The short story of the village

In a document from 1763 there was an information about the built of a new church, made of stone, at the beginning of the XVIIIth century .
The castle in the middle of the village was built in simple Baroque style during the rule of Maria Therese (1740-1780) by the count Teleki József. In 1821 the castle already needed a renovation .

In the parish register of the Reformed church between 1789-1810 one can see clearly that, at the end of the XVIIIth century there was a strong religious (reformed) community in the village, which was very important in economics, social life and culture.
At the beginning of the XIXth century among Hungarian inhabitants appeared Rom people. The first families are mentioned in the parish register between 1804-1805, and starting with 1826 in the village’s taxregisters too.

In 1845, the young Teleki Sándor, revolutionery and a writer, colonel-to-be, was taking over the administration of the estate in Koltó. Count Teleki took part actively at political life of the Sătmar region as captain of Chioar.

In 1846-1847 period the great Hungarian poet, Petőfi Sándor, visited frequently the “ wild count” (That’s the way he called himself when he met the poet. The count was very direct, having an adventurous life, a noble , who, however, did not give a lot to aristocratic titles.). Due to this friendship, the poet spent his honey-moon in the castle of Koltó, with his young wife, Szendrey Júlia. The literature here would be enriched with 33 new poems, which mostly were written at the stone table under his favourite dogwood.

During the 1848-1849 Revolution, count Teleki was the intendent of general Bem, and after his defeat, he lived in exile ( Paris, Jersey, Guernesey Island, Italy). At that  time he married the daughter of a french general Litez Tivervald Matild, than he came back to Koltó. He died in 1892, and he was buried in the parc, under his beloved dogwood, as it was his last wish. In 1936 the tomb was removed to the village’s graveyard.
The last owner of the castle was count Teleki János, who left the village permanently in 1937, donating the mansion to the settlement of Koltó.
In 1939 took place for the first time in Koltó the Petőfi Festival.

After the 2nd World War the rooms of the mansion served for different activities: a place to stay for the refugees, C.A.P. offices, community centre, kindergarten, medical offices.
In 1960 a room was arranged as a “memorial room Petőfi Sándor” which in time was developed further on, and by the end of 1980’s it has occupied the entire floor of the building.
In 1970 was built a new community centre, also it began the modernization of the roads and high roads.
In 1984 the Petőfi Festival was forbid by the communist power.

Since 1990 the people of Koltó and the people of the neighbour villages celebrate, in September, together with guests arrived from all over the world the memory, poetry and fulfilled love of the great poet : Petőfi.
In 1998 was discovered the sculpture of Petőfi Sándor and Szendrey Júlia in the middle of the castle’s park, manufactured by Pogány Gábor Benő.
In 1999 was set up a monument in memory of those who disappeared in world war I and world war II , and in 2000 was giving in use the multifunctional building of the reformed church. In the last decade of the last century was finished the gas network too, the telephone system and cable television.
On April 15, 2004, Koltó separates itself from Săcălăşeni and become all over again self settlement. In administration’s point of view  the neighbour village, Katalin, appertain to Koltó.

Presentation of the school

Its existence in Koltó is certificated only since 1859. In the document register of the church there is a specification of the decision of the school-board “ it will be constructed a new school in place of the old one.” This is why we think that the old school dates, probably, from the middle of the XVIIIth century. The old building of the school was put up for auction and the next year (1860) the new school was built.
This school was a religious school, it was maintained by the reformed church. The religious school functioned until 1948, when it was secularized.

After the secularization the school was moved in count Teleki’s mansion, who, by the way, helped many times the school with donations.Until 1960 the school was a boarding-school and it had a dining-room.
Until 1983 the teaching language was Hungarian. The Rom  children were fit in, therefore in every class there were 2-3 or 6 Rom pupils. Since 1983(?) were formed two sections (Hungarian and Romanian ) because the number of Rom children raised.

The elementary classes the Rom pupils attended in a building belonging to the reformed church, which had 3 classrooms: in one classroom was the kindergarten and in the other two there were the pupils of the elementary school in two shifts.

 Because the number of Rom children was constantly rising the building turned to be insufficient, and since 2004 the elementary classes and the kindergarten moved into a hall furnished by the village counsil and Procaritas Foundation. In this hall were arranged 6 classrooms, gas was taken in, also water and heating system was installed. The furniture, the separating walls, the doors and the carpets were donated by the Procaritas Foundation.

At the central school, in the middle of the village, since 1990 the teaching process is accomplished in 14 classrooms, director’s office and teacher’s office. The kindergarten and classes I, IV function in the museum’s building (nr.2) which appertain also to the mansion. At the central school study pupils from classes I-VIII (Hungarian section), and V-VIII (Romanian section).The central school was renovated in 1980, 1997, 1998. In 1998 gas was taken in, the heating system was assured by convectors ( heating element by gas).

The school from Katalin also appertain to us; it has 2 classrooms , 1 for the elementary school (simultaneous education), 1 for the kindergarten.

In 2004 our school participated at the Rural Education Project, the main objective of which was to obtain conceptual and practical changes in the teaching process in every rural school. During this form of instruction, our school’s teachers learned about new teaching methods, materials and opportunities of improving their studies within a program of professional development, offered at every school level.

In 2005-2006 we participated at the Phare program “ Acces to education for disadvantageous groups “. Within this project it began to construct a building of 4 classrooms, which in 2008-2009 schoolyear would be finished and hand over to be used. This new school would be attended by the classes V-VIII (Romanian section) and II-IV (Romanian section).

The mission of the school

Our school propose to offer good, qualitative education for the pupils of classes I-VIII, in a school that respond to the needs of a XXIth century school and to become an open school for all the citizens of the community, to offer them equal chances to personal and professional improvement.

Alloying in harmony tradition with innovation we propose to educate young people to be creative, to have performance and harmonious personality, suitable for changes, tolerant, with a strong ethical value system, capable to run their faith and to be useful to their collegues.

We wish that our school became a vital, spiritual, cultural, affective centre of the community, not only by the quality of our actions, but also by professional work of the didactic personnel.
 

Our school is in a village where live together two minorities : Hungarians and Roms. The teaching language is Hungarian , for the Rom pupils Romanian. Thus, our school has a speciality : beside the aims of Romanian education, included in the Law of Education : forming human personality capable to fit in the Romanian society and serve its interests, increase the love for their country, for their historical past and for the traditions of romanian people, contribute to formation and development of ethnical self-identity, and to learn the cultural specifics of Hungarian and Rom race, thus serving interests of this community.