Dear school community, dear high school students and first-graders,

So summer has fled the fields, leaving behind its warmth and rays, as if telling us: “meet the autumn,” and Lithuania in the fall celebrates September 1, the Day of Knowledge. As gymnasium principal I may take joy in the great achievements and shared victories of our school. I hope and believe in the future we will be one of the best, one of the most beautiful and one of the most tolerant schools in Lithuania, not just in Vilnius. I am glad today that we finally have a first-grader named Sarah. This name is emotive and special to me as a Lithuanian Jew. And I am glad we have such an extraordinarily beautiful community, moms and dads who love and take care of their children. I am glad the school community includes a scholar and members of parliament, PhDs and professors, medical doctors and business people. I feel good that everyone understands the importance of knowledge and are prepared to lead their children into the world of knowledge at the Jewish school. I am glad children of different ethnicities have a place at this school and I wish we could have a lot more students, but all those who desire to enter wouldn’t fit in a single school. I have to apologize to those who did not get in. Let’s hope one way or another the gate can open, it is not locked shut. This year we have 420 students, a large number, a great responsibility, the work will be difficult, but we are prepared for everything.