Our transnational project ''Running Out Of Time - ROOT'' is focused on Environmental Education for Sustainable Development & includes 6 different education institutions from Italy, Turkey, Portugal, Romania, Poland & Spain. We will comprise all type of participants: students(11-14), teachers(different knowledges, skills & experiences around the same target) parents, school staff, local communities, municipalities, local governments, universities & administrations in a participative or contributive way. In the time period in which results of the environmental destruction are clearly seen, the importance attached to environmental formal & informal education in the institutions has increased. In our professional opinion as educators of a new generation, the expected learning outcomes of curriculums are not enough to develop skills, values & perspectives on sustainable environment education. We have concluded that educational programs in this group of countries do not include sufficient subject & student acquisition on 'Education sustainability'. So it is our main wish to use different learning & teaching approaches, prepare curricular & extracurricular activities, discuss international approaches, identify current trends in EE & ESD, to be able to implement the curricula.For the accomplishment of the project activities, we will implement different Multiple Intelligence approaches such as Science, Language(native & foreign) & Social Studies pre-defined with partners. Our activities will be predicated on living-learning environment education including Multi Intelligences, Interdisciplinary approaches, cognitive & affective skills with motor skills integrated both in curriculum & extra-curriculum activities. Some of the extracurricular activities will raise students' self-confidence & self-esteem, increase their nature consciousness, make an impact on the awareness about environmental problems globally, not only locally, & enhance their English speaking skills. These activities will comprise different intelligence areas to increase awareness & get information about other partners' countries' nature, culture, traditions, history & lifestyles. The partnership between the schools will be based on cooperation, effective communication & shared responsibilities, which are set & stated in the project application. Before exchanges students will meet online & prepare presentations as well as some materials connected with the subtopic of each meeting. This will be done in CLIL lessons aimed at improving the students’ speaking/writing skills, as well as providing communication with their international peers through safe platforms (TwinSpace). During mobility, students will take part in the project workshops, seminars & lectures, & visit important sites. They will work in international groups to make final products connected with the topic of each meeting (posters, debates, exhibitions, etc).After each exchange & the project’s ending, students will keep their cooperation by means of eTwinning, the project website, the project FB site & social media.Responsibilities will be on compliance with procedures & timing agreed among each partner country on preparation meetings at an early stage of the project. The Coordinating school will oversee the activities & ensure that they are completed on schedule, that the project objectives are met as planned &, if necessary, to make additional meetings & arrange additional tasks.Different assessment tools such as Internal & External assessments will be used to evaluate the taxation of the project & its objectives before, during & after their compliance, throughout the duration of the project. These internal & external assessments will involve formative & summative methods.For the dissemination of the project Erasmus+ Projects Result platform, eTwinning Platform, TwinSpace, project websites, school's webpages, social media profiles & others will be used to publish the results as widely as possible. Several different communication tools will be used by everyone to ensure the access of dissemination results both in native languages of partner countries & in English. As a collaboration & cooperation platform TwinSpace & eTwinning will be used to improve the activities, make & create new ones after the end of EU Funding.Students will go on communicating with their peers from other European countries, improving their English skills & strengthening their bonds with peers.The project will support students in gaining different points of view on European countries' culture, history, lifestyles, & languages in order to respect & understand them. We will work to accomplish a transformation in the minds of our students’ generation about the surrounding world, making them aware of the consequences of their actions, namely in what the environment sustainability is concerned. Ultimately, these ROOTS for life will survive in their spirits & instigate a change in behaviour in the years to come.

Project summary“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” Albert Einstein Since earliest times when humans drew images on the walls of caves, art has been our way of recording our human experience and of making sense of our world. Art gives expression to our imagination, our understanding and our creativity. As the world we inhabit becomes smaller, faster and more competitive, these qualities are increasingly important. The study of art enhances young people’s intellectual, personal and social development and is an integral part of a complete, successful and high-quality education.It would be easier to achieve significant educational achievements if everyone learned in the same way, but not everyone does. In schools today there is a growing diversity of students from a variety of cultural, social, and economic backgrounds with very different ways of thinking, learning, and behaving. Children of various abilities and disabilities are in the same classrooms. Art offer especially valuable tools to facilitate learning for those who are primarily visual and kin aesthetic, in addition to making it possible for all students to learn more effectively, retain what they have learned, know how to apply what they have learned in a variety of contexts, and feel more positive about learning.The creative skills children develop through art carry them towards new ideas, new experiences and challenges and also offers them personal satisfaction. This is the intrinsic value of the arts and it should not be underestimated.The first main objective of this project was to improve pupils’learning abilities through art, art meaning here visual art, drama, music and dance. The second main objective was to provide tools for our teachers to make lessons (MADD-lessons) more dynamic through art. We also wanted to broaden our knowledge of art and make art through the different cultures of our partners.The project was planned for primary school students and teachers. There were seven schools involved with very different cultural, linguistic, religious and geographical backgrounds. There was one school from each country: Finland, Turkey, Spain, Greece, Romania, Croatia and Portugal. The schools from Greece and Turkey were involved in a EU project for the first time.We learned to know each other through video-presentations these were presentations of our school, our environment, our country and even about our student’s and teacher’s school day. But during our visits we created a real bond within the partnership and learned a lot about each other’s culture, habits, school and local art. Each country presented a typical art of their region, which all partners learned to do. Our pupils developed an awareness towards art and were exposured to art by creating it on the one hand, like performing a drama, composing music, dancing, singing, preparing picture stories, drawing, coloring, painting etc. They learned not only to work on their own but also to collaborate with others, using a range of media, materials and processes.On the other hand they explored art and learned to appreciate the visual world through looking and responding to art, both within the classroom and by visiting galleries and exhibitions. There were also afforded opportunities to get to know artists and experience their working.Our teachers got new tools for their lessons and learned to use music, art, drama and dance in the classroom, even in science lessons. They carried out innovative lessons as an example during the mobilities in the partners’s school, which was a great experience. We collected these lessons on our website in a MADD lesson file so all teachers can benefit from our new methods and ideas. Our project’s activities had a positive impact in many ways: they enhanced learning by creating a positive learning atmosphere and so made school more enjoyable. They helped to develop skills not only of dexterity but to express themselves differently and to understanding. The activities encouraged pupils to alternative thinking and problem solving through cooperation. The most important it allowed children to experience success, builds self esteem and foster self worth.

The project’s idea emerged from the needs and interests of students, teachers and local communities for broadening the knowledge about Europe,emphasising cultural heritage that contributes to the feeeling of belonging to European community.The partnership aimed at facilitating cohesion in various fields starting from this knowledge to finding practical ways of improving students achievements in education and making them life long learners.Not only those with the highest results, but opening the door for less and more gifted, to migrants and native citizens, to poor and rich, to students of different interests and talents in order to communicate and collaborate.The partnership realized that building a positive relationship with pupils and giving them the chance to be creative,engaged and express views since the early ages, would prevent escapism and lack of understanding.The objectives of the project focused on rising the level of knowledge about European cultural heritage and its value due to cultural collaboration of schools and the development of social, communicative, organizational, linguistic, ICT, cultural awareness and citizenship competences among students, teachers, community, school staff.Students gained the attitudes of openness,cognitive curiosity, built motivation, developed creativity, self-esteem and engagement also on the primary level of education.The objectives comprised finding innovative ways of building bridges between European citizens and schools- culturally, socially, educationally diverse,supporting students of all backgrounds, personalities, abilities and skills in order to achieve success.We wanted to be open to social problems,acting against social isolation, in favour of social inclusion, in respect to early school leaving and disadvantage, expanding critical thinking, building self-esteem, building and maintaining motivation, finding one’s identity, establishing relationship between students, parents and local community.Teachers exchanged experience, enriched their workshops and acquired methods of incorporating cultural heritage and various approaches to this topic in regular classes. Each partner built a European potential, visible for communities. Consequently, marked the start of long – term changes in the quality of education. The activities in the form of workshops (also with the cooperation of external institutions), field trips, experts’ visits were planned, carried out by teachers of different subjects and incorporated students of various age groups and with diverse skill,also learning obstacles, different cultural and social background. This added authenticity to the worked out results such as posters, logos, presentations, albums, online puzzles, maps, quizzes and books, recordings, tutorials (all used as teaching aids), also eTwinning projects, lesson scripts, a future program of classes on European cultural heritage.Moreover, project participants organized or were involved in School Open Days, ErasmusDays, conferences,fairs, meetings and open lessons. Intangible results constitute gained knowledge on cultural heritage of Europe, experience of broadened cultural awareness by project participants, building European schools’ potential, competencies in the field of language acquisition, organization, ICT, social and civic aspects, preparation, implementation and dissemination of international projects, social and problem-solving competencies, establishing copperation with other educational institutions, cultural centres, musuems, libraries, training centres, with local governments.The school staff will use obtained knowledge of international cooperation in terms of projects and agreements, developed ICT, social and linguistic skills.Project engagement and successful students' performance will cause the increase of awareness and support for schools among parents and community. Gained social, organizational and linguistic competences will make them more fluent in decision taking, maintaining motivation and being more communicative Developed ICT competences will give more confidence in working with modern tools and cultural awareness along with the rise of knowledge about the cultural heritage of Europe will make them aware of belonging to the European society. They will serve as educational aids for all interested groups and schools because of being licensed under Creative Commons. Teachers' development of competences will enrich their workshop and make them respond more direct to students’ needs, ideas, problems.Teachers will include worked out results in their lessons and an innovative program on the cultural heritage of Europe for 2021/2022. Our schools’ development plans will integrate the topic of the cultural heritage of Europe and diversify the range of curriculum content. This will be the sign for other teachers and institutions to join the projects and integrate project actions into daily classes.

The title 'Promoting a Healthy, Happy Lifestyle' describes the overall aim and motivation for our project. It is believed that both children and adults should know the importance of keeping their bodies and minds healthy and happy, and be empowered to view good health as fundamental in all that they strive to do. This is validated by 'Health 2020: A European policy framework and strategy for the 21st century' (2013:8) which states 'Maximising health through all stages of life is a fundamental right for all and not a privilege for a few. Good health is an asset and a source of economic and social stability.' The use of ICT was a major vehicle for the project's success, as pupils and staff collaborated online using various platforms, such as TwinSpace, Google Drive, Zoom, email and other appropriate apps and programs. The objectives of the project fell into four broad aims, which are: to develop awareness and attitudes of school staff, pupils and the wider community towards leading healthy lifestyles; to develop pupils' and teachers' skills in using ICT safely for collaborative learning; to explore the cultural heritage of partner schools within the context of the project; and to empower adults and children by teaching them how to look after their physical and mental health and the importance of doing so. 6 primary schools were involved in the project. All schools have pupils who come from a range of socio-economic backgrounds, and a number of students experiencing obstacles; such as special educational needs, social problems and economic difficulties. All school pupils participated in in-school project activities, which were shared with other partners through online collaboration, mainly TwinSpace and Google Drive. In addition, a number of pupils from each school participated in either physical or virtual mobilities with a partner school. These provided pupils with excellent opportunities for learning and skills development. Staff from each partner school also participated fully in the project through developing their classroom pedagogies on project-related activities and promoting healthy lifestyles in their schools, for example, through daily 'brain breaks', exploring sports from other cultures, and taking part in training on mental wellbeing to name a few. Some staff also had the opportunity to travel to partner schools (pre-Covid) to participate in training events. Parents whose pupils attend partner schools had the opportunity to be involved in the project through attending organised talks on healthy lifestyles, participating in Sports Days, and submitting recipes for a project recipe book. Project activities comprised short-term joint staff training events, short-term exchanges of groups of pupils, pupil participation and collaboration through the use of ICT, and involvement of school staff and parents. Activities were carefully organised to ensure all relevant groups of participants were involved in engaging and appropriate ways. Teachers and pupils of partner schools collaborated online to share their work on the project TwinSpace. Pupils participated in sports workshops and events and played sports that are traditional in partner countries. They learned about different foods and diets and through the project recipe book were inspired to cook food from different cultures. Pupils and teachers also learned the importance of incorporating relaxation techniques into their routines. Such techniques are now taught in the classroom. Methodology included active learning, group work, pupil, teacher and parent collaboration, and the use of ICT for websites such as GoNoodle. Results of the project include a positive change in attitudes of the schools' staff, pupils and wider community towards leading a healthy lifestyle. Participants have gained confidence in using ICT for teaching and collaborating. The TwinSpace is the main platform where participant's work is displayed and celebrated. This presents the extent to which the project activities have impacted upon stakeholders through evidence of the work that has been done by all partner schools. All schools will continue to incorporate physical activity, healthy eating and relaxation techniques into the daily lives of staff and pupils. All participants will continue to develop as European citizens who celebrate cultural diversity. Furthermore, pupils and school staff will have been equipped with skills to make them more digitally literate in an ever ICT dependent world, especially given the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic which has acted as a catalyst for increasing dependence in the use of ICT. The project TwinSpace is now public so all can see the results of our project and continue to use concrete resources, such as the digital recipe book and videos on mindfulness. The Project Results Platform also acts as an area where key project results can be accessed.