Life / Where to live in Wroclaw? [30]

Hello there!

I'm happy to find this site and all you people! I've searched and googled all sorts of pages relating to Poland and Wroclaw, but found little really relevant. You are just the people I wanted to hear from :)

Our family is also considering moving to Wroclaw because of my husband's work. We've nerver been even in Poland, so our heads are filled with questions and more questions. We have three kids, aged 9, 7, and 2 ½. The two eldest should go to school there, possibly to some of the international ones (so far I know: the british international school and the international school of wroclaw) Does anyone know if either one of these two is on the south side of the town? Is there some major differences between these schools?

I'm also keen to know if there is a scandinavian / finnish club for moms with children! If there isn't maybe we should start one :)

Maybe I'm rushing things a bit now... negotioations have barely begun at my husband's work place and all the options are still wide open...

Anyway, I look forward to hear your comments about Wroclaw and moving/living there!!!
Good luck to all you guys, hope you find a nice place to live in!!!

Life / Where to live in Wroclaw? [30]

Hi again!
Thanks for the tips, Selina! Good to know that there are good groceries, small things (like getting special milk for the allergic ones) can really matter !

About the school thing, I googled a bit more and found out that there really are two separate international schools in Wroclaw. One is Wroclaw international school (WIS), and it's located in two different buildings, just as Selina described. It follows New Zealand curriculum and has been running for some years now. The other is British International School, Wroclaw (BISC) and as the name tells you, it's based on the British educational system (groups from the age of 3 up to age of 18). It was opened only last September. (Another BISC has been running in Cracow for a few years.) This one is located inside a Polish sports school, just as Frenchexpat told a few lines earlier :) Both schools are quite expensive, but I guess in most cases, if it's the company who sends you away, it is is also the one who pays the bills...

Our situation (to go or not to go) hasn't been yet solved as the whole of Finland is on vacation in July ;) but I'm still more than happy to "hear" how you people are getting along!!

Enjoy the summer .. aurinkokin paistaa vaikkei sitä näy ;) Katjusha

Life / sports clubs for kids in Wroclaw? [8]

Thanks Ronek and Krzysztof for your advice :)
Good to know that at least soccer can be found for juniors! Hockey would be great, too. How long does it take to drive from Wroclaw to Opole? We've been driving for games for some years now... (Our son has determined to take Teemu Selanne's place in the future .. ;)

Life / sports clubs for kids in Wroclaw? [8]

40 minutes is not so bad ! But then again , all we need is an ice rink... we could set up a new team "Wroclaw Warriors" -haha- . My husband is also a Finn and has been coaching the kids for 5 years. But neither of us speaks polish yet, might delay things a bit ;)

Work / Thinking of spending time teaching in Poland! [38]

I've been reading the comments on teaching in Poland and have to say I'm a bit puzzled. Please tell me I'm wrong when I get the message that just about anyone from the streets will be able to teach kids in international schools if she/he only speaks fluent english and has taken a four week tesol (or alike) course!!!!! I think that every person who works with children should really be much better educated! It's not the qualification on paper that's relevant, but in order to be able to support the child's development in every possible way a teacher must have some basic knowledge on childrens' education.

Work / Thinking of spending time teaching in Poland! [38]

Thanks guys for your comments!

I guess I got confused as most of the international schools are usually private as well. Anyway, it's good to know that childrens'education is well monitored. I'm a teacher myself, too, (up here in Finland) and that's why I'm also interested in these issues. The main point, however, is that we have been considering wheter to put our kids in a state or international school if / when we move to Poland. We would probably stay only two years, so an international one might be better. But I'm sure we'll check out the schools beforehand. I know that private does not always mean better. I have worked here both in public and private sector and, in my case, the public system worked much better. The owners of the private school were just conserned about making big money. Of course this is not always the case. There are great private schools, too.

And yes, a good paper doesn't make you an excellent teacher. It's the personality and social skills that matter in the end. Although it does'nt do any harm if you do know the grammar ;) But I'm sure a native, with or without the knowledge of the grammar, is a great help! We Finns, for sure, need a lot of encouragement (a bottle of vodka will do) before we dare to open our mouth even if we'd learned the foreign language for years ;)

I didn't mean to mock the tefl teachers, just thought that the the kids that are still growing up need a lot more and many kind of support.

Keep up the good work folks!

Polonia / Polonia in scandinavian countries [23]

oh yes, Swedes are the bold and beautiful, especially bold ;) Check out:

Travel / Wroclaw People, visiting tips needed! [11]

Thank you for suggestions!

Do you know if there's specially polish restaurant / pub definetly worth of visiting?