Our consortium (CHAIN) consists of 4 Primary schools in northern Greece, two urban and one rural, with a total of 360 students aged 6-12 years old. The 5th Primary School of Florina, “Theodoros Kastanos”, which is the head of the consortium, and the Experimental Primary School of Florina serve students from the city of Florina, while the Vevi Primary School and the Ydrousa Primary School serve children from 8 different villages in the area. Although each school follows the same national curriculum, it specializes and focuses on various thematic areas and subjects:
- The 5th Primary School “Theodoros Kastanos” specializes in issues concerning our common cultural heritage, history, the arts, and gender equality.
- The Experimental Primary School serves 130 six to twelve years old students, with a teaching staff of 16 educators. It emphasizes STEAM, educational robotics, design, and creative thinking and has a fully equipped Maker Lab. It organizes and implements evening clubs with students from all the schools in the area, and since 2019, it has provided opportunities for older students (13-18 years old) and supports them with STEAM projects.
- The Vevi Primary School focuses more on sustainability, the environment, biodiversity, and local production. It also gives attention to the inclusion of students with fewer opportunities, with learning problems, and with special needs.
- The Ydrousa Primary School serves 24 six to twelve years old students, with a teaching staff of 10 educators. The school emphasizes environmental education, biodiversity, and local production with many outdoor activities for the students, taking advantage of its location near forests, hills, and regional agricultural businesses. It also focuses on 3d design and 3d printing activities.
The vision of our consortium is to establish an educational network of schools and other educational institutions from European countries, focusing on highlighting our common cultural heritage and our common energy and environmental future. A network with well-defined, organized, and functional structures and procedures for the integration of new members, for communication between partners, for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of joint projects, and for the dissemination of results. Our goals are:
- Highlight our common European cultural heritage and our common future.
- Develop digital skills for use in innovative practices of cooperation between schools from different countries.
- Develop intercultural pedagogy strategies.
- Develop a collaboration methodology between educational organizations using innovative strategies and digital tools.
Accreditation
Our consortium has an Erasmus+ accreditation (2021-1-EL01-KA120-SCH-000051589) Until 2027. We are looking for partner schools that will work with us on the following activities:
- Students short-term group mobilities
- Job shadowing for teachers
- Teaching assignments
- Teacher training
- eTwinning projects
About Florina
Florina is a small town of about 20,000 people in the northwest of Greece, near the borders with Northern Macedonia and Albania. It is in a narrow valley between two mountains, surrounded by forest, with the Sakoulevas River passing by the town center. It hosts five departments from the University of Western Macedonia (Teacher Education, Nursery Education, Psychology, Fine Arts, Agriculture Science). There is an archeological museum, a museum of contemporary art, and various Cultural venues. The most popular local sports are Skiing and Fencing. Places of interest near Florina are:
- Prespes National Park – It is about an hour’s drive from Florina. You can visit the island of Agios Achillios and the village of Agios Germanos.
- Nymfaio village – It is about a 40-minute drive from Florina. It is a traditional village, and it hosts Arcturos, which is a bear, wolf, and lynx sanctuary open to the public.
- Alpha Estate Winery – It is about half an hour’s drive from Florina. It is one of the best wineries in Greece. You can visit and have a tour of the winery and try local wines.
- Vigla Ski Center – It is 15-minute drive from Florina. If you like skiing or just hot chocolate with a view of the mountains.
Getting to Florina
The nearest airport is in Thessaloniki, which is the biggest city in northern Greece. From Thessaloniki to Florina, there is a bus line with four routes every day. The cost of the bus fare is approximatelly 16 euros per person for the one-way trip and 25 euros for the round trip. To get from the airport to the bus station in Thessaloniki, there is a city bus every 40 minutes with a low fare that takes about an hour. There are also taxis that usually cost 30 euros for this route.
Another option is to book a minivan (up to 8 people) that will take you from the airport to the hotel in Florina. The price for the one-way route is about 300 euros.
Another option is to rent a car in Thessaloniki airport and drive to Florina. You will need about 60 euros of gas for the round trip Thessaloniki-Florina-Thessaloniki. You will also have the chance to visit places of interest near Florina.
Accomodation
Florina has many hotels and Airbnb appartments for accomodation. Early booking is advised in order to find vacancies. There are also many restaurants, fast food, cafes, and bars, and most of them are situated in the center by the river. The town is easily walkable, and you do not need transport to go from one place to another. The price for a coffee is arround 3 euros, and the price for fast food (burgers, pizzas, gyros) is about 4 euros. A full course in restaurants (main dish and side dishes with local wine) is about 20 euros per person. There are also many “Tsipouradika”, which are small taverns that offer “meze” (small portions of local dishers) with “Tsipouro” (strong alcohol drink, like ouzo). Local delicacies are “kebapia” (meatballs with pork, lamp, and veal on the grill), “makalo” (meatballs in garlic sauce), red peppers, beans, grilled cheese, etc. There are also many Supermarkets and food stores in the center if you like to stay in an apartment and cook.
