My city

My name is Alexandra and I’m an 11 grader at Artis Private School. My interests are closely related to arts and my intentions for the future are for me to study animation in university. Apart from drawing, I enjoy listening to music, reading and, like all people at my age, going out with my friends.

15 years ago my family moved from the town I was born in to Sofia, the city that has been my home for most of my life. Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria, and it is also the biggest city in the country with about 1,300,000 inhabitants, fairly small in comparison with the other European capitals. I think that the smaller size just adds to the general charm of the city.

 What I like the most about Sofia is how diverse it is – there is the urban life and culture, but there is also the closeness to nature. As Sofia is in a valley, surrounded by mountains and just at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, it is close to the Vitosha Nature Park, a popular place for rest, hiking, skiing. We sometimes take our favourable natural conditions for granted, rarely being grateful for the opportunity to enjoy clear air within less than half an hour’s drive.

Sofia also offers all forms of entertainment, besides walking into the forests in the nature park. Many museums, such as the National Historical Museum, the National Archaeological Museum, the Earth and Man National Museum, and galleries - the National Art Gallery and the National Gallery for Foreign Art being the most famous, can be interesting for both tourists and citizens. Cinemas, many cafes, clubs and bars can be visited for those who prefer the night life or just want to have fun. Sofia is by no means a boring place.

If I was supposed to pick a favourite place in the city, I’d have a really hard time deciding – there are so many places I like visiting regularly, for instance the Borisova gradina, a huge park in the centre, the Southern park that is near my school, the Vitosha Boulevard, the main commercial street, and many more. There are so many places I still haven’t seen in Sofia waiting to be discovered.

Although I am not originally from Sofia, and I do love my hometown too, Sofia will always be a place where I can go back to, it is where my friends and family are. It’s my home.

 Alex, Artis school, Sofia, Bulgaria

VITOSHA mountain and my love for it!

To speak about Vitosha mountain and its beautiful landscapes is something that makes me feel very proud.

Let us say that in Europe, Sofia is the only capital that is situated at the foot of a mountain. And this lovely mountain is called Vitosha.  All this makes the panorama of Sofia beautiful and attractive not only for us, the citizens, but to all foreigners who come to visit our country.
 The perfect view of Vitosha grasps one’s heart at first sight. Personally I like to go up the mountain during the weekends. There, among the tall fir-trees, under their deep shades I feel quite well and in perfect harmony with nature.

 In summer I like to sit in the meadows among the beautiful flowers and sweet-scented herbs. There I can sit and draw for hours the magnificent scenery which surrounds me.
  Frankly speaking, I like Vitosha in summer time very much, but I like it best in winter.
 In winter time Vitosha is covered with a thick blanket of snow. From a distance it seems quite calm and reserved in its white coat. But when you go up its slopes you can meet a lot of people, young and old, small children and students who are enjoying the perfect stillness of the environment. If you feel tired after a long walk you can go to a small cottage, a chalet, or a restaurant to refresh yourself with a cup of hot tea.

If you want to be strong and fit, you can go skiing, coasting down the hills on a sledge or snowboarding. Small children like to play snowballs or make a snowman. They feel so happy and cheerful playing in the mountain together. 

If all those are not enough reasons for a person to feel proud of living in such close contact with nature I can’t find another one, because living in harmony with nature is the best thing that makes you a real PERSON!

Stella Gurtsilidu, Artis school, Sofia, Bulgaria

Who am I?

Let me introduce myself. My name is Stefaniya and I am seventeen years old. There is nothing much interesting I can say about me. In general I am an average teenage girl who likes drawing, music and sports. Drawing is my passion, music – something I cannot live without and sport is a great way to keep fit and healthy. So when I am not in school or out with a friend I usually spend my time doing one of those three things. Another thing I enjoy is hiking. And here I have to say that I am very lucky because the city I live in is located at the foot of a mountain called Vitosha. And where do I live? I live in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Sofia is a lovely city and I especially like two things about it. First I love the center of the city. The architecture is really beautiful. And as I said, Sofia is located right next to a mountain and this fact is the second thing I love. Just imagine how amazing it is that I only need about thirty minutes to go to the mountain. And for those who love skiing, snowboarding or just want to escape from the hustle and bustle in the big city, that is a big plus. The whole mountain is also a national park, which means there are no hotels or things from the sort. Just a few huts where you can take a break while hiking. So that is pretty much who I am and what I like. 

 Stefaniya Lazarova, Artis school, Sofia, Bulgaria

"Bernardo Dovizi" Comprehensive Institute of Bibbiena-Arezzo-Tuscany-Italy

"School of excellence leaves no one behind"

Our school, Istituto Comprensivo Statale Bernardo Dovizi, is located in Bibbiena which, with a population of about 10,000 inhabitants, is the main town of Casentino Valley, in north-eastern Tuscany.

Welcome to our school, a state school in the sector of compulsory education, comprised of a Nursery School, Primary School and Secondary School. Each school is located in its own premises and serves students from the townand its surrounding areas.

There are 29 classes for a total of 648 students aged 3 to 13, including 195 coming from both European and extra-European countries. The teaching staff has 63 members.

"M. Mencarelli" Nursery School

"L.Gori" Primary School

"G.Borghi" Secondary School

The percentage of foreign students in our school is very high (30,09%) – in fact, it is one of the highest in the provincial district. So our aim is providing our foreign students, and all our pupils, a welcoming environment facilitating integration and inclusion of diversity. It means to provide students with diversified activities and a range of strategies appropriate to their learning needs.In order to promote full integration and give equal opportunities to both disabled students and the ones with special educational, physical or emotional needs our school implements personalised educational syllabuses and special projects, sometimes in agreement with the other schools in our area. Our Institute is in fact the leader of the Network of Casentino Schools, which includes five Comprehensive Institutes and two High schools.

Our Headteacher Dr. Silvana Gabiccini

We are also very proud of our Musical Section (Secondary school) with its "B.Dovizi Orchestra" which promotes the development of musicality, the maturation of the personality and the sense of belonging to a group.

Last year our school has become Casentino Inclusion Centre and UNESCO Associated School for planning and promoting activities about peace, human rights and intercultural learning. Besides in 2014 our school was awarded the title of “school of excellence”, as a result of its participation in the three-year-long VSQ project nationwide to improve, monitor and evaluate the quality of education offered to students; the main reason for this acknowledggment is that the Institute "B.Dovizi" leaves no one behind.

Some projects of our school

SNOW PROJECT: five days skiing in Brenta Dolomites, amazing views, sport and friendship!!

EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP: to promote active citizenship and become citizens of Europe

PET THERAPY: to explore our emotions, spaces and needs changing our point of view

SCHOOL FESTIVAL: at the end of each school year, a day of games, sport and fun :)))