One sentence resonates with me. "Schools are as good as their teachers so we need to take care of the teachers for our children.

I learnt so much about this beutiful island and its culture history and stunning landscape.

Thank you all for this experience.

The course emphasized the importance of well-being and mindfulness in my personal and professional life. I learned to prioritize myself as a singular and unique human being in constant change, through tools and methods for managing stress, well-being, and resilience in the context of working with students.

This 8-day course in Guadeloupe enabled me to explore tools and methods to enhance stress resilience, explore various practices that emphasize inner peace, improve language competence, and build connections with colleagues from other countries.

Throughout the week, we engaged in meaningful discussions and reflections, outdoor experiences, yoga, and therapeutic drum sessions. One of the highlights of the training was the daily sharing on Padlet and eTwining, where participants shared their knowledge and reflections on the course topics, generating better approaches and giving voice to various perspectives, opinions, reflections, and knowledge.

The overarching theme of the course was the management and monitoring of stress, well-being, and resilience to maximize our professional performance as teachers while also prioritizing ourselves as unique human beings in constant change and adaptation throughout life.

I also learned that to succeed in the roles we play in our lives, we must first know ourselves and discover our purpose in life, what makes us happy, our values, and focus on what defines us as unique human beings. If this is our focus, all the other roles we play will undoubtedly become easier and more successful. My role as a teacher will have more meaning and purpose.

In conclusion, the Teachers First course positively surprised me and exceeded all my expectations. I learned through experience and emotions with the fantastic people I met during the course, the wonderful places we visited, and the incredible culture and customs we experienced on the island! The opportunity to learn outdoors and through experiences was unique and made me realize there are other ways to teach our students more meaningfully, creating new learning strategies.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have participated in this course! It truly improved my personal and professional skills and gave me new perspectives on life, education, and teaching.

Finally, I would like to thank Rita and all the participants of the course for the fantastic opportunity to learn more with all of you. It was a week I will never forget!

In this course, the trainer addressed several fundamental themes for us to reflect upon, such as resilience, happiness, well-being, mindfulness, and stress management. Through exploring these themes, I feel that I have acquired new skills to become a more authentic person and a better professional. The contact and exchange of experiences and knowledge with colleagues from other nationalities were also very enriching, as it allowed me to connect with other cultures, languages, and teaching methodologies.

During the course, we visited various points on the island, practiced yoga, and played drums to understand how music controls our emotions. We also engaged in daily reflections on Padlet, which helped me reflect on my pedagogical practice. This course exceeded my personal and professional expectations, and I carry with me a seed to germinate in my life and, especially, in my workplace.

I thank everyone who participated in this course, especially the trainer Rita, for the motivation and encouragement that made me feel valued and able to reach others in a more correct and personal way. I loved everything I experienced during my stay on the fantastic island of Guadeloupe.

With this course I feel that I improved as a person and as a teacher and gained knowledge about implementing projects with European partners, strengthening my professional skills.

The trainer addressed several fundamental aspects to become better human beings and better teachers/educators, highlighting the importance of resilience and well-being, happiness, stress management, and mindfulness. 

This course allowed me to explore methods and practices to improve my skills and relate to colleagues from other nationalities.

During the sessions we visited some key points on the island, did yoga, discussed and shared knowledge, played the drum which served as a therapeutic session and reflected daily on the padlet and eTwining.

Stress management, resilience and well-being were the transversal themes of the course. I learned that if we are well with ourselves and if we are happy, we can be well with the world and in turn we will be better teachers.

I really enjoyed this course and all the knowledge and experiences that I take with me. I learned that it is very important to know how to manage feelings and respect what others feel. 

I feel like I'm going back to Portugal, a better person and a better teacher. I loved everything I experienced during this course and I am grateful to have been on this wonderful island.

The hat and basket weaving using traditional methods and materials from nature was something I also learned for the first time. I gained practical knowledge about life in a rainforest from our trip to Maison de la Forêt. Each activity encouraged us to slow down and observe the smaller details of everything all around us. Nature below the sea was also included with a special snorkeling day at various sites. I observed first hand the damage caused to the coral by high water temperatures. Even one degree too high can cause severe harm to the coral.

I learned about music traditions and was grateful for the opportunity to try the local drums at the home of a talented drummer. Overall I learned to switch off from the busy pace of life at home and hope to bring some of peace and mindfulness techniques back with me from Guadeloupe. Thank you Rita for a fantastic course and everyone in the group for making the week so enjoyable.

In this course we had a great variety of activities which we did as a person and as a group rather than studied in the traditional way. Rita had things planned and organized very good and I think the rhythm of our exploration was just right: enough but not too much things for each session. Enough time to have good conversations and enough time to dip in your own mind and body.

In this course I got myself very useful methods to gain resilence and calmness in my life. I also gained knowledge from the local culture as well as knowledge from the other course participants from different countries around Europe.

I am very grateful that I had an opportunity to join this great course. Thank you Rita and all my group members!

It was the opportunity to get to know new colleagues from the other countries and their culture and educational system. This course at Guadeloupe was one of the most unforgettable experience of my life. This course contains a lot of instructions how to work with emphaty, how to be yourself, how to be able to calm the mind and body while practicing yoga, painting mandalas..

Contact with nature, water therapy, forest bathing, sea or snorkeling.

I will use the new knowledge to work with my colleagues teachers and our students.

Music therapy with a drummer as an integral part of cultural heritage.

Find yourself, the knowledge to be a part of nature, in a non- violent way.

How to be happy... thank you very much..

The course gave me the tools to work with my mind and my body, to meet teachers from other countries, to practice my language skills (reading, speaking and writing).

I learned how forest, water and music can heal and help me to find my inner peace, balance my stress and live my life gratefully to the fullest!The booklet that introduced us the theory and the practice that supported the theory. There are many methods and activities from this course that I can use with my students (grattitude game, mandala drawing, exploring my name etc).

I really loved all the reading recommendations, so I can continue educating myself back at home. And of course the mindful yoga routine.

Thank you, Rita, for educating us in such peace and mindfullness!

The first thought that I really liked was that the teacher is the most important person in school. If the teacher is doing well, then they are also able to take care of the students in a way that ensures the students are doing well too.

This course definitely changed my attitude towards water. It made me think more about gratitude and be more aware of happy moments. The course made me think more about nature and how much we can do for our own well-being.

I learned how to do yoga.

I received excellent book recommendations.

I got to know Guadeloupe.

I went to a rainforest for the first time.

I will definitely start practicing being more in the here and now, to enjoy the moment.

Thank you, Rita! It was a wonderful and educational experience.