The third and final HUPE Osijek branch meeting in school year 2023-2024 was held on Saturday, 25 May 2024 at the Faculty of Education in Osijek. 13 HUPE members attended the meeting which lasted for three hours.

The agenda included:

1) Cassy Prskalo: Beyond Boredom: Transforming Essay Practice into an Adventure

2) Gabrijela Romić: Teacher life: Juggling stress, staying happy

3) Marija Rukavina: Happy Teachers, Happy Classrooms: AI for Stress-Free Teaching

4) HUPE news

Cassy Prskalo from Srednja škola Ilok delivered the workshop titled Beyond Boredom: Transforming Essay Practice into an Adventure. Cassy presented a variety of interactive activities designed to make essay writing, especially for the Matura Exam, interesting and enjoyable for the students. Participants tried out different methods to enhance students' writing skills, as well as critical thinking through fun and engaging exercises.

Gabrijela Romić from OŠ Vladimira Nazora in Vinkovci presented the talk titled Teacher life: Juggling stress, staying happy. Gabrijela discussed the common stressors in the teaching profession and their impact on mental health. The session emphasized the importance of self-care, maintaining professional boundaries, and adopting a positive mindset. Participants shared their experiences and strategies for managing stress and preventing burnout.

Marija Rukavina from OŠ Vladimira Nazora in Vinkovci held the talk titled Happy Teachers, Happy Classrooms: AI for Stress-Free Teaching. Marija's presentation highlighted AI-powered tools to reduce teachers' workloads, emphasizing the importance of utilizing technology for efficiency and taking breaks for well-being. She demonstrated how to use Gamma for presentations, Magic School for lesson planning, Twee for generating materials, FreeTTS for text-to-speech conversion, Gibbly for generating quizzes, as well as text-to-image converters for visual aids.

The participants were also updated on the latest news in HUPE including the details of the upcoming32nd Annual International HUPE Conference, which is taking place in Valamar Diamant Hotel, Poreč from 15 to 17 November 2024, such as call for speakers, registration fees, accommodation and transportation. The branch president also informed the participants about the 33rd HUPE Conference venue, Valamar in Poreč, voted by the members, the free month of Twinkl membership offered to HUPE members, as well as the future partner associations’ conferences. All members were also invited to contribute to the summer edition of HUPEzine by sending their ELT articles and examples of good practices to our HUPE editor Ivana Kasunić via this email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

HUPE Osijek appreciates and thanks the speakers and all members who attended the meeting and created a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere for chatting and sharing ideas. We look forward to seeing you at one of our future meetings next school year. Enjoy your well-deserved and much-anticipated summer holidays!

Adrijana Roždijevac
HUPE Osijek Branch President