Pécsi Evangélikus Egyházközség

The Lutheran Congregation in Pécs, in addition to church activities, maintains a kindergarten and organizes a variety of other community programs. The Congregation has two foundations, choir, clubs (youth, adult) with several kind of regular programs: filmclub, "Door opening" - round table conversations, concerts, (for example: Gospel). We organise summer camps for children in every year. In the past years we've started to organise mass in English for foreign young people who are living in Pécs. We apply to the quality label with our „Blue Elephant” Kindergarten in the ESC program as a hosting organisation. The Congregation took over the maintainer tasks of the Kindergarten from the local government in 2016, and since 2017 our institution has hosted 10 volunteer within the framework of the European Volunteer Service and European Solidarity Corps. The Kindergarten is in a suburb of Pécs city (Enyezd u. 1.) with 80 children in 4 mixed aged groups. In the mixed groups the younger children can see models and their learning process is easier, on the other side the older children can learn tolerance with the others. The children are 3-7 years old, most of them coming from the sourrounding housing blocks from different family background. The children's inclusion not linked to religion. We have a competency-based educational system focused to the complex personal development. The main features: educating in a democratic cooperation with the parents, learning by spontaneous way, giving intensified support for the disadvanteged children and their family. The days in the kindergarten are structured in: free-play time, specific offers (several kind of developing workshops) and actions with the groups. We place importance on the cooperation with the parents, to teach the children environmentally conscious and healthy lifestyle. One of our main profile is to develop talented children and reduce the disadvantages. We were the first in the city to introduce the practice of the Chess Playground Complex Talent Development Program developed by the Judit Polgár Chess Foundation. Our special sessions are made up of offers from different fields: Sensory integration therapy, relaxation gymnastics, music and door classes, folk dance, Bozsik football. We plan and implement all our activities in the spirit of environmental awareness. We put a focus on preparing our children for community life. Cooperation, finding cooperative solutions and strengthening group identity all play an important role in their relations with each other. Organizing joint activities based on a common experience - Developing respect, esteem, tolerance, empathy for each other. We give a sight to them to understand differences, accept them, respect them, treat them naturally.