SEPS + EPIE
SEPS about Sustainability for European Primary Schools – SEPS is a child friendly project about sustainability for European primary schools and EPIE is an European project for Primary schools about Inclusive Education.
New partners and new rules.
For last school year/project year there were new documents in the so called “Learning agreements”.
Dear friends and colleagues,
Change of rules and regulations.
Many revised regulations have been issued by Brussels, and sometimes it’s difficult to translate these into school procedures. One example is the restriction that study trips can take place simultaneously with fewer colleagues. The teachers at the schools in Steinheid and Houten also enjoyed and enjoyed a language course in England and later in Malta, along with a large number of colleagues. This enhanced collaboration and collegiality. The teachers took this course during their holidays. Unfortunately, a restriction has now been imposed, and the number of participants who can study together at a recognized foreign educational institution is very limited. It’s very helpful to look up the regulations for this or inquire with your National Agency to avoid unpleasant situations.
Change of partners.
In the last month of the last schoolyear, unfortunately we had some partner schools that told us that they unfortunately could not take part in our project for all kind of reasons. Most of these reasons are because they did not get any budget anymore and sometimes they had not enough teachers in school. Some schools are too busy and did not have time for all the admiration pressure in school. They wish us good luck; some of them will follow us, and will try to take part later on.
On the other hand, there are also “new” partner schools that want to join us. Most of them have many difficulties by finding new partners. There are more other partners that want to join us, you will be informed as soon as possible. Some of our schools have multiple objectives.
Changes of objectives.
Expansion of objectives in our partnership.
Our primary goal is still to get to know each other.
We’d also like to inform everyone about our Erasmus+ activities at our schools and our collaborative project SEPS. See our website for more information. www.seps.project.eu
Our objectives for children in recent years have been sustainability and anti-xenophobia.
For teachers, this has primarily been job shadowing about inclusion.
For the coming years, we’re adding ICT with the latest developments, such as AI, fake news, and dealing with social media.
If you are more than interested just contact the management of De Plantage in Houten and/or Anton Verwey.
Current agreements with partners for exchanges.
A number of agreements for student exchanges have been laid down in previous Bulletins. Because there are many new partners, it is necessary to repeat some of these agreements for clarification. We have agreed that:
In future, students must also have a completed Europass. This must be signed by the host school.
It is appreciated for the children who visit if they still receive a so-called Certificate of Attendence from the host school.
The agreement that the visiting numbers of students are 6 to 8 children, in pairs of two, boys or girls. Of course, additional agreements can be made with the host schools.
The agreement for compensation for the host families has not changed. The host school will provide a receipt.
Sunday is usually a travel day (arrival), the children are at school from Monday to Friday and Saturday is the return journey (departure).
It is expected that the child of the host parents, buddy, will take care of the two guest students at school. If there is an excursion, the costs of participation of the buddies are paid by the visiting school.
The visiting children write a message to the host parents in advance, containing some information about themselves and their family and school. They also provide details of their parents, telephone numbers and email addresses. The host parents are asked to contact the parents of the visiting school. The host school receives the messages for the host parents and passes them on to them.
The guest students give a presentation in English at the visiting school about themselves, their school, their own region or country and Sustainability in their school or place of residence.
A number of agreements for student job shadowing have been laid down in previous Bulletins. Because there are many new partners, it is necessary to repeat some of these agreements for clarification. We have agreed that:
The teachers contact the receiving school in advance. It is requested that a colleague function as a “Buddy”. The visiting teacher sends a Europass learning agreement to the visiting school in a timely manner. In general, the travel and accommodation days are the same as those for the student exchange.
According to European Erasmus, the visiting school provides assistance with the visitors’ arrival journey and further provides assistance in finding suitable accommodation and the safety of the visitors.
Website.
A separate website has been created for our collaboration: www.seps-project.eu. It contains the details of all participating partner schools and a photo of the partner school. It also contains reports of visits and activities. In addition to the Bulletins, there are also contributions of teaching examples of projects and lessons.
This website is intended to inform all participants about the project. The Website is also intended for the dissemination of activities. Each participating school must indicate, especially at the end of the project, how the dissemination was structured and took place. Reference to the website can be used very well. Each Partner School is expected to update the information on the site regularly. Documents for the website must be sent separately as a Word document and photos in JPEG to Diana Brouwer or Anton Verwey. These ensure placement on the website.
Diana Brouwer directie.plantage@oo-h.nl
Anton Verwey afc.verwey@planet.nl
New Year’s wishes.
Time is running fast…
Some colleagues tried to exchange Christmas cards last year. Given the number of schools and students, this proved to be a difficult task during an already busy period that will come soon. Some colleagues suggested making a few posters in A3 format. Make a copy of these few posters and send these copies to the partner schools. In this way, the receiving school can hang up many posters with good wishes clearly visible in the school.
It will be a good promotion to see all the posters in our partner schools. Children can recognize the art effort of the pupils of other partner schools.
We will return to these proposals in a subsequent Bulletin. We would like to receive a response as to whether this idea is supported.
Invitation/Info for Bike Day on October 15th, 2025
Sandra Mohl from Vienna send a nice and interesting request that certainly fits within the objectives of our partnership. Feel free t o contact her.
Dear Partner Schools,
On October 15th, our school will host a Bike Day as part of the Erasmus Days. All students will take part. More information about Erasmus Days can be found at www.erasmusdays.eu
Project Goal: As part of this project day, our school aims to collect kilometers by bike, hold bike training sessions, set up bike courses, and service bicycles. This initiative represents a commitment to Green Mobility and environmentally friendly transportation. The project day is intended not only to promote exercise and team spirit but also to raise awareness of sustainable mobility. We would like to warmly invite you to join us in collecting kilometers by bike or scooter. At the end, we will compile the total number of kilometers collected and make a comparison between the different countries. If you are interested in participating, please send us a short email by the end of September at the latest. We look forward to active participation. For any questions, you can reach us at: sandra.mohl@hotmail.com or F.Weixlbaumer@gmx.at
Best regards from Vienna, Sandra & Flora
Sandra Mohl, BEd.
Mittelschule Leopoldau
Aderklaaerstraße 2 / 1210 Wien
Tel.-Nr. +43 1 2582562 231 +43 6766231891
Wishing you success in this new Erasmus plus project period.
Especially in these turbulent times, where contradictions are unfortunately emphasized, it’s a rewarding collaboration for all our Erasmus project partners to maintain the benefit of our children, parents, and teachers. After all, every school has indicated its commitment to the European dimension.
Diana Brouwer, Director of de Plantage in Houten and Anton Verwey, Extern coordinator of de Plantage.
As usual, stay safe and keep in touch, Anton Verwey.
Questions or remarks do not hesitate and contact Anton Verwey.
+31613698777 Whats App, call or mail afc.verwey@planet.nl