ASA Newsletter Spring 2017

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

Change Service Requested

Dear Friends of ASA, What a wonderful blessing this year has been for me and for our beautiful school community! When I reflect on the work we have accomplished to further our schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission of holistic and faith-centered education, I am filled with gratitude for the dedicated teachers, parents, and volunteers who have come together to make Orthodox education a possibility for so many children. I truly believe that the foundation we offer to our students paves the way for them to become seekers of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness in their lives and in the world around them.

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

Join Agia Sophia Academy for our 22nd annual

Greek Open Golf Tournament Fundraiser with Brewfest, Dinner & Auction

September 18th at Langdon Farms Golf Club

Throughout this year, we have focused on building a strong community and spreading awareness of Orthodox education. We have found new ways to connect families and parishes through activities such as summer family outings, post-liturgy fellowship at St. John, a new Cultural Heritage Night, and joint church & school charitable projects. Many of these are highlighted in more detail in this newsletter. Our goal is to serve the whole Orthodox community in Portland and to be a place where Orthodox children can grow in their faith and friendships with one another in addition to their academic achievements. On a personal note, many of you know that my husband and I will be welcoming our first child this coming July! Having worked with children for many years now and recognizing this as one of my natural loves, I look forward to experiencing the joys and challenges of parenthood first-hand. I will be continuing on as part-time principal next year with the additional administrative support of Mrs. Blankenstein, who will be moving into a larger Development Director position. I look forward to further developing the professional relationships I have established this year, as well as guiding the school through its future steps. Thank you all for your prayers and support this year. It is my honor to continue serving as principal at Agia Sophia Academy, and I look forward to the coming year!

With Joy and Gratitude,

Mrs. Ranae Rice, Principal $125 Golfer Registration *

Includes lunch, golf, brewfest & dinner. Dinner only @ $50 each. * $100 per player for the first 100 registered golfers!

Register online at:

www.greekopen.com

& for additional information

Agia Sophia Academy Newsletter, Spring 2017

1

Embracing Our Faith Community

Bridging the Generation Gap: Upper and Lower Elementary students joined the St. John Senior Group for lunch and storytelling. Partnering with Families: We enjoyed park play dates, a pumpkin patch outing, and end of year BBQ with ASA and St. John families! Food, fellowship, and fun!

“Teaching languages to elementary students at ASA is a tremendous challenge for both teacher and students. The students learn more than they bargained for: grammar, logical thinking and problem-solving, memorization and spelling, to name a few. We all rejoice in saying the prayers in Latin. I also make the connection with our Faith by having some Latin texts for the major feasts and for the children’s names’ days. We add the coloring and drawings to make it come alive. Another part is history, and where possible I put it in a Christian context. The students who graduated tell me how much easier their job is because of their Latin background: they whip out their Latin roots easily. It is amazing to see the progress on each level! ~ Magistra M. Downs, Latin Teacher “Teaching the Greek language, religion, culture, and history of Greece to the students of ASA is crucial to their learning. Not only do children of Greek heritage develop an appreciation for their lineage, but those who are not Greek learn respect for diversity. It has brought me much joy to see the younger children have fun learning through songs that have been passed down for generations as well as those that are more contemporary. Student knowledge increases in every succeeding elementary grade, as does increased conversational fluency. The sentence formation of Greek is applicable to several other languages that can be learned with more ease. I am truly very proud of all the accomplishments of our students.” ~ Kyria Maria, Greek Teacher

IOCC & #givingTuesday: As a school we collected enough items to make 60 health kits for IOCC! These will be distributed around the world. At the midpoint of the feast: Our School Feast Day is Mid-Pentecost, which fell on May 10 this year. Five clergy representing four jurisdictions served Liturgy! Thank you to Fr. Timothy Pavlatos, Fr. Alban West, Fr. Aleh Shulhin, Fr. John Mancantelli, and Fr. Ed. Hillhouse.

Thank you to the Mt. Hood Chapter of AHEPA for the grant to support our exceptional Latin and Greek Language Program workbooks, textbooks, and other supplemental materials. In April we hosted a thank-you coffee and tour of the school for the members of AHEPA and the Daughters of Penelope. Our students were most excited to practice their Greek language skills during this visit. Thank you to E. John and Cleo Rumpakis for donating funds to support our Greek teacher’s salary. This generous gift ensures the continuation of our Greek Language program for all of our students. We were also able to purchase supplemental research material for Kyria Maria, with a special focus on English words derived from the Greek Language. Thank you again! Thank you to Fr. Matthew Tate and the community at Annunciation OCA for hosting an ASA Sunday at the end of March.

Clergy Visits: A big thank you to the clergy that have visited our school and spent time teaching our students more about our faith!

Fellowship through Faith: this year we hosted coffee hours after our monthly all-school liturgies.

• Fr. John Mancantelli- September • Fr. Paul Paris- October • Fr. Alban West- December • Fr. Theodore Dorrance- March • Dn Cuthbert Downs- April

And Thank you to all of our volunteers, especially: • Bessie Lekas - leading our weekly 5th graders book group • Lisa Farris - every Tuesday, Lisa has “library time” with each class at ASA. • Mark Lindgren - anytime we need help moving things or fixing thinks, Mark is available. • Amanda Buffington - taught our children how to make prosfora and artoklassia for our school feast day! • Marina Ketrenos and Levi Knight - middle school volunteers in our Montessori classroom.

A special thank you to the Holy Trinity Endowment Fund for supporting hands-on, experiential learning through a Field Experiences grant!

* while the child is being tested.

Here are some highlights from this year’s different learning opportunities:

Reading

Na�onal Average

Our students and staff benefited from new, computer-based standardized testing this year called MAP (Measures of Academic Progress). MAP tests are unique in that they adapt to be appropriate for each child’s level of learning*. As a result, we can utilize the information from these tests not only to see how our students compare to the national norm, but also to set individualized growth goals for students. Students completed the testing three times during the year with specific tests given to each grade level. We are proud of our students’ high scores and continued academic growth!

School Events & Field Experiences

Math Language Usage Science 0

20

40

Upper Elementary (Grades 3-5) Lower Elementary (Grades 1-2) Montessori (Kinders)

60

80

Chemistry Cowabunga with OMSI: In May, OMSI came to ASA for an interactive presentation with our students. Everyone had a blast!

100

2017 Agia Sophia Academy Standardized Test Results (MAP - National Percentile Class Average)

Art Studio Field Trip: In May, we went on our annual Art Studio Field Trip. Our students are always excited to ride the school bus and spend a few hours utilizing different methods of art, such as clay, tracing, painting, and chalk drawing. An enjoyable day was had by all involved!

“The SMART boards have become a wonderful tool for teaching in various academic areas. With proper preparation by the teacher, time is better used, visual learners are strongly aided through the use of websites particular to a lesson or skill, and ready access to the web brings so much more into the classroom for skill areas as well as the solid subject areas of science and social studies.” ~ Fr. Ed Hillhouse, Upper Elementary Teacher “The butterfly project in class is an ongoing assignment for all of them. They keenly watch the changes happening, noting them and making their own booklets with names and pictures. In the end they name the butterflies and the whole school joins us in releasing them and wishing them the best! Science at this age is an extension of their everyday life and the world around them. Through work and play in Montessori, they discover and create with joy!” ~ Ms. Padma, Montessori Teacher “Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract. These are the building blocks of the Singapore Math Curriculum that is utilized at Agia Sophia Academy. From Kindergarten through 5th grade, the students encounter math in a meaningful way, through real world problem-solving and hands-on learning.” ~ Mrs. Blankenstein, 1st Grade Math Teacher

Cultural Heritage Night: Our families came together to share and learn about each other’s diverse cultural backgrounds. Food, artwork, cultural dancing, and more were enjoyed by all!

Career Day: Our Upper Elementary learned about skill development, career choices, educational paths, and much more from volunteers in our community with a wide variety of career backgrounds! A special thank you to Demetri & Evagelia Gatziolis, Supriya Moffitt, Elia Popovich, Christina Blankenstein, and Brent Braden. Coming up in 2017-18: We are in the planning stages of a field trip to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral and the Hellenic American Cultural Center and Museum for our Upper Elementary classroom.

Zoo Snooze: In June our Upper Elementary students spent the night at the Oregon Zoo. They engaged in unique, behind-the-scenes activities with science educators.

We thank you for your continued prayers and support of this important ministry of educating our children at Agia Sophia Academy. Donations recieved between 10/01/2016 - 05/31/2017: $10,000 + Charlie and Mary Ann Isaacson $3,000 - $9,999 Elia and Kathryn Popovich * E. John and Cleo Rumpakis Chris and Kristi Maletis Edward and Cynthia Maletis Demetrios and Evagelia Gatziolis * James and Kathleen Ketrenos Peter and Katharine Drakatos $1,000 - $2,999 Anonymous Andreas and Norma J. Pavlatos Eugene Gorbatov and Diana Didyk * Aleksandr and Olga Ivkin * Daniel and Mary Wright Michael and Kathryn Becker Wells Fargo Bank $500 - $999 Philip and Diane Sarikas Scott Taylor and Sophia Kondoleon * Michael Kounavis and Ioanna Mantaka Mark and Rimma Moseley Ray and Penny Holmgren Tony and Mary Charles Brent and Katherine Braden * Petros and Susan Bournelis Andrew Fraser and Maria Corvallis Scott and Laurel Soot Isidoros and Maria Garifalakis Joshua and Naomi Knight * Kathleen (Sandy) Johnson Mike and Eileen Kravetz Jim and Connie Contes N & F Group LLC Stephanie Whalen and Dr. Ben Braat $200 - $499 Ted and Janet Deming Kathryn Falkenstern George and Mary Gregores Steve and Susan Novak Zachary and Vasiliki Stoumbos Michael and Donna Chan Paul and Christina Blankenstein * Catalina Corvallis Chris and Krista Panoff Dave Wiltz and Kim Maher David and Liz McAtee * John and Catherine Lingas Joshua Husbands Mac and Cheri McDevitt Brandon and Erica Wilson Steve and Beth Smith Eli and Lia Chiprout Jerry and Christine Otto * George and Lisa Psihogios John and Jennifer Davis Martha Verlinich Mike and Penelope Teeny William and Meropi Courogen Alexey and Ludmilia Klimkin *

$100 - $199 Herman and Nikole Hartman * Fr. Edward and Kh. Judy Hillhouse * Irene Pavlatos * Kenneth Worstell and Alexandra Christopoulos * Nicholas and Mary Triantafillou Giving Assistant Argyro Apostolou Bessie Lekas Billy and Carri Benson Bobby and Maria Borisov * Chris Perlmutter Clifford and Theodora Argue Daughters of Penelope Dennis and Annie McGowan Dn. Igor & Nina Beskorovaynaya * Don and Karen West Fr. John and Mat. Clara Mancantelli Fr. Theodore and Presv. Stacey Dorrance Fr. Timothy and Presv. Victoria Pavlatos Kairi Isse Kenneth and Sonia Hughie * Kent and Sylvia Taylor Michael and MariLou Diamond James and Kathleen Ketrenos Michael and Jodi Hailey Nicholas and Maria Hafez Lucy Hill Shirley Wright Nathaniel and Kristina Lubliner Network for Good Nikos A. and Alexandra Andronikos Rayya Abukhader Stefanos and Mary Osborn Vertopoulos Tyler and Catherine Volm Ziad and Evyenia Kaady In Kind Donations Alexey and Ludmila Klimkina * Ted and Janet Deming Bobby and Maria Borisov * Brent and Katherine Braden * Dn. Igor and Nina Beskorovaynaya * Fr. Theodore and Presv. Stacey Dorrance Greg and Lois Russo Irene Pavlatos * James and Kathleen Ketrenos Kenneth Worstell and Alexandra Christopoulos * Kevin and Constanta Gilmore * Nikolay and Anastasia Dmitriev * Norman and Eleni Goldman Paul and Christina Blankenstein * Josh and Naomi Knight * Philip and Diane Sarikas Peter and Katharine Drakatos

Thank you to all those who donated in kind gifts to our Gala! * ASA parent, staff, or board member

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.

Up to $99 Fr Athanasius and Mat. Molly Shaw Presv. Effy Stephanopoulos Presv. Maria Hillhouse Ustina Koshkaroff * Ann Vanikiotis Fr. David and Pda. Esther Lubliner Fr. Juvenaly Repass Gerasimos and Theodora Tsirimiagos Michael and Cathleen Amen Michael and Elizabeth Thrift Aaron and Ranae Rice * Mark and Kathleen Powell * Matei and Magdalena Perussi * Nick and Linda Karafotias Nikolay and Anastasia Dmitriev * Ronnie and Elaine Wade Rosemary Pappas Thomas and Nancy Doulis Perry and Jane Carandanis Aaron and Maria Armstrong John and Elizabeth Hudanish John Petrakis Angelos and Helen Lampus Carolee Peterson Elizabeth Franklin Maria Boyer Mary Christopoulos * Elisha Lubliner Thomas and Sharon Lilles Tyler and Anastasia Geving * Fr. Nicholas and Mat. Barbara Letten Ilija and Snjezana Gavric James and Svetlana Domico * Katherine Bournelis Kevin and Constanta Gilmore * Linda Mankie Thomaida Hudanish Sophia Kremidas Euphrosyne McKenzie * Seraphim and Rachel Daniels * Sophia Kriara Yianni and Shay Bournelis Ioanna Athanasakis * Foundations Dussin Family Charitable Trust Frank and Margaret Bitar Foundation Grants Holy Trinity GOC Endowment Fund Mt. Hood Chapter of AHEPA Holy Trinity GOC Festival Fund Employee Matching Gifts Programs U.S. Bank Intel Matching Gifts to Education Program Nike Matching Grant

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. Contact the Development Assistant, Mrs. Christina Blankenstein at christina@asapdx.org or 503-641-4600.