Lucie Girelli, Ombeline Madranges, Alexia Bosq, Manon Grandpaul and Laura Lassiaz report on the Comenius week

Our partners arrived from different countries on Monday from Germany and Tuesday from Spain, Hungary and Czech Republic. We welcomed them with a smile and so began for us an unforgettable week. With our new friends, we did a lot of activites both at school and outside school. Wednesday, in the morning, each country presented its school and its region. At 10 o'clock, we went to eat and drink a little in the canteen. To preserve these memorable moments, we took pictures together and we laughed too. In the afternoon, we did a treasure hunter in Chambéry. We were happy to visit Chambéry in the company of our partners. But it was very cold. The game finished, we strolled a little in Chambery and next, we went to Laser Game. It was a very good moment for us and for them. Thursday, we talked all day about the crises and youth unemployement. It was very interesting to see how other countries experience the crisis and we could all express our opinions. A part of the class 1ES2 went to Chambéry with our partners to do shopping. It was an opportunity to share good times with them. Friday, we spent the day in Geneva. With our theme, we could see a conference. Next, in the afternoon, we visited the old town of Geneva and we went to a museum. The conference was very boring, but the afternoon was much more interesting. The evening, we went to the ice rink together. We danced in the middle, it was a memorable moment for all. On Saturday morning, we went to Le Revard, to do cross-country skiing. It was real fun and particularly for people who had never seen snow. In the afternoon, we all went to Chambéry to spend time together. We drank hot chocolate and we laughed a lot. Sunday was the day of departure. Everybdy was very sad. We think that Comenus is a really great project and it's also a good experience for everybody. We have lots of memories and we'll never forget this great week.

Thank you COMENIUS by Coralie Josserand, Margot Jonckheere, Héloise Guyon, Léa Gilgen.

From the 26 November 2012 to 2 December 2012, we hosted 30 people from different European countries like Germany, Spain, Hungary and Czech Republic. As we waited for the group of foreign students at the train station, we hoped that they would have a good welcome and we were really excited to meet them. The official program was very full: First, on Wednesday, all the students presented their region and their schools. In the afternoon, we went to Chambéry to visit the city in groups with our partners, this visit was a real adventure and great fun, and it allowed us to talk and to share an experience with the foreign students. On Thursday, we had a debate about one of the subjects of the Comenius’ Project, “Youth Unemployment”. It was really interesting because we could see how other countries experience the same problems as us. On Friday, we went to Geneva to listen to a conference about the subject at the ILO, and then we visited the old town which taught us a lot about the history of Geneva. And on the last day, we went skiing in Le Revard, which was really funny and a fantastic experience. But added to the official program, we did activities with our partners in our own time. We went to the ice rink on Thursday evening, we had a lot of fun, laughed and we all enjoyed this outing. We also went to Laser Game with a group of other students, it was really funny too! About family life, it was very interesting to welcome a foreign student in our house. We could speak English with all our family. We could give them a taste of Savoie specialties like Fondue or Tartiflette and show them the French way of life. Our feelings about this week are very positive, for most of us it was the best week that we’ve ever had! We met kind, friendly students we got on very well with. We really thank the Comenius Project and all the students for this amazing, funny, fantastic week! Coralie said that this week allowed her to improve her English because she had to speak English with her partner and that it was a very pleasant moment because she met amazing people. Héloise said that this week was incredible! Margot said that she managed to create friendly relationships with European students and she wants to keep in contact with them. Léa said that this week was amazing, that she made friends with foreign students, that she learnt so much but also had a lot of fun. THANK YOU EVERYBODY !!!

Report on the Comenius week by Valentin Monachon, Dorcas Nkossi, Sébastien Rey

Activities outside school. Of course, we didn't simply follow the official program ! We planned other activities just between students: On Wednesday, after the « Jeu de pistes », we stayed in Chambéry to visit other places and also did some shopping. Thursday night, we went to the ice rink at 9:00 pm and almost everyone was there. Friday night, some people went to Flunch restaurant, others to a pub, etc... Saturday afternoon, practically everyone went to Chambéry for the last purchases and visits. In the evening, many people went to a pub, and others did their own activities. Family life. We think that for almost all our partners family life was one of the best things ! Each student was able to enjoy at least one of our local specialties. We hope that you enjoyed your stay with a French family. What we learnt during the week. During this week, we learnt an unlimited number of things !! For example, we learnt words from other languages (« Ahoj » = « Hello » in Czech). We also learnt information about other countries or cities and about youth unemployment in the different European countries. And above all we learnt how to become friends for a week, knowing perhaps that we will never meet again.... Feelings. ‘For me, it was the best week I have ever spent ! I made many foreign friends and I greatly enjoyed myself! To sum up, it was FANTASTIC !!’ - Valentin Monachon - ‘This week was just PERFECT !! I miss them so much!!!’ - Cathy Marcellin - ‘This week was the best I have ever spent in my whole life ! It was INCREDIBLE !!’ - Dorcas Nkossi – ‘This week was AMAZING ! I want to live it again ! - Sébastien Rey -

Sidone de Kermel, Cathy Marcellin and Mathieu Mondet on the Comenius week in France

Family life: There was a friendly atmosphere at home, everybody tried to speak English with my partner and to follow the conversation. First, she was not really talkative but after two days, we laughed a lot together and at home so then she was more at ease. My mother prepared typical Savoyard dishes for every dinner to help her discover the Savoy culture. We shared knowledge and traditions about our two different cultures. It was great to discover the German culture, her family, her city, her friends; everything is really different than in France. She showed me a lot of pictures. When we went to Chambéry, I showed her my favorite shops and places where I like to go with friends. She was really open-minded and I loved showing her my life here. Official program and activities out Tuesday 27 November: Just the time to finish school, we went to the train station. Then we brought our partner back home and we spent the first night together. Wednesday 28 November: Presentation time: a little speech by the headmaster, music, dance, singers, speeches again... Everything was perfect for the best welcome to our high school. After some croissants, we went back to work to discover the high schools and the countries of our guests. We had lunch together in the school canteen. Then we all took the bus to go to the city center. Everybody was singing, screaming and having fun. I think that the other people on the bus hated us! During the afternoon, we did a treasure hunt to help the exchange students discover the city. It was really cold but we had a good time. At the end of the afternoon, we did a laser game; it's a really good way to learn more about each other! We had a lot of fun! Thursday 29 November: Here we go for the day devoted to economics: situations in the 5 countries, debate, and finally, we voted a law: « quotas of young people in all companies ». Really instructive and interesting. To finish the day, we did something funnier: we went to the ice rink! It was really fun to teach the other students how to skate and dance together on the ice ! Friday 30 November: Geneva here we come ! For the whole day, we were in the cold streets of Geneva. After an instructive morning at the International Labor Organization, we ate rapidly in the old town of this beautiful city that we visited in the afternoon. Saturday 1 December: After a morning in the snow, skiing at le Revard, we went back really tired to Chambéry ! But we found the motivation to go to the city in the afternoon to eat a hot chocolate and to visit the Christmas market. The evening, we ate together at a friend's home. Sunday 2 December: It's time to say goodbye! The exchange students left us with a lot of good memories! Feelings We loved this project, we met a lot of people, we shared a lot of things together and we spent good times. I liked this experience because it's a good way to speak English and to meet people from other countries. The class of 1ES2 is closer now. We created links that we really want to keep with the exchange students!

Meeting in La Ravoire: The debates on youth unemployment

Group 1

First, Zoltan  explained the Hungarian solution to decrease  youth unemployment; he said that there must be officers, who look after the unemployed. They have three job offers and if the person does not take either of them, he has to take the fourth job. If he does not do this, he has to go to prison. We thought that this is too radical for us. We decided that the best solution would be quotas of young  people employed in companies, like a certain percentage, and the reduction of taxes for companies for every young person they employ. In the discussion there was lots of disagreement in our group and later in the big discussion many disagreed with the other groups. Sidonie and Naël, our presenters, had to answer many questions but all in all we won the discussion with 44 students who agreed with our proposition and our idea was chosen as the best idea of all groups.

Marie Hohlbein, Léa Gilgen, Héloise Guyon

Group 2

In our group we decided  to choose the following  law:

It’s about having international graduation and university degrees  that every European country accepts. Because on the one hand there are too many qualified unemployed people in certain countries which have no jobs anymore, and on the other hand there are too many vacancies in companies, but no qualified workers in other countries. 

In order to reach this aim, we need to increase the numbers of international workplacements, which means  that the staff at those international companies have to learn English, because they need to communicate with their colleagues.

The state can offer language courses for learning English to the staff and they should offer courses where the foreign workers can learn the language which is spoken in the chosen country.

The other students  said that our proposal  is good in theory, but there are many companies  that are already doing that. At last we chose another proposal, our proposal received 35 votes out of 60.

Franzi, Franzi, Ombeline, Alexia

Group 3

In our group we discussed the proposal to decrease youth unemployment in Europe. Firstly, we talked about a quota which forces companies to employ a certain percentage of young people. We liked that idea because it would help young, unexperienced people to get experience.

Secondly, we had  the suggestion to carry out a work placement in a company during school. Respectively, have school  and companies work in harmony. But we found that it would take too much time to do this while going to school which would increase the time at school. That is why we did not choose this idea.

Thirdly, we discussed harmonizing diplomas and conditions of employment. We liked that suggestion most because it gives everyone the ability to go wherever work is available for his or her  skills.

Group 4

One of the most controversial issues of our society today is youth unemployment. For this reason, we discussed possible solutions in a group consisting of people representing 4 countries : France, Hungary-Austria, Czech Republic and Germany. We came up with many brillant ideas, now we would like to present them.

Ø  Let not the states but the free market solve the problem (qualified people take jobs wherever they are needed, the country doesn’t matter)

Ø  Encourage dual training (work and university at the same time) for every level of education. 

Ø  Encourage companies to implement positive discrimination so that they hire more young people.

Ø  More sandwich courses, which means companies and universities are working together (it is similar to the idea above)

Ø  Force universities to teach the students how real company life is, not just how to be a perfect boss .

After presenting our ideas, we came up with additional suggestions and improvements for solutions.

Ø  So that people get jobs abroad, the university degrees and diplomas need to be equal all over Europe. In addition, mobility needs to be increased.

Ø  For the problem of the lack of people doing manual jobs, older people who already work in that area should go into schools and present their profession so as to show  young people from an early age that those jobs are attractive, too.

Finally, we decided on one final solution which we presented in front of everyone. This was the encouragement of dual training.

Biborka, Sebastien, Naël , Leila

Group 5

During the debate, we spoke about law proposals.  We decided  to choose the fifth law, which was «to increase mobility in the EU and harmonize diplomas and increase work placements abroad.» We thought that the youth of other countries can have experience and learn about other cultures and the job which they are doing. It will help them to become more mature.  When a young person goes to another country, he is looking for experience and money, and this way he will learn how people work in foreign countries.

Clara, Elena, Laura, Madison, Pedro, Jessica, Simona, Janie, Léa

Group 6 

At the begining we started to search all the laws that could resolve the problem of youth unemployment…. We found four laws, the first one was about introducing a quota of young people in each company, the second one was about reducing taxes according to the number of young  people in the company (we have to install a quota, about 10% of young persons in each company), so if the company has more than 10%, it will reduce their taxes, but if they have less than 10% youngsters, taxes will be higher, or even maybe they will have to pay a fine…. The third one was to increase the salary of the trainees, and not let the companies fire this trainee until he/she has finished his/her CDD (fixed term contract). In our last law, we thought that it may be possible to give priority to the former trainee to work in the company where the trainee has been working… instead of giving it to the person that just wants to work in it but has never been a trainee in this company (he/she may be a trainee in another company).

After a vote in our group, the second law had the most «for», so we adjusted it a bit: we divided the companies into three types (Small: less than 50 people working there; Medium sized ones: between 50 and 500; Big: more than 500), and fixed that the quota will be only for the medium sized companies (8%) and the big ones (12%)…

But when it was time to present the laws, group 1 had the same idea as us, so we chose to present  law number four…

William, Charles, Emmanuelle, Soukayna, Lucas, Lukas, Veronika, Daniel, Victor, Dominika

The best week of my life… Comenius Project from 26.11.12 to 02.12.12

The week started with an early flight from Hannover Airport over Zurich to Aèroporte Lyonnaise. I was a little bit scared because we were going to live in French host families in Chambéry and I didn’t know if they would understand my school French or if they would even understand English. But from the first moment on they were very nice and I liked my new home very much. We arrived on Monday and the project started on Wednesday, that was why we could join the lessons of our French partners on Tuesday. I really felt like a French girl because I had to take the school bus and eat in the big cafeteria, which was very different from our canteen.

On Wednesday, when the project started, I was a little bit scared because I had to present our school and even though I like to present something in the front, it was very difficult to do it in English. The project was a very nice experience, because it was very interesting for me to see which opinions teenagers from other countries have about the topic of youth employment in Europe.

But what was the best part of the week? To answer this question I can’t name one single activity. Of course, the ice disco, the trip to Geneva, the treasure hunt through Chambéry or the skiing were so great that I can’t describe it, but all in all the best thing of the exchange was the great sense of unity. I got to know so many nice people, who helped me up when I fell at skiing, who ate lunch with me or who planned a party for me. I hope that I will keep in contact with these wonderful people.

To end, I want to say thank you to my wonderful exchange partner Héloise who helped me with everything, my very, very nice and friendly host family who has cooked the best food I have ever eaten and my teachers that they gave me the chance to make that wonderful experience of the Comenius Project.

Marie Hohlbein, Germany

My comment about the Comenius Project in Chambery,  France, 26.11-1.12.12

When I heard about the Comenius Project, I was interested from the start: young people from different countries discussing topics that affect every one of us, the whole thing sponsored by the EU, that’s a very intriguing concept I had not heard of before.  Even though I  kind of knew what to expect  after deciding to participate, meeting the teachers in charge and preparing our presentation, I was still very nervous. As the weeks went by and the week of the meeting came closer, many worries popped in my head (probably not only in mine): how can I overcome the language barrier? Will my host family be nice? What will I do in a completely strange country? Will we all get along?

Little did I know that all those fears were unnecessary. After arriving in Chambery and being picked up by my host family, I was welcomed into a beautiful home. Even though my French is close to horrible and the English of the Marcellins good but not sufficient for a complete conversation, we settled on a nice mix between the two of them, using gestures when necessary. After the first evening, I already seemed to be at home.

What I liked best about the week in France was the sense of unity the whole group had. It didn’t matter what nationality you were, everyone had fun together. Apart from the presentations and political discussions, the project mainly brought us all together. Because of the excellent organisation of our free time by the French students, we spent a lot of time together ice skating, playing laser game, skiing etc. The language only played a minor role in that week, laughter, music and fun came first. The week passed by so quickly, we did so much and were exhausted but happy at the end. Saying goodbye was difficult, it is hard to believe how quickly a person can become family.

Of course, the political aspect was very interesting, too. Each country did a presentation of youth unemployment, but the intriguing part was the debate. We heard many different opinions, discussed ideas, finally coming to one conclusion at the end through a vote. I loved it- normally you don’t talk about this kind of stuff with your friends.

Summing it up, I can only say that it was a week I will never forget. I made many new friends, learned a lot, brought home memories and souvenirs and strengthened my French skills. I would definitely do it again if given the chance.

Leila Funke