The second month of remote learning is coming to an end. The situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic presented schools with an unprecedented challenge, one that Primary School No. 2 handled exceptionally well. From the first day after in-person classes were suspended at schools, teachers began conducting online lessons via Microsoft Teams, ensuring direct contact between teachers and students, while parents were informed about all activities through the electronic register and the school’s website.
“When the Ministry of National Education decided to introduce remote learning, we got to work,” says Ewa Szajwaj. “The Teams platform was not new to us. Since December, thanks to our IT specialist Piotr Korczowski, we had been logged in to Microsoft 365. Every teacher and student had login credentials. During IT lessons, students in grades 5–8 learned how to use the platform. So we had an easier task. On March 26, the entire school began remote education—online—from early primary education through the eighth grades. I am fascinated by this platform and its capabilities. I teach mathematics and could not imagine any other solution. How was I supposed to teach maths? By sending links and shifting responsibility onto parents? I revised the lesson timetable and adapted it to the children’s capabilities so as not to burden them. We divided the timetable into so-called ‘onlines’ and ‘offlines.’ I motivated my female and male colleagues, and we got started,” says teacher Ewa Szajwaj.
Aware that in such a difficult situation many people, including adults, need support, the school organized an online meeting for parents with psychologist Dr Alicja Keplinger from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Wrocław. The meeting was held under the title “Difficult Situations and Ways of Coping with Them in the Age of Coronavirus.” Participants also had the opportunity to speak individually with the facilitator, who, it is worth emphasizing, worked on a voluntary basis in this case.
It is extremely important that, thanks to efficient action, a very large group of students with special educational needs was immediately provided with support from teachers co-organizing special education. In addition to participating in every lesson, these teachers also work with the children individually.
All teachers continue to improve their skills in using information and communication technologies and working in the cloud. They develop their professional practice in this area through self-study and participation in numerous online training sessions. In September this year, as part of sharing knowledge with teachers from other Bolesławiec institutions, Primary School No. 2 will begin implementing the mathematics and IT project “I Teach Myself by Teaching Others” (coordinated by S. Łukasiewicz-Nawieśniak, B. Pełka and A. Szulc-Jednoróg). This will be possible thanks to a financial grant of PLN 10,838 received from mBank.
The activities will begin with training for teachers at PCEiKK. Students will then take part in workshops during which they will use the experimental method, e-learning applications and educational games. They will also gain knowledge of banking, while the innovative lessons will be recorded and made available to educators from other Bolesławiec institutions. The school’s teaching resources will be expanded with educational aids and multimedia software.
Despite the pandemic, other projects are also being carried out at Primary School No. 2. The first, which will continue in the next school year as well, is co-financed by the National Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund Programme and is entitled “Integration, Adaptation, Acceptance. Support for Third-Country Nationals Living in Lower Silesia.” It focuses on helping students who are third-country nationals or of Polish origin adapt to a new environment, as well as increasing awareness of migration and the benefits that the presence of various groups of foreigners brings to society.
The project provides various forms of support, including Polish, nature and mathematics classes; sports, art and cooking activities; and psychological and pedagogical support. These are currently also offered remotely, and the school’s teaching resources have been expanded through the project with aids necessary for conducting classes.
The exemplary implementation of the activities was confirmed during an inspection carried out by employees of the Voivodeship Office. S. Łukasiewicz-Nawieśniak is responsible for coordinating the project. Students also participate in the following projects: “Expanding the Cross-Border Educational Offer of Bolesławiec and Bautzen” (a cooperation between the Municipality of Bolesławiec and the District Office and the Bautzen District Office), “Learning as an Adventure” (coordinated by the Museum of Ceramics in Bolesławiec), and activities carried out in cooperation with the Museum of Ceramics in Bolesławiec. At the school, A. Szulc-Jednoróg is responsible for coordinating these initiatives.
All these activities make it possible to efficiently carry out the tasks assigned to the school despite the difficult situation.