Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky Children’s Home
One of our favorite goals at SB is to support the staff and kids of the PZ Children’s Home. The nurturing atmosphere created by hopeful students and the impressive staff is a testament to their strength and resilience. Under-funding, bleak statistics and limited opportunities for these at-risk youth are a constant source of concern . Please consider joining us in support of these 95-125 students (changing each year) that call this haven their home, school and family.
Unique and Inspired Leadership and Governance
We have living and growing up in our Children’s Home orphans, or children who have been left withoutparental guidance, in other words their parents have lost their parental rights or they are wanted by thelaw. These children have endured a great deal, and our major task is to nurture them within theframework of the Home so that they do not feel themselves as disadvantaged, but rather as full-fledgedchildren; so that faces are illuminated with joy; so that everything is good and comfortable for them.
One of the teaching tools that we have in these circumstances is a system of child self-governance.
“Child self-governance is not a special activity of the children in governance; it is the result of collaborative activities on the part of the teachers and children alike.” —A. S. Makarenko
We the teachers teach our charges much, but unfortunately we rarely give them answers on how to live; therefore in our Children’s Home we have created a true student government ; a student organization called “Rainbow”. We have our own set of symbols; they consist of an emblem, a motto, a chant, a flag, an anthem for the student organization, and one for the Children’s Home. Our student government has been in effect for 7 years, and in that time the children of our Home have gained a lotof experience in self-governance. Initially we developed 6 Ministries
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry of Sport
- Ministry of Culture and Relaxation
- Ministry of Discipline and Law Enforcement
- Ministry of Mass Media
However, with each year there arose needs and issues, so we created new Ministries. At present we have twelve working Ministries, and at the Re-election Conference the Student Council was awarded a rating of 4.8 (out of a possible 5. Trans. note).