Hello everybody,
In
2009 the gates of Agatho Educational Center were open offering more
chances for a better education and more life opportunities for
children in Larnaca. Julia Goupalo graduate of University of Nizniy
Novgorod is sharing her life between her two children and a lovely
career as the co-director of the children's educational Center
Agatho. Her goal is to raise the kids interest in various activities,
to limit the time spent playing on the computers, to increase the
love in music, painting, sculpting and interaction in various foreign
languages. Agatho is bringing kids together with various backgrounds
and making studying a pleasant and fun activity for any kids no
matter their ages.
Izzy:
Dear Julia, Thank you very much for this opportunity that you gave to
KidsFuninCyprus to find out more information about your educational
offers. How did you decide to open an educational center in Larnaca
and why did you choose this name?
Julia
Goupalo: Well, I have known Svetlana, the director of “Agatho”
for a long time as she had been teaching my children music. During
the summer of 2009 I was in charge of a small summer camp. And that
is where I got the idea from; to combine music and the summer camp
activities, and create an educational center where children can
expand their knowledge and talents. By giving the name “Agatho”
to our school, we tried to reflect what we do, as “Agatho” is an
ancient Greek word for 'good' and 'giving kindness'.This year our
center is turning 5 years, and in this time we have achieved so
much. From offering only a few lessons a week, our school now has
various types of activities going on every day! At the beginning our
center only had 2 teachers and now we cooperate with many experienced
teachers who are very professional in their area of work. Our school
has always been actively taking part in Russian community events and
events all over Cyprus. We have always supported the events of
Vestink Kipra like 'The Galaxy of Talents'. Apart from that, with
our students, 3 times we had organised charity concerts “The Magical
Winter Story”, the money from which went to The Agios Spyridonas
school for children with special needs and to a charity fund to help
send sick children abroad to get treatment. Every year we also organise concerts 'Agatho invites friends' where we cooperate with other
schools and make a combined concert which is very fun.
Izzy:
As everybody knows we live in times when parents are more and more
busy with their jobs leaving less time for their kids. Also many of
the afternoon centers that take care of our children in the evenings
have very limited offers regarding the variety of the activities.
How is your center different from any other one? How is an afternoon
spent in your center?
J.G:
Our center is different, as I personally believe that we offer
such a wide range of activities that any child can fit in to our
school. Children can simply stay and play with their friends, or if
they are more interested in learning, which of course is our goal,
then we offer activities, from music and art to languages, sciences
and humanity subjects. Our afternoon begins right after the children come from school. After a long day they
are very hungry, so we have lunch which we provide them, and then
with my help they do their homework, as we need to get school work
out of the way in order to continue with our activities. After a
little break, our lessons begin. With every year, we look at the kids
interests and try to add activities to our list to increase the
variety of things the children can do, in order to make it more
interesting for them. As most of our students are Russian, we
provide Russian and Russian Literature lessons. And for children who
have difficulties with English, of course we have English lessons.
This year we are introducing a new English subject which will help
children to increase their word knowledge and find out more about the
world around us. Many times the children themselves propose many
activities which we try to organize for them, like chess, which we
will also introduce this year. The children continue the day by doing
the activities they chose to do. However as our school is also a
music school, the children usually love taking part in the choir.
Izzy:
What are the ages that kids can join Agatho Educational Center and
what are your offers for the little ones?
J.G: Last year we created a group “Pochemuchki”, which is an activity
group for very young children from the age of 1 and a half. It is a
wonderful program aimed at developing the children's knowledge; it is
made up of different 15 minute blocks with different activities, so
that the children keep their interest and don't loose concentration.
Through a form of play we learn how to read, write, solve logical
puzzles, sing songs and do rhythmical activities. This year we have
ordered a large variety of special equipment from Russia for the
lessons which will help make the activities more fun and productive.
Last year's program was very successful. The 3 year old children
amazed their parents by learning how to count, knowing how to
perfectly distinguish and say the letters of the Russian alphabet, and
showing interest not only for reading but even for writing.
Izzy:
It has been proven that helping kids improving their Math abilities
keeps their brain active, improve problem solving and increases
confidence in themselves. Having a strong Mathematics skills will
also give them the benefit of being able to choose between more
qualification later as teenagers. As a Mathematics Teacher how do you
think you can help them falling in love of Math?
J.G:
I believe that maths isn't just numbers. It is more of a problem
solving ability. Which is why I try to give them maths in the form of
problems and not just pure numbers. By developing his/her logic, the
child can solve even harder problems, not necessarily mathematical,
which of course is also a good life skill. So by turning a simple
mathematical equation like 2 + 2 into a mathematical problem, simply
like 2 sweets and 2 sweets, automatically makes it more interesting
for the children, making them see maths not as numbers but as a skill
to solve problems.
Izzy:
One of the most beneficial activities for children is learning music
and how to play on an instrument as no matter how old we are, there
will always be an opportunity to use this skill . What kind of music
classes Agatho Educational Center has to offer? Looking at the
children that learned to play an instrument at your center, how did
their life changed? Are they going to competitions? Any of them
choose music qualifications?
J.G.:
Our school tries to satisfy the needs of our students, therefore we
offer any musical instrument lessons the children would like to
learn. However, right now (as this is what most students desire) we
offer singing, piano, guitar and violin lessons, along with musical
theory and aural lessons. Most of our students take exams of the
Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, which gives them
certificates that they can use later in their studies. A few years
ago we also introduced a choir, and last year we made a choir group
for children from the age of 2. These lessons give the young ones the
ability to breathe correctly, develops their speech, rhythm and
musical ear. Our students constantly take part in cultural
activities and competitions in Cyprus and abroad. Of course some of
our students chose to continue their musical studies and get
qualifications, however even those who didn't definitely do not
regret having the basic knowledge, as musical lessons need a lot of
hard work, and hours of practice, which improve them as people in
their daily lives, giving them different skills like patience.
Izzy:
I liked the fact that your center is hosting kids that speak
various languages from Greek to English and Russian. What do you feel
seeing them all together, sharing experiences, toys, activities? Are
they improving their communication in all these languages? What
system are you using at your Russian and English language classes
that can raise kids appetite for “talking foreign”?
J.G:
To be honest, it is quite funny to watch the kids that speak
different languages play together, as they try to communicate, often
switching languages mid-sentence. It also makes me very happy, as it
shows that for these young children language isn't a barrier and it
doesn't stop them from being friends. Of course by interacting with
children that speak other languages a child improves their language
skills. This is very helpful to them, as the more languages they can
talk or understand from a young age, the easier it will be for them
to later learn even more new languages which is definitely a good
skill. We try to make our language lessons interactive by doing
various activities like learning poems, acting out extracts, having
discussions etc.
Izzy:
I believe that lower number of children in a class help them get the
most from their teacher also leaving him with more time to
concentrate on each one. How many children are in a class and did you
notice making any difference?
J.G.:
Of course there is a big difference. Working with children,
especially small ones, we noticed that the lessons are most
productive when in one group there are no more than 6 or 7 kids. In
this case, I can ensure that every child gets maximum attention. This
is especially important when the child is learning how to write. The
ability to correctly hold a writing object will have a large impact
on his/her writing in the future. It is also important for scissor
work. Generally, it is important to have quite small groups so that
I have the time to explain things to every child to ensure better
understanding and more concentration within the class.
Izzy:
What kind of art classes can you find in Agatho and what does it give
to the children?
J.G.:
Our art classes include everything. From drawing and painting, to
various crafts like quilting, straw work, mosaics and many more. In
our classes we try to help the children to feel what they are drawing
or painting. It is more important for them to show the emotions in a
picture rather than be very accurate with all the drawing details.
And of course we spend some time focusing on various famous artists,
which expands the children's ideas and knowledge. I would like to
also add that art is also included in all of our group activities.
Our children's art works have many times been put out on display at
exhibitions.
Izzy:
Having two daughters did they help you taking better decision in your
center activities? Did they participate to any of the lessons?
J.G.:
Raising my two daughters, I have noticed the things that the
kindergartens and schools fail to offer, which I try to provide in my
center. Through the lessons we provide, I try to make sure that the
program provides a wide range of knowledge for the children. Now
that my children are quite grown up they help me a lot. My oldest
daughter teaches English at our center and my younger daughter helps
me with the small kids.
Izzy:
I will like to thank Julia for this very interesting interview and we
would love her sharing with our readers a small story from her
experience as a mother or teacher:
J.G.:
I remember, when I was small, in spite of the difficult times,
my parents would try to find me and my sister interesting toys. The
best ones for me, were the ones where we could play together with my
parents, and I always found it interesting to learn something new
from them when playing together. When we opened our activity group
for the little ones, it was extremely difficult finding the right
equipment for them, and I remembered my childhood and the games that
my parents would make for us. After going to Jumbo, I bought a few
packs of colorful plastic balls, after remembering how my own kids
would play with them at Kids World. We made so many interesting
games with them! And how much joy it gave to the children. We would
count them, say the colors, even throw them into boxes. Even though
this year we have ordered lots of professional equipment for the
lessons, I think these balls will always be the children's and my
favorites.
Lots of sunny
days from Izzy the Cypriot lizard!
Agatho
Educational Center
Opening
hours: 10:00-12:00 and 13:00-19:00
Prices:
Music:
(private lessons) from 60 euros/month and up depending on the level.
Choir: 20
euros/month
Maths:
(private lessons) 15 euros/ hour
Languages:
Russian or Literature or English- 25 euros/month (group lessons 1
time a week)
Arts and
Crafts: 25 euro/ month (group lessons 1 time a week)
Afternoon
school: Depending to the number of hours
Pochemuchki
(for children from 2-5 years old): Monday, Wednesday, Friday-morning
or afternoon or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday :105
euros/month
Harmony(for
children from 5-8 years old): Monday and Thursday or Tuesday
and Friday 85 euros/month
Address:
Agios Spyridonas 5, Larnaca
Phone no:
+357 97841119 - Julia or +357 99918779 - Svetlana
E-mail:
agatho4s@gmail.com
Facebook:
Agatho
Other
services: Summer school and Easter camp
Map Location:
