ONCE UPON A TIME

Project SummaryOur project “Once upon A Time” has been among the 19 Erasmus + projects accepted by the Turkish National Agency encompassing a time period of two years, 2014-2016, and finished by conducting activities and reaching successfully the aims planned. Upon the acceptance of the project all the activities mentioned in the application form have been revised and a close partnership with the participating schools established. Although there were changes related to the first meeting in terms of time and place due to delays in the budget, each partner school had conducted in their institution the project tasks and just initiated the project until the first common partner meeting.As mentioned in the application form, the first year was reserved fır improving the literacy skills of the students, enable them to focus on certain task and thus hinder distraction, increasing their levels of awareness, and for tasks to use their mother tongue in written and spoken form. Hence, two extra hours have been conducted for the extra-curricular activities. Moreover in order to increase the quality of life of the students’ field trips have been conducted including especially the disadvantaged students. The second year of the project was mostly product based. Each partner school wrote a short story which was translated to English. These were then divided into two and shared with a partner school determined according to a draw and finished by them. Afterwards each school draw pictures about the stories finished. These stories and pictures have been compiled in a book. The stories written and completed were published both in their mother tongue and English. Each partner country had published and designed their own story books by their own means and evaluated it as their own project product. At the end of the project, at Kule Shopping Mall an exhibition was hold. At this exhibition, the project brochures were distributed, the story book introduced to the public, and project pictures exhibited. Throughout the two year project guidance and counseling teachers, Teachers of Turkish, Turkish Radio and Television commentators and speakers, academicians, authors, and artists have contributed to our project. As the project budget was not received until March 2015, there have been mandatory changes in the mobility plan. The first project meeting was held in our school in Konya-Turkey, due to the above mentioned reason. At the first meeting a new mobility plan was made with the contribution of all our partners. The first meeting was attended by all partners with self-devotion without any payment from the project budget at that time. Our school has enabled as the coordinator the most suitable lodging and treatment of the guests in our city as well as country. In line with the decisions made 2nd meeting was held in Czechia, 3rd in Esthonia, 4th in Romania, 5th in Spain, and the 6th in Belgium. This mobility plan was adhered to throughout the project. During the first meeting, as mentioned in the application form, a budget schedule was formed and distributed to the partners. At the end of the project there was a significant increase in the students’ reading comprehension, literacy skills, listening and understanding, spoken and written communication, and efficient use of mother tongue. There was a decrease in students’ attention deficient. Increased awareness was the most significant gain of the project. Increased self-efficacy belief of the students due to their participation in an important project was one of the most important impacts. Hence they developed a positive attitude towards school and education. Moreover, as a rural school, the coordination of our school was another success for our city and country. In general, from a broader perspective, the present project enabled an efficient step forward both for the students of the partner schools and the schools themselves.