Project “Education”

The first difficult weeks of the new academic year, when fingers are all thumb and it is difficult to get into the swing of things, have passed already. All children accustomed themselves to lessons and now it is possible to increase academic assignment.

That is why 8-month courses for CNT preparation are started from October, which organized by Saby Foundation for school leavers from boarding schools of Almaty annually. These trainings require from the future graduates a great diligence and efficiency, because besides attendance of the educational center 2-3 times a week, they have to do their homework. And lessons at school are not cancelled.

But the future graduates are not afraid of such difficulties. To the contrary, they try to improve their knowledge and dream about high points of CNT. Because they have the single chance to get into the number of students of universities, to get higher education and to take a decent position in the labor market.

Young people, selected by Saby Foundation for the participation in the program, begin their CNT marathon. We wish them not to lose their persistence and reach the finish, achieving all set goals.

“Grandma (“Apai” in the Kazakh language), I want to Montessori!” employees of Kyzylorda Boarding School often heard this request from their fosterlings, because the unique atmosphere in The Montessori Center of Early Development, organized by Saby Charitable Foundation on the basis of social institution, invites children to daily trainings.

Little children are attracted by ideal selected playing and educational materials, which open the opportunity for the whole spectrum of simple, comprehensible and unusually entertaining lessons, which become the first source of environment cognition, introduce with useful domestic skills and fix such skills for the whole life.

Certainly, the qualification of educators, who direct children during lessons nonintrusively, has the significant importance. Professionals of Kyzylorda Boarding School with success mastered the teaching methods for children from birth till 3 year old age on this system during two stages of education with the lecturer of Eurasian Montessori Center of Pedagogics in Yekaterinburg, the organization and all expenditures of which took Saby Foundation. All listeners, who visited seminars, got original certificates of Eurasian Montessori Center of Pedagogics and now they shall undergo trainings during 9 months.

One more stage of training will be held in spring of the next year, which improves the qualification of teachers after which they can be called professional experts of Montessori system.

In advance of the autumn we start the regular calculation of our “chickens” – potential and new participants of the “Educational “ and “Alem” Projects, who became the possessors of grants from Saby Foundation for the education in higher and secondary educational institutions. Though the season of entrances to universities and colleges is still in full, some results can be presented already now.

It has become obvious once again, that preparatory courses of CNT (common national testing), organized by our Foundation every year from September till May for children from boarding schools of Almaty, showed good results. More than half of school leavers, attending lessons in 2012-2013, received either state educational grants or grants from Akim. We are, certainly, glad at both these school leavers’ personal successes and the fact that we can, thanks to the saved money, pay for the education of other children, who were not so lucky with state grants, but showed their best qualities and proved their perspective.

There is some information on the Alem Program. During the year we accepted the application forms from the school leavers who dream to become Alem Participants and to get financial assistance from Saby Foundation in acquisition of higher education in the most prestigious universities of Kazakhstan and the world. The young people were to face a serious selection and not all could pass it. Therefore the winners became the possessors of grants from Saby and currently they started their entrance to chosen universities. There are some persons among them, who won state educational grants parallely. We support the happiest and most talented persons and give them the right of choice. Some of them prefer state guarantees and grants, others choose prestige value and uniqueness, and they choose grants of Saby Foundation.

The hot weeks of entrances are still in future. In September we can count our students and summarize the results of their important struggle for their future.

Training course for Common National Testing in one of the educational centers of the south capital, where children from affiliated boarding schools of Saby Foundation are studied, is terminated.

Several lessons are left and the results of eight-month intensive work will be summed up. The education program was uneasy, but participants showed good results on trial tests. The chances to enter chosen educational institution on grant specialties are increased for every pupil.

However, it’s early to say about successes, only after passing Common National Testing it will become clear how zealously and effectually studied children. Certainly, it is unlikely to be 100% entrance to universities, but according to the results of last years approximately 70-80% of school leavers, who passed training organized by the Foundation, won state educational grants.

Only half of a year passed as foster children of our affiliated boarding schools, who study in graduation classes, have started their eight month training courses to prepare to the common national testing in one educational center of Almaty city. Saby Charitable Foundation will bear all expenses with the purpose of children education.

It is true that the educational program became a hard examination; several people, not passed the increased stress, retired the distance and only 9 out of 12 participants attend classes currently.

At the same time we are gladdened the fact, that the remaining school children study zealously and seriously prepare for the coming CNT. The results of intermediate testing from month to month show positive tendency of academic progress. Thus everyone tries to increase his/her chances of entering a chosen university on a budgetary basis.

We want to believe that our children will meet all expectations and efforts, will receive required passing marks and will start education with any specialization in autumn!

The second stage of professional testing, organized by our Foundation twice a year every academical year, ended. The testing is held for foster children of Almaty boarding schools, for pupils of 9 and 11 forms. 70 people, who took part the February stage, waited for it with a great impatience. We asked children to share their impressions.

Rakhmet Nurken from Boarding School No. 1 said the following: ‘I replied the questions of the Proforientator Program with pleasure, because they are not repeated, but become more various and interesting and make you think of a chosen profession once more. According to the results of the professional testing it is turned out that I have more inclinations to technical professions and I absolutely agree with this. In spring I will graduate school and now I know what profession I will chose, I will enter Almaty University of Power Engineering and Telecommunications to the specialty of Wireman’.

Bekbatyrova Indira from the Regional Boarding School also expressed her opinion: ‘On the second stage I liked the variety of logical, scientific and creative questions. Testing continued a little longer than the last time and I had to bother my head about answers. I am very glad that the achieved results are fully correspond to my will of choosing the profession of Manager of Hotel Industry. I think I will enter Almaty State University’.

Having listened the opinions of participants we make sure how significant the serious and competent approach to one of the most difficult questions in life establishing – definition of the future profession. Unfortunately, you can very often meet a grown-up person, who did not find himself/herself and now regrets about his/her choice and lost time.

To avoid this problem our Saby Foundation holds computer testing on the base of Almaty Branch of Professional Orientation Department of The Moscow State University named after Lomonosov for the fourth year.

New Year is children’s holiday primarily. Children make their wishes, write letters to Santa Claus and wait for a miracle impatiently. Most pathetic letters contain, of course, wishes about different toys.

We decided to materialize not several children’s dreams, but dreams of the whole city and to present little residents of Ust-Kamenogorsk city not just toys but educational gaming equipment of Montessori. The materials of this equipment are almost real and “adult” items of welfare, interior, nature and enginery.

Saby Foundation on the basis of our affiliated organization ““Bereginya”Family Support Center” Public Association arranged a form of early development of children from 3 to 6. Only over the period of pre-school age the relations of boys and girls with environment develop sweepingly. The most important thing is not to miss this perfect period of their life.

The cognitive process in playing form will be faster and more intensive. Interaction with bright, color, eco-friendly educational toys will allow little visitors of the center to be on friendly terms with the big world.

Traditionally, we publish information about the “Educational Project” of Saby Nonprofit Private Charitable Foundation in autumn.

In 2012 -2013 due to the grants of the Foundation 33 teenagers from orphanages and boarding schools of the Republic of Kazakhstan are educated in colleges and universities. Earlier 38 boys and girls have already graduated educational institutions and got qualifications.

12 teenagers from 3 orphanages of Almaty city and Almaty region have started their 8 month trainings for CNT preparation.

Annual two-stage computer testing of professional orientation are continued, the first stage of which was held in October, and the second stage will be in February of the next year. Professional testing is very popular among seniors; no less than 70 people take part in it regularly.

Year by year the requirements to grant receivers become more serious on the part of Saby Foundation. Educational process is strictly controlled by manager of the Project. Special attention is paid to children’s academic progress and attendance of lessons.

The adequate attitude of mentees to our stipulations and their understanding of the fact that the Foundation does not dish out money, but tries to teach them to be responsible, industrious, and purposeful as well as to direct them on the right way of development, is gladdened.

Recently, the first stage of professional testing, which is organized by our Foundation twice a year in October and February, for foster children of Almaty boarding schools, pupils of 9 and 11 forms, has finished. This year, the number of participants has reached 72 people.

Becoming older and getting closer to the Farewell Bell, which means school graduation, children realize the importance of the right choice of profession, which will open for them doors to an independent adult world and help to struggle for a place in the sun. Often many young people dream only about a high-paid job, but during study they already begin to doubt their choice of profession, after gaining a diploma they ask themselves how to find a job, because no one is waiting for them in the world of severe competition.

The computer program ‘Professional Orientation’ developed by Lomonosov Moscow State University is not only a help in the selection of an appropriate profession according to inclinations and psychological type but practical advices and recommendations concerning the preparation for the entrance to educational institutions. Our fosterlings already understand it well: experts of the internet educational center note that the attitude of children to professional testing changes on every new stage: if before it had been to a great extend perceived as an entertainment, now the interest and serious attitude of teenagers to the future profession definition gladdens.

We want to believe that every person will be able to choose his/her own way, realize talents, actualize himself/herself and become a good person.

CNT (Common National Testing). This is the word children threatened with almost from the elementary school being encouraged to prepare for the first and serious examination in their life. Parents make maximum efforts to create for their children all conditions for preparation, starting from private classes with teachers till special extra courses. And what if there are no parents? Who will help a foster child from a social institution to understand all peculiarities of the test and to successfully pass this milestone?

Within the frame of the Education Project, Saby Charitable Foundation has been cooperating for three years already with one of the leading centers in Almaty for the preparation of school leavers to the CNT. Children from the sponsored boarding schools are financed by the Foundation to attend courses three times a week from October till May.

We were pleased with the results of previous periods: the pupils who passed the program were able to get good grades in the testing and many of them entered universities under state grants. No wonder that the number of those wishing to attend extra classes has increased this year.

The CNT is certainly a stress for any pupil but systematic preparation for it will give confidence at the critical moment and will become a guarantee for successful study in the following years.

And we will learn the indicator of our work next June when we see the evaluation of our eight-month work in the number of grades got by pupils.