-
In 2000, the Adventist church
in Ploiesti, Romania
-
cleared two rooms to start kindergarten.
-
Now, the two rooms
grew into two school buildings
-
that soon will house 200 students.
-
It started when a group of parents
and teachers from the church
-
dreamed of a school to provide children
a safe environment to grow.
-
This desire led them to set up
two private kindergartens in Ploiesti
-
in a space provided
by the Adventist church.
-
Parents loved the idea
of an Adventist school.
-
Both of my children were enrolled
in public school before coming here.
-
It’s difficult when I teach my children
about our faith at home
-
and they encounter
conflicting beliefs at school.
-
More and more parents prayed for a school
-
that would help instill the principles
of the Seventh-day Adventist church
-
in their children’s hearts.
-
And in 2015, Excelsis school opened.
-
It started with only 22 students,
-
but every year, their numbers doubled!
-
Today, over 120 students
from kindergarten to 8th grade
-
are enjoying Christ-centered education
at Excelsis School.
-
Every morning, they start their day
with a devotional and a prayer.
-
Children are safe here,
physically and spiritually.
-
Aside from learning subjects
like Math or Physics or Chemistry,
-
more importantly,
they learn about life and God.
-
The school administrators help to connect
families who cannot pay tuition
-
with potential sponsors.
-
As of today, they have
over 20 sponsored students.
-
Parents began hearing about
the quality education
-
and the values taught in Excelsis School.
-
Some even send their children
a long way from home
-
in order to study in the environment
that the school provides.
-
58 such students live outside Ploiesti,
-
and some of them travel
up to 80 kilometers daily
-
to go to school.
-
I love that the students here
are very friendly
-
and we have a lot
of extra-curricular activities.
-
Our teachers don’t yell at the students,
-
and they don’t discriminate against us
on any basis.
-
They’re very nice and they respect us,
even if we’re just kids.
-
In this school, students prepare
for their classes every day.
-
We teach them to explore
and discover new things,
-
and we prepare them for a better future.
-
The students are not perfect;
neither are the teachers.
-
But we try to understand them,
-
and we learn that behind every child
there is a special story.
-
The parents trust us.
-
And together, the teachers, students,
and their parents are a family.
-
The school building
is now working at full capacity.
-
Staff rooms are used as additional classrooms,
-
and the archive room is used as a library.
-
To accommodate more students,
-
the school has started construction
of a new building
-
which will allow them
to enroll over 200 students.
-
Soon, Excelsis School
will expand its ministry
-
to teach even more children
about the love of Jesus.
-
This school answers the needs
of Christian families in Ploiesti
-
because they want their children
to learn good values and principles.
-
Our goal is to present a beautiful God
not only to the children
-
but also to their parents.