The concert was organised by the Polish Embassy in Ljubljana and St. Stanislav’s Institution with hosts Paweł Czerwiński, the ambassador of The Republic of Poland to Slovenia and Archbishop of Ljubljana Msgr. Stanislav Zore. The event took place on 22nd March 2018 to honour the 450 anniversary of St. Stanislaus’ Kostka death and the centenary of the end of WWI. Among prominent guests were HE Marshal of The Senate of the Republic of Poland Stanisław Karczewski and the president of The National Council of the Republic of Slovenia Alojz Kovšca. The Marshal of The Senate was accompanied by a 30-member delegation including senators, guardsmen and other important guests.

The concert which started with the national anthems of Poland and Slovenia was organised jointly by The Music School of St. Stanislav’s Institution and The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium. The students presented some Polish and Slovene compositions along with poetry recital.

Firstly the Archbishop Zore reflected in his welcoming speech upon St. Stanislaus’  motto I am born for greater things in the light of WWI victims and the Institution’s turbulent history, concluding with the wish that »we all become peace makers«. Stanisław Karczewski pointed at the common fate of the Poles and Slovenes. In the course of history, both nations lost their states, striving to keep the national identity alive. He also congratulated to all teachers, counsellors and parents of the young in St. Stanislav’s Institution, who try to pass on the values that the young Stanislau Kostka cherished so fervently. Andrej Košca said in his speech that St. Stanislav’s Institution laid foundations for the Slovene educational system. Strangely enough, the Institution was founded in order to educate the young but classes were brutally ended by both great wars.  But man proposes, God disposes and the Institution today again serves its primary purpose. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

As customary the graduates spend the week before Palm Sunday in Rome discovering the beauties of the eternal city. Especially from the perspective of Ancient Rome – its hisotry, arts, life and language – it is a perfect place for study.

Every year one of the highlights is the holy mass in St. Peter’s Square on Palm Sunday celebrated by the Pope. This year, on the 33rd World Youth Day, Pope Francis encouraged the young not to be silenced. He explained: »Dear young people, you have it in you to shout.  It is up to you to opt for Sunday’s “Hosanna!”, so as not to fall into Friday’s “Crucify him!”…  It is up to you not to keep quiet.  Even if others keep quiet, if we older people and leaders – so often corrupt – keep quiet, if the whole world keeps quiet and loses its joy, I ask you: Will you cry out? Please, make that choice /…/.«

Hopefully the young of the world will gather the strengh with Jesus to be able to unite themselves with God, thus joining light and darkness, joy and suffering in their everyday tasks. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

In February 2018 the community of St. Stanislav’s Institution bid farewell to the long serving director Roman Globokar and welcomed the new leadership of Anton Česen. At the farewell mass Mr. Globokar accentuated that »he is actually leaving home, not only changing jobs«, which adequately summarizes how he felt about his life and work at St. Stanislav’s Institution. Since 2001 Roman Globokar served the institution as a teacher of Religion and culture, school chaplain, taking over the directorship in November 2005. At the same time, he taught also at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Ljubljana, where he continues his teaching position and research work.

He will be remembered for many achievements and qualities, but he feels in particular strong about three features of his work. Firstly, there was the coordination of tasks in all six constituent parts of the institution, especially in terms of common educational and spiritual direction as well as effective interaction among the priests’ work. This was closely connected with the second goal, namely with building of community. The number of employed has almost doubled in the last 12 years, so underpinning of common traits in reflection and action was of utmost importance. Comprehensive growth of every individual in the physical, intellectual, relational, social and spiritual sense has always been at the heart of the interest of governing body of St. Stanislav’s Institution. The third point is the aspect of creativity, which is more important than knowledge itself. This includes thinking out of the box, being open for challenges, accepting a different world and daring to search for innovative solutions.

Mr. Globokar is grateful to God for having brought him to St. Stanislavs’ Institution. “I have never been in search for my personal benefits, tough I received them in great abundance.  From the very first day, the institution felt like home. I am proud to see the Alojzij Šuštar Primary School and Good Shepherd Kindergarten to prosper. But most importantly it fills my heart with joy realizing that the beauty of newly devised buildings positively influence the employees, pupils, parents and visitors.”

Roman Globokar feels confident about the future of St. Stanislav’s Institution. “Nothing is ideal in this world”, he reflects, “but the fundamental atmosphere is inspiring and productive. Mostly I shall miss teaching in The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium. I believe it is imperative to discus with the young ethical and social questions.”

Luckily, there will be plenty of opportunities for Mr. Globokar to work with the young in the future. He will work in the field of the university ministry, offering extra knowledge on Christian humanism, thus enabling a development of the Christian view of man and the world we live in. This brings about the understanding of no confrontation between faith and intellect.

On behalf of the entire community of St. Stanislav’s Institution, I would like to express our sincere thanks to Mr. Globokar for his dedicated work and commitment. May God continue to bless him! /Lily Schweiger Kotar; partially adapted from the interview by Z. Candellari/

Ana Šubic has joined twenty-eight other students from all over Europe for winning the 2017-2018 translation contest for secondary schools ‘Juvenes Translatores’! Ana translated from English into Slovene. Two other students from the DCG, Ana Schrader, who translated from German and Martin Rode, translating from Spanish, received a special mention for their translation. The 60th anniversary of the signature of the Treaty establishing the European Community was the topic of the texts which young translators from across Europe had to translate.

We all agree that Latin, which all of the above-mentioned competitors have been learning now for the third year, contributed to the excellency and accuracy of their translations. Alenka Battelino, the teacher of English at the DCG, is Ana Šubic’s mentor. In April 2018 Ana will travel with her to Brussels to collect the award for the most accurate translation of Slovenia. This year The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium has competed for the fourth time in a row and won the competition three times! Well done indeed!

The Contest in Numbers

For the 11th time since 2007, over 3000 students from across the European Union translated texts, this time on the subjects of languages and translation. They could choose from any of the 552 possible combinations between any two of the EU’s 24 official languages. Students used 152 language combinations. All winners chose to translate into their strongest language or mother tongue, as the official translators in EU Institutions do.

The Commissioner Günther Oettinger, responsible for Budget and Human Resources at the European Commission congratulated the winners, parents and teachers, pointing out that “This is a great initiative combining two of Europe’s greatest values – language diversity and youth talent.« The aim of the contest is to promote language learning in schools and give young people a taste of what it is like to be a translator.

The Slovene Context of Juvenes Translatores

On the national level, there were 35 students competing from eight Slovene high schools. There were six contestants from the DCG, translating from English, German and Spanish. Peter Jakša, Language Officer from the Representation of European Commission in Slovenia, congratulated warmly the students, mentors and the headmaster Simon Feštanj on the outstanding success of the school. The obligatory languages taught at the DCG are Latin and English, some students take also classical Greek, but all have to choose a third foreign language from German, French, Spanish or Russian. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

St. Stanislav’s Institution was honoured by the visit of Deputy Chief of Mission Mr. Gautam Rana from the Embassy of the United States in Slovenia. He paid a visit on 31st January 2018 and firstly addressed the pupils of Alojzij Šuštar Primary School and afterwards engaged in the panel discussion with the students of the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium. The topics considered were wide-ranging and complex. To start with, he presented his job of Deputy Chief of Mission and daily work schedule and then we moved to the article by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times which we were advised to read and was connected thematically with St. Stanislav’s Institution annual slogan “Where are you going?”. After that, it was time for students’ questions, which were well prepared and pertinent, as Mr. Rana pointed out. Some of them were actually tough to answer. The conversation went on about world politics, the rise and dangers of AI and robots, relations between the US and rest of the world, migration issues, the EU policy. What positively surprised me mostly was his optimistic view that humankind has never had it so good and only our pessimism or ignorance are holding us back. That is why Mr Rana accentuated the utmost importance of education and knowledge, as two key elements that constantly change the world we live in. It seemed this interesting conversation could continue on and on, but we were sadly time limited. All in all, we enjoyed the good atmosphere brought about by Mr. Rana’s nice, relaxed and knowledgeable attitude. The students were definitely not left empty-handed. /Amadej Pavšič, year 4/

Nik Smerkolj (year 3) in cooperation with Marko Jeran from The National Chemistry Institute, Ljubljana presented his research on 28th October 2017 at Mineralientage Show in Munich, entitled World of Minerals, Gems, Jewellery & Fossils. The event hosted prominent experts from different fields, presenting their research work and mineral collections. Nik was invited there as the lead author of his research. Being the youngest lecturer at the conference, it was a big honour to have taken part.

Nik has always been interested in chemistry. His primary school teacher Petra Škofic Valjavec takes most of the credit for his development in this field. She was also the mentor of his research work entitled Reasons for Colour and Fluorescence of fluorite. The research was published in 2015 and  finished with substantial assistance from Natural History Museum in Slovenia in particular by Miha Jeršek from the University in Ljubljana. Colour is one of the most important features of any mineral. Some minerals have their own unique typical colour, others can appear in various colours, fluorite being one of them. During the research two methods were used: PIXE and XRF. It was found out that some elements affecting the colour have the so-called F-centres. Another reason for colouring is the inclusion of other minerals, cracks, gaps and growth in more layers.

At the moment Nik is working on a new research covering a similar topic. /Nik Smerkolj/

Mark Loborec (year 2), the student of The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium was awarded second place at an International English Competition Best in English, which took place on 30th November 2017. There were 17. 612 high school students from 29 countries participating in the competition, which consisted of three parts: grammar, listening and reading comprehension. The competition was organized by a not-for-profit organization Institute for Competencies Development with the help of a language school AKCENT International House Prague. Mark found the competition interesting and said he was lucky, as the tasks seemed to be quite easy. He had a hunch that he would be successful, but was not quite sure about such a good result. Mark’s mentor was Tatjana Jarc, teacher of English at The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium.

We are proud of Mark’s success and congratulate him upon this fantastic achievement! /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

“And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” /Luke 2:10–12/

Let the Christmas message of joy, courage and peace fill our hearts. Allow the light of the newborn Jesus to illuminate the darkness of our lives and liberate us from our fears, prejudices and wrong decisions.

Merry Christmas and a Joyful New Year 2018.

Roman Globokar, Ph. D., Director

 On 23rd November 2017 the international competition in translation Juvenes Translatores took place in all EU member states. The event promotes language learning and translation. The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium participated for the fourth time, this year as the only high school from the central Slovene region. Five contestants were translating from French, Spanish, German and naturally English. Nika, translating from French enjoyed utterly the text itself, which was “not too difficult” as she put it. “The biggest challenge was the title, which I translated as Leaving a foreign country or going back to roots. I hope the official translators will approve of it”. Ana, who translated from German, liked the fact that “one has to be resourceful and creative while translating. The feelings need to be the same in the translated text, not the words – this has proven to be a tough nut to crack.”

 The Contest in Numbers

For the 11th time since 2007, over 3000 students from across the European Union translated texts, this time on the subjects of languages and translation. They could choose from any of the 552 possible combinations between any two of the EU’s 24 official languages. Students used 152 language combinations. All winners chose to translate into their strongest language or mother tongue, as the official translators in EU Institutions do.

The Slovene Context of Juvenes Translatores

On the national level, there were 35 students competing from eight Slovene high schools. Our school has already had two national winners in 2014 and 2016 and are looking forward to this year results.  The obligatory languages taught at the DCG are Latin and English, some students take also classical Greek, but all have to choose a third foreign language from German, French, Spanish or Russian. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

The last day of the exchange was in my opinion truly unforgettable. We started quite early in the morning in one of first-graders English class. The Japanese students presented their high school and Japan, namely its inhabitants, traditions, values and history. After an interesting lesson, a bus took us far away from school and everyday worries.

From Škocjan Caves to Piran

We were taking our guests south – to the Škocjan caves. I had never been there before either, so I was just as amazed as our Japanese guests were. The caves are truly beautiful and definitely worth visiting. You can hear the river at the bottom of the caves before you can even see it and the sound is magnificent. After a long underground walk, we really appreciated the sun and breathtaking nature outside. Our next stop was prosciutto producing facility named Loka, where we were served different kinds of cold cuts that we really enjoyed, especially the traditional prosciutto – I was quite surprised to hear that Japan produces it as well. We visited the factory wearing a bit odd and funny uniforms while discussing the differences between Japan and Slovenia. I was really taken aback, when Yuka, the Japanese English teacher told me that their traditional breakfast consists of cooked rice with spices and a raw egg. Our next and last stop was, in my opinion, one of the prettiest places in Slovenia – Piran. The Japanese – like most others tourists – fell in love with its narrow streets and blue sky the moment they saw it. We took a quick tour around the city and we admired the most famous and known buildings. We were lucky, because the weather was glorious that day, which allowed us to take many amazing photos that will help us remember the good time we had together. Janez, one of the Slovene students, and the Slovene teacher Mr Puc even decided to go swimming, and rather low temperatures could not possibly stop them. In the evening, before we left Piran, it was time to do the hard thing – to say goodbye. Since the Japanese were leaving early next morning, we would not be able to see everybody again, so it was actually the last time we were all together here in Slovenia. Although it was a sad moment, I think the fact that we shall see each other again in two months, helped us fight our tears. The day ended with chatting, singing, filming and even dancing on the bus back home.

 Arigatō

In the end I can say, that this exchange was an unforgettable and delightful experience and I am truly grateful for this exceptional opportunity I was given. In the end, I would like to thank everybody, who made it possible and helped us carry out this exchange. ありがとう, arigatō, thank you! Special thanks go to two teachers who were in charge of the exchange at our end, namely David Puc and Milan Zeman./Jerneja Koren, year 3/