The Best Weapon, an Open Parachute and Reason

On April 12, the farewell to high school graduates began with a performance by the Delphine Wartelle’s band and a performance of a French song by Matylda M.

In the introduction to the ceremony,  headmaster Anna Sobala-Zbroszczyk asked the high school graduates who was the author of the statement: “Man’s best weapon is reason” and, in accordance with the quoted words spoken by a famous character from an action movie, she encouraged them to follow the path of reason in life. She advised not to treat the existing reality as an axiom and assured that there is always time to do something meaningful in life. Coordinator Tomasz Mazur also referred to reason, but in the context of reinterpreting Descartes’ dictum from the perspective of an open-minded attitude – competences/values ​​developed in students in IB education. The coordinator concluded that the four-year journey in an educational environment focused on critical thinking is coming to an end and what was once a privilege is turning into a kind of obligation to use the acquired skills and to use them in action in the adult world. He summed up his statement with a quote from his favorite musician, Frank Zappa: “A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open.”

Home teachers, on the other hand,  recommended striving for wisdom to get closer to happiness, and warned against blindly pursuing tasks at all costs. They assured that they would miss the students and invited them to visit the school in the future. The awards were granted by Sławomir Jagiełlo, Beata Żywica-Ciacek, Switłana Kiszko and Mateusz Olechowski. Then, the chairwoman of the school government, Ola S., spoke and thanked on behalf of the students for the laughter, for the tears, for sleeping in the basement in Gdańsk, for the sails, for the teachers’ understanding and commitment, for the inspiration, and for the coordinator’s stoicism. She ended her statement by expressing her belief in the great adventure awaiting all students. The students then received their high school leaving certificates with greetings from Rambo , the author of the saying: “Man’s best weapon is reason.”

At the end, the teachers broadcast a filmed farewell message to the graduates, in which they assured the students that wherever they are, whatever they do, however they feel, they are enough.

(text: Beata Ciacek; photos: Beata Ciacek)