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April 21 and 23 marked the 13th
annual Shakespeare Festival, organized by our school.
This year’s theme was “The language of theater is the language of
nations.” 32 performances from various genres – ranging from musicals
to tragedies, classical Shakespearean plays to Bernard Shaw to
contemporary pieces – were staged.
On April 21,
students performed on our school’s stage and took part in master classes.
On April 23, William Shakespeare’s birthday, performances were held
on the world-famous stage of the Taganka Theater. It was underscored that
the festival is not a competition, but a celebration of the theatrical arts
and of love of the English language!
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From the 24th to the 27th
of March, our
7th and 8th graders took part in the third annual
International Debate Tournament, held this year in Riga, Latvia. The
tournament consisted of four days that were busy enough to seem like
they lasted a month.
The first two days were filled with tours based around the theme of the
Middle Ages, complete with excursions to the Riga Castle and time spent
in Old Riga. The students learned much about life in the Middle Ages –
about knights, medieval castles, fashion, and traditional dance. Most
important, perhaps, was the fact that we made the acquaintance not only
of Latvia’s history, but of one of its capital’s schools.
Here you
can find tournament results.
A huge thanks to all of the teachers and students of the Riga Classical
School!
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March 3 at 7:10 pm and March 4 at 5:10 pm marks the premiere of the
long-awaited show “White Guard,” directed by Sergei Snezhkin. The
script was written by our very own Marina and Sergei Dyachenko, heads of the
school’s cinema club.
You can read more about the show and watch a trailer here: http://russia.tv/tvpreg.html?id=155720&cid=125&d=0.
Before the premiere, Marina and Sergei wrote to our students. They discussed
in detail the changes made between the novel and the show, describing the
interesting twists and turns that they took in writing the script.
We hope to devote one of our upcoming cinema club meetings (on March 21 at
4:00 pm) to a discussion of the show “White Guard.” We invite all
interested students, graduates, and parents!
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On February 1,
our school held
a ball to mark the end of the “Spain in Russia, Russia in Spain” year. Our
guest of honor was Tatiana Drosdov Diez, education attaché from the Spanish
Embassy in Moscow, Russia.
The ball was hosted by the “King and Queen of Spain”, Anna Zakeyeva and
Mikhail Khodan from the 10th grade, who spoke eloquently in
Spanish about the history and culture of Spain. But not everyone in the
auditorium spoke Spanish, so interpretation was provided by Alexander
Plotnikov, also from the 10th grade. Inspired dancing, poetry,
and songs in Spanish were interwoven with information about the history of
Russo-Spanish relations. Performances brilliantly conveyed the tone and
atmosphere of Spain.
The dancing, of course, took center stage. It was incredible to see our
students perform boleros, salsa, cha-cha-chas, and pasodobles. Moreover,
each dance told its own tale of love, hatred, or passion.
A big thank you to our choreography teacher, Irina Terekhova!
At the close of the festivities, the Senor and Senorita of the Ball were
chosen. Congratulations to Ivan Timofeyev, Nikita Voichenko (both Grade
9A), and Alexandra Lee (Grade 10A)!
The evening ended after the guest of honor thanked the ball’s organizers for
their interest in the culture and history of Spain.
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On January 24, our school held a conference
entitled “100 Questions to an Adult” with documentary producer/director
Yazamir Gott.
Mr. Gott presented his new documentary dedicated
to a very special group of actors: those performing in a unique Moscow
theater which hires actors with Down Syndrome. The conference was opened
with an excerpt from the film, which spawned a serious and complex
discussion about humanity, kindness, sincerity, happiness, and what really
matters in life.
The discussion had only one drawback – a catastrophic lack of time!
Fortunately, Mr. Gott has promised to return to the school again in March to
discuss his new film, on which he is working now.
Enormous thanks to Sergei Dyachenko, who gave us
the opportunity to hold a discussion with the incredible Yazamir Gott.
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December 20 –
28:
The
week leading up to winter break has always been one of wonder, magic, and
gifts at our school. This year, the week was full of theatrical
presentations by many grades, whose skill and professionalism grows each
year. The upper grades help the lower ones, preparing for performances and
concerts, and visiting them dressed as Father Frost and his granddaughter
Snow Maiden. They also handed out gifts: baseball caps for grades 1-7 and
polo shirts for grades 8-11. Our students engaged in many good deeds,
sending presents and greeting cards to children in foster homes and
hospitals.
The holiday season is made for charity!
HAPPY NEW
YEAR,
dear students, teachers, parents, and alumni of SAAS “Marina”!!!!
We wish you success, health, and happiness in the New Year!
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On November 26,
our school celebrated the second annual Irish Drama Festival. With
the support of the Irish Embassy in Moscow and the Ministry of Education,
nine schools from around the city participated in this English-language
event. This year, our school not only hosted the event, but took part in it
with the performance of a scene from the Irish dramaturgical tradition.
The jury consisted of representatives from various Moscow universities, as
well as those from Pearson Longman, and renowned writers and experts.
The performances were brilliantly executed and included even the youngest
students, some of whom were 5-7 years old.
The guest of honor was the Irish ambassador Philip McDonagh. Mr. McDonagh
congratulated the festival’s participants and spoke of the importance of
fostering Russo-Irish relations through just such celebrations. Mr.
McDonagh even read some of his poetry.
In the end, all of the participants proved to be winners, each receiving
prizes from the embassy and the publishers.
Many thanks to the Irish
embassy, the participants, and all who helped to organize the festival!
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On October 5, we celebrated International Teacher’s Day.
As tradition has it, on this day the school was run by a new group of
administrators – our seniors. The prospective teachers began preparing for
this day in early September, as they had to present not only teaching plans
in order to be considered, but also express what was original and worthwhile
in their teaching methodology. The
results were fantastic!
The celebration did not consist exclusively of classes. Two concerts were
held in the school, full of dancing and singing – and even a shower of
balloons. The day ended with a banquet table full of delicious treats – yet
another wonderful tradition of Teacher’s Day at our school.
Happy Teacher’s Day!
The students and parents of SAAS “Marina” wish you health, strength, and
patience!
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On September 12,
our school commemorated the ten-year memorial of the terrorist acts of
September 11 in
New York and Washington,D.C.
The school principal, Tatiana Yurovskaya, and the ESL teacher, Evan Haddad,
spoke in front of grades 7-11. At that time, Evan was an 8th-grader.
Even though he does not remember much, he distinctly recalls the incredible
silence in school that day.
The students also watched a video about terrorist acts and the construction
of the Reflection of Absence memorial at the site of the tragedy in
New York City.
Also present was special guest Mia Grosjean, granddaughter of the
U.S.
ambassador to Russia
in 1937-8. Ms. Grosjean spoke brilliantly in front of the assembly,
promoting U.S.-Russia relations and encouraging students to take part in her
project "Moscow
from 1937-8 in
photographs."
September 12th became, in our school, an incredible lesson in
tolerance and sympathy.
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September 1
– “Day of Knowledge”.
Our 1st-graders have set foot in the school for the first time. It’s the
beginning of a new life for them, filled with new discoveries and
assignments that are still unfamiliar. The wonderful “Day of Knowledge”
began with a celebration, including the ringing of the first bell,
well-wishes for the graduating class, kind words to the teachers, and a
celebration of summer birthdays. The 11th-graders prepared a theatrical
presentation for the 1st-graders. The “Queen of Knowledge,” played by Sasha
Levina, joined the 1st-graders in conquering a character representing
ignorance. Great fun was had by all!
Everyone was enthralled by the wonderful musical performances of Sonya
Akseneva (grade 2B) and the sisters Liza and Varya Dmitriv (grade 6A). The
directors of the cinema club, writers Marina and Sergei Dyachenko invited
all interested students and teachers to work on a project commemorating the
200th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino. The start of the academic year
holds a lot of excitement for the students and parents of SAAS “Marina.”
Every student will be able to find his or her niche – from debates and
contests to literary festivals and science fairs, there is no shortage of
events. The most studious and creative among our students will be rewarded
at the end of the year with a symbol of wisdom – an owl pendant. The
celebration of September 1st was quite the great start for the 2011-12
academic year!
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