#11 Time to go to kindergarten

Nowe Chechlo was the only village in Świerklaniec commune that did not have its own kindergarten. The pre-war building of the Queen Jadwiga Elementary School housed only one class of pre-school. The school, which had to accommodate school and one class of pre-school children, was overcrowded. There were times in winter when students did their physical education classes in the hallway because the gym was occupied by other groups. Building a kindergarten became an absolute necessity. The residents petitioned to open one as well. In February 2018, thanks to an EU grant, we were able to move forward with the investment. The project involved not only the construction of a kindergarten, but also a comprehensive renovation of the nearly 90-year-old elementary school building. The idea was to combine the classical architecture of the existing school building with the modern shape of the kindergarten. Unfortunately, there was a change in the construction contractor during the construction work. This resulted in serious delays from the original schedule. Because the needs were urgent, we had to look for other solutions. We have therefore decided to temporarily adapt the rooms of the Cavalier Palace in Świerklaniec to the needs of the school. At the same time, through another tender procedure, we selected a contractor who successfully completed the task. On September 1, 2020, children finally went to their new kindergarten. Thanks to the grant a four-unit, state-of-the-art facility designed for hundreds of children was eventually built. The single-story building has been fully adapted to meet the needs of people with disabilities. The colorful rooms have been equipped with teaching aids, toys and special screens for multimedia activities. The infrastructure was completed with a new kitchen, cafeteria, a great gym and a modern and safe playground.

The construction of a kindergarten in Nowe Chechlo has improved the conditions of care for the youngest children. The facility has the advantage of a great location and the opportunity to continue schooling. At the same time, the investment solved the problem of preschool education in the municipality. It provides space for all children who wish to attend, including three-year-olds. We have gained a facility we can be proud of.

Pre-school education is important for the comprehensive development of the child and cannot be neglected. It nurtures social skills, supports creativity and stimulates interests. Therefore, in addition to creating a friendly preschool infrastructure, we equipped the facility with educational aids, toys, and computer equipment. We organized a series of additional classes including e.g. rhythmics and corrective gymnastics. New teaching aids allowed the youngest to participate in art, music and theater workshops. Teachers have also incorporated elements of programming into their classes. We use two robots for these activities, which the children have become very friendly with. We have also enriched the offer of the school with regular speech therapy classes. It is worth knowing that the speech therapy profession has changed a lot in recent years. Just two decades ago, speech therapists dealt primarily with speech defects. Today, because of earlier diagnosis and cooperation with other specialists, they support and stimulate children's development. With regular meetings with the speech therapist, children find it easier to express themselves in a group setting without emotional blocks and stress. The tasks of a speech therapist include preventing defects and ensuring the proper development of speech, stimulating cognitive and linguistic development and conducting exercises to shape correct pronunciation, as well as cooperating with teachers and parents. The correction of speech defects at the preschool age offsets any later difficulties or failures during the school period. Sometimes a child who speaks poorly will make mistakes in writing, and when they read poorly, they may have difficulty understanding texts. That is why we try to eliminate these risks already at the preschool stage. The project "Dream Kindergarten in Nowe Chechło" is an investment in the comprehensive development of children and it teaches, entertains and allows them to develop their passions. I am convinced that these types of projects have an impact not only on the further education of children, but also on well-being throughout all their life.

The idea of building a kindergarten in Nowe Chechło was born over ten years ago. At that time I was an active member of the Parents Council of Queen Jadwiga Elementary School. I often met parents who complained about the lack of kindergarten in their neighborhood and limited access to kindergartens in nearby villages. Transporting children to Bytom, Piekary Śląskie or Tarnowskie Góry was inconvenient, especially for working parents. In addition, it meant that building a parent and child relationship with the community would only be postponed until they entered school. I have observed this process through the example of my children. Apart from the lack of a kindergarten, we also saw the need to modernize the Primary School in Nowe Chechło. I think that the parents' cooperation in getting the authorities of the municipality of Świerklaniec interested in this problem was extremely important. From the beginning, we wanted a pre-school facility to be built at the school, which would not only give the children the comfort of moving from one level of education to the next in an environment and place they are familiar with, but would also allow us to take advantage of an EU grant. As the municipality was not able to complete the entire investment with its own funds, this solution was the best option. I feel great satisfaction that after many years the project has been finally completed. And although my children did not have the opportunity to go to kindergarten in Nowe Chechło, I am glad that we have created such an opportunity for other residents. Ten years of work in the Parents Council and eight years of chairmanship have yielded results. Although today I am at a different stage of life, because my children Emilia and Jan are in high school, I still keep in touch with the institution. I have a huge fondness for this place.

The kindergarten and school are the center of our village today. At first, some people were concerned that we wouldn't find as many people willing to enroll their children in preschool. However, it turned out that the trend is just the opposite. The facility has a 100 percent occupancy rate, and with the number of residents increasing every year, especially young couples, there may not be enough places for everybody.

I am also glad that after the school was modernized, many students who initially went to other facilities came back here. This is perhaps the best evidence of how much this investment was needed in the community.