C2 - UK Mobility 1
March 2019 Picture Gallery Below
THU 13 16:10 Arrival Falconara Airport. Host Families Pick up at Airport.
Pupils and their parents met Mr Aitken and Miss Kirkwood at Manchester Airport in the morning. The pupils were all excited, if a little nervous, but were really pleased to be getting on with the trip. They had been in regular contact with their Italian counterparts on the run up to the exchange and just wanted to get there. The airports in Manchester and Munich were uneventful, although the students did buy themselves matching hats to build up their relationships with each other. On arriving in Italy at Falconara Airport, where we had our temperatures taken as a precaution over the threat of Covid-19, we were welcomed by the wonderful site of our Italian hosts and their welcome banners.
FRI 14th February – Day 1 Itinerary 8:00 IT: in class UK students + teachers – Montesi - Room 16 8:55 ICE-BREAKING ACTIVITY - Montesi, Corneli, Aitken, Kirkwood - Room 16 9:50 1st PRESENTATION WORK - Guerro, Palloni, Montesi, Corneli, Aitken, Kirkwood - Room 16 10:40 BREAK 10:50 2nd PRESENTATION WORK - Palloni, Guerro, Montesi, Corneli, Aitken, Kirkwood - Room 16 11:40 IT in class UK students: BASIC ITALIAN LESSON - Corneli - Room 16 12:35 GUIDED VISIT TO THE SCHOOL 13:30 PACKED LUNCH 14:15 VISIT TO THE CITY - Montesi, Franco, Aitken, Kirkwood 17:30 BACK HOME
On the first day in school of the exchange students turned up at 8 o’clock with their Italian partners. The students seemed very excited and we are ready to begin the exchange part of the project in earnest. The day began with an icebreaking activities hosted by our Italian partners we have the students got to know a bit more about each other. They continued with the students presenting in mixed Italian and UK groups on everything that they had been doing and learnt in science and maths to prepare for the exchange. All groups presented very well together on what they had learned in the run up to the exchange. The English students were then treated to an Italian lesson by our Italian partners where they learned how to pronounce basic phrases to help them in their new homes before all having lunch together. In the afternoon all of the students who were involved were given a tour of Jesi by a local guide who explained the history of the city and showed how wonderful a place it is, followed by a local ice-cream. After this, the students returned to school where they then, both happy and exhausted, went off to their exchange partner’s homes.
SAT 15th February – Day 2 Itinerary 8:00 PRESENTATION PROJECT LOGOS - Montesi Palloni, Corneli, Aitken, Kirkwood - Library 9:00 SELECTION PROJECT LOGOS - Montesi, Palloni, Corneli, Aitken, Kirkwood - Library 9:55 BREAK 10:05 IT in class UK students: BASIC ITALIAN LESSON - Corneli - Library 11:00 IT in class UK: STREET MARKET – Montesi, Aitken, Kirkwood 12:45 BACK TO SCHOOL
The Saturday began by all of the students presenting their logo that they had created for the project and the reasons they had chosen this design in their logo. The students then voted on which logo they wanted to choose two of the logos finished equal and it was agreed that a final logo would be created that would incorporate both of these into it. The students were then given another Italian lesson, this time focusing on how to buy things in shops and take to haggle for prices before the English students were then walked to the city centre market to practice what they had learned. There was much success in this, particularly for the two boys who haggle the price of sunglasses down from €15 to €5. They felt particularly pleased about this. After the visit to the market the students were reunited at school and went off to spend the evening and the Sunday with their Italian families, experiencing and enjoying as much of the local culture as they could.
SUN 16th February – Day 3 Itinerary WITH FAMILIES
On the Sunday the students spent the day with their Italian families experiencing local culture. Trips included a visit to San Marino, Senigallia, and Ancona and all of the students also met up to go ice-skating in the evening. This demonstrated to us how well they were getting on with each other and the friendships that had begun to blossom.
MON 17th February – Day 4 Itinerary 8:15 DEPARTURE FROM SCHOOL TO RAILWAY STATION 9:28 TRAIN TO GENGA: FRASASSI CAVES - Palloni, Guerro, Aitken, Kirkwood PACKED LUNCH WORKSHOP (KARST) 16:32 DEPARTURE FROM GENGA 17:04 BACK TO JESI STATION
Monday morning was an early start for all as we met at the school before walking to the train station and getting the train to Genga where we would visit the Frasassi caves and take part in an educational lesson around volcanic rock formation and different types of stone. It was great to hear about their fantastic eco system, which allowed the students to learn about the geological impact of the age on the area as well as to see the fabulous formations of both stalactites and stalagmites. The student revelled in this experience. After lunch the students were taking for a walk to find more out about the area. It was explained by the two guides that the area used to be underwater and most of the rock formation Was actually created by coral. This was extremely interesting to the students as they could see the different formations of stones in the cliff faces. They collected different types of stones from the area which they were then to experiment on in the afternoon lab session which took place outside near the precise the caves. The students got to test the pH of different types of rocks from different times in history in an organised workshop.
TUE 18th February – Day 5 Itinerary 8:00 Workshop VIRTUAL LAB / CODING - Guerro, Corneli, Aitken, Kirkwood - Room 16 10:40 BREAK 10:50 Workshop SENSORY ANALYSIS LAB - Palloni , Montesi, Aitken, Kirkwood - Physics Lab. 13:30 PACKED LUNCH 14:30 VIRTUAL / HANDS ON CHEMISTRY LAB - Palloni, Montesi, - Room 16 & Science Lab. 16:00 BACK HOME
Tuesday began with a lesson in programming and coding from our Italian hosts. The Italian and English students were paired together for this activity and completed it to a high standard gaining new knowledge. We had an English student who celebrated her 15th birthday on this day and the students sang “Happy Birthday” to her in both English and Italian and had a small party to celebrate. Following a short break the students were treated to a sensory lab with a guest speaker from the Milan Institute of senses. The students learnt all about the different senses of the body and how they worked and also how the assisted in marketing for companies such as Ferrari. This very informed presentation allowed the students to appreciate their own senses and how they affected what they did and how they saw the world. It was also hands-on experiments for the students to take part in during this presentation. In the afternoon the students were given the opportunity to participate in a virtual chemistry lab. The students were able to investigate the differences between acids and alkali’s in a controlled environment.
WED 19th February – Day 6 Itinerary 8:00 OBSERVATION OF CELLS AND TISSUES UNDER A MICROSCOPE - Palloni, Montesi - Science Lab. 9:00 GROUP WORK FEEDBACK - Palloni, Montesi, Aitken, Kirkwood - Science Lab. 9:55 BREAK 10:05 GROUP WORK FEEDBACK - Palloni, Montesi, Aitken, Kirkwood - Science Lab. 11:00 IT in class UK students : BASIC ITALIAN LESSON - Corneli - Room 16 13:00 LUNCH BREAK 14:00 BOVINE & PIG HEART DISSECTION - Palloni, Montesi, Aitken - Science Lab. 15:00 GROUP WORK FEEDBACK - Palloni, Montesi, Aitken, Kirkwood - Science Lab. 16:00 BACK HOME
Wednesday began with the students in a chemistry lab with Ms Palloni where they looked at cell microbiology and tissue using microscopes and compared what they found with each other and also discussed how they could take what they had learned back into their work when they returned to England. Both sets of students really immersed themselves in their experiments and enjoyed them completely. The students then got into the groups to present back what they had found and discussed between them all the differences and similarities in a formal way. The presentations were both formal and informative. After break the students were given another basic Italian lesson where they learnt about different members of the family and different food and drink that was local to the area. After lunch a special lab was set up where the students were allowed the opportunity to dissect pig and bovine hearts so that they could compare these with the sheep heart that they had dissected before their visit. Health and safety in labs in Italy is different from the UK and the English students were surprised to find that they were not allowed to cut the hearts themselves. The students got right into the experiments and thoroughly enjoyed the knowledge that they gained from them. They agreed that there is knowledge would help them when they returned to England for the GCSE exams. After the experiments the students reported back to the whole group on their findings and the differences between the different types of heart that they had experimented on both in England and in Italy.
THU 20th February – Day 7 Itinerary 7:30 DEPARTURE FROM SCHOOL. VISIT TO MUSEO DEL BALÌ - Guerro, Palloni, Aitken, Kirkwood 14:00 BACK TO SCHOOL
Thursday involved another very early start so that the group could attend the Museo Del Bali which is the main Scientific Museum in the Marché region. This involves an hour’s bus journey but everyone agreed was very much worth it. A guided tour showed the students the different scientific experiments that they could try out which were all hands on during their visit. The students very much enjoy trying this particularly the ones that involved electricity and light refraction. The students will also then treated to a visit to the planetarium which was on site and the northern hemisphere constellations were explained to them in both Italian and English to assist in their learning. This truly was an unforgettable experience for all members of the group. After a long day which was very enjoyable for all the students returned to school and went home to their families.
FRI 21th February – Day 8 Itinerary 8:00 PHYSICS / ELECTRONICS EXPERIMENT - Guerro - Room 16 9:50 DISCUSSION / PRESENTATION - Guerro - Room 16 10:40 BREAK 10:50 GROUP WORK: FEEDBACK ON PREVIOUS VISITS - Palloni, Guerro, Montesi, Aitken, Kirkwood - Room 16 12:35 CERTIFICATES OF ATTENDANCE 13:30 BACK HOME
Friday began with a physics laboratory where the students learned all about the Theremin and its properties and were then given the opportunity to investigate one and try it out. The students had already conducted their own research on this and the Arduino in preparation for the class. The students very much enjoyed this and could see the benefits of such a device with diverse music from the backstreet boys to 1990s UK rave sampled. This was another opportunity to bring the students together in a classroom situation to work together and to share their knowledge and experience. Whilst the students were given a final Italian lesson, the teachers got together to discuss the week and what made it successful and how it could have been better. This feedback will be taken into the next set of exchanges.
SAT 22nd February – Day 9 Itinerary ALL DAY TRIP TO ROME (departure from school 5:00, back to school 22:30) - Montesi, Palloni, Aitken, Kirkwood Museo Da Vinci Coliseum, Forum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Vatican City, Trevi Fountain Pizza Party in the Evening. Saturday morning involved a 5am departure from school to visit Rome for the day. This would be an eight hour return journey, but we felt that it lent itself particularly well to the mathematical aspects of the project and any future work that we did around Leonard Da Vinci, as well as the culture aspect of visiting the Italian capital city. The day began with a visit to the da Vinci Museum in Rome where the students were introduced to Leonardo da Vinci and all of his amazing inventions. The students particularly enjoyed the hands-on aspect of many of the recreated experiments that they could try and enjoyed learning about the Vitruvian man, the Mona Lisa, Archimedes screw and how the golden ratio affected all of their creations and are still in use in the world today. This was followed by some self-guided sightseeing where we took the students to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and to a tour of the Coliseum which left the students in awe at the architecture. We then walked the students to the pantheon and finally to the Vatican city to experience more of the amazing culture. After a very long day of walking over 14 km we settled back in the bus and were very proud of everything we had achieved and seen that day. The students did not stop smiling all day with the amazing sites that they got to see that they would never of had the chance to before or perhaps in the future. On the way home we stopped for a pizza party where the students were given the chance to discuss what they had seen and experienced and how it had affected them. The quieter students from the beginning of the week now bustling with confidence and desperate to share their stories and experience.
SUN 23rd February – Day 10 Itinerary WITH FAMILIES – Immersing in local culture
The students were given the opportunity on the Sunday to spend time with their families before leaving on the Monday. Many of the students got together to meet up by the beach given the unseasonable warm weather that we were enjoying at the time. The Italian and English teachers took the opportunity to also visit the beach and to discuss future plans for the next stage of the exchange. It was at this point that we learnt that no more school trips were being allowed out of Italy due to coronavirus restrictions.
MON 24 DEPARTURE (Meeting at Falconara Airport 8:00)
Our final date together was on the Monday and it allowed the students the opportunity to say arrivederci to their Italian counterparts who brought them to the airport. It was also tinged with uncertainty and sadness, given the news on the coronavirus outbreak, as we would be unsure of when we would get to see our Italian partners again. We travelled home from Connor via Munich to Manchester where the students were picked up by their very happy parents. A wonderful, informative, educational and life changing time was had by all.
THU 13 16:10 Arrival Falconara Airport. Host Families Pick up at Airport.
Pupils and their parents met Mr Aitken and Miss Kirkwood at Manchester Airport in the morning. The pupils were all excited, if a little nervous, but were really pleased to be getting on with the trip. They had been in regular contact with their Italian counterparts on the run up to the exchange and just wanted to get there. The airports in Manchester and Munich were uneventful, although the students did buy themselves matching hats to build up their relationships with each other. On arriving in Italy at Falconara Airport, where we had our temperatures taken as a precaution over the threat of Covid-19, we were welcomed by the wonderful site of our Italian hosts and their welcome banners.
FRI 14th February – Day 1 Itinerary 8:00 IT: in class UK students + teachers – Montesi - Room 16 8:55 ICE-BREAKING ACTIVITY - Montesi, Corneli, Aitken, Kirkwood - Room 16 9:50 1st PRESENTATION WORK - Guerro, Palloni, Montesi, Corneli, Aitken, Kirkwood - Room 16 10:40 BREAK 10:50 2nd PRESENTATION WORK - Palloni, Guerro, Montesi, Corneli, Aitken, Kirkwood - Room 16 11:40 IT in class UK students: BASIC ITALIAN LESSON - Corneli - Room 16 12:35 GUIDED VISIT TO THE SCHOOL 13:30 PACKED LUNCH 14:15 VISIT TO THE CITY - Montesi, Franco, Aitken, Kirkwood 17:30 BACK HOME
On the first day in school of the exchange students turned up at 8 o’clock with their Italian partners. The students seemed very excited and we are ready to begin the exchange part of the project in earnest. The day began with an icebreaking activities hosted by our Italian partners we have the students got to know a bit more about each other. They continued with the students presenting in mixed Italian and UK groups on everything that they had been doing and learnt in science and maths to prepare for the exchange. All groups presented very well together on what they had learned in the run up to the exchange. The English students were then treated to an Italian lesson by our Italian partners where they learned how to pronounce basic phrases to help them in their new homes before all having lunch together. In the afternoon all of the students who were involved were given a tour of Jesi by a local guide who explained the history of the city and showed how wonderful a place it is, followed by a local ice-cream. After this, the students returned to school where they then, both happy and exhausted, went off to their exchange partner’s homes.
SAT 15th February – Day 2 Itinerary 8:00 PRESENTATION PROJECT LOGOS - Montesi Palloni, Corneli, Aitken, Kirkwood - Library 9:00 SELECTION PROJECT LOGOS - Montesi, Palloni, Corneli, Aitken, Kirkwood - Library 9:55 BREAK 10:05 IT in class UK students: BASIC ITALIAN LESSON - Corneli - Library 11:00 IT in class UK: STREET MARKET – Montesi, Aitken, Kirkwood 12:45 BACK TO SCHOOL
The Saturday began by all of the students presenting their logo that they had created for the project and the reasons they had chosen this design in their logo. The students then voted on which logo they wanted to choose two of the logos finished equal and it was agreed that a final logo would be created that would incorporate both of these into it. The students were then given another Italian lesson, this time focusing on how to buy things in shops and take to haggle for prices before the English students were then walked to the city centre market to practice what they had learned. There was much success in this, particularly for the two boys who haggle the price of sunglasses down from €15 to €5. They felt particularly pleased about this. After the visit to the market the students were reunited at school and went off to spend the evening and the Sunday with their Italian families, experiencing and enjoying as much of the local culture as they could.
SUN 16th February – Day 3 Itinerary WITH FAMILIES
On the Sunday the students spent the day with their Italian families experiencing local culture. Trips included a visit to San Marino, Senigallia, and Ancona and all of the students also met up to go ice-skating in the evening. This demonstrated to us how well they were getting on with each other and the friendships that had begun to blossom.
MON 17th February – Day 4 Itinerary 8:15 DEPARTURE FROM SCHOOL TO RAILWAY STATION 9:28 TRAIN TO GENGA: FRASASSI CAVES - Palloni, Guerro, Aitken, Kirkwood PACKED LUNCH WORKSHOP (KARST) 16:32 DEPARTURE FROM GENGA 17:04 BACK TO JESI STATION
Monday morning was an early start for all as we met at the school before walking to the train station and getting the train to Genga where we would visit the Frasassi caves and take part in an educational lesson around volcanic rock formation and different types of stone. It was great to hear about their fantastic eco system, which allowed the students to learn about the geological impact of the age on the area as well as to see the fabulous formations of both stalactites and stalagmites. The student revelled in this experience. After lunch the students were taking for a walk to find more out about the area. It was explained by the two guides that the area used to be underwater and most of the rock formation Was actually created by coral. This was extremely interesting to the students as they could see the different formations of stones in the cliff faces. They collected different types of stones from the area which they were then to experiment on in the afternoon lab session which took place outside near the precise the caves. The students got to test the pH of different types of rocks from different times in history in an organised workshop.
TUE 18th February – Day 5 Itinerary 8:00 Workshop VIRTUAL LAB / CODING - Guerro, Corneli, Aitken, Kirkwood - Room 16 10:40 BREAK 10:50 Workshop SENSORY ANALYSIS LAB - Palloni , Montesi, Aitken, Kirkwood - Physics Lab. 13:30 PACKED LUNCH 14:30 VIRTUAL / HANDS ON CHEMISTRY LAB - Palloni, Montesi, - Room 16 & Science Lab. 16:00 BACK HOME
Tuesday began with a lesson in programming and coding from our Italian hosts. The Italian and English students were paired together for this activity and completed it to a high standard gaining new knowledge. We had an English student who celebrated her 15th birthday on this day and the students sang “Happy Birthday” to her in both English and Italian and had a small party to celebrate. Following a short break the students were treated to a sensory lab with a guest speaker from the Milan Institute of senses. The students learnt all about the different senses of the body and how they worked and also how the assisted in marketing for companies such as Ferrari. This very informed presentation allowed the students to appreciate their own senses and how they affected what they did and how they saw the world. It was also hands-on experiments for the students to take part in during this presentation. In the afternoon the students were given the opportunity to participate in a virtual chemistry lab. The students were able to investigate the differences between acids and alkali’s in a controlled environment.
WED 19th February – Day 6 Itinerary 8:00 OBSERVATION OF CELLS AND TISSUES UNDER A MICROSCOPE - Palloni, Montesi - Science Lab. 9:00 GROUP WORK FEEDBACK - Palloni, Montesi, Aitken, Kirkwood - Science Lab. 9:55 BREAK 10:05 GROUP WORK FEEDBACK - Palloni, Montesi, Aitken, Kirkwood - Science Lab. 11:00 IT in class UK students : BASIC ITALIAN LESSON - Corneli - Room 16 13:00 LUNCH BREAK 14:00 BOVINE & PIG HEART DISSECTION - Palloni, Montesi, Aitken - Science Lab. 15:00 GROUP WORK FEEDBACK - Palloni, Montesi, Aitken, Kirkwood - Science Lab. 16:00 BACK HOME
Wednesday began with the students in a chemistry lab with Ms Palloni where they looked at cell microbiology and tissue using microscopes and compared what they found with each other and also discussed how they could take what they had learned back into their work when they returned to England. Both sets of students really immersed themselves in their experiments and enjoyed them completely. The students then got into the groups to present back what they had found and discussed between them all the differences and similarities in a formal way. The presentations were both formal and informative. After break the students were given another basic Italian lesson where they learnt about different members of the family and different food and drink that was local to the area. After lunch a special lab was set up where the students were allowed the opportunity to dissect pig and bovine hearts so that they could compare these with the sheep heart that they had dissected before their visit. Health and safety in labs in Italy is different from the UK and the English students were surprised to find that they were not allowed to cut the hearts themselves. The students got right into the experiments and thoroughly enjoyed the knowledge that they gained from them. They agreed that there is knowledge would help them when they returned to England for the GCSE exams. After the experiments the students reported back to the whole group on their findings and the differences between the different types of heart that they had experimented on both in England and in Italy.
THU 20th February – Day 7 Itinerary 7:30 DEPARTURE FROM SCHOOL. VISIT TO MUSEO DEL BALÌ - Guerro, Palloni, Aitken, Kirkwood 14:00 BACK TO SCHOOL
Thursday involved another very early start so that the group could attend the Museo Del Bali which is the main Scientific Museum in the Marché region. This involves an hour’s bus journey but everyone agreed was very much worth it. A guided tour showed the students the different scientific experiments that they could try out which were all hands on during their visit. The students very much enjoy trying this particularly the ones that involved electricity and light refraction. The students will also then treated to a visit to the planetarium which was on site and the northern hemisphere constellations were explained to them in both Italian and English to assist in their learning. This truly was an unforgettable experience for all members of the group. After a long day which was very enjoyable for all the students returned to school and went home to their families.
FRI 21th February – Day 8 Itinerary 8:00 PHYSICS / ELECTRONICS EXPERIMENT - Guerro - Room 16 9:50 DISCUSSION / PRESENTATION - Guerro - Room 16 10:40 BREAK 10:50 GROUP WORK: FEEDBACK ON PREVIOUS VISITS - Palloni, Guerro, Montesi, Aitken, Kirkwood - Room 16 12:35 CERTIFICATES OF ATTENDANCE 13:30 BACK HOME
Friday began with a physics laboratory where the students learned all about the Theremin and its properties and were then given the opportunity to investigate one and try it out. The students had already conducted their own research on this and the Arduino in preparation for the class. The students very much enjoyed this and could see the benefits of such a device with diverse music from the backstreet boys to 1990s UK rave sampled. This was another opportunity to bring the students together in a classroom situation to work together and to share their knowledge and experience. Whilst the students were given a final Italian lesson, the teachers got together to discuss the week and what made it successful and how it could have been better. This feedback will be taken into the next set of exchanges.
SAT 22nd February – Day 9 Itinerary ALL DAY TRIP TO ROME (departure from school 5:00, back to school 22:30) - Montesi, Palloni, Aitken, Kirkwood Museo Da Vinci Coliseum, Forum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Vatican City, Trevi Fountain Pizza Party in the Evening. Saturday morning involved a 5am departure from school to visit Rome for the day. This would be an eight hour return journey, but we felt that it lent itself particularly well to the mathematical aspects of the project and any future work that we did around Leonard Da Vinci, as well as the culture aspect of visiting the Italian capital city. The day began with a visit to the da Vinci Museum in Rome where the students were introduced to Leonardo da Vinci and all of his amazing inventions. The students particularly enjoyed the hands-on aspect of many of the recreated experiments that they could try and enjoyed learning about the Vitruvian man, the Mona Lisa, Archimedes screw and how the golden ratio affected all of their creations and are still in use in the world today. This was followed by some self-guided sightseeing where we took the students to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and to a tour of the Coliseum which left the students in awe at the architecture. We then walked the students to the pantheon and finally to the Vatican city to experience more of the amazing culture. After a very long day of walking over 14 km we settled back in the bus and were very proud of everything we had achieved and seen that day. The students did not stop smiling all day with the amazing sites that they got to see that they would never of had the chance to before or perhaps in the future. On the way home we stopped for a pizza party where the students were given the chance to discuss what they had seen and experienced and how it had affected them. The quieter students from the beginning of the week now bustling with confidence and desperate to share their stories and experience.
SUN 23rd February – Day 10 Itinerary WITH FAMILIES – Immersing in local culture
The students were given the opportunity on the Sunday to spend time with their families before leaving on the Monday. Many of the students got together to meet up by the beach given the unseasonable warm weather that we were enjoying at the time. The Italian and English teachers took the opportunity to also visit the beach and to discuss future plans for the next stage of the exchange. It was at this point that we learnt that no more school trips were being allowed out of Italy due to coronavirus restrictions.
MON 24 DEPARTURE (Meeting at Falconara Airport 8:00)
Our final date together was on the Monday and it allowed the students the opportunity to say arrivederci to their Italian counterparts who brought them to the airport. It was also tinged with uncertainty and sadness, given the news on the coronavirus outbreak, as we would be unsure of when we would get to see our Italian partners again. We travelled home from Connor via Munich to Manchester where the students were picked up by their very happy parents. A wonderful, informative, educational and life changing time was had by all.