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Third graders Zoom with Ukraine students to share holiday traditions

a class of chester students greet their Ukrainian counterparts over a Zoom call

For the second year in a row, Lori Bonito’s third grade class had a special opportunity to connect with fellow third graders from Ukraine. This initiative came to be with the help of a program called Class2Class, which helps classrooms across the globe connect with one another.

To read about last year’s visit, click here.

a classroom of CES students interact over video conferencing with third graders in Ukraine

For this year’s visit, the two classes focused on teaching each other about holidays from their respective countries. Chester students touched upon the many cultural holidays that happen throughout the winter, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year's, and Lunar New Year.

Ukrainian students spoke about their holidays and traditions, such as St. Nicholas Day, where children leave letters asking for small gifts from the saint to be placed under their pillows. This holiday occurs at the beginning of December, bringing warmth and festivity to the holiday season.

two male students sit at their desks making holiday themed crafts

This classroom initiative was particularly special to third grader Daniel Hychka, whose parents are from Ukraine and moved to the United States in 2007. Daniel’s mom, Oksana Kopanska Hychka, was able to attend class that day and watch her son introduce his class in Ukrainian.

“It was very exciting,” Daniel said when asked about how it felt to meet kids his age from Ukraine and speak with them in Ukrainian.

The Ukrainian school, Brovary Lyceum, posted online about their experience interacting with Chester Academy students. 

To see what they had to say, click here!

three 3rd grade students sit at their desks creating holiday themed crafts