Beskydy Mountain Academy
Encyclopedia
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. Located in the town of Frýdlant nad Ostravicí, it draws students from Frýdlant and neighboring towns such as Frenštat, Metylovice
Metylovice
Metylovice is a village in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. It has a population of 1,568 . It is located on the slopes of the Moravian-Silesian Beskids mountain range. There is a All Saints Church in the village.- External links :...
, Hukvaldy
Hukvaldy
Hukvaldy is a village in the Czech Republic, in the Moravian-Silesian Region. Population: 1,900. It lies 150m below the ruins of the third largest castle in the Czech Republic, Hukvaldy Castle , and is the birthplace of the composer Leoš Janáček and palaeontologist Ferdinand Stoliczka.The castle...
and Čeladna, from the large city of Ostrava
Ostrava
Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the second largest urban agglomeration after Prague. Located close to the Polish border, it is also the administrative center of the Moravian-Silesian Region and of the Municipality with Extended Competence. Ostrava was candidate for the...
and from more distant towns such as the border town of Třinec
Trinec
Třinec is a town in Frýdek-Místek District, Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It lies on the Olza River, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. The town has 37,405 inhabitants as of 2009, in 2001 17.7% of the population were Poles...
. It is currently in its eighth year of operation. The first graduating class completed their maturita exams on May 23, 2007.
Faculty
The director of B.M.A. is Mgr. Petr Hermann. He studied at a philosophical faculty and now he teaches Czech language and history. Paul Till, Jonathan Lobel and Mgr. Petr Hermann are the only full-time teachers at BMA, but this school has many other professional teachers and professors who teach part time. Beskydy Mountain Academy is the only gymnázium in Frýdlant which has native speakers. These are Paul Till and Jonathan Lobel. Paul Till and Jonathan Lobel teach the English classes, and Jonathan Lobel also teaches the website class.
Extra Curricular
BMA offers a variety of extra curricular activities. For example, students have the option to join a weekly football/soccer game. A fairly new tradition is a night of poetry and music, aptly named "Night of Poetry and Music." Many hikes have been organized to interesting locations such as the local ecological farm, an old Hussite church, and even the ruins of an ancient Moravian town. In 2010 the Czech language teacher, Lukas Foldyna, began organizing Friday afternoon discussion clubs, where students have been able to come and discuss set topics (i.e. communism and its aftereffects).Voluntary prayer groups have met on a weekly basis.
Trips
Since 2006, 3rd year students with good grades have flown to the United States of America for 3 month visits. They go to high schools and live with American families. In the first year, there were 4 student participants. In 2007, two girls visited the USA. One boy is going to go there in September.
Other trips include all the students. In the winter there is typically a ski course and in the summer there are school field trips - for example to Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
or Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. These feature hiking, rafting and playing games.
Sometimes teachers take students on interesting excursions (to Uherské Hradiště
Uherské Hradište
Uherské Hradiště is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It lies on the Morava river and is the seat of the Uherské Hradiště District.- History :...
or Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
etc.) The students have visited major central European capitols of industry and commerce such as Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Ostrava, Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
, and the wine country of eastern Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
. In 2006 the students took a trip to Mikulov
Mikulov
Mikulov is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic with a population of 7,608 . It is located directly on the border with Lower Austria. Mikulov is located at the edge of a hilly area and the three Nové Mlýny reservoirs...
and in June 2007 they went to Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
for 6 days.