Gospodarska škola Varaždin

The third meeting of the partners was held in Kristiansand, Norway, the host school being Holte Skole (The word “kite” in its name metaphorically represents its students who tend to fly. When they fly too high, they need their teachers’ help “to come to the ground” and when they fall down they need their teachers to help them start flying again).

The welcome

Partner school teachers were welcomed by the deputy mayor of Kristiansand who informed them about the role and importance of Kristiansand in Norwegian history, economy, education and culture.

Furthermore, the host school students’ representatives organised the tour of the school facilities for the partner schools’ teachers and students.

The school principal welcomed all the participants to Holte Skole and Kristiansand pointing out the importance of such an intercultural meeting which gives the whole community the possibility to learn about  different nationalities, educational systems and everyday life.

The school deputy principal hosted a reception for all the Comenius teachers where they could try local homemade specialties and see Norwegian traditional folk costumes. 

The work

Teachers:

During the meetings held throughout the week the progress of the project was assessed; the results of the tasks they were assigned at the last meeting: the project evaluation questionnaire and the way the students should evaluate their participation in the project were presented; conclusions were drawn from the charts about the FLT process based on the p/t/s’ questionnaires carried out in each partner school and put into the context of the international studies about the results of foreign language learning; the activities to be introduced into teaching this school year were agreed upon, as well as the content for the final publication and the tasks for the next meeting.

Students:

Students took part in foreign language classes at Holte Skole (Spanish, English and German), participated in “International Relations” class, gave presentations to host school students about their countries and schools and helped in the school kitchen. In their free time they visited the ice-cream factory and participated in a trip to the island of Randoya where they went hiking and canoeing. The last day they attended the host students’ show and the final ceremony. 

Learning more...

The participants of the Comenius project had a guided tour of Kristiansand during which they could learn more about its cathedral, opera house, beaches, sports facilities and traditional wooden houses. They were also invited to participate in crab fishing and they had the chance to experience the Bronze Age activities and dinner at a reconstructed Bronze Age longhouse.

Presentation Norway: Vanja Perši

Project visibility and dissemination

On 10^th October 2013 the presentation about the Comenius project – multilateral school partnerships: Didactics of foreign languages in compulsory secondary schools (2012-2014) was presented at the Regional Council of English teachers by the project coordinator Renata Mađarić. The teachers were informed about the EU programmes within the scope of Agencija za mobilnost i programe EU in general, after which the above mentioned project was described in detail (aims, activities, results, etc.) The teachers were shown three presentations describing three meetings held during the visits to partner schools in Spain, Turkey and Norway. The focus of the presentation were the differences and similarities of English teaching methodology in partner countries and their results (students’ competencies according to several international comparative studies), as well as good practices to be shared and implemented in English teaching in the future.

In October 2013 Vedrana Šargač and Sandi Poustecki, who visited a partner school in Kristiansand, Norway in September 2013, presented their journey, stay, activities and impressions of the host school and the country in general. They pointed out the differences between our and Norwegian school: the number of students, subjects they learn, teaching methods, free time activities etc. They also talked about the differences in lifestyle pointing out the importance of healthy habits such as diet, sports and spending time outdoors to which all Norwegians dedicate a lot of their time. 

On the 4^th November 2013 the Students’ Council of Gospodarska škola Varaždin was given a presentation about the Comenius project. The project coordinator Renata Mađarić presented the aims, activities and the results of the project. The students who took part in visits to partner schools in Spain, Turkey and Norway described their experience emphasising the importance of being able to use English and other foreign languages for communication in real life situations. They also compared the Croatian school system with the systems of other countries. There were numerous students’ questions regarding the school and everyday life in partner countries. Finally, students were referred to the school Comenius corner to find additional information about the project and help the organisation of Croatian Comenius week in April 2014, first of all, with their ideas and then participating in the activities as well.

On 22^nd November 2013 the progress of the Comenius project was presented to the staff of Gospodarska škola Varaždin by Zoran Mihalina who attended the 3^rd meeting of the project partners in Kristiansand, Norway in September 2013. The presentation consisted of: the report about the teachers’ and students’ workshops and optional free time activities; the information about the tasks distributed among the partners to be done by the nest meeting; description of the school, Holte Skole, and its work organisation highlighting its differences and advantages compared to our school and personal observations and impressions regarding Norwegian culture, history, people and lifestyle in general with a view of broadening  the horizons and raising the awareness of multiculturalism in Europe.

next meeting: Varaždin, Croatia, April 2013.