Appreciating Culture 2011

Greek

Orthodox

Archdiocese

ST SPYRIDON COLLEGE

4th

THE APPRECIATING CULTURE LECTURE Held in

SPORTS & PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE (SPACe) on 18th October 2011

“The Power of Music in Education” By

The Hon. Peter Garrett MP Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth

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CONTENTS

PROGRAMME INTRODUCTION TO THE LECTURES Mrs A. Katsogiannis, Principal Senior School

INTRODUCTION TO THE SPEAKER Mrs E. Stefanou-Haag, Head of College

LECTURE “The Power of Music in Education” The Hon. Peter Garrett MP, Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth.

Acknowledgements

Photo Gallery

Guest List

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PROGRAMME

APPRECIATING CULTURE LECTURE 2011 Sports & Performing Arts Centre (SPACe) Senior School Campus

7.00pm

Registration

7.15pm

Welcome & Introduction to Art Exhibition: Mrs. A. Katsogiannis, Principal Senior School

7.35pm

Introduction to Lecture & Speaker: Mrs. E. Stefanou-Haag, Head of College

7.40pm

Lecture: The Hon. Peter Garrett MP – “The Power of Music in Education”.

8.15pm

Vote of Thanks: His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis

8.25pm

Presentation of Gift to Speaker: Mr James Phillips, Chairman Board of Governors Presentation of Gifts to Mr Wennersten and Ms Mariclaire Pringle: Mr Elia Economou, Parish President

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LECTURES

Mrs Katsogiannis MC Welcome and acknowledgements On behalf of Mrs. Stefanou, Head of St Spyridon College, I welcome you to the fourth in a whole series of lectures under the title Appreciating Culture.

I would like to acknowledge the presence of the following guests: His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis, representing His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos, Primate of the Greek

Mr P.G. Varughese, Chairman, World Malayalee Council, Australia and The Far East Mrs Elsie Tsangaris, President St Spyridon Ladies Auxiliary and other members Ms Anna Stamoulis, President Parents and Friends Association and other members

Orthodox Church in Australia

Mr Anthony Tsoutsa, All Saints Grammar, Principal

The Hon. Peter Garrett MP, Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth

Mr Con Pavlou, Relationship Manager, Bank of Cyprus, Maroubra

Very Reverend Father Steven Scoutas

Mrs Charoulla Themistocleous, Representing the Board of Directors All Saints Grammar

Father Sotiri Drapaniotis, Father Constantine Varipatis and Presvitera, Father Peter Mavrommatis The Hon Vasilios Tolios Consul General for Greece and Mrs Tolios Mrs Jasmina Pekmezovic, Acting Consul General, Consulate of Serbia and Montenegro, & Mr Domenicelli Mr Elia Economou, President of St Spyridon Parish and Ms Dimitra Liverys Mr James Phillips, Chairman of the Board of Governors The Hon. Michael Daley, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Shadow Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Finance and Services, Member for Maroubra Councillor George Glinatsis, Deputy Mayor, City of Botany Bay

Staff, parents, alumni- students, current students We have combined the Lecture with the Arts Exhibition so that our friends can see a snapshot of the area of the curriculum that cultivates creativity and imagination. We congratulate the curators of this year’s exhibition Mr Peter Wennersten of Icon Innovations, and Ms Mariclaire Pringle our Visual Arts Specialist, on an outstanding event. We have artwork from our students from Years 7, 9, 10 and 11. We are also pleased to welcome three visiting artists to this year’s exhibition.

Yioryios Papayioryiou HSC 2010. A past student of the College currently studying at the Australian National University School of Art, Canberra where he is majoring in painting. In 2010 while studying for his HSC, Yioryios had work chosen for exhibition at the North Sydney Art Prize and the Kirribilli Art Show where he won the Youth prize, from which time he has had commissions. In Canberra Yioryios has been contributing to group exhibitions and was recently the subject of an article in ANU’s newspaper Woroni.

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Willi Michalski – Willi Michalski’s career as a potter has been highlighted by many exhibitions, including one-man solo shows. His works are represented in public collections in Australia. Willi has taught classes for the past thirty years and runs workshops specialising in wheel throwing and sculpturing techniques.

Dr Thomas Savoulis – a long time member of the Parish and Board of Governors. A physician with a love of the creative arts. He has displayed his art work at previous exhibitions as well as in Rhodes Greece.

Despina Carpis Year 11 student – Despina will be completing her HSC in 2012. She was chosen to attend the prestigious National Arts School Intensive Studio Practice Course in the faculty of Ceramics. A privilege for any student. A photo of Despina’s work in progress was the feature of the official invitation for the graduating exhibition.

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SPEAKER

The aim of the Appreciating Culture Lectures is to establish St Spyridon College as a centre of excellence-lifelong learning and intellectual endeavour, not only for its teachers and students but for the community at large. The first was held in 2003, to celebrate the school’s 21st birthday.

The first speaker, was the late Gavin Brown, then the ViceChancellor and Principal of Sydney University. He proposed that Universities should be places of Light, Liberty and Learning rather than places for buying credentials for coursework completed. We too, at St Spyridon, have the ambition to go beyond the transactional view of education, and to develop the whole person—mind, body and soul.

In 2008, the then Attorney General NSW, John Hatzistergos spoke to us on the importance of the Eureka Stockade, as a force of impetus for the development of the Australian Constitution.

In 2005, His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia defined for us, what were the “Priorities in True Culture”.

He said that true culture is predicated upon freedom, health, property, education and interpersonal relations-the most important of these being freedom. If freedom and social justice are fundamental to the development of true culture, I can think of no one better to edify us in “appreciating culture” than tonight’s Speaker, the Honourable Peter Garrett, Minister for School Education, Early Childhood & Youth.

Peter was born in Wahroonga, NSW and attended Barker College. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from ANU and a degree in Laws from the University of New South Wales.

Peter was elected to the House of Representatives for Kingsford Smith in 2004 and 2007. Prior to this he held Ministerial appointments as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, and Minister for the Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts.

Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Heritage and the Arts.

Peter is a man of principle and compassion. He is a relentless champion for the truth, no matter how unpalatable it may be. He has been a powerful champion for the disadvantaged and dispossessed, for social justice and the care of our beleaguered planet.

Of course we all know him as the lead singer in the Australian band Midnight Oil. Their thirteen-album career culminated in the ARIA lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.

Through their music and Peter’s distinctive voice and persona, they reshaped Australia’s values and our nation’s identity.

Peter was President of the Australian Conservation Foundation serving two terms. He received the Australian Humanitarian Foundation Award in 2000. In 2003 he received the Order of Australia for his contribution to environment and the music industry. In 2009, Peter was awarded the prestigious French Government Officer of the Order of the Arts and Letters. He has been acknowledged as a leading green thinker by the Green Building Council of Australia. In 2010, the World Wildlife Fund Australia and International, presented Peter with their Leader for a Living Planet Award.

Tonight Peter Garrett will speak to us about the “Power of Music in Education”.

Thank you Minister.

Mrs E. Stefanou-Haag Head of College

With Labor in opposition, he was Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Reconciliation and the Arts, and Shadow

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INTRODUCTION TO THE SPEAKER

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THE LECTURE

The Power of Music in Education Peter Garrett AM Federal Member for Kingsford Smith Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth Acknowledgments and welcome to country.

It’s very good for me to be back at St Spyridon—and to know of the great commitment that this school has to the creative endeavour. And to have this opportunity to give the ‘Appreciating Culture Lecture’ to the school community, particularly as this is the first lecture to be held in the Sports and Performing Arts Centre funded by Gillard Labor Government under the Building the Education Revolution program.

I remember very well attending the Speech and Prize Giving Ceremony a few years ago and presenting the Kingsford Smith Prize for Excellence in Music to Tina Andrew.

And I’ve visited, at other times, to see the computers delivered under our National Secondary Schools Computer Fund as well as this wonderful multi-purpose hall and the walkways developed from our Building the Education Revolution program.

And can I say to the school and the board of governors what a tremendous commitment you have made not only to match but to exceed the contribution made by the Australian Government.

The fact is that schools in our area have been hugely improved by the BER. Apart from the improved facilities at this school, the BER has delivered more than 120 projects to 38 schools in this electorate.

We have invested a whopping $80 million in the BER in Kingsford Smith. I think that this was money very well spent.

We have improved the facilities of every school so all teaching staff get better classrooms, labs and the like and children get a better education. And, of course, that spending also helped the nation through the global financial crisis.

And to see that the students, teachers and school community of St Spyridon has benefited from this investment and it is very satisfying for me and the government of which I am a member because in this case we are assisting an already high quality school.

About a third of the 600,000 people of Greek descent in Australia live here in Sydney. So the church and school in Kingsford and this College are not only a hub of spirituality, education and social life in this area, but also play a valued role in the local community and additionally in the wider Greek community in this city.

Your community is a wonderful example of how people of Greek descent proudly live as citizens of Australia, while not losing the faith, values and cultural heritage of your ancestry.

Indeed, you go out of your way to share that vibrant culture with the rest of the community and we are all the richer for it.

We see that approach of reaching out to the rest of the community in this College, which has a significant enrolment of people not of Greek ancestry.

This is a great gift you are offering to others.

I know many students are drawn here, from well outside this area, travelling considerable distances to be part of this school community.

They are drawn here because of the strong values and commitment to excellence that is embedded in your approach to education and I want to acknowledge that and commend your efforts tonight.

Before I speak about the importance of music in education, I do want to say how passionate about giving this College, and the thousands of other schools around Australia, the support (Continued on page 13)

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the principals and teachers need to give every child a great education.

We know quality teaching is the single most important inschool contributor to the achievement of students.

This year’s school education budget was squarely directed at improving teaching and teacher quality with substantial new funding to improve schools and recognise and reward teachers.

And this is only part of our agenda.

We have doubled the education budget.

We have improved facilities in every Australian school.

We have rolled out national assessment, a national curriculum, national teacher training standards, national standards for teachers and directed $2.5 billion to improve the performance of the nation’s most disadvantaged students.

and teachers so that every Australian child, irrespective of where they live or how much money their parents earn, right across the school sectors of government and non-government schools both of which we support, receive a great education.

What is a great education?

A great education is about being literate and numerate, about individual access to work and study. A great education is fundamental to the nation’s prosperity.

But the school years are also about personal growth and happiness and about discovering and understanding ourselves.

That is why I am a firm believer in a broad liberal education—a firm believer that a high quality education must include the arts and that every student should have access to arts education.

And this of course includes music.

The importance of music in education

We have provided hundreds of thousands of students with laptop computers.

We have introduced transparency with the My School website and are in the process of conducting, for the first time in a generation, the Schools Funding Review.

Never before have the nation’s schools seen so much activity and reform.

It is a challenging period, as we are asking a lot of our teachers, principals and school communities.

But the result will be a modern, flexible and high quality education system based on the needs of 21st century and not on the ideas of the 19th century.

I hope you understand we have an ambitious—but achievable—reform agenda to support schools, principals

So let me move now to a subject that is very dear to me— the importance of music in education. And it is the subject of my address to you tonight.

Music has always been central to our existence and our experience, to the human story.

We engage with sound from the moment we are born, listening to our parents and boldly sharing our own attempts at language with the rest of the world.

We sing as a social pastime, as sacred expression, and sometimes, as a cry for justice.

The human voice has always been the mainstay of our musical activity, with many musical instruments mimicking or extending the amazing natural power and range of the (Continued on page 14)

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voice.

People sing at demonstrations, at sporting events, in churches, to their children, on special occasions like birthdays and Christmas.

We sing in the shower, on our own in the car and while we do the housework or the washing up.

Singing and creating sounds, creating music, is intrinsic to being human, intrinsic to our expressions of love and joy, of hope and sorrow.

His music was not merely Greek in style or form, it expressed the personality of the Greek people.

Only a great musician making great music can do this.

And I did a little bit of research and discovered that the traditional flavours of Greek music are also incorporated into the music of the present. This goes all the way to the current trend for laiko-pop, combining the old traditions and the new, sometimes with the classic bouzouki involved.

Humanity started out with just our voices to provide music and from that first instrument of the body others followed.

It’s just one set of examples of the amazing variety of musical expression and the strong inextricable link between that expression and culture.

And now we have an amazing variety of music and musical expression.

Here in Australia, children learn music in many different ways.

We see in symphony orchestras, jazz ensembles and choral work, the musical genius of individual human beings as composers and as people working together in meticulous execution.

At this College, you have solid scholastic music activity, and I applaud that.

As we grow up, of course, we experience music through the culture we grow up in, and through other cultures too.

It’s great that you also hear and participate in the wonderful interactive performances provided by Musica Viva. And we heard earlier tonight of some of the musical accomplishments of your students.

The Greek culture gives us a great example of how central music is to us as human beings and how we experience the world.

You have got a St Spyridon Choir, performances at music festivals—there are many extra musical experiences that are on offer at this College.

Greece has adopted the music of many other lands and cultures and yet given each a distinctively Greek approach, with special genres of Greek jazz, blues, punk, rock and so on.

And there are exciting and positive opportunities for the students who come here .

And I can’t make this address without mentioning the great Greek musician and composer, Mikis Theodorakis, who enriched the music of the world with the unique sounds of Greece and showed how important music is as an expression of the culture and the soul of his nation and its people.

I want to talk about what is happening to students when they learn music, particularly at an early age.

We are on the threshold of a deeper understanding of the benefits of arts education including music.

It is becoming much clearer that how important musical (Continued on page 15)

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experience is to a child’s development is now better known.

Academic research is linking music education to improved health and wellbeing.

It’s also linking music performance and the arts to student engagement in all types of learning.

For example, ground-breaking research from the Song Room, a non-government organisation that provides music programs for disadvantaged kids, has shown that long-term participation in music programs improves children’s grades in academic subjects such as English and mathematics.

These children, from very disadvantaged backgrounds, also had higher levels of wellbeing including less stress, increased self-esteem and, importantly, improved social skills.

Researchers tell us that the three areas vital to our wellbeing are happiness, connectedness and creativity.

And here, music, the gymnasium of the mind, can provide specific benefits.

We now know the plasticity of young brains means musical training, at an early age, makes us more sensitive to pitch, to timing and to timbre, which seems to improve our capacity to understand the emotions of people with whom we are speaking.

For example, this means we can learn languages more easily.

And music therapy can reduce anxiety and pain and ease the symptoms of depression.

It helps people with mental health problems, and it helps people recover from trauma.

So, friends, music is a marvellous gift that can help the elderly to remember, the mute to speak and those with disability to participate.

And it can also make a valuable contribution to the happiness and wellbeing of children.

We know the social and emotional benefits of music range through concert performance, listening to recorded music and simply singing on one’s own.

And in choosing a school for their kids, parents have told me the strength of its music program is often a determining factor. Parents don’t know about this research, intuitively they know that it is good for their children.

But the fact is that some of Australia’s schools are less able to provide a high-quality music program than schools such as this one.

That’s why it is essential that music education is an integral part of the new Australian Curriculum that will be delivered in all of Australia’s schools.

Every school student is entitled to a consistent and highquality education.

The Australian Curriculum will give every student the same high-quality basis for their learning.

When I was Arts Minister, I argued for the arts to be brought into the Australian Curriculum as soon as possible.

I am delighted all Australian governments have agreed the next phase of the Australian Curriculum—following English, maths, science and history—will include the arts.

Now obviously, I do bring personal experience to my support for increased music education.

But the fact is we need to look closely at the potential benefits of music education and make sure every Australian student, every child, can share those benefits.

So tonight at St Spyridon, at this lecture, I repeat the call that I have made to all educators, governments and the community to ensure there are more opportunities for music education for all Australian students.

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I’m calling on educators to reassess the role and value of learning music in school and respond to the real educational and other benefits that flow from learning music in school.

Conclusion Ladies and gentlemen, friends and students, but especially parents and teachers.

We owe it to our children to give them the best start in life we can—the best education possible.

Music education, I have argued tonight, is a vital part of a well-rounded education. And I have argued that it is more than that.

Some of you, after leaving this College, some of you will undertake further study. Some will go off to work.

If you are already involved with music, some of you may choose to study music at a tertiary level, or you may join or start your own musical group, or keep going with a group that you’ve started here.

After all my band mates Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey started playing together in high school—around about Year 9, may be a little later.

It’s a great stimulator of academic, social and learning success and simple happiness—as well as being great fun.

We ended up with a career spanning 30 years that took us from a tiny stage in a grungy bar at the Regent Hotel in Kingsford not far up Anzac Parade from here, and the site of one of our first ever gigs as Midnight Oil, to the concert halls Europe and North America and beyond.

And it sits at the heart of culture and cultural expression— something self-evident to people with Greek heritage.

And it was a great learning experience, every step of the way.

For the students here tonight, I have a special message.

So keep your music going in whatever way you can because, I can promise you, you won’t regret it.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Warm thanks are extended to the following people for making the evening an unqualified success:



The Speaker, the Hon. Peter Garrett for delivering the 2011 Lecture



His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos for naming the series of Lectures



Bishop Iakovos of Meletoupolis for his Vote of Thanks



Visiting artists Willi Michalski, Dr Thomas Savoulis and Yioryios Papayioryiou



The curators of the Arts Exhibition, Mr Peter Wennersten and Ms Mariclaire Pringle



Mrs A. Katsogiannis in her inimitable role as the MC

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All the P&F members for their support. It is this kind of partnership with our parent body that helps our College to grow academically and socially



Mrs Grillakis, together with Mrs Lambi and the Year 11 Hospitality Students for excellent canapés

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The audience who attended and expressed their appreciation for the Lecture

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The dedicated School Support Staff who worked so hard to organise and promote the event, namely Mrs Sophie Balayannis, Mrs Mary Diakanastasis, Mrs Angela Kringas & Mrs Donna Cross.

The curators for the Arts Exhbition Ms Mariclaire Pringle and Mr Peter Wennersten 17

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APPRECIATING CULTURE GUEST LIST (in alphabetical order) Mrs Elena Albanakis

Mr John Georges

Miss Melpo Nicolaou

Mr George Andrew

Mr George Georgoulopoulos

Miss Angela Orfanos

Mr Peter Arnott

Mr Darren Giles

Mr George Papacotis

Mr Arthur Balayannis

Councillor George Glinatsis

Mrs Irene Paraskevas

Mrs Sophie Balayannis

Miss Nina Gonzalez

Mrs Nora Parris

Mrs Chris Belshaw

Mr John Hatzi

Mr Tom Parris

Miss Rosanda Besir

Mrs Joanna Hatzi

Mrs Maria Pascalis

Mr Andrew Bilinsky

Dr Veronica Hickie

Miss Frances-Lee Pascalis

Miss Tina Bletsogiannis

Bishop Iakovos of Meletoupolis

Miss Christina Pascalis

Ms Cathy Brocklehurst

Mr Frank Kaldis

Mr Con Pavlou

Mr Con Carpis

Ms Marina Kalithrakas

Consul General Jasmina Pekmezovic

Mrs Maria Carpis

Mr Emmanuel Katheklakis

Mr James Phillips

Miss Yianna Carpis

Mrs Amelia Katsogiannis

Mr Anthony Picardi

Mrs Karen Chiam

Mrs Dimi Kefalouros

Ms Leane Port

Mr Harry Chiam

Mr Andrew Kiejda

Miss Pamela Prineas

Mr Anthony Condous

Mrs Rebecca Kiejda

Mr Andrew Psalti

Mr Achilles Constantinides

Mr Peter Kepreotes

Mr Cody Reynolds

Mr Eric Constantinidis

Mrs Jenny Kepreotes

Miss Eleni Rogaris

Mrs Deanne Coucouvinis

Ms Desi Kladakis

Dr Thomas Savoulis

Mrs Helen Coudounaris

Ms Gina Kokinelis

Mrs Julie Savoulis

Mr Stelios Coudounaris

Ms Lyn Kontos

Very Rev. Fr. Steven Scoutas

Mr James Coyne

Mrs Gina Koutelis

Mrs Alison Skerman

Mr John Croft

Mr Peter Koutelis

Mr Philip Smart

Mrs Helen Dalakiaris

Mrs Gina Koutelis

Miss Chrisanthi Sotiras

Ms Laura Davis

Mrs Irene Koutsoukis

Mrs Anna Stamoulis

Miss Nicola Demetri

Ms Vicki Liakatos

Mrs Efrosini Stefanou-Haag

Ms Roula Demetri

Mrs Eleni Lianos

Ms Nadia Tampe

Mr Alan Dookie

Mr Costa Lianos

Mrs Charoulla Themistocleous

Mr H. Dracopoulos

Ms Dimitra Liverys

Consul General Vasilios Tolios

Mr Elia Economou

Mr Con Livissianis

Mrs Dora Tomanidou

Mrs Mary Faletas

Mrs Sylvana Livissianis

Mrs Christina Tsaconas

Mrs Rea Fatouros

Mr Michael Magafa

Mr Nick Tsaconas

Mrs Helen Ferguson-Coyne

Professor Manolios

Mrs Elsie Tsangaris

Ms Kathy Finikakos

Miss Evy Marangos

Mr Anthony Tsoutsa

Mrs Marina Fishlock

Rev Fr. Peter Mavrommatis

Mr & Mrs B. Tzatzagos

Mrs Ann Flokis

Ms Danielle McCarthy

Rev Fr. Constantine Varipatis

Mr Mike Flokis

Mr David Mercer

Presvitera Eleni Varipatis

Miss Angelina Flokis

Mrs D Mercer

Miss Anita Vergotis

Ms Vicky Fraser

Mrs Chryse Mio

Mrs Georgina Zafiropoulos

The Hon. Peter Garrett MP

Mrs Jennifer Mulligan

Mr Vargo Zafiropoulos

Mr Con Georgas

Dr Sonia Mycak

Mrs Kim Georgas

Ms Olga Mycak 26

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