News - One day at School
Among all the ornaments and posters you see walking round the Alber Schweizer ETE Primary School in Gliwice you will also find Bible verses. In the classrooms, next to maps, mathematical equations or historical references you will see illustrations from Bible stories, some Biblical truth or a verse.
They really stand out but still match the “environment”. The relationship between the students and teachers during lessons is no different during recess. You can feel the kindness and peace. A pupil can admit that he doesn't understand without fear of a critical reprimand from the teacher. Little children are active and learn good relations within a small group. Nobody feels alienated.. If I add that the day begins with a 30 minute Bible lesson, and the teachers have time set out for prayer for the school and its students, I can only come to one conclusion - yes, this school is different. I want to go to this school! A smaller number of students per teacher than in public schools allows individual care for each pupil, but on the other hand requires true commitment from the teachers. Nobody is anonymous. The cooperation with the parents is also more personal. Many of them proudly say: “Our school”. The Headmaster wants to involve the parents in the process of educating the children and organizes conferences, lectures and individual meetings.
The extraordinary atmosphere in the school is also a result of the individual character of each class created by the pupils and their leading teacher.
A few examples...
Both the leadership and the personnel are young people, but they certainly don't lack anything in professionalism and experience. That really showed in our conversations and observations.
We had the opportunity to eat lunch with Maria Czudek - the director of the ETE Liceum and Gymnasium. “It all started from her.” We were also accompanied by Marcin Szala, the director for development and investments, as well as Lidia Janik, the headmaster of the primary school. I am impressed by the work and attitude of the young Headmistress. Full of enthusiasm, and committed to her colleagues. Only one year ago the school didn’t even have its own building. Now they are working in a new beautiful building.
When I asked about their needs I heard about the necessity of completing the second wing. Now it is just a bare foundation... A second need is promoting the idea of Christian schools in the society and raising awareness of how much good it brings. Where our children spend the first years of their lives is no trivial matter. The environment has great influence on shaping the worldview, personality and attitude of our kids. If the environment is filled with God’s message, the positive influence will be clearly visible in their lives.
Photos from our visit may be found at http://www.eb.org.pl/pl/galeria/jeden_dzien_w_szkole.html"
