The opening night of Cunning Little Vixen 🦊✨

On Saturday, June 28, the Des Moines Metro Opera premiered a beautiful production of Leoš Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen (Příběhy lišky Bystroušky). Our vice president, Klára Moldová, was engaged as the Czech diction coach and spent three weeks in June working closely with the talented cast and creative team. The sold-out performance was a wonderful success, made even more special by the presence of the Masaryk School’s own “fan club,” who traveled to Des Moines to support Klára and enjoy the opera. During their visit, they also found time to explore the famous Madison County covered bridges and the Des Moines Farmers Market, known as the largest farmers market in the Midwest.

Language courses at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, led by our teacher Kristýna, recently wrapped up with great success!

In the mornings, Kristýna taught a week-long class for teens and young adults, blending focused language lessons with interactive activities and games to keep learning engaging. In the afternoons, she led a separate course for adults. This adult class ran in a hybrid format, with nine students attending in person and seven participating online. Lessons focused on basic vocabulary and everyday phrases useful in practical situations.

The week concluded with a festive potluck organized by Kristýna and her students. The menu included Szegedin goulash, šunkofleky (a Czech pasta casserole), mushroom kuba, dill sauce, dumplings, koláč, chlebíčky — and, naturally, a celebratory shot of slivovitz!

CZECH AND SLOVAK CULTURE CAMP IN MINNESOTA 🇨🇿🇸🇰
For the third time, our teacher Kristýna Horáčková took part in the Czech and Slovak Culture Camp in St. Paul, Minnesota. The theme of this year’s camp was Czech cuisine. Throughout the week, the children made recipe holders, decorated mugs, and created various kitchen decorations. They also learned how to cook traditional dishes like segedínský guláš, dumplings, and delicious Czech koláče. Kristýna connected all these activities with language learning. Together, they practiced simple Czech words, talked about food and cooking, and explored the culinary classic The Little Dog and the Little Cat (O pejskovi a kočičce), a story written and illustrated by Josef Čapek. A big thank you to the Czech community in Minnesota (namely: Louise Wessinger, Doreen McKenney, Sally Lieberman and Diane Bell) for taking such good care of Kristýna and making her feel at home once again!

Thanks to our yearlong collaboration with the Elementary School of Ota Pavel—which culminated in June with the visit of nine Buštěhrad students to Chicago—one of our own students, Tobi Holub, got the chance to experience school life in the Czech Republic. With help from his family, our teacher Irena, and the incredible team in Buštěhrad, Tobi spent a day in the classroom and a full week at a “School in Nature” camp by Máchovo jezero. His host family made sure his trip was unforgettable—with visits to Karlovy Vary and Karlštejn Castle. 🏫🌲🏰

Huge thanks to everyone in Buštěhrad for the warm welcome and open hearts! ❤️🇨🇿