www.londonderrytoday.co.uk Londonderry Sentinel, Wednesday, December 26, 2012 17

Strathfoyle’s Polish School

BY SUSIE DICKEY

LAST summer, Ewelina O’Donnell went on holiday to Poland with her husband. One day, they were visiting the sand dunes at Gdansk, when a young man ran up to them with tears running down his face. “He recognised the British number plate. He was twenty-one years old and Polish, but had been living in for nine years. There was Members of the a road sign explaining why a road was closed, it Polish Abroad said ‘DYWERSJA’, the Polish for ‘diversion’, but he Saturday School could not read it. He had lost the ability to read who enjoyed Polish, and this disability meant he had come to a Christmas us, begging for help.” Sadly, occurences like this are not rare, according party in St. to Ewelina, an interpreter and teacher at the Polish Oliver Plunkett's school in Strathfoyle. Unknown to most people, Primary School ~Londonderry is home to over six hundred INLS5112- registered Polish families, a large portion of which 160KM are living in Strathfoyle, an almost ‘Polish village’, with every second home housing a Polish family. offers wonderful opportunities to the Polish, which is why it’s so popular. In Poland the education system is expensive and inaccessible to many families, and jobs are difficult to come by. Here, Polish families can access an excellent, free education system, and hard-working and reliable but uneducated, workers can find excellent factory jobs. Unlike in Poland, where many couples are forced to only have one child due to the costs of living, here large Polish families can feel welcome and at home. The downside of this though, is that Polish Established in 2008, the Polish school in Strathfoyle and it seems that much of Polish culture can be later in life. children born in Northern Ireland, or even those aims to prevent Polish children from losing touch derived from the Catholic Church. Children who develop dual language skills from who have to come to live here, are at risk of losing with their native identity, by ensuring that they “There is a stereotype that all Polish are a young age often acquire invaluable learning their Polish identity and their language. maintain the ability to read, and write, in Polish. A Catholic, but actually you can find all religious skills that will help them with all academic areas. Many Polish children come from mixed-race fortnight ago the school held its Christmas event, denominations,” she told us. “Many of my students who have learnt another families, and the Polish parent is so keen to learn designed to instill long-standing Polish traditions “But in order for Polish children to understand language are straight A* students”, Ms O’Donnell English that often the child’s native language is left in local families. their heritage it is important that they learn that said. And it’s not just in school where these by the wayside. “Many children know nothing about how much of our traditions can actually be traced back children will be set at an advantage. Ewelina told us: “One child at the school, an Christmas is celebrated in Poland, they don’t to the Catholic Church, for example, the eating of “In many careers knowing a foreign language is eight-year-old, told me that she went to visit her know for example, that twelve dishes are served, the Holy Wafer.” invaluable. For example, if they want to be an IT Grandmother in Poland, and her Grandmother or that we hold our main celebrations on the 24th Developing a connection with what it means specialist, often knowing how to read and write in cried because her Granddaughter could not December, so that we can attend midnight mass,” to be Polish is not the only benefit students of the an Eastern European language is very beneficial.” understand her.” explained Ewelina. Polish school will receive. The school currently has thirty seven students; The group Polish Abroad began five years ago, Ewelina recently appeared on the BBC film, As a language teacher at St. Columb’s College, one nursery level class, two primary level classes, and offers Polish people living in Northern Ireland Slack Sabbaths? with Radio 4’s Peter Curran to talk Ewelina was also able to offer insights into what and a GCSE level class. an opportunity to reconnect with their roots. about the importance of attending mass regularly, opportunities will be on offer to these children However, with so many Polish people living in Northern Ireland, it is imperative that awareness of the school’s existence is raised, as many families still have no idea this invaluable service is on offer. Ewelina stressed just how much the school relies on sponsorship and donations. “There are fifty-three Polish Schools in the UK, but unlike the ones in England, we are getting no government funding,” she said. “Although we are hopeful that we will receive funding soon, these things are often slow to come in, and last year we had difficulty finding a wage to pay just one teacher.” The school is currently sponsored by the St. Oliver Plunkett Primary School in Strathfoyle, which generously allows the school to use their premises free of charge, an invaluable gesture which allows the children easy and nearby access to a facility which prevents the loss of their national identity. The lack of funding means that the school cannot afford to employ traditional means of advertising to raise awareness, and as a result, large portions of the Polish community continue to be unaware of what’s available to their families. “We have managed to reach some of the families living in Letterkenny and Strabane,” Ms O’Donnell told us. “But there are still many who don’t know about the school. Thereis a large Polish community living in , and we want to reach these families.” Any sponsorships or donations are greatly appreciated, “Even if it’s something like presents to give the children at Christmas time.” It is not just for members of the Polish community to whom the school is open, they are also looking into providing interpreters or running short courses for people who want a small grasp of the Polish language; skills and services that could prove helpful to employers of Polish workers or people who would just like to learn a new skill. You can learn more about Polish Abroad and the Polish school at www.polishabroad.co.uk or you can find the group on Facebook by searching Some of the members of the Polish Abroad Saturday School who enjoyed a Christmas party in St. Oliver Plunkett’s Primary School on Saturday. In- ‘Polish Abroad’. cluded is Ewelina O’Donnell, leader. INLS5112-159KM