Beata Ciacek
16.04.2025
13:58

,,…Nurture Strength of Spirit…”*

On 11 April, the farewell ceremony for high school graduates began with several of them singing a song by Marek Grechuta Only the days we don’t know yet are important…. and a performance of Delphine Wartelle’s band. The hit song from the 1970s grabbed the whole room and many people sang along with the performers from the stage.

The official part of the ceremony was opened by the headteacher Anna Sobala-Zbroszczyk who, referring to the scene in the lift where she met the student who was sad because it was to be his last physics lesson, recalled that 2^nd SLO Jasienica High School is one of the best schools in Poland, with only one student failing to pass the matura exam because of becaming ill. She expressed her conviction that the current matriculants are excellently prepared for their exams and that they can be proud of the school, just as the school is proud of them.

Pride was also evident in coordinator Tomasz Mazur, who further expressed not only his joy at having travelled the four-year road together with the students, but also his gratitude to them for co-creating the school. In the philosophical part, the coordinator referred to Descartes and his I think, therefore I am, and encouraged a sympathetic view of the value of reflexivity, which has three important components: the ability to stop and stand back, the ability to modify one’s habits and the ability to restrain one’s reaction to a stimulus. The coordinator assured the high school graduates that they already had the ability to be reflective at such an early stage of adulthood, an otherwise very valuable skill throughout their lives. In conclusion, he advocated a combination of Descartes’ and St Augustine’s approaches and urged: Think and do what you want.

The coordinator’s stoic approach was warmed up by the headteacher, who recalled St Augustine’s original maxim Love and do what you want and pointed out that love is a prerequisite for doing good and that reason is not always enough. The headteacher then read out the Desiderata, written by Max Ehrmann, which every graduate of the 2^nd SLO Jasienica High School has been receiving for thirty-five years.

Later in the ceremony, hometeachers Ewa Błasiak, Misza Tomaszewski and Anna Brymora as well as other teachers spoke. Ewa Błasiak thanked students for inspiring her to become a parent, urged them to enjoy the here and now and to see meaning in all their lives. Misza Tomaszewski, meanwhile, urged students to think of themselves with tenderness, to engage with others and to have the courage to set boundaries. Anna Brymora, on the other hand, thanked the students for the wonderful time they had spent together and asked them while going out into the world to speak well of Poland, to speak what is important for them in here and what moves them the most. Furthermore, she urged the high school graduates to come back and do important things together in the future. The hometeachers then handed out grade transcripts to each graduating student. Joanna Utri recalled the time of the prom on 17 January on Szwedzka Street, encouraged students to watch the film under the title Swedish Theory of Love and read a letter with a few words for loved ones wishing the students a happy, which means full of problems to overcome life. Marta Wierzbicka-Kotte thanked the students organising the JasMUN conference and invited everyone to a performance entitled 1989 in Gdańsk.

On behalf of the parents, Agnieszka Magiera thanked the whole staff for educating without fanfare or spotlights and for inspiring parents, thanked the Polish language teachers for their wonderful initiatives, the headteacher for standing up for the values of the school, everyone for their open hearts, minds and doors and for their friendship and community.

On behalf of the students, several high school graduates thanked the school’s management, coordinators and staff for making the students feel welcome in school, the parents for their love, which was put to the test on many occasions, and everyone for the opportunity to attend 2 SLO. Students called their teachers supportive and believing in their students’ success guides. The ethics, work shop, power of laughter, kindness, belief in the value of acceptance, openness to the other, good habits and knowledge will stay with us. Thank you, said Nina.

At the end, the high school graduates received a surprise prepared by a team of teachers under the direction of Agata Poddębska.

*Ehrmann Max, ,‘Deisderata’, https://mwkworks.com/desiderata.html, accessed 16 April 2025