On Friday, March 20, a spelling competition for local government officials was held. Officials and councillors took part in the contest. Gromadka Commune was represented by: Krzysztof Malina, Barbara Ziembikiewicz, Dorota Mazurkiewicz and Halina Maluchnik. Representing the Bolesławiec municipal office in the spelling and punctuation challenge were: Maciej Małkowski, Janusz Kozioł, Justyna Goroch and Monika Wawrzynowska, while the district office was represented by Robert Rosiński, Henryk Jasiński, Anna Guzik and Piotr Cymbaluk.
Two dictations, including one at the level of a third-year middle school class, an authentic official text almost entirely without punctuation marks, and a quiz on the spelling of prepositions and prepositional phrases—councillors and officials had to tackle all of these challenges.
The result? “As far as spelling is concerned, the level was decent,” Ewa Ołenicz-Bernacka, a Polish teacher and member of the competition committee, told IstotneInformacje.pl. Ewa Ołenicz-Bernacka“The participants mainly struggled with tricky words. Punctuation caused them considerably more problems. It turns out that it can be more difficult than spelling.”
Anna GuzikAnna Guzik from the District Office won the competition, having decided to take part almost at the last minute. She wrote both dictations almost flawlessly. “This competition is a break from official language,” says the winner. At the same time, she adds that office employees care about language accuracy. “In what we write, we also try to follow spelling and grammar rules,” she stresses. “I think that next year more offices will take part in the competition, and it will be even more interesting.”
Robert RosińskiRobert Rosiński, a councillor on the District Council, came second. Bolesławiec Deputy Mayor Maciej MałkowskiMaciej Małkowski came third. “Punctuation was the biggest problem for me. Spelling did not cause me any difficulty,” says the deputy mayor. “Above all, it was great fun in pleasant company. And, at the same time, for a moment you could feel as if you were back at school,” he says with a smile. The committee also awarded one honourable mention—to Justyna Goroch from the municipal office team.
The competition was intended to entertain and educate at the same time. “This event should become a tradition and shape our local customs,” Ewa Ołenicz-Bernacka emphasises. The spelling challenge was organised to mark the tenth anniversary of the Bolesławiec District.
(GA information)