It’s always hard to say goodbye. Especially hard, if you need to say goodbye to someone who was always there for you. Who was firm and kind, who was committed to you and who set the bar really high only because it would make you reaching higher and growing stronger. We had to say farewell today to the person who was all that and above for our school. The very first school day in the 2021-22 school year was the very last one for Marta Morawska to be an active part of our school. For now, it’s still hard to imagine but that’s the reality.

We cannot say that Marta’s decision took us completely by surprise. At the beginning of 2020, Marta and a few more directors from our school made it known that they would step back from their positions at the end of the school year of 2019-20. Edyta Zydorek, Alina Rymarz, Monika Wiszenko and Andrzej Kaminski all declared that they wouldn’t pursue re-election for the following school year for many different, personal reasons. But life happened and everything changed when we were to switch to virtual learning early spring of 2020. Because of the pandemic and imposed restrictions, our school had to call off a few planned events and the board elections were postponed as well. After the summer break of 2020, not much had changed.  As you know, we have managed to continue our daily business in the form of distance learning for the whole school year of 2020-21. There were no in person classes, no face-to-face events, no way to prepare and conduct the election. All members of the school board agreed to keep their position and manage their school jobs until things get back to normal. So we knew what was on the horizon and when a few weeks ago, Marta told as about her decision, it wasn’t such a surprise. Still, of course, we would like her to stay a little longer, to help ease our school into the new school year after such a long and unprecedented break. Yet, for personal reasons, Marta had to step back not only from the position of the school director but she also had resigned from teaching her favorite class of Polish 101 for adults. As we all know, you can plan for something but the life throws a totally different ball for you to play and all you can do, is try to catch it.  

Edyta Zydorek said that Marta IS the school. Looking as Marta has been the school's leader for over ten years, it’s hard not to agree with Edyta. Our organization is not a big one. We do everything in our own way. However, Marta has devoted her determination, her commitment and her personality to benefit our school for such a long time. Mostly thanks to her, Jan Karski Polish School of Dallas is well recognized not only in the neighborhood but also in some places a little farther than Texas. Her legacy is unquestionable, as the list of the things she has done during the last ten years is very, very long.

Marta, we do thank you from the bottom of our hearts; each one of us and all together. We thank you for all those years, for everything and anything you have done for the school. Thank you for your passion for education and for other human being; for your kindness and smile but also for your grit when facing the small and common as well as enormous and uncommon obstacles. It felt, that over the years, you’ve become indispensable part of our organization. Now, it looks like it’s time for a change. We wish you all the best.

Let all those changes give you a new strength, energy and let them sail your boat toward the new horizons; toward a new era. The same awaits our school. Changes, even those hard ones, always bring an opportunity for something new to happen. And the school is ready; we are ready to open a new era as well, to see what waits for our organization in the future.