About us
Text by Gillian Murphy
Things have really taken off for the Partnership between Aberdeen and our twin city of Gomel, Belarus, this year. Since the initial teacher visits of 2004, when Miss Digges and Mr Tullock, along with Rev McKenna and Elaine Robertson of Aberdeen City Council visited Gomel, and 2005 when two teachers from School 71 in Gomel came to Kincorth, we have come a long way!
In October 2005, the first stage of a
pupil exchange took place, with eight students from
School 71 coming to Kincorth Academy and staying with
a host family. The students came for one week and spent
time at school, experiencing the variety of subjects
on offer at Kincorth, with drama emerging as a clear
favourite! They also spent time with their host families,
and many activities were organised for the group such
as bowling, cinema, and a traditional Scottish ceilidh
which was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended.
When the students left, friendships were
continued via e-mail and letters.
The next phase of the pupil exchange took
place in the Easter holidays of 2006. Six pupils from
Kincorth Academy, including myself, along with the proud
‘parents’ of the Belarus project, Miss Digges
and Mr Tullock, went to Belarus to stay with a host
family and experience life in the city of Gomel, and
also student life at School 71. Through out the week,
we Scottish students attended School 71 and were amazed
by the standard of English that even the very young
pupils spoke, and also by their knowledge of Scottish
culture. Another thing that surprised us was that our
Belarussian friends had to study seventeen subjects
– so you can imagine how hard the students of
School 71 have to work!
During the school day we were also treated
to many concerts in which both the students and teachers
of School 71 would perform – be it acting, dancing,
singing or recitation of a poem or piece of literature.
Our Belarussian friends prepared a varied program of
events for us, such as a Brazilian concert, a visit
to the Ice Palace, a volleyball match (in which we participated!!),
a tour of the city park, and also a night out to a new
nightclub. We were also invited to visit the town house
where we were greeted by the Vice Mayor of Gomel, a
meeting which was later shown on the evening news!!!
All of the students who visited School
71 agreed that being involved in the project has been
a truly rewarding experience, and that we have gained
a new perspective on our lifestyle, which we feel is
considerably easier than that of our Belarussian friends,
who have no choice in the subjects that they study,
or opportunity to work part-time because there are no
jobs for young people, or even the free time that we
have for socialising and going out, simply because they
have to study so much. We also gained knowledge of a
different culture and even picked up a few Russian words!!
But of all that we gained, we agreed that the friendships
were the most important. We all became very close to
our hosts, their families, and in some cases, other
students in the school.
Such a worthwhile and rewarding experience
would not have been possible without a lot of hard work
and dedication, and the majority of the credit for that
goes to Miss Digges and Mr Tullock, who both organised
and participated in fundraising efforts, including selling
shortbread and bag packing at Sainsbury’s.
Take it from someone with experience –
getting involved in the International Partnership is
a fantastic experience. Even if you don’t think
you’d like to be a host, there are many other
ways in which you could get involved. The next steps
of the partnership have already been planned, and involve
developing the website, planning a sporting event to
occur on the next exchange, and also for each group
of pupils, the Belarussian and the Scottish, to perform
a play based on the same scenario to see if the outcome
is different or not.
Sourse: www.leanonme2008.narod.ru
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