The second HUPE Dubrovnik Branch meeting in 2022-2023 took place at Osnovna škola Blato in Blato on May 27, 2023. 

Agenda:

1. Poem as a motivational tool for discussion and mediation, Silvija Pećanac Bačić 
2. Job Shadowing in Joensuu, Finland, Marija Lipanović
3. The Pleasures of Edinburgh, Silvana Radulović
4. HUPE news

Eleven members attended the meeting. Four members joined us online, through HUPE Dubrovnik Teams channel. 

The first speaker was Silvija Pećanac Bačić from SŠ Vela Luka, who held an interesting workshop, inviting the colleagues to join the activities about using poems as a motivational tool for discussion and mediation. We all gladly participated in the workshop, analyzing a poem, discussing, mediating, and having fun.

Marija Lipanović from OŠ Smokvica, who had visited Finland as a part of the Erasmus+ programme in her school, shared her experience of job shadowing in two primary and one vocational Finnish school. She pointed out some similarities and differences between Finnish and Croatian education systems. emphasizing that every education system has its own advantages and disadvantages. 

Our unforgettable trip to Scotland, organized by HUPE in April 2023, inspired Silvana Radulović from Gimnazija Dubrovnik to remind us once again of the pleasures of Edinburgh. She told the story of Scotland day by day and showed us some beautiful pictures she took there. I hope her enthusiasm will motivate other HUPE members to visit this amazing country in August.

I wish to thank all HUPE enthusiasts who attended the meeting and shared their experiences and ideas with us in a pleasant, cooperative atmosphere. 

Jelica Šeparović
HUPE Dubrovnik Branch President

 

The last HUPE Split Branch meeting in this school year was held on Thursday, 18 May 2023, at 5:00 p.m. at Osnovna škola Brda in Split. Fifteen teachers decided to spend their Thursday afternoon attending a 3-hour meeting and supporting their colleagues who delivered interesting lectures and workshops.

The agenda included:
1 Danijela Radić & Ivana Bokavšek: Music Based Creative Writing
2 Anita Živković & Miranda Barac: Summative Assessment in Language Mediation
3 Anita Živković: The Reform of Vocational Education
4 HUPE Split Branch President Elections
5 HUPE news

The first workshop, titled Music Based Creative Writing, was held by DanijelaRadić & Ivana Bokavšek, who explored different techniques that motivate students to be imaginative and productive in their written expressions. They demonstrated how 'seasoned' by music, writing becomes a joyable activity that encourages students to dive into the world of infinite creativity. The participants were encouraged to produce stories 'seasoned' by music and present them to the audience.

After the coffee break, the second workshop, titled Summative Assessment in Language Mediation, was held by Anita Živković & Miranda Barac, who did their best to answer the questions and remove any doubts the teachers might have when evaluating and measuring a learner's ability to mediate a spoken or written text or texts. They also provided the participants with sample activities and rubrics that should help them with the summative assessment of this relatively new skill in the English language curriculum.

Anita Živković held the third lecture, titled The Reform of Vocational Education, which had an informative character introducing the aims of the reform and the impact it will have on English teachers.

As for the HUPE Split Branch President Elections, there was only one candidate for the branch president, Anita Lasić from Primary school "Don Mihovil Pavlinović" in Podgora. She introduced herself to the 15 members that were present, after which the voting was held, and she was unanimously voted the new HUPE Split branch president. She is elected for a term of 2 years and takes over the management of the branch from September 1, 2023.

At the end of the meeting, participants were informed about the news in HUPE, including the professional development in Edinburgh in August, and the 31st Annual International HUPE Conference, which will take place in Valamar Diamant Hotel, Poreč from 20 to 22 October 2023. 

The members were also informed about the new HUPE Board members elected at the last HUPE Board elections that took place via Zoom during the AGM at the HUPE Day on 25 March 2023.

HUPE Split is grateful to the speakers and all the members who attended the meeting.

Congratulations to our colleague Anita Lasić for being elected the new HUPE Split branch president. We wish her great success in running our HUPE Split branch in the future. 

If you are an English teacher and want to join HUPE Split, feel free to contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Miranda Barac
HUPE Split Branch President

The third HUPE Osijek branch meeting in school year 2022-2023 was held on 20 May 2023 at the Faculty of Education in Osijek. 29 members attended the meeting.

The agenda included:

1) Isabelle Grace Penta: How to use ChatGPT as an educator
2) HUPE news
3) HUPE Osijek branch president elections
4) Marina Tomas: The Great Outdoors - taking the classroom outside
5) Mirjana Jerković & Tanja Pokupić: Love Edinburgh? Kilt-y as charged!

At the beginning of the meeting, Isabelle Grace Penta, a Fulbright scholar and an English Teaching Assistant at the English Language Studies Department at the Faculty of Education, held a workshop titled How to use ChatGPT as an educator. During the workshop, Grace introduced ChatGPT and presented its applications as an AI tool in and outside of the classroom with its advantages and limitations. The participants were able to test the program and learn how to create suitable question prompts in order to produce specific educational materials.

Members were informed about the news in HUPE including the new HUPE Board members, changes in membership fees from 1 June 2023, future teacher training courses in London and Edinburgh, and regular branch updates. The branch president also notified the members about the details of the upcoming 31^st Annual International HUPE Conference, which is taking place in Valamar Diamant Hotel, Poreč from 20 to 22 October 2023, such as call for speakers, registration fees, accommodation and transportation. Since many of Osijek branch members participated in the 3rd National Writing Competition, selected mentors were presented with the printed copies of the book HUPE in the Storyland with more than 210 students’ stories on 850 pages.  

After the updates, the HUPE Osijek branch president elections were held. There was only one candidate, Adrijana Roždijevac from Primary School Josip Kozarac in Soljani and acting Osijek branch president. She shortly addressed the members and explained the voting procedure, after which the voting was held and she was unanimously voted the new HUPE Osijek branch president.

Following the coffee break, the second workshop, titled The Great Outdoors - taking the classroom outside, was held by Marina Tomas from Primary School Ane Katarine Zrinski in Retkovic. Marina presented the advantages and disadvantages of teaching outdoors and provided the participants with practical and engaging ready-to-use activities teachers can incorporate into their spring lesson plans to make their students practice various vocabulary and grammatical structures.

At the end of the meeting, Mirjana Jerković from Primary School Tin Ujević in Osijek and Tanja Pokupić form Primary School Miroslava Krleže in Čepin held a presentation titled Love Edinburgh? Kilt-y as charged!. Through mysterious and interesting storytelling, they shared their experience from a 5-day teacher training course in Edinburgh, Scotland, organized by HUPE in April 2023, where they not only got new teaching ideas, but also explored Scotland’s heritage, culture and numerous sights.

HUPE Osijek is grateful to the speakers and all the members who were able to attend the meeting on Saturday morning and create a lovely and relaxing atmosphere ideal for teachers connecting, collaborating and exchanging ideas. Thank you for putting your trust in me to continue to be the branch president.

Hopefully, we will see you at one of our future meetings next school year. Enjoy the long-awaited and well-deserved summer holidays!

Adrijana Roždijevac
HUPE Osijek Branch President

The second HUPE Osijek branch meeting in school year 2022-2023 was held at the Faculty of Education in Osijek on 18 March 2023. 26 members attended the meeting.

The agenda included:

1) Edinburgh calling – a 6-day teacher training course in Edinburgh

2) Tihana Svoren Kolarec: What's art got to do with it?

3) Barbara Bošnjak: Projects love ICT tools

4) HUPE news

At the beginning of the meeting, the members were informed about a 6-day teacher training course in Edinburgh organized by HUPE and supported by Education and Teacher Training Agency (AZOO) planned for April and August of this year. Apart from the course programme, which is all about exploring English language and culture, the participants were also informed about the technical side of the course, such as travel insurance, flights, accommodation, day trips and the price of the course. Due to its popularity, HUPE is also organizing another teacher training course in London planned for June this year.

The first workshop, titled What's art got to do with it?, was held by Tihana Svoren Kolarec from Tordinci Primary School in Tordinci. In her workshop Tihana explored how using works of visual arts and music can strengthen student thinking and learning. The participants tried out and were presented with interesting and creative activities on how to use famous paintings to teach and revise grammar and vocabulary in the classroom.

After the coffee break, the second presentation, titled Projects love ICT tools, was held by Barbara Bošnjak from Isidor Kršnjavi Secondary School in Našice. Barbara presented her students’ project results by using two different ICT tools, Padlet and Book Creator. Both of the tools were presented in details emphasising the benefits of using ICT tools in classrooms in various contexts and for different purposes with the aim of encouraging other teachers to include both project-based assignments and ICT tools in their own classes.

At the end of the meeting, participants were informed about the news in HUPE including the results of the 3^rd National Writing Competition HUPE in Storyland, and the 31^st Annual International HUPE Conference, which is taking place in Valamar Diamant Hotel, Poreč from 20 to 22 October 2023.

The members were also informed about the future HUPE Board elections that will take place via Zoom during the AGM at the HUPE Day on 25 March 2023. They were also encouraged to take an active role in HUPE and apply as volunteers for one of the roles in the Executive and Supervisory Boards, but also reminded of the Osijek branch president elections that will take place at the next branch meeting planned for May 2023.

HUPE Osijek is grateful to the speakers and all the members who attended the meeting and decided to spend their Saturday morning with us. Hopefully, we will see you at our next meeting in May.  

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

Adrijana Roždijevac
HUPE Osijek Branch President