during the summer and come back, hopefully bigger and bet-ter, in September. Enjoy your summer and if you feel there's something to share - you know where to find us. ▪ M.I. & I.P.

Stay strong - we're almost there. That is, in short, the mantra that has been keeping all of us above the water for the past few weeks. All the students and teachers are eagerly waiting for the school year to finish. And what a school year it has been! Just a quick reminder... For the first time we celebrated Christmas stress-free, with no marks at the end of the first semester and without all the tears that accompany them. Was it a good thing? We'll know soon enough. Remember introducing health and civic education into our curriculum? And the contro-versy that came along? It felt like every single individual in

our country knew what was good for the students. And the less educated they were, the louder they became. Utter en-joyment. However, modesty aside, Spar-kles© has been the true highlight of this school year. For the two of us and our students, at least. The idea to create a safe place to present what we do, share ideas with colleagues and get the newest information proved to be a good one. Warm recep-tion among teachers, teacher trainers and some other people more or less involved in educa-tional matters and numerous contributions we've received make us believe we're not the only ones believing so. Thank you for that. We'll take a break

SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER!

DID YOU KNOW? — MIDSUMMER

Midsummer is the period of time

centered upon the summer solstice.

The Europeans celebrate it in differ-

ent ways sometime between June 21

and June 25. In Scandinavian, Finish

and other Baltic cultures it is espe-

cially important and the most cele-

brated holiday except Christmas!

Although it is an originally pagan

holiday, in Christianity it is associ-

ated with the birth of John the Bap-

tist.

Different countries have different

customs for marking midsummer. In

Croatia it is called Ivanje and is

mostly celebrated in rural areas on

June 23 - St. John’s Eve. Traditionally,

bonfires - Ivanjski krijesovi - are built on

river shores, lakes or beaches for the

young people to jump over the flames.

In the UK the celebrations are held on

Midsummer Eve on June 23 and June

28 with the lighting of bonfires, feast-

ing and merrymaking.

Midsummer Eve was generally believed

to be the time of possibility and magic,

so it is no wonder that Shakespeare

choose it to set the scene for his fa-

mous comedy “Midsummer Night’s

Dream”. ▪ M.I.

June 2013 ISSUE 04/13

WOULD YOU LIKE TO

RECEIVE SPARKLES©

STRAIGHT TO YOUR EMAIL

ADDRESS?

Just send us an email and

you can subscribe to this

newsletter.

We will send you each new

edition straight to your

email address.

Inside this issue:

Summer vacations 2

CN TXT? 3

What students did... 4

Celtic horoscope 5

Active citizens 6

Successful lessons 7

Internet language 8

Monthly newsletter for and by English learners and teachers in Bjelovar-bilogora county

Editors: Maja Ivanović, prof. Komercijalna i trgovačka škola Bjelovar

Irena Pavlović, prof. mentor Srednja škola Čazma

email: sparkles.newsletter@gmail.com

Contributors to

this issue:

Romana Gašpar,

School of Economics

and Tourism,

Daruvar

Vedrana

Dujnić Petrač,

High school Čazma

If you don’t have contact with native English speakers, you can use a Facebook application to contact people: 1.Open https://apps.facebook.com/speak-in/ 2. Select the language you want to learn and your native language. 3. Click on "Select Levels/Topics", and choose what you want. 4. Click on "Learn Together", and start speaking. 5. Also you can click on "Language Exchange" to communicate with native speakers.

You can learn 10 new words in a day, spend-ing just 30 minutes. If you do it all through the summer break, you can learn more than 700 words! 1. Find your favourite TV series, movies, songs, books or jokes - whatever you like. 2. Chose 10 new words, check http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/ to hear them pronounced and discover their meaning. Try to work out the translation based on the English explanations and exam-ple sentences. 3. Keep vocabulary records and brag to your teacher when you come back in September.

Don't forget why you are learning English - to communicate.

speeches that are easier to deliver orally and understand aurally. The class’s focus on understanding the key parts of an argument and drafting clear and concise arguments translates directly to other academic assignments. https://www.coursera.org/

course/publicspeak

The course lasts 10 weeks, with a workload of 3 hours a week. You will develop your communication skills and study the principles of public speaking, argumentation and arrangement; critically examining your own and others’ speeches through interactive practice. You'll learn how to prepare

Take a completely free online course in public

speaking organized by University of Washington

Something to

watch A modern take on

the cases of Sherlock Holmes, with the

detective now living in New York City.

Jonny Lee Miller as the famous detective

and Lucy Liu as his faithful companion.

Page 2

JUNE 2013 ISSUE 04/13 THIS MONTH’S BUZZ

SUMMER VACATIONS!!! There are 10 weeks of absolute freedom in front of you. Sparkles© has a few ideas how not to die of boredom...

Learn English, ofc!

Travel...

When it gets too hot to stay outside...

“Under the Dome”, a series that launches June 24 on CBS, is

based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel about a small

town that is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the

rest of the world by a transparent dome.

Something to read The Caster Chronicles

A five-book series written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl has been on the New

York Times bestseller list. It is a love story of a human boy and a Caster girl, full of mys-

tery, tension and wonder. ▪ M.I.

Page 3

The 21st century students

are said to be digital

natives, born with a

mobile in one hand and a

tablet in the other. Do

you agree? Prove it! Here

is a list of some of the

most used texting and

chat abbreviations.

Decipher them and send

your answer via email!

We'll publish the winners'

names in the September

issue.

coo gerd hmu wut props sup idk wbu kk idc

wdymbt jk meh uok tbh gtg gg wtb bbiab jtlyk

CN TXT?

ISSUE 04/13 STUDENTS’ CORNER

Plan for the next school year

The last Comenius meeting of the project "Let's meet under the spots" was held in Daruvar from April 15 to April 19, 2013. 10 teachers and 18 students from Turkey, Romania, the Czech Republic and Greece had the opportunity to see some of the best "spots" of Croatia, as they went on a trip to Istria and Krk, explored Daruvar and enjoyed its tourist offer and visited our capital, Zagreb. The second year of the project dealt with national folk tales of our countries and each partner had to make a new text combining elements, characters and plot of the chosen folk tales.

The final outcome of the project was a joint theatre performance, which was held in our school. The students from each country presented their countries with their traditional dances and songs. The theatre performance "Our future" was written by the students of our school and performed by the students from partner schools as well as the students from our school. The meeting was a great success and goodbye

seemed to be the hardest word. ▪ R.G.

and IT skills, and was intended

to show students how they can

speak up and make their voices

heard by addressing local

authorities. Namely, students

presented their ideas to Mrs

Snježana Dončević, Deputy

Mayor, Mrs Elvira Babić

Marković, the Head of the

Culture, Education and Sports

Department and Vinka Jelić

Balta, the Head of the City

Library. Professor Maja

Ivanović helped mentoring

students. ▪ I.P.

While High school Čazma

seniors were sweating over

their matura exam, freshmen

and juniors had fun on a joint

project in the City library. In

groups, students made Power-

Point presentations about their

home town, saying what they

(dis)like about it and, more

importantly, what they would

like to see in it in the future,

once they graduate from

college and come back to start a

family. The project combined

language, communicative, social

Let's meet under the spots - in Daruvar

Page 4

JUNE 2013 ISSUE 04/13 SCHOOL PROJECTS

My Town in Ten Years Time

PINE (February 19th-February 28th; August 24th-

September 2nd)

UNDER THE SIGN OF LIGHT. The Celts called it ''the tree

of fire'' because they used its

bark and resin to make

torches.

YOUR PROFILE: Whatever

you do, you have to see

clearly. You hate frauds and

you appreciate honesty above

anything. But just like your

tree, which grows without bothering its cognates, you keep

your freedom of thought while respecting the others at the

same time.

DRUIDS' ADVICE: If the opinion of others can help you, you

should avoid hesitating for too long and make some decisions

quickly. The times of reflexion are gone, it is time for action

now...

WILLOW (March 1st-March 10th; September 3rd-

September 12th)

UNDER THE SIGN OF SADNESS. Willow, which lives by

the water, invites you to meditate. It's the symbol of uncon-

scious.

YOUR PROFILE: It's hard for you to stay concentrated. You

are a big dreamer, and you feel the

need to forget about the whole world so

you can dive into your dreams. With

your melancholic nature, you turn

around in circles very often. Your

ideal: a partner who is gentle and com-

forting.

DRUIDS' ADVICE: Even if you don't

get the answers to all your questions

immediately, don't waste your time on

questioning yourself, and try not to look back. One page in

Page 5

ISSUE 04/13 CELTIC HOROSCOPE 2/4

LIME (March 11th-March 20th; September 13th-

September 22nd)

UNDER THE SIGN OF

SWEETNESS. Lime is the sym-

bol of friendship. Young oaks

grow in the shade of limes...

YOUR PROFILE. Gentle and

sensitive, you hate stress and

fights. You are reconciling

when you're with your friends

and you don't mind making sac-

rifices if you want to make them

happy. You have a lot of talents,

but you underestimate yourself sometimes.

DRUIDS' ADVICE. If somebody offers you a hand, don't

refuse it. You have given a lot, so you can receive too. It's

time for constructive changes. You have enough support

around you.

OAK (March 21st) UNDER THE SIGN OF FORCE. Symbol of power and firm-

ness, an oak defies centuries. It's the tree of the druids. It was

adored by the Celts, they regarded it as a temple.

YOUR PROFILE. Just like the

tree that governs you, you are

naturally strong and robust. It's not

easy to knock you down. You are

strong enough to carry the world

on your shoulders. You are a per-

son of action and strong will, you

work without objections, but you

don't like changes.

DRUIDS' ADVICE. Everybody

expects a lot from you. The task you have is huge, but the

satisfaction coming afterwards is even bigger. If you want to

succeed, you have to rally people about you. And you can do

it. Still, be careful, don't forget to listen to other people.

HAZEL (March 22nd- March 31st; September 24th-

October 3rd)

UNDER THE SIGN OF ADVENTURE. Symbol of creativ-

ity, hazel is considered to be a magic tree. The druids used it

frequently as a help in

their incantation.

YOUR PROFILE: You

have the soul of a pioneer,

and you like to leave the

tested routes. You are

attracted by everything

that's not ordinary. You

don't have prejudice.

DRUIDS' ADVICE: Sometimes you run with the hare and

ride with the hounds. You have to stop, or otherwise you'll

lose everything. It is time to collect all your ideas and con-

struct a solid project. The reality might not be the same as

your dreams, but hold on!

To be continued... ▪ V. D. P.

Globally connected, locally engaged

It took us three weekends, from March to May, but we did it! Three women from our county, Dinka Ivanović, the headmaster of School of economy and tourism in Daruvar, Sanja Klubička, the headmaster of Technical school in Daruvar and Irena Pavlović, a teacher from High school Čazma participated in British council training and received Certificates of recognition for Active Citizens Programme. We spent 6 days in the education that covered active citizenship, self-awareness, identity, diversity and dialogue, sharing and learning from others, Ubuntu philosophy, systems thinking, 4D cycle, project planning and advocacy skills. If you are not familiar with the project, take a few minutes and read the article or search their website (link at the bottom). You'll be amazed.

ACTIVE CITIZENS EXPLAINED In today's world, we encounter a greater variety of per-spectives, cultures and communities than ever before. This is partly the result of globalisation, through which people and countries have become increasingly connected culturally, politically and economically. The Active Citizens programme envisages a world in which these increasing connections lead to positive outcomes. A world where people feel empowered to engage peaceably and effectively with others in the sustainable development of their communities. We think this vision is important at a time when decisions taken locally can have an immediate impact globally and vice versa. Active Citizens is a not-for-profit programme run by the

British Council in partnership with civil society organisa-

tions who share our vision. The programme works with

people who have demonstrated they have local social

responsibility, including youth workers, women’s groups,

educators and faith leaders. Working together, these local

influencers build trust and understanding, develop skills

and deliver projects on urgent themes such as poverty,

literacy, democracy and climate change, and connecting

local and international agendas through the programme.

http://activecitizens.britishcouncil.org/content/active-

citizens-explained

How it works 1. A national strategy. Research identifies key national issues. The British Council then forms partnerships with civil society organisations working in these areas, to enable the delivery of Active Citizens locally. 2. Facilitator development workshops. Delivery partners identify local facilitators. These facilitators take part in facilitator develop-ment workshops to find out more about the programme and explore approaches to delivering the programme locally. 3. Local community delivery. Local facilitators adapt and deliver local workshops to groups of Active Citizens in their communities. 4. Active Citizens work with facilitators to design and deliver social action projects in their communities. 5. Globally connected. Locally engaged Active Citizens connect to a global network through study visits and exchanges with other countries, as well as through sharing via online portals and working on joint activities with communities around the world. All of which contributes to building a global network of locally engaged Active Citizens who have:

A strong sense of their own culture and identity

Knowledge and understanding of their local community

Project planning, leadership and management skills

Responsibility towards sustainable development

Value for, and work effectively with, difference.

Page 6

JUNE 2013 ISSUE 04/13

Active citizens —

teachers from all

over Croatia

ACTIVE CITIZENS

Delivering a successful lesson is a complex issue and can hardly come down to the teacher. However, there are some key points we can focus on in order to increase our success. Considering the students may seem too obvious a point, but in the rush of all daily activities, it is easy to deliver content with-out focussing on the individ-ual students in front of us. What are their abilities, their interests? How do they feel that day and how could these considerations affect the lesson? Perhaps we need to make some slight adjust-ments that will help our lesson flow better. Another important thing is beginning and ending the lesson well. A good beginning has impact, drawing the students’ attention and en-gaging them in what they are about to do. It is also clear as to what the students will be doing in the lesson. A clear idea of the outcome of the lesson will help students

become more personally involved in the activities, helping them to learn better. A good ending will give students a sense of achievement, of having learned. Students can reflect on what they have learned and what skills they have developed. Equally impor-tant, they can also consider what might have been diffi-cult during the lesson, leading them to focus on that aspect of their learning. How often do you look at the material you use critically? It will greatly contribute to the success of your lesson if it relates to your students and if it is relevant to them. Almost any topic can be made relevant, but it is important to focus on this in order to make it so. Students may find a topic boring or a language point too difficult to understand. However, making their feelings and opinions part of the lesson will help to involve them.

Contributing to the lesson in this way helps them take responsibility for what happens in their lessons. They, too, contribute to the success of the lesson. Students today learn as much outside the classroom as they do in class, maybe even more in some cases. Successful lessons take this into consid-eration and don’t end when the class ends. There are many ways to extend the lesson beyond the classroom. Students can find links between the topics in class, maybe from their course book, to their world. Technology is an integral part of our students’ lives, providing ample opportunity for continuing language work outside of class. This could be based on language work integrated with the course book, or online work based on researching a topic. Teachers can also consider using students’ digital devices to bring their lives into the classroom. ▪ I.P.

Successful lessons

Take it easy...

Experts say that many people nowadays are stressed when taking their days off or going on holiday. We plan too many things, there is not enough time, and, what is more, we’re determined to catch up with everything we’ve missed while we were working.

Let’s make this summer different. It’s highly likely that the picture on the left perfectly describes how you are feeling at the moment, but, in order to come back as fresh as a daisy in late August, you need to take it easy during the vacation. The third issue of Sparkles© gave 50 ideas on how to take a break.

Make sure to try at least half of them. ▪ I.P.

Page 7

ISSUE 04/13

“The mediocre

teacher tells.

The good

teacher

explains.

The superior

teacher

demonstrates.

The great

teacher

inspires.”

― William

Arthur Ward

TEACHERS’ CORNER

Have you tried...? www.teachingenglish.org.uk

Across the site you can find free classroom materials to download, from short activities to full lesson

plans, for teaching kids and adults. There are also articles on different aspects of teaching, and free

teacher development and teacher training materials. You can register on TeachingEnglish and join in

the discussions or start your own blog. You can also keep up to date with new materials via

Facebook or subscribe to their newsletter. Year after year, they add more new tools and materials to

help us in the classroom and with our development.

I’d specially recommend This is Great Britain resources for teachers. Of course, you should mention

this site to your students—no matter which age group and level you teach, they have something for

everyone. ▪ I.P.

TEACHERS’ CORNER

Though I'm a language purist my-self, I have some reservations about English being abused and impoverished online. When it comes to blogs, there are numer-ous that are more than well-written and a real pleasure to read. And emails? Well, just like any other type of correspondence, it comes down to people sending it. We can hardly say all letters and postcards are beautifully styled. Moreover, I've recently come across some fine examples of es-say-writing (check Aeon magazine and Matter). As a person who spends a lot of time online and works as an editor of a newsletter in English, I have to say the Inter-net seems rather faithfully to

In case you read The Observer, don't read this article - you already know what it will be all about. Ap-parently, the Internet, despite some of its good qualities, is not all good news. According to Robert McCrum (whose complaint is, admittedly, just one of many), online writing is destroying the purity of English as we know it and threatening to dumb us all down into a herd of screen-jabbing illit-erates. McCrum is worried about what he describes as "the abuse and impoverishment of English online (notably, in blogs and emails)" and what he perceives as "the overall crassness of English prose in the age of global commu-nications".

transmit whatever I type to the eyes of the readers without do-ing any violence to it at all. If there's anything wrong with the result, it's my fault, not the Inter-net's. I'm not trying to say that there is no bad writing on the web, just the opposite, but what I am try-ing to assert is that it all comes down to the author. Thanks to the Internet, people are writing more and there is more writing at all levels than ever before in history. The average remains the same. Not everyone can be Wil-liam Shakespeare and not every-one will start writing in codes. At least IMHO. ▪ I.P.

Internet debasing language? Hm… Really?

“Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave

them life, those the art of living well.” ― Aristotle

“What the

teacher is, is

more important

than what he

teaches.”

― Karl A.

Menninger