Introduction
Laulasmaa School is an organisation which is made up of three schools and three kindergartens at Laulasmaa, Klooga and Lehola. The school and the kindergarten at Laulasmaa are the biggest. The school has 280 pupils and 85 employees, and provides primary education. The kindergarten has 126 children from the age of 1 to 6. The schools at Lehola and Klooga are smaller and each have around 60 students. The kindergartens at Lehola and Klooga both have about 50 children.
Laulasmaa School maintains and develops Estonian culture by paying attention to Estonian language and the study of culture. In addition to the traditional subjects, the students learn folklore, crafts, art, folk dances, choir songs, music etc. Also, the children take part in hobby classes, contests and other projects.
To boost entrepreneurship and digital competence, Laulasmaa School provides additional lessons on mathematics, entrepreneurship, career education, informatics, robotics and IT. The organisation cooperates with Information Technology Foundation for Education (HITSA) to complement their own digital equipment park and to train teachers. The students have successfully participated in the Robotics (Junior) First Lego League and Robotex.
Laulasmaa School knows that non-formal learning is important. During breaks, the school offers the children a variety of activities. For example, every Wednesday there is a disco: children can dance which promotes health. The children have outdoor breaks, where they play outside. At the end of school day, the younger children have an after-school program to do their homework, play or do art. In addition, the children can participate in a wide range of hobby lessons: glass, wood, technology lessons etc. There have been different workshops in the school, and the school is ready to teach skills which can help the children in the future.
The school organises thematic weeks and other activities to value healthy lifestyles. Every year in April, it celebrates World Health Day by focusing on various health topics. For Laulasmaa School it is important that the children and the staff take care of their health. It has activities for the parents and the teachers: orienteering, sport games, outdoor activities etc.
Location
Laulasmaa is a village in Northern Estonia on the shore of Lahepere Bay and is 29 km away from the capital. The village got its name after its sand that has been mentioned to sing („laulma“) under the foot. There are about 700 residents living in Laulasmaa.
The beach is just 5-minute walk from the school. The school is surrounded by beautiful pine forests. In walking distance of the school are Laulasmaa SPA with saunas and pools, hiking trails, disc-golf trail and Arvo Pärt Center.
Work tasks
- Present your own culture
- Practice English/German/Russian/or some other language with the pupils or teachers and parents in hobby groups
- Help to organize many different school events
- Help at field trips
- Help to guide the after-school program
- Organise a hobby group according to your own talents (art, music, sport etc)
- Laulasmaa School knows that non-formal learning is also important. During breaks, we try to offer children a variety of activities.
For example, every Wednesday there is a disco – children dance, move and it promotes health. We have outdoor breaks, where
children play outside. We would like to bring more youthwork and non-formal learning to our school. - At the end of school day we have after-school program for younger children, (where they can do their homework, play or do art).
In addition wide range of hobby lessons for children. The activities are different – for example glass, wood or technology hobby
lessons. There have been different workshops in our school and we are always ready to learn new skills, that can help children in
the future.
Volunteers do not fulfill the tasks of great responsibility, eg they should not take the role of teacher / assistant teacher and plan and implement the activities of the formal education institution curriculum, but can contribute to the creation of additional activities and opportunities in formal education institutions (extra-curricular activities, hobby groups, etc.).
Requirements for the volunteer
- Ready to work with young and older children and has patience
- Willing to be involved in youth work
- Friendly and open-minded
- Proactive, willing to be an active part of the school
While choosing volunteers, special attention will be paid to young people who are either unemployed or have fewer opportunities another way, and for whom the experience of international volunteering would be even more useful and valuable. However, it is of major importance that the volunteer understands the hosting organisation’s purpose and is willing to work with its target group.
Application
To apply fill in the application form in the left column and send it to evs@estyes.ee.
We are flexible regarding the project dates which means we can change the service dates according to the needs of volunteer.
