MY SCHOOL - THE FIFTH GYMNASIUM IN KATERINI

by ADRIANNA PRODROMIDOU

My school is the 5th Gymnasium in Katerini. It is the oldest school in my town. It was built by the Turks during the Turkish occupation and it was used as a government building by them. The German conquerors used it as a prison. It is said that the heads of some young guerrillas, executed by the German soldiers were exhibited in the school yard to terrify the young students who might think of joining the guerrillas on Mt. Olympus and Mt. Pieria.

The school building has got the architectural characteristics of its age; many narrow windows and very thick walls. In the front of the school there is a small garden with bushes and trees. At the back there is an old plane tree under the shadow of which we begin our school day, saying our prayers to God. Every time I stand under that tree I think of how many events it must have seen and lived through.

On my first day at school I felt very excited, because I already knew its history, and because it had been my mother’s and aunt’s school too. Also, I had heard a lot about their school life there.

The playground of the school is at the back. It’s very big and it is where my friends and I spend the most carefree and entertaining time of our schooldays. We play many games together, we talk and tell each other our little secrets...

The lessons are sometimes interesting or, at other times, really dull. That depends on the subject, the teachers and the students.

Generally, I must say, I’m very pleased both with my teachers and my classmates. I am going to attend this school for two more years, and I think that it will always hold a place in my heart.

Adrianna Prodromidou is a fifteen year old student at the Second Lykeio in Katerini. Her hobbies include music, painting and sport, particularly swimming, a sport in which she has won several medals. She has passed the Cambridge FCE exam.