Welcome to Tapton School!

We spent the first day travelling. The second day we arrived atTapton School and we met the teachers, the headteacher and our pen-friends: Hannah, Emily, Alexis and Cris.

Workshop 1 We met in the staff-room with all the guys who joined in the project:

they came from Poland, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Italy. The first workshop was about visual impairment. The teachers made four groups of five, one from each country. They gave us some blindfolds and we put them on. Then the teachers led us into a big room where there were some tables and chairs. We sat down and we had to ask questions to start to know each other and we did many interesting activities staying blindfolded. For example we tried to cut a piece of paper, to make a sandwich, to do crosswords, to play some board games, to write with the brailler and many others. Then four students with visual impairment came to visit us, they showed us their computers and how they study with them. After that they taught us a special game, similar to football, with a ringing ball, to teach us to use all the senses.

Visit to the Town Hall

In the afternoon we went to the city centre by bus. In the town hall, we met the mayor. We also visited his own chambers.

We had a beautiful walk in Sheffield. In the evening we played bowling and we had a lot of fun with our new friends.

Drama club On Wednesday we had a special lesson with two nice drama teachers.

We played some games to learn to work as a team and to know each other. We spoke about our countries and we made a big poster writing down what we are proud of. They taught us the importance of communication between the different cultures: that’s the message of the Comenius project. So we read a poem about the British and the world population.

The British – Benjamin Zephaniah Take some Picts, Celts and Silures

And let them settle,Then overrun them with Roman conquerors. 

Remove the Romans after approximately 400 yearsAdd lots of Norman French to someAngles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously. 

Mix some hot Chileans, cool Jamaicans, Dominicans,Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese,Vietnamese and Sudanese. 

Then take a blend of Somalians, Sri Lankans, NigeriansAnd Pakistanis, Combine with some GuyaneseAnd turn up the heat. 

Sprinkle some fresh Indians, Malaysians, Bosnians,Iraqis and Bangladeshis together with someAfghans, Spanish, Turkish, Kurdish, JapaneseAnd Palestinians Then add to the melting pot. 

Leave the ingredients to simmer. 

As they mix and blend allow their languages to flourishBinding them together with English. 

Allow time to be cool.

Add some unity, understanding, and respect for the future,Serve with justiceAnd enjoy. 

Note: All the ingredients are equally important. Treating one ingredient better than another will leave a bitter unpleasant taste.

Warning: An unequal spread of justice will damage the people and cause pain. Give justice and equality to all. 

Workshop 2 In the afternoon we visited “Football Unites, Racism Divides” which is

a youth and social inclusion project and charity based in Sheffield which works locally, nationally and internationally to combat racism and increase understanding between different communities. Then we had a short time to play football. It was really amazing.

Our pretty friend Mary.

In front of the town hall.

All the teachers.

Our lovely Polish friends!