Savremena Gimnazija teacher Milica Aleksić in the Serbian team at the International Educational Festival in Prague

Milica Aleksić, an English teacher at Savremena Gimnazija, participated in the International Educational Festival for STEAM teachers, held in Prague.

Science on Stage Europe organises the biggest biennial educational festival in Europe for STEAM teachers. Every time it is organised in a different country. The twelfth festival, this year, was organised 24 – 27 March in Prague (The Czech Republic). The Festival gathered about 350 STEAM teachers from all of Europe so they could share and exchange their ideas and concepts regarding efficient scientific syllabus throughout primary and secondary education.

This international festival was preceded by the First National Festival Science on Stage held on 18 September 2021 in Belgrade, at Primary School Savremena. Eighty teachers participated in the first competition round, and the expert jury consisting of educational leaders in Serbia selected 35 STEAM projects for the finals. In the final stage of the Festival there were four winners, chosen to represent the national team at the Science on Stage Europe Festival in Prague.

These teachers were the Serbian team members:

  • Tanja Olear Gojić, Primary school Dragan Lukić, Belgrade;
  • Lana Nikolić, Grammar school Lazarevac, Lazarevac;
  • Biljana Uskoković Brković, Primary school Milica Pavlović, Čačak;
  • Milica Aleksić, Savremena Gimnazija, Belgrade.

The project on raising awareness of importance of driving safely

In the category Variety in STEAM education Savremena Gimnazija teacher Milica Aleksić presented the project Drive Safely, with the aim of raising awareness among teenagers of the importance of driving safely.

Having in mind that a large number of 18-year-olds are obsessed with the plans of taking a driving test, the idea was to provide students with the insight into driving from the point of view of as many different school subjects as possible. Thus, the students could realise that some seemingly quite abstract topics in chemistry and physics can be practically applied to everyday situations, such as those relevant to participation in traffic. There were actually seven subject teachers who took part in the project, who made an effort to prove the connection between driving and their subjects.

The teachers adjusted their lessons in the following subjects:

  • biology (human brain and driving);
  • chemistry (combustion-related chemical processes and poisonous gases);
  • physics (the laws of physics and driving);
  • civic education (moral dilemmas and driving-related prejudices);
  • physical education (first aid);
  • informatics (QR codes);
  • English (Alive at 25 and writing newspaper articles).

The end project product was a leaflet that provided some basic information, but also had a QR code which links readers to a web magazine containing interesting articles about the things the students had learnt.

Milica Aleksić – a Science on Stage ambassador

The teachers who had the opportunity to learn about this project at the Festival in Prague were truly positively surprised by its scope, the number of school subjects included, the way an everyday topic, such as driving, was connected to science and the fact that the initial idea originated from students’ interests.

At the Festival numerous contacts were established with schools and teachers from all over Europe, which will enable further cooperation through eTwinning and Erasmus projects. Teacher Milica Aleksić was recognised as a Science on Stage Ambassador as the result of the project having been carried out successfully and Serbia’s first participation at the Festival SonSEu.

I am extremely pleased and proud to be the parent of a Savremena student. During my first encounter with the school management, when I asked about my child’s potential enrolment, I saw how much love, enthusiasm and professionalism you put in your work. I was impressed by your approach, ideas and methods. I couldn’t believe something like this existed in our country! It doesn’t take long to realise that this is a school you would recommend to everyone. Creativity, modern technology, top-quality education, and most of all, the humaneness that can be seen throughout the school, make it truly different and worthy of its name – Savremena Gimnazija. With such an approach, the success of this school and, consequently, our children’s success, is unavoidable. Congratulations! Jelena Đorđević, Andrija’s mum
Contemporary in any sense of the word, our school offers functional knowledge and quality preparation for tertiary education in Serbia and abroad. Implementing modern and creative teaching in the classroom, where the teachers’ pedagogy and students’ performance are aligned with the highest academic standards for the high-school finals, our school develops linguistic, mathematical, scientific, artistic, cultural, technical and ICT competence, which is a prerequisite for further education and professional development. Teaching is supported by the interactive whiteboards and educational software, whereas practice exercises research and critical thinking.