Mind your footprint” Erasmus Exchange mit italienischen Schüler*innen in Judenburg

The BG/BRG Judenburg invited the E+ partner school ‘Liceo Artistico Statale Amadeo Modigliani’ from Giussano/Monza to Judenburg for a one-week student exchange. A total of 12 Italian students and 2 professors took part in this student exchange from 7 - 13 April 2024. The entire project, entitled ‘Mind your footprint’, was largely financed with Erasmus+ funds from the European Union.

The project managers Andreea Voit and Mario Setinc have put together an extensive and interesting supporting programme on the topic of ‘Mind your footprint’.

On Sunday, 7 April 2024, 12 pupils and 2 teachers from pupils and 2 teachers travelled to Judenburg from Italy. The Italian exchange students and professors were accommodated in the ‘Murblick’ hotel in Murdorf/Judenburg were accommodated.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brg.judenburg

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/p/C6HKH0vsDtU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Padlet: https://padlet.com/letschallengethefuture/e-akk-it_giussano-stx-in-austria-2024-7f2hguo8waao33y

 

Projectdescription

Sunday, 07.04: Upon arrival at Judenburg train station before 15:00, teachers proceed to check into Hotel Murblick, while students are escorted to their respective host families.

Monday, 08.04: The day begins with a welcoming ceremony at the school's Festsaal at 08:00, featuring speeches from the headmistress, Bernd, and Ilse. Students engage in ice-breaking activities from 08:15 to 08:30, followed by a school tour led by local students and separate tours for teachers until 09:00. From 09:00 to 10:45, students delve into an introduction to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) project, focusing on "Sustainable Cities." At 11:00, there's a scheduled meeting with the mayor of Judenburg in the city center, followed by an SDGs tour of Judenburg until 12:45, with groups exploring various facets of sustainability. The afternoon includes a visit to the Planetarium of Judenburg for all students, while teachers enjoy dinner at the hotel, and students return to their host families.

Tuesday, 09.04: Beginning at 07:50 and concluding at 13:20, students participate in a Sustainable City project workshop with Professor Ofner, where they collaborate to design a 3D building. Meanwhile, teachers visit various lessons. In the afternoon, the group embarks on a train journey to Graz, departing at 14:02 and arriving at 15:37. A walking tour, including a visit to Schlossberg, is scheduled until 17:00, followed by free time until 18:00 when dinner is served at "Continuum" in Graz. The return train to Judenburg departs at 20:26, with an anticipated arrival time of 22:05.

Wednesday, 10.04: The morning is dedicated to the presentation of the Sustainable City project results from 07:50 to 10:35. This is followed by Austrian students attending lessons until 13:20, while Italian students and teachers engage in German lessons with Prof. Sölkner until 12:30, then joining host students for lessons until 13:20. Teachers conduct lesson visits throughout the day. The evening is left free for leisure activities, with teachers convening for dinner at Schönberghof Red Bull Ring.

Thursday, 11.04: An excursion to Vienna by bus is planned from 07:00 to 20:00, encompassing visits to prominent landmarks such as the Art History Museum, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, and Schönbrunn Castle with audio guides. Dinner arrangements differ, with teachers dining at the hotel and students returning to their host families.

Friday, 12.04: The morning begins with lessons in host students' classes from 07:50 to 09:30, followed by a certificate ceremony until 10:30. Lessons continue until 12:30 for Austrian students and until 13:20 for Italian students, with teachers conducting lesson visits throughout. The afternoon is left free for personal pursuits, with separate dinner arrangements for teachers and students.

Saturday, 13.04: A final meeting at Judenburg train station at 08:30 marks the start of the journey home.

 

Daily students’ reports

 Monday

Monday was officially the first day of our exchange Project together with our Italian guests and as such we started the week with a lot of different cultural activities. We started the day by showing our Italian guests around the school building and sharing memories regarding different parts of our school as well as showing them important rooms and parts of the building. We then talked about the program for the week. Following up we had a quick march to the city center of Judenburg, where we then entered the “Stadtturm” and proceeded to make our way to the top to reach the planetarium. Once we reached the planetarium, we met the Polish exchange students and were greeted by the mayor of Judenburg. After a quick introduction we went up into the main attraction of the planetarium and enjoyed a presentation of the stars the planets of our sun system. After this very interesting presentation we made our way back out of the tower and were given the task to take photos of places that represent the 11 SDGs all around the city of Judenburg. We then got into different groups to finish this task and some of us got ice cream together with their exchange students to cool off because of the hot weather. After we got all of the pictures, we needed we took a break in the city park and spent some time together with our students. Later that evening we all met at the Red Bull Ring and showed our guests the beautiful landscape as well as the racing track. After that we went home and spent the rest of the day together with our families preparing for the next day of our project. In conclusion we had a lot of fun on Monday and had a great opportunity of connecting with our guests.

 

Tuesday

In the morning, we started at 07:50 in our school with the Sustainable city project with Prof. Ing. Oliver Ofner. Under the motto "Creating a 3D building", we started to work together with our Italian guest students. The task was for each Austrian student to create an Italian building and each Italian student to create an Austrian building. First, we designed these different buildings with the help of a computer programme and then printed them out using the 3D printer. It was exciting and impressive to watch the 3D creation. The results were impressive and well done.

In the afternoon, a visit to our provincial capital Graz was on the programme. We started from Judenburg train station at 14:02. The train journey took around 1.5 hours and we arrived at Graz main station at 15:37. Then we walked to the main square and up the Schlossberg with the “Grazer Uhrturm”, the landmark of Graz. Then we went down the Schlossberg slide Graz. With a total height of 64 metres, the “Schlossbergrutsche Graz” is the highest indoor slide in the world! With a total length of 170 metres, a special kind of thrill awaits us on the way down into the Schlossberg tunnel. Directly around and next to the lift, specially manufactured slide mats take you downhill at speeds of up to 25 km/h through changing curves. An experience that we will definitely not forget!

After an hour of free time, we met for dinner at the "Continuum" in the evening. The food tasted delicious and we had a great time. At half past eight, we set off on our journey home to Judenburg by train, where we arrived safely at 10.00 pm.

Wednesday

On Wednesday we started our day in school, presenting the houses we made the day before. The Austrian students had the task to create a building, that is typical for Italy and the Italian students created houses that look like they are from Austria. Prof. Ofner helped us design and laserprint our personal creations. Furthermore, we also presented the results of our SDG tour through Judenburg, that we took on Monday. Many interesting videos, pictures and ideas to improve sustainability in cities were presented.

The following two hours, the Austrian students had lessons after their regular curriculum and the Italians participated in German lessons by Prof. Sölkner. After that, the Italians joined their hosts in class until their school day ended.

There was no program on the afternoon, so us Austrians thought of something fun to do in our area and we decided to go to “Playworld” in Spielberg. We played a round of Laser Tag, where our group was split in two, but we made sure, that Austrians and Italians were mixed. The game lasted for 15 Minutes and we all had loads of fun. After the game we went home, had dinner, played some games and went to sleep, to be fit for the next day, where we went to Vienna.

 

Thursday

We started our journey exactly at 7:00 a.m. when everyone met at the bus terminal near school, and we were all very willing to get into Erasmus Week. After a short time, we set off for the tour. This three-hour trip was utilized in different ways; some slept while others listened to their music playlists.

It was the first stop where we took pictures as a group then waited for our teachers to collect entrance tickets hence taking long before entering. Our bags were left behind in an indicated space because carrying them around is strictly disallowed here. Some of us could feel overawed by art works and could not resist capturing such beauty through photos.

After that, we had a short stroll of fifteen to twenty minutes going towards St Stephen’s Cathedral. The magnificence of its structures left us spell bound complete with charming melodies resonating from within it. We spent an hour free after admiring the inside part of the church building from which point we broke up into smaller groups exploring Vienna independently from each other. At this point my friends and I went upward on 343 steps of the Cathedral obtaining a view across Vienna and collecting things that will remind us about Vienna.

We thereafter went on a culinary journey that took us to Aida Café where we all indulged in the famous “Sachertorte” much to the delight of our Italian exchange students. Having recovered, we regrouped at “Schwerdenplatz” at 14:10 and prepared to proceed further.

Once again, boarding the bus, we proceeded to Schönbrunn Castle for an educational audio-guided tour given in both German and English. The rich history of the Habsburg monarchs and Austrian court were very interesting. Afterwards, we had plenty of time until 17:00 when we could admire Schönbrunn’s vast grounds which ranged from its well-maintained gardens to extravagant fountains while enjoying the beauty surrounding them.

Finally, as day ebbed away, we caught the bus back home reaching around 19:43 at the station. My father was there ready to drive me and Federica my Italian exchange student home. The evening ended with a cozy movie night watching “Pitch Perfect 3” after which I went to a well-deserved sleep.

Friday

On Friday my exchange student and I walked to school. At school the exchange students visited out lessons. They got a look into our lessons and learned about how a “classic” Austrian lesson. After that we all got our certificates for our Erasmus project. Then we got back into our lessons and made some special activities in our English lessons. We played some games and also talked a lot. After school we got home and ate something. Then we went for a walk, and I showed my exchange student my nearby forest. The walk took a lot of time and after that we got ready for the evening. In the evening we met with the other guy and went bowling. It was a very funny evening and a perfect finish for out Erasmus project. After the bowling we also went to Judenburg and showed them around the city for one last time. In the end I can only say that it was one of the funniest and most interesting experiences I have made in my live and I would always do it again.