WHO WE ARE | Memeurope

Who we are?

We are students and teachers, members of an Erasmus+ project about the building of an European identity through the discovery of common places of memory. Our schools are from five European countries:

Estonia: Narva Pähklimäe gymnasium
France: Lycée Bernard Palissy d’Agen
Italy: Liceo Giovanni Marinelli d’Udine
Slovenia: Gimnazija Koper
Spain: IES Cavaleri

In the tabs below you can find information about our schools, made by our students. Please click on below the flag of the school you want to visit and scroll down to see the content.

ESTONIA

Narva Pähklimäe gymnasium, located in the North-East of Estonia, provides both basic and upper secondary education. In 1973 the school started as a high school.

In 1991 it became an Upper Secondary School and in 1993 the school changed its name to Narva Pähklimäe Gümnaasium. In 2019/2020 the school has 1007 students and a well-established, hardworking and creative team of some 80 teachers. Compulsory subjects are taught in two languages: Estonian and Russian. Language immersion programs in Estonian and English are implemented starting from the 1st grade. Elective courses are provided at all school levels on different topics depending on the needs of the students and future graduates’ plans. Electives: Economics, Informatics, extra classes in Biology, Mathematics, Social Studies, Start-ups, Creative Interior Design, German and English languages. The school has a well-established support system: a social -teacher, a school psychologist, speech therapist, library board, information technology office. A variety of project activities are implemented supporting integration processes in Estonia and Europe, which promote a healthy lifestyle, support children with special needs and develop students’ language skills. The school has developed a solid working system with students who have interest in exact and natural sciences. As a result, students regularly participate in different levels of academic competitions and demonstrate stable high results. Students take part in the school, the city and the republic’s olympiads, and even represent Estonia in international competitions.

School FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/pahklimae11

FRANCE

The Lycée Bernard Palissy is located in Agen, in the southwest of France, between Bordeaux and Toulouse. It is a century-old school whose construction was completed in 1893 and whose foundation stone was laid by the then President of the Republic, Sadi Carnot. Its majestic architecture makes it a very beautiful establishment, in the tradition of the Third French Republic, which made (and still makes) the school the high place of the transmission of civic values. The school bears the name of a 16th century humanist, a surveyor, whose scientific and technical work focused on subjects as varied as pottery, enamel, glass, fossils, aquatic fauna, natural history…

Today, on a site of nearly 5 hectares in the heart of the city, the school welcomes approximately 1500 students from the seconde (15 years old) to the terminale (18 years old), the class in which French students take the baccalaureate, the final exam of secondary studies that opens the way to higher education. The school also houses two university courses: a BTS (advanced technician’s certificate) in communication and a BTS in bio-quality.

The students generally feel very well in this large, calm, pleasant and airy establishment, which is particularly well integrated into the local educational fabric as well as into the collective imagination of the Lot-et-Garonne (our department). It is one of the places to which the people of Agen are extremely attached.

The school has the particularity of hosting boarding students, who only go home once a week, but above all “residents”, whose parents are expatriates (in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean…), and who live on site almost all year round. This characteristic, shared with very few schools in France, gives the school an openness to the world, which it has also cultivated since the opening of a European class in English and a “bachibac” class, in which part of the lessons are given in Spanish.

Our school has been open to Europe for a long time through participation in European Comenius or Erasmus+ projects, whether literary or scientific, with partners in Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Austria, Greece, Romania, Germany, Finland and now also Estonia. The current project on Places of Memory is the 6th such commitment. For years, exchanges have been conducted with a high school in Irun (Spain). We are currently twinned with the IES Virgen del Carmen de Jaen where some students of the bachibac section spent three months. We also work with schools in Zaragoza and Tudela. Finally, as part of the long term mobility linked to the various Comenius projects, students were able to spend three months in Italy, in the ISIS Malignani high school in Cervignano and in Spain in the IES Rio in Trubia. This work was an opportunity for intense cultural exchanges that are truly part of the school’s project.

Located in the heart of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, the Lycée Bernard Palissy has always tried to combine, in an exceptional setting, the quality of its welcome, the high standards of its training, the development and support of its students in their projects. The Erasmus+ project also contributes to this in its own way.

Le lycée Bernard Palissy se situe à Agen, dans le Sud-Ouest de la France, entre Bordeaux et Toulouse. C’est un établissement centenaire dont la construction a été achevée en 1893 et dont la première pierre a été posée par le Président de la République d’alors, Sadi Carnot. Son architecture majestueuse en fait un très bel établissement, dans la tradition de la IIIe République française, qui faisait (et fait encore) de l’école le haut-lieu de la transmission des valeurs citoyennes. Le lycée porte le nom d’un humaniste du XVIe siècle, arpenteur-géomètre, dont les travaux scientifiques et techniques ont porté sur des sujets aussi variés que la poterie, l’émail, le verre, les fossiles, la faune aquatique, l’histoire naturelle…

Il accueille aujourd’hui, sur près de 5 hectares au cœur de la ville, environ 1500 élèves répartis de la seconde (15 ans) à la terminale (18 ans), classe où les élèves français passent le baccalauréat, l’examen terminal des études secondaires qui ouvre la voie à l’enseignement supérieur. L’établissement abrite aussi deux formations universitaires : un BTS (brevet de technicien supérieur) communication et un BTS bioqualité.

Les élèves se sentent en général très bien dans ce grand établissement, calme, agréable et aéré, particulièrement bien intégré dans le tissu éducatif local ainsi que dans l’imaginaire collectif lot-et-garonnais (notre département). Il fait partie des lieux auxquels les Agenais sont extrêmement attachés.

Le lycée a la particularité d’héberger des élèves internes, qui ne rentrent chez eux qu’une fois par semaine mais surtout des « résidents », dont les parents sont expatriés (en Afrique, en Asie, dans les Caraïbes…), et qui vivent sur place quasiment toute l’année. Cette caractéristique, partagée avec très peu d’établissement en France, donne au lycée un ouverture sur le monde, qu’il cultive aussi depuis l’ouverture d’une classe européenne en anglais et d’une classe « bachibac », dans laquelle les enseignements sont en partie dispensés en espagnol.

Notre école s’ouvre sur l’Europe depuis longtemps à travers la participation à des projets européens Comenius ou Erasmus+, qu’ils soient littéraires ou scientifiques, avec des partenaires en Italie, Espagne, Slovénie, Autriche, Grèce, Roumanie, Allemagne, Finlande et désormais aussi Estonie. Le projet actuel sur les Lieux de mémoire est le 6ème engagement de cette nature. Pendant des années, des échanges ont été menés avec un lycée d’Irun (Espagne). Nous sommes actuellement jumelés avec l’IES Virgen del Carmen de Jaen où quelques élèves de la section bachibac ont passé trois mois. Nous travaillons aussi avec des établissements de Saragosse et de Tudela. Enfin, dans le cadre de mobilités longues liées aux divers projets Comenius, des élèves ont pu partir en immersion pendant trois mois en Italie, dans le lycée ISIS Malignani de Cervignano et en Espagne dans l’IES Rio de Trubia. Ces travaux ont été l’occasion d’intenses échanges culturels qui s’inscrivent vraiment dans le projet d’établissement.

Placé au cœur de la Nouvelle-Aquitaine, le lycée Bernard Palissy essaie depuis toujours de combiner dans un cadre exceptionnel, qualité d’accueil, exigence de formation, épanouissement et accompagnement des élèves dans leurs projets. Le projet Erasmus+ y contribue aussi à sa façon.

ITALY

The Marinelli State Scientific Lyceum of Udine (a city of nearly 100.000 inhabitants in the north-east of Italy) was founded in 1923: it was among the first in Italy and the first in our region Friuli to welcome students oriented towards a scientific education. In 1926, the school was named after Giovanni Marinelli, a famous geographer from Udine. In 1960, the Lyceum was transferred to its current building in viale Leonardo da Vinci, near the center of Udine. Today the Marinelli Lyceum has 1510 students, 60 classes, of which 12 were first-year classes, more than 100 teachers (nearly all of them being permanent staff members).

The Marinelli State Scientific Lyceum offers its services to students and families within a wide territory, beyond the City and the Province of Udine; the location in the Study Centre makes the school easy to reach and allows the students’ participation in many extra-curricular activities (like choir, drama, photography, for instance, but also many other projects dealing with the different subjects or solidarity and volunteer work activities). As for the subjects, we have Italian language, Latin language, Foreign Languages (English and, for some classes, also French, Spanish or German), History, Geography, Philosophy, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Natural Sciences, Graphics Art and Art History etc.

The scientific specialization of the Lyceum has been so far appreciated by the students’ families, because it ensures a complete, updated and balanced education. Marinelli, in these last years, has wanted to better meet the students’ expectations by strengthening its offer, focusing on multilingualism – ensuring the learning of a second foreign language – and scientific subjects. The success rate of our students over the course of their studies is very high. These results must be attributed to teaching quality and school organization, but mostly to the motivation and quality of the students and to the demanding expectations of the families, attentive participants in the learning process of their sons and daughters to make sure they can grow culturally and professionally.

University education constitutes the almost unanimous landing point of the students, and it is especially the University of Udine that welcomes the graduates of Marinelli: therefore, with this University the most intense and profitable collaborations have been developed, contributing to the methodological innovation and the professional updating of the teachers.

Cultural and professional associations, social health and welfare services, foundations, committees, training institutions and research centers, non-profit organizations and voluntary associations cooperate to integrate the offer of the Lyceum, from the financing to the free offer of qualified experts, and to facilitate school-work alternation activities. Moreover, Marinelli, often as reference Institute, promotes the collaboration with various school networks, of all levels and specializations, in the field of education and professional updating.

Udine, Friuli, Italia: il liceo scientifico statale “Giovanni Marinelli”

Il Liceo Scientifico Statale Marinelli di Udine (una città di circa 100.000 abitanti nel nord-est dell’Italia) è stato fondato nel 1923: fu tra i primi in Italia e il primo in Friuli ad accogliere studenti orientati verso un’educazione di tipo scientifico. Nel 1926 gli fu attribuito il nome di Giovanni Marinelli, un celebre geografo udinese. Nel 1960 il Liceo fu trasferito nell’attuale sede di viale Leonardo da Vinci, vicino al centro di Udine. Oggi l’Istituto ha 1510 studenti divisi in 60 classi, di cui 12 prime classi e più di 100 docenti (la maggior parte dei quali a tempo indeterminato).

Il Liceo Scientifico Statale Marinelli offre i suoi servizi a studenti e famiglie di un territorio molto ampio, che va oltre Udine e la sua provincia; la collocazione dell’Istituto nel Centro Studi della città lo rende facile da raggiungere e consente agli studenti di partecipare a molte attività extracurricolari promosse dalla scuola (come coro, teatro, fotografia, ad esempio, ma anche molti altri progetti legati alle varie discipline di studio o ad attività di volontariato e solidarietà). Per quanto riguarda le discipline di studio, abbiamo italiano, latino, lingua straniera (inglese e, per alcune classi, anche francese, spagnolo o tedesco), storia, geografia, filosofia, matematica, fisica, chimica e scienze naturali, disegno e storia dell’arte etc.

La specializzazione scientifica del Liceo è stata sempre apprezzata dalle famiglie degli studenti, perché garantisce una formazione completa, aggiornata ed equilibrata. Il Marinelli, in questi ultimi anni, ha voluto soddisfare al meglio le aspettative degli studenti rafforzando la propria offerta, puntando sul multilinguismo – garantendo così l’apprendimento di una seconda lingua straniera – e sulle materie scientifiche. Il tasso di successo dei nostri studenti nel corso dei loro studi è molto alto. Questi risultati devono essere attribuiti alla qualità dell’insegnamento e all’organizzazione scolastica, ma soprattutto alla motivazione e alla qualità degli studenti e alle esigenti aspettative delle famiglie, che partecipano con attenzione al processo di apprendimento dei loro figli e figlie per assicurarsi che possano crescere culturalmente e professionalmente.

La formazione universitaria costituisce l’approdo pressoché unanime degli studenti, ed è soprattutto l’Università degli Studi di Udine ad accogliere i diplomati del Marinelli: quindi, con questa Università si sono sviluppate le collaborazioni più intense e proficue, contribuendo all’innovazione metodologica e aggiornamento degli insegnanti.

Associazioni culturali e professionali, servizi socio sanitari e assistenziali, fondazioni, comitati, enti di formazione e centri di ricerca, organizzazioni no-profit e associazioni di volontariato cooperano per integrare l’offerta del Liceo, dal finanziamento alla libera offerta di esperti qualificati, e nella facilitazione delle attività di alternanza scuola-lavoro. Inoltre, il Marinelli, spesso come Istituto di riferimento, promuove la collaborazione con diverse reti scolastiche, di ogni ordine e specializzazione, nel campo della formazione e dell’aggiornamento professionnale.

SLOVENIA

Gimnazija Koper, Slovenia

Dober dan!

Gimnazija Koper is situated in a nationally mixed area called Slovenian Istria, an area populated by Slovenians and Italians. It is a four-year general secondary school, with different forms: a general grammar form, sports form and arts form. In is attended by about 500 students. The student’s age is between 15 and 18. Beside Slovene they study two obligatory languages, Italian (as the minority language) and English. Students also have the possibility to study French and German. It is a general secondary school, preparing students for university studies.

We have an Erasmus+ team, which is formed of students from different classes. They are mentored by teachers from different areas (literature, PE, languages, chemistry, arts, history, biology …), but we involve also other teachers from project-related subjects.

International project work is something we do with enthusiasm, we see in it a positive approach to new knowledge – both academic and interpersonal/intercultural one. One of our school’s important goals is to enable the students to work internationally with their peers, and to enable our teachers to learn from foreign colleagues and share their own knowledge. Gimnazija Koper has been involved in Comenius and Erasmus+ projects (or international projects without EU cofounding) for a long time. We have been covering areas from ecology (connected with history, geography, literature, arts), history (World War 1, social changes and national differences in the sixties), health (innovative ways for getting the students away from phones and computers and add good changes to their lifestyle), social and gender equality in science (based on sustainability). This project fits into our agenda of international studies, based on respect of differences (gender, nationality, religion) and with our aim to enable students and teachers to work and learn in internationally mixed groups with using different languages, respect different cultures and use differences to enrich our knowledge, work and life.

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SPAIN

I.E.S. Cavaleri is located in of Mairena del Aljarafe, a town with more than 45,000 inhabitants. It is 9 km from Seville capital city, well connected with public transport by coach and underground. The town is located in a privileged site, close to a large number of villages.

The town has a business park (PISA) and an important natural heritage, being the most prominent the Porzuna Periurban Park as a protected area, in addition to other green areas.

For many years Mairena had been a commuting town, as most population works in Sevilla city. However, it is growing with its own personality. At present, Mairena del Aljarafe has a wide cultural and sports offer, counting, among other facilities, with a covered sports hall, an indoor swimming pool, other pavilions with sports courts, a music school, a theater, a shopping center with a multiplex cinema with twelve rooms, two local libraries and several schools, both public and private. Local entities and the city Council often organize cultural events and concerts. Our school itself participates actively in the socio-educational programme organized by the City Council.

We are located in a neighbourhood built in the early 80s, called Cavaleri, which gives the school its name. We are well connected with Seville by road network and public services (Cavaleri Metro Station).

We offer Secondary Education and Bachillerato, in the modalities of Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences. The school is in 16,500 square meters, which includes the main building, an indoors gym, outdoors sports courts, open air amphitheater and playground. There are 18 classrooms, 2 language laboratories, a Biology and Geology laboratory, a Physics and Chemistry laboratory, 2 computer rooms, an art classroom, a ceramics workshop, 2 Technology classrooms-workshops, a classroom for support teaching, a specific classroom for students with disabilities and a Music classroom. We also have a library and offices for different departments and for administrative tasks, the management team and the Parents’ Association.

IES Cavaleri has been offering bilingual teaching in English for 15 years. Since we started, the number of students involved has been increasing and now the whole school is bilingual.

Our school has always promoted an international dimension. We have exchange of students with schools in Great Britain, in Italy, in France. We have also taken part in projects of different topics: music, ecology, technology, pen-pals… some of them in the frame of European projects (Comenius, now Erasmus + K2, E-twinning). All this is possible because a big percentage of our students and their families show a great interest in further education and foreign languages and because of the high commitment of our teachers.