School Link - Page 3

Tokareva School (No. 435) in Sestroretz

August 2001

School 435 was on holiday during our recent visit to Sestroretz . The children have about 12 weeks holiday, which lasts until mid-September. The teachers are not so fortunate. They have jobs to do as mundane as school maintenance and repairs before the next term begins.

The total number of children attending the school has fallen and one of the English teachers has left. The declining school population is attributed to cost of housing. Although newly built blocks of flats are to be seen, flats are no longer provided free by the state. The cost of flats is proportional to the floor area and this has led to couples having fewer children, and a larger number of dogs as pets.

Oak Wood in Sestroretz

The Kamerton Children's Choir took part in a music festival in Italy last year. This year the school received an invitation to take part in the Jiangmen International Choral Festival in Guangdong, the People's Republic of China. At the time of writing, the school were seeking to raise funds to pay for the travel of members of the Choir to Jiangmen. For participation in European based festivals, the cost of travel has been bourne by the families of the Choir members, but the cost of travel to China is generally beyond their means.

 

RS September, 2001