2018–2019 School Year in Review

Dear Parents,

We are pleased to share a brief overview of Russian School Erudite’s 2018–2019 school year.

• Russian School Erudite has now been serving our community for four years.

• Our school has 270 students, ages 3 to 15.

• Our faculty includes 54 teachers and teaching assistants.

• Students are taught in 23 classes, grouped according to age and Russian-language proficiency.

• This year, we introduced speech therapy services for preschoolers, led by professional speech-language specialist Irina Saidkhodzhaeva.

• Kazakh language classes have been part of our school’s program for several years.

• This year, the school sponsored four high school students who successfully passed the NEWL Russian Language Exam, an advanced proficiency exam that replaced the former AP Russian exam.

• In addition to our academic program, the school offers 18 enrichment, educational, and creative clubs and studios, as well as three programming clubs.

Our Achievements

This year was filled with exciting educational, cultural, and community events, including:

• the school-wide “Where Are My Roots From?” project;

• New Year performances featuring students from the intermediate group through Grade 7;

• the Erudite Cup Chess Tournament, with 25 young chess players participating;

• the Kangaroo Mathematics Competition in Russian, with 36 students participating;

• the “Malyshok” concert for preschoolers, with a performance prepared by every class;

• special lessons dedicated to World War II, featuring songs from the wartime era, as well as a special Grade 3 lesson attended by a veteran;

• the “Wall of Remembrance” project and participation in the Immortal Regiment Victory Day commemoration;

• our continued partnership with the Raduga senior living community, where our young performers are always eagerly welcomed;

• Pushkin Day, celebrating the 220th anniversary of the great poet’s birth, including a special quiz for older students about the life and works of Alexander Pushkin.

Our creative programs continued to flourish as well. During the second half of the school year, we officially opened our theater season, with our performing arts groups presenting five new productions:

• “Peter Pan” — performed by the younger group of our school theater studio together with the Petrushka Dance Studio, led by Anna Rausch-Gernet;

• “Cinderella” — presented by the Melody Musical Theater, led by Elena Ayanyan;

• “The Cat Who Walked by Herself” — presented by the Puppet Theater, led by Alla Maslova;

• “The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats — A New Twist” — presented by the Visiting a Fairy Tale theater group for younger children, led by Olga Melikhova;

• “Cipollino” — presented by the Karusel Theater Studio, led by Zuleikha Najafzade.

This school year also brought several exciting additions and special events:

• The Harmony Vocal Studio, led by Elena Ayanyan, opened its doors for the first time.

• Our first Film Day featured videos created by older students attending the FRAME Film School, led by Shamil Najafzade.

• Student artwork was showcased in exhibitions by the Akvarelka Art Studio, led by Irina Drozd, and the Crafts Club, led by Nazeli Nersesyan.

• Nearly every student in the school participated in the New Year production “The Snow Queen,” directed by Marina Zonova.

• Open classes were held in nearly every grade throughout the year.

Our Students’ Successes

Throughout the year, our students proudly represented Erudite in a variety of competitions.

For the second year in a row, our students participated in the Russian Language Olympiad organized by the American Councils for International Education. This year, 13 high school students represented Erudite, earning an impressive 9 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze medals. The students were prepared for the Olympiad by Karine Dabagyan and Olga Bulanova.

Six students participated in the Living Classics recitation competition, with four advancing to the national finals. They were prepared for the competition by Zuleikha Najafzade.

A total of 36 students participated in the international Kangaroo Mathematics Competition in Russian, hosted at our school and coordinated by Natalia Grishina.

We sincerely thank all our parents for your involvement in school life, your continued support, and your dedication to our community!