December the 17th, 2020 - One forward-thinking Zagreb school has aligned itself with the UN's sustainable development aims and has, as such, entered the finals of the World Registry of Private Schools.
As Lucija Spiljak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Vedri obzori International Primary School is the only Croatian school to have entered the finals of the aforementioned registry, which awards a diploma for a top humanities school. Among a total of 5,000 nominated schools from 56 different countries around the world, this Zagreb school entered the top five finalists.
School founder and principal Milena Prodanic Tisma says that this is a confirmation of their seven years of hard work and effort, but also a confirmation of their vision and approach in which the emphasis is placed on an individual approach to each student and in which the student is an active participant in the entire teaching process. This Zagreb school was founded back in 2013.
Since September this year, it has run the famous British Mindfulness and Wellbeing programme for students to ensure the psychophysical protection of students from the consequences of the ongoing pandemic, as was said in an interview with Poslovni dnevnik back at the end of July.
''This year we decided to go one step further by launching the Mindfulness programme while the Wellbeing programme has been one of the core components of our school right from the very beginning. The Mindfulness programme aims to help students in their daily work through the development of concentration, focus and productivity, and is intended for all students of our primary schools, ie from the first to the eighth grade. The first phase includes students from the second to the fifth grade, which we plan to upgrade to more grades.
The need to implement this programme stemmed from a deep understanding of the context with which students are surrounded today in their educational process, which is characterised by the hyperproduction of information and the expansion of communication channels. In such circumstances, it's crucial for students to have full psychophysical support provided to them,'' said the Zagreb school's principal.
The programme is being implemented in addition to the regular programme to support students in their daily work to develop their concentration, focus and productivity.
The Mindfulness in Schools project, set up by teachers from the UK’s most successful schools and also the most recognised provider of mental health training and curricula for schools, aims to improve children’s lives by contributing to their positive mental health. More than 350,000 students worldwide are involved in the MISP programme, which develops their academic, social and emotional skills.
The Mindfulness in Schools project considers mental health as important as other school subjects, and the coronavirus pandemic further confirms that the focus in education should be on students' mental health, which was recognised by the Vedri International Elementary School as the first in Croatia to do so.
Informatics has been introduced in the school since the first grade, and after their regular classes, students have the opportunity to choose many activities such as tennis, robotics, chess, art workshops, etc. This year they became the first elementary school in Croatia to introduce the goals of the United Nations (UN) for the sustainable development of their integrated into teaching as part of the curriculum.
"Our advantage is that we don't conduct classical frontal teaching after which the student goes home and learns for their assessment. Thus, for example, we use the innovative music curriculum Charanga to perform music, and in the teaching process, the mathematical programme Mathletics, which allows students to practice their mathematical skills, is used in a fun way through online "games".
We prefer innovative learning programmes because only this type of programme can develop the skills and competencies that students will need in the future. The transformation of the business world is taking place at a staggering pace, and when we add that to ubiquitous artificial intelligence (AI), which takes over all areas of activity, it's clear that classical learning doesn't provide students with enough space to develop thinking outside the box. AI will take over some of the work, but what it will certainly never be able to surpass is human creativity,'' the Zagreb school's principal stated.
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