120 years have passed since the founding of the first kindergarten by Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Virgin Mary

On May 15, 1893, in the village of Zhukel (Sokal region) the first kindertgarten was established at the Monastery of the Congregation of Sister Servants of the Immaculate Virgin Mary.  The first educator of this kindergarten was Sr. Arsenia Hordashevska, the sister of Blessed Josaphata Hordashevska, the co-founder of the SSMI Congregation.  Prior to that Sister Arsenia received her pedagogical education in Lviv and went through an internship in learning the practical skills of running a kindergarten at the Felician Roman-Catholic Sisters in  Zhovkva.  This was just the beginning of a serious cause, since in the future pre-school education would become one of the main activities of the congregation.

Statistics of the Congregation of Sister Servants of 1938 show that the nuns had 76 kindergartens at their monasteries, which were visited by 4,215 children.  The method used in conducting the kindergartens is called “Frebelivian.”  In their educational activities the Sister Servants focused on such aspects of the child’s development: religious, moral, national, intellectual-cultural, and physical.  Until the beginning of World War II the Sister Servants through this activity, served a meaningful part to Halychyna and played an important role in the development of pre-school education in Halychyna.

Today, the Sister servants are attempting to renew this aspect of service in the field of pre-school education.

More details available on the web-page of UGCC Commission on Primary Education.

Reported by Pavlyna Volovetska, Commission Secretary