Ukrainian Language and Writing Week

Ukrainian Language and Writing Week

was, as always, fruitful. Our lyceum students, eager to learn and discover more and more facets of their native language, took part in competitions and creative contests.

Each student of our lyceum, starting from the 5th grade, had the opportunity to test their knowledge in the All-Ukrainian Olympiad in Ukrainian Language and Literature, as well as in the Taras Shevchenko International Language and Literature Competition.

Not only high school students, but also primary school students in grades 3-4 took part in the Yatsyk International Ukrainian Language Competition. The winners will take part in the second stage of the competitions. We are grateful to the wise teachers-mentors who prepared the tasks and supported our students in preparing and holding the competitions.

All-Ukrainian radio dictation of national unity

• is a traditional annual national event dedicated to the Ukrainian language. This year, it was broadcast on Channel One of Ukrainian Radio on the Day of the Ukrainian Language and Writing on 25 October. The radio dictation is called the most massive flash mob of autumn.

At the My Horizons Lyceum, it united teachers and students of grades 7-11 around their native language. Although alarms prevented the dictation, our school family felt a common belonging to the Ukrainian nation, which is extremely important today. Special thanks to 10th grade student Koretska Viorica, who did not give up and managed to finish the dictation in a shelter. This is an example of the strength and endurance of Ukrainian children.

Young scientists of the KhPL ‘My Horizons’ Duda Luiza and Shulhatyi Vadym became participants of the XVII All-Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Conference ‘Ukrainian Language and Nation: Prospects for Development in the Period of Globalisation’, which took place on 29 October 2024 at the Khmelnytsky Institute of IAPM.

Leonid Hryhorovych Bilyi, Director of the Khmelnytsky Institute of IAPM; Olga Vasylivna Finovska, Member of the Board of the Khmelnytsky City Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian Language Society ‘Prosvita’; Deputy Director of the Khmelnytsky Centre for National and Patriotic Education of Children and Youth; writer made welcoming remarks.

The speakers were students and teachers of vocational pre-university and higher education institutions, as well as pupils of general secondary education institutions. The conference facilitated the exchange of views and ideas on topical issues related to the preservation and development of the Ukrainian language in the context of modern globalisation challenges. Students of the 6th grade took part in the game-competition ‘Paths of the Mother Tongue’, during which they demonstrated their erudition, intelligence and ingenuity. Two teams answered questions, solved puzzles and came up with words. They recalled Ukrainian phraseology based on pictures created by AI. They demonstrated their artistic and acting skills by depicting proverbs and sayings with the help of drawings. Everyone contributed to the team’s victory.

Sincere emotions of joy, delight and enthusiasm were in full swing. During the event, the children expressed their thoughts on the importance of enriching their language, nurturing and preserving it, because it is our contribution to the victory, to the age-old struggle for the existence and prosperity of the native word.

The teacher of Ukrainian language and literature Rybchynska O.M. conducted an exemplary lesson in the 5th grade on the topic ‘Noun cases’. During the lesson, the students read proverbs and sayings, quotes from famous people about the importance of language in human life, about how our words affect other people. They discussed why it is so important to preserve the language in modern conditions and how it is connected with the freedom-loving nature of our people.

At the literary performance ‘In the beginning was the Word’, primary school students travelled through the history of Ukrainian writing. They saw how the language developed and how Ukrainian literary traditions were born, from oral art to modern books. Each stage of the story was brought to life by our young actors: girls sang folk songs, a chronicler copied manuscripts by candlelight, and a first printer created his first book. Taras Shevchenko, Lesya Ukrainka, and Ivan Franko addressed future generations with instructions. Lina Kostenko spoke about the deep and imperishable beauty of Ukraine.

The event host stressed that language is the force that unites Ukrainians. She encouraged the audience to read modern and classic literature while travelling, at school, and at home!

The artistic and musical performance ‘The Sixties. Creators of Freedom’ was the final chord of the week of artistic and musical events.

The student actors not only recreated the images of famous artists of the Sixties, but also conveyed the struggle for freedom of speech, cultural identity and truth that the creative intelligentsia waged under the pressure of Soviet censorship.

With this performance, we honoured the memory of the indomitable fighters for Ukrainian identity and reminded them that their contribution remains alive in the hearts of future generations.