Throughout this school year, the PTO has set up a book collection bin for parents and FIS staff to donate English Books to support a school in Ukraine. The parent who spearheaded this collection, Olesia Bozhko, personally delivered your generous donations and shared a letter that reveals the positive impact all your donations have made on the Ukraine school and its students.
“As the school year concludes, I am writing to express my gratitude for all your help and efforts in forwarding the initiative to collect books for Ukrainian kids among the FIS community throughout 2023-2024. I vividly remember how quickly the huge container on the FIS Aula with blue and yellow sign “Books for Ukraine” was filled with stacks of colorful books.
So, as planned, I delivered the collected books to a bilingual school, Atlantic Lyceum, in Kyiv. The teachers and children of the Atlantic Lyceum are so happy to receive such a precious gift.
It is a small school with an English immersion program with not many kids left. In times of Russian aggression against Ukraine, which brings danger, grief, and constant destruction, it is a huge challenge to order and supply English books, not to mention the insurmountable expenditures and logistics shortage.
I am grateful to all the FIS community, parents, teachers, and librarians who, for several months, so generously shared a great source of inspiration, knowledge, and hope! Especially I would like to thank Tara Allen and Melinda Piehler for contributing!
I would also like to thank Petra Niemczyk, the Head of FIS, for kindly offering FIS textbooks, which are now an indispensable part of next school year’s curriculum in Kyiv school.
I would specially like to mention that 11th-grade students started this initiative in the framework of the CAS program, in which my daughter Marta participated. FIS has an incredible CAS program that boosts kindness and gives students an understanding of how vital help is in different parts of the world and how small initiatives make a huge difference.
The Atlantic Lyceum teachers prepared a small picture presentation as a sign of gratitude so you could see how books bring the sense of normalcy and special joy to children in Ukraine. I am sharing the presentation.
With warmest wishes for great summer days ahead!
Olesia Bozhko”
