Literary Society Parnassos
Night School
The Project of the Night School of the Literary Society Parnassos
The Project of the School
The Project of the Night School of the Literary Society PARNASSOS
The Literary Society PARNASSOS decided in 1872 to establish a Night School for Destitute Children, "with the aim of helping to solve one of the most serious social problems of that time ... to put an end to the misery of an army of ragged children and adolescents, children without parents and adolescents without guardians , multitudes of orphans as well as abandoned children...". In other words, he wanted Parnassos to warm with his affection the tragic victims of society and fate, to teach them letters, to mold them into creative people.
Thanks to the great material help of benefactors and donors, the School, in a new privately owned building (1932), produced a huge educational work and helped thousands of students. During the first period of operation until 1930, the students attending the School exceeded 100,000. And because what is beautiful, beneficial and honest is hard to bend and rarely lost, the School has managed to function for over a century without altering the ideals and core values that its founders envisioned. Today, her noble work continues with the Night Primary School that offers education to expatriate and foreign students from the five continents who live in Greece and wish to participate in Greek education.
Administration | Departments
School Administration
The statutes of the Literary Society (articles 52 et seq.) and the Regulations of the School define the administrative body which has the responsibility of running the School. The School is managed by a Deanship, which ensures its orderly operation and consists of the Superintendent, the Secretary, fourteen Deans who are elected by the regular members of the Association during the general elections and two special Deans who are elected by the Association’s Ephorate at the first meeting after her election.
Departments of Foreign Languages
At the Night School until 2015 there were English, French, German, Spanish and Italian language classes which were attended by a large number of adult Greek and foreign students. For three academic years, Russian and Arabic language classes also operated with a sufficient number of enrolled students. Students at the School participated with great success in exams to obtain proficiency certificates of very good and excellent knowledge of the foreign language being taught. For participation in the classes, a symbolic amount was paid as registration to cover technical and educational needs.
Primary school
The Primary School enrolls Greeks, who for some reason did not complete their studies in primary education, expatriates as well as foreign students who wish to be taught the Greek Language and Greek Culture. Throughout the years of operation of the Primary School, until today, especially for the foreign students, an effort is made for their smooth integration into Greek society and they are prepared in such a way that they can adequately respond to the Greek language and history exams.
Attendance at Primary School was free until 2004. Since then, a small symbolic amount is paid as registration, while for each level of study, the corresponding book is distributed free of charge.
Department of Byzantine Music
For a number of years until 2008, a Byzantine Music department operated at the School in which specialist knowledge of Byzantine and Folk music was provided to beginners and advanced students, without financial participation. The department was transferred as an annex of the School to the parish of Agia Triada Ampelokipi from the year 2008 until 2010, when its operation was stopped.
Computer Science Department
In the School, for more than twenty years until 2013, there were Informatics departments, beginners and advanced, which were attended by a large number of students. During each academic year, the departments operated in two periods and the study was four months long. Students were taught the basic concepts of Computer Science as well as all ECDL modules.
Department of Visual Arts
From 2012 to 2016, a sufficient number of students attended Free Drawing and Painting courses in the Visual Arts Department. Students were taught the basic knowledge of freehand drawing, composition and colors. As part of the courses, through discussions, screenings and visits to museums, the students acquired knowledge of Art History.
Facilities
Building Infrastructure | Facilities
The building of the School for Needy Children was founded on April 6, 1930. The foundation ceremony took place in the presence of the then President of the Republic, Alexandros Zaimis, the Prime Minister, Eleftherios Venizelos, members of the Government and other authorities. The School was housed in the privately owned newly erected building on 2 Themistokleous and Kantakouzinou Streets in Kaningos Square in 1932. Many children and teenagers, who worked during the day, attended the Primary School and High School classes in the afternoons. After the Second World War, the school’s building served as dormitories for needy children and teenagers. Their purpose was to stay for a few days until it was possible to find a job and a permanent home. Over the years, the operation of the dormitories stopped since there was no longer a need for them, while the operation of the Gymnasium was also stopped. Parallel to the Primary School, departments of Foreign Languages, Informatics, Byzantine Music and Visual Arts were gradually created. The Night School was housed in this building until the 2015-16 academic year. After the closure of most departments, the School was moved to the main building of the “PARNASSOS” Literary Society, at 8 Agios Georgios Karytsis Square, where the Primary School is now housed and continues to operate.
Events
School Events
Every year, a number of educational, cultural and religious events took place at the School. Among them, the Christmas celebration held a special place because it was organized by the teaching staff with the participation of foreign students, who presented customs of their homeland and the special way of celebrating the holiday in their country.
There was also great activity of the School, especially the Primary School, in the field of organizing educational trips with the participation of many of its students. A leaflet with relevant material and information about the places where the educational visits were carried out was always drawn up by the teachers and distributed to the students. Until today, one-day and two-day excursions have taken place in many parts of Greece such as: the Archaeological site of Ancient Olympia, the Archaeological site of Delphi, the Holy Monastery of Agia Lavra, Kalavryta, the Archaeological site of the Acropolis of Mycenae, Mystras, in Monemvasia, in Chalkida, in Sounio, in the main archaeological sites of Aegina but also in Agios Nektarios, in Meteora, in the Great Cave, in the Holy Church of Ag. Andreas in Patras and Ag. John the Russian.