It's Monday, the first day of actual school during our
collaboration with schools from Germany, France, and Portugal…
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| A group photo before visiting the Natural History Museum |
Every year, our school participates on different projects.
This Monday marked the beggining of the biggest one so far. As a part
of Erasmus+ program, we connected with three school from Germany, France and Portugal.
Their students arrived to Rijeka this weekend to take part in our project Mission for Ocean, Respect and Ecology (MORE) and learn about issues that come with climate changes, but also discover our
culture and make new memories. During the introductory day, the German students
(Lara Bőrner, Kora Brussig, Nicolas Hopfe, Anna Maler, Helena Raab, Marina
Wagner), the French students (Paul Alvarez, Justine Charrondiere, Arthur Davin,
Elina Provost, Arthur Randoux, Pierre Won Fah Hin), and the Portuguese students
(Bárbara Babo, Filipa Carrega, Lara Olivieira, Carolina Pinto, Francisca
Santos, Pedro Torres) presented their schools. Naturally, they emphasised solving
environmental issues.
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| German team |
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| French team |
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| Portuguese team |
Our team of teachers, led by coordinator Sabrina
Herceg and principal Henry Ponte, presented High School Andrija Mohorovičić Rijeka and welcomed their colleagues and students. Teachers Anđela Morić and
Petar Jelača distributed weekly tasks related to video recording and monitoring
noise pollution. Icebreaking activities and presentations of European countries were organized by guest teachers Felix Engmann, Predrag Paunković, Bénédicte Hautbois,
Vanessa Wattel, Carmen Figueira, and Ligia Martins. Teacher Goran Krapić
introduced ecological themes in literature and the power of the Rijeka rock
song Učinimo nešto (Let’s Do Something) from the 1980s. Based on a translation by
student Tin Karešin, the song was presented in English by
student Lana Rašević. She rehearsed for the performance with teachers Tanja
Perkić Dizdarević and Marija Blažević. The Croatian language workshop was led by the teacher Marija
Blažević.
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| Lana Rašević |
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| Workshop with Lara and Kora |
Kora Brussig from Munchen, who applied so she could make new connections and improve her English skills, shared how the very first day at our high school looked like. Although she was nervous at first, she claims that icebreaking activities in school's library made it all easier:
„It was really fun. We only had marshmallows and
spaghetti to make a sea animal. The other activity included learning some
Croatian basics. It was funny as well because it was quite hard to pronounce
the words.“
Our student who hosted her, Lara Mohović (4.4), agrees
with Kora, saying that the first day was pretty relaxed despite the unusual
sight of eighteen foreign students joining our school.
„First day was very entertaining, but also chill. Games were creative and original, especially the one where our guests
had to introduce themsleves in Croatian. And the food from all four countries
surely added to the whole atmosphere,“ said Lara, who took part in many similar projects. However, this was her first time as a host.
„Previous Erasmus experiences are definitely useful,
although they might not seem like it at the moment. I believe they'll pay off
in the long run for sure,“ Lara shared with us. Her words surely gave Kora even
more confidence, who, besides looking forward to meeting new people and
exploring Rijeka, also eagerly awaits to work on the main themes of this
project–ecology, climate change, the protection of marine habitats.
Our guests even got a little sneak peek into that on
their first day. After morning full of
different activities to break ground, our teachers Emica Pandurić, Tvrtko
Buger, Leonila Marač, Renata Radan, and Goran Krapić took them to the Natural
History Museum, which, although relatively small, undoubtelly impressed its
visitors. There, the renowned scientist Marcelo
Kovačić held a lecture.
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| Natural History Museum |
„The focus was on Mediterranean, or more precisely,
Adriatic marine biodiversity so I think we all learned something new,“ added Lara
without hiding her enthusiasm and excitement for both this visit and the upcoming ones
that will come through this interesting week – especially the trips to
Bakar and the Pula Aquarium.
In their free time, when the packed schedule
allows them to breath, students have the chance to explore the many charms of
our hometown. Kora has already started with that; her host family made sure
that right after her arrival she got to experience Kvarner's local traditions
at the festival Bela Nedeja and enjoy the breath-taking views from one of the
lofty peaks.
„I think Rijeka is a pretty city because of it's
buildings, the mountains, and the sea. I’ve been at a viewpoint where I saw
nearly the whole coast. It was very pretty and I had a magnificent view,“ started
Lara's temporary roommate. „It is very cool to stay with a Croatian family for
a week because I get to know the culture even better and meet new and friendly people.“
Judging by the first day, this week will bring many
friendships and fond memories to look back on.
Iva Balent (4.4)