Our school and

the region we live in

Where do we live?

Ostrołęka is a town in northeastern

Poland on the Narew River, about 120 km (75 miles) northeast of the capital city - Warsaw. Situated in

the Masovian Voivodeship.

The symbols of our

town

The flag of Ostrołęka

Coat of arms

„HAEC AVIS PROTEGE” –

„Save It, Bird!”

Green – location in Green ForestYellow – crown and clutches of the white eagle from the coat of armsBlue – symbol of the Narew River

A little bit of history

The history of Ostrołęka reaches the end of XI century,

when on the sandy island a defensive post was built and

a village around it.

Later that village became a City of Ostrołęka.

The document that legistales Town Charter for Ostrołęka,

originates from 1373.

European meaning of Ostrołęka

In early 1807 in Ostrołęka the battle

of Napoleon's campaign between French and Russian armies took place, won by Napoleon’s

armies. The fact that name of the city was gullied on Triumphal Arc in Paris, speaks for its importance.

What we are proud of

Every year in May (12 – 26 May) an event

called "Days of Ostrołęka" takes

place. Organized by The City Council, includes garden parties, athletic

competitions, musical concerts. Important

part of the event is an open air show "Battle

under Ostrołęka", commemorating the events of May 1831 (important battle of

national revolt directed against

Russians invading Poland).

Bridge built in 1995 in form of an arc, modeled on bridge in Seville is the most recognizable symbol of the town.

Town Hall

The architectural side of our town

Fara church – the oldest sacred building in

Ostrołęka (built in1399)The Old Town

Signs of the past

Our region - Kurpie

The Kurpie region is located in Poland on a lowland plain called the Mazovian Region

(Mazowsze), which was once covered over by two forests

known as the Puszcza Zielona (the Green Wilderness) and the Puszcza Biała (the White

Wilderness).

The traditional costume

Women wore red skirts with a green vest over a white linen blouse with some trim and always a necklace made of amber.Kurpie men wore long brown (or red) coats tied around the waist with a red sash, white

linen shirts and white trousers which are fastened at the bottom with straps

from the Kurpie shoes, which they wore.

The heritage park of Kurpie

Kurpie homes were made out of wood and covered with straw, with a cross or flag

mounted on the roof.

The interior of the house was sparse, and the floor was

wood. Windows in a Kurpie home always contained six

panes of glass. Shutters and doors were painted.

What is our region famous for?

Folk art paper cutting

Kurpie women have always been famous for

their paper cut-outs (wycinanki) of animals,

geometric designs, flowers, and so on.

Handicraft

Kurpie make marvellous jewellery.

Quite common material is locally dived amber.

Local women are skilled at crochetting. Their lovely

tattings are a real windfall for amateurs from the

whole country.

Celebrating Christian feasts

Kurpie Palm SundayDuring this season, Kurpies

delighted in making tall Easter Sunday palms out of small trees and decorating

them with flowers and other ornaments in order to protect

their houses from ghosts. EasterKurpie women were

famous for their beautifully decorated

Easter eggs, and cookies made in the shape of the

Easter lamb.

Celebrating Christian feasts

Dyngus Day or Wet Monday (Polish Śmigus-Dyngus or lany poniedziałek) is the name for Easter Monday in

Poland.Traditionally, early in the morning boys awake girls by pouring a bucket of water on their head and striking them about the legs with long thin twigs or switches made from

willow or birch.

Winter Christian feasts

The 6th of DecemberThis date is widely known as

Santa Claus’Day, when children and adults

wait for gifts, which Santa is believed to

leave in boots or socks hung above the

fireplace.ChristmasOn the 24th December each

Polish family dresses a Christmas tree and prepares

Christmas Eve Supper consisting of 12 traditional

meals, which they consume as the first star appears in the sky. Then comes the time of sharing the Christmas wafer, singing carols and opening

presents.

Folk traditions

Kadzidlanskie WeddingAnnually since 1944 on the

third Sunday of June a local couple dressed

in traditional costumes and accompanied by wedding

suite, takes part in different attractions

common for such an event.After the astonishing ceremony, everyone

has a chance to dance with the newly

weds, as well as to have a ride by cart or

to perform in a musical show.

Our school in the past

Gen. Joseph Bem’s Secondary School in Ostrołęka 97 years

ago

How did it start?

Living under Russian annexation wasn’t easy. In Ostrołęka there were no schools teaching in Polish ,

so citizens created a private one. Mr Majewski became Head teacher . The first bell rang on1st

October,1913 and 84 boys came to this private house adapted for a school building.

Only one break for almost 100 years

In 1915, when the1st World War’s front approached Ostrołęka, citizens were evacuated and school had to be closed.

In 1918 Mr Majewski reactivated it. Although the place changed a lot, students started learnig enthusiastically.

It was the first and the last such a dramatic event in history of the school.

Building

In 1919 teaching eventually became cheaper and available even for students with social setbacks.

Only need was the school building, then.Since 1932 it has been a place,

where young people are being educated.

Golesin

Because of the 2nd World War, teaching had to be moved to nerby villages.

It was really tough time for everyone. Golesin was a code name for school.

However, no one has lost hope and in 1945 students came back to Ostrołęka.

Gen. Joseph Bem

In 1975 he became a patron of the school . Bem is a hero of the battle, which took place on 26th

May,1831 near Ostrołęka.

Heroes

In 50s - Stalin’s difficult times - our students

fought for independence. They joined national

organisations such as:„The Union of Polish

Socialists” and „United National

Faction”. Police arrested them and

sentenced to death or expatriated.

Threated like animals, they spent their youth

working in mines hundreds of km from home. Some died, another devoted their health, but thanks

to them , Poland is now a free and independent country.

How have we changed?

Management

Name and

surname

Function at

school

Subject taught

Anna Małgorzata

KoronkaHeadteacher Maths

Joanna Król Deputy Headmaster

Maths

Wanda Żuber-

StaniszewskaDeputy

HeadmasterChemistry

Our Teaching staff

English teacherMs Sławińska

Biology teacherMrs Gawrych

English teacherMs Łomacz

The Headmaster

Maths teacher

Mrs Koronka

Learning process

How do we learn?

Our high school is attended by about 800 students, who don’t only come from Ostroleka but also live in nearby villages.

The teaching staff accounts for almost 60 teachers.

Before starting education in our school every pupil choses a learning faculty, which suits them best. There are avilable:

*Maths ,Computer Science*Economic (Maths ,Geographic)*Medical (Biology, Chemistry) *Science (Maths, Biology,

Chemistry) *Humanistic (Polish,

History)

Nowadays

We learn to improve ourselves.

Charitable actions

Our school organises a huge amount of charitable actions. Students raise money, arrange raffles and take advantage of their own talents to help people in need.One of such actions consists in selling daffodils which we plant every year.

Foreign projects

Every year in February or March our school takes part in AIESEC. Volunteers from different countries (e.g. Brasil, Qatar, Singapore) come to our school to make their fatherland and culture more familiar to us.

We don’t want to abandon our school for a moment, so even during holidays volunteers from the USA visit us for 7 weeks in order to teach English. Willing students take advantage of such lessons.

German organisation called „Internationaler Bauorden” also stays in touch with us. While visiting them we work on our projects, eg. artistic, historic or media, which are to be shown in our school.

Although quite young for academic life, our students prepare for it right now. We take part in different lectures that are held at Polish Universities, eg. in Warsaw.

Cooperation with Romania has been lasting for a couple of years. We exchange e-mails about school, region and traditions with Romanian students. They’ve even published our pieces of work in their school newspaper

Fun time

However, we always find time to have some fun.

Pink rules!

High school prom

About one hundred days before ‚Matura, students, who are at the end of the third year of education in our school, take part in high school prom. That allows them to forget about final exams for a moment. Everybody loves dancing…

…as well as posing for photos ;)

Thank you for your attention!