NEWS

Students from 67th primary school “Vasil Drumev” - Sofia, together with their teachers visited Koprivshtitsa in March. The trip was organised within project “School for ambitions - 2”. All travel, food, and museum costs were covered by the project budget.

In order to comply with all requirements of such an activity, the parents of the students had a briefing, filled in the respective consent forms, and confirmed that they are aware of the code of conduct of the trip.

Forty students from second till sixth grade joined the trip. They were happy they had the chance to get acquainted with the Bulgarian history. They learned about the life and deeds of renowned historical figures, famous historical landmarks, characteristics of the old Bulgarian architecture, and different traditions and crafts. They also enjoyed the authentic atmosphere of Koprivshtitsa - one of the most interesting and symbolic Bulgarian cities.

The second trip took part in April and it was to Tsari Mali Grad. Forty students joined the trip but this time they were from third, fourth, and fifth grade.

The trips are part of the project activities whose goal is to keep and develop the cultural identity of students from ethnic minorities and their peers in integrated multicultural environment.

Project “School for Ambitions - 2”, Contract № BG05M2OP001-3.002-0139, is funded by Operative Programme “Science and education for intelligent growth”, co-funded by the European Union through the European Structural and Investment Funds.

School for parents at “School for ambitions”

Various activities with parents of students engaged in the project “School for ambitions” are taking place.

During one of the activities parents together with their children, mediators, and teachers gather for a meeting. There they engage in a friendly conversation aimed to reduce challenges to school attendance.

The “Information days" are specially organised for parents of children from ethnic minorities and other parents. During the day they can see different presentations and short movies and receive information materials. The mediators and teachers also participate in the event.

The "Small work forums” are for discussions between parents and representatives of institutions and organisations about education, upbringing, intercultural problems, etc.

The “Family conferences” are mainly for the mediators and parents but also for programme managers and the project team - approximately 20 people per conference. The conferences are held by psychologists.

The “Civic university for parents” consists of sessions and lectures about civic education with specific focus on intercultural communication. Among some of the topics are personal development, psychosocial environment, parents’ roles, obstacles to professional realisation, etc.

Тhe “Work room for parents” is designed for smaller groups of parents who participate voluntarily. The idea behind the activity is that specific problems and cases from the students’ and parents’ lives are discussed and solved under the guidance of a psychologist.

The project activities with parents will be 100.

Mediators work with dropout students

One of the most important activities of the project “Mediators work with dropout students” started with the development of a process model for identifying dropout students and with the training of four mediators. An initial list of 60 third-grade and eight-grade dropout students from 67^th primary school “Vasil Drumev” and other primary schools in the neighbourhoods “Vazrazhdane" and “Serdika” was compiled. Forty students were left in the final list. Information campaigns for attracting dropout students followed. Work forums with representatives of institutions and organisations interested in the integration process were held at the places with higher numbers of dropout students. Children and parents who had participated in the integration process were also invited. Representatives of institutions, organisations, and local leaders actively participated during the event.

Motivation program was developed and conducted during the activity. All dropout students in the project took part in it.

Interest Clubs get children from “School for ambitions” together
 
Interest Clubs get children together for useful and pleasant activities. The aim is to preserve and develop the cultural identity of the children from ethnic minorities and their peers in an international and multicultural environment.

Club “Shakespeare and friends” is a theatre club of 20 children interested in stage arts. They prepare and perform theatrical plays and other performances based on works by famous authors. Twenty children are members of the Art Club “Hardworking bees”. They make various handicraft items from clay, paper, and yarn. There are also two sports clubs: “Sports club: field hockey” with 12 members and "Sports club: rugby” with 12 members. The two sports are not only very interesting for the youngsters but also useful for building their discipline, healthy lifestyle, and values such as respect, sportsmanship, and responsibility. Another extracurricular activity is Club “Bulgarian and Roma folklores”. There is a big interest in it - there are 25 members. There the students learn about the traditions and customs of the Bulgarian and the Roma people.

The Project has been funded by Operative Programme “Science and Education for Intelligent Growth” and co-funded by the European Union through the European Structural and Investment Funds. It will continue until the end of 2018.

Two information events were held under Project “School for ambitions - 2” at 67^th primary school “Vasil Drumev”, Sofia, in June. The first Information seminar took place on 20 June and it was on the subject “Educational inclusion of ethnic minorities”. During the seminar people shared different views about the inclusion of ethnic minorities in the educational system. They also discussed good practices in Bulgaria and the European Union. The seminar was attended by representatives of institutions, parents, and teachers.

Psychological support for students from ethnical minorities has been provided for already four months at 67^th primary school “Vasil Drumev”, Sofia within project “School for Ambitions – 2”. Psychologist with the appropriate qualification, experience, and education has been hired for this purpose. The psychologist works on weekly basis with children who need such type of support. The psychologist’s work is supported by the teachers and the mediators. It also makes use of the instruments and products of project “CHANCE. Integrated approach for early prevention of children’s antisocial behaviour and dropping out of school.” The psychologist will conduct not only individual work but also group work focused on prevention of aggression, antisocial acts, and other similar types of behaviour.

Complementary activities for students from ethnical minorities who are liable to drop out of school have been conducted at 67^th primary school “Vasil Drumov”, Sofia since March. These activities are part of project “School for ambitions – 2” which is conducted by Crime Prevention Fund – IGA. The goal of the project is to develop and adapt individual and group school programmes for making up for gaps in knowledge and skills in English language, geography and economics, civic education, natural sciences and other subjects necessary for the successful integration of the students in the educational process and the decrease of the risk of dropping out.

The schedules of the programmes have been developed together with the mediators and they have been complied with every student’s needs. The mediators have developed analyses for identifying the needs of all 200 students included in the project who are at risk of dropping out of school. Through these analyses they have identified the subjects which show deficit and the number of skipped classes. On the basis of this information, they have drawn conclusions about what the work of the respective mediator should be and they have developed individual group programmes for every school subject. The students are divided in 83 small groups for different subjects such as Bulgarian language and literature, mathematics, English language, geography and economics, history and civilization, people and nature, people and society, biology and health education.