Konstantin Konstantinov

For any of you reading who don't know, the school I work at is named "Konstantin Konstantinov". It is a 1-12 public school and this week is our school's anniversary!

For a brief history of K. Konstantinov...he was born in 1890 here in Sliven and went on to gradate from Sofia University with a degree in law in 1911. He worked as a judge, prosecutor, legal advisor, attorney, and was a chairman in the "Literature" section of the House of Science and Art. He began publishing his own works including short stories, essays, memoirs, and novels. He was also the author of several books for children which are well respected. Finally he is known as own of the biggest translators of Russian and French. He died in 1970 in Sofia. He is commemorated through a national award which was established in 2004 and is given for lifetime achievement, publishing, writing, and illustration.

Today started the celebration with the elementary students. Each grade celebrated by getting all the kids together into one large room and then getting on with the show. I went with my 3rd graders to their time slot. Things began with a PowerPoint presentation narrated by about 12 students (some from each of the 4 classes). The PowerPoint was not only about K. Konstantinov but also about Sliven and things unique to our school. Then a different group of students came to the front with one girl reading questions pertaining to the school and the other students reading their answers they had written. Afterward a third group of students all drew numbers and stood in a line in the front of the room (in the order they had drawn). They all had one of K. Konstantinov's stories and starting with #1 they began reading. A teacher would ring a bell signaling the next student to read. After this there were certificates given and our school's anthem was played with all students standing and singing along (the words were projected). It was a nice day and nice way to celebrate. There will also be a concert this Thursday so I'm sure I'll put up another blog Friday or Saturday. Have a wonderful week! Now for some photos:

For any teachers, students, Bulgarian friends, check the links to the side if you want to see more photos of the 3rd graders. There is one album for each class and one with a mixture of students.

Peace, Love, Literacy, and Reckless Curiosity.