International eTwinning project ‘Heartbeats’

 To celebrate Outdoor Classroom Day, our students took part in a collaborative acrostic. 🌿 Hands in the earth, hearts full of purpose, the students of the 1st Primary School of Gargaliani worked together to create the word  HOPE  using natural materials. Each leaf, stone and branch became part of a shared vision for a brighter, more sustainable future. A small word, built by many hands—growing big dreams for our planet 💚 #OutdoorClassroomDay #HeartbeatsNature #LearningOutside

 The students of the 1st  Primary School of Gargaliani  created their own colorful self-care and encouragement posters! Each poster features personal affirmations, self-care tips and creative artwork, showing how children can express positivity and nurture their well-being.

Our class recently came together to create a collage poster promoting anti-bullying . Each student contributed images, words, and messages that reflect kindness, respect and unity. The poster highlights the importance of standing up for others and creating a safe, supportive environment for everyone. Through this activity, we learned that even small actions can make a big difference in stopping bullying .

 Students from 1st Primary School of Gargaliani (Greece), 24 Şubat Secondary School (Türkiye) and Mihai Viteazul National College (Romania) came together to create a collaborative poster on  verbal bullying . Focusing on the power of hurtful words, they explored how language can harm and how it can also heal. Through teamwork and creativity, they shared one clear message:  words matter everywhere . Together, they remind us to choose kindness, respect and empathy in everything we say.

 My students had such a great time during the Kandinsky art webinar today! They especially loved creating hearts and participating in the activity at the same time as the other European students.

This year, our school celebrated  International Thank You Day  by exploring the power of  gratitude . Students learned different ways to express thanks in English and shared what they are grateful for. We brought our ideas to life by decorating a  gratitude tree  in the school yard with colorful  post-it notes , creating a beautiful display of appreciation and positivity.  In a simple yet meaningful activity, students created their own gratitude jars and filled them with notes of appreciation, joy, and positive moments from their daily lives. Each jar became a personal collection of things they are thankful for,family, friends, achievements and even small moments that made them smile. As students wrote and shared their thoughts, the activity encouraged reflection and mindfulness. It reminded them that gratitude doesn’t have to come from big events. By the end of the activity, the colourful jars stood as a symbol of positivity and self-awareness.

My students were really excited to meet the partner schools online for the first time. They especially enjoyed hearing each school’s student representative introduce their school. During the Music Lab workshop, they worked together with the students from Cyprus to co-create a heart. We really enjoyed the workshop, especially because it mixed music, art and digital tools.

With love and kindness, my students have created these festive cards for the students of Sophia, Selin, Maria José, and Nadine. Sending warm season’s greetings from Greece!

 Students first designed their own logos, working both individually and in groups. Some of them used Canva, while others created hand-drawn designs. The most appreciated designs were submitted as the school’s logo. After collecting all the logos from all partnes, the students reviewed them and selected the five logos they liked the most as the school’s top choices. 

This  year, t he 1st Primary School of Gargaliani celebrated  World Kindness Day  with a series of creative and heart-warming activities designed to inspire empathy, connection and positivity among our students.  Small acts can create a big impact. 🌟  1. Brainstorming Kindness Through a Digital Word Cloud We began by inviting students to reflect on what kindness means to them. Using a digital tool, each class created a vibrant word cloud filled with words such as  helping ,  sharing ,  respect , and  friendship . These beautiful visuals captured the spirit of the week perfectly. 💬   2. Compliment Sticky Notes Our classrooms brightened as students exchanged compliment sticky notes. Children wrote thoughtful messages to one another, spreading encouragement, gratitude, and positivity across the school. 🎨   3. Lipstick Hearts of Kindness To express kindness creatively, students drew lipstick hearts on their hands like temporary tatto...

  The winning logo in the vote comes from the 1st Primary School of Gargaliani, Greece. It represents a design that promotes a gentle, supportive environment where emotional growth and positive relationships can flourish... the true sound of European friendship. 🎶 💫 The result:  https://www.tricider.com/brainstorming/2fwjWhGn8RJ       

A beautiful collection of logo proposals was submitted for the final online project logo voting. Check out the collection of all logo proposals. Countries represented: Türkiye, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Romania, Sweden, Italy, Lithuania, France. G reat job, dear partners!  

As part of our ongoing focus on emotional well-being, students at the 1st Primary School of Gargaliani 🇬🇷 were invited to pause and reflect on a simple but powerful question: "How do I feel in different school situations?".  From arriving at school in the morning, to working in groups, presenting in class or facing challenges, each moment in the school day can spark a wide range of emotions. To help students explore and express these personal experiences, we turned to the world of AI art. Through this creative journey, we continue to support emotional literacy giving voice to the feelings that shape our daily experiences at school.

In October we began our HEARTBEATS journey with a creative brainstorming session focused on designing the project's official logo.    Students designed logos both on paper and digitally, using symbols like hearts, waves and globes to reflect the project's spirit.  🇬🇷

We are celebrating  Code Week  with a creative and inspiring event — the  Caesar Cipher: Code of Heartbeats Challenge ! As part of this activity, the Greek team  🇬🇷  explored one of history’s oldest and most fascinating encryption techniques — the  Caesar Cipher . Named after Julius Caesar, who used it to protect his private messages, this simple yet powerful cipher shifts each letter of the alphabet by a fixed number to create a secret code. Using this ancient technique, the Greek team encrypted a heartfelt message for the Swedish team. Through teamwork, curiosity and empathy, the message of positivity was revealed showing that even old methods of communication can spread kindness and emotional well-being in a creative and meaningful way. Together, we celebrate the power of code to connect hearts and minds! 💖

In  September , the  Greek team  enthusiastically took part in a series of  icebreaker activities  as part of the  Heartbeats Project . These fun and educational sessions helped the students get to know the  partner countries  better by exploring their  flags and   capital cities.  Through games and quizzes participants not only learnt geography but also strengthened teamwork and communication skills. It was a great opportunity to start the project with energy, curiosity and a spirit of collaboration! 🇬🇷 Getting to know our Heartbeats partners 

For  International Dot Day , our students explored the inspiring book  “The Dot”  by  Peter H. Reynolds  and embraced its message:  “Just make a mark and see where it takes you.”  They expressed their creativity by coloring unique, colorful dots and then used  augmented reality  to watch their artwork  come to life . A joyful and inspiring activity that celebrated  creativity, imagination and self-expression ! 🎨✨