Once upon time in Slovakia and Norway

Legends and handicrafts

Time schedule

Partner schools

Stredná odborná škola, Lipová 8, 972 51 Handlová

Stredná odborná škola was established on 1st September 2007 by joining Secondary technical school and Associate secondary school of trade and services. The school is rich for its history and modern at the same time. It is developing dynamically in order to improve education process. The school prepares young people in different study branches: business academy, mechanic of computer nets, mechanic – electrician, digital media graphic artist, electrical engineering, technical – informative services in mechanical engineering and technical lycee.

Gerhard Schønings skole Vår Frue gate 1/3, 7401 Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway

Gerhard Schønings school is a combined secondary school for post-16 education. Study programmes: General academic studies, design and handicraft (specialising in interior design for second and third year), Health and social care. The school also offers a special programme for newly arrived students from ethnic minorities. The school also has an adult education centre, with focus on general academic subjects. Number of students is approximately 550 (age group 16-19). The school is situated in the city centre of Trondheim, which is an ancient city where we still find many references to the history of the city. The city centre also offers a variety of museums, theatre, a medieaval cathedral, art galleries which are useful resources for the local history focus we wish to maintain. The school also focusses on developing the management structure, developing new educational principles, student active learning and effective use of resources.

Project summary

In our busy lives, we should stop and look back for a while to see origin of our culture and to show students that not only modern science and technologies can enrich our lives. They are also enriched by history and cultural heritage which are their inseparable parts. Knowing history, customs and traditions through fairy tales, stories and myths retold and performed by students is one of several project activities.

Norway and Slovakia, two European countries with different culture, folklore, climate and language are connected by youth, the hope for better future. We must give them the opportunity to know and respect each other, to work together, to find the solutions, to learn from each other, to share some experiences and to create relationship. The project activities will be led according to mentioned opportunities. Non-standard forms of education, the opportunity to see, to try and to experience will be the real school of life. The partnership with Norwegian school brings the knowledge of partner´s mother tongue and getting better in English as a communicative language in the project. The students will gain unusual practical skills at school and during the student exchanges. They will learn to face different problems in unknown surroundings, to work independently and in groups, to use modern ICT effectively, to communicate and to defend their opinions and work results.

The project title, itself, says what the project is about. We have chosen the best way to learn and to memorize some historical events. Through fairy tales, stories and myths. People, from their early age, like reading, telling, listening to and watching fairy tales. So why do not we use them in learning?

Students will choose the most important events from history according to their interests and prepare presentations in Power Point. They will work with different information about their country history and cultural heritage, with different fairy tales, stories and myths and they try to transform them into presentations. The presentations will be full of pictures and accompanied by students´ words. The students will also prepare a short legend and they will try to perform it.

Traditional handicrafts like gingerbread making, basketwork, woodcarving, Easter egg painting, pottery, lacemaking and others which are inseparable parts of our cultural heritage will be also presented in presentations.

During the mobilities, students will know partner´s country not only from presentations, but also by visiting, sightseeing, attending excursions and knowing folklore and traditions.

What are students expected to do?

The main project participants will be students. They will be led by teachers. The project also requires help of school management and accountant of Slovak school.

As the students will be accomodated in families, they will have the perfect opportunity to use foreign language in other conditions as they use it at school. Accomodation and food will be provided in families of both countries.

The students of both countries will work together on final products like English-Slovak-Norwegian glossary, bulletin, objects from handicraft production, website and others.

The main student task is to make presentations, to attend all project activities, excursions and work in groups on different topics. They will learn partner´s mother tongue before mobilities. The students start cooperation with communication through the internet and exchanging information about themselves, their country, family, interests, etc. Later they will cooperate while doing project activities (questionnaires, surveys, glossaries, presentations, leaflets, bulletin, etc.). They will work in groups and create final products like bulletin, fotodocumentation, handicrafts, glossary and web site during the mobilities.

Who can participate?

The students will be chosen according to their interests. The selection will be voluntary and any student aged from 15 to 18 can apply. Every student of the first or second class, a girl or a boy, who does not break school rules and has the worst mark 3 (C) will have the opportunity to apply in this project. There will be the group of students with the same number of girls and boys. We will work with them during three months on different activities. Each student will have some tasks and he/she will get points for their fulfilling. After three months we will count the points and choose 15 students. We will inform them what is going to be evaluated – their activity during lessons, their results, grades, interests in the topics, language skills.

Teachers involved in the project:

Mgr. Katarína Šovčíková – project coordinator, English language teacher

Ing. Silvia Maruniaková – project economist, German and Economy teacher

Ing. Mária Beňušová – project administrator, vocational subject teacher