History of the organization
History of the organization
Association of Alumni of the Stanisław Staszic Middle and High School in Lublin
The years 1986-88 were marked by a number of important events related to the Stanisław Staszic High School and its graduates – the celebration of the school's 400th anniversary (1586-1986), as well as reunions of former high school graduates. Professor Leszek Malicki, PhD, a graduate of the class of 1951, was inspired to establish an association by Bohdan Komorowski, PhD, a distinguished professor at the Stanisław Staszic Junior High School and High School. Professor Malicki then contacted the president of the Warsaw “zamojszczaków” – Zygmunt Smorawiński, who provided him with the statutes. Based on these, a Lublin version was developed. The procedure for establishing the association included, in addition to drafting the statutes, holding a founding meeting and submitting an application for registration. The founding meeting took the form of a reunion of Prof. Leszek Malicki's high school class, which took place on June 21, 1986. A resolution was passed to establish the association, the statutes were adopted, and a temporary board was elected. Leszek Malicki became the president, and the board consisted of Radzisław Sikorski (vice-president), Jan Gliński (treasurer), Tadeusz Izdebski (secretary), and members Stanisław Pietraś, Ryszard Sławiński, and Tadeusz Wolski.
The association was registered on November 28, 1987. Its purpose was to support the Stanisław Staszic High School in Lublin, assist in solving the school's cultural and economic problems, and maintain friendly relations between the association's members. The first General Meeting of Members was held on April 16, 1988. Prof. Leszek Malicki was re-elected as President of the Board. He held this position for four terms until 2003. In 2003-2008, Joanna Wójtowicz was the President of the Board and managed the Association's activities. Thanks to her efforts and those of attorney Janusz Łomża, the Association obtained the status of a Public Benefit Organization. As a result, its financial situation improved significantly. The income from the 1% tax deduction not only covers the Association's operating costs, but also finances the implementation of its statutory objectives. Since 2008, Zbigniew Smutek has served as President of the Management Board.
The Association's most important activities include promoting the school's traditions and the achievements of its most outstanding teachers and graduates. In November 1990, the school's alumni handed over the school banner, which, due to its religious content, had been placed in the custody of the Dominican Church during the Stalinist era. The Association financed the renovation of the banner and, after a solemn consecration in the garrison church, handed it over to the school. In cooperation with the “Katyń Family,” it financially supported the preparation of a commemorative plaque on the monument at the military cemetery in Lublin. In April 1995, on the initiative of the Association, a plaque commemorating the teachers and graduates of the school murdered in Katyń was unveiled in the school auditorium. On the side wall of the auditorium, the inscription “Salus rei publice suprema lex esto” was recreated, which before the war was in the school building on Narutowicza Street, and later above the stage of the auditorium of the current building. In 2013, on the initiative of the Association, and in particular its board member Stanisław Klimaszewski, a commemorative plaque was unveiled dedicated to Gracjan
Chmielewski, a January insurgent and school director in the years 1905-1919.
The members of the association are actively involved in collecting and compiling materials on the history of the school and its professors and alumni. Thanks to the efforts of Czesław Sambor, biographies of the most distinguished teachers and students have been compiled. Numerous publications have been prepared, including monographs: Szkoła czterech wieków [A School of Four Centuries], edited by Prof. Ryszard Kucha, Lublin 1992, Staszic. Dawniej, dziś i jutro (Staszic: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow), Lublin 2001, 420 lat lubelskiego “Staszica” (420 Years of Lublin's Staszic), Lublin 2006, and brochures: Ku pamięci Wychowanków Szkoły Czterech Wieków (In Memory of the Students of the School of Four Centuries) and Pamięci Wychowanków Szkoły Czterech Wieków – ofiar II wojny światowej (In Memory of the Students of the School of Four Centuries – Victims of World War II). Stanisław Klimaszewski published many articles devoted to the school's teachers in the Lublin press. Memories and studies on the history of the school, as well as reports from alumni meetings, are also published in the “Staszicak” bulletin, issued twice a year by the Association.
The association also supports the school's educational activities by financing the purchase of teaching aids, including books for the library, an interactive whiteboard and multimedia projector, equipment for learning resuscitation procedures, and more.
The Association provides financial support to organizers of school events such as the Staś song contest and Amnesty International's letter-writing marathon.
Representatives of the Association participate in school ceremonies such as the beginning and end of the school year, Patron's Day with the oath of first-year students, and anniversary celebrations.
In cooperation with the Captain Wiktor Krzewski Foundation, the Bruno Radliński Foundation, and the Jan Janiszewski Foundation, it awarded prizes to the best graduates and students. Currently, such awards are granted from the funds of the Ewa Sajkiewiczowa Foundation – for the best graduate in Polish language – and from its own funds. Since 2014, thanks to the generosity of one of the graduates, scholarships have also been awarded to particularly talented students who are in difficult financial situations. Every year, the Association organizes Christmas and Easter meetings for its members. It also helps to organize and participates in meetings and reunions of individual graduating classes.
The most distinguished members of the association include, or included (some of them are unfortunately no longer alive), those who were awarded the title of Honorary Member of the Association by the General Meeting. This group includes (in order of award): 2001 - Janusz Bucior (born in 1935), Władysław Krzewski (born in 1944), Czesław Sambor (born in 1936), Lucjan Ważny (born in 1939); 2002 - Tadeusz Wilgat (born in 1934), 2003 - Janusz Żurakowski (born in 1934) - Leszek Malicki (born in 1951) - posthumously; 2005 - Jan Gliński (born in 1951), Jan Gurba (born in 1946), Stanisław Gurba (born in 1951), Ewald Malinowski (born in 1951), Rev. Leon Pietroń (born in 1950), Stanisław Skawiński (born in 1950); 2007 - Tadeusz Kowalik (born in 1950), Joanna Wójtowicz (born in 1982), 2008 - Stanisław Dzierżak (born in 1951), Stanisław Klimaszewski (born in 1958), 2013 - Janusz Łomża (born in 1982), Zbigniew Smutek (born in 1975), 2016 – Bronisław Grzegorczyk (born in 1951), Ryszard Sławiński (born in 1951), Jan Napoleon Saykiewicz (born in 1956). The Association's activities have been recognized with the “For Merit in Education” medal, awarded by the Minister of National Education, as well as the Commemorative Medal of the Stanisław Staszic High School No. 1 in Lublin.
Prepared by: Zbigniew Smutek (based on materials collected and compiled by Stanisław
Gurba and Stanisław Klimaszewski)