Burak Canboy, a former board member at the German School in Shanghai and the driving force behind the web project M.I.S.O.D.I.S., continues his efforts to build an affordable program for international parents who wish to fully integrate their children into Croatian life. Public school OŠ Kralja Zvonimira, which hosts classes from 1st to 8th grade, has joined the project with the aim to become the first public school in the region to specialize in dealing with the needs of international children in Croatia.
In addition to the school’s own full-day program for children in grades 1 to 3, Jedna Mladost’s founders Sanja Kosor and Michael Freer have agreed to help by actively being part of the add-on program for kids in grades 4-8. Jedna Mladost will also offer additional support in their current Saturday program.
M.I.S.O.D.I.S. envisions a program that will bridge the gap between the Croatian schooling system and the IB curriculum (International Baccalaureate https://www.ibo.org/). It will first support pupils with issues they may have with the Croatian language. At the same time, it will make sure they continue their education in English and even in an additional foreign language, such as the native language of the relocated families.
On-site at OŠ Kralja Zvonimira in Solin, the program will be offered from Mondays to Thursdays in 2 shifts, allowing both morning shift students and afternoon shift students independent of the school they are visiting, to join in. The shift for afternoon students will start at 10:30 in the morning and will end after a 45-minute lunch break at 14:00 allowing the students to continue with their public school’s afternoon shift. Accordingly, the program for morning shift students will start with a lunch break after their regular school day at 13:15 and the program will end for them at 16:45. The schedule is designed to allow all children that need to travel to Solin first to still be able to arrive in time for the start of the class sessions.
Specialized and licensed teachers will offer classes in the areas of languages (especially Croatian and English), mathematics, natural and human sciences along with a daily period of mixed physical and creative activities as well as time to help catch up with schoolwork and homework. An additional educational effort will be made to harmonize the Croatian curriculum with the IB curriculum in order to allow children to continue their school careers easily should the families decide to relocate again. While the program will not be free, all parties involved have agreed to make sure it will be affordable for anyone.
In addition to the on-site program, kids in grades 4 to 8 will also be able to join various clubs and courses at Jedna Mladost, including homework club, and various courses and activities around Science, Tech, Arts, Math, Entrepreneurship, and Leadership. There will also be the opportunity to get involved in European projects, for example, this summer Jedna Mladost is taking a group of 12 children from here to Ireland for a week as part of the Erasmus program.
In order to establish how many children and families may be joining the program in September 2022, a non-binding sign-up page is online until the end of April 2022. In case there will be more sign-ups than can be accommodated, the enrollment will be made according to the order of sign-ups (first come – first served).
Please sign up here https://forms.gle/JZ4bejMYoEKbKyC68 if you are interested to hear more and would like to reserve a place for your child. A meeting at the beginning of May will be organized to share ideas, take feedback, and put together a program that places integration into the Croatian community at the heart of it, alongside high-quality and well-rounded education.
More information is available at www.misodis.com
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