The second transnational meeting of Sharetrain Project  was held in Kaunas, Lithuania on 25th, 26th and 27th April 2018 and was hosted by our partner KPKC Kauno Pedagoty Kyalificacijos Centras.

All partners of the consortium were present and actively contributed to make the meeting useful and successful.

The first meeting took place in Kaunas center and started with a revision of completed tasks.

Partners were also informed about dissemination activities and coordination and decided strategies to use the Twitter account as a means of disseminating activities from the schools in our regions.
We also agreed on ways to contribute to the project with experiences worth sharing using the website as a platform to host videos and presentations.


On the first day, 25th April, the director of Kaunas Rasa Bortkevičienė gave us a warm welcome. Ginta Tarankiene showed us around the different departments and we also had the opportunity to see the exhibitions that were held in the building.
Dr. Ona Visoka, Deputy Head of Kaunas City Division of Education, presented the report “Management System for the improvement of students’ achievements based on data analysis and self-evaluation” followed by a debate among the participants.

School Visits

We visited Kaunas Saule Gymnasium where students presented how with the help of 3D glasses they can explore visualized processes. For example, they can perceive how people brains are working or to see the fission of molecules. The 3D software is used in Mathematics, Information technologies, Biology, Chemistry and English.

They pointed out the importance of using 3D for pupil motivation, inclusive education, and students higher achievements.

Visit to Kauno K. Griniaus progymnasium.

The Head of the school, welcomed us and told us about the history of the school and the importance of promoting democratic values in their school. The school takes its name from Kazys Grinius, the 3rd president of Lithuania from June to December 1926 and who is considered a national hero and an active promoter of the Lithuanian language.
After a warm meeting at his office with the deputy head and other members of the faculty, we were shown around the school facilities. The English teacher together with some of her students talked about how they are using Minecraft in the English classroom.


Two students from the last course, who are the students council representatives, talked about their roles in the school, their active participation in assisting and organizing fund-raising events for charity and how their opinions and work is taken into account in school decision making committees .

KTU engineering lyceum is a secondary school for the last 3 courses of secondary school. The school is now in the process of rebuilding and improving some of the facilities.  The headmistress shared this video with us as an introduction of what the school.

It is worth mentioning that they also presented the different clubs students might take part into, like Robotics or Chess.

Robotics and technologies are key in the school. They collaborate with the Engineering University of Kaunas KTU.

We had the opportunity to see and talk to some students who were working on some projects like robotics, watering systems for greenhouses and smart clothing , just to name  a few.

Visit to Kauno Panemune Pradine

The head of the school was the hostess and show us around the school facilities . Kauno Panemune Pradine , a Primary School that is an example of the importance of effective leadership
Kaunas Panemune Primary school is part of a national network and collaborates with the Teacher professional development center in Kaunas, our partner in Sharetrain. They also collaborate with the University of Kaunas and next year they will be collaborating with the School of Agriculture in Kaunas for a Project to improve their Greenhouse.

What makes a difference in Kaunas Panemune?

·         Learning spaces matter

English lessons focusing on oral competence for 7 and 8 year-olds. At that age, English language is not compulsory but the school supports this initiative as a way to improve communication skills from early age.

·        Coding.

·          Dance and Art

·          Sports

·         Gardening

·        Math

·         Library as an open space

·         Traditions are also important and  Encouraging the idea of belonging to a school

·         The school has also a long history of involvement in international and European projects

Culture

Kaunas will become the European Capital of Culture in 2022.

We  had time to enjoy a guided tour around Old Town, visiting Kaunas Castle, and some of the oldest monuments in Lithuanian Gothic style,  walk under an umbrella in Santaka Park  and  around Kaunas Town Hall and Square as well as go up and down Vilnius Street. We also enjoyed   strolling down some streets where large format drawings are decorating some buildings  like the one in  Nemunas waterfront.

On the last day we visited Stumbras, the biggest and most popular producer of spirits in Lithuania and enjoyed a spirits tasting.

We learned about its history, and traditions and tasted Lithuanian  food and drink . The International jazz festival , which is organized each spring, was taking place during our stay and we had a great time listening to wonderful music in Vilnius Street.  And last but not least, we should mention, Basketball and Kauno Zalgiris, Kaunas basketball team and  we had the opportunity  to talk with people from Kaunas about Arvydas Sabonis, the basketall player who played for Valladolid in the 90´s.

Have a look at the following photo gallery to see some videos and photos of the visit.



   Thank you Kaunas partners. We felt like home! 

Workshops

School Visits