Konstantinos Tasoulas, the President of the Hellenic Republic, visited the town of Kymi in Evia to mark the start of the school year, attending the traditional blessing ceremony at the 1st and 2nd Kindergartens and the 1st and 2nd Primary Schools.
Addressing the pupils, Tasoulas said that education, schooling and learning bring both joy and hard work, and he urged the children never to be fooled into fearing that effort. He said hard work is blessed, because education allows people to overcome life's obstacles and defeat their fate.
He told the children that being present at such beginnings is one of the most pleasant duties of his role, and he said he could see both the joy and the anxiety of parents wondering how their children would adjust this year, what friendships they would form, and how their learning and cooperation with teachers would develop.
State support for schools
Tasoulas said the state, working with parents' associations and local government, has an obligation to do, and is doing, everything possible to improve school buildings, equipment and staffing of teaching posts. He acknowledged that this does not always fully meet needs that arise along the way, and said everyone must keep looking for ways to overcome them.
He spoke directly to the children aged five to twelve beginning their education this year at the four Kymi schools. He said that thanking education does not mean everyone must excel, since each person has their own abilities, performance and aptitude. He said that through schooling now, and later through secondary education, the children would discover their own inclinations, move toward life's challenges and eventually dedicate themselves to the profession best suited to facing hardship and the demands of a dignified life.
Notable figures from Kymi
Tasoulas pointed to prominent figures the area has produced, noting that Georgios Papanikolaou, the physician credited with developing the Pap smear test used in cervical cancer screening, was once a child just like them. He also cited Dimitrios Galanis, described as a renowned engraver, the writer Pavlos Nirvanas, Admiral Nikolaos Pappas and Major Ioannis Velissariou, saying all of them once began their own paths as children and, through education, overcame their circumstances, making their parents proud.
He said a road awaits every one of the pupils, a road that begins today with the blessing ceremony, the Church's blessings, the care of the state, the love of their parents and the knowledge of their teachers.
Advice to pupils
Tasoulas encouraged the children to combine the joy of friendship, the joy of learning, the joy of working with their teachers and the joy of studying at home, along with the joy of asking questions whenever something is unclear. He said not knowing something simply means teachers need to explain it further, which is why teachers are there beside them.
He urged the pupils not to hesitate to ask questions, to look things up, and to prepare at home for the next school day so they can arrive happy and well equipped. He said they were starting a school year that would equip them for the steps ahead.
He added that those around them, chiefly their parents but also their teachers, the state, the mayor and education directors, stand ready, alongside the Church of Karystia, to offer every kind of support and assistance they need.
Tasoulas closed his address by wishing the pupils a good school year, good progress, and continued success in achieving their goals and plans in life.
