A project for the establishment of a high school in Warsaw which would teach the history, and culture of the Polish Jews.

The Society of Friends of the First Social High School (the first independent school in Poland that was created in 1989) intends to open a new school in September, 2006. The curriculum of this school will include teaching the history, culture and traditions of Polish Jews and will also offer the study of Yiddish and Hebrew languages. Although the school will be a secular one, Jewish holidays will be celebrated and those who wish will be able to participate in a program of religious education led by a rabbi.

The Society manages the collective body of high schools named "Bednarska" which now includes three schools: The Communal Gymnasium Nr 20, The First Communal High School (lyceum) and the Lyceum with International Matriculation (IB). Our schools are supported by fees paid by parents together with government contributions (the same as is the case for all non-public schools in Poland). Our financial independence allows us to develop independent academic and personal development programs.

The principal educational basis of our schools is to spread the ideas of tolerance, inter-cultural cooperation and the need to fight racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism in any form.

The project of opening a new school with a program devoted to the tradition and history of Polish Jews is a continuation of the realization of the ideas of all our Society’s schools.

We are convinced that it is necessary to transmit to Polish youth a much broader knowledge about the thousand years of Jewish presence on the Polish soil than has been done until now. This will include an appreciation of Jewish culture and the contribution to Polish culture by exceptional Jewish individuals.

There is a growing generation that has hardly any knowledge of the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural past of Poland. As a result of the Holocaust, three million Polish Jews were killed and thus was lost the world of Jewish culture in Poland. It is our responsibility to preserve and transmit to future generations the memory of this culture; our project will help to do this. The school we create will also help children of families with Jewish roots to learn about the traditions of their ancestors.

In the school year 2005-2006, we intend to conduct a seminar for the future teachers of our high schools. Other participants will include representatives of the Jewish Community (Zydowska Gmina Wyznaniowa), the Jewish Historical Institute, and the Department of Hebrew Language of Warsaw University. This seminar will establish a detailed curriculum for the courses that will cover the history and culture of Polish Jews.
In September 2006 we intend to start two first-grade classes in our new school. Over the course of three years, the three levels of the high school will be established. Altogether, we will have 120 pupils in six classes.

Our project has aroused great interest. Parents are ready to register their children in this new kind of high school.

The school will be located in a historical 19th Century building on Klopotowska Street in Warsaw's Praga district. Since its early days, this building has belonged to the Jewish community. Before the War, it housed the mikvah. It still belongs to the Jewish community (Gmina) who want to lease it to our Society for the school. The building, however, is in very bad condition. To make it suitable for use by our school, it will need general renovations, and for this purpose we need funding. We hope to find sponsors who will want to support our project and also help preserve - and put to good use - one of the very few historical monuments of Jewish culture that remains after the devastation of Warsaw during the Second World War.

Krystyna Starczewska

Director of "Bednarska" Schools

FROM THE WEB EDITOR

Dr Krystyna Starczewska is presently in Montreal. She has been invited by our Foundation to give a talk on 29 July 2005 at 18:30 at 1250 Pine Avenue. The talk will be in Polish on the following topic:

Can the ideas of Janusz Korczak constitute a basis for a modern school ?

Project for establishing a secondary school in Warsaw whose curriculum will include the history and culture of Jews in Poland

You are all cordially invited (if you understand Polish). Visit the Polish section of our Web site for more details.