newsletter_2008_1.pdf - 5.84 MB - The Baltic Sea Project

School in Gdynia
X Secondary School in Gdynia has existed since 1992 –
this year our school is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Our
school was established as a result of the transformation of
the pedagogical school for teachers. It inherited the traditions
and the name of patriotic teachers, which clearly
refers to the school’s history. The building itself housed
pedagogical schools for over 50 years. All of them were
very respected and popular among students. Today, our
school has earned respect as a well-organized institution,
one of Gdynia’s top secondary schools. It has numerous
didactic and educational achievements on its scorecard, as
well as a special ambience. We are proud of the fact that
100% of our graduates have continued their studies in
various universities and colleges.
What do we do as part of BSP?
Since we joined the Baltic Sea Project two years ago, participation
in the programme has become one of the most
important environment-friendly activities that take place
in our school. What is more, it plays a significant part in
international cooperation and among schools within the
Polish borders.
We have been trying to take advantage of the location of
our school - the coastline of the Baltic Sea. The majority
of our activities are connected to learning about the sea
ecosystem, a place of extraordinary flora and fauna, as
well as an area exposed to the influence of anthropological
activities. We act under the school name: The Club of
Baltic Researchers.
We have monitored the seacoast systematically – observing
the condition of the beaches and organisms dwelling
in selected sections of the coastline. We have cooperated
with the Sea Station in Hel, along with students and doctors
from the oceanography faculty of Gdańsk University.
We have realized projects on the biodiversity of the maritime
belt area. We have organized classes in the Hel sealarium,
where our students work as volunteers. For the last
two years we have taken part in the students’ field workshop
at the mouth of the Rewa River, where we recognized
various species and observed the migration of ichthyofauna.
We have reached the local fishermen and gathered
information about the condition of the water in the gulf
from them. We also asked for the presence of endangered,
rare or even new, invasive species.
Not only do we actively participate in scientific conferences
WHO ARE WE?
concerning sea matters, such as “Sea mammals and man in
a coastal ecosystem - is coexistence possible?”, but also in
films and activities that were held as a part of the Baltic
Festival, as well as in lectures related to the biology and
ecology or even chemistry of the waters held by Gdańsk
University. Each year we run an interdisciplinary contest,
“The Baltic Sea - the sweetest sea in the world”, which
draws great interest from the students. Teachers of all subjects
are involved in this undertaking and the questions
concern almost every subject. There are many winners.
The contest appoints specialists in different areas: biology
of the sea, chemistry and physics of the sea, history of the
Baltic countries and their languages. Our other activities
cover taking part in scientific cruises, inviting guests whose
work is linked with the Baltic Sea, organizing lectures and
even a qualified course in order to obtain a fishing license
(with the cooperation of the appropriate local authority
centre). Students need to assimilate knowledge of species
dwelling in Polish waters, their times, conservation times
and limits, as well as information about the dangers of
individual organisms.
Some of our activities have been described in BSP newsletters:
● “Cassubia - yesterday, today and tomorrow” (2006/2)
● “Visiting the Hel marine station” (2006/1)
● “Educational cruise across the Gulf of Gdańsk”
(2006/1)
Representatives from our school successfully took part in
the international conference BSP “Diversity & Sustainabi-
lity” (2006), where our project about Cassubia was presented.
We participated in the workshop “Sustainable fishery”
in Bornholm (2006) as well, and this year, in September,
we also went to Katowice to participate in a workshop for
teachers entitled “Biological diversity on the industrial
areas of Upper Silesia and sustainable development in the
Baltic Sea region”.
Patrycja Wojtkowiak-Skóra
Teacher
E-mail: patrycjawojtkowiak@o2.pl
Ilona Krzyżańska
Teacher
E-mail: odgyfcal@yahoo.com,
X LO im. Gdyńskich Nauczycieli Bohaterów II Wojny
Światowej, Ul Władysława IV no. 58, Gdynia, Poland
35
Photos: authors