The Integration project brings together children from various social groups, including children with different physical and mental disabilities, and shapes them towards greater respect, understanding, and tolerance. The partner of the Integration benefit concert is the company Milk-Agro. Through its environmental competition "Recycle and Win," it promotes not only the idea of nature protection but also creativity and competitiveness among school pupils who participate in the competition. We spoke with Mrs. Jana Lenártová, a teacher from the Pod Papierňou Elementary School in Bardejov, about the winner of one category.
What does the Recycle and Win project mean to you?
It is primarily a conviction that it is important to consume dairy products, and not just any, but our own – healthy ones. I focus on healthy nutrition, so I teach children to eat dairy products that are free of preservatives. Our school is involved in the dairy program – we often have Sabi yogurts or Integráčik with lunch.
Your school is also successful in competitions, tell us about it...
Last year, we were successful in collecting Tetra Paks. We were lucky, and our best "collector" of Tetra Paks was even in Italy. That was a huge reward for him; it was something amazing.
We are also successful in anthems; twice we placed in the top ten. This year, we became absolute winners for the first time. It was a surprise and, of course, a great joy.
How is the winning anthem created and who is involved?
The children came up with the words, and I chose the music. Last year, the song Despacito was very popular, so I thought it would be good to compose words to this dance hit. A colleague, a musician, helped me tune the children intonationally, and a friend from a recording studio helped us with the music. Then we just rehearsed and improved. When we became winners, a mother of one pupil said she had an idea to liven it up with dance. The children enjoyed it, but since not everyone is skilled in dancing, we made it as simple as possible. We wanted it to literally sell because performing after famous stars is not easy.
But you managed it, and the performance went excellently...
We traveled the day before the concert and went straight to the stage as soon as we put down our bags. It went well. Then there was a fairly long dress rehearsal. The children got tired and could not give their full performance. They were criticized a bit but also encouraged to do their best.
How did you feel after the performance?
It was amazing. The concert itself, our performance, but also much more. There were children who might never have come to Bratislava in their lives. After the concert, we had a small tour of Bratislava, so they saw what we learn with their own eyes. It was demanding but manageable. For us, it is a great reward because thanks to winning, other children could also go to the audience. We are a small school, so we were euphoric about everything and still live on that joy. The children were very happy to see many familiar faces from the screen live. Not only the children but also my colleagues had a great experience.
So encouraged by the experiences, you will continue competing in collecting caps and Tetra Paks...
Definitely in collecting caps and Tetra Paks. We support the idea of consuming as much as possible what is grown or produced in our region. We also like the idea that when we collect caps, they can be recycled. Simply, it makes sense. And what about the song? We'll see; maybe we'll give others a chance.
We look forward with you to many happy children's faces during future editions of the Integration concert.
