Click to hear the history of the school
The Primary School and the Kindergarten of Kaspaka are co-located in the picturesque village of Lemnos, Kaspaka. Kaspakas, a village in Lemnos with a rich history, owes its name to the Byzantine General Katakalos Kaspakas. In the 11th century, the admiral Kaspakas defeated the Seljuk fleet and built the monastery Kaspakos on Athos. Over the centuries, it has emerged as a village of great historical and archaeological importance. The anchoring of the Englishman Hunt in 1801 highlighted the place, while De Launay in 1898 discovered the island’s only waterfall in Kaspaka. At the beginning of the 20th century, it developed into an autonomous community, having population and cultural growth.
Today, Kaspakas, along with Agios loannis, is a popular tourist destination, with a population of about 1000 inhabitants. The distance of Kaspakas from the centre of the island, Myrina, is 6 km, and the school building is a reference point for the villagers.
Oral tradition says that around 1870 a school opened in the village of Kaspaka with 20 pupils. However, there may have been an earlier school because an untranslated Ottoman fimani refers to: ‘1269 Kaspaka School’, i.e. between 1852 and 1853. In 1874 it was one of the twelve community schools established on the island. It was a three-grade school until 1909 when it was promoted to a four-grade school. It was then moved to a new building, which was built with contributions from Egyptians led by Triantaphyllos Straftis, who endowed it with £10 per annum. The present building’s construction began in 1936, but in 1940 much of the school was destroyed in 1940 due to World War II. However, the love of knowledge and the need for education did not stop the community of Kaspaka. After 1950, a new effort to build the school began, an effort that eventually led to success. On March 17, 1957, the school’s opening ceremony was held, marking a new beginning for education in this place. The major donor of the school at that time was Mr. Charalambos Parathyras.
In 1895-99 and 1904-11 the Lemnos folklorist Angelis Michelis, an important personality of the time, taught in Kaspakas.
Other teachers with a long service in Kaspaka were: Stavros Nikolaidis (1899-1908), Ourania Astridou (1914-20), Julius Angelidis (1920-25), Despina Telidou (1938-45), Chrysostomos Papaggelis (1933-66), Theodoros Karachalios (1958-75), Maria Papaggelis (1966-1971).
Today, the school operates with the appropriate standards, having three classes for the Primary School, as well as infants and pre-schoolers for the kindergarten. In addition, it has a separate room where the computer lab for the new technologies class is housed. Recently, the school library was inaugurated, providing a valuable resource for the education of our school’s students.
In the schoolyard, pupils can enjoy the outdoor area, as there is a basketball court with a carpeted basketball court. The area has been decorated with trees, offering a sense of coolness and tranquility. The Primary School and the Kindergarten of Kaspaka represent a commitment to knowledge and education, making it an important pillar of the local.
(Primary School of Kaspaka 1959, Teachers: Chrysostomos Papaggelis, Francesca Agalianou, George Agalianos.)
(Photo from the theatrical performance of the play “Samuel” by Aristotle Valaoritis, which was performed at the Primary School of Kaspaka. They perform from left to right: Victoria Konstantara, Elisa Tsitsinari, Maroula Papaggeli, Anthi Spathi and Despina Poriazis)
(Gymnastic demonstrations at Kaspaka Primary School in the 1970s, Teacher: Theodoros Karaxalios)
The school today:
