What a delight it must have been to be greeted in the schoolyard by 250 children singing traditional fishermen songs on herring and mackerel. The elementary School Dr JP Thijsse in Den Helder spared no effort to give the commissioner a warm welcome, as this was a very special day. The entire school has worked hard for several weeks to become a European Blue School. They accepted the challenge to Find the Blue and develop a school project on a marine-related topic, together with an external partner. The school chose to bring the children in contact with different companies in the local fishing sector and discover the route of seafood from sea to plate. The students learned what the sea means to them. All classes of the school participated in the project, each at their own level. The pupils poured their enthusiasm into making fun vlogs, a fish stall in the class, lots of artwork and more. As the school finds its connection to the sea important, it has now included marine topics in its curriculum. Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius thanked them for their achievement by handing over the first European Blue School certificate ever. And may many schools follow their example!
The Dr JP Thijsse school from Den Helder is the first of 37 schools that submitted their project to become a European Blue School this school year. The official ceremony where all schools will receive their certification will take place on the 9th of June.
Get to know the certified European Blue Schools here
Do you have a project for the next school year? Do not hesitate to info
blueschools [dot] eu (share it with us). As from mid-August schools' applications are open for the next school yearhere.