Sunday Welcome
Our Sunday Wecome and all the courses will take place at Laugalækjarskóli. Registration will be from 17:00 to 17:30 and our introduction and games will start at 17:30. This is a great opportunity to meet all the participants on your course and on the other courses taking place during the week. We will offer pizza and refreshments for 15€ for those of you who would like to stay longer an socialise – details will be shared in the WhatsApp groups on Sunday Morning.
Courses running
These are the courses running this week:
IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH with Cristina Aragon White.
MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION with Berglind Yr, Thora Klein and Rachel Bennett.
WELL-BEING AND STRESS MANAGEMENT with Kristín Einarsdóttir, Berglind Yr, Thora Klein, Rachel Bennett and Sarah Jane Anthony.
THE POSITIVE TEACHER with Kristín Einarsdóttir, Berglind Yr, Thora Klein, Rachel Bennett and Sarah Jane Anthony.
SMART TEACHERS PLAY MORE (with outdoor and mindfulness activities) with Kristín Einarsdóttir, Thora Klein, Rachel Bennett and Sarah Jane Anthony.
AI IN EDUCATION: SHAPING THE CLASSROOM OF TOMORROW with Jaroslav Konvička.
ECO-EXPLORERS: INSPIRING SUSTAINABILITY AWARENESS IN ICELAND’S CLASSROOM with Guðrún María Ólafsdóttir, Kristín Einarsdóttir and Sarah Jane Anthony.
The groups and rooms where the sessions take place will be explained during our Welcome event and in your Whatsapp group on Sunday evening.
Lunch
The Sports Association also has its own cafeteria Easy Cafe where you can have lunch if you choose for around 16€. There is a good choice of food including typical Icelandic home-cooked meals. It is open Monday to Friday.
School visits
On Wednesday you will get the opportunity to observe:
An Icelandic “Working school” project – a unique summer education project.
Cultural activities (included in the course price)
On Wednesday evening, you are all invited to a cultural evening at Akóges where you will sample some typical Icelandic home-cooked soup and where you will have the opportunity if you wish to share something traditional from your own country too. We kindly ask if you could bring a flag or some labels to display with your food. We will give you each a little space to display your food so we all know where it is from. This is always great fun and you never go home hungry! After dinner, there will be plenty of time to dance and play a few games.
Relax and reflect!
On Saturday morning, as part of the course you have the opportunity to visit a local outside swimming pool and hot tubs called Laugardalslaug. A great way to relax after a busy week and reflect on all our experiences. You will also witness how Icelandic people enjoy this activity whatever the weather! You can also do this activity on Thursday or Friday afternoon. You will receive your tickets from your course leader on Thursday.
Sharing good practice
As part of our Sharing Good Practice session on Thursday morning, we invite you to present a favourite activity or game which you enjoy using with your students – just something that you could share with a little demonstration to the rest of the group (5 minutes). Please make it a practical activity (not a presentation), if you can, so we can all take part. A big thank you in advance for this!
Icelandic School System presentation
On Thursday afternoon after lunch at 14:15, we invite you to the Icelandic School System presentation. You will see how outdoors, sport and practical subjects are given the same priority as academic subjects at all stages of education and learn about the latest developments and community projects in Iceland.
Erasmus partner search
On Thursday after the Icelandic School System presentation, we will also hold a meeting for those schools that are interested in finding future project partners. During the meeting, you will have the opportunity to briefly present your school/organisation and explain any projects or collaborations you would be interested in having. Then there will be time to chat and exchange contacts. We will also share an online form for those looking for partners to fill in so we have everyone’s details on one excel sheet. We will make this sheet available the week after the course. This meeting is an optional activity.
Evaluation and vision planning
On Friday at 11:15 – 13:00 we will have our evaluation and vision planning session. If you have any documents you need signing or stamping Sarah will be available after the session introduction. You will receive your certificate of attendance in digital format once the course is complete. Please return you plastic badge holder to us to reduce plastic use.
STPM tour
For those of you that have booked optional the STPM tour. Here is the timetable of activities:
Monday: Tour to Sky Lagoon. Remember to bring your swimsuit and flipflops.
Tuesday: Guided tour of Reykjavík. Our group will meet in front of Hallgrimskirkja at the statue of Leifur Eiríksson. A team of local guides will meet you to take you on a guided walk of historical and cultural sights. This lasts approximately 1.5 hours.
Wednesday: Golden Circle Tour
Make sure you bring warm and waterproof clothes. You can bring a sandwich for lunch if you wish however there are restaurants at each main stop where you can buy food. The tour is all day and will return to Reykjavík around 18.00.
If you have not booked the tour but would like to visit the “Working school” project on Wednesday, please contact us and we will help you organise this.
You can find the exact timing of tour activities in your course schedule and each day we will share the information for the following day in your WhatsApp groups.
If you need any other information, just let us know.
We are really looking forward to meeting you.