Students of 28th Lyceum of Thessaloniki in a radio broadcast

On Sunday the 19th of February, 6 of our school's students presented   the project “Lessons for present lessons for future” on the state's radio (102 fm). For 50 minutes the students talked about the goals and the activities of the project as well as the experiences that they gained through their participation. They also talked about the schools and countries that they visited, the friends that they made and the hospitality with which they greeted their European partners last February. Finally, they emphasized that they would pursue participating again in an Erasmus project.

Students of Gimnazjum im. Jana Pawła II in Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

On 3rd February third year students of Gimnazjum im. Jana Pawła II in Sosnowiec visited Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim.

Photos by Tymoteusz Masarczyk

Nour, a Syrian refugee talks to the students of Grade B, 28th Lyceum of Thessaloniki

On Wednesday, 1^st February the students of Grade B met and talked to Nour, a Syrian refugee. 27-years-old Nour talked about what made him flee his country and what hardships he went  through to reach Greece. He spoke about his home city, the devastated Aleppo, his family, whom he lost during a bombarding, his parents, his sister and his girlfriend whom he was about to marry to. He also spoke about his journey in the Greek territory: from Mytileni where he arrived on a boat from  the Turkish coast to Athens  and then to Idomeni and finally to Thessaloniki. There he works for a nongovernmental  Organization as a translator helping his fellow citizens.

Nour recited his tragedy with no emotional strain. But in his eyes one could recognize the deep pain of a man who lost everything and has nothing to keep him going. The sincerity and directness of his talk captivated  the students who listened to him with attention  and  were emotionally touched.

The question seems plausible: What can we do to help those people?

And even more What can we do to prevent wars from devastating cities and human lives?

Third year students of Gimnazjum nr 9 im. Jana Pawła II visit Institute of National Remebrance

In November all third year students of Gimnazjum nr 9 im. Jana Pawła II visited "Przystanek Historia" (The History Stop), the educational centre of the Institute of National Remembrance in Katowice in order to participate in special classes preparing them for the visit in the State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau. 

Casale meeting in Kurier Miejski Sosnowiec

Lessons for present, lessons for future

Meeting in Siilinjärvi 11.9.-17.9.2016

Lauri Simpanen

A long waited Erasmus+ week after months of preparing was about to begin and we were of course a bit nervous. Our program started on Monday with an opening ceremony at Ahmo school. It was something unbelievable see all our European friends here in Finland and at our school.

Speeches were given and students performed Finnish music and dances from different countries.

After coffee students from all participating countries had their wonderful presentations in school’s auditorium. They dealt with the theme: “How can we prevent ourselves to become indifferent?” Maarit Pöyhönen had a lecture about Finnish educational system and Kati Strandén told us about finnish special education and Ahmon koulu JOPO-class. The teachers’ day continued with project management. In the evening we had a nice dinner in Kuopio city center.

Tuesday’s theme “Who owns the past” started in auditorium with reflections on the history of jews in Finland  by PhD Laura Ekholm. After interesting lecture she went on with the question: can Europeans be non-christians? In the afternoon there was another lecture given by PhD, adjunct professor Oula Silvennoinen about a question: Does the past matter? He talked about the holocaust and the Finnish democracy and today’s relationship with history: “History in a post-factual world.”  

Student’s were listening those great lessons, but had their own program too. Ahmo school drama students had prepared a play: “A dramatic approach to the theme of being an outsider - aren’t we all?” Students performed music as well. Students had a chance to make art by painting “Best wishes” and to learn a finnish folk song in music class. Kuopio regional newspaper visited and interviewed us about our program. We could read the article in Savon Sanomat following morning.

After school day the entire group visited Harjamäki mental hospital area. There was a walk around the hospital and riding stables and a visit to the Hospital Museum. History of mental hospital gave us a new perspective to human rights. In the evening  the dinner was enjoyed in Puijo tower restaurant with incredible views over city Kuopio.

Wednesday morning started with a lecture and practice about restorative thinking and peer mediating. After that students had cooking lessons and they prepared traditional Finnish food. In the afternoon we headed to Ruokoniemi, Siilinjärvi Lutheran parish camp. Program was to learn about human rights and prejudices. We had beautiful warm weather, so warm that some students swam in the lake after sauna. It was a lovely evening by the lake having sausages and traditional pancakes by open fire. A Finnish nature showed it’s most beautiful faces.

On Thursday we visited Kuopio. First we had an interesting lecture about today’s situation in Kongo. Katja Hedberg presented us what it is if there are no human rights. On the coffee break in Kuopio market place we tried famous Hanna Partanen specialities, Finnish apple pie. Students had some free time to do shopping in the city. After lunch we visited Old Kuopio Museum and Riisa, Orthodox Church Museum. In the evening we had a lake cruise with MS Ukko. Luckily weather was pretty during the cruise. In the evening we tried Restaurant Sampo’s  famous of vendace meals.

Friday was last day of our program. We had school lessons and activities in sports and games too. Students had their farewell party in the school auditorium and teachers continued with project management. Rest of day students spent with hostfamilies. A farewell dinner was served in Onnela, Silja’s home. There was a possibility to try  sauna too. We had many lovely conversations and will be able continue them in following meetings in Italy and Spain. Whole week was something amazing and we were very grateful about everything.

Students of Gimnazjum nr 9 im. Jana Pawła II in Sosnowiec learn about the Polish-Jewish relations in Sosnowiec before and during the war

At the beginning of November all students of Gimnazjum nr 9 im. Jana Pawła II in Sosnowiec visited Sosnowiec Center of Art Sielecki Castle, where they saw an exhibition “Different worlds – one history. The story of Jews in Zagłebie Dąbrowskie”.

Students listened to the story of Jewish community in Sosnowiec before and during II world war, they saw photos and documents of people who lived at that time and saw a documentary about Rutka Laskier a Jewish girl, who lived in the area during II world war and whose diary from the time of war was discovered a few years ago.

In Schoen Palace Museum students took part in the history lesson “Remembering our neighbours – about Jews of Sosnowiec”, during which they discussed the relations of Poles with Jewish community before the war and ethnic minorities today. 

Students of Erasmus+ team Sosnowiec visited Schindler's Factory

On the 27th October students of Erasmus+ team, together with students who participated in the Memory Project last school year, took part in another interesting history lesson about II World War. This time we visited Schindler’s Factory Museum in Kraków, where we learned about the story of Oskar Schindler, Righteous Among the Nations, who in this same factory saved over 1000 Jews during the war. Listening to the interesting story of war - time  Kraków presented to us by the guides, we walked along the streets of occupied Kraków, watched the everyday life through windows of a Kraków tram, squeezed through narrow streets of Kraków ghetto and peered into tiny flats of Jews who lived there.  

On the way to the Museum we visited the headquarters of the Genaral Gouvernon Hans Frank during the war – The Wawel Castle.

Siilinjarvi meeting in Kurier Miejski Sosnowiec

Visit to the Warsaw Uprising Museum

On 23 June students of Erasmus+ team of Gimnazjum nr 9 im. Jana Pawła II visited  The Warsaw Uprising Museum as a reward for another year of hard work on the project.

The Memory Project in Gimnazjum nr 9 im. Jana Pawła II in Sosnowiec

In March and April students of Class IB of Gimanzjum nr 9 im. Jana Pawła II in Sosnowiec, together with teachers Mrs Małgorzata Pełka and Mrs Joanna Janas-Sajdak, participated in The Memory Project, an educational project dealing with the Holocaust and II World War, connecting history and art.

The Project was carried out thanks to the courtesy of Mrs Roz Jacobs, an American painter, who together with Mrs Laurie Weisman is an author of The Memory Project and thanks to help of Galicia Jewish Museum in Karaków.

The aims of the project were to acquaint students with the basic facts and terms related to the Holocaust as well as to enable students to reflect on why memory matters, to make a connection between historical events and their own family’s experiences and role in history and express their observations through artwork and language. Students gathered information about their family members and shared them with their classmates. They also learned the biographies of victims of the Holocaust, rescued form the Holocaust, Righteous Among the Nations and drew their portraits created portraits. 

First, students watched documentary “Finding Kalman”, which presented the story of Mrs Ann Huberman, Mrs Roz Jacobs’ mother and her younger brother Kalman. It was uncle Kalman, who inspired Mrs Roz Jacobs to start The Memory Project. Learning about the history of one family students got to know the most important facts about the Holocaust.

Next, students read biographies, drew portraits and reflected on their work.

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The portraits were used to celebrate the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which started on the 19^th April 1943.

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Trnava meeting in the news on Czech TV Noe (min 17:50)

Visit to Kraków and meeting with the Holocaust survivor

On April, 28th 45 students of Gimnazjum nr 9 im. Jana Pawła II in Sosnowiec visited the Jewish district of Kraków, where they learnt about the history and culture of Jewish community in Kraków as well as its history related to II World War and the Holocaust. The trip was organized in cooperation with Galicia Jewish Museum. We started the trip at the Old Synagogue, then me moved on to Remu Synagogue, we sat at the bench with Jan Karski and learnt about Helena Rubinstein. We visited the most important places related to Jewish culture, as well as the area of the former ghetto. We ended our trip at the Jewish Community Cetre of Kraków where we had the honour to meet Mrs Lidia Maksymowicz, who was taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp as a child, and listen to the difficult story of her childhood.

Meetings with witnesses of history seem to be the best history lessons and we hope that the one we participated in last Thursday will stay in our memories forever, together with Mrs Maksymowicz’s appeal to students to do everything so that history was never repeated. 

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ERASMUS in Italian press from 2014

Greece-meeting - 29th February - 4th March 2016 RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS - Italian students' presentation

Project Meeting in Trnava in Wiadomości Zagłębia 26.04.2016

Project Meeting in Trnava in Kurier Miejski Sosnowiec 27.04.2016