Milena Urban, Monika Warężak, Paulina Szylin, Karol Maziec, Szymon Świerniak, Sebastian Mincel and Maciej Chojnacki, second-year students at I Liceum Ogólnokształcące in Bolesławiec, took part in a week-long workshop held in Viborg, Denmark, as part of the English-language project “Healthy European Youth”. – “HEY” aims to promote a healthy lifestyle – says teacher Katarzyna Cieślak-Ostrowska, the project’s co-author.
The I LO students prepared thoroughly for the workshop. They collected materials on bulimia and anorexia, kept food diaries and created PowerPoint presentations. They also met with a dietitian and an addiction specialist. – Healthy eating is an issue that concerns each of us – says Paulina Szylin. – We learned a lot. We will certainly pay more attention to what we eat.
During the workshop, the young people from Bolesławiec had the opportunity to work with teenagers from France, Denmark, Germany and Northern Ireland. Together, the students prepared a cookbook containing recipes for tasty and healthy dishes, and analysed eating habits in the individual countries. – There were some barriers at first, but we quickly overcame them – says Paulina. – We got along best with the Irish. They were very open – says Maciej Chojnacki. – The longer we stayed there, the easier it was to talk to our peers. It turned out that although we come from different countries, we have similar problems and interests – adds Monika Warężak.
The young people worked in groups made up of representatives of different nationalities. – The main aim was to prevent unhealthy competition between the countries – Paulina explains. The organisers also made sure that the students would not be bored during their free time. Workshop participants could play so-called cow football, as well as visit Denmark’s west coast and a cave full of bats.
On very familiar terms with English
– We greatly improved our language skills – says Paulina. – It was a five-day English lesson – Monika smiles. – We even spoke English among ourselves so that students from other countries would not feel awkward that they could not understand us.
– This trip was an introduction to the second part of the project. In the next school year, we will focus on sport and first aid – says Katarzyna Cieślak-Ostrowska. The next workshop for young people will probably be held in March 2011 in Colmar, France. – Our cooperation with our European partners is going very well – says the I LO teacher. – “Healthy European Youth” is our second joint project. Perhaps we will manage to write a third one? – she smiles.
During the workshop, the I LO students were supervised by teachers: Barbara Sobczyszyn, Piotr Matusiak and Damian Dziedziul. The project is financed by EU funds as part of the Comenius “Lifelong Learning” programme.
(ii information)
