THE POLISH SATURDAY SCHOOL SPONSORED BY OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA PARISH
Our Polish Saturday School is based on the idea that every ethnic group has the right and perhaps a duty to be aware of its historical roots and heritage. Pope John Paul II encouraged Poles to study their heritage and remain faithful to it. The Pope’s message continues to be relevant for the maintenance of the Polish School in Houston.
The School was created alongside the parish twenty-five years ago. The program of study comprises the Polish language, history and geography of Poland, and catechesis. We are assisted by the teaching guidelines issued by the Polish Federation of Teachers. We are a private Catholic school maintained financially by voluntary parental contributions and the contributions of other individuals and organizations. The pastor of Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish is the School’s Director; he appoints a Managing Director. The teachers are Catholics who have obtained relevant education and have been approved by the School’s Director.
Our School was created in March 1982 in the Polish Home, on Ms. Mika LeÊniewicz’s initiative. Mr. Stanisław Siwek, Ms. Agnieszka Kuszakiewicz and Ms. Magda Bobrowska were the first teachers. At its inception the School had 17 students. Several months after the inception, owing to the creation of the Polish Pastoral Mission in Houston, the School was transferred to the Mission’s headquarters with consent of the Parents’ Association and the Parish Council. The Rev. Wojciech Baryski became the Director. In the first year under his directorship the School enrolled 26 students. Mr. Stanisław Siwek was appointed Managing Director, and Ms. Teresa Rózewicz and Mr. Andrzej Wedrychowicz replaced previous teachers.
The program did not change much: the Polish language continued to be a priority, with history and geography of Poland in the European context being the framework within which language was taught. Catechesis was conducted by the pastor. Our teaching philosophy has been based on the idea that language should be taught in a lively context including the teaching of Polish songs, customs, and traditions. We have also celebrated Polish historical anniversaries and Church holidays. In a booklet published on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the School, Ms. Róžewicz wrote: I vividly remember the pastor’s eloquent speech in which he noted that for 120 years, when the hostile powers held Polish lands hostage and tried to uproot every trace of Polishness from them—our forefathers managed to preserve our language and historical memory. Here in America we do not have such enemies, and we can freely teach these traditions to our children. . . . The key to success is our teachers’ dedication and their understanding of the value of tradition. Their ability to rise to the task will be crucial to the preservation of our heritage. Similar thoughts were expressed in the teachers’ letter to parents in 1993/94: Your children are the future of our parish. We want your children to understand Polish identity and Polish history, for without such understanding the presence of Polish Americans in this country will not amount to much.
In August 1994 the School’s Statue was completed. In the same year a group of former parishioners created another Polish School. That school was directed by a former parish school teacher, Ms. Małgorzata Mucha, and it eventually closed down in 2001. In the meantime, some children stayed with the parish and others went to the new school. Ms. Elżbieta Winiarska, M.A., and Ms. Violetta Drzymala became the new teachers.
Classes have been held on Saturdays between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Gradually, traditions were born: a formal beginning of the school year, graduation ceremonies, participation of students in the annual Slavic Festival and in the Polish Independence Day celebration on 11 November. Our children have also participated in the celebrations of Andrzejki, St. Nicholas’ Day, Palm Sunday, Nativity plays and personal birthdays. We introduced music lessons with Ms. Maria Lech, organized shows of young talents, participated in math competitions (Math Kangaroo) and in the drawing competitions organized by the Polish American Congress. We participated in the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding by Poles of the town of Panna Maria and visited together the exhibition “Leonardo da Vinci and the Splendor of Poland” in 2003.
Our school hosted Polish President Lech Wałesa (2001) and Polish Ambassador to the United States Przemysław Grudziƒski (2003) who gave us valuable dictionaries, books, and maps. Among 2005 visitors was Dr. Marcus Leuchter, who survived the Holocaust thanks to the loyalty and solidarity of a hundred Polish Catholics imprisoned, like himself, in a German camp. In the School’s commemorative book Mr. Leuchter wrote: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this splendid Polish morning, for songs and hugs and smiles. I will never forget them, and I hope that you will also retain me in your memory.
In 2001 the School established the tradition of bestowing the Order of the Smile on those members of the parish whom the children deemed particularly nice and helpful. The first recipients were pastor Jerzy Frydrych, Ms. Barbara Ostrowski, and Mr. Waldemar Ciborowski. In chronological order, further recipients included Mr. Piotr Pawlowski, Deacon Anthony Rudnicki, Mr. and Mrs. Marek and Ewa Treder, Ms. Elżbieta Wojciechowska, Mr. Kazimierz Tarnowski, Mr. Steve Wisniewski, Mr. Adam Tyczynski, Ms. Wiktoria Grabowska, Mr. Tom Ostrowski, Dr. Marian Kruzel, Ms. Barbara Burzynski, Mr. and Mrs. Andrzej and Sharon Szpak, Mr. Krzysztof Krozel, and Ms. Urszula Siwek.
Owing to the help of Pastor Jan Fiedurek, S.Ch., in October 2006 the School cohosted with the Parish and the Polish American Congress the Ninth Congress of Polish Teachers and Polish Parents’ Committees in the United States. Three hundred and twenty participants gathered in the Hilton Hotel in Houston to listen to lectures and participate in workshops. The Congress began with a mass in our parish; the homily was delivered by the Rev. Janusz Ihnatowicz of the University of Saint Thomas. After mass, the parish hosted an entertainment program and the School presented a lesson unit titled “From Polish Silesia to Texas’ Panna Maria.” The presentation was given jointly by Ms. Winiarska and Ms. Krozel.
In the 2006/2007 academic year the school had 39 students and four teachers. There are six grades starting with zero and ending with the middle school (junior high). We are particularly proud to reach the level of middle school: we have five students in that class. The graduating students receive a certificate testifying to their proficiency in the Polish language and in other Europe-related subjects. We are presently working to have our language courses accredited, so that they are counted toward the total number of credits necessary to obtain the elementary school graduation certificate. As we write these words, our accreditation process is proceeding apace.
List of teachers since the School’s inception: Iwona Augustyn, Magda Borowska, Wioletta Drzymała, Laura Felusiak, Renata Giles, Anna Golka, Ewa Hlebowicz, Aldona Kline, Aneta Króżel, Mirosława Kruszewska, Agnieszka Kuszakiewicz, Maria Lech, Jolanta Lewandowska, Grażyna Matusz, Mirosława Misiejuk, Urszula Molska, Katarzyna Mucha, Małgorzata Mucha, Aneta Odolski, Teresa Różewicz, Stanisław Siwek, Urszula Siwek, Anna Sowiecka, Monika Szopa, A. Wedrychowicz, Edward Winiarski, Elzbieta Winiarska.
Sources: teachers’ notes and parish records