From left: Marianna Kozina, Olexandra Spielvogel and Jessica Vovnyanko celebrate after the First Bell Ceremony at the British International School. (Courtesy photo) Sept. 1st … and, all over Ukraine, children are making their way to school immaculately dressed, girls with their hair tied in tresses and decorated with white ribbons, boys smart in their new suits and shiny shoes, all carrying bright bouquets of summer flowers or boxes of chocolates: gifts of beauty and sweetness for their teachers.

In Kyiv, the sky hangs grey and low, heavy with autumn rain. But along the wet streets and avenues, beneath the dripping trees and rooftops, children and parents stride towards school, undeterred by the inclement weather or the swoosh of water thrown up by passing cars, happy to be reunited with friends after the long summer break.

As the director of the British International School, I am struck by the very positive note with which the new school year is marked in Kyiv. I am astonished at how smart and polished our students look. I am moved by their greetings: “Good morning, Mr. Billing. I am so pleased to see you again. May I wish you a very happy and successful year!” The teachers are greeted in similar fashion, by parents and children, and their arms are weighed down with bunches of flowers.

While Ukrainians might see this as “normal” – after all, it is the tradition here – international school teachers and students are surprised, impressed and inspired. All that is quite different from my experience in England, Israel, East Africa or India.

What is not different is the anxiety of parents as they put their little ones into school for the first time; or of internationally mobile families whose children are living in a new house, in a new city and must now begin classes in a new school. (Some students change school as often as every two years.) Or the sense of nervous anticipation among international teachers, newly arrived from previous posts. (At the British International School, we have recruited international teachers previously posted in Vietnam, Tanzania, Qatar, USA, Egypt, and the United Kingdom.)

What an amazing opportunity the new school year heralds! Such a rich diversity of cultures, languages, experiences! All gathered in one place with one common aim: education.

The canvas is empty. I wonder what kind of picture we will paint in 2010-11? Sir Ken Robinson, a leading figure in the world of creativity in education, tells the story of a young girl who loved to draw. One day her art teacher approached and asked: “What are you drawing?” The child replied: “A picture of God.”

“But no one knows what God looks like,” the teacher said. “They will – when they see my picture!” replied the young girl.

Young people have an amazing capacity for creativity and imagination, qualities all too easily suppressed by stale syllabuses and unimaginative teaching. It is my hope that this year – in my school – and in many others, that our children will be facilitated and encouraged, challenged and guided, instructed and supported in such ways that they will paint a picture of extraordinary originality; that their learning and expression will bear the mark of their spirit, their heart, their passion.

The first bell ceremony is over … the work of teaching and learning has begun!

Phil Billing is the director of the British International School in Kyiv.