Summer Camps in Poland in 2009!

The month of June will bring the beginning of the summer camp sessions. The volunteers who will help us in the summer will work with the elementary school students at the Reymontowka Camp, as well as middle and high school students in Zakopane. The majority of the students in these programs live in the cities and the ability to speak good English will have a very positive impact on their future.

In Zakopane summer camps we will work with the bright high school students who need their English to make their future professional lives successful in a very competitive job market in Poland. For a lot of them studying the English language, as well as the American history, geography and culture is a real passion. The volunteers give them such an excellent opportunity to learn so many interesting facts about the country and language of their interest.

At the Reymontowka summer camps we will teach elementary and middle school students in three two-week sessions (about 180 students total). The children enjoy studying English in such a warm, friendly and fun atmosphere so much. They really like being exposed to the American games and songs and study English in such an enjoyable way. They certainly show this by returning to the camp for up to 8 years in a row!
All of the camps are already filled with the students, who are very excited to participate in the English classes with Global Volunteers this summer! But we still need at least a few more Global Volunteer teachers for each of the summer sessions in 2009. The children, our host partners in Poland (Marek Blaszczyk and Teresa Nasilowska), as well as myself will all be very grateful if you would consider assisting us at one of these summer camps once again. We will appreciate your help so much!

Sincerely,

Dorota Wierzbicka

Poland Country Manager

Thank you for a Productive Year!

Dear Volunteers,

2008 was a very successful year for our Global Volunteers service program in Poland. Thanks to the contribution of all the wonderful volunteers only in 2008 we have taught approximately 700 students and provided 2720 hours of English teaching instruction. Unfortunately, the end of the year has brought this very unfavorable economic situation, which is making a very bad impact on the numbers of the volunteers who are expressing their ability to teach in Poland in 2009. We hope we’ll be able to continue to provide service to the Polish children and adults throughout the next year and we’ll all celebrate the 20th anniversary of Global Volunteers’ work in Siedlce in 2010!

Our host representative and the community partners would also like to thank you so much for all your help and express how much they count on Global Volunteers continuous support in their community. Here are the thoughts that they would like to share with you:

Marek Blaszczyk (Siedlce county government representative): “We’ll never forget the help you have given to the thousands of the Polish children and adults. Incredible changes have taken place in Poland over the last eighteen years and you have played a very important role in this process. But please remember that your help in all the rural schools of Siedlce area is still desperately needed in order to create equal opportunities for children from the less developed part of Poland.”

Maryla Cudna, Cisie Elementary school principle: “We hope that next year we will be able to continue our English lessons with the volunteers as this is an invaluabe help for our school. We cannot imagine not having these classes. They are especially important for the children for whom this is the only contact with the real life English, with the culture of a foreing coutry, the priceless oportunitty for practice of the English language that is necessary for improving their future”.

Antonina Bielak, Niwiski Elementary school principle: “The classes conducted by the volunteers bring umbelievable results in our school The English language is necessary in the present times and extremely needed to function properly in life. The work of the volunteers is really indespensable in our school.”

Thank you again for everything you have done for us so far. Our new Global Volunteers’ catalog will be arriving in the next few weeks in your mail and I would be very grateful if you would consider helping our children again in 2009. If you are unable to return to Poland or to join another service program, I encourage you to support Global Volunteers’ work in my country by a general donation to the organization. You could also tell others about your experiences in Poland and encourage them to serve.

I would like to wish each of you and your family a very peaceful holiday season and a happy 2009! I hope that our paths will cross again in the near future!

With fondest memories,

Dorota Wierzbicka
Poland Country Manager

Week 3, Millenium Development Goals Achieved

Six volunteers taught for four hours a day. 120 hours of the English language instruction provided. Four elementary and middle schools. 60 students impacted.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Message of the day by Ralph: “Nothing in life is good unless it is shared.”

The morning started with a delicious breakfast. Ralph read the previous day’s log entry and Marge the thought for the day. Upon finishing breakfast everyone went to their assigned sites and some to the workroom to continue lesson plans for the day.

Marge’s classes of students worked diligently on the assignments. It was a pleasure to be in the classroom.
In the evening we had a buffet supper with the teachers and directors being our guest. A great time was had by all.

By Marge Thomas

Monday, October 13, 2008

Message of the Day by Susan: "Make new friends, but keep the old – One is silver and the other gold."

We had our 7:00 AM breakfast of plum pancakes and additional things we find laid out for us by the kitchen fairies. Ginny and I were off to Cisie where we were treated to a program celebrating “Teachers Day”. It was fun though it was all in Polish. Afterward there was coffee, tea and home made cakes for the teachers. Classes began at 11:55 AM at Niwiski with a break about with coffee, tea and cakes. The children presented Ginny and me with 4 roses and a thank you note written in English. What wonderful customs they have in Poland.
Our team was invited to dinner with the governor and associates. We were treated to his slides from China. Zygmunt Wielogorski was a judge for the weight lifting competition which was a great honor for him. The night ended with an almost full moon and a good night sleep.

By Pat Kalicki

Week 2, Millenium Development Goals Achieved

Ten volunteers taught for four hours a day. 200 hours of the English instruction provided. Six elementary and middle schools. 180 students impacted.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Message of the Day by Marge Thomas: "Happiness, like a mirror, reflects."

My day started with an early morning walk toward the east. Dawn was just breaking and the weather was clear and cool. I saw a group of five deer who were feeding on the rye grass about a half mile away. They ran as a car came by the road nearby. Back to Reymontowka dining at 07.00. where a nice breakfast of cheese pancakes and a side of their usual tomatoes and cucumbers was served. At 09:00 I tutored a member of the kitchen staff. Our lesson was the names of various foods and the procedure of wait persons in restaurants. This was an appropriate subject since Iwona is studying hotel management at an university in Warsaw. The rest of the morning was devoted to preparing next day’s lessons.

After lunch I was driven to Kofoed in Siedlce to teach a student whose name was Fani. This lady has a very good knowledge of English grammar. It was a rewarding lesson.

Back to Reymontowka for a long walk to a village named Trzemuszka. I took photos of some picturesque houses and the village wooden church built in the 1776. From there I walked back to Reymontowka for supper.

By Edmund Stasz