Our school can be found not in the centre of town, but in the suburbs, in a quiet, green district called LIGOTA.
NAME:
Our school got its name to commemorate a famous Polish astronomer,
medieval scientist MIKOŁAJ KOPERNIK known to the world as Nicolaus
Copernicus. He is said to have stopped the Sun and moved the Earth.
BUILDING:
The building itself is quite big if you look from the outside. There are two floors, the ground-floor, the cellar and the attic.
Downstairs,
on the ground-floor, there are two
classrooms. You can find here also the teachers’ room, the secretary’s
office, the principals’ offices, the nurse’s room, the accountant’s room,
the school library, the gym, the lounge (connected with a small canteen) and the
kitchen.
On
the first floor there are mainly classrooms for younger students, a
science classroom and a psychologist and pedagogue’s office.
On
the second floor there are classrooms for older students, a computer
room, and a janitor’s flat.
Outside
there are two yards where children have their PE lessons. Not in the winter, of
course, but when it is nice and warm.
EDUCATION:
In Poland children start their compulsory education at the age of seven. Before that they usually attend the so-called “zero” classes, but they are organized in kindergartens.
For the first three years children attend grades 1, 2 and 3, which are
called “beginners’ education”.
They have most lessons with their own teacher only, just Religion and English
are usually taught by some teachers from “outside”. They do not get marks
for separate subjects, but at the end of each school year they are evaluated by
their teacher in a descriptive way. They follow the course of the so-called
“integrated education”, which includes such areas as Polish, Maths,
Environment, Sports, Art and Music.
In
our school there are 15 classes of the beginners’ education, with 23 – 28
students in each class.
For the next three years students follow the course of elementary
education (grades 4,5 and 6). They
now have each subject with a different teacher and they get one teacher who is
their counsellor, their form teacher. He or she is responsible for them, goes
with them for class trips, holds meetings with parents, fills in the register
book and generally takes care of them.
In grades 4,5 and 6 students have the following subjects: Polish,
English, Math, History, Science (combining elements of Biology, Geography and
Physics), Art, Music, PE, Computers, Regional Education, Religion and one lesson
with their form teacher to organize class things.
At this stage students get marks, from 1 to 6. 1 is the worst, 6 the
best. Students who get 1 in some subjects at the end of the year have to repeat
the grade.
Right now there are 14 classes of the elementary education in our school.
Except for compulsory education, there are different extra
activities for students to attend after their lessons. There are for
example: sports teams, a computer club, a school newsletter team (they write and
issue our school newsletter,
KLEKS), a Tourists’ Club, a cheerleaders’ band, a school choir, a
school theatre group, a health awareness club, our International Club and
additional Maths and Polish lessons for students who have problems at school.
Our
school belongs to the so-called “schools of one thousand years”, because
after World War II there was a project to build one thousand schools to
commemorate the thousand’s anniversary of the Polish state (history of Poland
as a state officially begins in the year 966, when the ruling prince, Mieszko I,
ordered himself and the whole country to be baptized.)
Its construction was originated in
1952 and took almost four years. The
first students started their education here in September 1956. In those days students wore dark blue school uniforms and the
school symbol attached to their sleeves.
The 50s
and the 60s were difficult years for education in Poland. There were not
enough teachers and not enough buildings, so classes were huge – there were
about fifty students in each class. It often happened, which may sound
incredible for us nowadays, that parents attended lessons together with their
children! What seems strange, people wanted so much to learn in those days that
there were absolutely no problems with the discipline!
In the 70s
there was a tendency in Polish education to “educate through work”. Quite a
popular trend in communist countries. So our school was actively involved in
various works for the environment, such as tidying the area, helping the elderly
etc. It was also the time when Poland was strengthening its bonds with the
Soviet Union, so schools had to organize many long, boring ceremonies, during
which there were lectures, poems and patriotic songs. It was a very good time
for after school activities. Many things were organized for students. We had a
scouts team, puppet theatre, frequent competitions, sports teams, tourist clubs.
In 1973, on the 10th of February, our school took the name of Nicolas
Copernicus and got a banner. Since then, 10th February is our School Holiday. We celebrate it by organising “Copernicus Days”
and a festive ceremony which includes an artistic programme.
In the 80s
our school experienced severe problems connected with the fact that there were
more and more children and no more room for them. This decade is famous for a
variety of charitable events. We organised many of them and helped financially
wherever it was necessary. The beginning of the 80s was a difficult time for
Poland, in December 1981 Martial Law was introduced here. Our school tried to
help students as much as possible by providing extra care and extra activities.
It was open six days a week, and many events were organized to keep the children
busy. There was a philatelists’ club, a sewing course, a photographers’
club, a school choir and dancing team, a poetry club.
Since 1989 and throughout the 90s
we have had the new school management: our principal is Mrs
Maria Szopa – Zając and
the vice-principal is Mrs Maria Bilnik.
They are both teachers of Polish. The school lounge has extended its activity,
about 70 students use it regularly. Students from poor families have been
getting free meals. Since the 90s all over the country the financial situation
of many families has worsened, that’s why the school had to get involved in a
widespread action of financial aid.
During the 50 years of its
existence, the school has had five principals and 170 teachers have worked here.
Right now it employs 44 teachers
and has 29 classes.