The second HUPE Zagreb branch meeting of the 2023-2024 school year was held on 27th January 2024 atAquae Vivae Spa in Krapinske Toplice. 15 English enthusiasts and HUPE members decided to spend their Saturday attending a 3-hour professional development meeting with their hardworking colleagues. The morning was dedicated to learning and discussions, then after a very tasteful lunch, a well-deserved relaxation in the pools and spa area was exactly what was needed.

AGENDA 

1. Workshops and lectures from 10AM – 1PM
2. HUPE info 
3. After meeting relaxing in the spa and swimming pool area

Our first workshop was one which is always needed. The theme was: Bunny or Crocodile language?presented by Danka Singer, our long-time member and eager English teacher, presenter and book author in Croatia. We learnt a lot about ourselves, our personal way of communication, tested our language abilities to speak more inclusively and learnt how to defuse tension in communication. Danka taught us how to teach young learners to use polite and less aggressive language in the classroom, too. All in all, an excellent workshop with numerous activities makes you really rethink how we communicate. Thank you, Danka, for all insightful ideas and suggestions!

In between the two workshops, eager EL teachers had a coffee break with some snacks provided by HUPE.

The second workshop was held by Ana Eterović and the topic was writing: Let’swrite it up. Writing as an issue for more and more students and obviously a problemfor more and more teachers. Ana presented writing tasks within the curricula from secondary school connecting it with assessment tasks and comparing it to elementary school writing tasks, goals and assessment. Thank you Ana, for your insights, opinions and examples.

After the workshop, the Zagreb branch president informed the participants about HUPE news, the competition, plans for Zagreb branch meetings, surrounding conferences and events. The participants were invited to take part in HUPE as an organisation, participate in our newsletter and HUPEzine, as well as to contribute to our web page digital materials.

Lunch was served at 1 PM and the participants had the pleasure of enjoying various selections of great food prepared by the Aquae Vivae team. We are thankful for their effort. Thank you, ladies, for your hospitality. 

After lunch, we proceeded to the spa area, everyone choosing the pool or spa zone of their choice, relaxed and mingled together, sharing ideas, comments and experiences. The meeting ended at 4PM (some staying even longer).

HUPE Zagreb is thankful to the speakers and all the members who were able to attend and make the meeting a productive and enjoyable experience. Hopefully, we will see you at our future meetings in 2024.

If you are a teacher of English and would like to join HUPE Zagreb, feel free to contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Thank you!

HUPE Zagreb Branch President 
Mirjana Zubak Mičetić