The European Union is not only an opportunity to obtain money from the common budget for investments and projects. The European Union is our common home and, above all, our shared values: respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, including the rights of minorities.
The Europe Days celebration, including the Belgian dance, was prepared by the history teacher and coordinator of the European Club. The quiz on both countries, held in Polish-Ukrainian pairs, was prepared by Ewa Mańkowska, a Polish teacher for Ukrainians.
A dozen or so girls dressed in the national costumes of EU countries performed the EU anthem with their own lyrics. The Polish words for the EU anthem were written as a team in order to integrate the young people as effectively as possible.
Amelia, Weronika, Milena and Hania, who wrote the Polish lyrics, emphasized that it was a major challenge. The most difficult part was reaching compromises while creating the lyrics and putting them together as a whole. However, the pleasure and curiosity of meeting new people and creating a project together prevailed.
The text of the students’ original anthem from “the fourth school” emphasizes the idea of a common home and a shared place for everyone: „Every person on this earth can find their place in our European Union, here, where it is safe to be.”.
The quiz about Poland and Ukraine was prepared by the Polish teacher for Ukrainians,
– Seeing the students’ reaction, I know that everyone feels like a winner – says Ewa Mańkowska – This competition was not intended to select the best participants; it was intended to help them learn as much as possible about one another and, above all, to cooperate. The pairs in the quiz were international: Ukrainian-Polish. From what I observed, the students were highly engaged. They were working together in this way for the first time, while they still did not know one another well. The questions were structured so that the students had to cooperate, because some knew the history and culture of Poland better, while others knew more about Ukraine. They exchanged knowledge in order to answer the questions. I based the competition on knowledge of contemporary Poland and Ukraine. I know that students have broad access to information, but they need to learn how to select what is most important. This competition was intended to encourage them to look for what matters and reject rumors and fake news – the teacher adds.
The Polish-Ukrainian quiz was won by:
- 1st place David Kostenko and Szymon Woś
- 2nd place Polina Hołodub and Michał Styczyński
- 2nd place Bohdan Demianenko i Igor Michaluk