2012 Annual Report by E M

Agia Sophia Academy 2012 Annual Report

Table of Contents Principalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Message........................................ 1

Major Accomplishments.............................. 15

Message from the Board................................ 2

Financial Information................................. 16

School Program.............................................. 4

Gifts and Donations..................................... 18

Student Voices................................................ 10

PTP Year-End Report.................................... 21

Staff Development Project.......................... 13

Meet Everyone Involved.............................. 22

Dear Friends of ASA, It is with excitement that I introduce ASA’s Annual Report for the 2011-12 school year. This last year was a wonderful year of growth and development, thanks to our financial supporters, volunteers, board members, parents, students, and staff members. It is with your help that we continue to offer an excellent Orthodox education and strategically plan for our Prek-8th grade future! You will see the specifics of our achievements in this Annual Report, but first, a few notable highlights from 2011-12: • Largest student enrollment in the history of the school • Student representation from every single Orthodox parish in the Portland area

“Of all the holy works, the education of children is the most holy.” ~ St. Theophan the Recluse

• Standardized test scores far surpassing national average and benchmarks • Vision and funding to hire our first Development Director • Continuation of all our specialty classes at a time when many are undergoing budget cuts • Focus on professional development opportunities for teachers. • Increased Board level involvement I would also like to welcome our current Board President, Andy Contes, who began his tenure as President in January, 2012. Under Andy’s leadership, our Board of Trustees has made great progress in planning for the school’s future, increasing our reach into the community, and developing as an organization. I am excited to partner with our exceptional trustees, parent community, friends and generous supporters as we begin our tenth year of operations at Oregon’s only Orthodox school! Sincerely,

Ms. Elisha Lubliner, Principal and Lower Elementary Teacher 1

Dear Friends of ASA, It is a beautiful opportunity to be a part of Agia Sophia Academy (ASA). I am blessed to share this experience both as a parent and as the Board President. My name is Andy Contes, and I would like

“ASA is special because people fight for us and protect us” ~ ASA Student

to take a moment to introduce and thank our current Board members: Mary Triantafillou, Norm Goldman, John Davis, Krista Panoff, James Ketrenos, Elias Taylor and Fr. Theodore Dorrance. By God’s grace and with the effort of the Board of Trustees, the competency of ASA’s staff, and the support of all of you in the community, we can provide an unparalleled educational experience for our children. Those of you who have been with ASA from the beginning have observed the steady growth of the school. We on the ASA Board believe this growth will continue over the years to come despite momentary peaks and valleys in student enrollment and other obstacles that will arise. It is with faith that we continue to make plans for our future. We are pleased to say that we are setting our sights on a new school facility in the not-too-distant future. Our vision at ASA is to expand academically and physically and create a solid and sustainable enrollment body. Along with the school growth, our support from the community is also expanding. We had our most successful Greek Open in ASA’s history just last month thanks to the leadership of Norm Goldman, the ASA Board members, and your support! Our goals are set high to provide an excellent new facility for our children’s benefit and those of the generations to come. We realize this will not come easily and will test both our faith and endurance. To position ASA for success we have acted upon professional advice and hired a full time Development Director to strengthen the core of ASA fundraising and community involvement. In addition to this exciting news, the ASA Board will implement a large scale Gala and auction event to start a Building Fund for our future facility. We thank you for your continued support and look forward to the blessings to come! In His Service,

Andy Contes Agia Sophia Academy Board President

Mission Statement Our Mission at Agia Sophia Academy is to educate the whole child by providing a rich academic and arts curriculum, grounded in Orthodox Christian values, while fostering love of learning, personal responsibility, and respect for each person. Agia Sophia Academy is an intimate parochial school providing a challenging academic education emphasizing thinking and analytical skills to create confident, successful and community-oriented graduates. Agia Sophia Academy offers a multi-age program for pre-kindergarten through 5th grade, including Montessori preschool. Accordingly, we have set the following goals: • To offer academic excellence. • To teach students “how to learn” rather than simply “what to learn”. • To cultivate a life-long love of learning in our students. • To act as an extension of the parental role of educating the child. • To further form character in our students so they will become productive and good members of our communities. • To draw families more fully into the life of the Church. • To honor God and educate others in the Faith.

School Program Agia Sophia offers a Montessori preschool, and a rigorous elementary academic program, as well as a full offering of arts, languages (Greek and Latin), music, and physical education taught by specialists in their fields.

Montessori Classroom Montessori: Montessori is a method of education that is based on hands-on learning, collaborative play, and self-directed activity. In Montessori classrooms children make creative choices in their learning while the classroom and the teacher offer age-appropriate activities to guide the process. Children work in groups and individually to discover people, places and knowledge of the world. Teacher Aims: The classroom, as referred to by Montessori herself, is a “Children’s House.” Children’s growth and progression occurs within a framework where independence is followed by freedom to choose work. Repetition leads to perfection and self-discipline, and self-control leads to the overall development of one’s personality. In addition, the learning process seeks specifically to build concentration and a love of learning. The classroom has several focus areas. The practical life and sensorial areas focus on the above needs and prepare for the higher areas of math and language.

“In two short months, we have seen that our child has shown a new interest in learning about the world around him. We think this directly correlates to the teaching and atmosphere of the Montessori classroom. It is a beautiful thing to witness.” ~ ASA Parent

Focus Area Highlights Geography: Students studied the Earth, learning about landforms and the continents. Children were able to make maps of almost all the continents; for each continent, children learned about the landscape, culture, and animal life. Children especially enjoyed learning the flags of all the countries. Science: Children conducted simple science experiments and learned about the life cycle of frogs and butterflies. Language: Children progress from learning sounds of the alphabet to making small books. Activities in the classroom build a rich vocabulary, supporting broad literacy skills. Math: Children play number identification and counting games. Some early math skills include learning to tell time and counting by multiples (e.g., counting by 2, 3, 5). Students enjoy word problems and pop quizzes during transition times thoughout the day.

Multi-age Elementary Students in our multi-age elementary classrooms benefit from a full range of classes with a strong emphasis on the arts and movement. Coursework includes: math, reading, grammar, phonicsbased spelling, science, history, geography, faith, art, music, P.E., Greek, and Latin. Students receive instruction in music and P.E. three times a week and languages two times a week, providing them with a broad exposure to the arts. Our students graduate elementary school with a strong academic foundation, a sense of responsibility and independence as well as a love for learning. Lower Elementary Teacher Aims: Goals for the 2011-2012 school year included increased reading skills, increased writing fluency, development of executive skills such as self-control and organization, and math problem-solving. Classroom Highlights A trip to Goose Hollow Family Shelter was an excellent culminating activity that supported a unit on families and homelessness. Students were truly interested in learning about renewal and new life as they took care of fish, worms, crickets, and chicks in the classroom this year. They especially enjoyed watching chicken eggs hatch after 24 days in the incubator. The new garden area supported the science curriculum. Students enjoyed planting seeds and watching them sprout into seedlings while completing a unit on how seeds do their job and the different parts of a plant. Students enjoyed a special “Hundred’s Day Celebration,” counting school days up to 100 culminated with a fabulous class party. The Bright Friday Celebration with Fr. Ed’s Class brought excitement and helped foster collaboration among the elementary children. Children made their own books on Ancient Egypt. 6

Upper Elementary Teacher Aims: Goals for the 2011-2112 school year included increased literacy skills, especially writing skills in creating plots and simple expository essays, math problem-solving skills, and basic understanding of the earliest Americans. Classroom Highlights Students sampled literary criticism by working on a series of book reports. Fr. Hillhouse used the 6 Traits rubric to strengthen students’ writing skills; their skill in writing conclusions showed significant improvement. Children strengthened literacy skills in fluency, word recognition and higher-level comprehension skills. This enabled students to do various mini-reports using encyclopedias and other sources of information. Math problem-solving was greatly enhanced by the use of Singapore’s Model Approach. Students learned to appreciate their modern lifestyle and the survival instincts of humans in general, and early Americans in particular, through their study of the Inuit people. Students became better acquainted with Earth’s place in the universe through the study of the solar system and other heavenly bodies. They also studied the Earth’s movements through space.

I will say at once, quite firmly, that the best grounding for education is the Latin grammar. I say... even a rudimentary knowledge of Latin cuts down the labor and pains of learning almost any other subject by at least 50 percent. ~ Dorothy Sayers

Faith and Character Development ASA enriches its curriculum with daily church services for the students. Children also get to participate in the Divine Liturgy every month, and look forward to visits from local clergy.

Faith Curriculum Highlights Faith is an integral part of the students’ experience. Short morning and afternoon church services provide a focus for the beginning and end of the school day. Students as young as three years of age participate in leading each prayer service. Daily Faith classes provide an overview of the Old and New Testaments as well as the major feast-days of the church. Weekly memorization of short Bible verses helps children stretch their memory and provides brief, accessible examples of wisdom found in Scripture. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated monthly, with student choir and participation. Each month also brings visits from local clergy. This past year, we were blessed with the presence of many wonderful priests: Fr. Theodore Dorrance, Fr. Timothy Pavlatos, Fr. George Gray, Fr. Matthew Tate, Fr. Nicholas Letten, and Fr. Jordan Brown. Other highlights this year included a special St. Nicholas Day celebration in November and the Christmas Nativity Program performed by the students.

“I love ASA, because we learn good things like how to write and how to make things like art projects and sometimes read hard books about what people do, and going to church is a very good thing.” ~ ASA Student

Student Voices Our 2012 5th grade graduation took place on June 14th. The two graduating students gave wonderful speeches and enjoyed the special event. There was hardly a dry eye in the audience as the ceremony concluded with 5th grade certificates, cute home-made graduation hats, and yellow roses for the parents and students. We wish Costa and Anne Marie all the best in the next phase of their education! 10

GRADUATION SPEECH – JUNE 14TH, 2012 By Costa Bambakidis Good Morning. My name is Costa Bambakidis. I would like to thank Agia Sophia Academy for being my fifth grade school. I wish I could have spent all my school years at this school. When I moved here, ASA helped me get familiar with Portland. They helped me fit in. I have never been to a better school. First of all, I would like to thank my parents and the school staff for putting me in the school. If it were not for them, I would not be here talking. Next, I would like to thank Fr. Ed for being my “main” teacher, the teacher that I’ve spent most of my time with. He has helped me study grammar, handwriting, bible study, and much more. He has helped me in many other subjects. He has taught me to be patient and obedient. He is always friendly and knows what’s best for the class. I would like also to thank Mrs. Blankenstein for teaching and explaining math to me. She has helped me study fractions, of which I knew so little. She is very patient with me when I can’t get the problem right. Without her, I wouldn’t have the slightest idea of what one fifth plus one half is. And I would like to thank Miss Dorrance and Mrs. Plesa for teaching me the languages Latin and Greek. Now, when I go to Greece, or I am asked a Latin phrase, I will know what to say. I would like to give my thanks also to Mrs. Powell for teaching how to sing while doing a handstand! I couldn’t run or sing half as good as I can here. I would also like to thank Mrs. Perussi for teaching me art. If you were in my class in 4th grade, you would have known I was horrid at drawing and painting. I couldn’t even color between the lines. But now, I have improved a lot. My favorite part of school was probably writing. I also enjoyed playing four square at recess. I will miss all my friends, teachers and students, from MECE to 5th grade. I will always remember ASA as one of the best things that happened to me. Thank you.

MY LIFE AT ASA – JUNE 14TH, 2012 By Anne Marie Powell Hello. My name is Anne Marie Powell. I am 10 years old. I started going to Agia Sophia Academy (ASA) in Kindergarten, when I was 5 and 6 years old. This is funny: I started out shortest in the class from Kindergarten – First Grade. Then, I was called Little Madeline. (I was always fond of Madeline when I was little.) I have been the tallest in the class for 2 years only: last year and this year. I am in 5th grade. Maybe that’s why so many kids ask me to conference with them, to help them solve a problem, and to even play puppy at recess. I have many wonderful memories from ASA. In kindergarten, there was coloring activities to do, like coloring icons. Kindergarten was really fun. First grade had a special end-of-the-year play called: A Mid-summer Night’s Dream! I got a big-girl’s part. I had to memorize lots of lines. I just loved that play. In fact, it was such a good play, that people video-taped it! I just happen to have that video somewhere. Second grade was my favorite year. First, we had a class movie day! We had soda, donuts, and, most importantly, each other. Then, my very good friends, Mikhaila and Anthony, wrote 2 plays. Afterwards, we did a dance called, “I Need a Hero.” It was a silly, but fun dance. Also, to get in the classroom each day, we would have to say the “password.” Fr. Ed would say the password each morning (at the beginning of the day) then we would say it to get in the classroom. It was FUN! In 3rd grade, we had to work hard. I would try my best to do my work, and I succeeded. The end of year play was called, “1776, 2nd Continental Congress.” It was fun, and interesting too! I learned a lot about the 2nd Continental Congress. 4th grade, or last year, was my last year with Mikhaila. At the end of the year, the exact last day of school, Mikhaila and I played with Frisbees. They were blue, our favorite colors. We played and played and played. Finally, after a long time of playing, we took Mikhaila home. She graduated, and went to middle school. I missed her so, and I still do. It was one of the best days of my life. What 5th grade means to me is that next year, I’ll be in middle school. It was my last year in elementary school. I will miss all of my good friends and classmates: Sarah (my sister), Ella, Marina, Zacharias, Stathi, Noah, Anastasia, Anuj, Lola, Alex, Daniel, Nicky, Costa, and Pavlos. I will also miss my teacher, Fr. Ed. I am glad we all could be in this class together all these years. Maybe on the days that my school next year won’t have school, I can go to ASA for the day. I am going to miss ASA, but ASA will always be a part of my life.

Staff Development Project At ASA we take pride in providing our teachers with continued education. This year we were especially blessed to receive grant money from Holy Trinity Cathedralâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Endowment Fund to make this possible.

Agia Sophia Academy undertook an exciting project this year: to offer development opportunities to all our staff. Thanks to generous funding from the Holy Trinity Cathedral Endowment Fund, the school was able to support our staff through meaningful professional development seminars, workshops, and trainings. Staff members greatly enjoyed the chance to learn and develop their skills as teachers and administraters. The elementary teachers attended trainings in writing, Singapore math, and a brain-based instructional workshop. The writing workshop informed curriculum changes in both elementary classrooms. Fr. Hillhouse and Mrs. Shaffer worked together to calibrate their grading system using specific rubrics to evaluate writing samples (ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation). Teachers were able to provide students with more specific guidance on how to improve writing and students showed growth in multiple areas, such as word choice and organization. The Singapore math training was especially helpful in guiding teachers on the use of math models for problem-solving, which in turn has improved performance by students, particularly when solving word problems.

“Teachers who love teaching, teach children to love learning” ~ Unknown

Both Montessori teachers attended a national seminar by the American Montessori Institute held in Texas. It was such a pleasure to see them upon their return, energized and excited! They immediately implemented physical changes to the structure of the classroom and changes to the daily schedule. One of these changes was a clearer delineation of work areas so that the children could better focus on their individual and group work. The teachers also changed the placement of the snack tables. This enhanced the students’ view of the classroom’s large windows, and tied in to the natural science curriculum. Mrs. Powell, our music and physical education teacher, attended trainings for both of her curriculum areas. An American Folk Dance workshop provided training on 12 American social dances and several folk songs, as well as a session on storytelling. In addition to bringing this increased repertoire back to the children, Mrs. Powell strengthened her classroom management skills. She also attended a Kodály music class to learn about the use of manipulatives to increase young children’s understanding of music concepts.

Administrative staff trainings offered immediate benefits as well. Mrs. McKenzie attended training on work flow management which has increased her already high level of efficiency. Ms. Lubliner completed courses on Managing Instructional Budgets and Instructional Supervision. As a direct result of these courses, ASA has refined record keeping and improved oversight of the budget. Teacher supervision this year resulted in clear, specific techniques for teachers to implement and the teachers reported improved student behavior and engagement in the classroom. We are blessed at ASA with wonderful teachers. Students receive loving guidance and strong instruction. Their success can be seen in joyful learning as well as strong performance on standardized testing. The continued education of our staff ensures that ASA builds on our strong foundation to provide the best education possible to our students.

Major Accomplishments Our mixed kindergarten/first grade classroom continued successfully with 10 children; at this enrollment the classroom is self-funding. Our student body continued to grow to 51 students. Students from every Orthodox church in the Portland metro area attended ASA! The Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) approved Agia Sophia for full accreditation. ASA organized the second annual Orthodox Youth Cultural Exchange, held at Holy Trinity Cathedral in the spring. All staff members received meaningful development opportunities to support continued excellence in teaching and student learning. Our elementary students once again surpassed national averages on all areas tested: reading, math, language, science, and listening. ASA welcomed the creation of a new position, Development Director. Christiana Hillier serves as our new, full-time Development Director in addition to continuing her role as Latin Teacher.

Financials

Statement of Operations ASA’s fiscal period runs from July 1st to June 30th each year. The below statement of operations are for the years ended June 30, 2011 and June 30, 2012.

2011 – 2012

2010 – 2011

ORDINARY INCOME/EXPENSE Income Donations Net Tuitions

64,707 78,603 231,583

196,617

12,427

11,246

Other Income

231

Total Income

308,773

286,697

Fundraising Events (Net)

Expense Teachers & Classroom Expenses

186,551

189,689

Administration Expenses

78,030

59,658

Facilities Expenses

14,156

12,530

8,395

21,354

Other Expense

278

Total Expense

287,132

283,509

Development, Fundraising, Communications

Net Surplus (Deficit)

21,641

3,188

Gifts, Donations and Events We thank everyone who generously gave in support of our school. Your gift of time, talent, and resources helps move us forward in providing the best education possible for our children.

Gifts and Donations We thank everyone who generously gave in support of our school between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012. $5,000 and Up Anonymous Intel Matching Gifts to Education Program Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church $2,500 - $4,999 KP & Phoebe Tsolainos Foundation James and Kathleen Ketrenos *+ $1,000 - $2,499 Andrew and Christina Contes *+ Theodore and Janet Deming Ziad and Evyenia Kaady * Edward and Cyndy Maletis Nicholas and Mary Triantafillou *+ $500 - $999 Anonymous Eileen Chios Bill Gulick Riverview Abbey Scott and Sophia Taylor Dimitris and Kathleen Triantafillou Stefanos and Mary Osborn Vertopoulos

$100 - $499 John Apostolos Argyro Apostolou Dr. and Mrs. Gust Bambakidis Patrick and Jennifer Barnes * Brian and Aphrodite Battalia Petros and Susan Bournelis Brent and Katherine Braden * Tim Chapman Jon and Lisa Corazza Chris and Stacy Cosse Peter and Catalina Corvallis Creative Counsel Michelle Fortier Isidoros and Maria Garifalakis Horace and Kalliopi Harrison Vicki and Maur Horton Kathleen Johnson Nickolas and Linda Karafotias Raymond Law and Juliet Cai * Cory and Tiffany Morgan St. John the Baptist Myrrhbearers Chris and Krista Panoff*+ Anton Perussi Matei and Magdalena Perussi* Fr. Ivan Petrouchtchak David and Jean Shaffer Zachary and Vasiliki Stoumbos Ann Vanikiotis Neal and Yvonne Zoumboukos

Up to $99 Michael and Cathleen Amen Janice Anten Gus and Helen Antonis Dn. Steven and Jenny Bambakidis * Helen Berger Paul and Christina Blankenstein * David Butler and Michelle Neiss * John and Jennifer Davis *+ Ludmilla Ellis Lee and Janet Frazier Norm and Eleni Goldman + Willis and Anna Grafe Fr. Vasili and Pres. Maria Hillhouse Joshua and Naomi Knight * Louise Kopp Sophia Kremidas Sophia Kriara Georgia Liapes Theophan and Euphrosyne McKenzie * Mark and Brigid Powell* Fr. Timothy and Pres. Vicky Pavlatos* Gerasimos and Theodora Tsirimiagos Steve and Katie Tussing* Christopher and Rosina Vlessis Joe and Linda Weick Fran Williams Matthew Whittemore

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve made every effort to ensure an accurate listing of gifts and donations. Please inform the school of any error or omission. *Indicates ASA Parent +Indicates Board member

Fundraising Events Greek Open Annual Golf Tournament and dinner to support Agia Sophia Academy organized by the School Board and parent volunteers. We raised approximately $10,200 for the 2011-2012 school year.

We thank all those whose support made possible the 2011 Greek Open Auction. 2011 Greek Open Auction Donors Alexis Restaurant ASA Art Students ASA Staff Betty Louâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Inc. Petros & Susan Bournelis Christopher & Ruth Burkett Jessica Camblin Andrew Contes*+ Lisa Corazza Pres. Stacey Dorrance Patricia Floyd

Nektaria Fortier Norm and Eleni Goldman+ Maur & Vicki Frey- Horton Kaady Appliances Abraham Kaady Dr. Ziad and Genie Kaady* Mariya Kamsha* Melissa Ketrenos Logos Book Store Chris & Krista Panoff*+ Pres. Victoria Pavlatos*

Pendleton Woolen Mills Magdalena Perussi* Portland Trailblazers Pyramid Brewing Mariana Tcherven* Nick & Mary Triantafillou*+ Katie Tussing* Joe Weick Kristine Wiseman*

*Indicates ASA Parents, + denotes ASA Trustee

Parent Teacher Partnership Year-End Report PTP Board:

Jen Barnes, President Mariya Kamsha, Treasurer

Genie Kaady Ivana Plesa

Katie Tussing

PTP Fundraising: The 2011-2012 Parent Teacher Partnership efforts raised approximately $7500. We thank everyone who donated to the PTP this year. In addition to general donations, the PTP held several fundraisers.

Chinook Books: Under the leadership of Rachel Daniels, this year’s Chinook Books Sales raised approximately $1272 for air purifiers in the classrooms. Poinsettias: Under the leadership of Kathleen Ketrenos, this year’s Poinsettia sales raised approximately $271 for air purifiers in the classrooms. SCRIP: Under the leadership of Naomi Knight, SCRIP sales raised approximately $3,001. These funds went toward refreshment for all school events, St. Nicholas cookies, Special Guest day, Teacher appreciation week, various school needs such as playground balls and books for lending library, and tuition assistance.

“ASA feels more like a community gathering place than just a school” ~ ASA Parent

Box Top for Education: Under the leadership of Mariana Tcherven, this year’s box top funds raised approximately $95 for the Montessori classroom snack. Flower Baskets: Jen Barnes and Gen Kaady led this year’s Flower Basket Sales, raising approximately $2255 to fund “Ideas and Inventions” Science Kit for a classrooms and school tuition assistance. Special Projects: Steve Tussing obtained computers and laptops through Free Geek, and installed all necessary software to enable the children to use the computers for classroom purposes.

Meet Everyone Involved Agia Sophia Academy’s teachers and staff strive to know each child as a person. Thank you to everyone who has supported us in our endeavors to teach children in a way that sets them up for future success.

Agia Sophia Academy Personnel, 2011-2012 Principal: Elisha Lubliner Elementary Teachers: Jean Shaffer, Lower Elementary Teacher Fr. Ed Hillhouse, Upper Elementary Teacher Christina Blankenstein, Elementary Assistant Teacher Montessori Teachers: Padma Aisola, Rusudan Miminoshvili Music & Physical Education: Brigid Powell Greek: Ivana Plesa Latin: Christiana Dorrance Art: Magdalena Perussi Administrative Assistant: Euphrosyne McKenzie Director of Development: Mary Triantafillou Agia Sophia Academy Board, 2011-2012 Andrew Contes, President, Parent, Engineering Manager, Intel Corporation Fr. Theodore Dorrance Vice President, Priest, St. John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church John Davis, Parent, Realtor, Business Owner, Creative Counsel Adrienne Gillespie, Educator, Librarian, Beaverton School District Norm Goldman, Business Owner, Goldman & Associates James Ketrenos, Parent, Software Developer, Intel Corporation Krista Panoff, Parent, Business Development Director, Identity Solutions Group of TransUnion Scott Elias Taylor, CFO, R.F. Stearns, Inc. Mary Triantafillou, Parent, Development Director

Agia Sophia Academy 14485 SW Walker Road Beaverton, OR 97006 503.641.4600 www.asapdx.org

Kindergarten - 5th & Montessori Pre-School