields such as study, sports, cultural performance and c o m m u n i t y

activities.“

ESCAPE t-shirts painted and printed

On Wednesday, 8 July 2015, the ES-

CAPE project team met at school for

a last creative activity in this school

year. We painted and printed T-

shirts with the ESCAPE logo to be

able to show up in ESCAPE gear at

the next event.

Prof. Hasi-

weder sup-

plied the

colours,

each of the

participants

brought

along a T-

shirt, and

then the girls painted and printed ac-

cording to their liking and ideas.

Austrian team

Closing ceremony at the Pápa School of Economics

Porkoláb 9/B) who did really

well in their first year.

We listened to a funny poem

about students’ life and the

choir sang a joyful song

about summer.

At the end of the ceremony

we sang our second anthem

together.

Dukai Máté,

Magyar Anita

Hungarian team

Every school in Hungary has

an opening ceremony at the

beginning of the term and a

closing one at

the end of the

school year.

Our closing

c e r e m o n y

took place in

the school

yard on 19

June a week

after the last

day at school. It is a ceremo-

nial event where we have to

dress up. The girls have to

wear our uniform: a sailor’s

blouse with a dark skirt, and

boys have to put on their

suits. All of us have a uni-

form tie with the school’s

logo.

At the beginning of the cere-

mony we sang the anthem,

then we listened to the head

teacher’s speech. She evalu-

ated the school year and

praised the best students.

Several students were

awarded for their achieve-

ments in different fields

such as study, sports, cul-

tural performance and com-

munity activities. They got

nice books and diplomas.

This is the time when the

Student of the Year is an-

nounced. Réka Kertész (13

D) got the award for her ex-

cellent academic record and

outstanding sports results in

swimming and triathlon.

The Freshman of the Year

Award was divided between

to students (Alexandra Pol-

hammer 9/A and Kíra

tivities during the first year of

implementation. Attendees ex-

pressed interest and satisfaction

that young people from seven

countries have a common cause -

practical applica-

tion of the Danube

Strategy. Bulgarian team

N O . 6 / A u g u s t 2 0 1 5 P a g e 3

“The conference is

part of the European

program "Danube

partnerships for

growth", which

brings together

people from

Schwarzwald to the

Black Sea”

International Danube conference in Vidin

On 21 and 22 May 2015 an Interna-tional Danube conference "Danube partnerships for growth" was held in Vidin. The workshop was at-tended by Mrs. Marieta Georgieva - Director of Vocational School "Prof. Dr.Assen Zlatarov "-Vidin and Mrs. Eli Cvetanova - school coordinator of Project" ESCAPE ". They participated at the invitation of the organizers - Regional infor-mation center and Vidin municipa-

lity.

The conference is part of the European program "Danube partnerships for growth", which brings together people from Schwarzwald to the Black Sea. European Un-ion Strategy for the Da-

nube Region is precisely this phi-losophy, tools and resources. Any effort of residents along the Da-nube, makes us equal, committed to each other and connected in the community of the Danube region

citizens.

The conference was attended by representatives from Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine. A memorandum was signed for establishing a Transna-

tional Institute "Danube pearls".

E l i

Cvetanova

p resen ted

the objec-

tives of the

p r o j e c t

"ESCAPE"

and the ac-

On the Road

London, Linz, Pápa, Hamburg, Luxembourg, Alicante, Bolungarvík (ISL) are just some of the cities/towns to which our students set off to have their project meetings within EU

programmes of Comenius, Leonardo,

eTwinning or Erasmus+.

In long-term Comenius projects we covered topics like Fair Trade, training firms, entrepreneurship or lifestyle and economy. In each project one class was involved which means about 30 – 40 students had a chance to get in touch with counterparts from European schools, be

together, collaborate and make friends.

In the year 2014 our school first offered its students a possibility of work placements

in Hungary and England. Thanks to contacts and great help of prof. András Molnár 10 students spent three inspiring weeks in the spa of Bükfürdő working in information and spa centres. Their younger schoolmates got their work experience in London companies and their administrative

and business departments later that year.

What do the participants of international projects agree on? They learnt to be more independent, self-confident and tolerant in the European environment. What´s more they improved their language and IT skills, explored different school systems and work places. They hope to make use of all this in their

future life.

Czech team, Tábor

P a g e 4 E S C A P E N E W S L E T T E R

„Every student has the

capacity to succeed in

school and in life. Yet

far too many are not

sure of what they

really want to do for a

living, or how should

they become good at

it“

The Future in My Hands

Every year, during a week in June, the most motivated 11th graders from Lugoj highschools have the chance to take part in a program called “The future in my hands”, sponsored by a local firm, Honeywell Life Safety Ro-mania. Some of our ES-CAPE project members participated this year and

they share their experience:

“Every student has the capacity to succeed in school and in life. Yet far too many are not sure of what they really want to do for a living, or how should they become good at it. Af-ter taking part in the "Future in my hands" pro-gram, organized by Honey-well Life Safety Romania S.R.L. Lugoj, I can now say for sure what my call-ing is, and most impor-tantly, how I can properly

follow it.

First of all, they taught us that what we should really follow during our lifetime, is not a job or a career, but our very own

vocation/calling. Man was made to embrace his unique destiny, not soldier on as a hamster in a wheel. In other words, if we really want to master a certain occupation, we should do work for its own sake. Another aspect that we emphasised on was feedback, and how fundamental it is for achieiving effectiveness in

a team. Last but not least they taught us to re-spect and support every person for following his/her vocation, no mat-ter how mundane or crazy it may

sound to us.

To sum things up, Honeywell managed to deliver a life-changing experience for every par-ticipant of the project and I am grateful for having had the chance to be part

of it.” (Caius Debucean)

“Thank to this pro-ject, I had the chance to take part in different ac t iv i t i e s , quite new to me, activi-ties that in-volved team work, pa-tience and focus, in

order to be able to under-stand and follow all the instructions that we were given and then put them

to practice as well.

I managed to re-flect on so many things in my life, and now, I can say that I have a clearer set of goals which I intend to achieve in the future. One of the greatest things about Honeywell was that I had the oppor-tunity to meet and also work with extraordinary people to whom I am completely thankful for the knowledge they have passed down to me, changing my perspective about the environment that surrounds me and helping me understand what positive thinking can

do to you.

For all I have men-

tioned above, thank you,

Honeywell!” (Timeea

David)

Romanian team

P a g e 5 N O . 6 / A u g u s t 2 0 1 5

„Danube Day is a holiday for a cleaner and safer river and is the result of twenty y e a r s o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l partnership of countries of the

Danube basin.

“

Danube Day is a holiday for a cleaner and safer river and is the result of twenty years of international partnership of countries of the Danube

basin.

The river is the second largest in Europe. It and its tributaries are one of the most important river systems on the old continent, bringing together more than 80 million people from Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria,

Moldova and Ukraine.

We can rightfully say that the river is the source of life, energy, food, water, transport, recreation. All the people living along the river can contribute to its sustainable use and protection. The Danube basin is home to its inhabitants - fish, birds, insects,

mammals, and to us - people.

So this year's appeal is "Be active!"

On 29th June 2015 students and teachers from Vocational School "Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov "- Vidin participated in the competition"

Danube Art Master 2015 ". The competition is held under the auspices of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) and the Global Water Partnership for Central and Eastern Europe (GWP CEE). It is an ambitious race, which brings together children and teenagers from 14 countries in the Danube region and the motto is: "The

biggest Danube masquerade".

After a short musical program and numerous photos of the Danube, stu-dents released white balloons with blue ribbons. They were marked with

the banner of the initiative.

The river always fascinates and

captivates those who love it!

Eli Cvetanova

School Coordinator of

Project "ESCAPE"

Bulgarian team

June 29 - INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE DANUBE RIVER

School leaving ceremony in Štúrovo Grammar School

With the support of the Erasmus+

programme of the European Union

The European Commission support for the produc-tion of this publication does not constitute an en-dorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsi­ble for any use which may be made of

the information contained therein.

This is probably the most well-organized ceremony of the

school year all over the country, as it means saying good-

by to the school and to the secondary studies and it is

a preparation for the last part of school leaving exams, for

what they have been preparing for for the past school year,

the oral maturita exams.

It takes place at the beginning of May, always on

a Friday, and the school leavers have the next week off, for

the final revisions for the exams. For the third-year

students it is means preparations and hard work, because

according to the traditions it is their duty to decorate the

classrooms of the school-leavers and the corridors. The

decorations for the classrooms are planned well in advance,

as they need to be witty and funny, and they always do the

parts of the decorations by themselves. It is usually a top

secret, a surprise for the school- leavers to be seen only in

the morning on Friday. It is usually hard work done for

days/weeks, and taken apart after a few hours.

In addition there is an extra ceremony, rather unofficial,

the previous afternoon, when the school-leavers visit their

teachers in their homes, and thank for their effort to give

them good education. They dress up in funny costumes,

and put on thick make-up, so they are hardly

recognisable, and hire a coach, and on their way to

their theacher´s homes they shout and yell, in order to

attract the attention of the passers-by. The teachers

usually invite them in, and offer them some snack.

The most important ceremony is on the next day, when

all the teachers and students wear formal dresses. The

seniors get flowers, nice bouquets from parents, friends,

and they can finallly enter the redecorated classrooms

with their class teachers. They have their final lesson,

saying good-by to each other, wishing well and good

luck for the exams and future studies. They receive the

last school report as well. They get a small bag,

containing a coin, a piece of traditional pastry to follow

them on their long journey and a list of names of the

classmates. Wearing this, after a final indication for the

lesson being over, they set off for a walk in the school,

singing Gaudeamus Igitur, the international song of

students.

After they have visited all the classrooms and said

goodby to all students, there is an official ceremony in

the school yard. Speeches are performed by the

headteacher, one of the school-leavers, one of the third

year students, the best students get diplomas for their

good results. When everything is over, they go to their

families and usually have a formal meal with them.

Adriana Góra, Slovakia