Private Piri Reis Schools have been honored for the 16th time at the 19th annual “Respect for History Local Conservation Awards” organized by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality.
The journey of the Respect for History Local Conservation Awards began in 2005 when Private Piri Reis Schools established the Archaeology Club with the aim of instilling a sense of historical consciousness in students. This year, the school was awarded their 16th award for the Agora model crafted by club students using sugar cubes. Participating for the 16th time in the competition organized for the 19th time by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Private Piri Reis Schools achieved a remarkable success. In the category of “School Projects on Historical and Cultural Heritage,” the 5th-grade students received awards for their project titled “Not Heritage, but Trust: The Historical Inns of Izmir.”
Sabrina Ataseven, the General Manager, highlighted that Private Piri Reis Schools were the first to participate in the Respect for History and Local Conservation Awards competition, which started in 2002. She stated, “We first participated in the competition in 2005. At that time, our Archaeology Club students were organizing trips to the Izmir Agora and conducting research. As a result of these trips, they began showcasing a model of the Agora made of sugar cubes in the library. Encouraged by guests from the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality who saw the model, we decided to participate in this competition.”
Emphasizing the significance of the competition for Izmir, Ataseven added, “We have turned participating in this competition into a tradition, being the first school to do so. We have made participating in this competition a tradition, except for those years we were not able to participate due to global circumstances. In those days, the models we made with sugar cubes have been replaced by tablets used in lessons. Thanks to this competition, students have the opportunity to get to know the historical values in their city and its surroundings.”
They have prepared a brochure
Preparing a brochure for their project titled “Not Heritage, but Trust: The Historical Inns of Izmir,” the 5th-grade students first read Prof. Dr. Çınar Atay’s book “Closed Doors: The Inns of Izmir.” They then created QR code brochures about the inns using tablets. The students toured the historical inns in Kemeraltı with Prof. Dr. Bozkurt Ersoy, conversing with shopkeepers and distributing the brochures to the public. In the final stage of the project, they shared the information and projects they gathered during the trip with their classmates at school.
