The first HUPE Dubrovnik Branch meeting in 2024-2025 took place at Osnovna škola Blato in Blato on December 13, 2024. 

Agenda:

1. Marjorie Rosenberg:  Working with texts
2. Helena Gustović Ljubić: Warmers, fillers and coolers
3. Ana Kodrić Ivelić: Gradually teaching Presentation Skills from first till eight grade
4. Marija Lipanović and Marina Mandić: ChatGPT And Basic AI Tools
5. HUPE news

In Marjorie Rosenberg's workshop participants were taken through the steps of working with texts, beginning with activities to be done before reading, during reading and after reading. They had the chance to try out a variety of ideas to make texts easier for learners to comprehend, experience ideas for their learners to expand vocabulary and finish off with a role play, enabling learners to make use of language they have learned in the lessons.

In the second workshop our dear colleague Helena Gustović Ljubić gave us some interesting and useful examples of good practice on how to start a lesson, as well as how to cool down the atmosphere or wake up our students with short, lively activities.

Ana Kodrić Ivelić claims that presentation skills are crucial 21-century competencies and that they are essential in many life aspects, from education and personal life to careers. She believes that it is important to teach presentation skills from the early age. Therefore, various presentation structures and activities were demonstrated in her workshop through various examples, outlining key components of a successful presentation and the gradual 4P skill-building process from first till eight grade.

Marija Lipanović and Marina Mandić discussed the challenges of AI in education process. In their talk they showed us how to use some basic AI tools for quicker lesson planning, generating responses from Chat GPT or making AI videos. They also emphasized that AI tools can be very useful for enhancing different skills, such as critical thinking or collaborative skills.

After the workshops, the HUPE Dubrovnik branch president reported on the 32nd Annual International HUPE Conference which took place in Valamar, Poreč from 15 to 17 November 2024. All members are invited to participate in our next Annual International HUPE Conference, also taking place in Poreč from 24 to 26 October 2025 as well as in HUPE Day, which is planned for 15 March 2025. 

The participants were informed about HUPE in Storyland.  Entries should be submitted from 1 December 2024 to 15 January 2025. They were also encouraged to send their ELT articles and examples of good practices to our HUPE editor Ivana Kasunić via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be published in one of our future editions of HUPEzine or HUPE Newsletter.

As the meeting finally drew to a close, it was clear that we had far exceeded the time we had originally planned. The relaxed atmosphere, accompanied by a delightful tea party featuring original English tea, must-have cucumber sandwiches and biscuits and the flow of interesting conversations made time pass by almost unnoticed. It felt more like a pleasant gathering than a formal meeting, and no one was eager to leave. We all agreed that the combination of good company, tea, and food made the entire experience highly enjoyable and enriching.

Jelica Šeparović
HUPE Dubrovnik Branch President

The first HUPE Osijek branch meeting in school year 2024-2025 was held on 7 December 7 2024 at the Faculty of Education in Osijek. 17 HUPE members decided to spend their Saturday morning attending a 3-hour mini conference rerun with our branch members repeating their successful sessions from the 32nd HUPE conference.

The agenda included:

1. 32nd HUPE Conference report
2. Ksenija Rumora: Effective Communication in EFL Classroom
3. Alenka Taslak & Ivana Hrastović Mandarić: Streamline, Engage & Inspire with AI in Teaching
4. HUPE news

At the beginning of the meeting the HUPE Osijek branch president informed the participants about the32nd Annual International HUPE Conference, which took place in Valamar, Poreč from 15 to 17 November 2024. She reported on the conference venue, partners and sponsors, programme, plenary speakers, workshops, social events, raffle, the highlights from the AGM, a Victoria sponge cake bake-along, as well as on the overall positive feedback the HUPE Organizing Committee has received.

The first talk, titled Effective Communication in EFL Classroom, was held by Ksenija Rumora from the Primary School Franje Krežme in Osijek. In a talk based on the classroom practice, Ksenija presented a debate as a powerful tool for language learning, offering students meaningful practice through all four levels of communication, improving fluency and argumentation skills, as well as fostering critical thinking and boosting students’ self-confidence.

After the coffee break and catching up with colleagues, the second workshop, titled Streamline, Engage & Inspire with AI in Teaching, was held by Alenka Taslak from Primary School Dore Pejačević in Našice and Ivana Hrastović Mandarić from Primary School Vladimir Nazor in Đakovo. In an hour-long workshop, Alenka and Ivana demonstrated how AI tools, such as Goosechase, Microsoft Copilot and Invideo AI, can reduce teachers' workload by generating ready-to-use materials, including lesson plans, assessment rubrics, educational videos, and interactive scavenger hunts featuring online puzzles, mirrored texts and secret messages.

We also had Mary Dimitrov, an American journalist and a Fulbright ETA at the Faculty of Education in Osijek, attending the meeting, introducing herself and offering help to our members by visiting their schools or meeting at American Corner Osijek, and holding a workshop to their students on any topic related to American culture, education, politics or even for a Q&A session. To arrange all the details, you can contact Mary via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

After the sessions, participants were informed about the news in HUPE including the upcoming events such as the 5th National Writing Competition HUPE in Storyland taking place from 1 December 2024 to 15 January 2025, HUPE Day planned for 15 March 2025 with international speakers, AGM and HUPE Board elections, as well as the 33rd Annual International HUPE Conference that is taking place in Valamar Poreč from 24 to 26 October 2025. The teacher training course in Liverpool was a great success this summer, therefore, HUPE plans to organize a very similar course again in 2025. All members were also invited to send their ELT articles and examples of good practices to our HUPE editor Ivana Kasunić via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be published in one of our future editions of HUPEzine or HUPE Newsletter.

At the end of the meeting, the branch president organized a short Kahoot quiz to test the members’ knowledge of the 32nd HUPE Conference in order to give away six conference goody bags filled with useful teaching resources and materials.

HUPE Osijek is thankful to the speakers and all the members who were able to attend and make the meeting a productive and enjoyable experience. Hopefully, we will see you at our future meetings in 2025.

If you are a teacher of English and would like to join HUPE Osijek, feel free to contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Thank you!

Adrijana Roždijevac
HUPE Osijek Branch President

On October 10^th, HUPE Karlovac held its first meeting of the current school year, at OŠ Braća Seljan in Karlovac’s city centre. Fourteen English teachers attended and took part in interesting and engaging activities:

1. The Magic of AI
   Mirjana Zubak Mičetić from HUPE Zagreb presented Magic AI - a modern tool used to alleviate the more repetitive aspects of our profession. By witnessing relatable examples, participants were convinced that the power of AI is not something to be feared, but harnessed to improve our lessons and prevent burnout.

2. What’s art got to do with it (online)
   Tihana Svoren Kolarec from HUPE Osijek held an online lecture about using works of art to promote and develop critical thinking. In an era of shortened concentration span and memes, this lecture showed how to successfully stimulate students to focus on a succession of tasks and concentrate for a longer period of time on one particular image, all with the end goal being development of language skills and expressing one’s opinion.

Anyone wishing to join the branch or get more information about us, can send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Tomislav Mravunac,
HUPE Karlovac branch president

The first HUPE Zagreb branch meeting of the 2024-2025 school year was held on 4th Octover 2024 atČarobna riječ. Around 20 and a bit more eager English teachers and HUPE members have decided to spend their Friday evening attending a 3-hour professional development meeting with their hardworking colleagues. 

AGENDA  

1. Petra Blajić: „Speaking activities in EFL classrooms“
2. Ivana Lovrić: “What can we learn from native speakers?“ - Dissemination of Teacher Training in England
3. HUPE info and news, tips for new members, election

Our first workshop was one which is always needed. The theme was: Speaking activities in EFL classroompresented by Petra Blajić, an experienced teacher, who led us through variety of speaking activities sharing some of her most successful ideas of how to make her students feel more comfortable talking in English.

In between the two workshops, eager EL teachers had a coffee break with some snacks provided by HUPE and listened to some tips for newcomers regarding our HUPE organization and benefits of becoming a member.

The second workshop was held by Ivana Lovrić and the topic was “What can we learn 

from native speakers?”. Ivana informed us about job shadowing experience and educational trip to Liverpool organized by HUPE. We learnt a lot about their primary educational system and discussed many aspects of their education and the differences between our and their system.

After the workshop, the Zagreb branch president informed the participants about HUPE news, the competition, plans for Zagreb branch meetings, surrounding conferences and events. The participants were invited to take part in HUPE as an organisation, participate in our newsletter and HUPEzine, as well as to contribute to our web page digital materials. HUPE members, present at the meeting, voted about the next branch president, which was confirmed to stay the same for another two years. I thank you all for that support.

HUPE Zagreb is thankful to the speakers and all the members who were able to attend and make the meeting a productive and enjoyable experience. Hopefully, we will see you at our future meetings in 2024/2025.

If you are a teacher of English and would like to join HUPE Zagreb, feel free to contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Thank you! 

 
HUPE Zagreb Branch President  
Mirjana Zubak Mičetić