ASA Newsletter - Fall 2017

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

Dear ASA Community,

Change Service Requested

The 2017-18 school year is upon us and it is a blessing to be back into the rhythm and patterns of the school day at Agia Sophia Academy. Within these walls, children become artists, scientists, writers, thinkers, and mathematicians. Perhaps most importantly, they become friends. This is what motivates me to be a part of this community, the friendships that I see blossoming over many years of playing and learning together in a nurturing, Orthodox Christian environment. Why is it so important that our youth develop strong friendships within a loving, Orthodox Christian context? My experience has taught me this very clearly. Having grown up in a family who converted to Orthodoxy when I was just four years old, my church community quickly became my extended family. My parents always encouraged my relationships with peers and other families in the church, making the necessary sacrifices to ensure I could develop these friendships. These relationships strengthened and encouraged me as I became an Orthodox Christian adult and encountered many things that challenged my faith.

~ This newsletter is also available in full color on our website at www.ASAPDX.org ~

If my parents had had the choice to send my brother and me to an Orthodox school like ASA, I assure you that they would have. Why? Because not only would it have helped shape our minds to understand the natural world through the Christian perspective, but it would have provided an incredible amount of time for us to develop relationships with adults and peers in our Christian family. This opportunity of Orthodox Christian education is a rarity in our country and particularly in the Pacific Northwest. I often talk to parishioners from other areas in the United States who wish they had an Orthodox school nearby for their children. It is a true gift of God to have Agia Sophia Academy here in the vibrant city of Portland, Oregon, where we can minister to families from the variety of Orthodox churches in our area. One of my goals this year is to work with our local priests to broaden our Pan-Orthodox network and increase awareness of Agia Sophia Academy within Portland. Beyond our local sphere, we are raising awareness of Orthodox education through multiple means, including an interview on the “Come Receive the Light” podcast through the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) and participation in the Orthodox Schools Conference in Chicago. Our Pan-Orthodox presence is growing, as we welcome two new Board members this year who are from Orthodox parishes not previously represented among the Board. As we enter into our 14th year of operation, I want to thank you for partnering with us in this high calling to educate our children. Every teacher, parent, community member, priest, and Board member plays a crucial role in the work that we embark upon every day at Agia Sophia Academy. May God continue to bless and guide our school into the future!

With love in Christ,

Ranae Rice, School Principal

Agia Sophia Academy Oregon’s Only Pan-Orthodx Christian School

Fall Newsletter 2017

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Welcome to our newest members of the ASA School Board: Fr. Matthew Swehla, Constanta Gilmore, and Michel Teeny. Constanta is the mother of two ASA students. She has been involved as a parent with ASA for almost 3 years in numerous ways. When asked what she loves most about ASA, Constanta said, “We love that ASA has offered a great environment for our children to grow and be challenged in academics, art, languages, PE, empathy, and faith. We truly appreciate how their teachers are strong but nurturing and keep in contact with us.” When asked what she hopes to bring to the Board, Constanta offered, “With a background in software engineering and architecture, I hope to bring to the Board a different look on time management, problem-solving, and more ways to grow the school. I also believe I can bring a tireless attitude for our school’s success. Like other parents at our school who grew up outside the U.S., I understand and will continue to stress how important a solid and well-rounded education is for our kids.” Michel and his wife Penelope Farah are long time members of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church. They have been married almost 24 years and have 13-year-old twin boys (Gabriel and Lucas). When asked why Orthodox education is important, Michel answered, “Orthodox education is important to make sure that students are not just learning their prescribed education, but also receiving a good quality Orthodox education from qualified instructors.” As St. John Chrysostom says, “When we teach our children to be good, to be gentle, to be forgiving, to be generous, to love their fellow men, to regard this present age as nothing, we instill virtue in their souls, and reveal the image of God within them. This, then, is our task: to educate both ourselves and our children in godliness: otherwise what answer will we have before Christ’s judgment-seat?” Michel has served for many years on the Church’s parish council and has been a leader for St. George’s Annual Middle Eastern Festival. With that experience, he is confident that he and the entire school board will do what needs to get done for the benefit of the students, the faculty and the community. As many of you know, Fr. Matthew is the new proistamenos of St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church (as of June 2017) and has graciously agreed to take Fr. Theodore’s place as the spiritual advisor of Agia Sophia Academy. Originally from Northern California, he is a graduate of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary, and has joined us after spending the last four years at another St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fr. Matthew is married to Presvytera Annie (his wife of 14 years) and they have six children: Dimas, Débora, Thomas, Peter, Nicholas and Joseph. Two of their sons currently attend ASA. We look forward to working with all our new Board members as we continue to grow & support our Pan-Orthodox school community!

School Blessing: On Friday September 8, 2017 we celebrated our first Divine Liturgy of the school year. After the Liturgy, Fr. Matthew blessed the school with the children following behind, singing joyfully. It was a beautiful start to our 2017-2018 school year. Thank you to everyone who participated in the liturgy and fellowship afterward. Clergy Visits: On Tuesday October 10, 2017, we had the great joy of having Fr. John Mancantelli (Church of the Annunciation) visit our school. He spent time in each of the classrooms talking about St. Luke the Evangelist with the students. On Friday October 13, 2017, we had a wonderful surprise visit from Fr. Vasili Hillhouse (Holy Transfiguration, AK)! He had enough time to attend our morning prayers and spend some time with our Upper Elementary class talking about the philioque. What a blessing it was to have him visit!

By Christina Blankenstein, ASA Development Director These three words are incorporated into our ASA logo and were brought back into the forefront of my mind by an experience I had over the summer. In early August, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the National Conference on Orthodox Christian Schools in Chicago. While at the conference, I attended seminars on fundraising, building a donor base, Orthodox Foundations, and issues facing Orthodox schools and administrators. These were all very informative and I learned a lot by engaging in discussions with other Orthodox schools. I decided I also wanted to attend a seminar on teaching and education in an Orthodox school. I went to a workshop titled “Mediating an Encounter with Beauty: A Fundamental Task of Orthodox Teachers.” I went in with no expectations, just to listen and learn. And I was confronted with those three words on our logo - Beauty, Goodness, and Truth. The workshop leader encouraged us as educators to take a “Philokalic” approach to learning (from the Philokalia) - love of the good/beautiful. The beauty of God draws us towards Him. It is a beauty that we long for – that our soul longs for (he referred to it as “therapy for our soul”). We long for this beauty that moves us from a disenchanted worldview to an enchanted worldview where we recognize and experience our world as beautiful. This beauty leads us to goodness which leads us to truth - the words in our logo. St. Nektarios discussed what is called wisdom from outside the door - finding the beauty, goodness, and truth in the things that are outside of the Church such as the ancient philosophers, art, literature, science, and math. Discovering the wisdom and beauty in all subject areas and the love of knowledge connects us to a greater reality. This takes us from teaching “faith class” during “faith time” to bringing the beauty, goodness, and truth of God into all of our classes. And we, as the teachers and parents, mediate this encounter with wisdom. As I walk the halls of our beloved Agia Sophia Academy, I overhear and see this mediation in action on a daily basis, and I pause and thank God that I have the opportunity to be a witness of this Beauty, Goodness, and Truth.

My years here were filled with fun and learning, and I couldn’t have asked for a better place or environment to learn all the things I did over the course of my times here. I think that this experience at ASA will help me in my future years in school and when I grow up. I have grown close to many people here, and I will be sad to leave such a good school. My thanks to all the teachers, my parents and the school board, for making this 7-year journey a possible and memorable one. ~ Elizabeth Law, 2017 ASA Graduate

A Big Fat Greek to Langdon Farms Golf Club, our sponsors & breweries, our Greek Open Committee (Chris Perlmutter, Steven Estes, Scott Taylor, Jon Corazza, Kevin Gilmore, Sarah Kondoleon Taylor, Euphrosyne McKenzie, and Christina Blankenstein), our volunteers, and to everyone who came out to our 22nd Annual Greek Open Golf Tournament and Dinner!

Wow, I can’t believe that time flies by so fast. It seems that just a year ago I was cheerfully yet cautiously approaching the school doors that I now know so well. As soon as I entered the Montessori room for the first time, I was immediately put under the spell of the class: the neatness, the activities, the other kids and the teachers. I instantly started making friends and developed a special relationship with the teachers. I remember how distressed I was on the last day of school that first year on the departure for summer vacation. “Mommy,” I wailed, “Who’s going to take care of the teachers?” And here I am, only a week more of school before I move on. ~ Maria Daniels, 2017 ASA Graduate I have so many amazing memories from ASA, and I would love to have more but unfortunately this is my last year here. Some of these memories are hatching chicks in Kindergarten, science this year (In Environment we watched our animals do things, helped them and watching them grow, in Magnetism and Electricity we created circuits, and in Astronomy we learned mindblowing facts), and playing with my friends every day. I am very sad to leave ASA and as I have already said I would love to have more memories so, I will try to make the most of this last week at this amazing school. ~ Petros Blankenstein, 2017 ASA Graduate

Mrs. Nicolette Hunt, Lower Elementary Teacher: We are thrilled to announce that Mrs. Nicolette (Dimond) Hunt, a long-time member of the Greek Orthodox community in Portland and an outstanding educator, has joined our teaching team at ASA. She is excited to be working with the K-2 age group in a classroom environment where she can integrate the Orthodox faith on a daily basis and encourage holistic growth in children. In addition to her B.A. in Early Childhood Education and PK-12 teaching certification, she holds an ESOL Bilingual Endorsement and has experience working in bilingual settings. Mrs. Bethany Greenleaf-Perez, Math Assistant Teacher: We are excited to announce Mrs. P (as the children call her) is teaching 2nd & 3rd grade math for ASA this year. She spent almost thirty years teaching in the private school sector at Pinecrest Schools in California. In December 2016, Bethany and her husband moved to Hillsboro, Oregon, to be closer to their first grandchild. Bethany understands the dynamics and expectations of private school, and she is excited to be a part of the ASA teaching team. We wish to extend a very warm welcome to both Mrs. Hunt & Mrs. P! * Full Bios & Photos available on our website at www.asapdx.org.

We thank everyone who generously gave in support of our school between June 1, 2016 and September 30, 2016. Glory to God for all things! $2,000 and Above Daniel and Mary Wright Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group >

$100 to $249 Ted and Janet Deming Alexey and Liudmila Klimkina Ustina Koshkaroff * George and Mary Gregores Farzin Turk Brenner Daniels John and Jennifer Davis Mamo Gebrehiwot and Bella Shiferaw Ryan Johnsen Brian Page

$1,000 to $1,999 NIKE Matching Grant Dr. John and Danielle Aspros > Anonymous Norman and Eleni Goldman > Elia and Kathryn Popovich * > $250 to $999 Don Ossey > Intel Matching Gifts to Education Prg. Meriwether Partners > Omega Industries > Veritas Wealth Management > Jon and Lisa Corazza Old Spaghetti Factory Charitable Trust (Dussin Family) > Kevin and Constanta Gilmore * Ziad and Evyenia Kaady Paul Wargnier

Up to $99 Alisa Gaylord Fr. David and Pda.Esther Lubliner Michelle Mewhinney-Angel Presv. Maria Hillhouse John Petrakis Patti Moller

In Kind Gifts Paul and Christina Blankenstein John and Jennifer Davis Fr. Theodore and Presv. Stacey Dorrance Thomaida Hudanish Ustina Koshkaroff * Langdon Farms Golf Club > Mark Lindgren Pelican Brewing Company pFriem Family Brewers George and Lisa Psihogios Shattered Oak Brewing Two Kilts Brewing Co. American Family Insurance (Kristine Patzke) > Peter and Katharine Drakatos

* ASA Parent/Board Members > Greek Open Sponsors

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve made every effort to ensure an accurate listing of gifts and donations. However, if your name has been omitted, misspelled or incorrectly listed, please accept our sincerest apology and contact the Development Director, Mrs. Christina Blankenstein at christina@asapdx.org or 503-641-4600.

Agia Sophia Academy is a 501(c)(3). Your gift is tax-deductible to the full extent provided by the law. Our federal tax id is 27-0089608. Donate online anytime at http://www.asapdx.org/support-asa/give-to-asa.

Sponsor a Child at Agia Sophia Academy Supporting Pan-Orthodox Christian Education in Portland Agia Sophia Academy, 14485 SW Walker Road, Beaverton OR 97006

This year we awarded $20,000 in tuition assistance to families that needed extra support. Glory to God! We were able to raise $15,000 at our Greek Open Golf Tournament! Wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you help support us in raising that final $5,000? Name: Address:

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