First meeting, gathering of students and coordinators of Volunteer School Club
Teachers: Dragana Benić and Tamara Jovičić Goal was to motivate seventh grade students to participate in the Erasmus + project "Living Books in Schools" and to establish Volunteer School Club with implementation of volunteer activities in Elementary School "Kosta Trifković". Teachers presented Erasmus+ program and students possibilities within it, Erasmus+ Strategic partnership „Living Books in Schools“ and proposed plan for Volunteer School Club (peer education and mentorship, Living Library implementation, ecological project, workshops on diversity and human rights, workshops on non-violent communication in cooperation with associated partner DOR – Center for creative education and art, workshops based on book Wonder, Palacio and workshops on how to organize Living Library in cooperation with associated partner BalkanIDEA.)
Peer education
The main goals of peer education within Erasmus+ project Living Books in Schools were creating an educative safe environment and connecting younger and older students for learning. Seventh grade students were reading stories to younger peers in after school care, prepared different debates and tasks about stories and helped with homework. Also, older students supported younger in making peaceful deccissions in conflict situations.
Workshop about indentities, diversity, volunteerism and volunteer roles in project
Goals of the workshop: - to motivate and engage students in attending non-formal workshops in school; - raising awareness of one's own identity, the identity of others, similarities and differences in groups/ society; - understanding volunteering as work for the benefit of ourselves others and society in general. On this workshop, teacher and students set common rules for all volunteer activities and common definition what volunteersm is. Students were brainstorming what is their volunteer contribution to society. In discussion and different activities students discoveries their and others identities which helped them understanding diversity within small or big groups.
Workshops on non-violent communication in cooperation with associated partner DOR – Center for creative education and art
Our associated partner comes from Novi Sad and is nonformal educational organisation which organize workshops in schools and preschools about nonviolent communication by Marshal Rosenberg. Marija Belic-Bibin and Danijela Radović implemented set of three workshops where students – volunteers experienced what is the difference between violence and nonviolence and also violent and nonviolent communication. Students also practiced „language of giraffe“ and 4 steps in NVC by Marshal Rosenberg technique. Students practiced from their own conflict experiences.
Living Library in Sremski Karlovci and Reading club in BalkanIDEA
Students from Volunteer School Club visited Reading club in BalkanIDEA where they had possibility to listen to the story of ex addicted and homeless. BalkanIDEA is our associated partner in project in arranged agreement on hosting this specific book on Living Library in Elementary School Kosta Trifković. Two students and teachers attended Living Library, organized by Hajde da... in Sremski Karlovci. They read 4 books: Young politician from Kosovo, short person, volunteers from Serbia and Bosnia.
Workshops based on book Wonder, Palacio
Students read the book or watched a movie Wonder where the main character is boy August with face deformation. In workshop we discussed about feels of August and other different children. Through their own feelings, students understood how they feel about people who are different and adopt appropriate behaviors towards different persons and diversity in general in society.
Workshop - One step forward
The main goal of this interactive workshop (edited from Compassito) was to understand inequality and unequal positions in society. Specific goals were to foster compassion for diversity, raising awareness of the existence of unequal opportunities in society and address the potential consequences for a person belonging to a particular minority group or culture. Students specially enjoyed this workshop since its interactive with many energizers which inform about human rights, tolerance and diversity.
Workshop - Roles on Living Library
In cooperation with associated partner BalkanIDEA workshop about roles on event Living Library was created in goal for students to understand their roles on first school’s Living Library. This workshop was part of preparaty activities for Living Library.
Volunteers on Living Library in Elementary school Kosta Trifković
Our volunteers were very engaged and involved into preparation, organization and implementation of first Living Library in our schools. Each student had his own role and helped organizers – teachers and books, readers to feel as informed and comfortable as possible. Our students were librarians, promoters, evaluators, catalogues, dictionary, contact with media and many more. Motivated students and close connection with teachers made the method a successful.
Children's Rights Festival
By organizing the Children's Rights Festival, the Provincial Protector of Citizens - Ombudsman wants, first of all, to give children the opportunity to speak and get information about their rights and the society in which they live, but also to draw public attention to the importance of children's rights and mutual cooperation. institutions, civil society organizations and the entire community in the protection, realization and promotion of the rights of the child. As part of the Children's Rights Festival, the Volunteer Club presented its activities to the Student Parliament of our school with the intention of popularizing children's activism and encouraging students to make the best use of their rights guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Students who were especially active in certain activities of the Volunteer Club talked about their experiences.
Admission of new members to the Volunteer Club
In the new school year, we have expanded our Volunteer Club with new members - seventh grade students. The new members were introduced to the Erasmus + project "Living Books in Schools" and its goals, as well as the role of the Volunteer Club.
Workshop - Making baskets
Seven members of the Volunteer Club, seventh grade students, participated in the "Različak" project, whose leader is Dragana Latinović, an ethnologist. The event was realized in the Cultural Station "Svilara" on October 15, 2019. This project has been implemented for five years on various topics such as religious holidays and old crafts. This year's theme of the project was making baskets. The goal of the project is to learn the old craft and protect the environment.
Humanitarian Aid
At the end of 2019, the members of the Volunteer Club organized an action of making New Year's packages for children from "Svratište". A lot of students took part in this action and a large amount of sweets was collected. The employees from the "Svratište" expressed great gratitude for such a successfully organized action and the help that our students provided to their protégés in the desire to make their New Year and Christmas holidays as happy as possible.
Workshop - Volunteering, I insist on better society!
Objectives: - Invite students to participate in non-formal education workshops; - Raising awareness of one's own identity, the identity of others, similarities and differences in groups / society; - Understanding volunteering as work for the benefit of others and society in general. Although the students have known each other since before, the impression is that the workshop contributed to their better acquaintance, as well as to the discovery of a large number of similarities that they did not know about before. They concluded that we are all similar in some ways, we are similar to some in some ways, and we are different from everyone else in some ways.
Workshop - Human rights
Objectives: - Emphasizing the differences between desires and needs; - Raising awareness that human rights are based on meeting needs; - Emphasizing that human rights apply everywhere and to everyone: - Convention on the Rights of the Child. Opinion of one of the participants in the workshop: "In today's workshop I learned a lot about children's rights and I realized that it is important to have my own opinion."
Workshop - Prejudices as a prelude to discrimination
Objectives: - Emphasizing that human rights apply everywhere and to every person; - noticing the difference between prejudices and facts; - Prejudice is an introduction to discrimination. The students were active and with their answers contributed to the achievement of the intended goals. Cooperation and interactive way of working influenced the creation of a stimulating atmosphere for work.
Blended mobility in Romania
A group of students traveled on a student exchange to Satu Mare in Romania, where they were guests of students from Scoala Gimnaziala"Ion Creanga". The most active members of the Volunteer Club of our school were chosen for the student exchange: Lazar Vujčić, Tara Ivošević, Ljubica Stevanović, Mia Vučić, Strahinja Banović, Danilo Obradović and Jelena Dimić.
Before the trip, via eTwinning, the students had an online meeting with their peers from Romania and the opportunity to get to know each other.
Also, in order to better prepare for mobility, the students had both linguistic and cultural preparation. Linguistic and cultural preparation was held by Mirjana Radojičić, an English teacher and Savo Tešić, a history teacher.
The partner school in Satu Mare has prepared numerous activities for students - educational workshops, a day trip to the Maramures region, a cultural bazaar, a Living Library, a Christmas event, visits to cultural institutions in Satu Mare, etc. What left the strongest impression on our students and teachers was the warm reception at the host school, whose management and teachers did everything to make them feel good and bring home the best memories. Our students were placed in the families of their peers and in that way established new friendships, which is certainly one of the most precious achievements of international student exchanges.
Workshop - Holocaust
Objectives: - overcoming stereotypes about others, opposing discrimination, prejudice and anti-Semitism.
The second Living Library in our school
Members of the Volunteer Club, together with their teachers, successfully organized another Living Library in our school. The students had their responsibilities at this event - as librarians, promoters, dictionaries, etc.
Workshop - Discrimination and prejudice
Date: 26.11.2020. Haver Srbija, non-profit, non-governmental, educational organization Objectives: - developing awareness of the dangers of prejudice and discrimination, - to make students aware of how much and how prejudice and discrimination are present in their environment, - that students think about what each of us can do to improve the situation of discriminated persons.