110 first grade pupils cross for the first time on September 15 the threshold of Nikola Marinov secondary school in the town of Targovishte (Northeastern Bulgaria). It is the biggest school in Targovishte district and the only one with a department of Music and Fine Arts. One of the most renowned contemporary musicians Yordan Kamdzhalov is an alumnus of this school. Kristiyana Asenova who currently studies there became the winner of last season’s music reality show The Big Hopes broadcasted on one of Bulgaria’s biggest TV channels.

“The exceptional achievements of our alumni motivate the next generations to follow success, too”, said for Radio Bulgaria Director of Nikola Marinov School Galya Panaytova. However, this is not the true reason to mention this school upon the beginning of the new school year. The reason to focus on Nikola Marinov secondary schools is that it has already stepped into the future. Its pupils will acquire knowledge in modern classrooms, equipped with the most up-to-date technologies. The students will have the chance to feel citizens of the world thought visiting cities like Rome, Madrid, Vienna, London, Paris and even the US cities New York and Los Angeles. For the purpose, they will not have to travel by planes, or in a time machine. There merely have to set themselves comfortably in some of the newly-equipped rooms. They were designed by a former alumnus of the school and became a reality due to the financial support of America for Bulgaria Foundation.

Professor Nikola Marinov secondary school is among the 10 schools in Bulgaria which have already won the School of Future contest organized by the US non-governmental organization. It aims at improving the educational environment in the municipal and the state schools across the country though encouraging the use of modern teaching methods and new technologies. Each project, which receives an approval, is granted a financial aid worth EUR 100,000. We learn more about the conception of Nikola Marinov School from its Principal Galiya Panayotova:

“The idea came from the necessity to modernize our classrooms. Education must be oriented towards the future. The current pupils will make a career later on. Besides, our project is linked with the big world cities, but we start from Bulgaria, because our country is part of the global world and is equal to any other world country. We also want to make our pupils realize that everything is possible and all their dreams can become a reality, if they make the right steps.”

The secondary school in Targovishte impresses with its modern classrooms, as well as with its interesting wall-paintings, which were done as a result of the joint efforts of all pupils and teachers from the art classes. We learn more details from Galiya Panayotova:

“The paintings on the first floor, where our youngest pupils study, are dedicated to fairytale characters. They reproduce the child’s world and correspond to the interests and the needs of these children. The wall-paining on the second floor starts with the establishment of the Bulgarian state back in 681 and depicts the cavalry of Khan Asparukh, goes through the whole Bulgarian history and ends with the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Rule in 1878. A wall-paining between the second and the third floor is dedicated to the country’s accession to the European Union. It also depicts brothers Cyril and Methodius who invented the Slavonic script. Thus, we want to show that Bulgaria has its firm presence in the EU.”

Teachers and pupils call the corridor on the third floor Time Machine. Some of the wall-paintings are already there and some will be finished by end 2014. They depict the images of renowned musicians, artists and men of literature from different countries and continents. “The image of Bulgarian poet Peyo Yavorov is right next to the one of celebrated author Ernest Hemingway”, says Mrs Panayotova and adds:

“The majority of our children study abroad after they graduate this school. Some return to Bulgaria, others settle there. Of course, most of our musicians stay abroad, but they are used to returning to this school each year on September 15, when they get a chance to do so. All of them say that they stay abroad temporarily. It makes us hope that the talented young people would return to Bulgaria, if the situation improves in the future.”

English version: Kostadin Atanasov
Photos: Nikola Marinov secondary school