✔ The Story of our School (Kalavarda, Rhodes

We, the children in the third and fourth grade of primary school, wrote articles about the old schools and interviewed our relatives and residents of our village, Kalavarda, who talked to us about their school years.

We looked up in the old archives of our school to find out when the school had started operating, how many students were each year, and the names of the teachers who were teaching.

Also, we presented our school as it is today and how we spend our time in it.

SotirisKasanis- Katherine – AnnaChatzinikolaPanagiotisGiannakopoulos –ΑnnaAnna-Fotini

Papatheodorou-Danae

Dimitra-IriniKaranatsiou

The foundation of our school

Our school was established after the official decree numbered 27260 / 20-8-47 of the military commander of Dodecanese. The school was relegated to monothesio (meaning one teacher teaching at school) after the ministerial decree numbered 119.467 /9-9-70.

The benefactors

When Italians commanded the island, the couple Panagiotis and Maria Makarouna donated a house to Church on condition that they would use it only as a school, as it happened.

Anna-Fotini Papatheodorou-Danae Dimitra-IriniKaranatsiou

On the way to school

In 1950 students had to be at school early.

But there were no primary schools in all villages and as a result, students were walking for one hour to get to school, in harsh weather conditions.

We should bear in mind that not all kids had shoes and warm clothes in those years.

Also, some kids took off their shoes and walked barefoot in order not to damage the only pair they had.

IriniKaranatsiou

1960-The Breadline

In 1960, the school my grandma used to go to was ‘dithesio’ , meaning that it had only two teachers. These teachers were teaching all classes and they were very strict. There were Turkish toilets outside and a building where kids were eating. The state provided only breakfast. The teachers took the milk, heated it in a pan, and shared a ladle with each kid in their small tin canisters, with a little cheese and a slice of bread.

The story

Anna- Fotini Papatheodorou SotirisKasanisPanagiotisGiannakopoulos

The school inspectors

School inspectors were those people who visited schools to check if students were working properly and observe their teachers’ work as well. So, in this way, teachers were feeling very stressed and they tried to prepare pupils by telling the questions and answers that the school inspectors were about to make. That was not a very nice way for the kids to learn them. Luckily, we don’t have school inspectors now.

DanaeDimitraand IriniKaranatsiou

The punishments

In old times, punishments included the use of a wooden stick and a couple of slaps. The children did everything correctly in order not to be hit by the teachers and, sometimes, they were standing on one leg in a corner of the class.

The school garden

My school has a big garden. Long ago, they planted rosebushes in the whole garden. Even longer ago, my school had fruit and vegetables. At the end of the school year, the kids were selling them and got money to go on holiday. Now we planted various vegetables, such as onions, leeks and lettuce. We created groups that will plant, clear the ground and take away garbage that will be close to our plants. Many students, both in the old times and nowadays, like cultivating plants. I feel great that my school has such a wonderful garden!

DanaeDimitra

of our school

Katherine – Anna Chatzinikola

Our School Today

Our school is very nice. It is ‘trithesio’ , meaning that there are only three teachers and it is green in colour. It has got a big playground with a football field, a basketball, and a volleyball court. We have had the best teacher for three years in a row. When we were in the first class of primary school our teacher said that she would put a lot of pressure on us; now she says that she loves us very much and she would never change her students.

Our childhood trips

My mum narrated that in the 80s and 90s childhood trips were carefree and playful.

We used to go on a trip once a month by car or on foot. On the trips by car, we were cramped into wagons (calling it banina) and we used to go to the sea. On the trips on foot, when the days were nice, we used to shout ‘TRIP, TRIP’ on the playground. And they took us to the nearby stadium. We had our snacks, we played games in groups or we took the cassette player and listened to music. When we went on the last trip of the year, we went on a tour of Rhodes by coach with our teachers and parents. SotirisKasanis

Primary School of Kalavarda, Rhodes island

The primary school of Kalavarda is located in a central place of the village. It was built about thirty years ago and it is still open today. Many things have changed during all these years. The buildings, the playground, the students, the teachers, the subjects.

But something that hasn’t been gone yet is friendships, love, and the continuous effort to keep the school alive!

Panagiotis Giannakopoulos

Classes 3th-4th grade Primary School of Kalavarda

Teacher in charge:

Yiola Pelekanou

Translation by Afroditi Chioti, English teacher

Pictures were created by:

Danae Dimitra Sotiris Kasanis - AnnaFotini Papatheodorou