KUPISKIS POVILAS MATULIONIS PROGYMNASIUM: SOME STROKES FOR THE SCHOOL PORTRAIT

The history of the school has started on 1 September 1986 when a spacious 2nd secondary school in Kupiškis opened the doors for the first time. The first lesson began with 774 pupils and 51 teachers inside. Stanislovas Rugaitis was the first headmaster who led the school until 2001. The education of natural science was chosen as a priority from the very first school year. The community of progymnasium is proud that it was named after professor Povilas Matulionis in 1996. Povilas Matulionis was born on 5 September 1860 in Kupiškis. His activity was diverse and meaningful: scientist, forester and pedagogue, poet and publicist, playwright and even Ascene activities director. He is an originator of forest typology science in Lithuania. Matulionis created the classification table of the forests in Lithuania where the plant sites were divided into 3 groups and 10 species (types). He also designed the volume tables of the major species of trees growing in Lithuania and the formula to calculate the rates of annual deforestation. An agreement of cooperation was sighed with Kupiškis forest enterprise in autumn 1997 which later established the award in behalf of Povilas Matulionis and obligated to help to plant the park as well as support the activity of the young foresters. It has already become a tradition to organise a conference of natural science during an annual name-day of the school. The teams of the school partners usually take part in this event. A dendropark was established on the coast of Račiupys at school area. There are 28 families, 63 tribes and 115 species and shapes of decorative trees and bushes currently growing here. The school became a winner in the observation competition of the best managed environment of schools in the Republic in 2011 and was presented with a commemorative plaque “The best managed school environment 2011”. The community of the school became a member of the collective society to beautify Lithuania in 2001. It is interesting that Povilas Matulionis was a founder of this society. There are a lot of various after school activities: sports, choreography and theatre, art, music, traffic safety, an ethnographic ensemble “Zbitkai”, club of tolerance, the group of fishing enthusiasts “Nasrai”, the organization of shooters and so on. Another after school activity of the forest buddies “Atžalynas” has been active in progymnasium since 1997. The pupils and teachers of the progymnasium willingly participate in feneological observations, club of tolerance, the integrated course of natural science program for 5-8 grades and other projects. The progymnasium took part in the international project NordPlus Junior “STEM-real worlds” in year 2016-2018 and together with the partners from the republic of Latvia Pastende and the republic of Estonia Võru Kreutzwaldi schools engaged in diverse natural science, art, technologies and ecology activities. The progymnasium cooperates with Anykščiai Antanas Vienuolis, Kaunas Garliava Jaunučiai, Rokiškis Juozas Tūbelis and Molėtai progymnasiums, Pasvalys Lėvuo, Alytus Šaltiniai and Vilnius Spindulys basic schools. We became friends with Wormstedt Grundschule school in Germany in 1999. Since then we have been studying German and the Germans – Lithuanian. Currently there are 660 pupils studying and 60 pedagogues working in progymnasium. We are modern, all the time learning, communicative, cooperative and open to changes progymnasium.