From the history of my school

Recently I have been invited to participate in the “We” project and have been asked to write an essay about my school’s history. First, I had no idea what to write but finally I decided to try and started working.

As I know, it all started in 1998 with the name of Vilnius Secondary School No. 53, when the Russian school was reorganized into a Lithuanian one. A lot of students and teachers from Simonas Stanevičius Secondary School as well as from other schools of Šeškinė and Fabijoniškės districts in Vilnius came to study here on September 1, 1998. That was the beginning of the school story that I am going to now. According to the decision of the Vilnius City Council, on March 17, 1999, the secondary school was named after Žygimantas Augustas. Later, according to the decision of the Vilnius City Municipality, on April 10, 2002, the school was given the name of Vilnius Žygimantas Augustas Basic School.

Then, I was told by my English teacher about the birth of a school coat of arms and I found it interesting. As I know, the coat of arms was created by students of the school after the students' sketch contest was launched in 2002. Edvardas Domanskis, the school student, has become the winner of the sketch contest. And later, in 2010, due to efforts of the history teacher Dalia Vainauskaitė, the sketch was digitized in the version, which we see today.

The school‘s coat of arms is quite interesting and reflects the things that are highly appreciated in my school. Its colours are gold, red, blue and white. The golden colour symbolizes spiritually rich people - the main source of wealth for the state. The red colour symbolizes love for our homeland, our loved ones, life and courage. The white colour symbolizes solidity and integrity. The blue colour symbolizes permanence, solidity as well as fidelity. This school seeks to cultivate and nurture all of these mentioned human qualities in its students.

What is more, there is is a parchment with the initials of Žygimantas Augustas in the centre of the coat of arms. The symbol was chosen to show connection between the famous Duke of Lithuania Žygimantas Augustas and education. During the years of Žygimantas Augustas‘ reign, education began to prosper in Lithuania (Jesuits began to create schools) and he, being an educated man of that time, had a rich library in his castle.

Finally, at the bottom of the coat of arms, there are some laurel leaves, which symbolize winners and students finishing this school. The big crown is at the top of the coat of arms and its round shape is a reference to perfection and eternity.

This school declares its hope to live for a long time and develop independent people who are able to communicate and cooperate with their ethnic roots, who perceive the significance of traditional culture, who are open to different attitudes and foster the historical memory of their nation.

To sum up, one of the best things about working in this project is that writing brings up new challenges and learning possibilities for me to deal with. This means that I have got the chance to learn something new!

By Rokas Kurkutis, 7a

История и символы школы

Школа Nr.53 была открыта в 1982 году. В 1993 году реорганизована в литовскую школу. Большинство учеников из школы „Станевичаус'' перешли в эту школу. Школе было присвоено имя Великого князя Литовского Жигимантаса Аугустаса, который был очень образованным человеком. В 2002 году статус школы был изменён. Из средней школы она стала основной.

В нашей школе все ученики должны носить униформу. На ней изображена эмблема школы. На эмблеме преобладают четыре цвета. Каждый из них имеет своё значение. Золотой символизирует душевное богатство, красный – любовь к родине, близкому человеку и смелость, белый – силу, синий – верность.

В середине герба инициалы „A“ и „ Ж“ - Жигимантас Аугустас. Низ герба украшают листья лавра. Это символ победителей и детей, закончивших школу.

Школьная форма, эмблема, герб и интересная история нашей школы способствует созданию порядка и хорошей атмосферы.

Patricija Daškevič, 8b

Geschichte und Symbole der Schule

Ich gehe in die Vilnius Žygimantas Augustas Hauptschule und sie hat offensichtlich ihre Geschichte des Namens und des Wappens.

In 80er Jahren hat die Schule Die 53. Schule in Vilnius geheißen. Und am 17. März 1999 hat sie den Namen Vilnius Žygimantas Augustas Mittelschule bekommen, aber in drei Jahren, am 10. April, wurde sie Vilnius Žygimantas Augustas Hauptschule genannt.

Wir, die Schüler, müssen eine Uniform tragen. Die Schule hatte die Idee für Uniformen, als ich in der fünften Klasse war. Seit 2015 müssen alle Schüler sie getragen. Täglich tragen wir nur einen Blazer oder einen Cardigan mit einem Emblem. Aber die ganze Uniform besteht noch aus einem Rock für Mädchen und einer Hose für Jungen. Das Emblem hat sinnvolle Farben: golden, rot, blau und weiß. Die goldene Farbe symbolisiert geistlich reiche Leute. Die rote Farbe symbolisiert die Liebe für das Heimatland, Freunde, das Leben und die Tapferkeit. Die weiße Farbe steht für Festigkeit und Ehrlichkeit. Die letzte Farbe, die blaue Farbe, symbolisiert Loyalität und Stabilität.

Ich bin stolz und glücklich, ein Teil von dieser Schule zu sein, die eine Verbindung mit großer Geschichte Litauens und mit heutiger Gesellschaft hat.

Evelina Šeštokaitė 8c kl.