Osnovna sola Skofja Loka-Mesto

Škofja Loka - Mesto primary school is attended by about 850 students between 6 and 15 years of age. We work in two locations – grades from 2nd to 9th are located in the main building on School Street (Šolska ulica), pupils of 1st grade attend their lessons on Novi svet, which is approximately 350 meters from the School Street. Learning languages is of a great importance to our school. Kids start to learn English in the 2nd and 3rd grades which is earlier than it is common in Slovenia. The reason is that our school is selected in the 1st round of gradual introduction of the first foreign language in the 2nd and 3rd grades of the elementary school. As such we are also a mentor school for selected schools who have been involved in the introduction of the first foreign language in the 2nd classes in the 2nd and 3rd circles. Pupils can learn English as an optional course from the 1st grade, German from the 4th grade and Spanish and French from the 7th grade. In the first grade, all pupils are taught English in the present school year, and in the past years around 95% were enrolled. German is taught by 20% of pupils. On average we have one group of ten pupils per class from 7th to 9th grade, who learn also Spanish and French. So far, we have been involved in several international projects under Comenius and Erasmus + program, where we have worked with teachers and students from countries involved in this program. Erasmus + enabled us to host a student from Turkey for half of the year. We were also part of the Cultural integration project under the AIESEC program, so we were able to host several students from different countries, especially non-European ones. In accordance with the mutual agreement, they presented their country, participated in lessons and they were involved in extracurucilum activities or projects. Together with the AIESEC organization, we also organized Global Village, where interested foreign students were presented to the pupils of our school. The response from our students and parents was always very positive because they had an opportunity to meet new people, get to know their countries, their culture, their characteristics, etc. One of the important goals of our school is the promotion of successful in mutual cooperation, which is improved through various activities. Among other things, through the project named "Let's Feel the Difference", our students learn how to actively cooperate with various vulnerable groups from the environment. Pupils of the 9th grade are involved in MEPI program, where they perform various voluntary activities, including assistance to younger pupils. Older pupils provide mutual help to younger students. Local High School volunteers provide learning assistance to our higher grade students.