The Story
School of Heart Started in 2019, in Cluj-Napoca at Nicoale Iorga School. I was tutoring the 7th grade. It was a period, rich in challenges, hardships but also moments filled with beauty. Most of the children who had very difficult backgrounds started to take ownership of themselves, with both the good and the bad, also their parents got to know them more than they used to.
Besides the activities that I did in the classroom, I organized many other extracurricular activities where I invited artists, facilitators, and educators who were not in the educational system, to have workshops with the children. I collaborated with Reciproca Association from Cluj-Napoca, in a one-month theatre workshop. I collaborated with Cercul Întreg from Cluj-Napoca, with percussion workshops. DaDeCe Association from Bucharest , Art Museum from Cluj, Blink Theatre from England; everything in order to offer children the possibility to experience new perspectives, to interact with new people and to participate in activities that would stimulate their creativity and intelligence.
In one of the activities, which happened during the program Școala Altfel, in 2018, me and the artist Lucia Mărneanu initiated a mural painting activity. The children painted a wall in the school, guided by Lucia. Then, in those days of intense activity appeared the first gem of the project that you are reading about today. The message on the wall was Școala are inimă (eng: School has heart), which eventually became the creative dance camp, School of Heart, which started on July, 2019, in Măguri-Răcătău, Cluj-Napoca.
In that year the camp happened with the help of Andreea Gheorghe who managed a fundraising, calling out all her friends and acquaintances, to help the children be part of this unique experience. In two weeks we had the money for 16 children from Iorga school together with 4 artists and facilitators from Romania and Ireland, who lived an experience that enriched them deeply.
Teodora
HELLO!
Teodora Trișcă
I work as an English teacher in a rural area. This ongoing process is also the digital version of my professional portfolio. Within this space, I have gathered all the projects I did together with the children, the schools, and other people involved in the educational process.
Andreea Gheorghe
She is a journalist. She is a mother and an incredibly generous person.
Andreea is the one who spreads the word to gather the necessary resources.
She managed a fabulous fundraising and gathered all the resources for the camp to take place, back in 2019.