Schools in Moldova vary a bit in terms of the grades they offer. Kindergartens/preschools are for children ages 2-7. Schooling is broken into primary school (școala primară, grades 1-4), gymnasium/middle school (gimnaziu, grades 5-9), and lyceum/high school (liceu, 10-12). School is mandatory through 9th grade and around four-fifths of Moldovans successfully complete this level of schooling. Depending on the community, the schools might be together or apart. For example, in my town of Criuleni our primary school is in the center of town while the gymnasium and lyceum (where I work) are together a few blocks to the north. We have two kindergartens/preschools, one on each side of town. Many communities offer only primary school & gymnasium and these might be in the same building or in separate places. Our two closest neighbors, the villages of Ohrincea and Slobozia-Dușca, both have one school each that combines grades 1-9. If students from those communities (and further away) want to continue with schooling, they begin commuting to our town or move in with a family member/friend to attend our lyceum. All of this is to preface the fact that the greatest numbers of new students happen in grades 1, 5, and 10. First graders in our town's primary school come from the two kindergartens/preschools. Our 5th graders come from the local primary school, but are now put into new classes. Our 10th graders come both from our own school and from schools in the surrounding community. To recognize and encourage teamwork in their newly formed classes within each grade, the school hosts a competition called Balul Boboceilor, which I translate as Duckling Ball (or, more adorably, "the baby duck party!"). We held the competition for the 5th graders this week and the 10th graders are busy preparing for theirs next week, where they present themselves more as mother/father geese than as babies. For the fifth graders, the competition had four parts: Presentation about the Class - each class must creatively present about themselves, what kind of students they are, and highlight the two students who are running for a role like "Mr. Duckling" and "Ms. Duckling". Above you see a group of students presenting about themselves with a nod to the fairy tale ”Snow White & the 7 Dwarves”. Classic Dance - The two who are competing for the titles perform a dance, skewing toward ballroom style dance. Above you see two students in the midst of their lovely dance performance. Song & Dance Routine - Students perform a song or medley, singing as well dancing routine together - this can be just the two competing for titles or them being backed by a group of students from the class. (Sadly, I don't have a photo of this but you'll see some clips of this in the video at the end.) Intellectual Test - The two running for the title participate in a knowledge/thought challenge. This year, the students were challenged to list the rights, obligations, and benefits of being a student - they received a point for each unique correct answer (i.e. if two teams listed the same idea, neither received a point). Above, a team works together to come up with original answers in the intellectual challenge. The whole competition was judged by students leaders and a faculty member. At the beginning, the reigning Mr. & Ms. Duckling performed. Other students performed during pauses between rounds while judges tabulated scores. From what I've heard and seen from other volunteers and teachers in other schools, many schools (though not all) have similar competitions for their new classes, all named Balul Boboceilor. This means that depending on the school's structure the ducklings might be in first grade, fifth grade, or tenth grade, with first grade being the most common.
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Rebecca LehmanHealth Education volunteer serving at Boris Dînga Middle & High School in Criuleni, Moldova. Archives
May 2017
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