A team from Ribeira Grande Secondary School, Os Ilhéus, won the Europe Quiz contest, an initiative held in the context of the celebrations of Europe Day 2015 that took place this week on Santa Maria.
This team, consisting of students Maria Raposo, Nuno Botelho and Pedro Gaipo, placed first in a competition that involved the participation of nine teams, each representing an Azorean island.
Santa Maria Basic Education and Secondary School hosted the celebrations of this years' edition of Europe Day, an initiative promoted by the Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations. It involved the enthusiastic participation of teachers, students and the local school community and counted on the support of Vila do Porto Town Hall.
The programme featured leisure and recreational activities targeted at youngsters from various Azorean islands, including the reception of teams by the Drumming Group of the National Scouts Corp, the dinner organised by seniors students of Santa Maria Basic Education and Secondary School and the performance the local music group Ronda da Madrugada.
Students from all islands hoisted the Portuguese, the Azorean and European flags at the sound of the Portuguese anthem performed by a group of Santa Maria School students. The performance of the Aerobics Gymnastics Group of the School Sports Group at the end of the celebrations included the flags from all Member States of the European Union.
Participants also had the opportunity to participate in a guided tour to Santa Maria, with visits to the most important historic and tourist sites of Santa Maria. The programme also included a visit to Santa Maria Handicraft Cooperative as well as a tasting of local traditional food at the Youth Hostel.
The teams that participated in the celebrations of Europe Day were selected through a multimedia work contest launched earlier this year. This year's edition was held under the team "Youngsters and the Future of Europe."
The winning video, announced during the celebrations, was recorded by "Os Arriagas" team from Manuel de Arriaga Secondary School, Faial Island. The team was made consisted of students Beatriz Garcia, José Rodrigo Freitas and Maria Lourenço e Castro.
"Os Ilhéus" team, winner of the Europe Quiz contest, will be awarded a trip to Brussels that includes visits to main EU institutions.
"Os Foliões" from São Roque do Pico Basic Education and Secondary School and "Calheta Euroteam" team from Calheta Basic Education and Secondary School, São Jorge, were placed in second and third, respectively. The first team is composed of students André Garcia, Beatriz Macedo and Duarte Neves; the second is composed of students Ana Zoé de Sousa, Mariana Fernandes and Renata Bettencourt.
During the prize-delivery ceremony, held at Vila do Porto Municipal Library, three honourable mentions were awarded to the teams "Calheta Euroteam," "Os Foliões" and "Equipa de Resgate" from Santa Maria School; the latter is composed of students Diana Resendes, Rafael Coelho and Tiago Andrade.
The celebrations of Europe Day on Santa Maria were also attended by the finalist teams: "Os RPV," composed of students Paulo Reis, Victor Rocha and Rui Pimentel, from Corvo; "As Cubres," composed of students Catarina Nunes, Leonor Martins and Teresa Moreiras, from Flores; "Real Política," composed of alunos Daniel Silva, Sara Arruda and Joana Ferraz, from Graciosa; "Os Lilases," composed of students David Santos, Inês Brasil and Isabel Parreira, from Terceira.