Why Choose II LO?

Istotne.pl editorial team: – Headmaster, in your opinion, what makes II General Secondary School an exceptional school?

Mirosław Sakowski: – We have many strengths. II LO is a school with traditions, but one that focuses on modernity. Our secondary school is safe. We have monitoring, the Safe School Certificate, and in January 2014 we implemented an access control system based on contactless plastic cards. No unauthorized person can enter the school.

Moreover, II LO is adapted for people with disabilities. An elevator was added on the side of Konstytucji 3 Maja Street. Students with disabilities now have no problem reaching any floor of the school.

We also have excellent infrastructure. We offer ideal conditions for practicing many sports. Table tennis, gymnastics and aerobics are practiced in the school’s assembly hall. The gymnasium and Orlik, on the other hand, are perfect for team games. There is also a fitness room, which makes physical education classes more varied. What is more, we are the only school in Bolesławiec County whose students attend swimming classes at the Bolesławiec “Orka” Water Park.

How does this translate into student achievements?

Our students have achieved success in nationwide competitions. Adrian Fehring-Dworak took 11th place in the first edition of the nationwide “Astrolabium” Astronomy Competition, organized by the Foundation for the Jagiellonian University and the Academy of Astronomy. Przemysław Pawłowski, meanwhile, took fourth place in Poland in the Solidarity Olympiad, organized by the Solidarity Center Foundation and the Prof. Bronisław Geremek Center Foundation. Both are also recipients of scholarships from the Parents’ Council.

We achieve success in mathematics, language, history and journalism competitions. Jędrzej Janczewski came second in Lower Silesia and 74th in Poland in the Polish Mathematical Championships; he also took first place in the voivodeship in a pre-matura mathematics competition at advanced level. Martyna Stasiak won the “Poland’s Role in Shaping History” competition and received third prize in the journalism competition “My Europe of Culture,” organized by the Wrocław Center of Culture and Art and the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.

This does not mean, however, that we lack achievements in sports. Our Swedish relay team took 11th place in the Polish Championships (in 2012, runners from II LO placed fifth). Dawid Kopała is the national runner-up in the hammer throw; he came second in Lower Silesia in the javelin throw and third in the shot put. Our female volleyball and basketball players, as well as our male basketball players, perform very well. I can say with a clear conscience that every student can find something here and develop their talents and interests.

And what about the matura results?

For the second year in a row, we have achieved a 100 percent matura pass rate. Importantly, we also have a high indicator measuring the increase in knowledge (EWD). The positive EWD value we achieve means above-average teaching effectiveness on a national scale. II LO’s effectiveness is particularly evident in mathematics and natural science subjects—mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, biology and geography—as well as in mathematics itself.

But not only there. The same applies to humanities subjects—Polish, history and social studies—and to Polish. In March last year, we hosted Urszula Tkaczyk-Ciotkowska, a consultant from the Legnica branch of the Lower Silesian Teacher Training Center, who said with complete conviction that we are a school of success.

You mentioned the scholarship recipients of the Parents’ Council operating at II LO.

There are currently four of them. I have already mentioned Adrian Fehring-Dworak, Przemysław Pawłowski and Martyna Stasiak. Monika Wierzchowska is also a scholarship recipient of the Parents’ Council. She is an archer, a member of GLKS Unia Pielgrzymka and a representative of Poland. The first three receive PLN 70 per month, while Monika, who is already in her final year, receives PLN 100 per month.

I must say that our Parents’ Council is very active. Some of the funds we invest in the school and our students come from enrollment fees, while some are collected by the parents themselves. They allocate the money, among other things, to student awards—for example, the Primus Inter Pares award, or PLN 500 for the best matura graduate—academic scholarships, and social assistance for the poorest students, who receive up to PLN 500 two or three times a year. The Council also reimburses part of the travel costs for students who take part in subject competitions or sports events.

Let us imagine the following situation: a student wants to organize, for example, a concert at the school. They come to you with the idea. What do you say?

Such a situation has already occurred. Last November, we organized the concert “Drugie w Rytmie Rocka.” It was conceived by students from our school, members of the Aftershock band. Three young Bolesławiec bands performed. The event’s first edition was an excellent opportunity to listen to good music or take part in a jam session.

The same was true of the Interactive Science Center “ScienceLab.” It was, after all, the idea of our scholarship recipient Adrian Fehring-Dworak. We brought the project to life: we renovated a room and purchased equipment. Mariusz Wierzchosławski, a physics teacher, oversees the project and the interactive room, while the well-known popular science periodical “Wiedza i Życie” became the ICN’s media patron. At ScienceLab, our students disprove the myth that the exact sciences are boring. Importantly, next school year, elements of mathematics, physics and chemistry will be taught in English in the mathematics-chemistry class—if we obtain the consent of the governing authority.

Your slogan is “More Than a School.”

And that is indeed the case. It is enough to mention the Interactive Science Center “ScienceLab,” the Sailing Club operating at our school, or the Dance Vision Ambasador II LO dance group, whose supervisor is Ivo Pomorski, a choreographer and modern dance trainer.

Our students also engage in volunteer activities. They cooperate with the County Special Schools and Institutions Complex, took part in the “Save Your Great-Grandfather’s Grave from Oblivion” campaign, and prepare packages for children from poor families. The proceeds from this year’s Valentine’s concert, which is also a school tradition, were donated to Jakub Legieżyński, a 14-year-old resident of Kraśnik Górny who developed lymphoblastic leukemia.

As a school open to students’ diverse needs, we give them opportunities to develop their passions and interests. The Michał Twerd Gallery was created for artists from our school. Exhibitions of photography, painting and sculpture have become a hallmark of II General Secondary School. Our students also take part in tourist and sightseeing trips, language camps and exchange programs. They have already visited Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands.

We do not rest on our laurels, however. Recently, we have received the School with Class and School without Violence certificates, the Safe School title and the Reliable Company certificate. All this means that II General Secondary School probably offers the best program for lower-secondary school graduates in the entire county.

(commissioned information)