Józef Obremski Secondary School was inaugurated: let Mejszogoła rejoice

“Let Mejszogoła rejoice when we will step into adulthood” – as the students of Józef Obremski Secondary School were singing during the ceremony which was preceded by a Holy Mass in the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Mejszagoła celebrated by rev. Józef Aszkiełowicz, the parish priest.

During the mass the priest emphasized that the school cooperates with the parish and enumerated the achievements of the school. The priest was glad that the institution the patron of which is the patriarch of the Vilnius region is raising the students in the spirit of Christian values.
“Dear parents, teachers and educators! Build your lives and the lives of future generations up on strong foundations. For all of us God and His law as well as the Virgin Mary, the patress of our parish and rev. Józej Obrembski, our uncrowned cardinal, are the strongest foundation. The condition of Mejszogoła and the Vilnius region will reflect raising the youth in the spirit of being faithful to Christian values”, said rev. Józef Aszkiełowicz, who also expressed his belief that there are very good working conditions which will result in developmnent of the young people of Mejszagoła, the Vilnius region and the whole Lithuania.

After the mass, the guests went for a ceremony which started with the national anthem sang by the students of the school.
Reminding the guests the history of the school which was established in 1773 by Comission of National Education, Alfreda Jankowska, the director recalled the way to get the permission for having the highschool changed into a secondary school.
“Today is Day of National Education so it is our day. We are celebrating a jubilee – as in 1914 Polish school in Mejszogoła started to flourish. After 100 years – in 2014 – we obtained the status of a secondary school. We hope that from now on the institution will continue to flourish and that we will grow in number”, said Alfreda Jankowska.
Maria Rekść, the mayor of the Vilnius region thanked the poeple of the school for doing their best for the school to develop, the secondary school status being one of the accompished levels.

“Giving the school this status is, no doubt, a big achievement. However, we need to remember that it still needs to develop and to have more and more students. Your patron is a great patriarch of the Vilnius region – rev. Józef Obrembski. I wish you that you next great achievement would be obtaining a catholic school status”, siad Maria Rekść being glad the the cooperation between the school and the parish is going so well.
She emphasized also that the Vilnius region took the first place in a prestigious ranking on the investments in education. A secondary school status was given to 15 schools of the region and the preparations demanded many investments and improving the material base of the schools.
Maria Rekść, hand in hand with Lilią Andruszkiewicz, the manager of the education department in the selfgovernment of the Vilnius region handed in the congratulatory diplomas to the teachers which contributed to obtaining the status.
“I wish you that you had more and more children in you school – this year there are 160 of the, let them be at least 50 more next year and so on”, said Lilia Andruszkiewicz

Consul of of the Republic of Poland, present at the ceremony, wished the student and the teachers all the best on the Day of National Education celebrated in Poland.
Following the idea that Mejszagoła is glad of its students which make the school famous with their patriotism and good deeds, there were many past students among the guests. There was also Edyta Tamošiūnaitė, a graduate who has just become a vice minister of education and who witnessed giving the status to the school when she was working in the province.
“Life is a service, and serving other people we can discover happiness in life”, said E. Tamošiūnaitė quoting a philosopher when giving thanks to the administration of the school, the teachers, the authorities for serving the students and the nation so that the country could develop.

Rita Tamašunienė, the chairman of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania and a representative to Sejmas, passed a congratulatory letter thanking the teaching staff and the school society for their contribution in the development of the institution.

“I am giving you also a cup – as a sign of the foregoing achievements, obtaining the status of a secondary school being one of them and I wish you more”, said R. Tamašunienė.

Also the directors of the neighboring schools and the starost wished them all the best.
The ceremony was crowned with a concert prepared by the students under the direction of Tatjany Sinkiewicz from the community centre in Mejszagoła. The youth showed their vocal and dancing talents and in the end they sang, together with the guests, the telling song “Let’s take one another by the hands” calling for friendship and cooperation.