We thank all four partner schools for excellent cooperation and patience. The latter applies especially to those who waited for our bookmarks much longer than expected. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize once again for all the problems. Up next, you will find the Slovenian text about the bookmark exchange of 2020. As usually, it has been translated into English by David Stegu, our English teacher. The translation is available immediatelly following the original text. We have included a rather comprehensive photo gallery this time as well, so that you can see the students who have taken part in the project – both the authors and the recipients of your bookmarks.

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Tema letošnjega oktobra – mednarodnega meseca šolskih knjižnic – je bila Iskanje poti do zdravja in dobrega počutja (Finding Your Way to Good Health and Well Being). Organizatorka IASL (International Association of School Librarianship) je vnaprej dobronamerno opozarjala, da se lahko v izogib zapletom ob soočanju s COVID-19 pri izmenjavi kazalk odločimo za digitalno izmenjavo, pa smo želeli ohraniti bolj oprijemljivo klasično. Slutili smo, da ne bo šlo vse gladko, da pa bodo zapleti tolikšni, da članek zmoremo objaviti šele tik pred koncem šolskega leta 2020/2021, vseeno nismo mislili.

Jeseni 2020 se je javno življenje ponovno začelo ustavljati. Posledično je najprej padlo v vodo sodelovanje z Mestno knjižnico in čitalnico Idrija. Ponovno zaustavitev je doživelo tudi šolstvo. S prvošolci in sedmošolci smo še ujeli vlak in projekt izdelave kazalk uspešno izpeljali do konca, petošolcem pa ni uspelo. Podobno je zaprtje šol doletelo tudi naše partnerje. Jasno je bilo, da tokratna  izmenjava ne bo končana v doglednem roku, vsaj ne v celoti.

V izmenjavo se je na OŠ Idrija vključilo okrog 120 učencev – prvošolci iz 2. skupine podaljšanega bivanja, vsi sedmošolci ter skupina podaljšanega bivanja učiteljice Anite Janež Vihtelič, ki se je po ponovnem odprtju šol spremenila – končno niso sodelovali samo petošolci, ampak tudi nekaj četrtošolcev. Razen prvošolcev, ki so, upoštevajoč izhodiščno temo, izdelovali kazalke z origami kužki in mucki, misleč na projekt Berem za PET – R.E.A.D. (Reading Education Assistance Dogs), so ostali imeli bolj proste roke in na temo zdravje, dobro počutje gledali širše v povezavi z branjem, knjigami in njihovimi sporočili.

Sodelujoče šole so bile tokrat 4. Zopet smo sodelovali s Hong Kongom, novo pa je bilo sodelovanje z državami Portugalsko, Litvo in sosednjo Hrvaško. Prvim trem šolam smo kazalke poslali sredi novembra. Portugalska in Litva sta jih prejeli že kmalu, enako hitro smo mi prejeli pošiljko iz Litve. Pri pošiljanju v Hong Kong se je tokrat zapletlo z naše strani. Vse do marca 2021 naše prve pošiljke niso prejeli, tedaj smo se odločili za ponovno izdelavo. Sredi aprila je drugi paket končno prispel na pravi naslov. Medtem smo hongkonške kazalke prvošolcem razdelili s pomočjo žreba in bili so jih neverjetno veseli.

Enako potrpežljivi so morali biti knjižničarka hrvaške šole in tamkajšnji učenci. Njihove kazalke so bile z nami že mesece. Zanje oktobra 2020 začete kazalke, so naši učenci uspeli dokončati šele pomladi ob povratku v šolo. Tudi na Hrvaškem so jih nazadnje prejeli šele aprila.

Kot je COVID situacija zaustavila projekt pri nas, ga je tudi na Portugalskem. V maju so nas obvestili, da so se z aprilom končno vrnili v šolske klopi in se zelo trudijo dokončati kazalke. Elektronsko so nam poslali fotografije učencev z našimi izdelki in delili povezavo na simpatično predstavitev, pripravljeno za njihov knjižnični blog. V zadovoljstvo nam je v tej videti naš mali košček sveta ter naše učence med ustvarjalnim procesom. Vključili so tudi fotografije svojih stvaritev. Z ogromno vloženega truda so nastali res lepi, že umetniški izdelki. Pošiljko kazalk so teden pred deljeno predstavitvijo odposlali. Prejeli smo jo začetek junija.

O sodelujočih šolah tokrat le na kratko. Dodajamo še povezave do nekaj prispevkov, ki so jih tekom izmenjave delili z nami.

Pok Oi Hospital Chan Kwok Primary School, Hong Kong: Sodelujoča šola prvošolcev. Knjižničarka je z njimi prvo leto, bili so ravno sredi prenove knjižnice, kljub temu je gospa Susana Lau z nami ostajala v stalnem kontaktu in nas o vsem obveščala preko fotografij in Facebook strani.

Škola Dragutina Domjanića, Sveti Ivan Zelina, Hrvaška: Sodelujoča šola petošolcev, slednjič tudi četrtošolcev. Tudi tu smo komunicirali z zelo prijazno knjižničarko. Že preden je učiteljica Anita Janež Vihtelič s svojimi učenci začela z izdelavo, je gospa Maja Hunjadi Barišić po elektronski pošti poslala gradivo, s katerim bi učencem približali njihovo šolo, kraj in običaje. Sveti Ivan Zelina, podeželsko mestece obdano z zeleno naravo, z okrog 16000 prebivalci, leži kakih 40 kilometrov severovzhodno od hrvaške prestolnice Zagreb. Njihova šola je poimenovana po znanem krajanu – pesniku. S pomočjo krajevne turistične skupnosti so kazalkam dodali še simpatično promocijsko gradivo.

Hrvaški učenci s kazalkami, izdelanimi za naše učence:

https://www.facebook.com/1931711470477693/posts/2699341443714688/

Predstavitev hrvaškega projekta izdelave kazalk:

http://os-ddomjanic-zelina.skole.hr/?news_hk=1&news_id=3904&mshow=290#mod_news

Kauno Juozo Grušo meno gimnazija, Kaunas, Litva: Litovska šola je bila tokrat edina evropska šola, stoječa v večjem mestu. Kaunas ima okrog 300 000 prebivalcev. Z njimi so si kazalke izmenjevali sedmošolci. Kraj je pomembno ekonomsko, izobraževalno in kulturno središče v sotočju dveh največjih litovskih rek Neris in Nemen.

Agrupamento de Escolas D. Afonso III, Vinhais, Portugalska: Zadnja sodelujoča šola, s katero so prav tako sodelovali sedmošolci, leži na skrajnem severu Portugalske. Španska meja je le 23 kilometrov stran. Območje ima okrog 9000 prebivalcev. Zgodovina mesta Vinhais sega v antiko. Podeželje, ki je leta nazaj slovelo po vinogradništvu, je danes odvisno predvsem od kmetijstva in turizma.

Portugalska predstavitev projekta izmenjave kazalk:

https://beaevinhais.blogspot.com/2021/05/bookmark-exchange.html

Čisto za konec si na dnu prispevka lahko ogledate še fotografije naših učencev z izdelanimi in prejetimi izdelki. Da izmenjavi še sami razkrijemo del obraza.

Iskrena hvala vsem za vse in srečno!

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The theme of this year’s October – international month of school libraries – was Finding Your Way to Good Health and Well Being. The International Association of School Librarianship (IASL), as the organizer, had warned us in advance that we could opt for a digital exchange in the light of the likely complications due to the COVID-19, but we nonetheless wished to preserve a more authentic way of conducting the project. Certainly, we did assume that not everything would go according to the plan. However, for us to only be able to publish this article right before the end of the 2020/2021 school year, this was certainly not expected.

In the fall of 2020 public life once again began to stop. Consequently, we first had to cancel our cooperation with Idrija Public Library. Educational institutions also came to a halt for yet another time. With the first and seventh-graders we were nonetheless still early enough and we finished the entire bookmark production on time, while that was not possible with the fifth-graders. Due to school closures, our partners faced similar problems. It was clear that the exchange would not be finished within the forthcoming deadline, at least not in its entirety.

About 120 students participated in the exchange at Idrija Primary School – first-graders from the second group of the after-school care, all seventh-graders and the group of after-school care supervised by a teacher Anita Janež Vihtelič, which changed after schools reopened – finally not only the fifth-graders took part but also some fourth-graders. Apart from the first-graders who, taking into consideration the original theme, produced bookmarks with origami dogs and cats referring to the PET – R.E.A.D. (Reading Education Assistance Dogs) project, the rest of the students had more freedom in choosing the theme within the fields of health and well-being while getting ideas from reading, books and their messages.

This time there were four partner schools. We cooperated again with Hong Kong and established new cooperation with Portugal, Lithuania and the neighboring Croatia. We sent the bookmarks to the first three schools in the middle of November. Portugal and Lithuania soon received them and equally fast we received the package from Lithuania. However, when it came to sending the package to Hong Kong, this time there were complications on our part. Until March 2021 they had not received our package and that is when we decided to produce the bookmarks again. In mid-April the second package finally reached its destination. In the meantime we distributed the bookmarks from Hong Kong among students by conducting a draw and they were all incredibly happy to receive them.

The same level of patience had to be displayed by the librarian of the Croatian school and her students. Their bookmarks had been with us for months while our students only managed to finish the bookmarks meant for them upon returning to school in spring (even though they had already started making them in October 2020). Also in Croatia they only received the bookmarks in April.

Just as the COVID situation halted our project, the same happened in Portugal. In May we were informed that they had returned to school in April and had been trying really hard to finish off their products. Via email, they sent us photos of students with our bookmarks and shared a link to a very nice and cordial presentation, which they included as part of their library blog. We are pleased to see a part of our little homeland with our students indulging in creative process within that publication. They also included photos of their own creations. By investing a lot of effort, they successfully produced nice and actually real artistic creations. A week before the shared presentation they had sent the package with the bookmarks. We only received it in the beginning of June.

This time, just some quick information on the partner schools. Additionally, we have included the links to some of the events, which they shared with us during the course of the exchange.

Pok Oi Hospital Chan Kwok Primary School, Hong Kong: partner school of first-graders. Their librarian has been with them for a year now and they were right in the midst of the library renovation but nevertheless Mrs Susana Lau stayed in close contact with us throughout the exchange and kept us posted about everything either via photos or their Facebook page.

The school of Dragutin Domjanić, Sveti Ivan Zelina, Croatia: partner school of fifth-graders and towards the end also fourth-graders. In this case as well, we had the privilege to cooperate with a very kind librarian. Already before our teacher Anita Janež Vihtelič started with the production of bookmarks, Mrs Maja Hunjadi Barišić had sent via email the material meant to present their school, place and traditions. Sveti Ivan Zelina, a country town surrounded by green nature with about 16,000 inhabitants, is situated about 40 kilometers northeast from Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia. The name of their school refers to a well-known local who was a poet. With the assistance of the local tourist community, they further enhanced the bookmarks with a neat promo material.

Croatian students with bookmarks, produced for our students:

https://www.facebook.com/1931711470477693/posts/2699341443714688/

Presentation of the Croatian bookmark project:

http://os-ddomjanic-zelina.skole.hr/?news_hk=1&news_id=3904&mshow=290#mod_news

Kauno Juozo Grušo meno gymnasium, Kaunas, Lithuania: The Lithuanian school was the only European school this time that was located in a bigger town. Kaunas has about 300,000 inhabitants. It was our seventh-graders who exchanged bookmarks with them. The city is an important economic, educational and cultural center at the confluence of two of the biggest rivers in Lithuania: Neris and Nemen.

Agrupamento de Escolas D. Afonso III, Vinhais, Portugal: The last partner school, which also cooperated with our seventh-graders, is situated in the northernmost part of Portugal. Spanish border is only 23 kilometers away. The area has about 9,000 inhabitants. The town of Vinhais has its origins already in antiquity. The countryside, which used to be famous for viticulture years ago, today mostly depends on agriculture and tourism.

Presentation of the Portuguese bookmark project:

https://beaevinhais.blogspot.com/2021/05/bookmark-exchange.html

For the very end, here are some photos of our students with both produced and received bookmarks. This is just a small contribution on our part in order to further improve the authenticity of the exchange (to the extent that was possible during this challenging year).

Thanks a lot to everyone involved and good luck!

David Stegu, Martina Vidmar