Agia Sophia Academy 14485 SW Walker Road Beaverton, OR 97006 503.641.4600 www.asapdx.org
June 6, 2016
Address Service Requested Dear ASA Community, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!
Instead of my normal correspondence filled with news, updates, and plans for the fall, I would like to take a few moments to reflect with you, our school family. After eight wonderful years of serving as ASA’s principal, I am stepping down to relocate across the country to Atlanta, Georgia. My years at ASA have been full of blessings and growth. When I began at ASA ten years ago it was as a teacher for the 2nd- 4th grade classroom. (It is scary to realize that many of my first students are now in college and fully grown-up!) The following year, I opened the Montessori classroom in our new space at St. John the Baptist. Two weeks before school began, we pulled up carpet to lay laminate wood flooring, volunteers made shelves which we painted, and I ordered materials. With the first round of Montessori materials on back-order, we opened class with twelve students. It was a whirlwind! The next summer, I stepped into my role as principal, while continuing to teach in the Montessori classroom, which had now doubled in size. I have loved my time at ASA! I gained a great deal of experience in educational leadership and developed creative ways to offer holistic professional development opportunities for all staff. Agia Sophia has grown and matured as a school through two rounds of accreditation, new curriculum including a formal PE program, impressive grants that led to SMARTboards and other needed materials, and so much more. However, the heart of the school lies with our beloved teachers, staff, students, parents, and community. All of you make ASA such a special place and blessing to those who experience it. While I’ll be miles away, the hundreds of children I have personally taught, the families with whom I have built relationships, the talented and loving staff I had the pleasure to work with, and the dedicated volunteer board supporting it all will never be far from my heart. I am excited to see what God, through new leadership, has in store for ASA. Our new principal, Mrs. Ranae Rice will take the strong foundation her two previous years of teaching at ASA have given her and use it to continue to foster connections within our community. She is deeply invested in the mission and vision of ASA and will be sharing ideas for maintaining our strong academic program as well as building for our future. Thank you all so much for your love and support over the years! It has been a true joy to be part of this school. Please keep us all in your prayers, and continue to support Orthodox education for the next generation! Love in Christ,
Elisha Lubliner, M. Ed/Educational Leadership
Agia Sophia Academy Newsletter, Spring 2016
1
ASA Announces New Board Member, Christine Otto, Gaston School District 7-12 Principal Q. What did you see about ASA during the accreditation review that inspired you to accept the invitation to join the ASA Board? I was a member of St. John the Baptist parish when ASA first opened and I remember hearing about its opening but I moved out of the area around that same time and didn’t really follow its growth. When I moved back to the Portland area in July 2014, I was excited to hear that ASA was thriving but didn’t know much about it. When I was approached by AdvancED about being on ASA’s accreditation panel this past winter, I jumped at the opportunity. I was genuinely curious about how ASA’s mission was being fulfilled; plus I felt as a cradle Orthodox it was important to be part of the process since I had more background on the foundation than someone not Orthodox. I have been on other accreditation panels but I wasn’t completely sure what to expect from my visit to ASA. What became clear while visiting the school, meeting parents, staff and chatting with students, was how impactful on a spiritual, academic and emotional level the education at ASA is. I have been in a lot of schools and never have I seen such devotion to the whole child on the level that I saw at ASA. It was wholly heartwarming and uplifting. After the visit, I went home and shared my experience with my husband and with several Orthodox family members. I realized as I described what I saw and felt, that it was my duty as both an educator and an Orthodox Christian to do whatever I could to help sustain and support ASA. Over the next week or two I prayed and reflected on how best I could do that. The answer was to accept the invitation to join the ASA Board. Truly I feel blessed to be able to be part of this mission. Q. Tell us a bit about your educational philosophy and how that is aligned with the ASA mission. On a professional level, I believe that school isn’t just a place where students fill seats; it should be a place where each child can grow as a whole person from experiences and opportunities. As servant organizations, schools should maintain strong relationships with the community so that the school meets the needs of that community while providing exemplary education that balances academics, exploration, arts, music, athletics, and social-emotional growth. On a personal level, I also believe that we are all spiritual beings who have spiritual needs. The role of a public school cannot always support a focus on those spiritual needs but a school like ASA can. Where better for a child to grow than in a place that allows him/her to grow in all realms in a safe and supportive environment? ASA is where I would want my child to go.
AdvancED accreditation team found only one “required action” for ASA: increase technology integration for our elementary students. Therefore, we have formulated a technology plan which we believe is necessary to continue ASA’s high quality education in the future. Our proposed plan has a two-fold purpose. With new laptops on a rolling cart and accompanying software, our elementary students will have an opportunity for integrating digital learning. We are also invested in offering our students up-to-date assessments which offer valuable data on student learning. These types of assessments are only available online and necessitate computers. However, schoolwide technology is an expensive endeavor! Glory to God! Through a generous anonymous friend of the school, we have raised almost 90% of the needed funding for this new addition to ASA’s excellent academic program. If you would like to help us meet this goal, please visit www.asapdx.org or contact the office at ASA to get involved.
Agia Sophia Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Private School. Your gift is tax-deductible to the full extent provided by the law. Our federal tax identification number is 27-0089608.
Q. Interests? Hobbies?
Congratulations to Pavlos Blankenstein, class of 2014, for earning the Being Respectful award! This is a quarterly award given to students who consistently show respect and responsibility towards schoolwork, students, and staff.
My husband, Jerry and I love to travel and explore. Some of our favorite destinations have included Greece, Czech Republic, Cambodia, Vietnam and Portugal. We are gearing up for a trip to Poland and the Ukraine later this summer.
Pavlos is a seventh grader at Rachel Carson Environmental Middle School. What a great way to continue living the mission of ASA!
For the last seven years, I have been actively involved with the Girls on the Run organization as a coach, running buddy and volunteer. We have a cat, Kitters, and a dog, Günter.
*If you are an ASA alum with news to share, please contact the ASA office.
Our Parent Teacher Partnership enjoyed a great year together of fund and friend-raising. Over $8,000 was raised by our families. In addition to funding various events and Teacher Appreciation Week, we were able to support Tuition Assistance ($4,000) and Technology ($1,500). Our Christmas Bake Sale raised $800 for our music program.
ASA completed its accreditation renewal with AdvancED in early March. The school has been accredited, originally under Northwest Accreditation Commission, since 2007. Accreditation renewal is a year-long process, replete with in-depth selfstudy, stakeholder surveys, data analysis, and evidence collection that culminates in a full-day site visit from a team of highly qualified educators sent by AdvancED.
Next year we are streamlining the parent fundraising program by only selling Scrip rather than having the additional fall and spring fundraisers. To date, Scrip alone has raised $3971.66 during 2015-16.
The scores for the various standards (coming from the surveys, our internal self-assessment, classroom observations, student test scores, evidence files, and more,) are combined into what is called the Index of Educational Quality (IEQ). The highlights of ASA’s final report are these:
We look forward to another great year ahead!
• The Accreditation Team from AdvancED were greatly impressed by ASA. Where most schools have a few Powerful Practices highlighting strong performance on the standards, ASA received 13. • Additionally, all schools generally receive 2-3 required actions and 2-3 recommended actions, ASA was only given 1 of each, which the Lead Evaluator mentioned is fairly unprecedented. • The average of the three IEQs for all accredited schools in the state of Oregon last year was 262. In the words of the State Director, ASA “blew that out of the water,” with our average IEQ of 342! The highest score for ASA’s three IEQ components was Teaching and Learning Impact. Many thanks to our ASA Volunteers, who’ve gone above and beyond. • Thank you, Lisa Ferris for your wonderful Tuesday morning library time and all of your book donations. The kids love you! • Thank you, Marina Ketrenos, for your weekly time in the Montessori classroom. You are a joyful helper!
• One of our AdvancED team members was so touched by the mission and vision of ASA, she volunteered to join our board of directors and support ASA’s future. The overall take-away is that ASA remains fully accredited and is performing well above average in all the standards for accreditation! Congratulations to everyone involved, especially to our wonderful staff that focuses on continuous improvement as professionals, in and out of the classroom each and every year!
• Thank you, Mr. Gatziolis and Mr. Gilmore, for replacing the sensorial garden logs & providing the wonderful outdoor seating area for us! • Thank you, Raeanne Lewman, for the relaxing massages given during Teacher Appreciation Week. • Thank you, PTP Board Members, for dedicated service & community leadership. • Thank you, Billy Benson, for keeping a close eye on the building & helping the teachers with projects. • Thank you, Paraskevi Whitton, for providing a wonderful tea party for the staff. • Thank you, ASA School Board, who puts in countless volunteer hours for our school program • Thank you, Fr. Theodore, our spiritual advisor for the school, who constantly directs our aim toward Christ. Hats off to all of our amazing volunteers and parents who helped with volunteering this year.
Magistra Martine offers her congratulations to the classes of Latina Christiana I and II who completed their entire program. A celebration was held to honor their hard work. Kyria Maria reports, “I am so pleased with the significant progression of conversational vocabulary, phrases, discussion response and dialogue. The children learn so much in a year! Even the youngest students recite morning prayers in Greek while the older children serve as great role models. I look forward to starting my fourth year in the fall, and continuing to build ASA’s Greek language program.
CLERGY VISITS: Fr. Theodore of St. John the Baptist Greek Church Fr. Paul of Holy Trinity Greek Cathedral
SERVICE LEARNING PROJECTS: ~November 2015: Giving Tuesday visit to a TVF&R Fire Station. ASA students presented art work to show their appreciation for their service. ~December 2015: Christmas Caroling at Brookdale Care on Walker Road in Beaverton.
Fr. Nicholas Letten & Fr. John Mancantelli of Church of the Annunciation Fr. Alban West of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church Fr. Gabriel Agoston of St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church
~May 2016: St. John the Baptist Senior group enjoyed lunch time with ASA’s Primary Grades to share life!
CAREER DAY: AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS:
What a fun day we had when several adults came to school to share their interesting careers.
Bricks4Kidz Lego Club
~ The children loved learning about all kinds of work, from physical training and physical therapy, to physics and machinery.
NWCT Drama Club “Take a Bite Out of Science” Mad Science Club Scrap Art Club TennisKids Tennis Club “Junior Space Cadets” Mad Science Club
~ Many thanks to Ted Moffitt, Kevin Gilmore, Olga Ivkin, Billy Benson, and Katherine Braden for volunteering their time & experience.
08/01/2015 - 05/31/2016 We thank God for your many acts of kindness to our school, through your prayers, your volunteering, your love, and your donation support. We thank each of you.
$10,000 +
Chris and Kristi Maletis, III Charlie and Mary Ann Isaacson
$100 - $199 Up to $99 (cont.)
Eleni Sofos Maria Boyer Brandon and Erica Wilson Kuljanin Family Paul and Christina Blankenstein Janice Anten $1,000 - $9,999 Petros and Susan Bournelis Petar and Drage Bastrica David and Jean Shaffer Louise Carman Heather Grosz James and Kathleen Ketrenos Creative Counsel Katherine Karafotias Dennis and Gundel Hedden Sue George William and Lisa Lilles Wells Fargo Bank Yuriy and Mariya Kamsha Paul and Pearl Pavlos Elia and Kathryn Popovich Nickolas and Linda Karafotias Milenko and Jelica Danilovic Michael and Kathryn Becker Art and Kay Mehas Thomaida Hudanish Holy Trinity Greek Festival Patti Moller St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Jerry and Christine Otto $500 - $999 Dr. Gregory and Stellee Papadeas Philip and Diane Sarikas Matei and Magdalena Perussi Foundations Anonymous Kalin and Ilyana Stoeva FM Global Foundation ($3000) John and Jennifer Davis Antony and Anna Stratis Dussin Family Charitable Trust Arthur and Janet Deming Stan Tsoumas ($1000) Isidoros and Maria Garifalakis Andreas and Norma J. Pavlatos Up to $99 Frank and Margaret Bitar Foundation ($500) St. John the Baptist Greek Pres. Maria Hillhouse Orthodox Argyro Apostolou Matching Gifts Church Benevolent Fund Thomas and Catherine Lekas Elisha Lubliner Intel Education Program ($6790) $200 - $499 John and Janet Sallak Nike Matching Grant ($3015) Kathryn Falkenstern Michael and Cathleen Amen Zachary and Vasiliki Stoumbos Thomas and Nancy Doulis Grants Bessie Lekas Elizabeth Franklin Anonymous Dianna George Fr. Elias Stephanopoulos Eileen Chios Joseph and Dusanka Lubliner Memorial Fund ($734) Constantin and Natalia Ionescu Michelle Mewhinney-Angel Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Chris and Krista Panoff Mary Speros Cathedral Endowment Fund Michael and Donna Chan Cindy Trumpower ($5,000) Fr. Theodore and Pres. Stacey Constantine and Adrienne Dorrance Trumpower We’ve made every effort to ensure an John and Catherine Lingas Jane and Perry Carandanis accurate listing of gifts and donations. If your name has been omitted, misspelled or incorrectly Fr. and Mat. John Mancantelli John and Elizabeth Hudanish listed, please accept our sincerest apology and St. John the Forerunner Monastery Reg Leslie contact Development Assistant, Christina Blankenstein at christina@asapdx.org. Angie Anast
CLERGY VISITS: Fr. Theodore of St. John the Baptist Greek Church Fr. Paul of Holy Trinity Greek Cathedral
SERVICE LEARNING PROJECTS: ~November 2015: Giving Tuesday visit to a TVF&R Fire Station. ASA students presented art work to show their appreciation for their service. ~December 2015: Christmas Caroling at Brookdale Care on Walker Road in Beaverton.
Fr. Nicholas Letten & Fr. John Mancantelli of Church of the Annunciation Fr. Alban West of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church Fr. Gabriel Agoston of St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church
~May 2016: St. John the Baptist Senior group enjoyed lunch time with ASA’s Primary Grades to share life!
CAREER DAY: AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS:
What a fun day we had when several adults came to school to share their interesting careers.
Bricks4Kidz Lego Club
~ The children loved learning about all kinds of work, from physical training and physical therapy, to physics and machinery.
NWCT Drama Club “Take a Bite Out of Science” Mad Science Club Scrap Art Club TennisKids Tennis Club “Junior Space Cadets” Mad Science Club
~ Many thanks to Ted Moffitt, Kevin Gilmore, Olga Ivkin, Billy Benson, and Katherine Braden for volunteering their time & experience.
08/01/2015 - 05/31/2016 We thank God for your many acts of kindness to our school, through your prayers, your volunteering, your love, and your donation support. We thank each of you.
$10,000 +
Chris and Kristi Maletis, III Charlie and Mary Ann Isaacson
$100 - $199 Up to $99 (cont.)
Eleni Sofos Maria Boyer Brandon and Erica Wilson Kuljanin Family Paul and Christina Blankenstein Janice Anten $1,000 - $9,999 Petros and Susan Bournelis Petar and Drage Bastrica David and Jean Shaffer Louise Carman Heather Grosz James and Kathleen Ketrenos Creative Counsel Katherine Karafotias Dennis and Gundel Hedden Sue George William and Lisa Lilles Wells Fargo Bank Yuriy and Mariya Kamsha Paul and Pearl Pavlos Elia and Kathryn Popovich Nickolas and Linda Karafotias Milenko and Jelica Danilovic Michael and Kathryn Becker Art and Kay Mehas Thomaida Hudanish Holy Trinity Greek Festival Patti Moller St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Jerry and Christine Otto $500 - $999 Dr. Gregory and Stellee Papadeas Philip and Diane Sarikas Matei and Magdalena Perussi Foundations Anonymous Kalin and Ilyana Stoeva FM Global Foundation ($3000) John and Jennifer Davis Antony and Anna Stratis Dussin Family Charitable Trust Arthur and Janet Deming Stan Tsoumas ($1000) Isidoros and Maria Garifalakis Andreas and Norma J. Pavlatos Up to $99 Frank and Margaret Bitar Foundation ($500) St. John the Baptist Greek Pres. Maria Hillhouse Orthodox Argyro Apostolou Matching Gifts Church Benevolent Fund Thomas and Catherine Lekas Elisha Lubliner Intel Education Program ($6790) $200 - $499 John and Janet Sallak Nike Matching Grant ($3015) Kathryn Falkenstern Michael and Cathleen Amen Zachary and Vasiliki Stoumbos Thomas and Nancy Doulis Grants Bessie Lekas Elizabeth Franklin Anonymous Dianna George Fr. Elias Stephanopoulos Eileen Chios Joseph and Dusanka Lubliner Memorial Fund ($734) Constantin and Natalia Ionescu Michelle Mewhinney-Angel Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Chris and Krista Panoff Mary Speros Cathedral Endowment Fund Michael and Donna Chan Cindy Trumpower ($5,000) Fr. Theodore and Pres. Stacey Constantine and Adrienne Dorrance Trumpower We’ve made every effort to ensure an John and Catherine Lingas Jane and Perry Carandanis accurate listing of gifts and donations. If your name has been omitted, misspelled or incorrectly Fr. and Mat. John Mancantelli John and Elizabeth Hudanish listed, please accept our sincerest apology and St. John the Forerunner Monastery Reg Leslie contact Development Assistant, Christina Blankenstein at christina@asapdx.org. Angie Anast
Our Parent Teacher Partnership enjoyed a great year together of fund and friend-raising. Over $8,000 was raised by our families. In addition to funding various events and Teacher Appreciation Week, we were able to support Tuition Assistance ($4,000) and Technology ($1,500). Our Christmas Bake Sale raised $800 for our music program.
ASA completed its accreditation renewal with AdvancED in early March. The school has been accredited, originally under Northwest Accreditation Commission, since 2007. Accreditation renewal is a year-long process, replete with in-depth selfstudy, stakeholder surveys, data analysis, and evidence collection that culminates in a full-day site visit from a team of highly qualified educators sent by AdvancED.
Next year we are streamlining the parent fundraising program by only selling Scrip rather than having the additional fall and spring fundraisers. To date, Scrip alone has raised $3971.66 during 2015-16.
The scores for the various standards (coming from the surveys, our internal self-assessment, classroom observations, student test scores, evidence files, and more,) are combined into what is called the Index of Educational Quality (IEQ). The highlights of ASA’s final report are these:
We look forward to another great year ahead!
• The Accreditation Team from AdvancED were greatly impressed by ASA. Where most schools have a few Powerful Practices highlighting strong performance on the standards, ASA received 13. • Additionally, all schools generally receive 2-3 required actions and 2-3 recommended actions, ASA was only given 1 of each, which the Lead Evaluator mentioned is fairly unprecedented. • The average of the three IEQs for all accredited schools in the state of Oregon last year was 262. In the words of the State Director, ASA “blew that out of the water,” with our average IEQ of 342! The highest score for ASA’s three IEQ components was Teaching and Learning Impact. Many thanks to our ASA Volunteers, who’ve gone above and beyond. • Thank you, Lisa Ferris for your wonderful Tuesday morning library time and all of your book donations. The kids love you! • Thank you, Marina Ketrenos, for your weekly time in the Montessori classroom. You are a joyful helper!
• One of our AdvancED team members was so touched by the mission and vision of ASA, she volunteered to join our board of directors and support ASA’s future. The overall take-away is that ASA remains fully accredited and is performing well above average in all the standards for accreditation! Congratulations to everyone involved, especially to our wonderful staff that focuses on continuous improvement as professionals, in and out of the classroom each and every year!
• Thank you, Mr. Gatziolis and Mr. Gilmore, for replacing the sensorial garden logs & providing the wonderful outdoor seating area for us! • Thank you, Raeanne Lewman, for the relaxing massages given during Teacher Appreciation Week. • Thank you, PTP Board Members, for dedicated service & community leadership. • Thank you, Billy Benson, for keeping a close eye on the building & helping the teachers with projects. • Thank you, Paraskevi Whitton, for providing a wonderful tea party for the staff. • Thank you, ASA School Board, who puts in countless volunteer hours for our school program • Thank you, Fr. Theodore, our spiritual advisor for the school, who constantly directs our aim toward Christ. Hats off to all of our amazing volunteers and parents who helped with volunteering this year.
Magistra Martine offers her congratulations to the classes of Latina Christiana I and II who completed their entire program. A celebration was held to honor their hard work. Kyria Maria reports, “I am so pleased with the significant progression of conversational vocabulary, phrases, discussion response and dialogue. The children learn so much in a year! Even the youngest students recite morning prayers in Greek while the older children serve as great role models. I look forward to starting my fourth year in the fall, and continuing to build ASA’s Greek language program.
ASA Announces New Board Member, Christine Otto, Gaston School District 7-12 Principal Q. What did you see about ASA during the accreditation review that inspired you to accept the invitation to join the ASA Board? I was a member of St. John the Baptist parish when ASA first opened and I remember hearing about its opening but I moved out of the area around that same time and didn’t really follow its growth. When I moved back to the Portland area in July 2014, I was excited to hear that ASA was thriving but didn’t know much about it. When I was approached by AdvancED about being on ASA’s accreditation panel this past winter, I jumped at the opportunity. I was genuinely curious about how ASA’s mission was being fulfilled; plus I felt as a cradle Orthodox it was important to be part of the process since I had more background on the foundation than someone not Orthodox. I have been on other accreditation panels but I wasn’t completely sure what to expect from my visit to ASA. What became clear while visiting the school, meeting parents, staff and chatting with students, was how impactful on a spiritual, academic and emotional level the education at ASA is. I have been in a lot of schools and never have I seen such devotion to the whole child on the level that I saw at ASA. It was wholly heartwarming and uplifting. After the visit, I went home and shared my experience with my husband and with several Orthodox family members. I realized as I described what I saw and felt, that it was my duty as both an educator and an Orthodox Christian to do whatever I could to help sustain and support ASA. Over the next week or two I prayed and reflected on how best I could do that. The answer was to accept the invitation to join the ASA Board. Truly I feel blessed to be able to be part of this mission. Q. Tell us a bit about your educational philosophy and how that is aligned with the ASA mission. On a professional level, I believe that school isn’t just a place where students fill seats; it should be a place where each child can grow as a whole person from experiences and opportunities. As servant organizations, schools should maintain strong relationships with the community so that the school meets the needs of that community while providing exemplary education that balances academics, exploration, arts, music, athletics, and social-emotional growth. On a personal level, I also believe that we are all spiritual beings who have spiritual needs. The role of a public school cannot always support a focus on those spiritual needs but a school like ASA can. Where better for a child to grow than in a place that allows him/her to grow in all realms in a safe and supportive environment? ASA is where I would want my child to go.
AdvancED accreditation team found only one “required action” for ASA: increase technology integration for our elementary students. Therefore, we have formulated a technology plan which we believe is necessary to continue ASA’s high quality education in the future. Our proposed plan has a two-fold purpose. With new laptops on a rolling cart and accompanying software, our elementary students will have an opportunity for integrating digital learning. We are also invested in offering our students up-to-date assessments which offer valuable data on student learning. These types of assessments are only available online and necessitate computers. However, schoolwide technology is an expensive endeavor! Glory to God! Through a generous anonymous friend of the school, we have raised almost 90% of the needed funding for this new addition to ASA’s excellent academic program. If you would like to help us meet this goal, please visit www.asapdx.org or contact the office at ASA to get involved.
Agia Sophia Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Private School. Your gift is tax-deductible to the full extent provided by the law. Our federal tax identification number is 27-0089608.
Q. Interests? Hobbies?
Congratulations to Pavlos Blankenstein, class of 2014, for earning the Being Respectful award! This is a quarterly award given to students who consistently show respect and responsibility towards schoolwork, students, and staff.
My husband, Jerry and I love to travel and explore. Some of our favorite destinations have included Greece, Czech Republic, Cambodia, Vietnam and Portugal. We are gearing up for a trip to Poland and the Ukraine later this summer.
Pavlos is a seventh grader at Rachel Carson Environmental Middle School. What a great way to continue living the mission of ASA!
For the last seven years, I have been actively involved with the Girls on the Run organization as a coach, running buddy and volunteer. We have a cat, Kitters, and a dog, Günter.
*If you are an ASA alum with news to share, please contact the ASA office.
Agia Sophia Academy 14485 SW Walker Road Beaverton, OR 97006 503.641.4600 www.asapdx.org
June 6, 2016
Address Service Requested Dear ASA Community, Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!
Instead of my normal correspondence filled with news, updates, and plans for the fall, I would like to take a few moments to reflect with you, our school family. After eight wonderful years of serving as ASA’s principal, I am stepping down to relocate across the country to Atlanta, Georgia. My years at ASA have been full of blessings and growth. When I began at ASA ten years ago it was as a teacher for the 2nd- 4th grade classroom. (It is scary to realize that many of my first students are now in college and fully grown-up!) The following year, I opened the Montessori classroom in our new space at St. John the Baptist. Two weeks before school began, we pulled up carpet to lay laminate wood flooring, volunteers made shelves which we painted, and I ordered materials. With the first round of Montessori materials on back-order, we opened class with twelve students. It was a whirlwind! The next summer, I stepped into my role as principal, while continuing to teach in the Montessori classroom, which had now doubled in size. I have loved my time at ASA! I gained a great deal of experience in educational leadership and developed creative ways to offer holistic professional development opportunities for all staff. Agia Sophia has grown and matured as a school through two rounds of accreditation, new curriculum including a formal PE program, impressive grants that led to SMARTboards and other needed materials, and so much more. However, the heart of the school lies with our beloved teachers, staff, students, parents, and community. All of you make ASA such a special place and blessing to those who experience it. While I’ll be miles away, the hundreds of children I have personally taught, the families with whom I have built relationships, the talented and loving staff I had the pleasure to work with, and the dedicated volunteer board supporting it all will never be far from my heart. I am excited to see what God, through new leadership, has in store for ASA. Our new principal, Mrs. Ranae Rice will take the strong foundation her two previous years of teaching at ASA have given her and use it to continue to foster connections within our community. She is deeply invested in the mission and vision of ASA and will be sharing ideas for maintaining our strong academic program as well as building for our future. Thank you all so much for your love and support over the years! It has been a true joy to be part of this school. Please keep us all in your prayers, and continue to support Orthodox education for the next generation! Love in Christ,
Elisha Lubliner, M. Ed/Educational Leadership
Agia Sophia Academy Newsletter, Spring 2016
1