II. osnovna škola Čakovec, Croatia
Short-term joint staff training event
13th-19th March 2022
Sunday, 13th March 2022
After landing in Zagreb and Vienna, teams from Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden arrived in Croatia. Finally, the time came for the first meeting in person, after all learning, teaching and training activities had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Teachers from all partners countries safely arrived at Hotel Castellum in Čakovec, ready for the following week's programme.
Monday, 14th March 2022
The first day of the programme at the host school, II. osnovna škola Čakovec began with the presentation and workshop The Role of the eTwinning School in an Erasmus+ partnership, held by Branka Lamza. The participants learnt about the benefits of the eTwinning platform, Twinspace, how to apply for a Quality Label, involving the local community, conditions on how to become an eTwinning school and the mentorship of an eTwinning school in school partnerships.
This week the task of all partner schools was to prepare a lesson and teach it to Croatian pupils. The first was held by teachers Emma and Camilla from the Swedish team. Their lesson topic was Creative writing, which was held in class 7. B.
After the lesson, everybody gathered in the school gym for the Official Assembly. The headmaster and the mayor of Čakovec officially welcomed the participants of this short-term staff training event. Pupils of the host school also performed a special musical programme.
After lunch, there was another class, this time in the gym, with class 2.B. Teachers Cristina and Patricia from the Spanish team held a lesson From Head to Toe, a combination of English and Physical Education, which the pupils found very motivating and fun.
The last part of the programme was a cultural tour of the town of Čakovec, led by an official guide. The teachers visited Saint Nicholas´ Church, Nikola Zrinski Monument, the Old Town, and other essential landmarks in the town's historic core.
Tuesday, 15th March 2022
The programme's second day started with a presentation by Tea Horvatić, an Erasmus+ coordinator from Strahoninec Primary School, about Erasmus+ Accreditation and KA1 partnerships.
Social inclusion is one of our project priorities, the host school organised a presentation titled Social inclusion through music, followed by a drumming and percussion workshop. In the presentation, we found out about a socially involved work by the Baraka Association from Čakovec, which organises music workshops with young representatives of the Roma national minority, helping them to spend their time usefully and creatively and helping them find their place in the local community.
After the workshop, all the participants visited the school library. The librarian told them about the library material (children's books, magazines and others) and library activities throughout the school year. There was also a presentation and a quiz about the most famous Croatian writers.
In the afternoon, lessons by teachers from Greece, Italy and Croatia were held for Croatian pupils. Teachers Aristea and Ioanna from Greece taught class 3. B Maths through a story, teacher Branka from the host school held an English lesson, and teacher Maria from Italy also taught class 2. A English.
Wednesday, 16th March 2022
The programme's third day was dedicated to storytelling, meeting the project's main objectives. Srebrenka Peregrin, a freelancer storyteller, held a lecture and workshops. The themes were therapeutic storytelling, and storytelling with cubes and cards.
The teachers found out about the benefits of storytelling for children, such as the value of fairy tales and working with metaphors. They also found many practical examples of using dice and cards in their classes. For example, story dice can be used with regular dice, new ones can be created for a specific story, they can be combined with cards or legos. Dice can help with discussing symbols, simplifying story structure and making a story blueprint.
Thursday, 17th March 2022
On Thursday, 17th March, the participants learnt how to use art in storytelling. This lesson was taught by Monika Vrtarić Vuk, the Art teacher from the host school. The programme continued with Kamishibai, a Japanese storytelling theatre. Kamishibai is the art of storytelling with the help of pictures on a small wooden stage. It is about art that combines images and words. That is, it implies the interaction of speech and appearance. It is a valuable tool and aid for working with children because it develops imagination, creativity, artistic and verbal expressiveness, and communication and language skills. The teachers learnt valuable techniques for using Kamishibai in their classes and projects.
The afternoon part of the programme was a cultural tour of the city of Varaždin, led by an official guide. The participants visited the most significant sights of Varaždin: the Cathedral, Town Hall, County Hall, The Old Town, and Varaždin Cemetery, which is famous for its landscape and architecture.
Friday, 18th March 2022
Friday, 18th March, was dedicated to a cultural tour of Međimurje County. The programme of the tour comprised: "Med dvemi vodami”, a visitor centre presenting Međimurje’s natural heritage, Šardi, The Oldtimer Museum, "One Day in the Life of the Miller Franc Žalar", ethnographic collection, The old mill and the Mura river, Jurovčak Deer Farm. The teachers learnt many important facts about the natural, historical and cultural heritage of Međimurje County.
The week we were finished with the official dinner with the whole staff of II. osnovna škola Čakovec. The conclusion was that all the goals of this Erasmus+ event were fully achieved, and everybody is looking forward to the meeting in Greece in May.
Saturday, 19th March 2022
The teachers from Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden are returning home. They learnt very much this week, many new ideas which they will apply in their classes, and many beautiful memories of Croatia!
