ALEKSANDRA MORDACZ
YEAR I
I graduated from the Pomeranian University in Słupsk where I studied preschool and early school pedagogy. I am continuously expanding my skills and tools by attending professional training sessions and methodology workshops.
I have been working as a teacher for a decade with early school and preschool groups. At Da Vinci’s Primary School I am a 1st year form tutor.
In my relations with the kids, I rely on building an atmosphere of trust and safety. For me, it is extremely important to build an attitude of self-reliance and self-belief in children.
I consider myself to be a cheerful and an open minded person. In my free time I enjoy travelling and spending time with people I like. I also like to get completely engrossed by a good book.
My life motto is “be the type of person you’d like to meet”.
MONIKA KLIŚ
YEAR II
I am a 2nd year form tutor at Da Vinci’s International Primary School. I graduated with a Master’s degree in preschool and early school pedagogy. I also completed a postgraduate course. For a number of years I taught English to youngsters, helping them acquire knowledge through play and games. In my work I try to adapt teaching methods to the needs of each student whilst creating an atmosphere conducive to stimulating inquisitiveness and one which encourages independent thinking.
I often observe and draw upon the know-how of more experienced teachers. In my private life I love trying out and discovering new culinary recipes. To relax I solve Sudoku puzzles. They calm me down and help me to concentrate.
JUSTYNA KOPCZYŃSKA
YEAR III
I am a graduate of what is now the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in early school and preschool education and a Master’s degree in general pedagogy.
I lived in the United States for a number of years, where I worked with American kids. During the last three years of my stay there I worked as a teacher in the Kids Island preschool in Schiller Park.
As a teacher I feel that the American education system has expanded my horizons. It taught me to treat every child as an individual, encouraged me to reach for original and less conventional methods when working in a preschool or a school.
I have been associated with the Da Vinci’s International Schools community for 9 years. Currently I am a 3rd grade form tutor.
In my private life I am a mother of two teenage daughters and owner of a fearsome looking, cuddle-loving dog called Chico. I am passionate about photography. It provides me with the luxurious feeling of escaping the everyday routine, even within my own four walls. I try to have fun with photography, it allows me to view the world in a somewhat different light and see things which I would otherwise miss in the daily hustle and bustle. I try to slow down, taste life without hurrying because, as one of my favourite Polish journalists and authors noted, “when you rush, you don’t see anything, you don’t feel anything, you don’t experience anything and you don’t think! A fast pace makes the deepest strata of your soul arid and barren, blunts your sensitivity and dehumanises you”…