“Croatian art – straw sculpture, drama and different nations dance workshops”– 3.04.2017 – 8.04.2017

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During our workshop in Darda we had an interview on natiolal Croatian TV.

The report on the Croatian workshop

The report on the Croatian workshop

 “Through artistic abilities to developed basic skills”

project code : 2016-1-PL01-KA219-026076_3

3.4.2017. – 8.4.2017.

at Primary School of Darda, Darda, Croatia

 The  report of the workshop: „Croatian art – straw sculpture, drama and different nations dance workshops”

The aims of the workshop:

– to participate in different nations dance workshop – dances of the students from the Croatian school;

– to prepare a short Croatian play “Stribor’s Forest” by Ivana Brlić Mažuranić in English;

– to make straw sculptures – each student will make a sculpture of straw, then, together with teacher, to build a sculpture of straw which is a few meters tall.

– to explore Croatian regional culture and traditions cultivated in the area;

– to visit the “Kopacki rit” – Nature Park;

– to get to know Karanac (an ethnic village near Darda) and its “Street of forgotten time”. This can help students get acquainted with the past of the Baranya people (whose dances they are taught);

– to present all the work done during the workshop publicly: the “Stribor’s Forest” play, the dances and sculptures – to organize an exhibition of the straw sculptures;

– to taste the traditional Croatian dishes prepared by the students’ parents;

– to motivate students of different origins and facing educational, economic and social impediments, to learn national and foreign languages;

– to promote sharing of school experiences in methods, innovations and good practices in order to improve students’ basic skills;

– to develop students and teachers’ language and communicative skills as well as maths and ICT competences;

– to develop students’ creativity and responsibility through their commitment in the whole process of planning, organizing and presenting their achievements during the workshop;

–  to promote students creativity and co-operational skills as well as responsibility, locally and internationally;

The activities:

The first day – 03. 04. 2017. (Monday)

-Welcoming of the foreign pupils to our school,

-Meeting with the Major in the Municipal Office and walk around Darda (lake, castle,  equestrian club).

-Watching the animated film of “Stribor’s Forest” and division  of the participating students in drama, art and music – dance clubs.

-The agreement on the work of each group.

The second day – 04.04.2017 (Tuesday)

– Educational trip: visit the school department in Mece, visit the Fortress in Osijek – http://www.aoot.hr/gallery, visit to the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Slavonia, walk to the Upper Town of Osijek, visit St. Peter and Paul church, walk through the promenade.

– Work in the clubs: practising the dance, making the props for the play practising the acting in the play.

– The presentation of the  Polish students and  teachers of  their school, town and country.

The third day – 05.04.2017 (Wednesday)

– Going on a trip to Baranja:

Visit to Kopacki rit – Nature Park – Wetland; http://pp-kopacki-rit.hr/index-en.html

Batina – a place where a great battle took place during the Second World War – a border with Serbia and Hungary on the River Danube;

Visit to the Street of forgotten time in Karanac an Open-air museum village, getting to know the culture of Baranja People;

Visit to the Winery Belje – the largest company in the area. Getting to know the jobs done there, to show the students job possibilities as a preparation for their future job career.

 

The fourth day – 06.04.2017 (Thursday)

– Workshop with Mr Nikola Faller the Sculptor, on the sculptures of straw, with all groups in  turns;

– straw hearts,

– straw Initial letters of students’ names,

– Live interview on national Croatian TV – HRT

– Work in clubs on the play.

– The presentation of the Slovenian pupils and teachers of their school, town and country. tasting the most famous Slovenian cake called “Potica”.

The fifth day – 07.04.2017 (Friday)

– Working on a large sculpture of straw with the leadership of Nikola Faller

– Work in clubs: practising the dance, making the props for the play practising the acting in the play.

– The presentation of the Greek pupils and teachers of their school, town and country, watching the Greek dances, learning Zorba dance.

The sixth day – 08.04.2017 (Saturday)

– Preparing for the performance and an exhibition of sculptures, dress rehearsal

– Headteachers conference about the importance of EU projects and their impact on the participating schools.

– The presentation of the play “ Stribor’s Forest ” to the parents, members of the community

– Lunch in the school’s dining room, talking with parents, teachers and guests, homemade food prepared by the Croatian parents.

The achievements of the workshop in accordance to the project aims:

-53 students and 16 teachers participated in the workshop and benefited from it: 8 students, 3 teachers from the Polish school; 8 students, 2 teachers from the Slovenian school; 6 students, 3 teachers from the Greek school and 31 students and 8 teachers from the hosting school in Darda, Croatia.

– All estimated activities were realized as planned in the schedule of the workshop.

– All assumptions and goals were met during the work in clubs on the play as well as preparation of the dances, costumes and decorations.

– 8 teachers from abroad and 6 teachers from the hosting school cooperated together and with the sculptor Nicola Faller to achieve the final products.

– 22 students from abroad and 31 students from the hosting school worked together in clubs and between clubs on their final products and by this they developed their cooperative and communicative skills.

– All participating teachers and students developed and broaden their language skills in English and also learnt a few words and sentences in the other schools’ languages, using the five language dictionary, which was created for the project by the teachers engaged in it.

– All students (including those with different impediments) were motivated to learn foreign and national languages.

– Students and teachers explored Croatian culture and learnt about the history of the area of Darda and Osijek visiting: the Fortress in Osijek, the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Slavonia, walking to the Upper Town of Osijek and visiting St. Peter and Paul church, playing games and solving tasks there, and visiting the Street of forgotten time in Karanac – an open-air museum village. They also learnt about the wars by a visit to Batina, where there is a monument from the World War II, as a mass grave from a tragic battle there. And, on the way to the airport, they learnt about the Vukovar tragedy from the 1990s war in Yugoslavia, going through the city.

– The students improved their communicative skills by chatting with each other and they made friends with peers from four different countries.

– They prepared and performed publically the Croatian play “The Stribor’ s forest”. Working in 3 groups (drama, dance and art), they managed with the cooperation to perform an amazing result.

– The participants developed their maths and organizational skills by learning how to make small straw sculptures first and then by making a large one together, which has been displayed in front of the school.

– All participating students evolved their basic skills by partaking in all planned activities: in drama club – reading and learning the roles, and in the other clubs – listening and reading the instructions and fulfilling their tasks.

– Students and teachers improved their creativity, cooperational skills and responsibility participating in the workshops in art, dance and drama clubs. Their creativity, responsibility and cooperational skills were promoted during the presentation day of the workshop products.

– The representatives of the participating schools shared the customs of their countries with the others.

– Teachers shared their experiences, good practices, innovations by cooperating together in the clubs and helping each other to prepare the final products.

– The students and teachers experienced and learnt new ways of making decorations and costumes for a play, new dances from other countries and approaches to roleplaying.

– The students and teachers developed their ICT skills by preparing their school presentations as well as sharing their work and pictures using Google Docs and Photos.

– The parents of the hosting school were deeply engaged in the workshop activities, preparing sandwiches for the students for the whole day’s work and baking cakes for the presentation day. Thanks to that the foreign participants tasted the local cuisine. They also participated in the presentation day during the play and sculpture exhibition as well as during three schools principals conference on the EU projects and their impact on the participating schools..

– The local authorities took part in the organization of the workshop by helping financially and organizing a meeting with the participants from abroad at the Municipality Office.

– The hosting school teachers and staff were very helpful, the kitchen staff cooked lunches and prepared second breakfast for the guests.

– A very good cooperation between the teachers of the hosting school, together with the guests, proved itself by the wonderful final products.

– The principals of the three schools (Croatia, Poland and Greece) gave their views on the importance of EU projects, the good side of the projects, as well as the problems they encounter during their implementation.

– The workshop and the project were disseminated by a live interview in the national Croatian TV . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwl0UHXi5kE&feature=youtu.be

Conclusions:

– All the aims have been achieved.

-The workshop’s organization was flawless.

-The students were excited with the hospitality of the families.

– Both students and teachers admired Croatian people’s reception, treatment and hospitality.

-This workshop was an incredible experience for the students and the teachers.

– Each participating school presented itself and their country by showing a  PowerPoint presentation, a dance or sharing their famous cakes, so the other participants got some knowledge of the others’ cultures, customs, cuisine, dances, schools, towns and regions .

– A bond has been created between teachers and students participating in the workshop in their own school groups as well as between the schools.

– A bond was also created by the hosting families with the students from the participating schools, and between the teachers, which was seen at the end of the workshop, when almost all cried saying their goodbyes. We will all stay in touch using the social media.

– All participants have an equal impact on the final products: The play “Stribor’s Forest together with the dance, and the huge Straw Sculpture depicting an Easter Egg decorated with different nations symbols and containing a human shape inside it.

– We had the chance to compare our nations and environments by visiting: Kopacki rit – Nature Park  – Wetland, were we could see some similarities to our regions, the same birds and animals, but different trees, etc. We also learnt about the history connected with the Turks and the most recent war from 1990s – going through Vukovar.

– We visited Batina – a place where a great battle took place during the Second World War, a border with Serbia and Hungary on the River Danube.

– We learnt about the local industry visiting the Winery Belje – the largest company in the area, and about the job possibilities in the area.

– The engagement and cooperational skills of the teachers and staff of Croatian school were really impressive. A good lesson for the teachers from abroad.

– There were a lot of things in the workshop that we would like to incorporate into our schools’ everyday work, such as: the dance workshop, a fantastic lesson of discipline, consequence and professionalism: fabulous work in the drama club, led to an impressive, international theatre performance, and the decorations and costumes made by the art club had a great impact on the visual impression of it.

– We all had the chance to get to know the organization of the school in Darda and we like it a lot. We wish we could transfer some of the solutions to our schools’ real lives.

– The workshop in Darda has proven that a school can be an attractive place for the students and teachers to learn and play together.