UKELODEON

For The Next Generation

Plast children celebrate spring in Stokes State Forest

BRANCHVILLE, N.J. - On May 20 the youngest members of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization in New Jersey ("novatstvo") gathered at the Lyndley G. Cook 4-H Youth Center for Outdoor Education, located on the 108-acre campground in Stokes State Forest, for their annual Sviato Vesny.

The oldest members of novatstvo (the "orliata") had the opportunity to arrive a day early, take a hike to Tillman's Ravine and sleep in cabins. This was a special privilege for these plastuny age 9-11.

On Sunday a throng of younger Plast members arrived to join the orliata and partake in the day's activities. The theme of this year's event was the four elements - water, fire, wind and earth. The children learned about their planet by exploring these four important forces of nature through various exercises and challenges.

The daylong program included a picnic, sports games, story-telling, singing and just appreciating the surrounding nature. Both the parents and their children had a good time enjoying the fresh forest air and beautiful setting on the lake.

Although it looked as if it would rain all day, the weather held out and the novaky and novachky (Plast boys and girls) were able to enjoy an intimate bonfire in the evening, even though by that time most were already exhausted from the long, fun day.

D.C. girl greets Bushes

WASHINGTON - Lida Chopivsky Benson, 8, had the honor of presenting flowers to newly inaugurated President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. The presentation took place at the Inaugural Prayer Service at the National Cathedral in Washington.

The new president and first lady warmly and lovingly accepted flowers from Lida. The president asked her to talk about her interests, and the first lady, in a true expression of caring, gave her a huge hug, as opposed to just a formal "thank you."

As she made her presentation to the Bushes, Lida expressed to them her hopes: "May God be with you on this new journey."

Lida is a third grader at Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School in Washington. She is a fourth-generation Ukrainian American and speaks fluent Ukrainian.

She is a member of the Ukrainian National Association, an active member of Plast, St. Andrew's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral and the Girl Scouts, and is a student at the Taras Shevchenko School of Ukrainian Studies. Lida is an avid reader, plays competitive soccer, is on the swim team and is a tap dancer.

Student to present performance with purpose

NEWARK, N.J. - St. John's Ukrainian Catholic School in Newark, N.J., prides itself on its outstanding graduates. Lida Doll, of the Class of 2001, is a fine addition to this distinguished group, with her academic and extracurricular accomplishments.

Lida has been a high honors student throughout her years at St. John's. This year she scored in the 99th percentile in all categories of the Catholic High School COOP entrance exam. Lida will be attending the selective Villa Walsh Academy in Morristown, N.J., in the fall.

As part of St. John's extracurricular program, Lida studies bandura with Olia Stashchyshyn and Ukrainian folk dance with Roma Pryma Bohachevsky. She is an active member of Plast.

Since she was 7, Lida has studied piano, first with the late Prof. Daria Karanowych and now with Prof. Taissa Bohdanska. Lida has been an invited performer at the Grazhda Children's Concerts in Hunter, N.Y., for the past three summers.

Lida will conclude the school year and her educational career at St. John's with a recital of Ukrainian and classical compositions on Sunday, June 17, at 11 a.m., in St. John's Church, in memory of her beloved teacher, Prof. Karanowych. The public is invited to hear this young artist's concert, all proceeds of which will be donated to St. John's School.

Hillside kids perform "hahilky"

HILLSIDE, N.J. - After a recent Sunday divine liturgy at Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hillside, N.J., many children eagerly gathered to participate in "hahilky" (spring ritual dances and songs). Odarka Polanskyj Stockert gracefully taught the children five different hahilky.

The audience and participants seemed to especially enjoy the "Zhuchok" (beetle) hahilka. The song and dance describe a beetle who comes alive in the spring and celebrates his festive attire by walking on a fir tree branch. During the dance the children form two rows and create a bridge with their hands and arms. The smallest of the children (Ariadna Stockert and Rhiannon Murphy) walked over the "branch" and then returned via the tunnel that the other dancers had created.

Following the hahilky, the children participated in an Easter egg hunt. To view additional photographs of the event, visit the parish website at http://www.byzantines.net/immaculateconception.

Connecticut student cited for math skills

DARIEN, Conn. - Alex Puzyk, son of Bohdana and Bohdan Puzyk and grandson of Nadia and Bohdan Wojtowycz of Baltimore, Md., was cited by The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth for distinction in mathematics.

The CTY is an international program inviting all students in grades 5-8 who have scored at the 97th percentile or higher on standardized tests to take additional exams including SATs.

Those seventh and eighth graders who score in the top 22 percent of the college SATs were honored with a Certificate of Excellence award at a ceremony at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., on June 9.

A seventh grader, Alex also participates in his middle school orchestra, is lead trumpet in his school's jazz band and is a goalie for the soccer team.

Mishanyna

To solve this month's Mishanyna, find the words that appear capitalized in the text below.

Recently we (UKELODEON, that is) had the privilege of sitting in on an interview with a VICTIM of the Nazis' FORCED labor policy. In the same room sat a SURVIVOR of the Great FAMINE of 1932-1933. We were there with grandchildren who listened to HISTORY as related by people they love - their GRANDPARENTS. That is why, in this JUNE issue of Mishanyna we thought we'd focus on FAMILY history.

Many children are unaware of what trials and tribulations their grandparents and others lived through, and the sacrifices they made. And, since our lives today are so busy, they may not find it easy to create an opportunity to hear about these things first-hand.

Consequently, looking ahead to the lazy, hazy days of SUMMER that soon will be here, we want to encourage our young readers to spend some QUALITY time with their grandparents this summer. Ask them if anyone in the family remembers the famine-genocide that killed millions of Ukrainians? Were they ever in the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) or the OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists)? What were these groups? Were they victims of forced LABOR during World War II? Were they DISPLACED persons? How did they end up in AMERICA or CANADA?

Make the TIME. Be AMATEUR REPORTERS. VIDEOTAPE or RECORD their answers. Let your grandparents tell you about their unique lives. They will be telling you your own family's history, which is infinitely more interesting than watching re-runs on television. LISTEN and LEARN!

Myshka visits his grandparents

Mykola Myshka is visiting with his Baba and Dido (his grandparents) to learn about his family's history. Do you know about your family tree and your family members' past?

Letter to Mykola Myshka

Mykola Myshka received the following answer to the question he posed in the May issue of UKELODEON.

Dear Ukrainian Weekly:

The oblast with the tallest mountain is the Zakarpattia Oblast.

Your friend,
Danylko Maczaj
Suffern, N.Y.

Danylko was the first reader to give the correct answer to Myshka's latest mystery. We are sending him a special philatelic prize, courtesy of The Ukrainian Weekly's philatelic columnist, Dr. Ingert Kuzych.

UKELODEON is prepared by the editorial staff of The Ukrainian Weekly working in conjunction with Lydia Smyk, an elementary school teacher at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic School in Newark, N.J., and mother of three. Ms. Smyk, who is originally from Ottawa, resides with her family in Orange, N.J.

OUR NEXT ISSUE:

UKELODEON is published on the second Sunday of every month. To make it into our next issue, dated July 8, please send in your materials by June 29. (Please include a daytime phone number.)

Send in your articles, letters, photos, etc. to: The Ukrainian Weekly, UKELODEON, 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054; telephone, (973) 292-9800; fax, (973) 644-9510; e-mail, [email protected].

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 10, 2001, No. 23, Vol. LXIX

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