Elista Access School

New Summer Camp Blog

2011-06-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

One more blog for describing magnificent events in the Magic English Summer Camp!

Today...

2011-05-19T09:39:00.001-07:00

Today there was "goodbye" party.

Cameron showed videos about what we did on the lessons...it was funny!!!I think all smiled and laughed today...

To my mind nobody was sorry about coming here.

Today it was exciting...and we should say "thank you" to all teachers...and our counselor Igor!

Last Lesson

2011-05-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today is the last lesson of "English through the Internet". The schoolkids are self-assessing their work in Term 4.

Good bye

2011-05-15T03:54:00.000-07:00

Soon there will be last I-net lesson...And we should finish all our "depts"!

So we should be serious for our marks...Good luck!

P.S in the summer there will be Summer Camp! I hope seeing everybody there!

Safe Internet Search

2011-05-10T03:52:00.000-07:00

This computer lesson is devoted to the search engine and exploring several exciting USA government sites for kids.
Comp-lesson 10 (from our wiki)

Stories about Lessons

2011-05-03T05:00:00.001-07:00

The teams are creating some stories about our unusual lessons.

TuxPaint Drawings

2011-04-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

The teams were using TuxPaint for illustrating their stories.

Sparky team're choosing...

2011-04-19T05:21:00.000-07:00

Hi,everybody!
On the lesson "English through the Internet" we have been continueing "choosing symbols of the team"...we painted different kinds of pictures,which came to us,when we heard our name of team and therefore we want to choose more suitable,which can underline the name of "us"!
To my mind,we can develop creativity...and it can help in the future!
Good bye.

Choosing Symbols

2011-04-19T03:57:00.000-07:00

The teams will be choosing symbols of their teams.

Term 4. First Internet Lesson

2011-04-12T03:07:00.000-07:00

The groups will be starting a new term.

Memorable Date

2011-04-12T03:05:00.000-07:00

50 years of the first space flight of Yuri Gagarin
150 years of the Civil War (USA)

Seminar "Moving Forward..."

2011-04-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

The teachers were present at the fascinating seminar. The guest from the USA - Senior Fellow Erik Lundell - introduced us to several remarkable techniques of teaching speaking.

Touchstone

2011-03-27T12:47:00.001-07:00

hi,everybody!
Now I'll say something about "main" lesson,Touchstone...that is good one,we learn how we must speak,write and read English.We should know grammar,if we don't want in order of people don't understand us...
On this lesson we get useful info,for example,recently we have learnt "direction"...due to this one we can explain how to get to some places.
Speak rightly...
Good bye!

last lessons

2011-03-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

Hello,there will be last lessons tomorrow in this term...but I don't know there will or not be Team time in Saturday.I congratulate all with end of this one and ,of course,I want all students of Access to get best marks... and I want teachers to be healthy...rest of us on vacation))))
Meet in the next term...
Goodbye!!!!!!!!

End of Term 3

2011-03-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

The three groups summarized their activities , filling in the 'self-assessment' table. The printed page is a part of the schoolchild's portfolio.

New Blog To Revive Memory

2011-03-13T01:49:00.000-08:00

I've created a new blog devoted to the first Summer Camp

Chat with Robot

2011-03-01T05:28:00.000-08:00

The new groups are chatting with Egon, the Dragon Robot.

Oscar-2011

2011-03-01T04:26:00.000-08:00

There was "Oscar" yesterday,and I think we all watch it.This ceremony was attractive...their speech,their jokes and etc. discharged that stressful "atmosphere",'cos all nominees was agitated to get the oscar or not.The show was about 4:15 am (I don't remember very well) on Monday & the repitition was in the same day,just in 10:30 p.m

If you didn't watch Oscar,you may see,who became the winners in all categories:

Best Picture:The King's Speech
Actor in a Leading Role:Colin Firth
Actor in a Supporting Role:Christian Bale
Actress in a Leading Role:Natalie Portman
Actress in a Supporting Role:Melissa Leo
Animated Feature Film:Toy Story 3
Art Direction:Alice in Wonderland
Cinematography:Inception
Costume Design:Alice in Wonderland
Directing:The King's Speech
Documentary Feature:Inside job
Documentary Short Subject:Strangers no more
Film Editing:The Social network
Foreign Language Film:In a Better world
Makeup:The wolfman
Music (Original Score):The Social network
Music (Original Song):Toy Story 3
Short Film (Animated):The Lost Thing
Short Film (Live Action):God of Love
Sound Editing:Inception
Sound Mixing:Inception
Visual Effects:Inception
Writing (Adapted Screenplay):The Social network
Writing (Original Screenplay):The King's Speech

The all info about Oscar,you can see on http://oscar.go.com/

Why Helloooooo There!

2011-02-23T08:17:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! My name is Cameron McGregor I am one of the Access teachers this year...but I'm a little different! I am an American! Whoo! I here, in Elista, to help our Access students improve their English and to give them a better understanding of American culture.

But let me tell you a little bit about me! I am 25 years old and I come from Seattle (hint: click Seattle to find out exactly where it is!) in the state of Washington. I am a student of the University of Washington in Seattle and I studied to be a teacher! I am here, in Elista, on a US Fulbright Grant, which is a US Government grant to have American citizens go abroad and teach English in places where there are very few English speakers.

What do I like to do? Well I like to try and speak Russian (I'm not very good), I like to fish and go camping, I love being by the ocean and I also love to read. I drink lots of coffee and think about food ALL the time!

Okay, well that's all for now, but you'll be hearing more from me on this blog as the year continues! I hope to see your comments!

English Through Videos

2011-02-22T04:37:00.000-08:00

This lesson is very interesting!
We watch exciting movies in English.We discuss and share their views.
Watching such amazing films as "Mad Money","127 hours"etc.

Saturday Lessons

2011-02-22T04:10:00.000-08:00

They are really cool. The Saturday lessons with Cameron and Marina, Igor and Tseren is liked by many Access students)

On the last lesson with them we were watching a movie "Hunters for Dragons")

Once we were playing in Mafia+Vampires)
it was such a fine occasion) I liked that lesson most of all)

Creating PowerPoint Presentations

2011-02-22T03:55:00.000-08:00

The schoolchildren are learning how to create Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.

Contributing to Blog

2011-02-17T03:05:00.000-08:00

The schoolchildren have been invited to contribute to the blog of our Access school.

Our first I-net lesson

2011-02-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

This lesson was attractive,we remembered wikispaces,what we should indicate registering anywhere,what we shouldn't indicate(the rules of safety surfing).We learnt new wikispace...http://el-access-2011.wikispaces.com.Then our group became to choose between three names,i.e. how we would be named in the new wiki.First we thought of Brisk,then we wanted to be Sparky team,after this we chose Feisty,of course,we thought over long,but we came to consensus and became SPARKY team.Unfortunately,the lesson came to end and we went to another one.

First Lesson

2011-02-08T07:48:00.000-08:00

The first group chose the name for their group at the Internet lessons. They are now Sparky Team!

New School Term Soon!

2011-02-04T02:31:00.000-08:00

The third term is traditionally connected with the Internet lessons. There'll be new wikis for Access schoolchildren to contribute!
One of the newest wikis is this one

One More Wiki

2010-06-08T05:24:00.000-07:00

One more wiki was created: for the Summer Camp.

New Blog for Fourth Summer Camp

2010-06-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

One more blog has been created.

Last Lesson

2010-05-11T04:51:00.000-07:00

We are busy completing the tables on the USA Regions.

New Members, New Pages

2010-05-04T05:24:00.000-07:00

The schoolkids are creating new pages, new illustrations and comments.

All Teams

2010-04-27T10:11:00.001-07:00

All five teams have been formed!

New Drawings

2010-04-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

As there was no Internet, the kids started to draw some pictures on the USA. Then we were lucky and we managed to publish some of the drawings in the wiki!

One More Team

2010-04-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

One more team was formed at the previous lesson.

New Wiki in New Term

2010-04-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Beginners have explored their new wiki.

Teacher's Report on Access School Term 3

2010-03-25T00:42:00.000-07:00

About the Teacher
Valentina M. S. is a Kalmyk University teacher of English. She has been at the Access Microscholarship Program since 2007.
Areas of Specialization
Semantics, Basic Linguistic Research, English through the Internet

Term 3
Creating the wiki site for Beginners

Lessons of Internet Safety

Creating the wiki site for The USA Regions Project

USA Country Studies
Reporting on Access School Events and Lessons

Helping create e-mail accounts
Helping Access Students comment

Inviting Access schoolschildren to Ning

Taking active part in several Ning social networks

Recommended Links
The English Language Office for the Russian Federation
Training Tutor

Ready Pages

2010-03-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

Some pages have been ready.

Ready to Show

2010-03-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

Our last lesson was devoted to some comments.

Creating Some Quizzes

2010-03-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

Some schoolkids are trying to create various quizzes, e.g. USA Parks. The Hot Potatoes Match is at the bottom of the page.

Adding New Members

2010-03-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

Some Beginners are still trying to join the project.

To Do List

2010-03-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

Access schoolkids followed To Do List.

Self-assessment

2010-03-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

Beginners started to assess themselves.

Completing the Questionnaire on the West

2010-03-11T05:09:00.000-08:00

One more lesson on the USA West!

Marvelous E-drawings

2010-03-11T05:06:00.000-08:00

Beginners have created wonderful e-pictures.

Exploring the USA West

2010-03-09T21:25:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, there was no Internet connection. The schoolkids were exploring the West through Hot Potatoes exercises. I was glad that the teens liked them both, especially the crossword.

Discussing Safety

2010-03-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, there was no Internet connection. Beginners were discussing safety rules off-line.

New Members

2010-03-04T05:19:00.000-08:00

New members are still joining the wiki site.

Beginners' Production

2010-03-04T04:56:00.000-08:00

Our dear Access Beginners present their production:
the 'film',
the story,
one more story

One More USA Region

2010-03-02T05:08:00.001-08:00

The Access schoolkids are exploring the Midwest.

One More Drawing on Safety

2010-03-02T05:05:00.000-08:00

One of the Access Beginners has published her drawing on the Internet safety!

The USA South

2010-02-25T06:09:00.001-08:00

The students were exploring the USA South.They commented on the quiz.

E-Painting

2010-02-25T06:07:00.000-08:00

Access Beginners have created some cute e-paintings on Internet safety.

Still Choosing Themes

2010-02-19T23:51:00.000-08:00

On Thursday some students were still choosing what to explore during their virtual 'travelling'.

Watching Safety Comics

2010-02-19T23:50:00.000-08:00

On Thursday Access Beginners were watching the comics on safety.

Exploring The Middle Atlantic

2010-02-16T10:39:00.000-08:00

The second USA region was explored. The schoolchildren chose the topics.

Exploring Safe Internet Surfing

2010-02-16T10:36:00.000-08:00

Access Beginners went on exploring safety. Unfortunately, the windy weather prevented us fromInternet surfing. The electricity was switched off. But we discussed what to include into personal information.

Creating Wiki Pages

2010-02-11T13:09:00.001-08:00

We are exploring New England.
Our second-year schoolchildren have created their own wiki pages. They published their first impressions.

Joining Student Ning

2010-02-11T12:50:00.000-08:00

Our Access Beginners have joined Student Acces Ning. They commented on the photos.

New School Term

2010-02-09T06:53:00.000-08:00

The second-year Access schoolkids have been invited to join a new project:
"The USA Regions: Living in Diversity".

New School Term for Beginners

2010-02-09T06:48:00.000-08:00

The new school term has started!

The beginners explored the Internet Safety Rules.
Unfortunately, only viruses and spam seem to be serious for schoolkids.
I hope that our Little Red Riding Hoods will now be careful because we will be working at one wiki on the Internet safety.

First Meeting

2009-09-29T04:39:00.000-07:00

The students , their parents and teachers are invited to the first meeting on October 1. New School year means new inspiration!

Visit a new Access site!

New School Year 2009 - 2010

2009-09-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

The teachers gathered to discuss the results of the Access Meeting at Moscow in August.

Teacher’s Report on School Year 2008 - 2009

2009-06-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

About the Teacher
Valentine M. S. is a Kalmyk University teacher of English. She has been at the Access Microscholarship Program since 2007.
Areas of Specialization
Semantics, Basic Linguistic Research, English through the Internet
The Whole School Year
Reporting on Access School Events and Lessons
Inviting Contributors
Helping Access Students comment
Term 4
Country Studies. Four More English-speaking Countries
Lessons of Internet Safety for Freshmen
Term 3
Country Studies. Comparing American and Russian Holidays
Safe Chat
Teen Reading, Writing and Publishing
Soap Opera Listening
Term 2
Optional Lessons on Saturday
Term 1
Interactive English (Two Russian teachers + one American teacher)
Optional Lessons on Saturday
Recommended Links
The English Language Office for the Russian Federation
Training Tutor

New Blog

2009-06-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

One more Elista Access Summer Camp blog has been created.

School Over

2009-05-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

Our last term is over.

The Summer Camp starts in June.

Looking forward to new experiences!

Read the old blog of the Summer Camp 2008. Get ready to a new blog!

Online Encyclopedias for Freshmen

2009-05-05T05:59:00.000-07:00

Group 1 (Freshmen) is exploring English-speaking countries through online encyclopedias:

Encarta.

The Freshmen are also taking some funny Encarta quizzes.

Online Encyclopedias

2009-05-05T05:05:00.000-07:00

Group 3 is exploring online encyclopedias:

Encarta

Britannica Student edition

Wikipedia.

Free Online Tests

2009-04-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

The Freshmen from Group 1 have managed to cope with the tests.

They tried the BBC quizzes

and Level tests.

Exploring England

2009-04-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

Group 3 has learnt new facts about one of the most well-known countries - England.

Google Accounts

2009-04-21T07:01:00.000-07:00

Group 1 (Freshmen) is creating Google Accounts. For most of the students it is the first e-mail experience! Another 'first' is commenting in the blog.

One More English-Speaking Country

2009-04-21T06:58:00.000-07:00

Group 3 is exploring Canada.The first country in the world to adopt a policy of multiculturalism!

Hyperlinks

2009-04-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

Our blog is linked to the site of the English Language Office for the Russian Federation.

Key Skills

2009-04-14T06:24:00.000-07:00

Group 1 (Freshmen) is enjoying the quiz on Key Computer and Internet Skills. The teens learnt the Safety Rules: Be alert, be aware, be careful!

Australia and Animals

2009-04-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

Group 3 is exploring Australia and its nice animals.

Access Lessons on Saturdays

2009-04-12T22:43:00.000-07:00

In addition to our classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the students are also able to come on Saturdays to discuss unique aspects of American culture and holidays. We have our 'regulars' who are always eager to come and increase their vocabulary and knowledge. The new students from groups one and two also participate. This past Saturday we discussed Easter in America. The students learned about Easter egg hunts, the Easter bunny, and how the meaning of the holiday has changed over time. They completed several activities together in pairs such as crosswords and a wordsearch. We ended the lesson with a small piece from the animated film 'Madagascar.'

Freshmen Start English through the Internet

2009-04-07T05:54:00.000-07:00

Freshmen of Group 1 have started Basic Computer and Internet Skills.

Country Studies Through the Internet

2009-04-07T05:13:00.000-07:00

Group 3 is exploring Ireland. The general information has been offered.

"Access Publishing House" Presents Access Authors

2009-03-19T05:20:00.000-07:00

The first student has just published his story. Hooray!!!!!!!

Story Writing started last summer in the Summer Camp "Narn-Sun". It was Myrtis Mixon who inspired the kids to write creatively.

My Story ''A New Boy''

2009-03-19T05:17:00.000-07:00

One day a newcomer appeared in our classroom. He wore spectacles but he studied well at the school. Other pupils studied worse than he. He was very intelligent, just, understanding. He was always very attentive listening to the teachers. But everybody laughed at him, because he wore spectacles. Maybe they envied him because of his excellent study.
Despite of this all, he continued studying well to school. Nobody could submit with it. He started helping with lessons to everybody. All the classmates began to respect him. Everybody forgave the former injury. He became a part of our class.

Corrected by Ekaterina P., the student of the Kalmyk University

Illustrated by Marina A., the studend of the Kalmyk University

Teen Writing and Reading

2009-03-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

Group 1 is reading a lot of information on young writers and readers.

The students are enjoying the short story written by one American girl and published in a magazine.

The most careful reader is Altana D. She has studied the beginning of the story. Altana got interested in the plot.

Enjoying a Soap opera

2009-03-12T04:37:00.000-07:00

Groups 2 and 3 are listening to the BBC soap opera "The Flatmates".

Listening

2009-03-10T06:13:00.000-07:00

Group 1 is listening to the BBC Flatmates.

One More Comparison...2

2009-03-05T04:05:00.000-08:00

Groups 2 and 3 are researching the peculiarities of two holidays devoted to dear women.

One More Comparison...

2009-03-03T05:11:00.001-08:00

Group 1 is comparing Mother's Day (USA) and International Women's Day.

Again Chat

2009-02-26T04:00:00.000-08:00

Groups 2 and 3 have also the possibility to chat with the charming dragon Egon to practice their speech skills.

The First Chat

2009-02-24T05:24:00.000-08:00

Group 1 is having a chat.

Comparing Holidays

2009-02-19T03:57:00.000-08:00

Groups 2 and 3 are exploring the theme "Congratulating Males...". They are comparing the Russian and American holidays. They are Father's Day and Veterans Day (USA) and Defender of the Fatherland Day (Russia).

Congratulating...

2009-02-17T05:06:00.000-08:00

Group 1 is researching the theme "Congratulating Males in the USA and Russia". We compare three different holidays where males are the main objects of affection.

Before Valentine's Day

2009-02-12T05:21:00.000-08:00

Group 2 and Group 3 have been learning some new facts about this well-known American holiday. For example, do you know what a Puzzik is? It is a quaint hand-made valentine card. You have to decode it.

English Through the Internet

2009-02-10T05:24:00.000-08:00

Group 1 is exploring the most exciting theme "Valentine's Day". The students are having fun through reading, discussing and quizzes. Welcome to 'heart-shaped' activities!

New School Term

2009-02-09T22:47:00.000-08:00

Dear kids and teachers,

A new school term means new teachers, new ideas and new lessons.
Good luck!

Beginning a New School Term

2009-02-03T01:14:00.000-08:00

Dear kids,

The school starts on February 10. The teachers are busy planning new exciting lessons for you.
Looking forward to meeting you!

Happy New Year!

2008-12-29T03:03:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

The kids are on winter holidays.

Happy Zul

2008-12-20T02:59:00.000-08:00

The kids are still busy creating videos. Everybody discusses where to shoot their films and whom to invite as actors.

Happy Zul!

Creating Videoclips

2008-12-13T04:36:00.000-08:00

The kids are creating videoclips to accompany their stories written for the book.

The American Dictionary

2008-12-09T04:35:00.000-08:00

Dear kids,
Look up unknown words not only in the Russian-English dictionary, but also in the English-English dictionary.

Inet Dictionary at Computer Time

2008-11-29T05:08:00.000-08:00

I showed the kids how to use the Yandex dictionary while creating a wiki page.

At the Wiki Site

2008-11-27T04:52:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday during the optional lesson the kids worked at the wiki site.

Computer Time

2008-11-16T23:57:00.000-08:00

There were some problems with creating Google accounts. The kids didn't remember their accounts created at the Summer Camp. We spent a lot of time on this routine. I hope next Saturday there will be no technical problems like that.

Some kids managed to publish their comments to various posts.

The Second Term

2008-11-10T21:44:00.000-08:00

A new term begins today. The holiday of the month is Thanksgiving Day.

Autumn School Holidays

2008-11-06T06:27:00.000-08:00

There were some problems with Google products because of the change of the Internet provider. That's why we didn't have any possibility to publish anything in the blog.

The kids are free now - free from lessons and activities.

The last day at Access turned to be marvelous - Halloween sketches were terrific.