Croatian team, impressions about mobility in Szkola Podstawowa Specjalna nr 40, Bytom- Poland

We are glad to have visited your Special Primary School no.40 in Bytom and seen the way in which you work with children with special educational needs, who have mild and moderate developmental disabilities, whether emotional and/or behavioral.

Croatia has specialized institutions for particular developmental disabilities but in our educational system we don't have an institution which encompasses such a wide and versatile range of children with special needs, as we have seen in your country. In our school there are about 30 children with developmental disabilities who are included in regular school classes. Some of these children have got assistant support.

What really impressed us at the beginning of our arrival was a school play - the effort that children and teachers put in it was easily noticeable. Furthermore, the school atmosphere and halls teemed with laughter, children's conversations, and children's curious looks. Even though your school was built many years ago, its interior is full of light, flowers and displays of children's work. Children walked up to us gladly and our students who participated in the program easily made first contacts with them and exchanged photos and music.

The workshops for students were very interesting and fun. Our students loved the “dirty workshop” in which they made and used molding material as well as the cake baking workshop which took place in Special Vocational school. We’ve noticed that artwork is strongly implemented in your school practice, which is understandable as there are many children who have emotional problems and who come from dysfunctional families. However, we would love to have had an opportunity to observe a teacher’s direct work with children in any daily curricular class.

The visits to Memorial and Museum Auschwitz – Birkenau, Chlebowa Chata and Guido Coal Mine were especially well organized. Krakow, as one of Central Europe’s metropolitan cities, left a special impression on us. Its architecture really reminded us of our capital Zagreb.

We would particularly like to highlight the work of your colleague, a speech therapist, who explained the biofeedback therapy very thoroughly. We all wanted to try it out as patients! This type of therapy for children with special needs is also used in Croatia but it is, unfortunately, accessible only in a somewhat small number of health and educational institutions due to its high price.

It is our impression that your school has developed a positive and safe environment for your students, which reflects in the warmth and immediacy of the children’s behavior. Our students and we have fond memories of children's smiles and hugs in Poland.

Italian team impressions about visit Szkola Podstawowa Specjalna nr 40, Bytom - Poland

Partners from the I.D.E.A.!Together we can project entered Szkoła Podstawowa Specjalna nr 40 in Bytom on 4th March. The atmosphere was positive, joyful and peaceful. Everybody immediately felt at home. Partners were warmly received by the Headmistress and her staff . Teachers were very kind. The Polish students met in Turkey welcomed partners with open arms. The welcoming performance was moving.

The attention of the Italian teachers focused on some aspects that characterize Special Primary School no.40 and its curriculum. Although the partner school is in a poor area of the town and pupils who attend it have, in many cases, a difficult background, it does its utmost to ensure training success of students with Special Educational Needs. Teachers try to motivate pupils through practical activities and Technology.  During the 2nd mobility partners attended several training sessions and workshops: using Technology in class, Biofeedback Therapy, Art Therapy. They realized wool flowers, created naïf works like Bartosz Fraczek (a Polish artist who used to mix  gouaches, pastel crayons and others in his works) and made  paintings and collages in cooperation with senior retired ladies that frequently go to school and work together with students. All partners were impressed by the strong bond between those ladies and students. Some children consider them grandmas. Cooperation with the Third Age University is a crucial moment  to foster creativity and a love of Art in children. Moreover it enhances  the pupil’s well-being and their social and emotional development. Mobility participants took part also in an ICT workshop. It was useful, funny and motivating to discover applications, games, tools and websites in order to acquire information and knowledge, to update our skills to enrich teaching and learning. The planned activities led us into new opportunities and practices, which can improve our teaching process in our school.

The host school followed the program with precision and accuracy. The Polish Erasmus+ team did everything to fulfill our expectations. Sessions and workshops enriched each teacher’s professional and personal knowledge, skills and competences. Participants had the opportunity to improve their “cultural competence” eating local food and drinks, singing and dancing typical songs, walking down the street and admiring a different landscape and beautiful monuments. Also the visit to Memorial and Museum Auschwitz was a fundamental educational experience, that will always remain deeply embedded in our minds.

Martina De Mico, Italian coordinator

Rare Disease Day, Szkoła Podstawowa Specjalna nr 40 in Bytom, Poland

    Rare diseases affect a small number of people compared to the entire population and meet certain criteria for their rarity. In Europe, the disease is considered rare if it affects 1 person in 2000. The disease may be rare in one region and occur widely in another. Due to the rarity of occurrence, difficulties in recognition and lack of social awareness, the knowledge of these diseases has so far been small. Rare diseases are serious, often chronic and progressive diseases.

          Many rare diseases are revealed at birth or in childhood, such as spinal muscular atrophy - which our schoolmate - Kuba, suffers from. Kuba and his mother told us about his disease, why Kuba must use a wheelchair, what his day looks like.

We also talked about other rare diseases. we talked about the life of a sick person and we tried to compare it to ours. We marched with red balloons along the streets around our school to gave our support to this important case.

Slovenian "Red balloon March" - The patron of the red balloon march in Slovenia is the President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor

So. At the highest state level, we passes the red balloon  to our neighbours - Croatians. There will be "a red ballon march" in Croatian's capital , Zagreb, for the first time. Love can be a red balloon! Thanks to the team: Petra Hranilović, Dalibor Talajić and Jasna Primorac. I am convinced that we can  contribute to good relations with our neighbours. because our children do not care for  nationality or  who the sea belong to. 

for  5th time, we managed to connect:
🎯 3 different countries
🎯 16 different places
🎯 more than 1500 people

and if there is only one person who will change his opinion and be able to see our children in a different light, our goal is achieved. 

Today, I know that  we are supported by many hearty individuals and large companies with visions. After all, we have  support of the entire  universe. 
 Thank you very much!

Petra Greiner , 
physiotherapist, Director of the Institute 13, the initiator of the march with red balloons in Slovenia

Letter from the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor,
on the reception of patron over the "Red ballonns march"

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and Slovenian President Borut Pahor

After mobility in Metin Sabanci school in Istanbul, we use SUBSTITUTE COMMUNICATION - primary school dr. Ljudevita Pivka Ptuj, Slovenia

SUBSTITUTE COMMUNICATION

Luka

A child who has problems in the field of speech and language can experience stress and discomfort if he can not express his needs, desires and, if he can not establish proper contact with his fellow man according to his abilities. Such severe disturbances in speech-language development occur in children with cerebral palsy, after stroke, mental retardation, hearing impairments ... They can occur in the period prior to speech development or affect a person who has already developed speech. In these cases, today we have modern methods of substitute communication that enable them to communicate easier, giving them the possibility of self-expression, which affects their self-image (communicators, computer programs).

WORKING FORMS: individual

METHODS OF WORK: explanation, working with a symbolic folder

AUXILIATES: a folder with symbols

OBJECTIVES: hardening of colors, differentiation between boys and girls clothes

Thanks to Luka and his speech therapist for presentation.

School mate Janez enjoying in Metin Sabanci school in Istanbul

Janez distributing his Valentines day cookies in the school

Janez visited Sinam

In his free times, he is enjoying turkish coffe with his friends

Ptuj, Slovenia - A walk with red balloons to honor the International Day of Rare Diseases

                                                         
On Saturday, March 09. 2019, Primary school dr. Ljudevita Pivka Ptuj, Slovenia,  organized in Ptuj the 

4. WALK WITH RED BALLONES TO HONOR THE DAY OF RARE DISEASES,

 which is a part of the all-Slovenian walk. On February 28, we mark the International Day of Rare Diseases. In Slovenia, it should have be round 120,000 people.

We invite participants of the walk to gather in the elementary school of Dr. Ljudevita Pivka. between 9.30 am and 10.00 am. First We will see a short film about the school and a cultural program that will be prepared by pupils of the school. After the cultural program, we will look at the school premises. 

At 11.00 a.m., a walk will begin. Start will be infront of the school, we continue with walking by  Volkmerjeva Street, Panonska Street, Slomškova Street, we past the theater, continue by Murkova Street and finish on Mestni trg 1 - in front of the town house at around 12.00.

Residents of Ptuj, you are kindly invited to take a walk through  with the red balloons for all our small and big hearts ♡.