Kharkiv continues to be shelled every day. In March, the heating plants that supplied the city with heat and electricity were completely destroyed. The heating didn't work. It was cold in the spring, and we don't know whether the houses will have heating this autumn and winter. There was no water and no light. The electric city transport did not work for several weeks. Only a few bus lines were running. On 10th May, the Russian troops began their offensive on Kharkiv. The shelling and bombardment were particularly heavy. There was a lot of destruction. The most important achievement is that the school continues to exist despite all the difficulties, and the children continue to learn.

In Kharkiv, it is forbidden to hold classes in kindergartens and schools unless there is a bomb shelter. The police keep coming to us to check whether lessons are taking place in the kindergarten and the Phoenix School. On Sunday, 23rd June, a public school was hit by an aerial bomb. There were no children in the school that day. The school did not have a bomb shelter. But the children had lessons in the school on other days, and so the school was in breach of the law. Now the Ministry of Education is demanding that the school's licence be revoked.

As we do not have a shelter, in the 2023-2024 school year, lessons at the Phoenix School did not take place in our actual rooms, but in the rooms of a psychological counselling centre. Unfortunately, we cannot teach every day here either, but only two to three times a week. On the other days, lessons take place online. The teachers always come to the face-to-face lessons, but it is up to the parents to decide whether or not to bring their child to the lessons. For safety reasons, parents are either present or nearby. If a pupil does not come to class, additional online lessons are organised. We currently have nine pupils. Two have only been attending online lessons since April. One family has moved to a more rural area for safety reasons. In another family, the father is afraid to bring his son to school. He is reassured when his son is at home. The other seven pupils have attended online, and also, face-to-face lessons according to the timetable.

On 8th March, we organised a party for mothers and prepared presents for them. At Easter, we painted eggs and read Easter stories. We also organised a party at the end of the school year. The children painted pictures for the soldiers. The teachers put on a puppet theatre for our pupils, but also for children from other schools. There were many plans, which unfortunately could not be realised due to the shelling and bombing of Kharkiv. In May, we planned a visit to a zoo in the countryside. The school was provided with a free bus for this excursion. But the zoo was bombed in mid-May, and it was forbidden to visit it.

Despite all these problems, it is important for us to provide our pupils with stability and confidence by organising regular lessons, and carrying out as many activities as possible, safely. Some of our teachers have been trained in emergency and trauma pedagogy by the Friends of Waldorf Education and work accordingly with our children, but also with children from other schools.

Valeriya Medvedeva