The History of School of Liberal Arts

By the way, the School of Liberal Arts has

its website which was designed and

developed by Hleb Danilenko,

 our school leaver of 2019.

If we ask anybody a question: “How do you begin your “conscious” life and how do you finish the period of adolescence?” The answer is is quite obvious: “Of course, at school!”

In the fate of each person, the educational institution plays the highest role at the stage of personality formation. But school school is different. Lyceums, schools, gymnasiums. There are many educational institutions in our city, but the “School of Liberal Arts” Educational Complex of Kherson Regional Council is the one!

Let’s get acquainted with this unique educational institution, which is called “Little Switzerland” or “School of Joy”!

On 4 July, 1991 the Ukrainian government adopted the Law of Ukraine stating that, along with state schools, non-state schools can also exist. However, to carry out such an untested case turned out to be extremely difficult. After all, there has never been such an experience. The Kherson “School of Liberal Arts” was one of the first to emerge in Ukraine. Upon the initiative and suggestion of Ivan Ivanovich Kobylyatsky, the Professor of the Pedagogy Department, and Tamara Vasilievna Dyachkova, the Associate Professor, the “School of Liberal Arts”, an experimental school of Kherson Pedagogical Institute was opened. The school was registered on 31 January, 1992. This day became the birthday of the School of Liberal Arts.

On 12 December, 1991, Artyom Kiyanovsky, a graduate of Kherson Pedagogical Institute, was appointed the headmaster of the school by the order of Kherson Department of Education. He was only 23 years old. The youngest headmaster of all.

As early as at the institute, Artyom Kiyanovsky introduced the idea of student-centered education into practice. To a certain extent the content of the work was experimental. It contained the organization of the educational process, since this is a full-time school; the creation of a positive emotional background at school; close relationship between family and school and research work.

In the period of 1994-1997 the SLA becomes an experimental platform for Kherson Advanced Teachers Training Institute on the problem: “The working out of a model of a full-time school with developmental education, with advanced study of foreign languages and certain subjects of the humanitarian cycle.”

There are a lot of Scientific supervisors of the school. Among them are the Corresponding Member of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine, the Academician Evdokia Petrovna Goloborodko, the Associate Professor Tamara Vasilievna Dyachkova, the Academician Olga Vasilievna Sukhomlinska.

In 1998, on the basis of the school, the only laboratory in Ukraine of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences was opened on the problem of humanization of education and upbringing, and the Headmaster of the SLA Artyom Alexandrovich Kiyanovsky, the author of a number of books and scientific articles on fundamental problems of education, defended his PhD thesis.

In 2000, the School of Liberal Arts was recognized as the winner of the city competition “School of the Year”.

In 2001 The School of Liberal Arts was certified with honors for the right to issue state documents.

In 2002, the school took 1st place among general education schools in Kherson in city subject Olympiads. Our school had 18 winners! Among them 8 students were the winners of the contest “Experts of the Ukrainian Language”, 4 students were the winners of the Minor Academy of Sciences.

In 2003, the SHGT was awarded an honourable distinction by the Ministry of Education of Ukraine – a certificate for success in improving the life of students, a unique thing for nowadays. Year by year the school became cozier, safer and more beautiful.

At the school, the club “Alternative” was created, the guests of which were: the satirist writer Mikhail Zhvanetsky; such People’s Actors like: Lev Durov, Irina Alferova, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Vladimir Konkin; performers of the Mariinsky Opera and Ballet Theatre; the well-known Ukrainian singer Alexander Ponomarev, the popular TV presenter Boris Burda; the tenor Vladimir Grishko and many others.

At the school, from first days of its functioning, the children are taught different disciplines by the author’s programs. Among them are such author’s courses like “Classical Greek-Roman mythology, “History of Religion”, “Theater”, “History of arts”.

In February 2008, the school was reorganized into the “Communal Institution” Educational Complex “School of Liberal Arts” of Kherson Regional Council.”

In December 2013, the educational complex “School of Liberal Arts” of the Kherson Regional Council received the status of an educational institution of the All-Ukrainian level (one of 200 experimental educational institutions in Ukraine) for conducting experimental work on the topic “Holistic development of the personality of a student in the information space of an educational institution” (Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated December 30, 2013 No. 1860).

In December 2014, by the order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated December 4, 2014 No. 1440, the results were summed up and the report on the completion of the I (preparatory) stage was approved. On December 30, 2015, by the order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No. 1398, the results were summed up and the report on the completion of the II (conceptual and diagnostic) stage of experimental work on the basis of the Communal Institution Educational Complex “School of Liberal Arts” of the Kherson Regional Council was approved. The third stage of the experiment continues.

The educational complex “School of Humanitarian Work” of the Kherson Regional Council is a laboratory of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine.

Today, the Educational Complex “School of Liberal Arts” of Kherson Regional Council is a modern educational institution that provides education and upbringing of children at the level of the European standards. This is being accomplished by the team consisting of:

– 1 Honored Worker of Education of Ukraine;

– 2 honored teachers of Ukraine;

– 3 candidates of pedagogical sciences;

– 2 academicians of the APS of Ukraine;

– 2 graduate students;

– 15 teachers were awarded the badge “Excellence in Education of Ukraine”;

– 1 teacher was awarded the “Sofia Rusova” badge;

– 51 specialists of the highest qualification category;

– 26 teachers with the title of “Teacher-Methodist”;

– 7 educators with the title of “Educator-methodologist”;

– 11 teachers with the title of “Senior Teacher”.

– The educational process in the SLA is provided by the highly professional team of teachers, all in all 80 teachers and 30 educators, of which there are:

The Honored Worker of Education

2 Honored Teachers of Ukraine

The Honored Journalist of Ukraine

The Honored Worker of Culture of Ukraine

4 Candidates of Pedagogical Sciences

2 candidates of philological sciences

61 specialists of the highest category

1 teacher was awarded the badge “Sofia Rusova”

32 teachers with the title of “Meodist Teacher”

11 educators with the title of “Educator-methodologist”

5 teachers with the title of “Senior Teacher”

8 specialists of the 1st category

11 specialists of the 2nd category

A school scientific society “Erudite” was created in our Educational Complex “School of Liberal Arts” under the leadership of Movenko Eleonora Grigorievna, the Honored Teacher of Ukraine. Each high school student is under the guidance of a supervisor, from June to October they work on a research topic, prepare their works, which they defend in front of a competent commission. This unique experience teaches children not only to think independently, but also to speak in public, answer the questions from their opponents, and participate in discussions. A love for science is instilled, participants in regional Olympiads, competitions, Minor Academy of Sciences are being prepared.

Particular attention is paid by the teaching staff to the celebration of such holidays as the First Bell, the Last Bell, the Birthday of our SLA.

These events are prepared and held as a collective creative work on the main stage of the region in Kherson Academic Theater named after N. Kulish. The performances under the guidance of an experienced director E.A. Serbina are attended by both students and teachers, as well as the theater artists.

The specificity of the “School of Liberal Arts” is that both the class teacher and the educator work in each grade of elementary and high school, which ensures not only constant control by adults, but also close interaction between adults and children, both during school hours and beyond.

The administration of the Educational Complex sees its main task as for the information policy in covering all, without exception, aspects of the activities of the “School of Liberal Arts” before the parent community, the teachers and the students.

This is facilitated by the creation of the site www.sgt.ks.ua.

The joint project of the Kherson Art Museum named after Shovkunenko and SLA, as well as the joint project of the Kherson Regional Museum of Local Lore and SLA on the topic “Museum Pedagogy” continues. The project is led by the Deputy Director for Science of the Kherson Art Museum named after Shovkunenko, the teacher of the course “History of Religion” at Educational Complex Dyachenko V.V., the primary school teacher Paladiy L.A., the German language teacher Poluschkina N.P.

To prepare children for visiting an art museum, teachers of the “School of Liberal Arts” spend class hours with stories about works of art, collect reproductions of famous works stored in the largest museums in the world, and design cool wall newspapers using information new to the children. The students are introduced to the vocabulary of basic artistic terms (landscape, still life, portrait, composition, painting, painter, reproduction, etc.).

In order to organize and conduct extracurricular work with students, to reveal the creative abilities of children, the Weekend Club operates at the Educational Complex. Today there are 22 circles in different directions:

12 – Artistic and Aesthetic

3 – Physical Culture and Sports

1 – Library and Bibliographic

2 – Tourist and Local History

4 – Scientific.

A special pride of the school is the complete development and methodological support of the course the “Theatre” for grades 2-4 (the teacher of the first category Yatchak Z.N.), grades 1 (5) -4 (8) (the teacher of the highest category, “Senior teacher” Serbina E.A.).

In October 2016, the programs of school teachers tested at the School of Education and Science were certified by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

1. “Classical Greek-Roman Mythology”

2. “Christian Ethics in the World Artistic Culture”

3. “Fundamentals of Philosophy”

4. “Bible History and Christian Ethics”

5. “Fundamentals of Opera Art”

6. “Fundamentals of Information Culture”

7. “Traditions of the Ancient Greek Theater”

8. Life Safety Skills

9. “Young Tour Guide”

10. “History of Theatrical Art.”

All of us are proud of our “School of Liberal Arts”!