Meet the top students of the Yane Sandanski High School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in the town of Gotze Delchev, one of the 23 “Schools of the Future” chosen by America for Bulgaria Foundation for modernization of the learning environment.
America for Bulgaria Foundation donated BGN 90,000 to the project. Another BGN 90,000 was raised through contributions of local businesses, citizens, and former alumni.
The results of the team’s diligent work became evident on September 27, when Yane Sandanski High School officially opened the new Center for Natural Sciences and Mathematics, equipped with modern laboratories and cabinets. Everyone who contributed to the successful implementation of the project was invited to the official ceremony.
“Our main goal is to teach our students to think,” said principal Elka Bozhikova and thanked everyone who worked to build the center for their efforts.
The center occupies an entire wing of the renovated school building. It is one of the main reasons why the Minister of Education and Science personally declared the high school an innovative educational establishment.
What does “innovative” mean? A group of teachers at Gotze Delchev High School will form a professional training community to manage the activities in the new center. The school is equipped with wireless Internet, and mobile phones are part of the learning process. In addition, there is a “chill zone” in the hallway, where students can work in groups, share thoughts and ideas, rest, or just read an interesting book. The students and their teachers demonstrated some of the activities that will take place in the new center.
“We are in the 10th grade, majors in chemistry. We are the people who will be curing you and your children,” said the students to their guests in the new, modernly equipped chemical lab. They went on to demonstrate the chemical properties of sodium in an interactive presentation and experiment.
