​The forth short-term joint staff training meeting
Greece, Thessaloniki: 2-8 April, 2017
 
The objectives of the forth short-term joint staff training meeting in Greece:

• Getting to know the school in Thessaloniki;
• Participating teachers discussing the final meeting;
• Participating in the workshops about about alcoholism, compare official statistics for alcoholism in each partner country and drinking habits among young people in each partner country;
• Exhibition of the project photos;
• using a software for comparing the results of the questionnaire
• making a video to illustrate the fight against alcoholism;
• making a slogan for a common radio spot in all partners' languages
• Visit and learn about tourist attractions and sights in Thessaloniki;
• Visit wine companies and learn about different types of wine produced in Greece;
• Getting to know the local culture by means of thematic visits; understanding the elements of Greek cultural identity;
• Improvement of skills regarding communication in English, the language of the project.
• Improvement of ICT skills.

 
            During the forth short-term joint staff training meeting, the activities have been continuously connected to the objectives of the project as follows:
            The first day of the meeting (2 April, 2017) consisted of the arrival of the other European teams of teachers to Thessaloniki. The students and the teachers were welcomed by the Greek teachers and students and the students were taken to their host families.
The second day of the meeting (3 April, 2017) the students, under the supervision of teachers, divided into two transnational groups, compared the results of the alcohol-related research to all partner countries, announced their findings by answering questions and proceeded questionnaire data about alcohol drinking habits, using the software SPSS. On the same day, videos, created by students themselves, were presented, contributing to the campaign against alcoholism. At the same time there was a  pupils' poster exhibition, with proverbs and expressions about vines and wine from each country. After the workshops, a meal with traditional dishes, offered by the mothers of the hosting students, as well as traditional dishes from other countries, was held in the Events hall. The teachers had a meeting discussing the programme and the activities and a workshop on Greek culture.
 
On the third day of the meeting (4 April , 2017) we visited the royal tombs of Vergina and the wineries of Kyr-Giannis and Vaeni, where we had a gudied tour of the companies and the students talked with the experts on the production and bottling of wine, and we got advice for the proper alcohol consumption.
 
 
The fourth day of the meeting (5 April, 2017) we visited the city of Thessaloniki, starting from the Byzantine Castles, to Saint Dimitrios church, the Monument of Rotonda and ending at the White Tower and the Archaeological Museum where we admired the Gold of Macedon and the Derveni krater, which depicts the sacred wedding of Dionysus and Ariadne, framed by a vine branch. The students had a task to discover the city sights in international groups.
 
The fifth day of the project (6 April, 2017) we visited Meteora, where we traveled to Great Meteoro and the Varlaam Monastery, met the monks' history and their way of life and we saw the Museum of Old Items Related to the Production of Monastic Wine. Then, we visited the Museum of Natural History and Mushroom Museum in Kalambaka.
On the sixth day of the meeting (7 April, 2017), in the workshop, the students interviewed each other, about their opinion and feelings about  the meeting and the project and recorded expressions in all languages about the vines and the wine. From the recordings, a radio show and a radio spot were created to be broadcasted on European School Radio.
At the end, in a sentimental ceremony, the students said “Goodbye” to their friends by symbolically posting photos from all the meetings while expressing their feelings for the meeting and the project. They, then, decorated wine bottles as a memento o f the meeting, while the teachers closed the program by making an overall assessment, confirming that all the objectives of the meeting in Greece, as well as the program in general, were achieved and they organized the final report.
The surprise of the meeting was a cake, made by the mother of two students of the greek school, with the countries flags and the Erasmus+ logo on it, which sweetened the bitterness of separation.
           
The project meeting finished on 8 April, 2017 when the partners left Thessaloniki.
The result of this project meeting were to collect information about alcohol consumption in each country, to create videos against alcoholism pointing different views, to learn how to process statistic data (of the questionnaire) using SPSS, to make an exposition of posters relative to the good use of wine, to bring 2 recipes of dishes made with wine, to make a radio spot in all languages and to visit vineyards and talk to experts about wine producing. France gave to all countries 2 illustrations about the recipes and the meeting in italy.
 
The success of this meeting resides in the wonderful organization and interesting programme made by the Greek team. Communication in English all along the mobility as well as a good communication among all the participants in the meeting is another advantage on the list, especially among the students who learnt a lot of words from different languages.
Photographs, PPTs, travel impressions, newly acquired cultural information and lifelong friendships are other fruitful results of this project meeting.