Category: Timeline-About US

We have the desire and plans to start the school, yet we do not have enough students. Only 10 families were brave enough to sign up their first graders into our school, therefore we postpone the first opening till next year.

We open the first class of 25 first graders. With great help from the Bible school and Martin Lutheran congregation we have basic teaching space, including a small gym (used till today). For lunches we use the cafeteria of public school next door, and we use the first school bus (for the next ten years to be known as the “Yellow van”) to daily shuttle children from neighboring villages.

We plan to open a new class, similar size to the previous year; yet we hate to let down all who are interested. Therefore, we open a second class, total of 34 first graders in the upper floor of the Zborový dom (known as the “Pink building” due to the original color of its façade) and use the rest of the year to search for more adequate teaching space.

In the spring we begin communication with Živena, one of the historical institutions in Martin, two blocks from our school, in order to rent and renovate their edifice to house more classrooms. We begin fundraising targeted at changing the windows, reconstruction of teacher´s office, building brand new heating system and electrical circuits. Despite shortage of time, with the help of God we manage to prepare two classrooms, one ESL classroom and a space for afterschool activities; and we are ready to welcome 40 new first graders.

Second floor of the same building is continuously being reconstructed, with two new classrooms and a teacher´s office. Thus in September we welcome 42 new first graders and have a long-term lease of the space available for us to use.

We can take a short break from the hectic time of finding adequate space; we can take a deep breath as we can now use the classrooms of the Bible school building (as the Bible school was able to make alterations to their educational program). Here we gain two classrooms, ESL classroom and a small computer lab. In August we renovate outside playground. Grades 1-4 of the school are complete.

We open two new classrooms in the “Old gymnasium building” (alias “the Dorm”), as the Bible school´s programs are transferred to the University of Žilina. Graduates of these university programs are beginning to teach at our school as ESL and Religion teachers and also as afterschool teachers and assistants. We open two new first grade classes.

The most important milestone is that we manage to get a hold of a former public preschool building, owned by the city of Martin, into a 50-year lease. The school is right across the fence from our property; we take down the fence! During the summer we renovate the building, creating a space for 3 new classrooms, 3 offices, storage room and bathrooms. We can also use the second half of the building, still operated by a private school, to feed lunches to our students.

Just to illustrate: More than 160 volunteers from among our parents, church members and American partners volunteered in the summer construction work. We use this tradition of volunteering continuously, as the school keeps on growing.

We purchase the equipment for physics, chemistry and biology lab; in the summer a new lab in “the Pink building” is put into use.

During the summer break we finish reconstruction of the Pavilion B, with three classrooms, 2 offices and new bathrooms. We make plans to start building a school library.

We reconstruct the former dining hall in the rented school space, upgrading it to almost 90 seats, sufficient to cover our current needs. One new classroom is dedicated to practical/outdoor education. We paint the gym, install the lab equipment and internet connections. We purchase new desks and whiteboards for all new classrooms. We also purchase new desks and furniture for teacher offices and tables and chairs for cafeteria.

A new Pavilion A is being reconstructed, ready to be used at the opening of the new school year. On the ground floor we house the 8^th and 9^th grade, on the upper floor we launch Preschool with two classrooms. So far we have 34 preschoolers; two classrooms are equipped with new and used furniture.