PROJECT DIARY OF THE CROATIAN TEAM - TTALA IN ŠIBENIK, CROATIA (22nd- 26th May 2017)
The importance of international projects is unquestionable and we are very proud of our first Erasmus+ project. After all the hard work and months of preparation for this meeting, our guests finally arrived in our country and our town. We were very happy and a little bit nervous, but once we saw all our dear colleagues and their students from Romania, Turkey, Germany and Portugal all the worries disappeared. We included all the teachers in our school, as well as some other institutions and people from our town in order to provide strong and interesting programme for our guests.
DAY 1 (Monday, 22nd May)
There was a reception of all the participants in our school library where a school coordinator Jelena Buđanec, headmaster Darko Junaković and the representative of the municipality Božidar Baus wished everybody a friendly welcome, pleasant stay and good work during this meeting, but also in the future. After the introduction of all the members of the Croatian project team, exchange of the gifts, accreditation division and presentation of the project magazine we all went in the school hall to enjoy in the formal event on the stage surrounded by the mosaic done by an art teacher Antoni Paškov and his students. There our guests could enjoy in a performance of a mandolin orchestra, choir, drama group, first graders and kindergarten children who presented old games, etc. After the formal event guests visited school facilities and attended some classes where they could see some examples of good practice or how to teach and learn through games. Croatian language/English language class had a topic called The Glagolitic script, religious education/ Croatian language(drama) class- Šibenik and an art class had a topic Ludo where we tried to develop cooperation between all the participants and send a common message of peace, tolerance and solidarity. Presentation for the teachers about Croatian school system was very nice because after the powerpoint presentation we exchanged information about all the participants' school systems. After the lunch we went to the island of Prvić in Memorial Centre of Faust Vrančić. Faust Vrančić was a Croatian Renaissance inventor, philosopher and a linguist. He invented a parachute and lots of innovative machines. Guests enjoyed the boat ride as well as the beautiful scenery.
DAY 2 (Tuesday, 23rd May)
Students attended maths, chemistry and computer science lessons and afterwards went to the old town where the International Children's Festival workshop was held. Project members participated in the programme by demonstrating simple folk dances, traditional- regional games and international games played hands in hands. Students from other primary schools in Šibenik came and they were very amused and eager to see and learn something new. Our aim was to teach children the games that were forgotten, but still funny and useful for their development. We were taking some photos and shooting a film about the workshop. In the afternoon we visited town beach Banj, the City Museum of Šibenik and an old town of Šibenik. Our guide was Zdenka Bilušić, head of the Centre of visual culture for children and youth in the city library Juraj Šižgorić. Along the walk through the oldest Croatian city on the Adriatic coast our guests could see its rich historical heritage. Among other things we visited the St James cathedral, which is under the patronage of UNESCO and it is the only monumental structure of this type built entirely from stone. Our guests could also hear some traditional acapella songs which they liked very much.
DAY 3 (Wednesday, 24th May)
The day started with a „learning through games” class: workshop with special needs students. Their teachers explained difficulties these students are facing with as well as some teaching methods they use in their everyday work. Special needs students were answering questions and by providing the correct answers they were able to make flags of the project participants countries. Afterwards we headed towards the old town to take part in the second half of the International Children's Festival workshop. In the afternoon we went on a field trip to Etnoland Pakovo Selo. Here our guests were able to get a acquainted with the continental Dalmatian rural way of life and its tradition. After the lunch in Etnoland we went back to school where we had teachers meeting. There we were discussing the intermediate report, plan for the next year and organising activities of the next TPM and TTALA .
DAY 4 (Thursday, 25th May)
We set out on a one-day field trip to Krka National Park. This national park was fouded with the aim of preserving the natural and cultural-historical values of the 46 kilometres long central part of the Krka river flow and 3.5 kilometres of the lower part of the Čikola river flow. The river Krka has seven waterfalls. The most beautiful ones are Skradinski buk and Roški slap. Apart of the most important cultural-historical values in Croatia is the Franciscan monastery situated on the island of Visovac, in the middle of the Visovac lake. We had photo sections and we created short film based on the project topic “Hands in Hands“. Guests enjoyed the landscape and natural heritage of our region.
DAY 5 (Friday, 26th May)
We organized pupils competition in different games and „hands in hands“ games. It was very amusing for everybody and students really liked it. All the competitors got the medals and took some photos. At the teachers meeting we discussed the activities that took place in the past week and our guests (teachers and students) filled the evaluation forms. After the meeting, the teachers were invited to visit the Barone Fortress and enjoy the spectacular view. Once we returned to school we had the farewell party for the Erasmus+ participants. At the end there were some smiles, there were some farewell tears, some new friendships were born. We hope our guests enjoyed their stay in Šibenik as much as we enjoyed being their hosts.