The first Mind Matters meeting was held in Churriana de la Vega from 25th to 29th March 2019.
On Sunday 24th March, participants from Germany, France and Estonia got to Churriana where the Spanish partners were eagerly awaiting their arrival.
On Monday morning all the partners gathered at IES Federico García Lorca. Everything started with the students working in groups made up with boys and girls from the four countries so that they could break the ice and get to know each other.
One of the activities in our schedule was the presentation of posters students had designed previously in their own countries dealing with the causes, consequences and how to cope with stress as well as a glossary of terms related to stress.
Students from Germany presented their poster on the glossary and our partners from France dealt with the causes of stress.
After those activities, the logo contest was held with a wide variety of designs made by the students. The winner was the logo drawn by Julio Bédmar from Spain.
Once this first day working sessions had finished, our school headmaster, Mr. Tirado Pedregosa and the mayor of Churriana de la Vega, Mr. Narváez welcomed the participants and proceeded to open the European Garden.
Each country planted a tree as a memory of this meeting.
In the afternoon, the Spanish families prepared a “merienda” to welcome our guests. We enjoyed a good atmosphere where everyone, students, families and teachers had a good chance to interact and get to know each other.
On Tuesday, as everyday, we began by having a mindfulness session which allowed everyone to focus on work and is a good practice to be included in our daily lives so as to be relieved from stress.
The Spanish team presented their poster on the consequences of stress and the Estonians on how to cope with it.
Then we went to live a wonderful experience called “Sensorial Hiking” which consisted of trekking across Sierra Nevada National Park and, thanks to a series of activities carried out by the National Park staff, the participants were able to cherish Nature through different senses.
On Wednesday we had a day trip to Málaga where we visited the Alcazaba, the Picasso Museum and we also enjoyed some free time at the beach and wandering around the city.
A wide variety of activities was waiting for us on Thursday. Once the mindfulness session had finished, students were creating Kahoots after the research they had done in order to design posters. This was a way to reinforce what they had learnt and share their knowledge with their partners.
After that, one of the most thrilling workshops took place , flamenco dancing. They learned some basic aspects of this art, rhythm. clapping and some steps.
In the afternoon we moved to Granada for the most expected activity, the visit to the Alhambra, Granada’s first landmark. Our colleague Carmen Velasco performed a really good job as a tour guide.
The Kahoots students prepared the previous day were played on Friday. This activity meant a general revision of all the theoretical framework the participants had developed as the start point of our project.
We went on to have a Mindfulness workshop led by a highly qualified professor where students were given some basic techniques on how to take advantage of this way to fight stress.
Meanwhile, teachers gathered in order to assess the scheduled activities in Churriana as well as prepare our forthcoming meeting in Kiel.
To put an end to this last day our headmaster, Mr Tirado, gave a speech to say goodbye and thank everyone for making possible this project highlighting all the benefits our schools get from it. Recognition diplomas were given to teachers.
The last activity was a gymkhana inspired on Europe as the common framework we share.
On Saturday it was time for farewell eager to meet our friends soon in Kiel next May.
Thank you very much to all of you, students, teachers. Each one made possible this unforgetable experience.
