Educational Exchanges

Over the thirty plus years of the Greater Portland - Archangel sister-city committee, hundreds of citizens from Maine and Northern Russia have visited their respective sister-cities.  Many trips had a particular theme, such as the visits by high school students, where traveling students went to school with their host brother or sister and attended special educational classes for the visitors. High school students have been involved  in other projects as well, including photography and essay competitions.

 

Beyond student exchanges we have had a teacher exchange, university level exchange and a basketball exchange in partnership with Project Harmony (PH) International. Some exchanges have been virtual, using either Skype or Zoom to connect students and professionals.

 

Participating Greater-Portland area schools have included Gray-New Gloucester High School, Deering High School, Portland High School, Westbrook High School, Casco Bay High School, and South Portland High School. Other schools further away from Portland have included Cape Elizabeth High School, Freeport High School, North Yarmouth Academy, and Erskine Academy.

 

Archangel schools that have participated in exchanges since 1988, include:

Archangel Region - Pinega School 117

                            Archangel School 3

                            Archangel School 6

                            Archangel School 21

                            Archangel School 28

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In November 2020 we received a copy of a school newsletter produced by students in School #21 (an English language focused school), which has exchanged students and teachers  several times with Westbrook High School.  That newsletter can be viewed here.

 

In May 2021 Inga Simonova, a teacher at Archangel School Number 6,  sent us a presentation featuring photos from high school student exchanges that School 6 has had with several Greater Portland High Schools over the past 32 years.

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