Projects in class about the EU

These are the panels of the CERN that we did last week. We treated various themes in a schematic way:

• CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, where physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the univers.
• The Higgs boson, a kind of elementary particle which originates the physical matter.  
• The Alice experiment, which is about reproducing the creation of the universe at a microscopic level. More than a thousand scientists are participating in the most challenging physical experiment, recreating the Big Bang.
• The LHC (Large Hadron Collider), a particle accelerator founded in 1954 which consists of a 27 kilometre ring located a hundred metres underground.
• The synchrotron, the father of the accelerator, the origin of the new molecules.
• Graphene, a substance constituted by carbon, which has a kind of electrons that behave similarly to the ones that are being studied in CERN.

Have a look at CERN's official website:

http://home.web.cern.ch/

This informative letter was done by the teachers of our school at the begging of the 2013-2014 course. This year we are involved in a project related to Europe as we are currently doing many projects which are going to be exposed in front of everyone the following year. 

The journey will have finished by the end of 2nd course of "Bachillerato". We are going to share and connect knowledges and brainstorming all by teamwork.

The project inauguration opened the doors to our journey around Europe. This has improved our relation with Europe.

How does the EU work?

As we made the concept map which represents the main duties (you can find it in the section Articles "European institutions"), one aspect worthy of consideration is keeping in mind how the EU works.

Firstly, the EU is not a Federal State but a kind of "states conference". It's unique in history, and its decision-making system has been in constant evolution for 60 years.

The Treaties are the base of plenty justice acts which have a direct effect to the EU citizens day-to-day. These consist of administrations, rules and recommendations adopted by the European institutions.

We can differentiate seven institutions which can make decisions. These are the following:

-          The European Council: It’s the most important political institution in the EU. It’s made by the presidents and ministers who meet four times in a year in Brussels. Moreover, the European Council determines the European Union aims and does its best to achieve them.

-          The Council:  It is part of the essentially EU legislature which represents the executives of EU member states, the other legislative body. The Council is composed of several configurations national ministers which are twenty-eight because of the number of states.

Its main purpose is to pass the EU legislature. The Council and the Parliament also share the responsibility to pass the EU finances.

                                                                                                                                                             

-          The European Parliament: It represents the citizens of the European Union and shares the legislative power moreover of sharing finances with the Council.  Since 1979, its members can be selected by universal suffrage every five years.

-          The European Commission: It is an essential European institution.  Its rights are making legislatives proposals which are communicated to the Council and the Parliament for the debate and adoption.

The European Commission is independent when it comes to its decisions. Its main purpose is to represent the common interest, so it doesn’t have to attack any orders of the Government

-          Court of Justice of the European Union: Its main role is to guarantee the EU Rights and the correct application and interpretations of the Treaty.

 

                                                                                                                                                   

-          The European Central Bank (ECB):  It is in charge of the management about the Euro and the monetary policies of the European Union. Its main purpose is to keep the balance of the eurozone prices.

THE QUESTIONS

Last week, we did a poll in our school among all the students from 12 to 18. The aim of this survey is to know the knowledge that the pupils of our school have in relation to the EU.

The questions:

In total we have asked 10 questions releated to the European Union, which we think that were the basic ones that every citizen has to know.

1. How many Member States are part of the European Union?

a) 28

b) 17

c) 22

2. In which year was the euro introduced as a physical currency in Spain?

a) 1998

b) 2000

c) 2002

3. Which of the following countries doesn't woven into the European Union but is part of Europe?

a) Germany

b) Norway

c) Italy

d) Ireland

4. Who has the power in the European Union?

a) The European Government

b) The EU Council

c) The European Parliament

5. Which country has been the last one to take part in the European Union?

a) Croatia

b) Switzerland

c) Portugal

6. Which are the capitals of Germany, Belgium and Holland?

a) Luxembourg, Brussels and Hamburg

b) Berlin, Helsinki and Amsterdam

c) Berlin, Brussels and Amsterdam

7. Who is the current president of the European parliament?

a) José María Aznar

b) Martin Schulz

c) François Hollande

8. Which of the following countries doesn't have the euro as its currency?

a) Ireland

b) Belgium

c) UK

d) Malta

9. What is the official EU day?

a) 1^st of January

b) 22^nd of September

c) 9^th of May

10. How often are there elections to vote the members of the European Parliament?

a) Every 4 years

b) Every 5 years

c) Every 8 years

EU Teamwork

Backstage

This is the incredible result of the good teamwork. Its success reflects careful preparation. We want to promote the student's improvement in solving problems and to teach the value of co-operation and teamwork. 

The picture is taken in our school FEDAC Lleida. As you can see, the group is so aligned that the title EU is perfectly noticeable. 

We reckon that the children grow with the values of living together, respect and teamwork; so that's why we wanted the little ones to be part of our community, the EU. 

The ones who are holding the Europian Union's flag are part of a group which is very excited about being part of Euroscola's contest and working for several days at a stretch in order to have a well-deserved result!

CHECK OUT THE MAKING OF IN THE VIDEO SECTION!

Our first contact with the contest material

Using material from "Europa Direct Lleida", which gave us a lot of interesting and useful magazines and periodicals.

European Institutions

We have made this concept map in oder to summarize the main objectives and duties that the European institutions have. 

Otherwise, we think that this kind of brainstorm offers a new way to visually communicate ideas, skills and knowledge. 

Have a look at its official websites:

European Commision: http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm

European Council: http://www.european-council.europa.eu/home-page.aspx?lang=en

European Parliament: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/en

Europe's interests in the world

Europe is a small continent, but really important when it comes to economy. Some duties and interests that we want to fulfill like the others derive from it.

The European Union follows several objectives with its international politics, which are: 

• The EU keeps its interests and rejects terrorism, criminal organizations and illegal immigration.
• The EU contributes on the conservation of the environment (policies about global warming and protection of the environment).
• The EU has an influence on the other countries to achieve and keep the peace (like Africa).
• The EU intervenes in favour of democracy and the Civil Rights at a international level.
• The EU assists other countries to develop themselves and to fight against poverty, illiteracy and underdevelopment.