My name is Una, and I am 9 years old this year. I am currently studying in the fourth grade of a public elementary school. I met teacher Melody the summer before my third grade, and I have been learning with her ever since. It’s been an amazing 2-year learning journey. Over a hundred lessons, we watched movies, learned about time management, emotional intelligence, public speaking, and made friends with people from all around the world! Melody has been by my side through many challenges, big and small. She helped me on many tests and competitions I participated in, like elementary vocabulary competition ("Excellence" award), school English reading and speech contest (first place in the 3rd grade), Cambridge Key English Test (KET) (CEFR B1), national poetry competition ("Excellence" award), school English reading and speech contest (first place in the 4th grade), and many more. Fortunately, I performed really well in all of them.

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Do you know? My favorite thing to do with Melody is singing! I am very familiar with all the Disney’s songs, and I’ve tried using the dictionary, or slowing down the songs just so I could catch the lyrics, but I could never keep up with the pace, and something always feels missing. Melody helped me break down the lyrics word by word, and figured out which parts should be connected and reduced. When I can sing “A Whole New World”, “Speechless”, and even “Lucky” by Jason Mraz, my world shines with sparkles!

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Last year, Melody held an English Speaking Challenge. The participants had to speak about their day in voice recordings every day for 30 days. At first, I thought it was an easy challenge, but after 10 days, I started to worry about it because I ran out of things to share. I used to record whatever is on my mind, but that made my content feel not so organized. I changed my way after listening to Melody’s suggestion. I wrote down my thoughts and key words, then combined them together when I needed to record myself. “Jot down the points, then connect the dots.” My thinking improved a lot since then!

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Classes were suspended during the second half of my third grade due to the pandemic. I invited my friends to join me in an online book club. Thanks to all the experience I got from taking online classes, I knew how to use Zoom very well. But to lead my friends and study English online is a whole new challenge. How do I tell them to read loudly? Do they have any questions about the stories in the books? How should I help them, especially those who are shy? I realized the progress was much slower than what I expected.

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I shared my online book club experience with Melody. She loved my idea, and also provided me with many tips on what to pay attention to during an online class. Most importantly, I should encourage my friends to speak! After receiving Melody’s suggestions, I started giving more compliments to my club members, and I realized that this change helped everyone to become more open and eager to learn!

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During the pandemic, I have been studying online more than usual. Through the process of revision and material preparation for my book club, I learned more as well. Reviewing what I learned also helped me to remember things better because teaching benefits the teacher! This book club definitely brought a lot of joy in my life!

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On February 24th, 2022, I went to school as usual, thinking about the upcoming school speech competition. On the other side of the world, there are children struggling every day with only one thought: “We want to stay alive!”. Knowing that children younger than me are being forced to leave their home, I feel so scared and angry. What can I do for them?

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I found out that Melody is participating in a non-profit educational organization, and their goal is to help children in Ukraine who lost their opportunity to learn by volunteering as teachers online. I boldly asked her to let me be her teaching assistant, because I have CERF B1 qualification and the experience of hosting over 10 sessions of book clubs online. Deep down, I know that other than just supporting the Ukrainian children, I can take action. What I’ve learned from Melody is not just the English language, it’s the passion for life!

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--- A letter for President Putin ---

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Dear President Putin,

I am a nine year old girl named Una from a mysterious island.

When you are reading this message, I’m probably at school, or playing with my brother. But nowadays, the kids in Ukraine can’t go to school, and they can’t have fun times with their family.

Do you remember your friends from your childhood? Do you remember the taste of your favourite dish made by your mother? I think the people in Ukraine might also be thinking about these things right now.

Sweden’s Greta Thunberg travelled to many places, and met several leaders around the world, telling them that they haven’t done enough for climate change this problem. And when she’s trying to make it a better world for everyone, are you doing things to make it happen?

In 1922, Mother Teresa once saved lots of children during a war. Now in 2022, who is going to save the children in Ukraine? I think I might know, and that’s you, dear president, it’s you!

Lastly, I want to present Michael Jackson’s song titled “Heal the World” to you. Because all of us are part of this world. Let’s make it a better place for everyone.

Thank you!