International Links

St.Anthony's Girls' School,Sri Lanka With Lewis Girls' Comprehensive School United Kingdom                     Our partnership had already been formed following the Asian tsunami, through the work of the UK charity Helplanka in 2005. Aims of our Partnership........ To increase awareness of the connections that exists between us. Develop understanding of each other’ cultures, communities and local environments Engender respect for each other’s values, beliefs and cultural attitudes Develop our pupils’ awareness of global issues and make them sensitive to these Develop our ability to exchange, reflect on and respond to each other’s work Extend our awareness of how the Global Dimension can be embedded in the curriculum and ethos of our schools Encourage our pupils to become active and informed Global Citizens Global School Partnership Project & Reciprocal Visits                                                                                       Link Co-ordinators from both schools conducted two visits. A short visit of one week by the link co-ordinator,Mrs.C.Jowette from Lewis Girls' Comprehensive in February ,2009 & a longer three week long visit by the link co-ordinator ,Mrs.Pradeepika Rupasinghe from our school last September. During their visits common goals identified by partner schools were to develop curricular projects with a global dimension. Our experiences enabled us to meet with staff and pupils, familiarising ourselves much more fully with each other’s environments.We engaged in a range of activities. These included lesson observations, detailed fact-finding and planning meetings with staff members, pupils and community based groups. We were also able to consider practical issues such as those of establishing good communication systems between pupils. Our objectives were to plan projects in accordance with guidance from the British Council/ DFID i.e .projects that were sustainable and have equity in terms of input from both schools. Partner schools consulted, identifying the topic of Diversity as an over-arching theme. This theme was initially to be explored through the curriculum areas of Art, Geography and Religious Education,English & ICT. The aims of our visits were as follows:   Research the theme of “Diversity” with particular regard to environment, natural resources, lifestyles, values and attitudes. Collect and develop materials and resources. Gain a fuller understanding of our partner schools and local communities. Strengthen our understanding of Global Citizenship and identify ways in which we can work together in the future. Develop our systems of communication and consider practical constraints. Set up viable projects to provide relevant, challenging learning experiences .      The partnership agreement was created through consultation between staff members and principals from both partner schools. The most important elements of the agreement were to establish mutually agreed aims. The visits have had the following impact: Curriculum Development of project plans through consultation with staff and pupils. Engagement in longer term planning incorporating other departments. Pupil exchange, reflection and response to each other’s work Increased awareness of how to embed the Global Dimension in the curriculum Consideration of how we might utilise technology such as Moodle to develop communication, share resources, outcomes and ideas. The partnership has contributed to the curriculum in the areas of Art,English, with plans being actively developed to incorporate Geography, Science and PSE/RE/Social Studies. The Global Dimension is being embedded in the curriculum in the following ways: Art / English:  Consideration of how our daily lives and living environments share similarities or illustrate diversity in life style. Geography: Exploration of the use/ misuse of our natural resources in past and sustainable use in the future. Science: Investigation into and consideration of what needs to be done to preserve and nurture Bio diversity. Consideration of the impact of changes in biodiversity, both locally and globally. PSE/RE: Values and attitudes. How and why values may differ or be similar in our partner communities. Consideration of how we can learn from each other’s values. ICT & English:Communication is a strength of our partnership; both link co-ordinators and now other staff members are able to liaise with each other regularly. Staff and pupils have had the opportunity to meet, exchange ideas and become more familiar with visiting staff. Perceptions of our partner communities have been challenged, presenting much to reflect upon. The potential for deepening understanding of connections between us has been identified in a number of different areas. We have been surprised by the extent to which our cultural traditions and social backgrounds have created such very different environments and attitudes. We have gained insights into the challenges that our pupils face and how they might support each other. The challenges we faced relate mostly to organisational difficulties. These have been overcome through the commitment to the partnership shown by both establishments and  good communication, maintained throughout the grant period. Purposeful relationships have been established with the British Council Education Co-ordinators in each country. We look forward to moving from strength to strength. We would encourage other schools that are thinking of establishing partnerships to proceed with any linking work, as the benefits are substantial in helping to bring learning to real life situations. Persistence, commitment and an ability to be sensitive to cultural differences are qualities to be particularly valued in the process of setting up partnerships.