March 3, 2012: Our schedule for Ukraine!

Zaporizhzhya

Lydia and the EFL teachers

St Nicholas Cathedral

Our schedule for our visit to Ukraine is beginning to come together.  Our group of eleven teachers from all over the nation (Texas, Idaho, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, West Virginia, Ohio, Rhoda Island, and Massachusetts) will fly to Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine, on April 14, 2012. We will spend the first four days there visiting schools, having discussions with education officials, and learning about the school system in Ukraine.  Then we will fan out all over the nation for an eight day visit with a cooperating teacher in their school.
I received my assignment and I am really excited to learn that I will be traveling with Sara, who is also a middle school social studies teacher from Massachusetts.  We will be working with Lydia who is an EFL teacher, at the Zaporizhzhya Classical Lyceum, which is in the city of Запорі́жжя (Zaporizhzhya). It is located a 10 hour train ride southeast of Kiev. We are really looking forward to visiting the city and spending time working in the school with the teachers and students.
Lydia sent us an itinerary for our time with her, and it is clear that we are going to have a spectacular visit. We’ll learn and see so much during our time in Zaporizhzhya. Everything on the schedule looks exciting, but here are some of the activities that Sara and I found most intriguing:

• Observing classes taught by Lydia and her colleagues, and getting a chance to co-teach with them
• Participating in a round table discussion with 11th grade students on American cultural diversity
• Eating traditional foods at local restaurants and and in a local home
• Having at a picnic on the Khortitsa Island and visiting local botanical gardens
• Visiting a town orphan house
• Participating in teacher discussion groups on student discipline and parent involvement
• Seeing tourist sites around town, from museums and art exhibitions to theatrical performances
• Providing professional development for the teachers in Lidiya's school
• Attending a conference with 100 principals from some of the best schools all over Ukraine

We will have the opportunity to work with the students, connect our students to the students in Ukraine through Skype, and create better understanding and perspectives through sharing "daily life" videos, gifts, and letters. I am so excited to be able to help provide this opportunity for my students!