Anglo American School of St. Petersburg Swim Program

Welcome to the AASSP Swim Program, home of the Panthers Swim Team. Our program is designed to develop swimmers to swim skillfully and safely, with special attention focused on competitive swimming, fitness swimming, and sportsmanship. We adapt the American Red Cross Swim Level program (ARC) as the baseline for instruction for Learn to Swim groups and our Elementary programs.

Our swim program is run by parent volunteers and we are pleased to begin our second year of swimming for our kids. As volunteer opportunities present themselves, announcements will be made to encourage your involvement.

We are dependent on local pools for our success. We are guests at these pools by special arrangement, requiring good stewardship on our part. We are subject to their rules and to their last-minute schedule changes. We do our best to inform you via email of changes to the pool schedule or of unexpected closures of a facility. We remain grateful to our facilities for professionally and graciously hosting so many of us.

Swim Programs:

Middle School (M/S) Competitive and Fitness Swimming

High School (H/S) Competitive and Fitness Swimming

Elementary School (E/S) Swim Program

Learn to Swim

Elementary School (E/S) Swim ProgramLearn to Swim Program

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Anglo American School of St. Petersburg Swim Program

Our Elementary Program is divided into two groups – Learn to Swim and Elementary Swimmers, for students in Kindergarten through Grade Five.

Our Learn to Swim program is for swimmers relatively new to the water. Swimmers will advance to the next level of swimming when they are able to demonstrate key skills to Coaching staff. Learn to Swim is conducted in a shallow training pool. Due to the size of the training pool, this program is limited to 6 young swimmers at a time. The safety of our swimmers is paramount and the Coach will evaluate prospective swimmers for requisite maturity and motor skills needed for safe participation.

Our Elementary Swim program is conducted in a 25-meter pool. Class size is limited to 6-8 swimmers per lane, determined by the Coach. An Elementary swimmer should be able to swim across the pool unaided and be able to tread water unassisted for a minute. Class size depends on how many lanes we are permitted, as decided by School 235. The larger the class, the more parent volunteers will be necessary. A volunteer is present for safety and to make sure the swimmers understand what the Coach wants them to do.

School 235 requires one certified lifeguard on duty during our swim times. This is in addition to the Coach. If you are able to guard, or would like to learn, training is available in Moscow. Kindly consider this opportunity.

Swimmers will be evaluated by our Head Coach and placed in an appropriate lane during practice. Swimmers of similar ability are grouped together during practice. Swimmers are advanced when they demonstrate progress in the pool.

The Elementary Swim program is based at nearby School 235.

Pool Location: School 235 Naberezhnaya Reki Pryazhki 2-6, St. Petersburg Russia, 191121 Phone: +7-812-572-5845; http://www.school-

235.spb.ru/

This is in the Admiralty District, a short drive from school. The school has a small parking lot and street parking.

Schedule : The Learn to Swim and the Elementary Swim program convene two days per week:

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Anglo American School of St. Petersburg Swim Program

Wednesdays from 4:00pm – 5:00pm; Saturdays (time to be announced).

Transportation: On Wednesdays, parent drivers depart school promptly at 3:30pm in order to arrive on time at the pool for the 4:00pm session. Carpooling may be arranged between families. Remember to pack a snack and drink for the ride, as well as another for the ride home. Traffic can be challenging after swimming, as we return to our homes during rush hour. Upon arrival, attendance is taken, shoes are placed in the lobby area and flip-flops must be worn to go to the locker room and pool deck, including parents.

On Saturdays, swimmers meet at the pool at your scheduled time, and are picked up approximately an hour afterward. Pack a healthy snack and water bottle for your child for after swimming; make sure your child has had an adequate meal prior to arriving at the pool.

Health Documentation: Our AASSP office will manage your health documents required by the swim facility. There may be a fee.

Elementary Program Swimmer’s Equipment List:Swim backpack to include these mandatory items:

Swimsuit (one piece only, no two-piece suits), Swim cap, Goggles, Towel, Flip-flops or crocs, Soap and sponge, Water bottle.  

Swimmers may not swim without all supplies.  Nose and earplugs are optional. A spare pair of goggles and an extra cap will spare many tears.

Fees :

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Anglo American School of St. Petersburg Swim Program

Swim fees are to be paid the month in advance to our front office.  Swim fees will be calculated monthly based on how many days we swim. The average cost is 440 Rubles per swim session. Your fee will be based on how many days your swimmer is scheduled in the pool. Unfortunately, refunds cannot be issued for missed sessions.

Parent Observers:The Pool 235 management discourages parents from being ‘on-deck,’ as the area is slippery and there are few places to sit. However, if you are needed on the pool deck, please have on hand at all times a pair of flip-flips. If you are volunteering on the pool deck, you must wear sports clothing. Only those wearing flip-flops and proper clothes are permitted on deck.

Class Size: As space is limited in our sessions by the host pool’s availability, class size will be restricted to the number of swimmers we can safely manage in the pool. The Coach determines numbers and placement of swimmers. On average, we can accommodate 5-8 swimmers per 25M lane, and 6 Learn to Swim kids in the training pool.

Sign-ups : We will offer 4 sessions of swimming this year, following AASSP’s After School Activity calendar. Our goal is to give every child a chance to swim, which means that Session 2, 3, 4 will be open for new students first, followed by ‘first come, first served’ returning swimmers in the sign-up process. Sign-ups will be announced on school social sites, and follow the “jotform.com” procedure in place for school activity signups. This is our first time using on-line sign-up software…thanks in advance for your patience. We will do our best to accommodate as many swimmers as we can.

Elementary Swimmers and Learn to Swim participants may elect either one or two days of swimming per week in the program.

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Anglo American School of St. Petersburg Swim Program

Volunteering : Volunteers are essential to our youth swimming program. As you know, I attend each practice, providing basic oversight and helping to organize our kids.  Coaches are on deck to coach, not chaperone, and are therefore are not available to assist in locker rooms, changing, or snacking. Our youngsters need us. If you see something that needs improvement or attention in how we assist our children, please let me know.

I need additional parent help with our elementary swimmers at EVERY Learn to Swim and Elementary session as follows:  1--Locker Room Parent: One parent volunteer in each locker room (2 total) at each session to oversee showering, changing in/out of swim gear. Ideally, I would appreciate a team of parents to rotate through this responsibility, with one or two attending a session. AASSP regulations may require assisting parents to complete a child safety training video.

2--Safety volunteers/life guards are needed. If you have lifeguarding or lifesaving background, we welcome your expertise. One guard is required for each session in the 25M pool. This person is also responsible for the school’s medical kit, for cuts or bruises. Professional certification training is available for volunteers in AAS, Moscow.

3—Basic record keeping, check-in and attendance for Wednesday and Saturdays. Once attendance is taken, the list may be handed to me personally, or you may email it.

4—Clean-up crew: Our little guys leave crumbs and juice boxes lying about even when coached otherwise. Locker rooms and waiting areas must be cleaned after we are done, lest we become unwelcome guests! Please consider this important task. ********************************************************************************

Lastly, if your swimmer is an early beginner and is not yet able to tread water, please let me know.  This is useful information for me BEFORE they jump into the pool.

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Anglo American School of St. Petersburg Swim Program

Contact info: Melissa Nordstrom, 32 Suvorovskiy Prospekt, +7-921-788-7085 for emergencies or issues that cannot wait. For questions, email is preferred: enordfamily@hotmail.com

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