THE HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL IN ODRZYKON

„Obce rzeczy wiedzieć dobrze jest swoje obowiązek”.

Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro

The beginnings of teaching in the village Odrzykoń reach the 18th century. At that time in Odrzykoń there was a parish school. The evidence for its functioning is a note made by Walenty Śnieżyński in 1699. The next notes about the existence of the parish school can be found in 1839 and 1699. Thanks to the efforts of a priest Szymon Serafin, in the intervening years, a small, wooden building was raised, which was consecrated a year later. It was the first building that was created for the needs of teaching only.

The first lay teacher was Andrzej Gromek. The parish school

existed in Odrzykoń until 1857. Later it was changed into a public

school a one-grade trivium school. The name trivium comes from

the number of three subjects that were taught at this school namely:

reading, writing and counting. There was religious education too. At

that time, attending school became compulsory for all the children.

After 1868 there was a two-grade school which was independent of

the clerical power. The teaching at the school in Odrzykoń was

conducted in Polish. Although the education of children up to the age

of 12 was compulsory, there was serious illiteracy in the village since

peasants reluctantly sent their children to school.

In 1909 the building of a new school was started which was to replaced the old, two-grade one. The building works lasted for two years. The year 1911/12 was started at a new school.

In 1924 the school in Odrzykoń was converted into four-grade

school and on 1st September 1927 it became a common school on the

force of the directive of the chief education officer of Lviv oblast.

During the next years the school’s structures were being further

reorganized. The teaching in the school in Odrzykoń was conducted

from the 1st to 6th grade. In order to introduce the system of education

that counted 7 grades, certain steps to extend the building of the

school were taken. As the result of these efforts, two additional classes

and a room for study aids were built on. Once the building works were

accomplished the school could fulfill a function of a school were

children were taught from the 1st up to 7th garde. The headmasters of

the school between the years 1860-1950 were respectively: J. Fijołek, N.

Raś, N. Sielecki, J. Mazur, E. Soświńska, J. Adamski,

K. Kulczycki.

The outbreak of the Second World War caused that the school year 1939/40 started not earlier then on 20th November. The teaching at school was conducted clandestinely and with irregular breaks. The situation worsened in 1941 when the school building was taken over by German soldiers. Thanks to the headmaster Kazimierz Kulczycki the education could still be conducted clandestinely in private houses.

Although the situation got worse teachers continued teaching exposing the lives of children as well as their own lives to danger. During the occupation time, the German had an undeniable impact on the education and the up-bringing of children and the youth. As the result of the German’s interference, subjects like geography, history, and Polish were removed from the school curriculum because they reminded children of their polish roots, enhanced the attachment to the national traditions and deepened the respect for national symbols. That is why, the teaching was conducted in Kulczycki, Salomei Gromek and Stanisław Cebula’s private houses

The German issued a directive which forbade the teachers to use old coursebooks instead a new curriculum was introduced which concentrated more on science and practical subjects. Children were taught German at school moreover, they received certificates written in Polish and German. The years after the war brought no relief for the teachers who had to deal with many problems like the lack of books and money since the school could function only thanks to voluntary donations made by common people and the money they managed to raise organizing school performances. There were many student organizations at school such as the theatre club or Scout pack. In spite of all the difficulties that the teachers had to cope with, the management work as well as the educational and pedagogical were highly evaluated during the further inspections.

The school still counted seven grades. Additionally, a new subject was introduced namely Russian language which was taught from the 5th to 7th grade. On the cusps of 60’s Religious Education was removed from schools. However, thanks to the efforts of a contemporary parish priest a building meant for studying religion was built. The year 1966/67 brought further changes. The eighth grade was introduced however, there was no room for additional classes. On account of that, the community took certain steps in order to obtain two additional classes in the Community Center for the needs of teaching.

The 70s brought a lot of changes to the system of

education. The old school building did not fulfill the

requirements due to the fact that the school in Odrzykoń had

become Zespół Szkół. Then some works were done to

construct a new building. A special committee was

appointed to supervise the works. The corner stone for the

new school was set on 1st December 1976. Next spring the

building materials were brought to the construction site.

There was also a special part of the building designed for the

kindergarten. After six years of hard work the new school

building was ready.

On 1st September a unique opening ceremony of a school year in the new building took place. A lot of invited guests, teachers, students and inhibitants of Odrzykoń attended the ceremony. Józef Tofilski and Stanisława Zygmut made an official opening of the new school building. It consisted of fifteen classrooms, five workshops, a gym, a common room, a library and a consulting room. New equipment, teaching aids and well- decorated classrooms made a good impression. In 1984 a common room and a canteen started working.

Since 1999 it has been not only a building of a primary school but also of a junior high school. Students from Ustrobna, Bratkówka and Wojkówka started to attend school here.

Among the first organizations established by students were The Students’ Council , Scouts Association and Student’s cooperative. One of the most prominent organization was a music band and a choir led by mrs Klimczak. Musically gifted students performed during various celebrations held in the local, district, provincial or even national community. They frequently won prizes. They even created their own song “ Patron nasz”, devoted to Aleksander Fredro- patron of our school. There were also additional classes organized by teachers of different subjects.

While the school was being built some work was done to choose a proper patron for our school. During the special meeting of teachers and students Aleksander Fredro was chosen a patron of the school in Odrzykoń. The choice was quite obvious as a famous comedist was connected with the Odrzykoń castle called Kamieniec. Polish lessons were devoted to getting acquainted with his biography and works. School started to collect as many documents and materials connected with the artist as possible. A lot of letters to theatres in Cracow and Warsaw were written asking to send photos and posters about plays written by Fredro. In this way a lot of materials were gathered, which were placed in a special room devoted to our patron.

Then the further efforts were made to approve Aleksander Fredro as the patron of the school. Soon the project was accepted by The Local Education Authority. On 14th October 1985 on Teachers’ Day an official ceremony of giving the school name of Aleksander Fredro took place. Teachers, parents, students and a lot of invited guests took part in the event. The earl Jan Kazimierz Szeptycki, a great- grandson of Aleksander Fredro, was a guest of honour during the ceremony.

The ceremony began with a Holy Mass conducted in the parish church in Odrzykoń. The people who took part in the Mass were mainly the invited guests, teachers together with other workers of the school, parents and the students. The Mass during which the Banner was consecrated, was conducted by a priest Julian Bieleń and a parish priest Kazimierz Pożniak. Afterwards, everybody went to the school building where further parts of the ceremony were presented. After all the guests were warmly welcomed a group of parents placed the Banner in the hands of the contemporary headmistress Bożena Łeppek. Then the headmistress placed the Banner in the hands of the students asking them at the same time to represent the school with due respect and to obey the values placed on the Banner: God, Honor, Homeland, Education.

THE BANNER

The banner was conferred to the school in Odrzykoń on 14th October 2003. This year there was also the 20th anniversary of opening the new building of the school and the 18th anniversary of naming the school after the writer Aleksander Fredry. The banner was funded by the board of parents.

Next everybody sang the School Anthem and students took the oath. The next part of the ceremony was a performance prepared by the students. The ceremony ended with a performance of the local brass band created by the members of the local fire brigade.The ceremony itself was very solemn. It has certainly rooted in the memories of many people and it will be a part of the history of the school in Odrzykoń for ages.

BIBLIOGRAFIA

•Kronika Szkoły •Zeszyty Odrzykońskie . Dzieje szkoły podstawowej w Odrzykoniu .Zeszyt 13 /2006. Stowarzyszenie Odrzykoniaków .

•Zeszyty Odrzykońskie . Dzieje Szkoły podstawowej w Odrzykoniu 1939-2000. Zeszyt 14/2007. Stowarzyszenie Odrzykoniaków.