Sparkles #28
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Transcript of Sparkles #28
Magazine for and by English learners and teachers
Editors
Maja Jeleković prof
Komercijalna i trgovačka škola Bjelovar
Irena Pavlović prof savjetnik
Srednja škola Čazma
email sparklesnewslettergmailcom
Facebook httpswwwfacebookcomSparklesnewsletter
MarchApril Issue 2816
Just a bit more to go
The fourth issue of Sparklescopy as a magazine is in front of you The 28th in
total Coming right after the spring break which gave some of a chance
to recharge our batteries and start the final part of the school year ndash the
last ten weeks ndash fresh This issue also follows several important things in the
EFL community one local two regional and one global Six-month-county
project ndash the English proficiency centre closed its doors until autumn
Though we were given free Saturdays we were also left bereft of
spending time with friends discovering new things and mastering English
County competition was organized offering all the good ones a chance
to show who the best one is
And finally the new EFL curriculum was published followed by the start of
presentations of the documents amongst the English teachers Finally we
have joined the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of
Shakespearersquos death Our regular contributors Romana and Lara have
also done their part and the story of modern fairy tales written by
grammar school students from Čazma continues If yoursquore interested in
any (or all) of these events browse Sparklescopy pages As always there is a
little bit of something for everyone
And in the meantime ignore the fact that the temperatures are not as
high as we would like them to be and go outside look around not to miss
naturersquos awakening from its winter dream and enjoy spring Whatever you
do donrsquot forget to smell the flowers IP
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE
Lara Lovrić
High School ldquoAugust Šenoardquo
Garešnica
Romana Zelda
School of Economics and Tourism
Daruvar
County Competition 3
Stray Animals Day 4
Comparing and Contrasting 6
Where I Feel Alive 8
EPC 9
Tribute to William Shakespeare 10
Curricular Reform 11
Inside this issue
Or Did they
is proud to present Alternative fairy tales
written by second grade grammar school students from High
school in Čazma
Bloody Riding Hood
Written by Luka Anić
httpsissuucommajaivanovic1docsbloody_riding_hood1
Beauty and the Beast
Written by Tea Milić amp Lucija Rukavina
httpissuucommajaivanovic1docsbeauty_and_the_beast1
2
Students Return from Successful Erasmus Meeting in Toulouse
Three students of the School of Economics and Tourism Daruvar returned from an Erasmus+ funded visit to Toulouse in France Erasmus+ is a European
Union funded project which enables students to visit and study in other European countries and
the objective of this visit was entrepreneurship and
developing an idea for a new product and writing a
business plan which will be presented at special
conference in Romania next year
During the visit to Toulouse the students stayed with
host families and worked with students from six other
European countries The students attended workshops
and presentations with entrepreneurs and visited local
companies which included the aircraft manufacturer
Airbus and Terra de Pastel a company that makes
products using a plant called pastel The students and the
teachers visited the most interesting sights in Toulouse and Albi a picturesque city
whose episcopal part was added to the UNESCO list of World
Heritage Sites in 2010
Erasmus+ team is working on the new tasks
which include presenting one Croatian niche
company and making PEST analysis of the
region Three more students will be visiting Italy
in March on the second part of the project
RZ
Lena Popadić Lara Bistrović Marijana Svrtan Laura Horvat Matija Ivan Volšanski and Dominik Tunić are third grade students in the hotel and
tourism department of the School of Economics and Tourism in Daruvar The students are taking part in an EU funded project
entitled lsquoWesternsrsquo and recently spent a week in the town of Marignane in southern France During this visit they
were accompanied by the project coordinator Romana Zelda and the headteacher Dinka
Ivanović The aim of the project was to research the history of viticulture in the
regions of the partner schools and the importance
of the cultivation of different grape
varieties and the production of wine
One of the tasks within the project was
the design of a logo which in our
case was designed by Martina
Andričević Martina later went
on to win the competition and her design
became the logo of the project
As well as working on the tasks in mixed groups which consisted of students from
Croatia France Slovenia Greece and Italy the participants of this project meeting had the chance to enjoy
the wonders of Marseille in Provence and learn more about life in France particularly as the students were hosted by French
families
The trip to France was my first trip with the project Of course France is a beautiful country the people are very nice and kind and the experience was
wonderful We met new people learnt something new from them mostly their language and sense of humour I am glad that I had a chance to venture
out and broaden my horizons That is the best way to learn about the culture of another country and their way of life I hope I will have a chance to
travel to other places as part of the school projects said Lena
Lara added This trip to France was fantastic Not only because we got to know their culture and visited cities we had never been to but also because I
met and became friends with different people who taught us their language and who made sure that all of us
had a good time and felt welcome
The greatest value of such projects is the
motivation of students to get
involved in extracurricular
activities and improve their
communication intercultural and
information skills and of course to
improve their knowledge of
foreign languages
This was my first trip with the school project It was a fantastic
experience as I met many new friends Sadly the time passed by far too quickly and we had to return to
reality I am hoping that in the future I will be able to go on another trip said Marijana who like the other students wishes to
continue taking part in the work in order to perhaps once again attend some of the project meetings RZ
WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE IN PROVENCE
3
January 22nd was a big day for 179 students from 12 schools in our county who wanted to see how good their English
is Second- and fourth-year students took the test and were listed in four different categories second year grammar
schools students (2A) second year other schools students (2B) fourth year grammar schools students (4A) and fourth
year other schools students (4B) The best among them were invited to county competition which took place in
Čazma on February 24th The atmosphere was great the students did really well and the mentors were extremely
proud Here are the results Congratulations everyone IP
Category 2A
Student Mentor City
Borna Cafuk Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Alen Pačko Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Ivana Štern Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Anita Hanak Iva Štrkalj Čazma
Andro Magaš Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Sara Hinić Tamara Đenadija Garešnica
Elena Luna Pavlović Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Silvia Podsednik Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Gašpar Dončević Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Lara Lovrić Tamara Đenadija Garešnica
Vedran Markanović Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Tin Pojatina Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Ivana Andričević Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Category 2B
Student Mentor City
Ivan Ljutak Antonia Varat Daruvar
Ivan Meštrić Smiljka Bujić Bjelovar
Karlo Čavrag Smiljka Bujić Bjelovar
Goranga Filić Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Leon Sedlanić Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Matej Smok Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Ivan Štargl Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Petar Cvetko Voćanec Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Matea Sudetić Anita Ružić Daruvar
Matea Kutnjak Smiljka Bujić Bjelovar
Category 4A
Student Mentor City
Igor Radojčić Inga Mušeta Bajić Bjelovar
Juraj Markešić Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Vladimir Šeba Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Paula Kovač Inga Mušeta Bajić Bjelovar
Matea Đukez Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Martina Manjkas Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Bruno Hradec Jasmina Šimeka Daruvar
Jurica Lukinić Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Category 4B
Student Mentor City
Josip Fran Ljiljana Srebrenović Bjelovar
Domagoj Ozimec Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Sara Klobučar Tamara Đenadija Garešnica
Gabrijela Biškupić Romana Zelda Daruvar
Luka Faktor Antonia Varat Daruvar
Ivan Prapotnik Ljiljana Srebrenović Bjelovar
Luka Pupak Antonia Varat Daruvar
Sara Šopalović Romana Zelda Daruvar
Anja Smola Tamara Đenadija Garešnica
Vedran Ivančić Martina Čukman Bjelovar
4
April 4 is the day to give special attention to the 600000000 stray animals in the world
Dogs and cats should have a home But stray dogs and stray cats dont They lead poor
and miserable lives on the streets They are often illfed suffer from extreme heat or cold
and suffer from diseases Even more often theyre being chased around by hostile and
violent people
But we as people who care about animals can do something
April 4 is the day to show compassion take care and take action
for stray animals all over our planet
What can YOU do ~ make a strayfie
~ share the cause of 44 Stray Animals Day with
everybody you know
~ adopt a stray dog
~ ask your local animal shelter how you can help
~ support a stray animal organization
April 4th marks World Stray
Animals Day with those
dedicated to animal
welfare across the world
joining together and
continuing the push to turn
around the lives of stray
cats and dogs It is a global
issue that includes our own
home More than 600 million
mdash twice the population of
the United State of America
mdash stray animals worldwide
will go another day without
food shelter and love they
so desperately need and
deserve
5
10 Ways to Help End Pet Homelessness (from wwwonegreenplanetorg)
According to the Humane Society of the United States ldquo27 million healthy
adoptable cats and dogs hellip are put down in US shelters each yearrdquo Thatrsquos about
one animal every 11 seconds These statistics are staggering and wholly unacceptable nowadays especially
when there are so many ways to help reduce the number of pets that may become homeless or end up in
shelters Two main reasons for pets being in shelters are that guardians give them up not wanting to care for
these loyal pets anymore or animal control finds them alone on the street
But guess what There are a number of strategies available today that can help end pet
homelessness and you can help them succeed Just take a look at these 10 simple ways to help
1 Be a Lost Pet Advocate
If you find a lost pet try helping them get home first before dropping them off at an animal shelter Herersquos
something to think about mdash about 30 percent of lost dogs and 5 percent of cats will be reclaimed at shelters by
their guardians With your help shelters can be less overcrowded and more pets might be able to find their way
home faster
2 Say NO to Irresponsible Breeding
When you support anti-puppy mill initiatives you are working against irresponsible breeding and animal cruelty
Say no to this horrendous industry and avoid buying animals from pet stores
3 Go to Bat for Cats
About 70 percent of shelter cats end up being killed this statistic includes strays feral and surrendered cats Join a
local cat initiative to keep cats safe from being put down by promoting trap-neuter-return (TNR) for feral cats and
practicing responsible pet guardianship
4 Volunteer to Find Forever Families
In order for off-site pet adoption events and programs to be successful at finding homeless pets forever families
volunteers like you and organization partnerships are needed Such events partner with agencies with similar
animal welfare concerns to work together to make a difference
5 Opt to Adopt Not Shop
Unfortunately many pets bought from pet stores have health issues that can result in pain and suffering and even
death Save healthy homeless pets from being euthanized at overcrowded shelters by giving them a permanent
loving home Donrsquot buy a pet adopt
6 Fund an Awesome Rescue Group
Alongside animal shelters there are also rescue groups that rescue dogs cats rabbits birds and other small pets
that are breed or issue specific Shelters and rescue groups are essential in the long term care of animals By
funding animal rescue groups you can help homeless pets by providing them with needed veterinary care and
supplies during their adoption journey
7 Become a Foster Parent
Help to socialize and care for homeless animals by becoming a foster parent to a shelter pet Being a foster pet
parent will lead to fewer shelter pets being euthanized and gives pets more time to find their forever homes while
being in a temporary home filled with love
8 Be a Self-Appointed Pet Reporter
Lost and stray pets can get scared and run away from help and may end up reproducing with other street
animals thereby contributing to even more pet homelessness If you are unable to locate guardians on your own
or an animal appears threatening report any domestic animal you see roaming around your neighborhood to
animal control
9 Curb Pet Homelessness with Spaying and Neutering
The homeless pet population can be significantly reduced simply by having your adopted pets spayed or
neutered Not only will this stop overpopulation but fewer animals will accidentally be born only to be taken to
the shelter Spay and neuter is a proven way to reduce pet overpopulation and can ensure that every pet has a
family to love them If you already spay and neuter your companions then consider supporting local spayneuter
initiatives through volunteer and awareness-raising efforts or simply by making a monetary donation
10 Be a Responsible Pet Guardian
Donrsquot be a part of the problem by being an irresponsible pet guardian Be responsible by micro-chipping your
companions updating pet identification tags spaying or neutering and choosing to adopt a pet if and only if
you plan to care for them for the remainder of their life
6
1 Determiners
One of the simplest ways to show similarities and differences is through use of determiners Words
such as both all neither and none can show how two items are the same Consider the following
sentences
Both Asia and Europe are continents
Neither boy plays baseball
Using determiners to show similarities is basic grammar and even beginning students can use this
technique when they speak and write in English In fact this type of comparison is simpler than
comparison of adjectives To practice using determiners for comparisons work with a partner to
find as many similarities between your home culture and US UK culture as possible You should
express each similarity using a determiner that shows similarities
2 Adverbs and Adverb Phrases
Adverbs can also be used to show similarities and differences between items Consider the
following sentences
Jason is an optimist Jude is an optimist too
Jason and Jude have being an optimist in common
Itrsquos the phrase in common acting as an adverb in the sentence that shows the similarity between
Jason and Jude Other words and phrases that can show similarities in this way are as well also in
the same way so dolike and likewise
To practice using these phrases work with a partner One person make an observation about a
person or an object For example The filing cabinet is made of metal The second person must
find another person or thing that also has that quality Eg My car is made of metal The first person
then makes a sentence which shows the commonality between the two objects using an adverb
or adverb phrase Eg The filing cabinet is made of metal and your car is as well
3 Linking Expressions
When we evaluate two things using comparative adjectives we must necessarily put both of those
items in the same phrase For more advanced sentence structure you can use linking
expressions to compare and contrast in separate clauses Consider the following sentences
Asia is larger than Europe
Asia is huge whereas Europe is small
Both sentences express the difference in size for the two continents but the sentence structure is
very different The first sentence is a simple sentence with only one clause The second is a
complex sentence with one independent clause and one dependent clause Here is another
example
Jason is more optimistic than Jane
Jason is an optimist but Jane is a pessimist
The sentences in this pair do not have the exact meaning and are therefore not interchangeable
but both do show a contrast between the two people Again the second sentence is a complex
sentence whereas the first is a simple sentence
While and although are other linking expressions that can be used this way
Jason is an optimist while Jane is a pessimist
Although Jason is an optimist Jane is a pessimist
To practice this method of comparing and contrasting write several phrases on individual index
cards Each should use a linking expressions Shuffle the cards and read them to your partner and
ask them to complete the sentences logically You can take several answers for each phrase
7
4 Nouns and Verbs
Adjectives are great ways of comparing two items but you can also use nouns and verbs to
show similarities and differences When they are used for this purpose the nouns and verbs
imply similarities and differences as part of their meaning
Some verbs that compare and contrast are differ contrast compare vary change equate
equal match and parallel
Asia contrasts with Europe in size
Jason and Jude match in temperament
Some nouns that compare and contrast
are difference similarity contrast comparison variance dissimilaritychange resemblance like
ness parallel connection and match
The temperaments of Jason and Jude are a match
Asia and Europe have a dissimilarity in size
To practice using nouns and verbs to show similarities and differences start with several
sentences that use comparative adjectives written out on a worksheet then rewrite the
sentences using a noun or verb instead of the comparative adjective For example change
sentences as follows
Original sentence My apartment is bigger than his apartment
Revised sentence His and my apartment differ in size
5 Degrees of Similarity
Sometimes we want to do more than just say two things are alike or are different We want to
say just how different they are We want to know the degree of similarity or difference To
express these ideas English speakers use a word or phrase to modify the adjective they are
using The following phrases express degrees which can be combined with an adjective to say
just how similar or different two items are absolutely the samedifferent exactly the
same practically the sameopposite basically the samedifferentopposite nearly the
same more or less the samedifferent quite similardifferent completely the same
different totally the samedifferent slightly similardifferent and very similardifferent
To practice these expressions try describing just how alike or different people in your class are
Write ten sentences each comparing or contrasting two of your classmates In each sentence
you should use a phrase that expresses just how alike or different someone is
For example someone might write the following
Juan is slightly different in height than MinHo
Abdul and Hen are opposite in their speech volume
Comparative and superlative adjectives are great but donrsquot stop there when it
comes to broadening your English
8
W hy is it important to feel safe Well
safety brings confidence When I feel safe I
swear Im so happy I could run a mile I feel
confident enough to be myself even if thats
not how people like me I can sing if I want to
(read Adele car party with my bestie) I can
rock red lipstick if I want to I can walk around
with a messy bun and puffy I got 0 hours of
sleep face Of course people are going to
judge me thats just what people do Being
confident doesnt mean that people wont
judge you it just means that you wont care
about it Thats how I feel at home I feel
confident enough to not care about what
others think of me Home is not a house or a
cage it is the freedom that you get by feeling
loved safe and confident enough to be your
true self Some people feel at home in their
parents house some are at home only in their
own room others wherever their loved ones
are All of those are equally good and valid I
found it far away from where I live and thats
okay
T hink about what home means to you
Maybe you dont really have it figured out yet
but youll find it eventually Dont chase it
good things will gravitate to you no matter
how far they are Youll know when you find it
its the most comforting thing one can possibly
feel It doesnt matter where it is and it doesnt
matter what others tell you about it People
think Im nuts when I say that Im at home a
thousand kilometres away from home but I
couldnt be happier about it I could never
thank my best friend enough for teaching me
what home is Find people that you love find
what makes you feel good It might take some
time but I promise its worth it LL
D uring winter holidays I was lucky enough to
get to visit my best friend Vienna in Germany I
stayed there for one week and enjoyed every
second of it Unfortunately time passed in a blink
of an eye and I soon found myself at the airport
running to catch my flight home Whilst flying over
the Alps (and experiencing mild turbulence that
scared me to be honest) I thought about the fact
that I just didnt want to go home I kept thinking
about it and came to the conclusion ndash home is
simply not what most people think it is
I f you search for the word home in the
dictionary youll find out that home is a place
where one lives a residence Quite obvious right I
dont think so I think that home is wherever you
feel safe Actually home doesnt even have to be a
point on the map If you ask me its a feeling rather
than a place Home is a feeling you get when
youre surrounded by people who accept you for
who you are and who you want to be Youre home
when you can be the weirdest version of yourself
and there are still people who are going to love
you I found home in the streets of a city thats
approximately thousand kilometres away from
where I live Im not fluent in German but I smiled
at a stranger who kindly smiled back at me and I
suddenly found myself speaking the most beautiful
language there is Its all about the way you treat
people and how they respond to it I found home in
my best friends laughter every single day and the
way she hugged me when I had to leave I found it
in the strong heartbeat I felt when I got off the
plane and the urge to shout how happy I was I
found home in people walking through the streets
and talking about things Ill never know smiling
and being in their own little bubble I found home
in long walks with my best friend and her dog and
in a cup of our favourite tea Ive never felt safer in
my life
9
3rd and 4th grade
Bandur Mario Bubnjić Lucijana Čvek Saša Gelešić
Marija Harambašić Mihaela Holiček Ivan Kizma
Ivan Kralj Bistrički Ivan Najdert Tihana Palaić Josip
Petrović Antonija and Škalec Domagoj
225 applicants
16 teachers
18 Saturdays
2 project days
71 person passing the initial testing
62 members of the English Proficiency Centre
50 students receiving the Certificate of attendance
This in short is the English Proficiency Centre
from Bjelovar-bilogora County From Here I am
We are beautiful Pursuit of happiness and No
man is an island over Live to learn Live to
work To gym or not to gym Ratatouille
Travellers tales Law amp Order and Thrift shop to
the language of Ars artis f Geek and finally
People who shaped our world ndash namely William
Shakespeare we spent five months together
brushing up our language skills reading
listening speaking and writing
But more than that ndash much more than that ndash we
have made new friends and found people who
share our passion for learning and teaching
English We had fun lots of it And we have
discovered once again that when you have a
good reason to get up early even on Saturday
it is not such a hard thing to do
7th grade
Ban Petar Cvitanović Tajana Grgić Magdalena
Jurković Tony Klarić Luka Majurec Filip Marić
Lucija Pranjić Matko Šimunić Andrej and Šimunić
Dorotea
8th grade
Baltić Ana Bertek Danijela Dvoraček Elena
Erben Anja Filipović Matea Fortuna Dajana
Grgat Ivan Dorian Janošić Matko Katušić Krapec
Hana Kelava Domagoj Podsednik Iveta
Starčević Ena Štefan Karla and Totgergeli Luka
1st and 2nd grade
Blazonija Ramona Hanak Anita Horvat Filip
Huzjak Nikola Kravaica Romano Lekić Luka
Lovrić Lara Mađerić Lucija Milić Tea Pojatina Tin
Pokrivač Mihaela Skukan Dora Takač Anamaria
and Vlajić Dragana
10
400th anniversary of Shakespeares death which is being commemorated this spring all over the
world turned out to be the best possible way to close this yearrsquos English proficiency centre Though it
is not even nearly enough to grasp the Bardrsquos greatness we did our best and spent four lessons
discussing his life and work
We talked about key events in his life about his influence on literature all over the world and English
as a language We analysed the most famous quotes read and wrote sonnets watched clips from
some of his plays discussed characters and their destinies and had a chance to see a marvellous
presentation about his major tragedies comedies and histories created by Martina Cug
The grand finale was the ultimate William Shakespeare quiz prepared by Maja Ivanović Working in
groups students answered questions to show how much they have learned And they did well
showing that something may be rotten in the state of Denmark but surely is not in the English
proficiency centre
11
An efficient education system must ensure acquisition of knowledge skills and values necessary for a
successful life in modern society to every student Since this hasnrsquot been the case in Croatia a couple
of years ago experts in the field started working on the basis for change The basis was The Strategy of Education Science and
Technology which was adopted by the Croatian Parliament in October 2014
Then a little more than a year ago in February 2015 an expert task force for implementing the comprehensive curricular reform
for early primary and secondary education (one of the measures from The Strategy) was founded and began working The goal
of the curricular reform is to establish a coherent and efficient education system through comprehensive content and structural
changes including the following
~ transition from eight-year to nine-year elementary school
~ developing a new modern curriculum for each school subject putting learner in the focus
~ introduction of optional modules in grammar schools allowing students to choose and focus their learning based on their
interests and tertiary education aspirations
~ strengthening work-based learning in vocational education and training to ease studentsrsquo transition from education to work
~ giving more autonomy to teachers and schools implementing the curricula
430 experts from all levels of education and different parts of the country started preparing curricular documents in September
2015 Amongst them were 300 teachers engaged to work full-time on the curricular reform The entire work was organized in the
cloud there were more than 500 live and almost a thousand online meetings
The first part of the job was completed in January 2016 After the coordination processes (both horizontal and vertical) and the
consultation process with various experts apart from task forces for various fields the documents were edited and published You
can find them on wwwkurikulumhr IP
Eleven people were appointed as members of task force for developing the new EFL curriculum All of them
are teachers working in various schools ndash both elementary and high schools all over Croatia They have
created a document completely different from the current school programmes a document which steps
away from content-based prescriptions and moves to learning outcomes approach describing what the
learner is expected to know understand or be able to do as a result of the learning process
The concept on which the EFL curriculum is based are the three domains Communicative linguistic competence Intercultural
communicative competence and Language learning autonomy These three domains are the basis for all the learning outcomes
which include reception production interaction intercultural experiences language learning strategies creative and critical
thinking and media literacy
The curriculum also describes the aim of learning and teaching English teaching goals connection with other parts of the
curriculum learning environment the role of the teacher teaching materials and evaluation and assessment Learning process will
be arranged in a way to stimulate creativity and imagination develop learnersrsquo investigative and constructive skills as well as their
ability to think and reason logically reflect on outcomes and consequences and apply interesting and realistic contexts that are
personally meaningful to them All in all the curriculum for the 21st century aiming for excellence IP
12
2
Students Return from Successful Erasmus Meeting in Toulouse
Three students of the School of Economics and Tourism Daruvar returned from an Erasmus+ funded visit to Toulouse in France Erasmus+ is a European
Union funded project which enables students to visit and study in other European countries and
the objective of this visit was entrepreneurship and
developing an idea for a new product and writing a
business plan which will be presented at special
conference in Romania next year
During the visit to Toulouse the students stayed with
host families and worked with students from six other
European countries The students attended workshops
and presentations with entrepreneurs and visited local
companies which included the aircraft manufacturer
Airbus and Terra de Pastel a company that makes
products using a plant called pastel The students and the
teachers visited the most interesting sights in Toulouse and Albi a picturesque city
whose episcopal part was added to the UNESCO list of World
Heritage Sites in 2010
Erasmus+ team is working on the new tasks
which include presenting one Croatian niche
company and making PEST analysis of the
region Three more students will be visiting Italy
in March on the second part of the project
RZ
Lena Popadić Lara Bistrović Marijana Svrtan Laura Horvat Matija Ivan Volšanski and Dominik Tunić are third grade students in the hotel and
tourism department of the School of Economics and Tourism in Daruvar The students are taking part in an EU funded project
entitled lsquoWesternsrsquo and recently spent a week in the town of Marignane in southern France During this visit they
were accompanied by the project coordinator Romana Zelda and the headteacher Dinka
Ivanović The aim of the project was to research the history of viticulture in the
regions of the partner schools and the importance
of the cultivation of different grape
varieties and the production of wine
One of the tasks within the project was
the design of a logo which in our
case was designed by Martina
Andričević Martina later went
on to win the competition and her design
became the logo of the project
As well as working on the tasks in mixed groups which consisted of students from
Croatia France Slovenia Greece and Italy the participants of this project meeting had the chance to enjoy
the wonders of Marseille in Provence and learn more about life in France particularly as the students were hosted by French
families
The trip to France was my first trip with the project Of course France is a beautiful country the people are very nice and kind and the experience was
wonderful We met new people learnt something new from them mostly their language and sense of humour I am glad that I had a chance to venture
out and broaden my horizons That is the best way to learn about the culture of another country and their way of life I hope I will have a chance to
travel to other places as part of the school projects said Lena
Lara added This trip to France was fantastic Not only because we got to know their culture and visited cities we had never been to but also because I
met and became friends with different people who taught us their language and who made sure that all of us
had a good time and felt welcome
The greatest value of such projects is the
motivation of students to get
involved in extracurricular
activities and improve their
communication intercultural and
information skills and of course to
improve their knowledge of
foreign languages
This was my first trip with the school project It was a fantastic
experience as I met many new friends Sadly the time passed by far too quickly and we had to return to
reality I am hoping that in the future I will be able to go on another trip said Marijana who like the other students wishes to
continue taking part in the work in order to perhaps once again attend some of the project meetings RZ
WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE IN PROVENCE
3
January 22nd was a big day for 179 students from 12 schools in our county who wanted to see how good their English
is Second- and fourth-year students took the test and were listed in four different categories second year grammar
schools students (2A) second year other schools students (2B) fourth year grammar schools students (4A) and fourth
year other schools students (4B) The best among them were invited to county competition which took place in
Čazma on February 24th The atmosphere was great the students did really well and the mentors were extremely
proud Here are the results Congratulations everyone IP
Category 2A
Student Mentor City
Borna Cafuk Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Alen Pačko Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Ivana Štern Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Anita Hanak Iva Štrkalj Čazma
Andro Magaš Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Sara Hinić Tamara Đenadija Garešnica
Elena Luna Pavlović Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Silvia Podsednik Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Gašpar Dončević Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Lara Lovrić Tamara Đenadija Garešnica
Vedran Markanović Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Tin Pojatina Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Ivana Andričević Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Category 2B
Student Mentor City
Ivan Ljutak Antonia Varat Daruvar
Ivan Meštrić Smiljka Bujić Bjelovar
Karlo Čavrag Smiljka Bujić Bjelovar
Goranga Filić Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Leon Sedlanić Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Matej Smok Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Ivan Štargl Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Petar Cvetko Voćanec Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Matea Sudetić Anita Ružić Daruvar
Matea Kutnjak Smiljka Bujić Bjelovar
Category 4A
Student Mentor City
Igor Radojčić Inga Mušeta Bajić Bjelovar
Juraj Markešić Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Vladimir Šeba Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Paula Kovač Inga Mušeta Bajić Bjelovar
Matea Đukez Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Martina Manjkas Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Bruno Hradec Jasmina Šimeka Daruvar
Jurica Lukinić Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Category 4B
Student Mentor City
Josip Fran Ljiljana Srebrenović Bjelovar
Domagoj Ozimec Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Sara Klobučar Tamara Đenadija Garešnica
Gabrijela Biškupić Romana Zelda Daruvar
Luka Faktor Antonia Varat Daruvar
Ivan Prapotnik Ljiljana Srebrenović Bjelovar
Luka Pupak Antonia Varat Daruvar
Sara Šopalović Romana Zelda Daruvar
Anja Smola Tamara Đenadija Garešnica
Vedran Ivančić Martina Čukman Bjelovar
4
April 4 is the day to give special attention to the 600000000 stray animals in the world
Dogs and cats should have a home But stray dogs and stray cats dont They lead poor
and miserable lives on the streets They are often illfed suffer from extreme heat or cold
and suffer from diseases Even more often theyre being chased around by hostile and
violent people
But we as people who care about animals can do something
April 4 is the day to show compassion take care and take action
for stray animals all over our planet
What can YOU do ~ make a strayfie
~ share the cause of 44 Stray Animals Day with
everybody you know
~ adopt a stray dog
~ ask your local animal shelter how you can help
~ support a stray animal organization
April 4th marks World Stray
Animals Day with those
dedicated to animal
welfare across the world
joining together and
continuing the push to turn
around the lives of stray
cats and dogs It is a global
issue that includes our own
home More than 600 million
mdash twice the population of
the United State of America
mdash stray animals worldwide
will go another day without
food shelter and love they
so desperately need and
deserve
5
10 Ways to Help End Pet Homelessness (from wwwonegreenplanetorg)
According to the Humane Society of the United States ldquo27 million healthy
adoptable cats and dogs hellip are put down in US shelters each yearrdquo Thatrsquos about
one animal every 11 seconds These statistics are staggering and wholly unacceptable nowadays especially
when there are so many ways to help reduce the number of pets that may become homeless or end up in
shelters Two main reasons for pets being in shelters are that guardians give them up not wanting to care for
these loyal pets anymore or animal control finds them alone on the street
But guess what There are a number of strategies available today that can help end pet
homelessness and you can help them succeed Just take a look at these 10 simple ways to help
1 Be a Lost Pet Advocate
If you find a lost pet try helping them get home first before dropping them off at an animal shelter Herersquos
something to think about mdash about 30 percent of lost dogs and 5 percent of cats will be reclaimed at shelters by
their guardians With your help shelters can be less overcrowded and more pets might be able to find their way
home faster
2 Say NO to Irresponsible Breeding
When you support anti-puppy mill initiatives you are working against irresponsible breeding and animal cruelty
Say no to this horrendous industry and avoid buying animals from pet stores
3 Go to Bat for Cats
About 70 percent of shelter cats end up being killed this statistic includes strays feral and surrendered cats Join a
local cat initiative to keep cats safe from being put down by promoting trap-neuter-return (TNR) for feral cats and
practicing responsible pet guardianship
4 Volunteer to Find Forever Families
In order for off-site pet adoption events and programs to be successful at finding homeless pets forever families
volunteers like you and organization partnerships are needed Such events partner with agencies with similar
animal welfare concerns to work together to make a difference
5 Opt to Adopt Not Shop
Unfortunately many pets bought from pet stores have health issues that can result in pain and suffering and even
death Save healthy homeless pets from being euthanized at overcrowded shelters by giving them a permanent
loving home Donrsquot buy a pet adopt
6 Fund an Awesome Rescue Group
Alongside animal shelters there are also rescue groups that rescue dogs cats rabbits birds and other small pets
that are breed or issue specific Shelters and rescue groups are essential in the long term care of animals By
funding animal rescue groups you can help homeless pets by providing them with needed veterinary care and
supplies during their adoption journey
7 Become a Foster Parent
Help to socialize and care for homeless animals by becoming a foster parent to a shelter pet Being a foster pet
parent will lead to fewer shelter pets being euthanized and gives pets more time to find their forever homes while
being in a temporary home filled with love
8 Be a Self-Appointed Pet Reporter
Lost and stray pets can get scared and run away from help and may end up reproducing with other street
animals thereby contributing to even more pet homelessness If you are unable to locate guardians on your own
or an animal appears threatening report any domestic animal you see roaming around your neighborhood to
animal control
9 Curb Pet Homelessness with Spaying and Neutering
The homeless pet population can be significantly reduced simply by having your adopted pets spayed or
neutered Not only will this stop overpopulation but fewer animals will accidentally be born only to be taken to
the shelter Spay and neuter is a proven way to reduce pet overpopulation and can ensure that every pet has a
family to love them If you already spay and neuter your companions then consider supporting local spayneuter
initiatives through volunteer and awareness-raising efforts or simply by making a monetary donation
10 Be a Responsible Pet Guardian
Donrsquot be a part of the problem by being an irresponsible pet guardian Be responsible by micro-chipping your
companions updating pet identification tags spaying or neutering and choosing to adopt a pet if and only if
you plan to care for them for the remainder of their life
6
1 Determiners
One of the simplest ways to show similarities and differences is through use of determiners Words
such as both all neither and none can show how two items are the same Consider the following
sentences
Both Asia and Europe are continents
Neither boy plays baseball
Using determiners to show similarities is basic grammar and even beginning students can use this
technique when they speak and write in English In fact this type of comparison is simpler than
comparison of adjectives To practice using determiners for comparisons work with a partner to
find as many similarities between your home culture and US UK culture as possible You should
express each similarity using a determiner that shows similarities
2 Adverbs and Adverb Phrases
Adverbs can also be used to show similarities and differences between items Consider the
following sentences
Jason is an optimist Jude is an optimist too
Jason and Jude have being an optimist in common
Itrsquos the phrase in common acting as an adverb in the sentence that shows the similarity between
Jason and Jude Other words and phrases that can show similarities in this way are as well also in
the same way so dolike and likewise
To practice using these phrases work with a partner One person make an observation about a
person or an object For example The filing cabinet is made of metal The second person must
find another person or thing that also has that quality Eg My car is made of metal The first person
then makes a sentence which shows the commonality between the two objects using an adverb
or adverb phrase Eg The filing cabinet is made of metal and your car is as well
3 Linking Expressions
When we evaluate two things using comparative adjectives we must necessarily put both of those
items in the same phrase For more advanced sentence structure you can use linking
expressions to compare and contrast in separate clauses Consider the following sentences
Asia is larger than Europe
Asia is huge whereas Europe is small
Both sentences express the difference in size for the two continents but the sentence structure is
very different The first sentence is a simple sentence with only one clause The second is a
complex sentence with one independent clause and one dependent clause Here is another
example
Jason is more optimistic than Jane
Jason is an optimist but Jane is a pessimist
The sentences in this pair do not have the exact meaning and are therefore not interchangeable
but both do show a contrast between the two people Again the second sentence is a complex
sentence whereas the first is a simple sentence
While and although are other linking expressions that can be used this way
Jason is an optimist while Jane is a pessimist
Although Jason is an optimist Jane is a pessimist
To practice this method of comparing and contrasting write several phrases on individual index
cards Each should use a linking expressions Shuffle the cards and read them to your partner and
ask them to complete the sentences logically You can take several answers for each phrase
7
4 Nouns and Verbs
Adjectives are great ways of comparing two items but you can also use nouns and verbs to
show similarities and differences When they are used for this purpose the nouns and verbs
imply similarities and differences as part of their meaning
Some verbs that compare and contrast are differ contrast compare vary change equate
equal match and parallel
Asia contrasts with Europe in size
Jason and Jude match in temperament
Some nouns that compare and contrast
are difference similarity contrast comparison variance dissimilaritychange resemblance like
ness parallel connection and match
The temperaments of Jason and Jude are a match
Asia and Europe have a dissimilarity in size
To practice using nouns and verbs to show similarities and differences start with several
sentences that use comparative adjectives written out on a worksheet then rewrite the
sentences using a noun or verb instead of the comparative adjective For example change
sentences as follows
Original sentence My apartment is bigger than his apartment
Revised sentence His and my apartment differ in size
5 Degrees of Similarity
Sometimes we want to do more than just say two things are alike or are different We want to
say just how different they are We want to know the degree of similarity or difference To
express these ideas English speakers use a word or phrase to modify the adjective they are
using The following phrases express degrees which can be combined with an adjective to say
just how similar or different two items are absolutely the samedifferent exactly the
same practically the sameopposite basically the samedifferentopposite nearly the
same more or less the samedifferent quite similardifferent completely the same
different totally the samedifferent slightly similardifferent and very similardifferent
To practice these expressions try describing just how alike or different people in your class are
Write ten sentences each comparing or contrasting two of your classmates In each sentence
you should use a phrase that expresses just how alike or different someone is
For example someone might write the following
Juan is slightly different in height than MinHo
Abdul and Hen are opposite in their speech volume
Comparative and superlative adjectives are great but donrsquot stop there when it
comes to broadening your English
8
W hy is it important to feel safe Well
safety brings confidence When I feel safe I
swear Im so happy I could run a mile I feel
confident enough to be myself even if thats
not how people like me I can sing if I want to
(read Adele car party with my bestie) I can
rock red lipstick if I want to I can walk around
with a messy bun and puffy I got 0 hours of
sleep face Of course people are going to
judge me thats just what people do Being
confident doesnt mean that people wont
judge you it just means that you wont care
about it Thats how I feel at home I feel
confident enough to not care about what
others think of me Home is not a house or a
cage it is the freedom that you get by feeling
loved safe and confident enough to be your
true self Some people feel at home in their
parents house some are at home only in their
own room others wherever their loved ones
are All of those are equally good and valid I
found it far away from where I live and thats
okay
T hink about what home means to you
Maybe you dont really have it figured out yet
but youll find it eventually Dont chase it
good things will gravitate to you no matter
how far they are Youll know when you find it
its the most comforting thing one can possibly
feel It doesnt matter where it is and it doesnt
matter what others tell you about it People
think Im nuts when I say that Im at home a
thousand kilometres away from home but I
couldnt be happier about it I could never
thank my best friend enough for teaching me
what home is Find people that you love find
what makes you feel good It might take some
time but I promise its worth it LL
D uring winter holidays I was lucky enough to
get to visit my best friend Vienna in Germany I
stayed there for one week and enjoyed every
second of it Unfortunately time passed in a blink
of an eye and I soon found myself at the airport
running to catch my flight home Whilst flying over
the Alps (and experiencing mild turbulence that
scared me to be honest) I thought about the fact
that I just didnt want to go home I kept thinking
about it and came to the conclusion ndash home is
simply not what most people think it is
I f you search for the word home in the
dictionary youll find out that home is a place
where one lives a residence Quite obvious right I
dont think so I think that home is wherever you
feel safe Actually home doesnt even have to be a
point on the map If you ask me its a feeling rather
than a place Home is a feeling you get when
youre surrounded by people who accept you for
who you are and who you want to be Youre home
when you can be the weirdest version of yourself
and there are still people who are going to love
you I found home in the streets of a city thats
approximately thousand kilometres away from
where I live Im not fluent in German but I smiled
at a stranger who kindly smiled back at me and I
suddenly found myself speaking the most beautiful
language there is Its all about the way you treat
people and how they respond to it I found home in
my best friends laughter every single day and the
way she hugged me when I had to leave I found it
in the strong heartbeat I felt when I got off the
plane and the urge to shout how happy I was I
found home in people walking through the streets
and talking about things Ill never know smiling
and being in their own little bubble I found home
in long walks with my best friend and her dog and
in a cup of our favourite tea Ive never felt safer in
my life
9
3rd and 4th grade
Bandur Mario Bubnjić Lucijana Čvek Saša Gelešić
Marija Harambašić Mihaela Holiček Ivan Kizma
Ivan Kralj Bistrički Ivan Najdert Tihana Palaić Josip
Petrović Antonija and Škalec Domagoj
225 applicants
16 teachers
18 Saturdays
2 project days
71 person passing the initial testing
62 members of the English Proficiency Centre
50 students receiving the Certificate of attendance
This in short is the English Proficiency Centre
from Bjelovar-bilogora County From Here I am
We are beautiful Pursuit of happiness and No
man is an island over Live to learn Live to
work To gym or not to gym Ratatouille
Travellers tales Law amp Order and Thrift shop to
the language of Ars artis f Geek and finally
People who shaped our world ndash namely William
Shakespeare we spent five months together
brushing up our language skills reading
listening speaking and writing
But more than that ndash much more than that ndash we
have made new friends and found people who
share our passion for learning and teaching
English We had fun lots of it And we have
discovered once again that when you have a
good reason to get up early even on Saturday
it is not such a hard thing to do
7th grade
Ban Petar Cvitanović Tajana Grgić Magdalena
Jurković Tony Klarić Luka Majurec Filip Marić
Lucija Pranjić Matko Šimunić Andrej and Šimunić
Dorotea
8th grade
Baltić Ana Bertek Danijela Dvoraček Elena
Erben Anja Filipović Matea Fortuna Dajana
Grgat Ivan Dorian Janošić Matko Katušić Krapec
Hana Kelava Domagoj Podsednik Iveta
Starčević Ena Štefan Karla and Totgergeli Luka
1st and 2nd grade
Blazonija Ramona Hanak Anita Horvat Filip
Huzjak Nikola Kravaica Romano Lekić Luka
Lovrić Lara Mađerić Lucija Milić Tea Pojatina Tin
Pokrivač Mihaela Skukan Dora Takač Anamaria
and Vlajić Dragana
10
400th anniversary of Shakespeares death which is being commemorated this spring all over the
world turned out to be the best possible way to close this yearrsquos English proficiency centre Though it
is not even nearly enough to grasp the Bardrsquos greatness we did our best and spent four lessons
discussing his life and work
We talked about key events in his life about his influence on literature all over the world and English
as a language We analysed the most famous quotes read and wrote sonnets watched clips from
some of his plays discussed characters and their destinies and had a chance to see a marvellous
presentation about his major tragedies comedies and histories created by Martina Cug
The grand finale was the ultimate William Shakespeare quiz prepared by Maja Ivanović Working in
groups students answered questions to show how much they have learned And they did well
showing that something may be rotten in the state of Denmark but surely is not in the English
proficiency centre
11
An efficient education system must ensure acquisition of knowledge skills and values necessary for a
successful life in modern society to every student Since this hasnrsquot been the case in Croatia a couple
of years ago experts in the field started working on the basis for change The basis was The Strategy of Education Science and
Technology which was adopted by the Croatian Parliament in October 2014
Then a little more than a year ago in February 2015 an expert task force for implementing the comprehensive curricular reform
for early primary and secondary education (one of the measures from The Strategy) was founded and began working The goal
of the curricular reform is to establish a coherent and efficient education system through comprehensive content and structural
changes including the following
~ transition from eight-year to nine-year elementary school
~ developing a new modern curriculum for each school subject putting learner in the focus
~ introduction of optional modules in grammar schools allowing students to choose and focus their learning based on their
interests and tertiary education aspirations
~ strengthening work-based learning in vocational education and training to ease studentsrsquo transition from education to work
~ giving more autonomy to teachers and schools implementing the curricula
430 experts from all levels of education and different parts of the country started preparing curricular documents in September
2015 Amongst them were 300 teachers engaged to work full-time on the curricular reform The entire work was organized in the
cloud there were more than 500 live and almost a thousand online meetings
The first part of the job was completed in January 2016 After the coordination processes (both horizontal and vertical) and the
consultation process with various experts apart from task forces for various fields the documents were edited and published You
can find them on wwwkurikulumhr IP
Eleven people were appointed as members of task force for developing the new EFL curriculum All of them
are teachers working in various schools ndash both elementary and high schools all over Croatia They have
created a document completely different from the current school programmes a document which steps
away from content-based prescriptions and moves to learning outcomes approach describing what the
learner is expected to know understand or be able to do as a result of the learning process
The concept on which the EFL curriculum is based are the three domains Communicative linguistic competence Intercultural
communicative competence and Language learning autonomy These three domains are the basis for all the learning outcomes
which include reception production interaction intercultural experiences language learning strategies creative and critical
thinking and media literacy
The curriculum also describes the aim of learning and teaching English teaching goals connection with other parts of the
curriculum learning environment the role of the teacher teaching materials and evaluation and assessment Learning process will
be arranged in a way to stimulate creativity and imagination develop learnersrsquo investigative and constructive skills as well as their
ability to think and reason logically reflect on outcomes and consequences and apply interesting and realistic contexts that are
personally meaningful to them All in all the curriculum for the 21st century aiming for excellence IP
12
3
January 22nd was a big day for 179 students from 12 schools in our county who wanted to see how good their English
is Second- and fourth-year students took the test and were listed in four different categories second year grammar
schools students (2A) second year other schools students (2B) fourth year grammar schools students (4A) and fourth
year other schools students (4B) The best among them were invited to county competition which took place in
Čazma on February 24th The atmosphere was great the students did really well and the mentors were extremely
proud Here are the results Congratulations everyone IP
Category 2A
Student Mentor City
Borna Cafuk Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Alen Pačko Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Ivana Štern Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Anita Hanak Iva Štrkalj Čazma
Andro Magaš Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Sara Hinić Tamara Đenadija Garešnica
Elena Luna Pavlović Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Silvia Podsednik Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Gašpar Dončević Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Lara Lovrić Tamara Đenadija Garešnica
Vedran Markanović Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Tin Pojatina Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Ivana Andričević Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Category 2B
Student Mentor City
Ivan Ljutak Antonia Varat Daruvar
Ivan Meštrić Smiljka Bujić Bjelovar
Karlo Čavrag Smiljka Bujić Bjelovar
Goranga Filić Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Leon Sedlanić Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Matej Smok Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Ivan Štargl Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Petar Cvetko Voćanec Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Matea Sudetić Anita Ružić Daruvar
Matea Kutnjak Smiljka Bujić Bjelovar
Category 4A
Student Mentor City
Igor Radojčić Inga Mušeta Bajić Bjelovar
Juraj Markešić Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Vladimir Šeba Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Paula Kovač Inga Mušeta Bajić Bjelovar
Matea Đukez Jasmina Šimek Daruvar
Martina Manjkas Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Bruno Hradec Jasmina Šimeka Daruvar
Jurica Lukinić Vesna Bajić Ćesarov Bjelovar
Category 4B
Student Mentor City
Josip Fran Ljiljana Srebrenović Bjelovar
Domagoj Ozimec Martina Čukman Bjelovar
Sara Klobučar Tamara Đenadija Garešnica
Gabrijela Biškupić Romana Zelda Daruvar
Luka Faktor Antonia Varat Daruvar
Ivan Prapotnik Ljiljana Srebrenović Bjelovar
Luka Pupak Antonia Varat Daruvar
Sara Šopalović Romana Zelda Daruvar
Anja Smola Tamara Đenadija Garešnica
Vedran Ivančić Martina Čukman Bjelovar
4
April 4 is the day to give special attention to the 600000000 stray animals in the world
Dogs and cats should have a home But stray dogs and stray cats dont They lead poor
and miserable lives on the streets They are often illfed suffer from extreme heat or cold
and suffer from diseases Even more often theyre being chased around by hostile and
violent people
But we as people who care about animals can do something
April 4 is the day to show compassion take care and take action
for stray animals all over our planet
What can YOU do ~ make a strayfie
~ share the cause of 44 Stray Animals Day with
everybody you know
~ adopt a stray dog
~ ask your local animal shelter how you can help
~ support a stray animal organization
April 4th marks World Stray
Animals Day with those
dedicated to animal
welfare across the world
joining together and
continuing the push to turn
around the lives of stray
cats and dogs It is a global
issue that includes our own
home More than 600 million
mdash twice the population of
the United State of America
mdash stray animals worldwide
will go another day without
food shelter and love they
so desperately need and
deserve
5
10 Ways to Help End Pet Homelessness (from wwwonegreenplanetorg)
According to the Humane Society of the United States ldquo27 million healthy
adoptable cats and dogs hellip are put down in US shelters each yearrdquo Thatrsquos about
one animal every 11 seconds These statistics are staggering and wholly unacceptable nowadays especially
when there are so many ways to help reduce the number of pets that may become homeless or end up in
shelters Two main reasons for pets being in shelters are that guardians give them up not wanting to care for
these loyal pets anymore or animal control finds them alone on the street
But guess what There are a number of strategies available today that can help end pet
homelessness and you can help them succeed Just take a look at these 10 simple ways to help
1 Be a Lost Pet Advocate
If you find a lost pet try helping them get home first before dropping them off at an animal shelter Herersquos
something to think about mdash about 30 percent of lost dogs and 5 percent of cats will be reclaimed at shelters by
their guardians With your help shelters can be less overcrowded and more pets might be able to find their way
home faster
2 Say NO to Irresponsible Breeding
When you support anti-puppy mill initiatives you are working against irresponsible breeding and animal cruelty
Say no to this horrendous industry and avoid buying animals from pet stores
3 Go to Bat for Cats
About 70 percent of shelter cats end up being killed this statistic includes strays feral and surrendered cats Join a
local cat initiative to keep cats safe from being put down by promoting trap-neuter-return (TNR) for feral cats and
practicing responsible pet guardianship
4 Volunteer to Find Forever Families
In order for off-site pet adoption events and programs to be successful at finding homeless pets forever families
volunteers like you and organization partnerships are needed Such events partner with agencies with similar
animal welfare concerns to work together to make a difference
5 Opt to Adopt Not Shop
Unfortunately many pets bought from pet stores have health issues that can result in pain and suffering and even
death Save healthy homeless pets from being euthanized at overcrowded shelters by giving them a permanent
loving home Donrsquot buy a pet adopt
6 Fund an Awesome Rescue Group
Alongside animal shelters there are also rescue groups that rescue dogs cats rabbits birds and other small pets
that are breed or issue specific Shelters and rescue groups are essential in the long term care of animals By
funding animal rescue groups you can help homeless pets by providing them with needed veterinary care and
supplies during their adoption journey
7 Become a Foster Parent
Help to socialize and care for homeless animals by becoming a foster parent to a shelter pet Being a foster pet
parent will lead to fewer shelter pets being euthanized and gives pets more time to find their forever homes while
being in a temporary home filled with love
8 Be a Self-Appointed Pet Reporter
Lost and stray pets can get scared and run away from help and may end up reproducing with other street
animals thereby contributing to even more pet homelessness If you are unable to locate guardians on your own
or an animal appears threatening report any domestic animal you see roaming around your neighborhood to
animal control
9 Curb Pet Homelessness with Spaying and Neutering
The homeless pet population can be significantly reduced simply by having your adopted pets spayed or
neutered Not only will this stop overpopulation but fewer animals will accidentally be born only to be taken to
the shelter Spay and neuter is a proven way to reduce pet overpopulation and can ensure that every pet has a
family to love them If you already spay and neuter your companions then consider supporting local spayneuter
initiatives through volunteer and awareness-raising efforts or simply by making a monetary donation
10 Be a Responsible Pet Guardian
Donrsquot be a part of the problem by being an irresponsible pet guardian Be responsible by micro-chipping your
companions updating pet identification tags spaying or neutering and choosing to adopt a pet if and only if
you plan to care for them for the remainder of their life
6
1 Determiners
One of the simplest ways to show similarities and differences is through use of determiners Words
such as both all neither and none can show how two items are the same Consider the following
sentences
Both Asia and Europe are continents
Neither boy plays baseball
Using determiners to show similarities is basic grammar and even beginning students can use this
technique when they speak and write in English In fact this type of comparison is simpler than
comparison of adjectives To practice using determiners for comparisons work with a partner to
find as many similarities between your home culture and US UK culture as possible You should
express each similarity using a determiner that shows similarities
2 Adverbs and Adverb Phrases
Adverbs can also be used to show similarities and differences between items Consider the
following sentences
Jason is an optimist Jude is an optimist too
Jason and Jude have being an optimist in common
Itrsquos the phrase in common acting as an adverb in the sentence that shows the similarity between
Jason and Jude Other words and phrases that can show similarities in this way are as well also in
the same way so dolike and likewise
To practice using these phrases work with a partner One person make an observation about a
person or an object For example The filing cabinet is made of metal The second person must
find another person or thing that also has that quality Eg My car is made of metal The first person
then makes a sentence which shows the commonality between the two objects using an adverb
or adverb phrase Eg The filing cabinet is made of metal and your car is as well
3 Linking Expressions
When we evaluate two things using comparative adjectives we must necessarily put both of those
items in the same phrase For more advanced sentence structure you can use linking
expressions to compare and contrast in separate clauses Consider the following sentences
Asia is larger than Europe
Asia is huge whereas Europe is small
Both sentences express the difference in size for the two continents but the sentence structure is
very different The first sentence is a simple sentence with only one clause The second is a
complex sentence with one independent clause and one dependent clause Here is another
example
Jason is more optimistic than Jane
Jason is an optimist but Jane is a pessimist
The sentences in this pair do not have the exact meaning and are therefore not interchangeable
but both do show a contrast between the two people Again the second sentence is a complex
sentence whereas the first is a simple sentence
While and although are other linking expressions that can be used this way
Jason is an optimist while Jane is a pessimist
Although Jason is an optimist Jane is a pessimist
To practice this method of comparing and contrasting write several phrases on individual index
cards Each should use a linking expressions Shuffle the cards and read them to your partner and
ask them to complete the sentences logically You can take several answers for each phrase
7
4 Nouns and Verbs
Adjectives are great ways of comparing two items but you can also use nouns and verbs to
show similarities and differences When they are used for this purpose the nouns and verbs
imply similarities and differences as part of their meaning
Some verbs that compare and contrast are differ contrast compare vary change equate
equal match and parallel
Asia contrasts with Europe in size
Jason and Jude match in temperament
Some nouns that compare and contrast
are difference similarity contrast comparison variance dissimilaritychange resemblance like
ness parallel connection and match
The temperaments of Jason and Jude are a match
Asia and Europe have a dissimilarity in size
To practice using nouns and verbs to show similarities and differences start with several
sentences that use comparative adjectives written out on a worksheet then rewrite the
sentences using a noun or verb instead of the comparative adjective For example change
sentences as follows
Original sentence My apartment is bigger than his apartment
Revised sentence His and my apartment differ in size
5 Degrees of Similarity
Sometimes we want to do more than just say two things are alike or are different We want to
say just how different they are We want to know the degree of similarity or difference To
express these ideas English speakers use a word or phrase to modify the adjective they are
using The following phrases express degrees which can be combined with an adjective to say
just how similar or different two items are absolutely the samedifferent exactly the
same practically the sameopposite basically the samedifferentopposite nearly the
same more or less the samedifferent quite similardifferent completely the same
different totally the samedifferent slightly similardifferent and very similardifferent
To practice these expressions try describing just how alike or different people in your class are
Write ten sentences each comparing or contrasting two of your classmates In each sentence
you should use a phrase that expresses just how alike or different someone is
For example someone might write the following
Juan is slightly different in height than MinHo
Abdul and Hen are opposite in their speech volume
Comparative and superlative adjectives are great but donrsquot stop there when it
comes to broadening your English
8
W hy is it important to feel safe Well
safety brings confidence When I feel safe I
swear Im so happy I could run a mile I feel
confident enough to be myself even if thats
not how people like me I can sing if I want to
(read Adele car party with my bestie) I can
rock red lipstick if I want to I can walk around
with a messy bun and puffy I got 0 hours of
sleep face Of course people are going to
judge me thats just what people do Being
confident doesnt mean that people wont
judge you it just means that you wont care
about it Thats how I feel at home I feel
confident enough to not care about what
others think of me Home is not a house or a
cage it is the freedom that you get by feeling
loved safe and confident enough to be your
true self Some people feel at home in their
parents house some are at home only in their
own room others wherever their loved ones
are All of those are equally good and valid I
found it far away from where I live and thats
okay
T hink about what home means to you
Maybe you dont really have it figured out yet
but youll find it eventually Dont chase it
good things will gravitate to you no matter
how far they are Youll know when you find it
its the most comforting thing one can possibly
feel It doesnt matter where it is and it doesnt
matter what others tell you about it People
think Im nuts when I say that Im at home a
thousand kilometres away from home but I
couldnt be happier about it I could never
thank my best friend enough for teaching me
what home is Find people that you love find
what makes you feel good It might take some
time but I promise its worth it LL
D uring winter holidays I was lucky enough to
get to visit my best friend Vienna in Germany I
stayed there for one week and enjoyed every
second of it Unfortunately time passed in a blink
of an eye and I soon found myself at the airport
running to catch my flight home Whilst flying over
the Alps (and experiencing mild turbulence that
scared me to be honest) I thought about the fact
that I just didnt want to go home I kept thinking
about it and came to the conclusion ndash home is
simply not what most people think it is
I f you search for the word home in the
dictionary youll find out that home is a place
where one lives a residence Quite obvious right I
dont think so I think that home is wherever you
feel safe Actually home doesnt even have to be a
point on the map If you ask me its a feeling rather
than a place Home is a feeling you get when
youre surrounded by people who accept you for
who you are and who you want to be Youre home
when you can be the weirdest version of yourself
and there are still people who are going to love
you I found home in the streets of a city thats
approximately thousand kilometres away from
where I live Im not fluent in German but I smiled
at a stranger who kindly smiled back at me and I
suddenly found myself speaking the most beautiful
language there is Its all about the way you treat
people and how they respond to it I found home in
my best friends laughter every single day and the
way she hugged me when I had to leave I found it
in the strong heartbeat I felt when I got off the
plane and the urge to shout how happy I was I
found home in people walking through the streets
and talking about things Ill never know smiling
and being in their own little bubble I found home
in long walks with my best friend and her dog and
in a cup of our favourite tea Ive never felt safer in
my life
9
3rd and 4th grade
Bandur Mario Bubnjić Lucijana Čvek Saša Gelešić
Marija Harambašić Mihaela Holiček Ivan Kizma
Ivan Kralj Bistrički Ivan Najdert Tihana Palaić Josip
Petrović Antonija and Škalec Domagoj
225 applicants
16 teachers
18 Saturdays
2 project days
71 person passing the initial testing
62 members of the English Proficiency Centre
50 students receiving the Certificate of attendance
This in short is the English Proficiency Centre
from Bjelovar-bilogora County From Here I am
We are beautiful Pursuit of happiness and No
man is an island over Live to learn Live to
work To gym or not to gym Ratatouille
Travellers tales Law amp Order and Thrift shop to
the language of Ars artis f Geek and finally
People who shaped our world ndash namely William
Shakespeare we spent five months together
brushing up our language skills reading
listening speaking and writing
But more than that ndash much more than that ndash we
have made new friends and found people who
share our passion for learning and teaching
English We had fun lots of it And we have
discovered once again that when you have a
good reason to get up early even on Saturday
it is not such a hard thing to do
7th grade
Ban Petar Cvitanović Tajana Grgić Magdalena
Jurković Tony Klarić Luka Majurec Filip Marić
Lucija Pranjić Matko Šimunić Andrej and Šimunić
Dorotea
8th grade
Baltić Ana Bertek Danijela Dvoraček Elena
Erben Anja Filipović Matea Fortuna Dajana
Grgat Ivan Dorian Janošić Matko Katušić Krapec
Hana Kelava Domagoj Podsednik Iveta
Starčević Ena Štefan Karla and Totgergeli Luka
1st and 2nd grade
Blazonija Ramona Hanak Anita Horvat Filip
Huzjak Nikola Kravaica Romano Lekić Luka
Lovrić Lara Mađerić Lucija Milić Tea Pojatina Tin
Pokrivač Mihaela Skukan Dora Takač Anamaria
and Vlajić Dragana
10
400th anniversary of Shakespeares death which is being commemorated this spring all over the
world turned out to be the best possible way to close this yearrsquos English proficiency centre Though it
is not even nearly enough to grasp the Bardrsquos greatness we did our best and spent four lessons
discussing his life and work
We talked about key events in his life about his influence on literature all over the world and English
as a language We analysed the most famous quotes read and wrote sonnets watched clips from
some of his plays discussed characters and their destinies and had a chance to see a marvellous
presentation about his major tragedies comedies and histories created by Martina Cug
The grand finale was the ultimate William Shakespeare quiz prepared by Maja Ivanović Working in
groups students answered questions to show how much they have learned And they did well
showing that something may be rotten in the state of Denmark but surely is not in the English
proficiency centre
11
An efficient education system must ensure acquisition of knowledge skills and values necessary for a
successful life in modern society to every student Since this hasnrsquot been the case in Croatia a couple
of years ago experts in the field started working on the basis for change The basis was The Strategy of Education Science and
Technology which was adopted by the Croatian Parliament in October 2014
Then a little more than a year ago in February 2015 an expert task force for implementing the comprehensive curricular reform
for early primary and secondary education (one of the measures from The Strategy) was founded and began working The goal
of the curricular reform is to establish a coherent and efficient education system through comprehensive content and structural
changes including the following
~ transition from eight-year to nine-year elementary school
~ developing a new modern curriculum for each school subject putting learner in the focus
~ introduction of optional modules in grammar schools allowing students to choose and focus their learning based on their
interests and tertiary education aspirations
~ strengthening work-based learning in vocational education and training to ease studentsrsquo transition from education to work
~ giving more autonomy to teachers and schools implementing the curricula
430 experts from all levels of education and different parts of the country started preparing curricular documents in September
2015 Amongst them were 300 teachers engaged to work full-time on the curricular reform The entire work was organized in the
cloud there were more than 500 live and almost a thousand online meetings
The first part of the job was completed in January 2016 After the coordination processes (both horizontal and vertical) and the
consultation process with various experts apart from task forces for various fields the documents were edited and published You
can find them on wwwkurikulumhr IP
Eleven people were appointed as members of task force for developing the new EFL curriculum All of them
are teachers working in various schools ndash both elementary and high schools all over Croatia They have
created a document completely different from the current school programmes a document which steps
away from content-based prescriptions and moves to learning outcomes approach describing what the
learner is expected to know understand or be able to do as a result of the learning process
The concept on which the EFL curriculum is based are the three domains Communicative linguistic competence Intercultural
communicative competence and Language learning autonomy These three domains are the basis for all the learning outcomes
which include reception production interaction intercultural experiences language learning strategies creative and critical
thinking and media literacy
The curriculum also describes the aim of learning and teaching English teaching goals connection with other parts of the
curriculum learning environment the role of the teacher teaching materials and evaluation and assessment Learning process will
be arranged in a way to stimulate creativity and imagination develop learnersrsquo investigative and constructive skills as well as their
ability to think and reason logically reflect on outcomes and consequences and apply interesting and realistic contexts that are
personally meaningful to them All in all the curriculum for the 21st century aiming for excellence IP
12
4
April 4 is the day to give special attention to the 600000000 stray animals in the world
Dogs and cats should have a home But stray dogs and stray cats dont They lead poor
and miserable lives on the streets They are often illfed suffer from extreme heat or cold
and suffer from diseases Even more often theyre being chased around by hostile and
violent people
But we as people who care about animals can do something
April 4 is the day to show compassion take care and take action
for stray animals all over our planet
What can YOU do ~ make a strayfie
~ share the cause of 44 Stray Animals Day with
everybody you know
~ adopt a stray dog
~ ask your local animal shelter how you can help
~ support a stray animal organization
April 4th marks World Stray
Animals Day with those
dedicated to animal
welfare across the world
joining together and
continuing the push to turn
around the lives of stray
cats and dogs It is a global
issue that includes our own
home More than 600 million
mdash twice the population of
the United State of America
mdash stray animals worldwide
will go another day without
food shelter and love they
so desperately need and
deserve
5
10 Ways to Help End Pet Homelessness (from wwwonegreenplanetorg)
According to the Humane Society of the United States ldquo27 million healthy
adoptable cats and dogs hellip are put down in US shelters each yearrdquo Thatrsquos about
one animal every 11 seconds These statistics are staggering and wholly unacceptable nowadays especially
when there are so many ways to help reduce the number of pets that may become homeless or end up in
shelters Two main reasons for pets being in shelters are that guardians give them up not wanting to care for
these loyal pets anymore or animal control finds them alone on the street
But guess what There are a number of strategies available today that can help end pet
homelessness and you can help them succeed Just take a look at these 10 simple ways to help
1 Be a Lost Pet Advocate
If you find a lost pet try helping them get home first before dropping them off at an animal shelter Herersquos
something to think about mdash about 30 percent of lost dogs and 5 percent of cats will be reclaimed at shelters by
their guardians With your help shelters can be less overcrowded and more pets might be able to find their way
home faster
2 Say NO to Irresponsible Breeding
When you support anti-puppy mill initiatives you are working against irresponsible breeding and animal cruelty
Say no to this horrendous industry and avoid buying animals from pet stores
3 Go to Bat for Cats
About 70 percent of shelter cats end up being killed this statistic includes strays feral and surrendered cats Join a
local cat initiative to keep cats safe from being put down by promoting trap-neuter-return (TNR) for feral cats and
practicing responsible pet guardianship
4 Volunteer to Find Forever Families
In order for off-site pet adoption events and programs to be successful at finding homeless pets forever families
volunteers like you and organization partnerships are needed Such events partner with agencies with similar
animal welfare concerns to work together to make a difference
5 Opt to Adopt Not Shop
Unfortunately many pets bought from pet stores have health issues that can result in pain and suffering and even
death Save healthy homeless pets from being euthanized at overcrowded shelters by giving them a permanent
loving home Donrsquot buy a pet adopt
6 Fund an Awesome Rescue Group
Alongside animal shelters there are also rescue groups that rescue dogs cats rabbits birds and other small pets
that are breed or issue specific Shelters and rescue groups are essential in the long term care of animals By
funding animal rescue groups you can help homeless pets by providing them with needed veterinary care and
supplies during their adoption journey
7 Become a Foster Parent
Help to socialize and care for homeless animals by becoming a foster parent to a shelter pet Being a foster pet
parent will lead to fewer shelter pets being euthanized and gives pets more time to find their forever homes while
being in a temporary home filled with love
8 Be a Self-Appointed Pet Reporter
Lost and stray pets can get scared and run away from help and may end up reproducing with other street
animals thereby contributing to even more pet homelessness If you are unable to locate guardians on your own
or an animal appears threatening report any domestic animal you see roaming around your neighborhood to
animal control
9 Curb Pet Homelessness with Spaying and Neutering
The homeless pet population can be significantly reduced simply by having your adopted pets spayed or
neutered Not only will this stop overpopulation but fewer animals will accidentally be born only to be taken to
the shelter Spay and neuter is a proven way to reduce pet overpopulation and can ensure that every pet has a
family to love them If you already spay and neuter your companions then consider supporting local spayneuter
initiatives through volunteer and awareness-raising efforts or simply by making a monetary donation
10 Be a Responsible Pet Guardian
Donrsquot be a part of the problem by being an irresponsible pet guardian Be responsible by micro-chipping your
companions updating pet identification tags spaying or neutering and choosing to adopt a pet if and only if
you plan to care for them for the remainder of their life
6
1 Determiners
One of the simplest ways to show similarities and differences is through use of determiners Words
such as both all neither and none can show how two items are the same Consider the following
sentences
Both Asia and Europe are continents
Neither boy plays baseball
Using determiners to show similarities is basic grammar and even beginning students can use this
technique when they speak and write in English In fact this type of comparison is simpler than
comparison of adjectives To practice using determiners for comparisons work with a partner to
find as many similarities between your home culture and US UK culture as possible You should
express each similarity using a determiner that shows similarities
2 Adverbs and Adverb Phrases
Adverbs can also be used to show similarities and differences between items Consider the
following sentences
Jason is an optimist Jude is an optimist too
Jason and Jude have being an optimist in common
Itrsquos the phrase in common acting as an adverb in the sentence that shows the similarity between
Jason and Jude Other words and phrases that can show similarities in this way are as well also in
the same way so dolike and likewise
To practice using these phrases work with a partner One person make an observation about a
person or an object For example The filing cabinet is made of metal The second person must
find another person or thing that also has that quality Eg My car is made of metal The first person
then makes a sentence which shows the commonality between the two objects using an adverb
or adverb phrase Eg The filing cabinet is made of metal and your car is as well
3 Linking Expressions
When we evaluate two things using comparative adjectives we must necessarily put both of those
items in the same phrase For more advanced sentence structure you can use linking
expressions to compare and contrast in separate clauses Consider the following sentences
Asia is larger than Europe
Asia is huge whereas Europe is small
Both sentences express the difference in size for the two continents but the sentence structure is
very different The first sentence is a simple sentence with only one clause The second is a
complex sentence with one independent clause and one dependent clause Here is another
example
Jason is more optimistic than Jane
Jason is an optimist but Jane is a pessimist
The sentences in this pair do not have the exact meaning and are therefore not interchangeable
but both do show a contrast between the two people Again the second sentence is a complex
sentence whereas the first is a simple sentence
While and although are other linking expressions that can be used this way
Jason is an optimist while Jane is a pessimist
Although Jason is an optimist Jane is a pessimist
To practice this method of comparing and contrasting write several phrases on individual index
cards Each should use a linking expressions Shuffle the cards and read them to your partner and
ask them to complete the sentences logically You can take several answers for each phrase
7
4 Nouns and Verbs
Adjectives are great ways of comparing two items but you can also use nouns and verbs to
show similarities and differences When they are used for this purpose the nouns and verbs
imply similarities and differences as part of their meaning
Some verbs that compare and contrast are differ contrast compare vary change equate
equal match and parallel
Asia contrasts with Europe in size
Jason and Jude match in temperament
Some nouns that compare and contrast
are difference similarity contrast comparison variance dissimilaritychange resemblance like
ness parallel connection and match
The temperaments of Jason and Jude are a match
Asia and Europe have a dissimilarity in size
To practice using nouns and verbs to show similarities and differences start with several
sentences that use comparative adjectives written out on a worksheet then rewrite the
sentences using a noun or verb instead of the comparative adjective For example change
sentences as follows
Original sentence My apartment is bigger than his apartment
Revised sentence His and my apartment differ in size
5 Degrees of Similarity
Sometimes we want to do more than just say two things are alike or are different We want to
say just how different they are We want to know the degree of similarity or difference To
express these ideas English speakers use a word or phrase to modify the adjective they are
using The following phrases express degrees which can be combined with an adjective to say
just how similar or different two items are absolutely the samedifferent exactly the
same practically the sameopposite basically the samedifferentopposite nearly the
same more or less the samedifferent quite similardifferent completely the same
different totally the samedifferent slightly similardifferent and very similardifferent
To practice these expressions try describing just how alike or different people in your class are
Write ten sentences each comparing or contrasting two of your classmates In each sentence
you should use a phrase that expresses just how alike or different someone is
For example someone might write the following
Juan is slightly different in height than MinHo
Abdul and Hen are opposite in their speech volume
Comparative and superlative adjectives are great but donrsquot stop there when it
comes to broadening your English
8
W hy is it important to feel safe Well
safety brings confidence When I feel safe I
swear Im so happy I could run a mile I feel
confident enough to be myself even if thats
not how people like me I can sing if I want to
(read Adele car party with my bestie) I can
rock red lipstick if I want to I can walk around
with a messy bun and puffy I got 0 hours of
sleep face Of course people are going to
judge me thats just what people do Being
confident doesnt mean that people wont
judge you it just means that you wont care
about it Thats how I feel at home I feel
confident enough to not care about what
others think of me Home is not a house or a
cage it is the freedom that you get by feeling
loved safe and confident enough to be your
true self Some people feel at home in their
parents house some are at home only in their
own room others wherever their loved ones
are All of those are equally good and valid I
found it far away from where I live and thats
okay
T hink about what home means to you
Maybe you dont really have it figured out yet
but youll find it eventually Dont chase it
good things will gravitate to you no matter
how far they are Youll know when you find it
its the most comforting thing one can possibly
feel It doesnt matter where it is and it doesnt
matter what others tell you about it People
think Im nuts when I say that Im at home a
thousand kilometres away from home but I
couldnt be happier about it I could never
thank my best friend enough for teaching me
what home is Find people that you love find
what makes you feel good It might take some
time but I promise its worth it LL
D uring winter holidays I was lucky enough to
get to visit my best friend Vienna in Germany I
stayed there for one week and enjoyed every
second of it Unfortunately time passed in a blink
of an eye and I soon found myself at the airport
running to catch my flight home Whilst flying over
the Alps (and experiencing mild turbulence that
scared me to be honest) I thought about the fact
that I just didnt want to go home I kept thinking
about it and came to the conclusion ndash home is
simply not what most people think it is
I f you search for the word home in the
dictionary youll find out that home is a place
where one lives a residence Quite obvious right I
dont think so I think that home is wherever you
feel safe Actually home doesnt even have to be a
point on the map If you ask me its a feeling rather
than a place Home is a feeling you get when
youre surrounded by people who accept you for
who you are and who you want to be Youre home
when you can be the weirdest version of yourself
and there are still people who are going to love
you I found home in the streets of a city thats
approximately thousand kilometres away from
where I live Im not fluent in German but I smiled
at a stranger who kindly smiled back at me and I
suddenly found myself speaking the most beautiful
language there is Its all about the way you treat
people and how they respond to it I found home in
my best friends laughter every single day and the
way she hugged me when I had to leave I found it
in the strong heartbeat I felt when I got off the
plane and the urge to shout how happy I was I
found home in people walking through the streets
and talking about things Ill never know smiling
and being in their own little bubble I found home
in long walks with my best friend and her dog and
in a cup of our favourite tea Ive never felt safer in
my life
9
3rd and 4th grade
Bandur Mario Bubnjić Lucijana Čvek Saša Gelešić
Marija Harambašić Mihaela Holiček Ivan Kizma
Ivan Kralj Bistrički Ivan Najdert Tihana Palaić Josip
Petrović Antonija and Škalec Domagoj
225 applicants
16 teachers
18 Saturdays
2 project days
71 person passing the initial testing
62 members of the English Proficiency Centre
50 students receiving the Certificate of attendance
This in short is the English Proficiency Centre
from Bjelovar-bilogora County From Here I am
We are beautiful Pursuit of happiness and No
man is an island over Live to learn Live to
work To gym or not to gym Ratatouille
Travellers tales Law amp Order and Thrift shop to
the language of Ars artis f Geek and finally
People who shaped our world ndash namely William
Shakespeare we spent five months together
brushing up our language skills reading
listening speaking and writing
But more than that ndash much more than that ndash we
have made new friends and found people who
share our passion for learning and teaching
English We had fun lots of it And we have
discovered once again that when you have a
good reason to get up early even on Saturday
it is not such a hard thing to do
7th grade
Ban Petar Cvitanović Tajana Grgić Magdalena
Jurković Tony Klarić Luka Majurec Filip Marić
Lucija Pranjić Matko Šimunić Andrej and Šimunić
Dorotea
8th grade
Baltić Ana Bertek Danijela Dvoraček Elena
Erben Anja Filipović Matea Fortuna Dajana
Grgat Ivan Dorian Janošić Matko Katušić Krapec
Hana Kelava Domagoj Podsednik Iveta
Starčević Ena Štefan Karla and Totgergeli Luka
1st and 2nd grade
Blazonija Ramona Hanak Anita Horvat Filip
Huzjak Nikola Kravaica Romano Lekić Luka
Lovrić Lara Mađerić Lucija Milić Tea Pojatina Tin
Pokrivač Mihaela Skukan Dora Takač Anamaria
and Vlajić Dragana
10
400th anniversary of Shakespeares death which is being commemorated this spring all over the
world turned out to be the best possible way to close this yearrsquos English proficiency centre Though it
is not even nearly enough to grasp the Bardrsquos greatness we did our best and spent four lessons
discussing his life and work
We talked about key events in his life about his influence on literature all over the world and English
as a language We analysed the most famous quotes read and wrote sonnets watched clips from
some of his plays discussed characters and their destinies and had a chance to see a marvellous
presentation about his major tragedies comedies and histories created by Martina Cug
The grand finale was the ultimate William Shakespeare quiz prepared by Maja Ivanović Working in
groups students answered questions to show how much they have learned And they did well
showing that something may be rotten in the state of Denmark but surely is not in the English
proficiency centre
11
An efficient education system must ensure acquisition of knowledge skills and values necessary for a
successful life in modern society to every student Since this hasnrsquot been the case in Croatia a couple
of years ago experts in the field started working on the basis for change The basis was The Strategy of Education Science and
Technology which was adopted by the Croatian Parliament in October 2014
Then a little more than a year ago in February 2015 an expert task force for implementing the comprehensive curricular reform
for early primary and secondary education (one of the measures from The Strategy) was founded and began working The goal
of the curricular reform is to establish a coherent and efficient education system through comprehensive content and structural
changes including the following
~ transition from eight-year to nine-year elementary school
~ developing a new modern curriculum for each school subject putting learner in the focus
~ introduction of optional modules in grammar schools allowing students to choose and focus their learning based on their
interests and tertiary education aspirations
~ strengthening work-based learning in vocational education and training to ease studentsrsquo transition from education to work
~ giving more autonomy to teachers and schools implementing the curricula
430 experts from all levels of education and different parts of the country started preparing curricular documents in September
2015 Amongst them were 300 teachers engaged to work full-time on the curricular reform The entire work was organized in the
cloud there were more than 500 live and almost a thousand online meetings
The first part of the job was completed in January 2016 After the coordination processes (both horizontal and vertical) and the
consultation process with various experts apart from task forces for various fields the documents were edited and published You
can find them on wwwkurikulumhr IP
Eleven people were appointed as members of task force for developing the new EFL curriculum All of them
are teachers working in various schools ndash both elementary and high schools all over Croatia They have
created a document completely different from the current school programmes a document which steps
away from content-based prescriptions and moves to learning outcomes approach describing what the
learner is expected to know understand or be able to do as a result of the learning process
The concept on which the EFL curriculum is based are the three domains Communicative linguistic competence Intercultural
communicative competence and Language learning autonomy These three domains are the basis for all the learning outcomes
which include reception production interaction intercultural experiences language learning strategies creative and critical
thinking and media literacy
The curriculum also describes the aim of learning and teaching English teaching goals connection with other parts of the
curriculum learning environment the role of the teacher teaching materials and evaluation and assessment Learning process will
be arranged in a way to stimulate creativity and imagination develop learnersrsquo investigative and constructive skills as well as their
ability to think and reason logically reflect on outcomes and consequences and apply interesting and realistic contexts that are
personally meaningful to them All in all the curriculum for the 21st century aiming for excellence IP
12
5
10 Ways to Help End Pet Homelessness (from wwwonegreenplanetorg)
According to the Humane Society of the United States ldquo27 million healthy
adoptable cats and dogs hellip are put down in US shelters each yearrdquo Thatrsquos about
one animal every 11 seconds These statistics are staggering and wholly unacceptable nowadays especially
when there are so many ways to help reduce the number of pets that may become homeless or end up in
shelters Two main reasons for pets being in shelters are that guardians give them up not wanting to care for
these loyal pets anymore or animal control finds them alone on the street
But guess what There are a number of strategies available today that can help end pet
homelessness and you can help them succeed Just take a look at these 10 simple ways to help
1 Be a Lost Pet Advocate
If you find a lost pet try helping them get home first before dropping them off at an animal shelter Herersquos
something to think about mdash about 30 percent of lost dogs and 5 percent of cats will be reclaimed at shelters by
their guardians With your help shelters can be less overcrowded and more pets might be able to find their way
home faster
2 Say NO to Irresponsible Breeding
When you support anti-puppy mill initiatives you are working against irresponsible breeding and animal cruelty
Say no to this horrendous industry and avoid buying animals from pet stores
3 Go to Bat for Cats
About 70 percent of shelter cats end up being killed this statistic includes strays feral and surrendered cats Join a
local cat initiative to keep cats safe from being put down by promoting trap-neuter-return (TNR) for feral cats and
practicing responsible pet guardianship
4 Volunteer to Find Forever Families
In order for off-site pet adoption events and programs to be successful at finding homeless pets forever families
volunteers like you and organization partnerships are needed Such events partner with agencies with similar
animal welfare concerns to work together to make a difference
5 Opt to Adopt Not Shop
Unfortunately many pets bought from pet stores have health issues that can result in pain and suffering and even
death Save healthy homeless pets from being euthanized at overcrowded shelters by giving them a permanent
loving home Donrsquot buy a pet adopt
6 Fund an Awesome Rescue Group
Alongside animal shelters there are also rescue groups that rescue dogs cats rabbits birds and other small pets
that are breed or issue specific Shelters and rescue groups are essential in the long term care of animals By
funding animal rescue groups you can help homeless pets by providing them with needed veterinary care and
supplies during their adoption journey
7 Become a Foster Parent
Help to socialize and care for homeless animals by becoming a foster parent to a shelter pet Being a foster pet
parent will lead to fewer shelter pets being euthanized and gives pets more time to find their forever homes while
being in a temporary home filled with love
8 Be a Self-Appointed Pet Reporter
Lost and stray pets can get scared and run away from help and may end up reproducing with other street
animals thereby contributing to even more pet homelessness If you are unable to locate guardians on your own
or an animal appears threatening report any domestic animal you see roaming around your neighborhood to
animal control
9 Curb Pet Homelessness with Spaying and Neutering
The homeless pet population can be significantly reduced simply by having your adopted pets spayed or
neutered Not only will this stop overpopulation but fewer animals will accidentally be born only to be taken to
the shelter Spay and neuter is a proven way to reduce pet overpopulation and can ensure that every pet has a
family to love them If you already spay and neuter your companions then consider supporting local spayneuter
initiatives through volunteer and awareness-raising efforts or simply by making a monetary donation
10 Be a Responsible Pet Guardian
Donrsquot be a part of the problem by being an irresponsible pet guardian Be responsible by micro-chipping your
companions updating pet identification tags spaying or neutering and choosing to adopt a pet if and only if
you plan to care for them for the remainder of their life
6
1 Determiners
One of the simplest ways to show similarities and differences is through use of determiners Words
such as both all neither and none can show how two items are the same Consider the following
sentences
Both Asia and Europe are continents
Neither boy plays baseball
Using determiners to show similarities is basic grammar and even beginning students can use this
technique when they speak and write in English In fact this type of comparison is simpler than
comparison of adjectives To practice using determiners for comparisons work with a partner to
find as many similarities between your home culture and US UK culture as possible You should
express each similarity using a determiner that shows similarities
2 Adverbs and Adverb Phrases
Adverbs can also be used to show similarities and differences between items Consider the
following sentences
Jason is an optimist Jude is an optimist too
Jason and Jude have being an optimist in common
Itrsquos the phrase in common acting as an adverb in the sentence that shows the similarity between
Jason and Jude Other words and phrases that can show similarities in this way are as well also in
the same way so dolike and likewise
To practice using these phrases work with a partner One person make an observation about a
person or an object For example The filing cabinet is made of metal The second person must
find another person or thing that also has that quality Eg My car is made of metal The first person
then makes a sentence which shows the commonality between the two objects using an adverb
or adverb phrase Eg The filing cabinet is made of metal and your car is as well
3 Linking Expressions
When we evaluate two things using comparative adjectives we must necessarily put both of those
items in the same phrase For more advanced sentence structure you can use linking
expressions to compare and contrast in separate clauses Consider the following sentences
Asia is larger than Europe
Asia is huge whereas Europe is small
Both sentences express the difference in size for the two continents but the sentence structure is
very different The first sentence is a simple sentence with only one clause The second is a
complex sentence with one independent clause and one dependent clause Here is another
example
Jason is more optimistic than Jane
Jason is an optimist but Jane is a pessimist
The sentences in this pair do not have the exact meaning and are therefore not interchangeable
but both do show a contrast between the two people Again the second sentence is a complex
sentence whereas the first is a simple sentence
While and although are other linking expressions that can be used this way
Jason is an optimist while Jane is a pessimist
Although Jason is an optimist Jane is a pessimist
To practice this method of comparing and contrasting write several phrases on individual index
cards Each should use a linking expressions Shuffle the cards and read them to your partner and
ask them to complete the sentences logically You can take several answers for each phrase
7
4 Nouns and Verbs
Adjectives are great ways of comparing two items but you can also use nouns and verbs to
show similarities and differences When they are used for this purpose the nouns and verbs
imply similarities and differences as part of their meaning
Some verbs that compare and contrast are differ contrast compare vary change equate
equal match and parallel
Asia contrasts with Europe in size
Jason and Jude match in temperament
Some nouns that compare and contrast
are difference similarity contrast comparison variance dissimilaritychange resemblance like
ness parallel connection and match
The temperaments of Jason and Jude are a match
Asia and Europe have a dissimilarity in size
To practice using nouns and verbs to show similarities and differences start with several
sentences that use comparative adjectives written out on a worksheet then rewrite the
sentences using a noun or verb instead of the comparative adjective For example change
sentences as follows
Original sentence My apartment is bigger than his apartment
Revised sentence His and my apartment differ in size
5 Degrees of Similarity
Sometimes we want to do more than just say two things are alike or are different We want to
say just how different they are We want to know the degree of similarity or difference To
express these ideas English speakers use a word or phrase to modify the adjective they are
using The following phrases express degrees which can be combined with an adjective to say
just how similar or different two items are absolutely the samedifferent exactly the
same practically the sameopposite basically the samedifferentopposite nearly the
same more or less the samedifferent quite similardifferent completely the same
different totally the samedifferent slightly similardifferent and very similardifferent
To practice these expressions try describing just how alike or different people in your class are
Write ten sentences each comparing or contrasting two of your classmates In each sentence
you should use a phrase that expresses just how alike or different someone is
For example someone might write the following
Juan is slightly different in height than MinHo
Abdul and Hen are opposite in their speech volume
Comparative and superlative adjectives are great but donrsquot stop there when it
comes to broadening your English
8
W hy is it important to feel safe Well
safety brings confidence When I feel safe I
swear Im so happy I could run a mile I feel
confident enough to be myself even if thats
not how people like me I can sing if I want to
(read Adele car party with my bestie) I can
rock red lipstick if I want to I can walk around
with a messy bun and puffy I got 0 hours of
sleep face Of course people are going to
judge me thats just what people do Being
confident doesnt mean that people wont
judge you it just means that you wont care
about it Thats how I feel at home I feel
confident enough to not care about what
others think of me Home is not a house or a
cage it is the freedom that you get by feeling
loved safe and confident enough to be your
true self Some people feel at home in their
parents house some are at home only in their
own room others wherever their loved ones
are All of those are equally good and valid I
found it far away from where I live and thats
okay
T hink about what home means to you
Maybe you dont really have it figured out yet
but youll find it eventually Dont chase it
good things will gravitate to you no matter
how far they are Youll know when you find it
its the most comforting thing one can possibly
feel It doesnt matter where it is and it doesnt
matter what others tell you about it People
think Im nuts when I say that Im at home a
thousand kilometres away from home but I
couldnt be happier about it I could never
thank my best friend enough for teaching me
what home is Find people that you love find
what makes you feel good It might take some
time but I promise its worth it LL
D uring winter holidays I was lucky enough to
get to visit my best friend Vienna in Germany I
stayed there for one week and enjoyed every
second of it Unfortunately time passed in a blink
of an eye and I soon found myself at the airport
running to catch my flight home Whilst flying over
the Alps (and experiencing mild turbulence that
scared me to be honest) I thought about the fact
that I just didnt want to go home I kept thinking
about it and came to the conclusion ndash home is
simply not what most people think it is
I f you search for the word home in the
dictionary youll find out that home is a place
where one lives a residence Quite obvious right I
dont think so I think that home is wherever you
feel safe Actually home doesnt even have to be a
point on the map If you ask me its a feeling rather
than a place Home is a feeling you get when
youre surrounded by people who accept you for
who you are and who you want to be Youre home
when you can be the weirdest version of yourself
and there are still people who are going to love
you I found home in the streets of a city thats
approximately thousand kilometres away from
where I live Im not fluent in German but I smiled
at a stranger who kindly smiled back at me and I
suddenly found myself speaking the most beautiful
language there is Its all about the way you treat
people and how they respond to it I found home in
my best friends laughter every single day and the
way she hugged me when I had to leave I found it
in the strong heartbeat I felt when I got off the
plane and the urge to shout how happy I was I
found home in people walking through the streets
and talking about things Ill never know smiling
and being in their own little bubble I found home
in long walks with my best friend and her dog and
in a cup of our favourite tea Ive never felt safer in
my life
9
3rd and 4th grade
Bandur Mario Bubnjić Lucijana Čvek Saša Gelešić
Marija Harambašić Mihaela Holiček Ivan Kizma
Ivan Kralj Bistrički Ivan Najdert Tihana Palaić Josip
Petrović Antonija and Škalec Domagoj
225 applicants
16 teachers
18 Saturdays
2 project days
71 person passing the initial testing
62 members of the English Proficiency Centre
50 students receiving the Certificate of attendance
This in short is the English Proficiency Centre
from Bjelovar-bilogora County From Here I am
We are beautiful Pursuit of happiness and No
man is an island over Live to learn Live to
work To gym or not to gym Ratatouille
Travellers tales Law amp Order and Thrift shop to
the language of Ars artis f Geek and finally
People who shaped our world ndash namely William
Shakespeare we spent five months together
brushing up our language skills reading
listening speaking and writing
But more than that ndash much more than that ndash we
have made new friends and found people who
share our passion for learning and teaching
English We had fun lots of it And we have
discovered once again that when you have a
good reason to get up early even on Saturday
it is not such a hard thing to do
7th grade
Ban Petar Cvitanović Tajana Grgić Magdalena
Jurković Tony Klarić Luka Majurec Filip Marić
Lucija Pranjić Matko Šimunić Andrej and Šimunić
Dorotea
8th grade
Baltić Ana Bertek Danijela Dvoraček Elena
Erben Anja Filipović Matea Fortuna Dajana
Grgat Ivan Dorian Janošić Matko Katušić Krapec
Hana Kelava Domagoj Podsednik Iveta
Starčević Ena Štefan Karla and Totgergeli Luka
1st and 2nd grade
Blazonija Ramona Hanak Anita Horvat Filip
Huzjak Nikola Kravaica Romano Lekić Luka
Lovrić Lara Mađerić Lucija Milić Tea Pojatina Tin
Pokrivač Mihaela Skukan Dora Takač Anamaria
and Vlajić Dragana
10
400th anniversary of Shakespeares death which is being commemorated this spring all over the
world turned out to be the best possible way to close this yearrsquos English proficiency centre Though it
is not even nearly enough to grasp the Bardrsquos greatness we did our best and spent four lessons
discussing his life and work
We talked about key events in his life about his influence on literature all over the world and English
as a language We analysed the most famous quotes read and wrote sonnets watched clips from
some of his plays discussed characters and their destinies and had a chance to see a marvellous
presentation about his major tragedies comedies and histories created by Martina Cug
The grand finale was the ultimate William Shakespeare quiz prepared by Maja Ivanović Working in
groups students answered questions to show how much they have learned And they did well
showing that something may be rotten in the state of Denmark but surely is not in the English
proficiency centre
11
An efficient education system must ensure acquisition of knowledge skills and values necessary for a
successful life in modern society to every student Since this hasnrsquot been the case in Croatia a couple
of years ago experts in the field started working on the basis for change The basis was The Strategy of Education Science and
Technology which was adopted by the Croatian Parliament in October 2014
Then a little more than a year ago in February 2015 an expert task force for implementing the comprehensive curricular reform
for early primary and secondary education (one of the measures from The Strategy) was founded and began working The goal
of the curricular reform is to establish a coherent and efficient education system through comprehensive content and structural
changes including the following
~ transition from eight-year to nine-year elementary school
~ developing a new modern curriculum for each school subject putting learner in the focus
~ introduction of optional modules in grammar schools allowing students to choose and focus their learning based on their
interests and tertiary education aspirations
~ strengthening work-based learning in vocational education and training to ease studentsrsquo transition from education to work
~ giving more autonomy to teachers and schools implementing the curricula
430 experts from all levels of education and different parts of the country started preparing curricular documents in September
2015 Amongst them were 300 teachers engaged to work full-time on the curricular reform The entire work was organized in the
cloud there were more than 500 live and almost a thousand online meetings
The first part of the job was completed in January 2016 After the coordination processes (both horizontal and vertical) and the
consultation process with various experts apart from task forces for various fields the documents were edited and published You
can find them on wwwkurikulumhr IP
Eleven people were appointed as members of task force for developing the new EFL curriculum All of them
are teachers working in various schools ndash both elementary and high schools all over Croatia They have
created a document completely different from the current school programmes a document which steps
away from content-based prescriptions and moves to learning outcomes approach describing what the
learner is expected to know understand or be able to do as a result of the learning process
The concept on which the EFL curriculum is based are the three domains Communicative linguistic competence Intercultural
communicative competence and Language learning autonomy These three domains are the basis for all the learning outcomes
which include reception production interaction intercultural experiences language learning strategies creative and critical
thinking and media literacy
The curriculum also describes the aim of learning and teaching English teaching goals connection with other parts of the
curriculum learning environment the role of the teacher teaching materials and evaluation and assessment Learning process will
be arranged in a way to stimulate creativity and imagination develop learnersrsquo investigative and constructive skills as well as their
ability to think and reason logically reflect on outcomes and consequences and apply interesting and realistic contexts that are
personally meaningful to them All in all the curriculum for the 21st century aiming for excellence IP
12
6
1 Determiners
One of the simplest ways to show similarities and differences is through use of determiners Words
such as both all neither and none can show how two items are the same Consider the following
sentences
Both Asia and Europe are continents
Neither boy plays baseball
Using determiners to show similarities is basic grammar and even beginning students can use this
technique when they speak and write in English In fact this type of comparison is simpler than
comparison of adjectives To practice using determiners for comparisons work with a partner to
find as many similarities between your home culture and US UK culture as possible You should
express each similarity using a determiner that shows similarities
2 Adverbs and Adverb Phrases
Adverbs can also be used to show similarities and differences between items Consider the
following sentences
Jason is an optimist Jude is an optimist too
Jason and Jude have being an optimist in common
Itrsquos the phrase in common acting as an adverb in the sentence that shows the similarity between
Jason and Jude Other words and phrases that can show similarities in this way are as well also in
the same way so dolike and likewise
To practice using these phrases work with a partner One person make an observation about a
person or an object For example The filing cabinet is made of metal The second person must
find another person or thing that also has that quality Eg My car is made of metal The first person
then makes a sentence which shows the commonality between the two objects using an adverb
or adverb phrase Eg The filing cabinet is made of metal and your car is as well
3 Linking Expressions
When we evaluate two things using comparative adjectives we must necessarily put both of those
items in the same phrase For more advanced sentence structure you can use linking
expressions to compare and contrast in separate clauses Consider the following sentences
Asia is larger than Europe
Asia is huge whereas Europe is small
Both sentences express the difference in size for the two continents but the sentence structure is
very different The first sentence is a simple sentence with only one clause The second is a
complex sentence with one independent clause and one dependent clause Here is another
example
Jason is more optimistic than Jane
Jason is an optimist but Jane is a pessimist
The sentences in this pair do not have the exact meaning and are therefore not interchangeable
but both do show a contrast between the two people Again the second sentence is a complex
sentence whereas the first is a simple sentence
While and although are other linking expressions that can be used this way
Jason is an optimist while Jane is a pessimist
Although Jason is an optimist Jane is a pessimist
To practice this method of comparing and contrasting write several phrases on individual index
cards Each should use a linking expressions Shuffle the cards and read them to your partner and
ask them to complete the sentences logically You can take several answers for each phrase
7
4 Nouns and Verbs
Adjectives are great ways of comparing two items but you can also use nouns and verbs to
show similarities and differences When they are used for this purpose the nouns and verbs
imply similarities and differences as part of their meaning
Some verbs that compare and contrast are differ contrast compare vary change equate
equal match and parallel
Asia contrasts with Europe in size
Jason and Jude match in temperament
Some nouns that compare and contrast
are difference similarity contrast comparison variance dissimilaritychange resemblance like
ness parallel connection and match
The temperaments of Jason and Jude are a match
Asia and Europe have a dissimilarity in size
To practice using nouns and verbs to show similarities and differences start with several
sentences that use comparative adjectives written out on a worksheet then rewrite the
sentences using a noun or verb instead of the comparative adjective For example change
sentences as follows
Original sentence My apartment is bigger than his apartment
Revised sentence His and my apartment differ in size
5 Degrees of Similarity
Sometimes we want to do more than just say two things are alike or are different We want to
say just how different they are We want to know the degree of similarity or difference To
express these ideas English speakers use a word or phrase to modify the adjective they are
using The following phrases express degrees which can be combined with an adjective to say
just how similar or different two items are absolutely the samedifferent exactly the
same practically the sameopposite basically the samedifferentopposite nearly the
same more or less the samedifferent quite similardifferent completely the same
different totally the samedifferent slightly similardifferent and very similardifferent
To practice these expressions try describing just how alike or different people in your class are
Write ten sentences each comparing or contrasting two of your classmates In each sentence
you should use a phrase that expresses just how alike or different someone is
For example someone might write the following
Juan is slightly different in height than MinHo
Abdul and Hen are opposite in their speech volume
Comparative and superlative adjectives are great but donrsquot stop there when it
comes to broadening your English
8
W hy is it important to feel safe Well
safety brings confidence When I feel safe I
swear Im so happy I could run a mile I feel
confident enough to be myself even if thats
not how people like me I can sing if I want to
(read Adele car party with my bestie) I can
rock red lipstick if I want to I can walk around
with a messy bun and puffy I got 0 hours of
sleep face Of course people are going to
judge me thats just what people do Being
confident doesnt mean that people wont
judge you it just means that you wont care
about it Thats how I feel at home I feel
confident enough to not care about what
others think of me Home is not a house or a
cage it is the freedom that you get by feeling
loved safe and confident enough to be your
true self Some people feel at home in their
parents house some are at home only in their
own room others wherever their loved ones
are All of those are equally good and valid I
found it far away from where I live and thats
okay
T hink about what home means to you
Maybe you dont really have it figured out yet
but youll find it eventually Dont chase it
good things will gravitate to you no matter
how far they are Youll know when you find it
its the most comforting thing one can possibly
feel It doesnt matter where it is and it doesnt
matter what others tell you about it People
think Im nuts when I say that Im at home a
thousand kilometres away from home but I
couldnt be happier about it I could never
thank my best friend enough for teaching me
what home is Find people that you love find
what makes you feel good It might take some
time but I promise its worth it LL
D uring winter holidays I was lucky enough to
get to visit my best friend Vienna in Germany I
stayed there for one week and enjoyed every
second of it Unfortunately time passed in a blink
of an eye and I soon found myself at the airport
running to catch my flight home Whilst flying over
the Alps (and experiencing mild turbulence that
scared me to be honest) I thought about the fact
that I just didnt want to go home I kept thinking
about it and came to the conclusion ndash home is
simply not what most people think it is
I f you search for the word home in the
dictionary youll find out that home is a place
where one lives a residence Quite obvious right I
dont think so I think that home is wherever you
feel safe Actually home doesnt even have to be a
point on the map If you ask me its a feeling rather
than a place Home is a feeling you get when
youre surrounded by people who accept you for
who you are and who you want to be Youre home
when you can be the weirdest version of yourself
and there are still people who are going to love
you I found home in the streets of a city thats
approximately thousand kilometres away from
where I live Im not fluent in German but I smiled
at a stranger who kindly smiled back at me and I
suddenly found myself speaking the most beautiful
language there is Its all about the way you treat
people and how they respond to it I found home in
my best friends laughter every single day and the
way she hugged me when I had to leave I found it
in the strong heartbeat I felt when I got off the
plane and the urge to shout how happy I was I
found home in people walking through the streets
and talking about things Ill never know smiling
and being in their own little bubble I found home
in long walks with my best friend and her dog and
in a cup of our favourite tea Ive never felt safer in
my life
9
3rd and 4th grade
Bandur Mario Bubnjić Lucijana Čvek Saša Gelešić
Marija Harambašić Mihaela Holiček Ivan Kizma
Ivan Kralj Bistrički Ivan Najdert Tihana Palaić Josip
Petrović Antonija and Škalec Domagoj
225 applicants
16 teachers
18 Saturdays
2 project days
71 person passing the initial testing
62 members of the English Proficiency Centre
50 students receiving the Certificate of attendance
This in short is the English Proficiency Centre
from Bjelovar-bilogora County From Here I am
We are beautiful Pursuit of happiness and No
man is an island over Live to learn Live to
work To gym or not to gym Ratatouille
Travellers tales Law amp Order and Thrift shop to
the language of Ars artis f Geek and finally
People who shaped our world ndash namely William
Shakespeare we spent five months together
brushing up our language skills reading
listening speaking and writing
But more than that ndash much more than that ndash we
have made new friends and found people who
share our passion for learning and teaching
English We had fun lots of it And we have
discovered once again that when you have a
good reason to get up early even on Saturday
it is not such a hard thing to do
7th grade
Ban Petar Cvitanović Tajana Grgić Magdalena
Jurković Tony Klarić Luka Majurec Filip Marić
Lucija Pranjić Matko Šimunić Andrej and Šimunić
Dorotea
8th grade
Baltić Ana Bertek Danijela Dvoraček Elena
Erben Anja Filipović Matea Fortuna Dajana
Grgat Ivan Dorian Janošić Matko Katušić Krapec
Hana Kelava Domagoj Podsednik Iveta
Starčević Ena Štefan Karla and Totgergeli Luka
1st and 2nd grade
Blazonija Ramona Hanak Anita Horvat Filip
Huzjak Nikola Kravaica Romano Lekić Luka
Lovrić Lara Mađerić Lucija Milić Tea Pojatina Tin
Pokrivač Mihaela Skukan Dora Takač Anamaria
and Vlajić Dragana
10
400th anniversary of Shakespeares death which is being commemorated this spring all over the
world turned out to be the best possible way to close this yearrsquos English proficiency centre Though it
is not even nearly enough to grasp the Bardrsquos greatness we did our best and spent four lessons
discussing his life and work
We talked about key events in his life about his influence on literature all over the world and English
as a language We analysed the most famous quotes read and wrote sonnets watched clips from
some of his plays discussed characters and their destinies and had a chance to see a marvellous
presentation about his major tragedies comedies and histories created by Martina Cug
The grand finale was the ultimate William Shakespeare quiz prepared by Maja Ivanović Working in
groups students answered questions to show how much they have learned And they did well
showing that something may be rotten in the state of Denmark but surely is not in the English
proficiency centre
11
An efficient education system must ensure acquisition of knowledge skills and values necessary for a
successful life in modern society to every student Since this hasnrsquot been the case in Croatia a couple
of years ago experts in the field started working on the basis for change The basis was The Strategy of Education Science and
Technology which was adopted by the Croatian Parliament in October 2014
Then a little more than a year ago in February 2015 an expert task force for implementing the comprehensive curricular reform
for early primary and secondary education (one of the measures from The Strategy) was founded and began working The goal
of the curricular reform is to establish a coherent and efficient education system through comprehensive content and structural
changes including the following
~ transition from eight-year to nine-year elementary school
~ developing a new modern curriculum for each school subject putting learner in the focus
~ introduction of optional modules in grammar schools allowing students to choose and focus their learning based on their
interests and tertiary education aspirations
~ strengthening work-based learning in vocational education and training to ease studentsrsquo transition from education to work
~ giving more autonomy to teachers and schools implementing the curricula
430 experts from all levels of education and different parts of the country started preparing curricular documents in September
2015 Amongst them were 300 teachers engaged to work full-time on the curricular reform The entire work was organized in the
cloud there were more than 500 live and almost a thousand online meetings
The first part of the job was completed in January 2016 After the coordination processes (both horizontal and vertical) and the
consultation process with various experts apart from task forces for various fields the documents were edited and published You
can find them on wwwkurikulumhr IP
Eleven people were appointed as members of task force for developing the new EFL curriculum All of them
are teachers working in various schools ndash both elementary and high schools all over Croatia They have
created a document completely different from the current school programmes a document which steps
away from content-based prescriptions and moves to learning outcomes approach describing what the
learner is expected to know understand or be able to do as a result of the learning process
The concept on which the EFL curriculum is based are the three domains Communicative linguistic competence Intercultural
communicative competence and Language learning autonomy These three domains are the basis for all the learning outcomes
which include reception production interaction intercultural experiences language learning strategies creative and critical
thinking and media literacy
The curriculum also describes the aim of learning and teaching English teaching goals connection with other parts of the
curriculum learning environment the role of the teacher teaching materials and evaluation and assessment Learning process will
be arranged in a way to stimulate creativity and imagination develop learnersrsquo investigative and constructive skills as well as their
ability to think and reason logically reflect on outcomes and consequences and apply interesting and realistic contexts that are
personally meaningful to them All in all the curriculum for the 21st century aiming for excellence IP
12
7
4 Nouns and Verbs
Adjectives are great ways of comparing two items but you can also use nouns and verbs to
show similarities and differences When they are used for this purpose the nouns and verbs
imply similarities and differences as part of their meaning
Some verbs that compare and contrast are differ contrast compare vary change equate
equal match and parallel
Asia contrasts with Europe in size
Jason and Jude match in temperament
Some nouns that compare and contrast
are difference similarity contrast comparison variance dissimilaritychange resemblance like
ness parallel connection and match
The temperaments of Jason and Jude are a match
Asia and Europe have a dissimilarity in size
To practice using nouns and verbs to show similarities and differences start with several
sentences that use comparative adjectives written out on a worksheet then rewrite the
sentences using a noun or verb instead of the comparative adjective For example change
sentences as follows
Original sentence My apartment is bigger than his apartment
Revised sentence His and my apartment differ in size
5 Degrees of Similarity
Sometimes we want to do more than just say two things are alike or are different We want to
say just how different they are We want to know the degree of similarity or difference To
express these ideas English speakers use a word or phrase to modify the adjective they are
using The following phrases express degrees which can be combined with an adjective to say
just how similar or different two items are absolutely the samedifferent exactly the
same practically the sameopposite basically the samedifferentopposite nearly the
same more or less the samedifferent quite similardifferent completely the same
different totally the samedifferent slightly similardifferent and very similardifferent
To practice these expressions try describing just how alike or different people in your class are
Write ten sentences each comparing or contrasting two of your classmates In each sentence
you should use a phrase that expresses just how alike or different someone is
For example someone might write the following
Juan is slightly different in height than MinHo
Abdul and Hen are opposite in their speech volume
Comparative and superlative adjectives are great but donrsquot stop there when it
comes to broadening your English
8
W hy is it important to feel safe Well
safety brings confidence When I feel safe I
swear Im so happy I could run a mile I feel
confident enough to be myself even if thats
not how people like me I can sing if I want to
(read Adele car party with my bestie) I can
rock red lipstick if I want to I can walk around
with a messy bun and puffy I got 0 hours of
sleep face Of course people are going to
judge me thats just what people do Being
confident doesnt mean that people wont
judge you it just means that you wont care
about it Thats how I feel at home I feel
confident enough to not care about what
others think of me Home is not a house or a
cage it is the freedom that you get by feeling
loved safe and confident enough to be your
true self Some people feel at home in their
parents house some are at home only in their
own room others wherever their loved ones
are All of those are equally good and valid I
found it far away from where I live and thats
okay
T hink about what home means to you
Maybe you dont really have it figured out yet
but youll find it eventually Dont chase it
good things will gravitate to you no matter
how far they are Youll know when you find it
its the most comforting thing one can possibly
feel It doesnt matter where it is and it doesnt
matter what others tell you about it People
think Im nuts when I say that Im at home a
thousand kilometres away from home but I
couldnt be happier about it I could never
thank my best friend enough for teaching me
what home is Find people that you love find
what makes you feel good It might take some
time but I promise its worth it LL
D uring winter holidays I was lucky enough to
get to visit my best friend Vienna in Germany I
stayed there for one week and enjoyed every
second of it Unfortunately time passed in a blink
of an eye and I soon found myself at the airport
running to catch my flight home Whilst flying over
the Alps (and experiencing mild turbulence that
scared me to be honest) I thought about the fact
that I just didnt want to go home I kept thinking
about it and came to the conclusion ndash home is
simply not what most people think it is
I f you search for the word home in the
dictionary youll find out that home is a place
where one lives a residence Quite obvious right I
dont think so I think that home is wherever you
feel safe Actually home doesnt even have to be a
point on the map If you ask me its a feeling rather
than a place Home is a feeling you get when
youre surrounded by people who accept you for
who you are and who you want to be Youre home
when you can be the weirdest version of yourself
and there are still people who are going to love
you I found home in the streets of a city thats
approximately thousand kilometres away from
where I live Im not fluent in German but I smiled
at a stranger who kindly smiled back at me and I
suddenly found myself speaking the most beautiful
language there is Its all about the way you treat
people and how they respond to it I found home in
my best friends laughter every single day and the
way she hugged me when I had to leave I found it
in the strong heartbeat I felt when I got off the
plane and the urge to shout how happy I was I
found home in people walking through the streets
and talking about things Ill never know smiling
and being in their own little bubble I found home
in long walks with my best friend and her dog and
in a cup of our favourite tea Ive never felt safer in
my life
9
3rd and 4th grade
Bandur Mario Bubnjić Lucijana Čvek Saša Gelešić
Marija Harambašić Mihaela Holiček Ivan Kizma
Ivan Kralj Bistrički Ivan Najdert Tihana Palaić Josip
Petrović Antonija and Škalec Domagoj
225 applicants
16 teachers
18 Saturdays
2 project days
71 person passing the initial testing
62 members of the English Proficiency Centre
50 students receiving the Certificate of attendance
This in short is the English Proficiency Centre
from Bjelovar-bilogora County From Here I am
We are beautiful Pursuit of happiness and No
man is an island over Live to learn Live to
work To gym or not to gym Ratatouille
Travellers tales Law amp Order and Thrift shop to
the language of Ars artis f Geek and finally
People who shaped our world ndash namely William
Shakespeare we spent five months together
brushing up our language skills reading
listening speaking and writing
But more than that ndash much more than that ndash we
have made new friends and found people who
share our passion for learning and teaching
English We had fun lots of it And we have
discovered once again that when you have a
good reason to get up early even on Saturday
it is not such a hard thing to do
7th grade
Ban Petar Cvitanović Tajana Grgić Magdalena
Jurković Tony Klarić Luka Majurec Filip Marić
Lucija Pranjić Matko Šimunić Andrej and Šimunić
Dorotea
8th grade
Baltić Ana Bertek Danijela Dvoraček Elena
Erben Anja Filipović Matea Fortuna Dajana
Grgat Ivan Dorian Janošić Matko Katušić Krapec
Hana Kelava Domagoj Podsednik Iveta
Starčević Ena Štefan Karla and Totgergeli Luka
1st and 2nd grade
Blazonija Ramona Hanak Anita Horvat Filip
Huzjak Nikola Kravaica Romano Lekić Luka
Lovrić Lara Mađerić Lucija Milić Tea Pojatina Tin
Pokrivač Mihaela Skukan Dora Takač Anamaria
and Vlajić Dragana
10
400th anniversary of Shakespeares death which is being commemorated this spring all over the
world turned out to be the best possible way to close this yearrsquos English proficiency centre Though it
is not even nearly enough to grasp the Bardrsquos greatness we did our best and spent four lessons
discussing his life and work
We talked about key events in his life about his influence on literature all over the world and English
as a language We analysed the most famous quotes read and wrote sonnets watched clips from
some of his plays discussed characters and their destinies and had a chance to see a marvellous
presentation about his major tragedies comedies and histories created by Martina Cug
The grand finale was the ultimate William Shakespeare quiz prepared by Maja Ivanović Working in
groups students answered questions to show how much they have learned And they did well
showing that something may be rotten in the state of Denmark but surely is not in the English
proficiency centre
11
An efficient education system must ensure acquisition of knowledge skills and values necessary for a
successful life in modern society to every student Since this hasnrsquot been the case in Croatia a couple
of years ago experts in the field started working on the basis for change The basis was The Strategy of Education Science and
Technology which was adopted by the Croatian Parliament in October 2014
Then a little more than a year ago in February 2015 an expert task force for implementing the comprehensive curricular reform
for early primary and secondary education (one of the measures from The Strategy) was founded and began working The goal
of the curricular reform is to establish a coherent and efficient education system through comprehensive content and structural
changes including the following
~ transition from eight-year to nine-year elementary school
~ developing a new modern curriculum for each school subject putting learner in the focus
~ introduction of optional modules in grammar schools allowing students to choose and focus their learning based on their
interests and tertiary education aspirations
~ strengthening work-based learning in vocational education and training to ease studentsrsquo transition from education to work
~ giving more autonomy to teachers and schools implementing the curricula
430 experts from all levels of education and different parts of the country started preparing curricular documents in September
2015 Amongst them were 300 teachers engaged to work full-time on the curricular reform The entire work was organized in the
cloud there were more than 500 live and almost a thousand online meetings
The first part of the job was completed in January 2016 After the coordination processes (both horizontal and vertical) and the
consultation process with various experts apart from task forces for various fields the documents were edited and published You
can find them on wwwkurikulumhr IP
Eleven people were appointed as members of task force for developing the new EFL curriculum All of them
are teachers working in various schools ndash both elementary and high schools all over Croatia They have
created a document completely different from the current school programmes a document which steps
away from content-based prescriptions and moves to learning outcomes approach describing what the
learner is expected to know understand or be able to do as a result of the learning process
The concept on which the EFL curriculum is based are the three domains Communicative linguistic competence Intercultural
communicative competence and Language learning autonomy These three domains are the basis for all the learning outcomes
which include reception production interaction intercultural experiences language learning strategies creative and critical
thinking and media literacy
The curriculum also describes the aim of learning and teaching English teaching goals connection with other parts of the
curriculum learning environment the role of the teacher teaching materials and evaluation and assessment Learning process will
be arranged in a way to stimulate creativity and imagination develop learnersrsquo investigative and constructive skills as well as their
ability to think and reason logically reflect on outcomes and consequences and apply interesting and realistic contexts that are
personally meaningful to them All in all the curriculum for the 21st century aiming for excellence IP
12
8
W hy is it important to feel safe Well
safety brings confidence When I feel safe I
swear Im so happy I could run a mile I feel
confident enough to be myself even if thats
not how people like me I can sing if I want to
(read Adele car party with my bestie) I can
rock red lipstick if I want to I can walk around
with a messy bun and puffy I got 0 hours of
sleep face Of course people are going to
judge me thats just what people do Being
confident doesnt mean that people wont
judge you it just means that you wont care
about it Thats how I feel at home I feel
confident enough to not care about what
others think of me Home is not a house or a
cage it is the freedom that you get by feeling
loved safe and confident enough to be your
true self Some people feel at home in their
parents house some are at home only in their
own room others wherever their loved ones
are All of those are equally good and valid I
found it far away from where I live and thats
okay
T hink about what home means to you
Maybe you dont really have it figured out yet
but youll find it eventually Dont chase it
good things will gravitate to you no matter
how far they are Youll know when you find it
its the most comforting thing one can possibly
feel It doesnt matter where it is and it doesnt
matter what others tell you about it People
think Im nuts when I say that Im at home a
thousand kilometres away from home but I
couldnt be happier about it I could never
thank my best friend enough for teaching me
what home is Find people that you love find
what makes you feel good It might take some
time but I promise its worth it LL
D uring winter holidays I was lucky enough to
get to visit my best friend Vienna in Germany I
stayed there for one week and enjoyed every
second of it Unfortunately time passed in a blink
of an eye and I soon found myself at the airport
running to catch my flight home Whilst flying over
the Alps (and experiencing mild turbulence that
scared me to be honest) I thought about the fact
that I just didnt want to go home I kept thinking
about it and came to the conclusion ndash home is
simply not what most people think it is
I f you search for the word home in the
dictionary youll find out that home is a place
where one lives a residence Quite obvious right I
dont think so I think that home is wherever you
feel safe Actually home doesnt even have to be a
point on the map If you ask me its a feeling rather
than a place Home is a feeling you get when
youre surrounded by people who accept you for
who you are and who you want to be Youre home
when you can be the weirdest version of yourself
and there are still people who are going to love
you I found home in the streets of a city thats
approximately thousand kilometres away from
where I live Im not fluent in German but I smiled
at a stranger who kindly smiled back at me and I
suddenly found myself speaking the most beautiful
language there is Its all about the way you treat
people and how they respond to it I found home in
my best friends laughter every single day and the
way she hugged me when I had to leave I found it
in the strong heartbeat I felt when I got off the
plane and the urge to shout how happy I was I
found home in people walking through the streets
and talking about things Ill never know smiling
and being in their own little bubble I found home
in long walks with my best friend and her dog and
in a cup of our favourite tea Ive never felt safer in
my life
9
3rd and 4th grade
Bandur Mario Bubnjić Lucijana Čvek Saša Gelešić
Marija Harambašić Mihaela Holiček Ivan Kizma
Ivan Kralj Bistrički Ivan Najdert Tihana Palaić Josip
Petrović Antonija and Škalec Domagoj
225 applicants
16 teachers
18 Saturdays
2 project days
71 person passing the initial testing
62 members of the English Proficiency Centre
50 students receiving the Certificate of attendance
This in short is the English Proficiency Centre
from Bjelovar-bilogora County From Here I am
We are beautiful Pursuit of happiness and No
man is an island over Live to learn Live to
work To gym or not to gym Ratatouille
Travellers tales Law amp Order and Thrift shop to
the language of Ars artis f Geek and finally
People who shaped our world ndash namely William
Shakespeare we spent five months together
brushing up our language skills reading
listening speaking and writing
But more than that ndash much more than that ndash we
have made new friends and found people who
share our passion for learning and teaching
English We had fun lots of it And we have
discovered once again that when you have a
good reason to get up early even on Saturday
it is not such a hard thing to do
7th grade
Ban Petar Cvitanović Tajana Grgić Magdalena
Jurković Tony Klarić Luka Majurec Filip Marić
Lucija Pranjić Matko Šimunić Andrej and Šimunić
Dorotea
8th grade
Baltić Ana Bertek Danijela Dvoraček Elena
Erben Anja Filipović Matea Fortuna Dajana
Grgat Ivan Dorian Janošić Matko Katušić Krapec
Hana Kelava Domagoj Podsednik Iveta
Starčević Ena Štefan Karla and Totgergeli Luka
1st and 2nd grade
Blazonija Ramona Hanak Anita Horvat Filip
Huzjak Nikola Kravaica Romano Lekić Luka
Lovrić Lara Mađerić Lucija Milić Tea Pojatina Tin
Pokrivač Mihaela Skukan Dora Takač Anamaria
and Vlajić Dragana
10
400th anniversary of Shakespeares death which is being commemorated this spring all over the
world turned out to be the best possible way to close this yearrsquos English proficiency centre Though it
is not even nearly enough to grasp the Bardrsquos greatness we did our best and spent four lessons
discussing his life and work
We talked about key events in his life about his influence on literature all over the world and English
as a language We analysed the most famous quotes read and wrote sonnets watched clips from
some of his plays discussed characters and their destinies and had a chance to see a marvellous
presentation about his major tragedies comedies and histories created by Martina Cug
The grand finale was the ultimate William Shakespeare quiz prepared by Maja Ivanović Working in
groups students answered questions to show how much they have learned And they did well
showing that something may be rotten in the state of Denmark but surely is not in the English
proficiency centre
11
An efficient education system must ensure acquisition of knowledge skills and values necessary for a
successful life in modern society to every student Since this hasnrsquot been the case in Croatia a couple
of years ago experts in the field started working on the basis for change The basis was The Strategy of Education Science and
Technology which was adopted by the Croatian Parliament in October 2014
Then a little more than a year ago in February 2015 an expert task force for implementing the comprehensive curricular reform
for early primary and secondary education (one of the measures from The Strategy) was founded and began working The goal
of the curricular reform is to establish a coherent and efficient education system through comprehensive content and structural
changes including the following
~ transition from eight-year to nine-year elementary school
~ developing a new modern curriculum for each school subject putting learner in the focus
~ introduction of optional modules in grammar schools allowing students to choose and focus their learning based on their
interests and tertiary education aspirations
~ strengthening work-based learning in vocational education and training to ease studentsrsquo transition from education to work
~ giving more autonomy to teachers and schools implementing the curricula
430 experts from all levels of education and different parts of the country started preparing curricular documents in September
2015 Amongst them were 300 teachers engaged to work full-time on the curricular reform The entire work was organized in the
cloud there were more than 500 live and almost a thousand online meetings
The first part of the job was completed in January 2016 After the coordination processes (both horizontal and vertical) and the
consultation process with various experts apart from task forces for various fields the documents were edited and published You
can find them on wwwkurikulumhr IP
Eleven people were appointed as members of task force for developing the new EFL curriculum All of them
are teachers working in various schools ndash both elementary and high schools all over Croatia They have
created a document completely different from the current school programmes a document which steps
away from content-based prescriptions and moves to learning outcomes approach describing what the
learner is expected to know understand or be able to do as a result of the learning process
The concept on which the EFL curriculum is based are the three domains Communicative linguistic competence Intercultural
communicative competence and Language learning autonomy These three domains are the basis for all the learning outcomes
which include reception production interaction intercultural experiences language learning strategies creative and critical
thinking and media literacy
The curriculum also describes the aim of learning and teaching English teaching goals connection with other parts of the
curriculum learning environment the role of the teacher teaching materials and evaluation and assessment Learning process will
be arranged in a way to stimulate creativity and imagination develop learnersrsquo investigative and constructive skills as well as their
ability to think and reason logically reflect on outcomes and consequences and apply interesting and realistic contexts that are
personally meaningful to them All in all the curriculum for the 21st century aiming for excellence IP
12
9
3rd and 4th grade
Bandur Mario Bubnjić Lucijana Čvek Saša Gelešić
Marija Harambašić Mihaela Holiček Ivan Kizma
Ivan Kralj Bistrički Ivan Najdert Tihana Palaić Josip
Petrović Antonija and Škalec Domagoj
225 applicants
16 teachers
18 Saturdays
2 project days
71 person passing the initial testing
62 members of the English Proficiency Centre
50 students receiving the Certificate of attendance
This in short is the English Proficiency Centre
from Bjelovar-bilogora County From Here I am
We are beautiful Pursuit of happiness and No
man is an island over Live to learn Live to
work To gym or not to gym Ratatouille
Travellers tales Law amp Order and Thrift shop to
the language of Ars artis f Geek and finally
People who shaped our world ndash namely William
Shakespeare we spent five months together
brushing up our language skills reading
listening speaking and writing
But more than that ndash much more than that ndash we
have made new friends and found people who
share our passion for learning and teaching
English We had fun lots of it And we have
discovered once again that when you have a
good reason to get up early even on Saturday
it is not such a hard thing to do
7th grade
Ban Petar Cvitanović Tajana Grgić Magdalena
Jurković Tony Klarić Luka Majurec Filip Marić
Lucija Pranjić Matko Šimunić Andrej and Šimunić
Dorotea
8th grade
Baltić Ana Bertek Danijela Dvoraček Elena
Erben Anja Filipović Matea Fortuna Dajana
Grgat Ivan Dorian Janošić Matko Katušić Krapec
Hana Kelava Domagoj Podsednik Iveta
Starčević Ena Štefan Karla and Totgergeli Luka
1st and 2nd grade
Blazonija Ramona Hanak Anita Horvat Filip
Huzjak Nikola Kravaica Romano Lekić Luka
Lovrić Lara Mađerić Lucija Milić Tea Pojatina Tin
Pokrivač Mihaela Skukan Dora Takač Anamaria
and Vlajić Dragana
10
400th anniversary of Shakespeares death which is being commemorated this spring all over the
world turned out to be the best possible way to close this yearrsquos English proficiency centre Though it
is not even nearly enough to grasp the Bardrsquos greatness we did our best and spent four lessons
discussing his life and work
We talked about key events in his life about his influence on literature all over the world and English
as a language We analysed the most famous quotes read and wrote sonnets watched clips from
some of his plays discussed characters and their destinies and had a chance to see a marvellous
presentation about his major tragedies comedies and histories created by Martina Cug
The grand finale was the ultimate William Shakespeare quiz prepared by Maja Ivanović Working in
groups students answered questions to show how much they have learned And they did well
showing that something may be rotten in the state of Denmark but surely is not in the English
proficiency centre
11
An efficient education system must ensure acquisition of knowledge skills and values necessary for a
successful life in modern society to every student Since this hasnrsquot been the case in Croatia a couple
of years ago experts in the field started working on the basis for change The basis was The Strategy of Education Science and
Technology which was adopted by the Croatian Parliament in October 2014
Then a little more than a year ago in February 2015 an expert task force for implementing the comprehensive curricular reform
for early primary and secondary education (one of the measures from The Strategy) was founded and began working The goal
of the curricular reform is to establish a coherent and efficient education system through comprehensive content and structural
changes including the following
~ transition from eight-year to nine-year elementary school
~ developing a new modern curriculum for each school subject putting learner in the focus
~ introduction of optional modules in grammar schools allowing students to choose and focus their learning based on their
interests and tertiary education aspirations
~ strengthening work-based learning in vocational education and training to ease studentsrsquo transition from education to work
~ giving more autonomy to teachers and schools implementing the curricula
430 experts from all levels of education and different parts of the country started preparing curricular documents in September
2015 Amongst them were 300 teachers engaged to work full-time on the curricular reform The entire work was organized in the
cloud there were more than 500 live and almost a thousand online meetings
The first part of the job was completed in January 2016 After the coordination processes (both horizontal and vertical) and the
consultation process with various experts apart from task forces for various fields the documents were edited and published You
can find them on wwwkurikulumhr IP
Eleven people were appointed as members of task force for developing the new EFL curriculum All of them
are teachers working in various schools ndash both elementary and high schools all over Croatia They have
created a document completely different from the current school programmes a document which steps
away from content-based prescriptions and moves to learning outcomes approach describing what the
learner is expected to know understand or be able to do as a result of the learning process
The concept on which the EFL curriculum is based are the three domains Communicative linguistic competence Intercultural
communicative competence and Language learning autonomy These three domains are the basis for all the learning outcomes
which include reception production interaction intercultural experiences language learning strategies creative and critical
thinking and media literacy
The curriculum also describes the aim of learning and teaching English teaching goals connection with other parts of the
curriculum learning environment the role of the teacher teaching materials and evaluation and assessment Learning process will
be arranged in a way to stimulate creativity and imagination develop learnersrsquo investigative and constructive skills as well as their
ability to think and reason logically reflect on outcomes and consequences and apply interesting and realistic contexts that are
personally meaningful to them All in all the curriculum for the 21st century aiming for excellence IP
12
10
400th anniversary of Shakespeares death which is being commemorated this spring all over the
world turned out to be the best possible way to close this yearrsquos English proficiency centre Though it
is not even nearly enough to grasp the Bardrsquos greatness we did our best and spent four lessons
discussing his life and work
We talked about key events in his life about his influence on literature all over the world and English
as a language We analysed the most famous quotes read and wrote sonnets watched clips from
some of his plays discussed characters and their destinies and had a chance to see a marvellous
presentation about his major tragedies comedies and histories created by Martina Cug
The grand finale was the ultimate William Shakespeare quiz prepared by Maja Ivanović Working in
groups students answered questions to show how much they have learned And they did well
showing that something may be rotten in the state of Denmark but surely is not in the English
proficiency centre
11
An efficient education system must ensure acquisition of knowledge skills and values necessary for a
successful life in modern society to every student Since this hasnrsquot been the case in Croatia a couple
of years ago experts in the field started working on the basis for change The basis was The Strategy of Education Science and
Technology which was adopted by the Croatian Parliament in October 2014
Then a little more than a year ago in February 2015 an expert task force for implementing the comprehensive curricular reform
for early primary and secondary education (one of the measures from The Strategy) was founded and began working The goal
of the curricular reform is to establish a coherent and efficient education system through comprehensive content and structural
changes including the following
~ transition from eight-year to nine-year elementary school
~ developing a new modern curriculum for each school subject putting learner in the focus
~ introduction of optional modules in grammar schools allowing students to choose and focus their learning based on their
interests and tertiary education aspirations
~ strengthening work-based learning in vocational education and training to ease studentsrsquo transition from education to work
~ giving more autonomy to teachers and schools implementing the curricula
430 experts from all levels of education and different parts of the country started preparing curricular documents in September
2015 Amongst them were 300 teachers engaged to work full-time on the curricular reform The entire work was organized in the
cloud there were more than 500 live and almost a thousand online meetings
The first part of the job was completed in January 2016 After the coordination processes (both horizontal and vertical) and the
consultation process with various experts apart from task forces for various fields the documents were edited and published You
can find them on wwwkurikulumhr IP
Eleven people were appointed as members of task force for developing the new EFL curriculum All of them
are teachers working in various schools ndash both elementary and high schools all over Croatia They have
created a document completely different from the current school programmes a document which steps
away from content-based prescriptions and moves to learning outcomes approach describing what the
learner is expected to know understand or be able to do as a result of the learning process
The concept on which the EFL curriculum is based are the three domains Communicative linguistic competence Intercultural
communicative competence and Language learning autonomy These three domains are the basis for all the learning outcomes
which include reception production interaction intercultural experiences language learning strategies creative and critical
thinking and media literacy
The curriculum also describes the aim of learning and teaching English teaching goals connection with other parts of the
curriculum learning environment the role of the teacher teaching materials and evaluation and assessment Learning process will
be arranged in a way to stimulate creativity and imagination develop learnersrsquo investigative and constructive skills as well as their
ability to think and reason logically reflect on outcomes and consequences and apply interesting and realistic contexts that are
personally meaningful to them All in all the curriculum for the 21st century aiming for excellence IP
12
11
An efficient education system must ensure acquisition of knowledge skills and values necessary for a
successful life in modern society to every student Since this hasnrsquot been the case in Croatia a couple
of years ago experts in the field started working on the basis for change The basis was The Strategy of Education Science and
Technology which was adopted by the Croatian Parliament in October 2014
Then a little more than a year ago in February 2015 an expert task force for implementing the comprehensive curricular reform
for early primary and secondary education (one of the measures from The Strategy) was founded and began working The goal
of the curricular reform is to establish a coherent and efficient education system through comprehensive content and structural
changes including the following
~ transition from eight-year to nine-year elementary school
~ developing a new modern curriculum for each school subject putting learner in the focus
~ introduction of optional modules in grammar schools allowing students to choose and focus their learning based on their
interests and tertiary education aspirations
~ strengthening work-based learning in vocational education and training to ease studentsrsquo transition from education to work
~ giving more autonomy to teachers and schools implementing the curricula
430 experts from all levels of education and different parts of the country started preparing curricular documents in September
2015 Amongst them were 300 teachers engaged to work full-time on the curricular reform The entire work was organized in the
cloud there were more than 500 live and almost a thousand online meetings
The first part of the job was completed in January 2016 After the coordination processes (both horizontal and vertical) and the
consultation process with various experts apart from task forces for various fields the documents were edited and published You
can find them on wwwkurikulumhr IP
Eleven people were appointed as members of task force for developing the new EFL curriculum All of them
are teachers working in various schools ndash both elementary and high schools all over Croatia They have
created a document completely different from the current school programmes a document which steps
away from content-based prescriptions and moves to learning outcomes approach describing what the
learner is expected to know understand or be able to do as a result of the learning process
The concept on which the EFL curriculum is based are the three domains Communicative linguistic competence Intercultural
communicative competence and Language learning autonomy These three domains are the basis for all the learning outcomes
which include reception production interaction intercultural experiences language learning strategies creative and critical
thinking and media literacy
The curriculum also describes the aim of learning and teaching English teaching goals connection with other parts of the
curriculum learning environment the role of the teacher teaching materials and evaluation and assessment Learning process will
be arranged in a way to stimulate creativity and imagination develop learnersrsquo investigative and constructive skills as well as their
ability to think and reason logically reflect on outcomes and consequences and apply interesting and realistic contexts that are
personally meaningful to them All in all the curriculum for the 21st century aiming for excellence IP
12
12