SCHOOL TRADITIONS

1. Let’s talk about school and school traditions. What can you tell me about your school?

I study in Gymnasium #2. It is a wonderful school with interesting history and a lot of amazing traditions.

The school was founded in 1978. In 2003 it became a gymnasium. Nowadays it is a modern building with all the necessary facilities: a lot of classrooms, fully equipped labs, computer classrooms, resource centers of Russian and English languages, a huge gym, an Assembly Hall, a canteen, a library and the best stadium in Grodno.

Here we get knowledge and learn different skills, find out how to cope with complicated problems and develop the ability to analyze. English is one of the main subjects here. It will be very useful for our future jobs. Students can also choose Chemistry and Biology, Physics and Mathematics or Linguistics as their specialization.

Our school offers us a lot of extracurricular activities. Here we can go in for sports and take part in sports competitions, very often we participate in games with Lithuanian and English guests. Our gymnasium is known for its English Week, where we can express ourselves in different concerts and performances. The school newspaper, “The Gymnasia Times”, gives us a chance to write real articles.

            I like my school because here I can communicate with my friends and get the necessary skills for my future life and career. Here I always have the support of my friends and teachers.

            In conclusion, I’d like to say that I’m really enjoying my school years and appreciate gymnasium #2, because here I can get serious knowledge and will always have a chance to develop my talents.

2. Does your school have any traditions?

In our gymnasium there are a lot of amazing traditions. If you want to know English well, you can perform in Drama Fest, play games, write articles for “The Gymnasia Times” or participate in the contest for the best public speaker. If you are athletic, you can take part in different sports competitions. A project with the European Union has also given us an opportunity to rebuild our stadium.. Our exchange programme is also well-known to people in Grodno. It lets us communicate with peers and teachers from Harwich, England and visit this beautiful country. Our students can see St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben and other historical monuments. They can also practice their English.

But my favourite tradition is the Final Bell. It is a very emotional holiday, because graduates say goodbye to their school, teachers and classmates. They also dance the traditional waltz

3. Why do schools need traditions?

Traditions are very important for schools, because they unite students, give them nice memories, allow them to spend some time together and to express themselves. Thanks to school traditions we can see school in a new light – not only as an educational establishment where we get serious knowledge, but also as a place where we spend a lot of time communicating and having fun.

4. What new traditions can you advise to your school?

            I think every school needs to have different traditions: contests, sports competitions, Drama Fests, etc. It would be a nice idea to have some new competitions. For example, I know that in Harwich students have school communities. They have different competitions: for the best marks and uniforms, sports records, concerts and so on. Such competitions could unite us and make us do our best. Another nice tradition from Harwich is school trip to different countries and cities. Belarus has a lot of places of interest and I guess we could travel together with my friends and spend some time together.

5. Ask me about school traditions in my school.