The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth, Mr Prodromos Prodromou, attended a ceremony for the presentation of the all-day programme of the Gymnasium Cycle that operates at the Pancyprian Gymnasium. The programme started operating this school year 2021-22 with the first grade and will be extended to the second grade in the new school year.
As Mr Prodromou stressed in his greeting, this is an innovation programme in public schools, which is being piloted this year, with the aim of studying the possibilities of its gradual expansion to other secondary schools. The creation of the Programme, which was approved by the Council of Ministers last March, is independent of the timetable of morning classes. It is offered daily after the completion of the morning cycle at 1.35 p.m., and is based on a curriculum of a completely different basis and philosophy from that of the rest of the High School curriculum.
Specifically, the programme is based on two axes, which operate in parallel and aim to cultivate and strengthen skills that are essential in modern times. The first axis concerns the STEAM methodology and the second the teaching of the Greek language and Greek culture. STEAM is an interdisciplinary approach, which uses Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics as access points for the cultivation of research, dialogue and critical thinking in students. The teaching of Greek Language and Greek Culture involves the study and use of our language in its timeless presence and the study of the intellectual, material, historical and artistic achievements of the Greeks in Greece, Cyprus and the world. The children soon adapted to the standards and requirements of their teachers, while the benefits of attendance gradually began to be visible in all their lessons.
The expansion of the Full Day Gymnasium to the second grade in 2022-23 coincides with the transfer of the Music Gymnasium from the Acropolis Gymnasium to the Pancyprian Gymnasium. This will give our young musicians the opportunity for six years of study in the same place, resulting in a more complete development of their musical studies.
Also, the Centre for Classical Studies and Greek Literature will soon start operating in the Severio Library in the evening hours, in which students from other Lyceums of Nicosia will be able to participate.
The implementation of these new policies at Pancyprius is directly intertwined with the completion - expected within a few weeks - of the third phase of the building upgrade and renovation of the school's premises and the Severio Library. With the completion of the works, which have been in progress for the last six years, the Pancyprian Gymnasium is being expanded, modernized and acquires the best in terms of facilities and technological equipment, comparable to its historical course and its great contribution to Greek letters and Greek education in Cyprus. At the same time, these new policies, as well as other targeted measures both in the Pancyprian and in primary schools in the area, aim at strengthening these schools and at the social upgrading of the centre of Nicosia.
The Minister concluded his address with the expectation that the Pancyprian Gymnasium, both in the secondary and high school cycle, will continue to develop and produce students who are competent, equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills and life attitudes, ready to excel in Cypriot society, like the thousands of its graduates to date.
After the event, the attendees had the opportunity to attend a presentation of the STEAM and Greek Language - Greek Culture Programme by the teachers Abraham Despotis, Fotini Theodoulou and Niki Christodoulou, who explained its general principles, objectives and structure. They also presented the general objective of the second quarter of the STEAM Programme, which is the design of an autonomous racing vehicle that runs on race tracks.
Finally, a film was shown at the event in which the impressions and experiences of the students of the Program are reflected.
(BG/EXP)
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