The Diary of the Centenary of Lithuania in AISV

On February 16, 2018 Lithuania celebrated the centenary of the restoration of its independence. Following a slogan “Discover! Create! Celebrate!” AISV community organized a whole range of activities to commemorate the centenary.

One of the activities was “growing up” the big oak tree, decorated by Lower School students’ words describing what they like most about Lithuania. The oak is a tree of special significance in Lithuanian culture - it is a symbol of power and strength.  Creating this symbolic oak at school, we express our unity and best wishes for the country.

On January 12, 9th grade Lithuanian students went on a trip to “Telia Nemuziejus” on Vokiečių street. The museum was an interactive one. There were virtual reality glasses that showed videos that were filmed with a drone. Some showed the beautiful nature and others — the cities in Lithuania. There was a separate room that showed a video about the Lithuanian history, important events and people that contributed to the creation of Lithuania’s history.

On January 17, Grade 7 students visited the Exhibition “January 13, 1991 Events” in the TV Tower with panorama of Vilnius City on Sausio 13-osios street. Students met Mr. Rimvydas, who was a civilian in the group Šauliai (shooters) who defended the Parliament on January 13, 1991.

On January 24, Lower School students participated in Formal Writing Showcase "Lithuania Turns 100" dedicated to the Centennial of the Restored State of Lithuania. Students rewrote texts related to Lithuania. Every teacher can confirm what a pleasure it was to read legible and aesthetic works. All students are really great and unique, though some characteristics, such as the specific shape of letters, spacing between letters, and the thickness of letters determine if one handwriting is more beautiful than another. On February 7th at the Lower School Assembly 3 top works from each class were presented and each received a diploma and a medal.

On January 24, a historian Juozapas Paškauskas gave a lecture to grades 8-10 on Lithuanian leisure culture at the end of 19th century. The lecture was based on the latest thesis by the Dr. Paškauskas. It was a great opportunity for students to get a flavor of the scientific work as well as to deepen their knowledge in Lithuania’s history.

On January 25, Grade 8 students watched a film “Bring Back the Independence” which made students think about patriotism. After the film, the students were working on the play about signing an Act of Independence which was presented during the upper school assemblies on February 5th.

On February 1,  grades 7 and 8 went to the Center for Civil Education at the presidential palace in Vilnius. We learned about the meaning of citizenship and the President's responsibilities. The students went on a virtual scavenger hunt to find information about a variety of things, such as Lithuanian history, culture, economy and politics.

On February 2, Grades 4 and 5 LT Mother tongue students participated at the educational workshop “I am a Citizen” at the same Center for Civil Education. Students found out what is the difference between an inhabitant and a citizen, what is citizenship and a state, how to become a citizen.

As of February 2, in the AISV main hallway a personal photography art exhibition “The Day of Three Colors” by Grade 7 student Mariia was presented to the AISV community.

On February 5, Middle School and High School students got together to witness this significant historical event. On the Assembly they presented a short play “Signing of the Act of Independence”. 20 boys from 8-10 Grades became signatories and let us take a step back into history and try to imagine how it was in faraway times, on a cold February day in 1918, when 20 men gathered to sign the important document for Lithuanian Statehood.

On February 22, Grades 1 and Grade 3 visited educational workshop "Find the Meaning of a Symbol!" in the Center of Civil Education. Students find out a lot of interesting things about different symbols -  what the colors and the pictures in them mean, why respect is shown to the flags. Students drew, glue, colored and used other creative techniques during the fun learning process.

On February 23, Lower School students participated in Poetry Slam where they presented haiku and acrostic poems. Students expressed their feelings and thoughts about Lithuania in mother tongue and English by reading wonderful poems. 7th Grade students performed a poem about months.

By Irena Stefanovič, Lithuanian Mother Tongue Teacher