Imagine going to a new school in a new country. You don’t know anyone there. You speak a different language.

That’s the story of 8-year-old Kira Uladovska. Kira and her parents are from Ukraine, a country in Europe. They left when a war made their country unsafe. They came to the U.S. to build a new life.

Starting over has not been easy. But Kira’s teacher and classmates have found ways to help her.

Imagine going to a new school in a new country. You don’t know anyone there. You speak a different language.

That’s the story of 8-year-old Kira Uladovska. Kira and her parents are from Ukraine. That’s a country in Europe. They left when a war made their country unsafe. They came to the U.S. to build a new life.

Starting over has not been easy. But Kira’s teacher and classmates have found ways to help her.

In 2022, Ukraine was attacked by Russia, one of its neighbors. A war began as Ukrainians fought to defend their land.

Like millions of other Ukrainians, Kira’s family became refugees. Refugees are people who are forced to leave their country to escape danger. 

The U.S. government gave Kira’s family permission to come to America. 

In January, Kira and her family arrived in Vermont. A local family offered to help them settle there. Kira started third grade at Thetford Elementary School. She was tired from the long journey—and nervous about starting a new life. 

In 2022, Ukraine was attacked by Russia, one of its neighbors. A war began as Ukrainians fought to defend their land.

Kira’s family became refugees, like millions of other Ukrainians. Refugees are people who are forced to leave their country to escape danger.

The U.S. government gave Kira’s family permission to come to America.

In January, Kira and her family arrived in Vermont. A local family offered to help them settle there. Kira started third grade at Thetford Elementary School. She was tired from the long journey. She was also nervous about starting a new life.

With the help of her teachers and classmates, Kira was soon smiling. On her first day, the class gave her a giant stack of welcome cards. They knew Kira didn’t know how to speak or read English yet. They used an app to write messages in Ukrainian.

“The cards made me feel very happy,” Kira says.

They also used the language app to talk to her and get to know her. Kira and her new friends have found ways to play together despite speaking different languages. One favorite activity is playing UNO, a card game that mostly uses numbers and colors. 

The school supports Kira in many other ways too. The students and her teacher taught her classroom routines, like what to do during a fire drill. 

With the help of her teachers and classmates, Kira was soon smiling. On her first day, the class gave her a giant stack of welcome cards. They knew Kira didn’t know how to speak or read English yet. They used an app to write messages in Ukrainian.

“The cards made me feel very happy,” Kira says.

The class used the language app to talk to her and get to know her. Kira and her new friends have found ways to play together despite speaking different languages. One favorite activity is playing UNO. That’s a card game that mostly uses numbers and colors.

The school supports Kira in many other ways too. The students and her teacher taught her classroom routines. These included what to do during a fire drill.

Kira has studied hard in her English classes. And she has enjoyed trying U.S. foods and customs. 

“I love music class here. I didn’t have that in Ukraine,” she says.

But Kira isn’t the only one learning new things. Her classmates ask her to tell them about life in Ukraine. And she has even taught them a few words in her language. One important word is druzi (DROO-zee). That’s Ukrainian for “friends”!

Kira has studied hard in her English classes. And she has enjoyed trying U.S. foods and customs.

“I love music class here. I didn’t have that in Ukraine,” she says.

But Kira isn’t the only one learning new things. Her classmates ask her to tell them about life in Ukraine. She has even taught them a few words in her language. One important word is druzi (DROO-zee). That’s Ukrainian for “friends”!