P. Katalin Frangepán Grammar School Elementary School and Kindergarten opened in Királyháza

Within the framework of the Carpathian Basin kindergarten development programme, the opening ceremony of P. Frangepán Katalin High School Elementary School and Kindergarten took place on June 9th in Királyháza. The event was graced by the presence of, among others, Alexandra Szentkirályi, the government spokesperson of Hungary.

The Hungarian-language high school’s elementary school and kindergarten, established in 2020, set the goal of revitalizing the Hungarian language in communities where Hungarian-language education or activities have been lacking or nonexistent for decades. Furthermore, it aims to provide an opportunity for kindergarten children, students and families who rely on learning in their native language or choose the institution for language learning purposes. In order to achieve these goals, the institution, together with the newly inaugurated Királyháza facility, now welcomes kindergarten children and students in nine locations.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Andrea Jakab, the acting principal of P. Frangepán Katalin High School, greeted the invited guests and briefly outlined the history of the kindergarten and the results of the renovation work. The principal of the high school, while highlighting the work of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Pedagogical Association, who renovated the Királyháza building as part of the Carpathian Basin kindergarten development programme, expressed the institution’s goals, drawing parallels with the efforts of P. Katalin Frangepán.

Despite the fact that kindergarten education has not yet started in Királyháza, the Tulipán Tanoda actively operates its extracurricular activities. As a result, after the brief introduction, the students of the extracurricular group performed folk children’s songs on their violins accompanied by piano.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Following the musical performance, Ildikó Orosz, the president of the Rákóczi College, characterized the ceremony as a historical moment:

This is a historical moment because we are fulfilling a hundred-year-old debt. There has been no Hungarian-language official state education here for 100 years.

she emphasized.

During her speech, she also also said that all this now provides an opportunity and a start for all the peoples living side by side here to preserve their mother tongue and culture, for which the school’s namesake fought:

It is not by chance that the college chose the name Katalin Frangepán because she also advocated for the preservation of native language education in dispersed regions. I am glad that her initiative, the school bearing her name, has now reached Királyháza, and we can hand over the kindergarten.

 said Ildikó Orosz.

Alexandra Szentkirályi congratulated the young musicians, as coming from a family of musicians herself, she is aware of the amount of practice required to play the violin in tune. In her speech, the government spokesperson emphasized that the family is the guarantee of the future:

The way we treat children and those who deal with our children carries a message about how we envision the future.

she emphasized.

She characterized the cooperation that made these institutions and historical moments possible as a vivid example. Furthermore, she also stated that the kindergartens built with the assistance of the Hungarian Government not only provide physical security in Transcarpathia but also offer a place for children where it is good to be a child and where parents can leave them with peace of mind, knowing they are in good hands:

In Transcarpathia, the Hungarian word, the Hungarian child and the Hungarian future are our well-understood common interest, which is why we are putting our hands to work by doing and building, constructing institutions as much as communities.

she added.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Szentkirályi Alexandra emphasized that the true blossoming is yet to come: when the children arrive and fill the walls with loud words, games, laughter and hope. Finally, she urged the attendees to spread the good news about the kindergarten, so that we can celebrate the festive handover of similar initiatives in the future.

As the handover approached its end, on behalf of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Pedagogical Association, Orosz Ildikó presented a Fairytale Tree and an accompanying package to Anna Radvánszky, the head of the elementary school and kindergarten in Királyháza, in order for the children to watch and interpret Hungarian folk tales through drawings, speech or song.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

At the end of the event, Szentkirályi Alexandra, the spokesperson for the Hungarian government, Orosz Ildikó, the president of Rákóczi College, Csernicskó István, the rector of II. RF KMF, Rezes Károly, the president of Beregszász District Council, and Zadorozhniy Taras, the deputy mayor, officially handed over the renovated building through a ceremonial ribbon cutting, unveiling the supporting plaque and the kindergarten’s name plate.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

At the closing of the ceremony, representatives from the churches, Reverend Béla Peleskei, the chief pastoral notary of the Máramaros-Ugocsa Reformed Diocese, reformed pastor and Lajos Gál, pastor of Szeghalom, blessed the newly handed-over building.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Györgyi Szántó

This article is also available in
• Українська
• Magyar