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Until July 2012 our secondary

school, IES Rubió i Ors, will be

involved in a Comenius

Project together with three

other schools from Turkey,

Norway and Poland. The

name of our project is “The

future is in the hands of the

European Youth – Let’s

struggle for a better world”.

In this magazine you can find

some activities, trips and

interviews we have carried

out during this school year. It

is also a tribute to all the

teachers and students that

have participated in the

project so far. THANK YOU

FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK!

We hope you enjoy reading it.

INDEX

Trip to Norway page 2

Welcome to Barcelona page 4

Essay contest page 6

Environmental problems in Barcelona page 9

Greenwashing page 10

Are you environmentally aware? page 12

Interview to ECOIMA page 14

Assessment results page 15

A teacher’s view page 16

Students’ opinions page 17

INTRODUCTION

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►1st day: Friday We took the first plane at 12 on El Prat de Llobregat’s airport. We arrived at Oslo’s airport around 3 pm; and then we took a train to go and visit the centre of Oslo. At 7 we came back to the airport and we took another plane to Ålesund. There we met Tor (a Norwegian teacher), and we went to Ulsteinvik by boat. Finally, we took a taxi to get to the residence hall.

►2nd day: Saturday We met all the Comenius friends and then we went to Ålesund’s Aquarium. There we saw a lot of types of fish, plants and also penguins. At 12 we went to a restaurant house and the owner explained its gastronomic history to us. Then we tasted two typical Norwegian dishes: “Chicken salad” and “Fish soup”. Once we had finished our lunch, we went to visit Ålesund’s town, and Tor took us to a place from which we could have a great view of the city and the Island near Ålesund. At the end of the day we returned to our residence to have dinner. We almost forgot! Tor gave us a cuddly penguin as a present. We called it Quique.

►3rd day: Sunday On Sunday we went to Runde Enviromental Centre, and then we watched a presentation about the centre, about Runde Island and about Norwegian economy. After that, we were showed the centre facilities and at 11am we had lunch; we ate cod with tomato sauce and some delicious slices of bread. Then Poland, Turkey and Norway made their presentations about their countries and their schools. And finally we returned to the residence and we had dinner.

►4th day: Monday We went for the first time to Ulsteinvick high school. The Spanish students and teachers did their presentations about our country and about Spanish and Catalan education. Tor and Knut showed us around the school. Then we went to the library to search for information about endangered animals. After that, we had lunch at the school’s cafeteria and then a Norwegian teacher showed us a presentation about Norwegian history.

TRIP TO NORWAY November 26th – December 2nd 2010

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Later in the afternoon we went to visit a couple of places: Gloria and Mireia went with the group which went to Brandal Museum and Miriam and Aida went with the group which visited Jets company. Brandal Museum: there we learnt about seal hunting in Norway and we saw a big boat used for hunting. -Jets company: there we could see new technologies used on toilets. These new technologies are good to reduce water consumption. Before leaving we could see a demonstration of this. After these activities we went back to the residence to have dinner and then we went bowling with the other students.

►5th day: Tuesday We went to Ulsteinvik school and there we met the school principal and we continued with our project about how we can save endangered animals. At 11 we had lunch at the school’s canteen and after that the group which had gone to Jets company the previous day went to Brondal Museum and the other group went to Jets company. To finish the day, we went back to the residence to have dinner and we also played hide and seek with Norwegian girls and boys. We had a blast!

►6th day: Wednesday The last day, we went to the school and we watched some presentations that the Polish group had made about Spain, Turkey and Norway. After that we finished our Power Points presentations about how we can save endangered animals and we presented our work to the the others. We did a pretty good job! At 2 pm we came back to the residence to have dinner and then we went to Âlesund to go shopping till 8pm. And finally, we arrived at our residence to say goodbye to our friends and pack our luggage.

►7th day: Thursday We left the residence at 7 o’clock. We took a taxi, a boat and a bus in a row. Then we went to the airport and we took our first plane from Âlesund to Oslo. After an hour, we took the second plane to Barcelona and there we met our parents who were extremely happy to see that we were back safe and sound.

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Friday, April 8th

We went to the Hall of residence to meet the foreign students and teachers. Then we went shopping to El Corte Ingles and La Illa with the Norwegian girls. They wanted to eat something and we had some tapas and after that everybody went home.

Saturday, April 9th

The English teacher met us and then we went to look for the rest of the students. First, we visited the Park Güell by Antonio Gaudi. There we took a lot of pictures. One of the most beautiful things is the dragon. After that we went to have lunch to their Hall of Residence. The menu was salad and meatballs .After lunch we took more pictures.

In the afternoon we went to one of the mountains that are around the city of Barcelona , Montjüic. The Catalan music band Els Pets were playing there In Montjüic firstly, we attended a water show in the fountains. Secondly, we visited the MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalonia) and we welcomed the Polish people. They were the last to arrive. Thirdly, we went to the new shopping centre called Las Arenas.

Sunday, April 10th

In the morning all of us met in front of the school at 9 am to go to the residence to meet the rest of the group. Then we took the underground to go to La Sagrada Familia. There we had a guided visit to see the inside of the Holly Temple. Afterwards, we went to see other important buildings by Antoni Gaudi such as La Pedrera and The Batlló house. Both buildings are located in the beautiful avenue in the centre of Barcelona called Passeig de Gracia.

WELCOME TO BARCELONA April 8th - 14th 2011

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Monday, April 11th It was time to start working. The day started at our school . All the students from each country had our oral PowerPoint presentations about an environmental problem and the survey results. These presentations lasted all the morning. At 11, we had a break for lunch. The Spanish students went home for lunch. The foreign students went to have lunch to a restaurant in L’Hospitalet. In the afternoon we all met again to have a guided visit of the old quarter of L’ Hospitalet .It was in English so we could practice what we learn in class and the foreign students and teachers were able to get some information about our town. It was really interesting!

Tuesday, April 12th

On Tuesday, we went to the Desalination plant of Llobregat. There we were told how they get drinking water out of sea water. Then we went to the beach near the area. We had some free time to relax on the beach. Some people played volleyball. The day was very sunny and we had a good time. On Tuesday afternoon, we returned to our school to do an activity related with recycling. The workshop was about how to make necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings from coffee capsules. We used other materials such as glue, ropes, silicone and metal bases for the rings and earrings. While we were doing the activity, a reporter from L’Hospitalet TV came to the school and he interviewed some of the students who had travelled to Norway a few months earlier. Finally, the final result of necklaces and everything was really beautiful and original. We had fun while doing everything.

Wednesday, April 13th

On Wednesday morning, we had another “recycling workshop” led this time by the Art teacher, Ángels Bertran. She showed us some toys that the students in the subject of “Art in English” had made using recycled materials. Then we had to try and make our own toys. We were divided in groups. In each group there were some foreign students so we had to tell them how to make the toys in English. It was difficult for us but it was also great fun. In our opinion it was a very enriching experience. Then came one of the sad moments of the week. The students from Poland were leaving on Wednesday afternoon. The rest did it on Thursday so it was time to say goodbye. It was the worst moment of the Comenius week. Many of us cried. In just a few days sharing experiences we had become really good friends and it was hard for all of us.

Written by Sonia, Xenia, Mireia, Miriam, Gloria, Jessica, Fátima, Alejandro, Nida & Dennis.

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We devoted the last week of November to work on climate change and its consequences around the world. Afterwards, we held an essay contest. Here you can find the three winners, who wrote their compositions in English:

LETTER TO THE EARTH

Today, our planet is running a great risk. In these last 100 years it has heated a lot and the poles

are melting. For example, an iceberg in 1992 was completely frozen, in 2002 is slightly melted an in

2005 is even in worse conditions , so it runs a great danger. It is because we now have more

vehicles, we pollute too much.

The consequences -if we do nothing- on

Earth are that the planet could be

flooded and it would be our fault. And

that could trigger changes in our planet,

for example, in the United States, in

2003, more tornadoes were recorded in

a month than in any other year.

Some measures to be taken could be:

Prohibit the sprays with C.F.C.

Recycle appliances.

What we can do is:

Do not produce so much waste.

Do not use sprays C.F.C.

Do not cut down trees.

This is the headline of a newspaper about this topic:

MEASURES should be TAKEN TO PROTECT THE DEEP OCEAN AREAS

My conclusion is that no one has the right to play with the life of our planet and if we do nothing

that could be very bad for us. It is very important that

you know, and it’s easy to understand.

NAME: Jonathan Márquez LEVEL: 2nd ESO A

ESSAY CONTEST

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TRANSMISSION TO THE EARTH

Hello!

My name is Nayana and I am warning you from the year 2089 because you must Know the

story of planet Earth.

I’m living in a place that in the past could be called Spain. In the world, now, the only existing

language is English. I’m living with my mother, my father died in an oil war for the rich people.

In the world now, the only existing language is English.

I’m living with my mother, my father died in an oil war for the rich people. In the place that

I’m living it’s very hot, the temperature can reach 50 degrees Celsius or more. There aren’t

trees anymore, well trere are, but only in a few parts of the world. We cannot travel because

the only people that have enough oil are the rich.

Yesterday I listened that there are only ten thousand rich people that can travel, and the

rest, like our family, exist only to serve the rich ones. I hate this life. I wish I had been born

in your times. Now we cannot eat well and the rich people consume without stop. Besides, they

have all the technology so if we ask for our rights we can get killed. Just because I'm sending

this message, I can get executed...

I heard that the rich are thinking of leaving the Earth to go to another planet called Sinux.

We must act before they infest that new planet.

There exists a secret organization that is fighting to save this planet; my mother said that

they are dangerous people, but I want to get in anyway. This organization was founded in

2020 during the first oil conflict between countries.

From this world, ours, that I hope you now know a little more I'm asking for your help. We

need you to act now to save our future. Don't even stop to think whether you can do it or not,

because you can! The real question is: Do you want

to do

it?

NAME: Andrei Ilkinov LEVEL: 4th ESO A

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NAME: Andrés Orellana LEVEL: 2nd BATXILLERAT

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By Aida Giralt. 4th. ESO A

GLOGSTER

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This year we have been doing research on greenwashing, a term describing the fraud made by companies when they pretend they help the environment by using green marketing. The companies many times show that the products are environmentally friendly but the fact is that most of the times they are just lying. We worked hardly to try to show the real impact of greenwashing and the indifference of some companies towards climate change. We discovered that there are seven categories of greenwashing according to TerraChoice, an organization that called them ‘The Seven Sins Of Greenwashing’, and we pointed out some companies that do greenwashing. Have a look!

Sin of the hidden trade-off A claim suggesting that a

product is ‘green’ based on a narrow set of attributes without attention to other important environmental issues.

Paper, for example, is not necessarily environmentally-preferable just because it comes from a sustainably-harvested forest.

Example of the sin of the hidden trade-off :

•With the exception of “organic”, thisshampoo does not provideinformation about otherenvironmental impacts. Truly greenerproducts address multipleenvironmental impacts such as thepackaging, the recyclability of thebootle and wether the shampoocontains potentially harmfulingredients. (This claim also commitsthe sin of Vagueness and No proof).

Sin of no proof : This sin consists

in making environmentalclaims aboutqualities that the product isbelieved tohave, but without offeringneither evidence of themnor a reliable certification.

Example of the sin of no proof :

This is a good example. This car will never spend a smallquantity of fuel because its size requires high amounts

of it.

Sin of vagueness : This sin consists in making a

claim which is poorly defined or too broad. The real meaning can therefore be misunderstood by the consumer.

Sometimes a product claims to be “all-natural”, but it may contain poisonous products.

Example of the sin of vagueness :

This is anexample of thesin of vagueness. Thelabel says thisproduct is99.6% natural, but thisaffirmation isn’tvery accurate.

GREENWASHING

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Sin of worshiping false labels

A product that, through

either words or images,

gives the impression of

third-party endorsement

where no such endorsement

exists; fake labels,

in other words.

Example of sin of worshiping false labels: General Motors

GM’s ‘Gas-Friendly to Gas-Free’ ad campaign soughtto reframe GM as eco-friendly, but the company isstill the leading producer of gas-guzzling vehicles andhas fought to undermine attempts to improve CAFEfuel economy standards.

Sin of irrelevance

An environmental claim

that may be truthful but is

unimportant or unhelpful

for consumers seeking

environmentally preferable

products.

Exampleof the sin of irrelevance: No CFC

Many productsclaim that they are “CFC-free:” Whilethat soundsvery green, the claimis irrelevant becauseALL products currently on the market are CFC-free.CFC’s (chlorofluorocarbons) were found to be a maincontributor to depleting the Earth’s ozone layer andwere banned almost thirty years ago.

Sin of lesserof two evils

A claim that may be

true within the product

category, but that risks

distracting the consumer

from the greater

environmental

impacts of the category as a whole.

Sin of lesser of two evils: organic cigarretes

Surely these cigarretes are organicbut what’s about the hudreds of hectares that had been cut and the consequences for smokers?

Now American Spirit cigarettesare not only additive free, but use organic tobacco! Sure, smoking cigarettes isn’t a health choice, butwhy not support environmentalsustainability?

Sin of fibbing

Environmental claims that are simply false.

An example of the sin of fibbing: Fur Council Of Canada

The Fur Council Of Canada claimed that “fur is green, natural, renewable, recyclable, biodegradable and energy efficient.”

PETA naturally had a response to that: “It takes more than 60 times as much energy to produce a fur coat from animals than itdoes to produce a fake fur. Plus, the waste produced on fur farmspoisons our waterways. And don’t forget it causes millions of animals to suffer every year.”

By Andrei, Fabián, Aida, Natalia, Iván, Fátima, Nida, Marina, Katherine, César, Denis & Alejandro. 4th ESO

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Have you started to change? Let’s check it! 1. What is climate change? a) That which happens when you go out and it is very hot outside. b) Something that politicians talk about and you don’t really understand. c) A human produced phenomenon that affects the whole planet and causes a rise in the temperature. 2. Where do you think a koala must live? a) It can be anywhere in the world. b) It should be in its natural environment. c) If you are allowed to have it, you could have it at home. 3. How do you prefer to travel? a) By plane. b) By car. c) By train. 4. Whenever you travel to an exotic country, what do you like doing? a) Swimming in the swimming pool in the hotel. b) Hiking different routes to get to know culture and landscapes. c) Having parties at the beach and taking

pictures to show them to your friends. 5. What transport do you normally use? a) A bicycle. b) Public transport. c) A car.

6. When you can live on your own, where do you want to go? a) To a residential area near the beach. b) To a self-sustainable house. c) To the neighbourhood where you live now.

7. What are the three “R”? a) The initials from the main

Barça football team players. b) The main environmental

measures: restore, renew and replay. c) Recycle, reuse and reduce, the three basic ecological rules.

8. In winter, when do you

turn on the heating? a) Every day because you are

very sensitive to cold. b) Almost every day.

c) Only when it is cold. 9. When you are soaping your hair in the shower, what do you do with the tap? a) Leave it running. b) Turn it off. c) You never have a shower. You always take baths. 10. What do you do with dirty sheets that you can’t use them to take notes? a) Throw them into the bin. b) Use them to write drafts of your compositions and tasks. c) Recycle them.

SURVEY: Are you environmentally aware?

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Your score ______

10-16 points: It is clear that you have not yet

started to change and that you are not

thinking about a sustainable planet. The

future of the Earth depends on you. It is time

to start changing your habits.

17-25 points: You mind about environmental

issues but you are not able to commit

yourself to nature. Take this advice: you

should take better care of the world around

you, though you are on the way.

26-30 points: Congratulations! Earth has got

a second chance thanks to you. Continue like

that and help your mates to change their

habits as you have done.

ARE WE ENVIRONMENTALLY AWARE?

THE RESULTS AT RUBIÓ I ORS

A few months ago all the students at Rubió i Ors answered this questionnaire to know how environmentally aware they were. Here are the results:

As we can see, most of the students at our school (66%) are quite environmentally aware, while 31% happen to be very ecological. This means that we are doing right, but we could do better. Take your chance and help the planet. And remember that acting locally has global effects!

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

A 1 2 1 2 3 1 1 1 2 1

B 2 3 2 3 2 3 2 2 3 3

C 3 1 3 1 1 2 3 3 1 2

3%

66%

31% little

quite

a lot

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During the first school term and coinciding with the first Comenius travel to Norway, here at school we celebrated the “Climate Change Week”. Among the many different activities carried out in the curricular areas, we had workshops, lectures, films, documentaries related to the topic.

The school hired some people to come and talk to the students about it. One of these people was Edgar Alemany who is a member of the environmental group called ECOIMA.

Do you work just in Catalonia or

also around Spain? We are established just in Catalonia What are the main areas where

you develop all your activities? We work in 2 different areas:

Environment and sustainability What is the professional profile of

the people who work in ECOIMA? We are usually young people with a

degree on Biology, Environmental Sciences Would you say that people are

more Eco-friendly nowadays than some years ago?

I would say that people’s environmental awareness is bigger than some years ago but there’s still a long way to go.

What age-group do you find the

most eco-friendly? We would say that young people aged

between 20 and 35-40. What’s the most important piece

of advice you can give to secondary students to be environmentally aware?

I would tell them that every little thing that we do matters. If we develop our environmental awareness, there are many things that can be done.

What kind of

organization is

ECOIMA ? What do the

letters stand for? It’s

an organization that

deals with

environmental

education. The letters

stand for Ecology and

Environment (ECOlogia

I Medi Ambient)

Interview to a member of ECOIMA

Written by Pilar Sánchez.

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Some students and a

group of teachers from the Multilateral Comenius Project entitled The future is in the hands of the European youth – Let’s struggle for a better world together were in Barcelona (Spain) in April,

from 8th until 14th.

After their stay, they answered a questionnaire about their visit. The questionnaire included a Personal Assessment to find out if their expectations were fulfilled, if the visit was useful for the development of the project and if they had established fruitful

relationships. All students coincided in expressing their satisfaction with the highest possible score for these three questions.

Among the most appreciated activities were the visits to parks, monuments and the beach as well as some of the workshops that were carried out at our school. Among the worst scored features of the visit they mentioned the food packs from the youth hostel and in the observations some of them complained about the long distances to be walked. It happened to be an unusually hot week for spring season.

The foreign teachers accompanying these students expressed even more satisfaction with everything in the visit.

And again, students from our host high school taking part in the trips and activities enjoyed the week, although they wished they had had

more time to chat and play with our guests. Besides that, our students often value more the opportunities to speak in English than the outgoings, though in both cases there are points they feel necessary to enhance. On the issue of the English language, they say they have seen their real English fluency or lack of it, and they have learnt a lot; and in relation to the visits around Barcelona, some of them were surprised by some of the places and their details since they were unknown to them.

Finally, all three groups admit that the visit was a great achievement for the development of the project and feel that their expectations were fulfilled.

● ● ●

Targets met and

big satisfaction in

the Comenius visit

to Rubió i Ors

● ● ●

Written by Dolors Romero

ASSESSMENT RESULTS

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Anna Cortiella is a Maths teacher at Rubió i Ors. She has been involved in the Comenius Project during this school year and she also took part in the first mobility to Norway. We have decided to interview her to know her opinion about this project:

What’s your name?

My name is Anna Cortiella.

Why did you decide to participate in

the Comenius project? Do you think it’s

important for our school? Why?

Because I thought it could be a really good

experience for my students and for me, too. A

nice issue to practice English, to know people

from different countries and I think it’s nice

for students. It’s an opportunity for them to

visit different cities, enjoying their English and meeting students from other countries.

Where did you travel with the Comenius project? Would you repeat the experience?

I visited Norway with our students last November. It was outstanding and without any doubt, I

would repeat the experience. It was such a great experience!

Have you learned something about the other countries?

Oh, yes! I’ve learned a lot. About the country we visited, about their customs, their way of

working in the school and also about the other countries which visited Norway with us. In my

mind, knowing people from other countries and their customs and ways of working is very

rewarding.

A TEACHER’S VIEW

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We liked this project a lot. We miss the students from Norway, Turkey and Poland and we hope

to see them again. WE DON’T FORGET YOU!By Aida Giralt and Marina Márquez

This project was a good experience for us because it helped us to practice our English skills and to establish new relationships with people that we didn’t know. We could do trips around Barcelona. And one of the visits that we loved was the one to Parc Güell. By Katherine Aguerrett and Natalia Añez Hello! You are especial people for us. I hope you have enjoyed your stay in Barcelona. We enjoyed your visit a lot. And remember that you can come to visit whenever you want. The doors of Barcelona are open to you. We hope to see you again!! By Fabián Castedo We miss you Turkish, Norwegian and Polish people! We won’t lose your gifts and we will never forget you because you are nice and amazing people. If we travel to Poland or Turkey, we will have a great time with you! By Iván and César

STUDENTS’ OPINIONS

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