The ceremonious opening of the Festival was attended by representatives of partner institutions and organizations, including Jerzy Wójcik – the Gazeta Wyborcza publisher, Mirosław Sielatycki – Vice Director of the Education Office at Warsaw City Hall, Rafał Lew-Starowicz – Vice Director of the Textbooks, Curricula and Innovation Department at the Ministry of National Education, Włodzimierz Paszyński – Capital City of Warsaw Vice Mayor and Katarzyna Maniszewska – PAFF Program Director.

Letters to participants were sent by Adam Struzik – Marshal of Mazovieckie Voivodeship and Marek Michalak – the Ombudsman for Children.

Among the experts of the 7th All-Poland School with Class Festival were Grażyna Czetwertyńska – the assistant professor at “Artes Liberales“ UW and lecturer at PAFF and UW School of Education, Elżbieta Tołwińska-Królikowska –the President of Small School Educational Innovations Foundation Board of Directors, Justyna Suchecka – the Gazeta Wyborcza journalist specialized in education, as well as Dorota Kraśniewska and Jon Green from the British Council.

The 15th round of School with Class was carried out in a new formula based on team work, cooperation, exploring needs, and joining hands in diagnosing and solving the problems. These changes were reflected in the Festival agenda. Instead of the project fair, as it was before, the participants were invited to join groups where students and teachers presented activities at their schools. The meetings were participated by the experts who analyzed the presentations, as well as advised and helped to plan subsequent changes and initiatives.

Next, the teachers took part in the workshop on Snapchat application for educational purposes. The workshop was conducted by Gazeta Wyborcza journalist Justyna Suchecka. At the same time, students were divided into groups and participated in workshops improving cooperation skills and played educational game prepared by the School with Class Foundation team. The game will be one of the tools available for participants of the program next round. Its rules are based on popular puns and slogans which have to be guessed by players and which relate to one of four school areas: relations, learning, technology and space.

The „School with Class” is a nationwide educational initiative that has been carried out since 2002 by the Center for Citizenship Education (presently: the „School with Class” Foundation) and the Gazeta Wyborcza, in cooperation with the Polish-American Freedom Foundation. Since 2002, a total of over eight thousand schools, more than 100,000 teachers and more than one million students have participated in this action. Its objective is promoting school that prepares students to live in the modern world, encourages them to undertake new challenges and educates active citizens. Since 2010, one of the programs that make part of the action is the „School with Class 2.0”, which encourages introduction and use of new ICT in everyday school practice and is addressed to all levels of schools all over Poland.

More information can be found at: www.szkolazklasa.org.pl