A Quest for Acknowledgement
Anoush Baghdassarian on the power of oral testimony
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May 01, 2012
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Reveals State-of-the-Art Renovations at the Marie Manoogian Institute in Buenos Aires
With great excitement and anticipation, on Monday, March 19, 2012, parents, students and faculty gathered in the Buenos Aires AGBU Marie Manoogian Institute to celebrate the unveiling of two brand new classrooms for its Serpuhí Ekshian Nursery School.
Providing high-quality education and resources to youth around the world has always been a key component of the organization's mission, and the Institute's new classrooms are a testament to that commitment. Designs for the renovations were finished in record time — ground was broken this past January and the work was completed according to schedule so that the improved facilities could be taken advantage of during the current school year. As planned, one of the classrooms increased by 70%, while the other almost doubled in size. Each room boasts state-of-the-art projectors, computers and stereo systems, and is complete with modern furniture and desks.
At the inaugural event, family and friends had the opportunity to tour the new space and watch a video highlighting the extensive demolitions and months of tireless work that made the transformation possible. Mr. Ruben Kechichian, Buenos Aires Chapter Chair and AGBU Central Board member, thanked the project's many advocates, chief among them Juan Ignacio Balian, an Institute alumnus and member of both its Board and Educational Committee. Kechichian also praised the teachers, who, under the leadership of Director Noemí Fourmentel, and with the support of AGBU's local committees, helped make 2012 the year the school reached the highest level of enrollment in its history, with almost 400 students from pre-kindergarten to the twelfth grade.
Following Kechichian's remarks, Archbishop Kissag Mouradian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Argentina and Chile, performed a blessing over the two rooms. He was joined by the project's benefactors, Jorge and María Rosa Kalaidjian, and Souren and Nelly Youssefian, along with other supporters who cut the ribbon together, officially opening the classrooms amidst enthusiastic applause.
AGBU Marie Manoogian Institute's nursery school inauguration marks just one of the many milestones that it has celebrated in the past few years as it continues to develop its premises and curriculums. Recently, the school added two multimedia rooms and acquired modern equipment for the swimming pool in the "Alex Manoogian" Culture, Education, Social and Sports Complex. It is there, in the Nazarian Hall, that the school hosts its weekly community dinners to fundraise for the annual student trip to Armenia. This year's will travel to the homeland from July 21 through August 3 to learn more about their heritage and strengthen their connection to their ancestral roots.
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