World Water Day in Croatia

World Water Day is celebrated on March 22 every year to draw the attention of people around the world to the importance of conserving drinking water. The theme of this year's celebration is "Groundwater", and the name of the campaign is "Groundwater - make it invisible".

Groundwater is invisible, but its impact is visible everywhere. They feed springs, rivers, and lakes and penetrate the seas and oceans.

Almost all liquid fresh water in the world is groundwater, and life without it is not possible. It is used for drinking water supply, sanitary systems, agriculture, industry and ecosystems. Unfortunately, human activities overuse and pollute groundwater.

What can we do? We need to protect groundwater from pollution and use it sustainably, balancing the needs of people and the world.

This year we marked World Water Day by researching water and its properties. By conducting experiments, fifth graders learned what buoyancy is and why they are "lighter" in seawater than in a swimming pool. The students discovered why fish move through the water more easily and quickly and what adaptations allow them to do so. They peeked into a drop of swamp water with a microscope and discovered various single-celled organisms. They examined the surface tension of water and how a man can destroy it by releasing detergent into the water, and how this has a detrimental effect on the living beings that live in it.

Through the research, students gained new knowledge about water - the fluid of life and its importance for all living things on Earth.

Second Erasmus + project meeting in Bjelovar, Croatia

From 7 to 11 March 2022, 1st Primary School Bjelovar hosted the second Erasmus + KA2 “Schools For Future” meeting. The school was visited by 6 teachers and 20 students from 3 partner countries - Spain, Germany, and Latvia. The purpose of the visit was to increase the environmental awareness of students and to present "green activities" that were carried out at our school.

The first day of the project meeting started in our capital with sightseeing in a very interesting way - using the “Zagreb Time Travel” application. This application, installed on tablets, led our guests to the sights where they were greeted by virtual characters and introduced to the cultural and historical significance of a particular location. The GPS system made it possible to explore the city safely. Students and their teachers answered quiz questions and took selfies as a memory of the first activity in Croatia. Upon arrival in Bjelovar, the students were warmly welcomed by their hosts, and the long-awaited meeting passed with a lot of hugs and smiles.

On the second day, students were warmly welcomed at our school by the principal Martina Supančić, and the project coordinator for our school, teacher Helena Gustović Ljubić. After the program at the school hall, the students went to the Mayor’s Office where they were warmly welcomed by the Deputy Mayor, Mr Igor Brajdić. He had words of praise for the project and welcomed our guests to Bjelovar. After the visit to the mayor’s office, students played the City Game designed by teacher Helena Gustović Ljubić and got to know our city. International teams of students solved tasks and visited the sights of Bjelovar. The group that was the first to complete all the tasks was declared the winner and awarded. After lunch in the school canteen, the 8th-grade students presented Croatia with a short presentation, and the 7th-grade students presented the activities we conducted to make our school "green" during the project. In the end, we played a Kahoot quiz about Croatia and about our project prepared by student Matija Lončarević.

On Wednesday, the participating teachers held eco-workshops for all the students. In the workshop Plastic is not so fantastic, biology teacher, Maja Puc, pointed out the harmful impact of plastic on the environment and presented how to make a bioplastic pendant. Maths teacher Jela Galunić, made a "homemade" toothpaste with the students in the workshop: Homemade, zero-waste toothpaste, and English teacher Petra Turković, during the workshop: Protection of Mine is Fine, talked to students about protected plants and animal species in Germany, Spain, Latvia and Croatia and created an interactive map with basic information on protected and endangered plants and animals. After lunch, students participated in an activity called the Biodiversity Race during which they learned about the plants and animals that surround our school.

The next day students visited the National Park - Plitvice Lakes, which delighted them with their beauty.

The last day, Friday was spent at the Excursion Site – “Na malenom brijegu” where the students were presented with the customs of the Bilogora region, taken through the Path of Amazing Creatures of Bilogora and refreshed with homemade dishes made by students themselves.

Our guests liked our school and all the places they visited during the meeting in Croatia. Satisfied, full of positive impressions and ready to work on project activities, they happily returned to their homes.

Picking up trash

One of our new ecological days is the 'picking up trash'-day. Once a year, small groups of students are going into the city and pick up the trash lying around. First of all we want to clean the nature, but we also want to raise awareness for our students but also for the society. It is very important to see how much trash just lies around and how much damage we do to our own planet.

Divide and recycle your trash!!

New covered bike rack in front of our school

I. Primary School Bjelovar wants to encourage the movement and arrival of students (and employees) to school by bike, so as part of the Erasmus + project "Schools for Future" in front of the school made a new covered bike rack, designed by our hardworking caretaker Mario Šarkanj. 

Excursion to Landfill...

 9th grade students of Skrunda Secondary School took part in an online tour of the Getliņi landfill. The visually unattractive place with an aroma that could only be sensed after the narration made it possible to understand how waste is managed and rationally used in landfills. It was found out what hazardous waste is and why it is. How the waste is disposed of and why, what happens to it were the questions that were answered. At the end of the tour, there was an opportunity to look at the greenhouses, where the new harvest was already ripened by cucumbers and tomatoes, in stores with the Getliņi brand. For those who think that these fruits grow in waste, the ninths can confirm that this is not the case.The quiz at the end of the tour proved that we are experts in these issues!