Municipal Public Preschool No. 2 in Bolesławiec, located on M. Brody Street, celebrated its 40th anniversary last November. The Preschool Director, Krystyna Gewartowska, referred in her ceremonial speech to events from 40 years earlier, when, on the initiative of Teresa Jarosz (the preschool’s later first head), a ceremonial opening was held in a historic building dating from the late nineteenth century, establishing the preschool facility.
During the past period, the preschool maintained lively cooperation with its twin institution in Pirna (West Germany), exchanging preschool education programs and working methods.
Naming an institution is a momentous ceremony and event, always preceded by a great deal of work. Jadwiga Biała, the preschool director, together with the staff overcame all difficulties, and on June 5, 1985, the preschool was named after Maria Konopnicka.
Years passed, and the working conditions of the staff and the children’s stay at the preschool changed. The institution’s supporting organization, the Bolesławiec Forest District, also contributed to this; on the occasion of the anniversary, it presented the preschoolers with a gift enabling the implementation of many educational activities related to ecology. An anniversary is a special opportunity for meetings and reminiscing—and this time was no exception, especially since the preschool was visited by former education and upbringing inspector Jarosław Cichański, as well as former employees, including directors Anastazja Sulik and Elżbieta Buczkowska.
The former administrators of the institution were able to see that their successors were building on their achievements, both materially and educationally. The guests admired the children’s artworks, made using various techniques and referring in subject matter to the works of the preschool’s patron, as well as the artistic performances. The program presented by the preschoolers was exceptionally varied. The children danced the polonaise and the krakowiak (in regional costumes), sang, recited, and performed scenes thematically related to Maria Konopnicka’s works.
Danuta Hołd, MA, senior inspector of the Jelenia Góra KOS, who was present at the ceremony and gave the children sweets, emphasized that achieving such a high standard of artwork and the artistic program was possible thanks to the systematic work carried out at the preschool. The Deputy Mayor, Jan Jasiukiewicz, who honored the ceremony with his presence and brought an exceptional gift useful in educational and teaching work with all age groups, shared the inspector’s opinion on the matter.
The children develop the aesthetic values instilled at the preschool at the Youth Cultural Center and the State Music School in Bolesławiec. The preschool cooperates with these institutions and thereby maintains contact with its former pupils.
The children not only provided the guests with artistic experiences but also gave them special gifts—because they had made them themselves.
An especially memorable anniversary souvenir will remain, as befits Bolesławiec, the commemorative ceramic piece depicting the preschool building. It was made by Danuta Śliwińska, based on a design by preschool employees, and she was also its sponsor—we sincerely thank her for this. After viewing the artistic program, the children’s exhibition, and the preschool’s commemorative decorations, Zofia Roman, Head of the Education and Social Affairs Department of the Municipal Office, expressed her admiration for the preschoolers’ skills and talent. In conclusion, I would add that in conversation the Preschool Director emphasized that the successful event was the result of the joint, systematic work of all the preschool employees and its supporters.