Our country- Poland

Poland is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine and Belarus to the east; and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast, to the north.
The total area of Poland is 312,679 km² (120,728 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and 5th in Europe. Poland's population is over 38.5 million people.
The first Polish state was baptized in 966. Poland became a kingdom in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by uniting to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth collapsed in 1795. Poland regained its independence in 1918 but lost it again in World War II, occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. In 1989, communist rule was overthrown and Poland became what is informally known as the "Third Polish Republic".
Poland is the 33rd most populous country in the world. Poland is a unitary state made up of sixteen voivodeships (Polish: województwo). Poland is also a member of the European Union, NATO and OECD.

The heart of Poland- Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital of Poland and its largest city. It is located on the Vistula River roughly 370 kilometers (230 mi) from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2006 was estimated at 1,700,536, with a metropolitan area of approximately 2,900,000 to 3,000,000 people. The city area is 516.9 square kilometers (199.6 sq mi), with an agglomeration of 6,100.43 square kilometers (2,355.4 sq mi) (Warsaw Metro Area - Obszar Metropolitalny Warszawy). Warsaw is the 8th biggest city in the European Union.
Warsaw gave its name to the Warsaw Pact, Warsaw Convention, Treaty of Warsaw and the Warsaw Uprising.

For many years the Fiat 126 was the most popular car bought in Poland. That however, changed in 1998 when this car slowly started to take further places in automotive sales statistics. The Fiat 126 is still the least expensive vehicle in the market and for many people it is the only possibility to own a new car. The maintenence costs are quite inexpensive because of inexpensive replacement parts and service.

POLISH TRADITIONAL DANCE- KRAKOWIAK

The Krakowiak is a fast, syncopated Polish dance in duple time from the region of Krakow and Little Poland. It became a popular ballroom dance in Vienna ("Krakauer") and Paris ("Cracovienne")— where, with the polonaise and the mazurka, it signalled a Romantic sensibility of sympathy towards a picturesque, distant and oppressed nation— and in Russia in the mid-nineteenth century. A krakoviak is featured in Mikhail Glinka's A Life for the Tsar (1836).
The first printed Krakowiak appeared in Franciszek Mirecki's album for the piano, "Krakowiaks Offered to the Women of Poland" (Warsaw, 1816). Frederic Chopin produced a bravura concert krakowiak in his Grand Rondeau de Concert Rondo á la Krakowiak in F major for piano and orchestra (op. 14, 1828).
In terms of its choreography, the krakowiak is set for several couples, among whom the leading male dancer sings and indicates the steps. According to the description in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the krakowiak is directed by the leading man from the first pair. As they approach the band, "the man, tapping his heels or dancing a few steps, sings a melody from an established repertory with newly improvised words addressed to his partner. The band follows the melody, and the couples move off in file and form a circle (with the leading couple back at the band). Thereafter verses are sung and played in alternation, the couples circulating during the played verses.

Otylia Jędrzejczak (born December 13, 1983) is a Polish swimmer. She is the current world and Olympic champion in the 200 metre butterfly. She took part in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics, and twice broke the world record in the women's 200m butterfly.
Jędrzejczak was born in Ruda Śląska, Silesian Voivodship, Poland. She started swimming at the age of six as a measure to correct a slight curvature of the spine. At first she hated the sport. Her attitude towards it changed after she had won her first prize in a competition in Germany at the age of eight. Jędrzejczak took up swimming seriously in high school. Led by coach Maria Jakóbik, she won her first titles in the Junior European Championships in 1999. Medals in the Senior European Championships in 1999 and 2000 opened the way to her first Olympic appearance.
Currently, Jędrzejczak is a student at the Academy of Physical Education in Warsaw (Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego w Warszawie). Her coach is Paweł Słomiński. She stands 187 cm (6 ft 1½ in) tall and wears a size 43 (EU)/11 (US) shoe.

Wislawa Szymborska was born in Kornik in Western Poland on 2 July 1923. Since 1931 she has been living in Krakow, where during 1945-1948 she studied Polish Literature and Sociology at the Jagiellonian University. Szymborska made her début in March 1945 with a poem "Szukam slowa" (I am Looking for a Word) in the daily "Dziennik Polski".

During 1953-1981 she worked as poetry editor and columnist in the Kraków literary weekly "Zycie Literackie" where the series of her essays "Lektury nadobowiazkowe" appeared (the series has been renewed lately in the addition to "Gazeta Wyborcza"-"Gazeta o Ksiazkach").

The collection "Lektury nadobowiazkowe" was published in the form of a book four times.

Szymborska has published 16 collections of poetry. Her poems have been translated into many languages.

Wislawa Szymborska is the Goethe Prize winner (1991) and Herder Prize winner (1995). She has a degree of Honorary Doctor of Letters of Poznan University (1995). In 1996 she received the Polish PEN Club prize.

Lech Wałęsa

Biography

Lech Wałęsa was born on September 29, 1943 in Popowo, Poland. He attended primary and vocational school, before entering Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk (Stocznia Gdańska im. Lenina, now Stocznia Gdańska) as an electrical technician in 1967. In 1969 he married Danuta Gołoś, and the couple now have eight children.

Solidarity

He was a member of the illegal strike committee in Gdańsk Shipyard in 1970. After the bloody end of the strike, resulting in over 80 workers killed by the riot police, Wałęsa was arrested and convicted of "anti-social behavior" and spent one year in prison.

Presidency and afterwards

On December 9, 1990, Wałęsa won the presidential election to become president of Poland for the next five years. During his presidency, he started a so-called "war at the top" which practically meant changing the government annually. His style of presidency was strongly criticized by most of the political parties, and he lost most of the initial public support by the end of 1995.

Name: Robert Kubica

Born: December 7, 1984 in Krakow, Poland

Team: BMW Sauber

Height: 6'

Weight: 160 lbs.

Hobbies: Bowling, computer games, indoor karting.

Previous F1 Teams:
2006 - 2007 BMW Sauber

Victories: 0

Background:

Robert won six Polish karting championships before he moved to Italy at age 13 to pursue his kart racing career in the heart of world karting. He continued winning races and championships in Italy and elsewhere, racing as a salaried driver for a kart team.

First Polish F1 Driver:

In the middle of the 2006 season, Mario Theissen, the BMW Sauber team director, decided to try a daring, if

unorthodox test. He invited Jacques Villeneuve, one of the regular BMW drivers, to hand over his seat to Robert at an upcoming race in order for the team to see how Robert could handle a race. Villeneuve, a world champion with more than a decade of F1 experience, decided to retire rather than to cede his seat. Robert became the regular Grand Prix driver. At his first race, the Hungarian Grand Prix, he finished eighth and would have scored a point, but post race scrutineering found the car to be under weight. Even so, by his third race he finished on the podium, taking second place at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

BEETROOT SOUP (Barszcz)

This is a classic beetroot soup.

2 litres beef stock or vegetable stock

2 onions, peeled and chopped
1 bouquet garni

1 can mushrooms (or fresh)

3 uncooked medium-sized beetroot, peeled and sliced thickly

300 ml kwas

1 tsp sugar

Heat beef stock in a large pan. Add the onions, bouquet garni, mushrooms and beetroot. Boil for an hour. Strain the soup and stir in the kwas into the clear soup. Add sugar to taste and reheat, if necessary without boiling. Serves 8.

HUNTERS STEW (Bigos)

Poland's national dish, and one of my favourite dishes. There is a variety in ingredients, some have mushrooms and juniper berries, while others contain apples, venison, lamb or beef. It is best made a two days in advance and reheated on low heat before serving. This enhances the flavour.

50g butter

2 onions, peeled and chopped

1 jar sauerkraut

1 can tomatoes, peeled

1 small white cabbage

300 ml strong beef stock

250g smoked sausage

5 to 6 pork ribs salt and pepper

Melt butter in a saucepan and fry the onions until golden. Rinse the sauerkraut in cold water, drain thoroughly and mix with the onions. Add the tomatoes. Chop the cabbage finely and mix in. Add the stock, stirring well, and then the pork ribs. Slice the sausage and add into the stew. Allow to simmer on low heat for one hour. Season to taste. Remove from heat and leave covered for 24 hours. Refrigerate and reheat before serving. Serves 8. Note: If you prefer the dish to be more sour, add more sauerkraut.

Primary and secondary education in Poland

Kids in the photo are in a kindergarten. They will stay there until they are seven.
Pupils of 7-12 attend primary school .In the lower grades one teacher teaches all subjects, while in the higher grades each subject has a different teacher and usually pupils change classroom for each subject.

After completing primary school pupils go to secondary school, called "gimnazjum". General secondary schools provide students with general education.

In Opatówek Gimnazjum students learn Polish , mathematics, physics, geography, chemistry, history, music, art, English ( compulsory), German ( optional), P.E, religion, biology, computer science, crafts and technology, they also have family and society education.After 3 years they have two final written exams.

Students normally start lessons at 8am and finish at about 3pm. The school year starts on the first Monday of September and finishes on Friday, usually before the 25th June.

John Paul II - the Great Pope

John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła) was born on 18 th May 1920.
His mother died in 1929. His eldest brother died in 1932 and his father died in 1941. A sister, Olga, had died before he was born. During the Nazi occupation young Karol had to work in a quarry (1940-1944) and then in the Solvay chemical factory .

In 1942 he began courses in the clandestine seminary . After the Second World War, he continued his studies . He was ordained to the priesthood and sent to Rome . He finished his doctorate in theology and returned to Poland as vicar of various parishes as well as chaplain to university students. In 1951 he again took up his studies in philosophy and theology. Later he became professor of moral theology and social ethics .In1964, he was appointed archbishop of Krakow and a cardinal in1967 .

He was elected the Pope on 16 October 1978. His pontificate, lasted nearly 27 years. He made 104 pastoral visits outside Italy . He established the World Youth Days and the World Meetings of Families .John Paul II successfully encouraged dialogue with the Jews and with other religions. He celebrated 147 beatification ceremonies. His most important Documents include 14 Encyclicals, 15 Apostolic Exhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions, 45 Apostolic Letters. As a private Doctor he also published five books of his own.

On 2 April a.D. 2005, at 9.37 p.m., while Saturday was drawing to a close and the Lord's Day was already beginning, the Octave of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday John Paul II departed this world for the Father.

Famous ski jumper - Adam Małysz

Adam Małysz- born on 3.12.1977 in Wisła. He is a Polish ski jumper and the olympic medallist.

Adam is a four-time winner of the World Cup.

He is a three-times winner of Nordic Competition.

Małysz has won the chapionships of Poland seventeen times.

In 2001 he made the longest ski jump.

He has been chosen the best athlete of Poland three times.

Gimnazjum in Opatówek

In our school there are twelve classes and about 300 students. Each subject has a classroom (classrooms are new and they are good equiped) . From September 2007 students will have to wear uniforms. Next to our school there is a big sport's hall.

Our small place in Europe

In the Polish mountains

The seaside is in the north and the mountains are in the south of Poland.
The highest peak is called Rysy - 2,499 m.

At the Polish seaside