Speaking at a school in Komornica, in the central Mazovia region, Nawrocki said: "I wish you another year, and years to come, of absorbing what matters most: education, relationships, friendship and often love too. This time will never come back."
He told students that "good education requires an awareness of who we are as Poles," pointing to the institution's patron, Maj. Konstanty Mikołaj Radziwiłł — a Home Army officer killed by German forces in 1944 — as an example to follow.
The president also defended restrictions on mobile phone use in the classroom, saying technology should not be feared but that reducing it helps build relationships.
"To understand another person, you have to look up from your phone and into their eyes," Nawrocki said.
"Dialogue doesn't begin when someone starts speaking, but when someone starts listening."
First Lady Marta Nawrocka urged pupils to "aim high" and "build beautiful friendships," and thanked teachers and parents.
The presidential couple also issued a letter, writing that young people should learn to "distinguish facts from opinions, knowledge from assumptions, truth from manipulation."
The prime minister attended a separate ceremony at School Complex No. 1 in Wieluń, south-central Poland.
Poland's new school year began on Tuesday for over 4.85 million pupils and some 715,000 teachers, according to the education ministry.
Of those, 3.26 million are in primary education and 734,000 in general secondary schools, with a further 1.27 million children in preschool.
For 395,000 children starting primary school, it was their very first day in the classroom.
Along with fourth-graders, they will be taught under a new curriculum reform.
(ał/gs)
Source: PAP