a three-week visit to Russia for classes and tours this summer sponsored by the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR). Jekaterina Nebolsina, a Vineland High School senior, was one of only 15 students from across the nation selected to participate in a three-week visit to Russia for classes and tours this summer sponsored by the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR).
Nebolsina was nominated by her teacher, Ms. Vlada Jackson, based on the student’s gold medal performance in the National Olympiada of Spoken Russian last spring, said Carrie Valentino, World Languages Department Chair at VHS South. Nebolsina was also one of only 57 students in the country to be named an ACTR 2007 Russian Scholar Laureate. Each of these outstanding students received a letter of commendation, a certificate of award, and a gold lapel pin.
Jackson said she was extremely proud of Nebolsina’s accomplishments, who she calls “Katia.”
“Last year was our first in the Olympiada,” said Jackson. “We took 15 students to the competition (held at Temple University). We were invited by the American Council of Teachers of Russian because of the active participation of Vineland High School in the National High School Slavic Honor Society. We established a chapter of this honor society in 2006.”
“We won two gold medals,” said Jackson, “and Katia’s score was so high that she qualified as one of the few students in the country to go to Russia this summer on the tour.” The other gold medal winner was Viktoriya Shcherbina, a junior.
Prior to departing for Russia, the group met in Washington and began its orientation with a high-level reception at the State Department held as an event marking the celebration of 200 years of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Russia. The reception was held in the Diplomatic Reception rooms where the State Department hosts world leaders. Deputy Assistant Secretary David Kramer and Yuri Ushakov, the Russian Ambassador to the U.S., spoke to the students and guests as did the group leaders, Dan Davidson and Art Lisciandro of ACTR.
The group then attended a pre-departure orientation led by ACTR, which afforded the students an excellent opportunity to get to know one another and included useful information and interesting activities.
Upon arriving in Russia, the group was taken the city of Vladimir by the leaders of KORA, the Center for Russian Language Study. Vladimir, about 120 miles northeast of Moscow, is one of the country’s oldest cities, and was the nation’s capital for two centuries.
There they were met by their Russian host families. The students spent two and a half weeks in Vladimir attending classes and going on excursions. The classes consisted of lessons on history, culture, language, and literature. Some of the activities included classes where the students learned Russian songs and dances. In addition, the students attended a lecture on Russian lacquer boxes given by a Russian master. As part of this activity, the students created their own lacquer pins. On July Fourth the group went on a surprise visit to a Russian preschool where they were treated to a concert of singing and dancing by the children.
In the afternoons the group toured museums devoted to the history of Vladimir and the life and culture of previous centuries. One tour consisted of an exhibit of a Russian schoolhouse from the past and a demonstration of how lessons were conducted. On the weekends, the students took trips to neighboring towns, including the estate of Ivan the Terrible. Of particular interest was a demonstration of how marriages were arranged. The students were able to participate by playing various roles while the guide gave a description of the process.
The program in Vladimir ended with a closing event organized by the students and teachers where the students performed the songs, dances, and skits they had been learning. After leaving Vladimir, the group traveled to Moscow and spent an exciting three days touring the city, visiting Red Square, The Kremlin, the Armory museum and buying souvenirs.
Nebolsina said the experience was “very interesting.”
“We learned so much about Russian culture --- especially the folk songs, and dances. On weekends we took long trips to different cities and learned much more about the country. I think I can better relate to not only the language but to the people of Russia from this tour.”