First Bell Ceremony

Fist Bell Ceremony...

All the students are dressed in their fanciest black and white clothes. Girls wear their hair in pig tails, with ribbons and bows. The first graders- for whom this is their first First Bell Ceremony- are dressed the fanciest, the boys sporting little suits which make them look like very tiny old men and the little girls apparently competing in a fierce "Who Can Wear the Puffiest Dress and the Biggest Bows In Her Hair" contest.

The parents, too, are dressed for the occasions- or at least the mothers are. Fashion here is heavily influenced by Russian tastes, and the outfits worn by young mothers would look more at home in a night club in the US than at your child's elementary school. 4 to 6 inch stiletto heels abound, and the makeup is on point for a night out on the town back home. 

Oddly, given the intense preparation that has gone into dressing for this event, no one seems to care a great deal about what is being said in the actual  ceremony itself. Students and parents alike have gathered in the front of the school building where they mill around and talk with each other, seemingly oblivious to the various members of the community who stand on the steps of the school- barring entry- and speak into a microphone at length. Finally, about an hour later than I was told the schedule had planned, there is music, doves are released, and everyone is allowed into the school.

I had expected that this would lead to the first day of school. But how very wrong I was. Turns out, each student goes to their homeroom where they get their school books for the year (there is much scheming and swapping at this point as each student tries to get the best, least worn out, copy of the books most important to them), and then each classroom has a little party at which the teachers are given flowers by the students and their parents.

Finally, in our class, we took a group picture, and all the students went home. The teachers stuck around and had a party of their own (yes, cognac was involved and I'm only grateful that this party happened *after* the students had all left the building). Everyone packed up and headed home by noon. All in all, definitely not what I was expecting, but I guess not a bad way to being the school year.