For many years Valga Gymnasium has collaborated with Valga Museum to conduct the world education month. The target group for this month were elementary and basic school students and teachers from Valga County. The citizens of Valga also took part in the event while visiting the art gallery at the museum.
The aim was to acknowledge different cultures and pay attention to sufficient supplies of food. While planning the event in spring, we could not foresee how important such a positive event woulbe, considering the refugee crisis.
During this month, a collaboration day for the county teachers was held, where they shared their experience and a small DIY workshop took place.
The opening of the exhibition „Over the World, over the land – Burma“
The World Education month began with the opening of Burma exhibition. Valga was lucky to be the first place where Kair Käsper’s new photo exhibition was displayed. Kair Käsper volunteered in Burma via the non-profit organisation Mondo. The opening was contemporary as the author was in Valga via Skype. Still he was able to share his exotic experience from Burma and the participants could ask questions.
To make the opening more stylish, the participants were served rice from a big pot and the tea was from Burma, picked from a village, 2000 metres above the sealevel.
Picture: The opening of the exhibition. The author shares experiences virtually.
The guests were offered exotic fruit and Burmese music played.
The Worlshop for Making Lipsticks
During the time when the exhibition was on, lipsticks were on sale. The lipsticks were made by the students of Valga Gymnasium in their Globalising World and Chemistry lessons.
In the picture: The worlshop for making lipsticks
The money that comes from the sales goes to two children, Doinee and Ibrahim, in Kenya to support their way to education. The tuition fee for one year is 40€, which evolves school uniform, sandals, studying materials and exam fees. The students of Valga Basic School are following how the two children are doing. View more about the charity and voluntary work
Lipstick ingredients:
- oil
- cocoa butter
- shea butter
- beeswax
- a bit of colour and scents if wants
- a lipstick cup
If you want to know how to make lipsticks or to learn about our workshop experience, please, write to Pille Olesk pille.olesk@valgagym.ee
Junk Food Eater
On the 14th and the 18th of October, there were workshops for basic school students. There were five workshops. Due to the time limit, all students could not take part in the event.
During the event, there was an exhibition about Burma and the students watched animated movies on healthy food theme.
The students played a game of angling for food. The boys and girls who had been fishing before knew how to angle. This time they were fishing for food not fish. They only got points for fishing for healthy foods. When they got junk food, they did not get any points. The students whose mother tongue is Russian could practise Estonian words during the game.
After the game, there was a „sockroom“ (sokituba). On the table there were socks, some thread, needles and pieces of cloth for students. Every student could make a sock-puppet. The most difficult part was coping with the thread and a needle, especially for boys. Some of the students gave the puppets names and performed some scetches. At the end of the day Mareli and Elina from Valga Gymnasium put on a small play for the basic school students. The last group of the day could also perform a play with their pupets.
Watch the fun video of the basic school day at the museum. You can also see some students dancing in Burman music.
In the film: The students of Valga Basic School and Valga Priimetsa School with their puppets. Video is made by Pille Olesk.
Career course and Killerbag
On the 16th October Valga Gymnasium offered a career course for the students of Valga Basic School and Valga Priimetsa School.
As Valga Gymnasium is a UNESCO school, the career course includes world education elements. The career course takes place once a month and lasts for five lessons. 57 students will take part in it. The students will be devided into two groups. On the 16th of October one group of students were working on a job market topics, and the others were working on environmental education aims at he same time. The groups were swopped during the day.
On a world education study group students got to know about the necessity and opportunities of environmental education. The lecture was conducted by Riho Karu from Environment Department of Self-governments of Valga County. The lecture took place in Valga Museum.
After the theory the group had a workshop how to make a recycleable shopping bag. The best self-made bags were sent to the nation-wide Killerbag competition. The workshop was conducted by Pille Olesk.
The shopping bags were made of pillowcases, lace blouses, sugar bags and other materials. There was a lot of fun during the sewing. The boys used a sewing machine, which was still being used, even when the thread was broken. For bag handles dress belts and scaves were used. Even a pink washrag was used as a handle. The boys found working with a thread and a needle most challenging.
The aim of the workshop was accomplished, even if the bags do not get high places in the competition. The students understood that it is possible to make a shopping bag in 40 minutes even if you do not use a thread and a needle, but use a stapler. There is no need to buy a plastic bag in the shop. You can do it yourself.
The students of Valga Basic School and Valga Priimetsa School taking part in the DIY workshop at Valga Museum. The workshop was conducted by Valga Gymnasium. The video was made by Pille Olesk.
The video can be seen on the following address
Picture: Workshop on making a shopping bag.
Making a carton-box, a workshop for teachers
On Oct 26th all the teachers in Valga County were asked to come to the museum. They had a look at the display about Burma and on the floor, there was an improvised picnic area wher tea from Burma was served. The atmosphere was created with the faint sounds of music. The teachers tried to eat red rice with chopsticks, crab sticks and vegetables wrapped in rice paper and different fruit were on menu.
The teachers shared information what had been done at schools and what are the plans for the future. Pille talked about the experience of her school and about the future plans.
After the lovely tea and talk, the teachers joined in the workshop. Janne Koppel showed how to make a napkin box. By tghe end of the day everybody had finished with a beautiful and colourfu box.
Teacher Reet is ready with her box.
The World Education month is over, the thoughts and ideas are already in the next year.
The exhibition of shopping bags and of puppets made of socks that were made during the workshops, as well as lipbalm sales were opened until the end of October.
The World Education month has finished for this year. Every year the grasp of this theme has become vaster.
The plans for the next October have already been made and even some of the arrangements have been set up.
Great thanks to all the participants, helpers and supporters,, to the lovely people at Valga Museum. Good teamwork is very important. Special thanks to Kertsi Salujõe, the museum pedagogue, due to whom all the teamwork came to be. The students from Valga Gymnasium helped in the workshops.
The exhibition was sponsored by Non-profit organisation Mondo, Eesti Kultuurkapital , Valga Museum and Valga Gymnasium.
Picture: The surprise table is laid.
Pille Olesk
The text was translated by the 12th grade students of Valga Gymnasium ( Christina, Ariel, Rainer, Alex, Erik, Kirill, Hanna, Viktoria, Henri, Raigo, Kadi, Robin- Stefani ) with teacher Helen.
Food for Thought Mondo 