St Spyridon News 85

VOLUME XXIX No 4 16th March, 2012

DATES TO REMEMBER

FROM THE COLLEGE

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CIS Swimming Carnival

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ISA Cross Country Carnival

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Annunciation 25th March celebrations

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Twilight Tours SS

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APRIL Year 12 Half Yearly Exams begin Year 7 Parent Teacher Conference Greek Orthodox Swimming Carnival JS

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K-6 Easter Assembly Term Ends

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Western Good Friday

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Lazaros Saturday

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Western Easter Palm Sunday

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Good Friday

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Orthodox Easter

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Easter Monday

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Staff Development Day

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Students return

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ANZAC DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY

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Junior School Athletics Carnival

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School Photographs JS

Extract from SCHOLARSHIPS AND STUDENT LEADERSHIP ASSEMBLY 2012 As some people would already be aware, next year, 2013, the College celebrates its 30 Year Anniversary. Some of the pioneers of our Church and school, who put their hearts and minds together to establish this College-and who pulled up their sleeves for the hard work, are now grandfathers of St Spyridon students. Father Steven Scoutas comes to mind, as does Dr Thomas Savoulis. Others of the original pioneers have passed away, leaving us a legacy for which we are most grateful. At this Assembly we honour the memory of three such pioneers -Professor Manuel Aroney, George Nicholas Pappas, and Marina Pappas. Many of us will recall Col and Hal Goldstein inspiring us at these events with their words of encouragement. Sadly Col and Hal too, have passed away having lived full and successful business and family lives. May Their Memories be Eternal. We are truly moved to see members of the Aroney, Goldstein and Pappas extended families here this morning, to honour their memories and to celebrate bonds of friendship shared over many years.

As we have said in the past, the thing we treasure most in this College, is a student’s character; the capacity for gratitude and joy in the good times and strength and resilience in the times that are not so good.

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K2013 Parent Information Morning JS

Uniform Change

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National Schools Event Adelaide

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A person of faith accepts and overcomes those things they cannot change. Misfortune and disease, disaster and deathstrife and worry-these are part of life-everyone’s life, not just other peoples’ lives. In Greek we say “O καλός ο καπετάνιος στην φουρτούνα φαίνεται”. No one is born with a ticket to a trouble free life. We see the true character of a person in a time of turmoil. This is when our faith is tested; this is when our friendships are tested; this is when the quality of our leaders is tested.

I have observed that the most selfish, objectionable and annoying people are those that have been given too much good fortune, without especially deserving it.

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Mothers Day

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Parent Teacher Conferences Year 12

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We are happy that you, my dear students are not like this.You do not take your good fortune for granted. You are unstintingly generous to others-you raise a lot of money for good causes; you serve in the soup kitchen and you visit children in hospitals and attend to the old people in homes for the aged. And you are always there for your friends in

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those trying times, that none of us can avoid. We consider ourselves blessed in this and many other ways.

Strength, resilience, tenacity. These are the qualities of a leader. These are qualities of the Jewish people as well.

Many of us would be hearing, reading and viewing with dismay, the difficulties that Greece is experiencing in the present moment. We pray for the people of Greece in these hard times. Not only do they have to contend with serious problems, but they have to endure the constant attacks on all things Greek in the foreign media.

Let’s think for a moment of a Greek man of 76 years of age-around your grandfathers’ age. As a child of 8, the age of our Year 2 students, he saw his country occupied by the Nazis, faced hunger and fear, witnessed the violent death of friends and family. He saw his father’s generation decimated; villages burn; cities in ruins. In his early teens he lived through the terrifying throes of a bitter civil war, where brother turned on brother. When he was around sixteen, he experienced whole villages and neighbourhoods, emptying themselves on ships destined for the America, Australia and Canada. Having already lost so much, how did he feel to be parted from his loved ones, not knowing when and if he would ever see them again? In his twenties he proudly served his country in the Army and lived through the short-lived optimism of the early 1960s; But in 1967 now in his thirties he sees Greek tanks roll down the streets of Athens and experiences the division, anger and paranoia of a country under military rule; In 1974, he lives through the invasion of Cyprus-still divided and occupied today. If he is lucky he has no relatives among those Mainland Greek soldiers who were killed in that war. Throughout all this, he and many like him, found the strength, resilience, and tenacity to maintain his dignity, integrity and pride. Now in his old age, his reward for surviving all this, is to have his pension cut and to see his country humiliated.

How did we come to this pass? In just a few years of relative peace and stability Greece loses its way, to the suffering of its most vulnerable citizens-the old, the young, the poor. What happened? A quote from Henry Kissinger’s speech to Washington businessmen in 1974 may give us a clue. Some of our Year 11 and Year 12 students may remember this quote.

Speaking as Secretary General to the USA government, he said The Greek people are anarchic and difficult to tame. For this reason we must strike deep into their cultural foundations: Perhaps then we can force them to conform. I mean, of course, to strike at their language, their religion, their cultural and historical reserves, so that we can neutralize their ability to develop, to distinguish themselves, or to prevail; thereby removing them as an obstacle to our strategically vital plans in the Balkans, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

It seems to me that Kissinger had his finger on the pulse. Greece has been brought to this pass because we betrayed ourselves, we forgot who we are. We cheapened our language, turned away from our culture, corrupted our history, and undermined our religion. We put our faith in false Gods and now they threaten to fall on our homes and destroy us. And for what? To embrace unchecked corporate greed, personal selfishness and political compromise? These evil forces threaten to sink the United States of America, let alone Greece. The very people we wished to imitate, for whom we sacrificed our pride and identity, are the ones who are now pointing the finger, and humiliating Greece.

There are some harsh lessons in this for all of us here in Australia my dear students. If you want to develop, to distinguish yourself and to prevail, be strong in your identity. Never forget where your strength resides-it comes from your faith, your history and your culture. Whether you are Greek, Jewish, Chinese, Syrian or Serbian-lose your identity and the emptiness within you will never be filled.

Happily your parents chose a school for you which makes a strong sense of identity not only possible, but actively important in your education. You are in a place that affirms who and what you are. You don’t have to save up your true self for that special family wedding when your “other” friends aren’t there to see you.

You probably don’t even know how liberating and empowering this is for you – but it is a great gift.

Hal Goldstein in one of these Assemblies, exalted you to be faithful; to be determined; to be loyal to your family and friends. And we recall that he would close with a special blessing for you my dear students: May your God be with you. And to this I say- Amen.

Mrs E. Stefanou-Haag

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PHOTO GALLERY FROM SCHOLARSHIPS ASSEMBLY Professor Manuel Aroney Award for the highest ATAR in 2011 sponsored by Sydney University Greek Society Recipient, Renee Hatzistergos University Entrance Scholarships, sponsored by St Spyridon Parish Renee Hatzistergos ATAR 98.35, Stamati Margelis ATAR 98.25, Ashli Bergmann ATAR 97.25, Michael Lantis ATAR 97.20 Academic Scholarships Year 7 2012: Constantinos Kollias (internal), George Raptis (ACER) Year 11 2012: Mathew Kambos and Estelle Krassas (ACER) 2011 Goldstein Awards for Leadership by Example in memory of George N. Pappas AM, MBE and Marina Pappas George Raptis Year 6, 2011 and Mariah Stavrou Year 7, 2011

Prof. Aroney Award

University Scholarships

Academic Scholarships

Goldstein Awards

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SRC 2012

Peer Support Leaders Year 10, 2012

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NEWS

The P&F will provide water and a snack to the students on their arrival at the Domain.

25th MARCH GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY

Students are to remain seated in their grade groups in the care of their teachers until the conclusion of the formalities. At the conclusion parents are to collect their child from their Roll Teacher. Please inform the teacher so that your child can be crossed off the roll. Staff supervision will conclude at approximately 4pm.

All students of St Spyridon College will be expected to attend Church with their teachers on Sunday 25th March and Martin Place.

This is a compulsory event for all students Year 1 to Year 12.

The march is optional for Kindergarten. All students are expected to be present until the conclusion of the program.

Uniform Students are to wear their summer uniform with blazer to St Spyridon Church in the morning and the Cenotaph, Martin Place in the afternoon.

The program for the day is as follows: 9.30am: Junior School children to gather in class groups with their teacher in the Primary Playground. Senior School students to gather in the Infants Playground.

Parents are to ensure that students’ shoes are polished, that buttons on blazers, shirts and dress are replaced and that hems are sewn. A reminder that hems of dresses should be knee length. Girls’ socks should turn over at the ankle. Anklet socks are not permitted.

10.15am: Children and staff enter the Church and proceed to the front. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Father Steven will speak on the significance of the day. Poems will be recited by students from St Spyridon College and Afternoon School.

The combined Choir of students from the three Greek Orthodox Day schools will be performing at the 25th March celebrations.

UNIFORM SHOP:

At the conclusion: Children are dismissed to go home and have lunch and freshen up.

Opening hours – Every Wednesday during school Term 8.30 am - 10.00 pm and 2.30 pm - 4.15 pm.

1.15pm: Staff and students are to assemble behind our school banner in the assigned area at Martin Place. They are to first go to their roll class teacher to be marked present. Teachers will organise the students in their positions ready for the march. Parents are asked to move away from the line up area allowing teachers the space to assemble the students appropriately. Staff will walk on either side of their year group.

NEW SCHOOL BUS ROUTE 2013 – EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST If you are interested in a bus service and you live in Phillip Bay, Malabar, Little Bay, Matraville or Maroubra, please call Helen on 9313-6899.

PARISH HONOURS 2011

We ask that parents please stay at a distance from the children and leave them in the care of their teachers while marching.

Congratulations to Mrs A. Kringas (Admin Senior School) who received a plaque from the Parish of St Spyridon for 10 years dedicated service.

The Opera House forecourt is still undergoing renovations. The procession this year will be from Martin Place to the Domain.

VACATION CARE Our vacation care program for the April Holiday period is available and we are now taking bookings. The program is attached to this newsletter. Should you wish you enrol and book your children in for April, please call Christine on 0410 505 524 or email Patricia cs@greekwelfarecentre.net.au.

The day is a special occasion for all, but particularly for our Orthodox Colleges as we are very much in the public eye for most of the day.

We ask you, as parents, to reinforce what we are saying at school regarding appearance, behaviour and courtesy, so that we as a school community can be proud of our students.

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As it is the nature of our centre to have fluctuating attendance numbers, I ask that parents please book your children in ahead of time to ensure your child’s position at vacation care for that day and to ensure the correct staff/child ratio is met for the day.

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AFTER SCHOOL CARE

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After School Care fees are $18 per day and we are able to reduce fees if your family receives the child care benefit. Your family may be eligible to receive help with the cost of child care. See attached fact sheet for more information.

NUT ALLERGIES

Our operating hours are 3.30pm-6.30pm. At after school care children are given the opportunity to complete homework and play games. There are art and craft activities and a nutritious afternoon tea is served also.

Parents please do not send any food to school that has nuts in it. We have children who have severe allergies and bringing nuts to school can endanger their lives.

Our Active After School Sports program is back again this year for a 7 week session each term on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. Monday sport is tennis and Tuesday sport is softball.

ABSENT NOTES All notes regarding your child’s absence from school must come to the teacher on separate sheets of paper. Please do not write the note in the study planner. The notes are considered legal documents and must be kept by the school for a minimum of 7 years. In the junior school it is not necessary to ring the school unless your child is going to be absent for more than three days.

For enquiries or to book your children in, please call Christine on 0410 505 524.

Please Note: Before your child begins attending care, please ensure an enrolment form is filled out and returned to staff at the centre. A copy can be emailed to you, please call Patricia on 9516 2188 or email cs@greekwelfarecentre.net.au to receive a copy.

Mrs M. Hamer Principal Junior School

SENIOR SCHOOL REPORT

JUNIOR SCHOOL REPORT

YEAR 10

25TH MARCH ASSEMBLY

This week during Pastoral Care students received their Year 10 Assessment Handbook. They were given information about the Board of Studies and the Progression Policy.

The assembly to commemorate the 25th March will be held on Friday 23rd March at 2pm in the Church Hall. Year 6 will present the Assembly and parents and friends are welcome to attend.

The Expression of Interest forms to progress to Years 11 and 12 at St Spyridon College are due to me at the end of Term 1.

Reminders of School Procedures ¾ ¾

Parents are not to approach their child or the teachers after the bell has gone.

No Parent is to approach another child to reprimand – that is the role of teachers only.

No children are to play on the equipment after school.

All children are to remain seated in the courtyard until a parent picks them up in the afternoon. Please do not tell your child to meet you at the gates. We cannot supervise them if they are not in the courtyard. Our concern is the safety of our children.

Parking in Day Lane is strictly for teachers.

No parking in driveways including school driveways.

All children to be in courtyard for morning assembly. Infants children will be crossed over by their teachers. Parents are not to enter the Infants playground.

WORLD MATHS DAY 2012 Wednesday 7th March was “World Maths Day,” which once again was a massive event, filled with fun and excitement for Years 7, 8 and 9. For many lucky students, most of their school day was spent celebrating World Maths Day, by competing

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against students from all over the world, through 60 seconds of mathematical games. This was a day of competitive fun and awesome battles; ‘St Spyridon student versus St Spyridon student’ and ‘St Spyridon College versus The World’! During this day, no student complained of fatigue, the quest to beat the World was far too important!

Students’ fingers were aching from the rapid, jabbing of the keys, their eyes on the verge of turning square, from the competitive, nonblinking stare at the computer screen, with one aim in sight....get the question right and get it right before their competitors! All Year 7-9 students took the challenge in their stride, (with a few screams of delight and satisfaction coming from the many ‘battle rooms’ (i.e. computer rooms). Each student trying to beat their own personal best, or trying to beat the person sitting next to them, or the student in the other computer room, or more importantly, on a global scale, trying to crack the top 50 in Australia or the top 50 in the World.

This year Panayiotis’ results are: RANKED 24th IN THE WORLD IN HIS AGE DIVISION RANKED 2nd IN AUSTRALIA IN HIS AGE DIVISION Spectacular results!

CONGRATULATIONS PANAYIOTI!!

Before I present to you the fantastic results for World Maths Day 2012, I must take a few or more lines of this article to thank the many teachers who supported and allowed their class to participate on this day. These teachers took the time out of their subject and dedicated their lesson to help promote this wonderful day. Once again reinforcing how this day unites us all!

ST SPYRIDON HALL OF FAME (AGES 11-13) NAME: POINTS SCORED

St Spyridon results for 2012: *NUMBER OF QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY AROUND THE WORLD: 293, 571, 830 *NUMBER OF QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY BY ST SPYRIDON STUDENTS IN YEARS 7-9: 75, 547 *NUMBER OF STUDENTS PARTICIPATING: 164

1. Stanley Condous

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2. Tina Ventoura

1607

3. Alexander Cardamis

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4. Jordan Makridopoulos

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5. Christina Kilias

1306

6. Constantinos Kollias

1289

7. Panayiotis Bounos

1252

8. Steffie Papadopoulos

1241

9. Jordan Stojkovic

1183

10. James Stamios

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ST SPYRIDON HALL OF FAME (AGES 14-18) NAME: POINTS SCORED

A special mention must go to PANAYIOTI KAPODISTRIAS, who is in Year 10 and on his own, willingly signed up for this event, to represent our school. He has excelled this year and produced outstanding results, smashing his record from last year, in which he came 10th in Australia.

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1. Emanuel Kapodistrias

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2. Christos Kollias

1738

3. Maria Bletsas

918

4. Kalioppe Kefalas

679

5. Matthew Chiam

588

6. Ann Marie Xenos

563

7. Milos Arsenic

559

8. Anastasia Maloukis

535

9. Yvette Stemitsiotis

496

10. Christos Raptis

491

TOP HIGHEST SCORES *NOTE: this score represents how many correct answers the student got in 60 seconds!!

NAME:

HIGHEST CORRECT ANSWERS

1. Emanuel Kapodistrias

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2. Christos Kollias

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3. Alexander Cardamis

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4. Tina Ventoura

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5. Matthew Chiam

52

6. Stanley Condous

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7. James Stamios

51

8. Christiana Kilias

51 Ms Kalithrakas Mathematics Team

Awards, prizes and certificates to students, will be presented at the Middle School Assembly, which is scheduled for end of this term.

GEOGRAPHY FIELDWORK On Friday the 2nd of March, Year 10 Geography set out on their fieldwork excursion to investigate spatial inequality. Spatial inequality refers to the distinct geographical divisions between disadvantaged and affluent populations. The Sydney suburb of Woolloomooloo was used as an example of spatial inequality - on one side of the road was Russell Crowe’s $14 million apartment and on the other side was public housing. It was near the latter area that we experienced homeless people sleeping on old mattresses outside the

Congratulations to everyone (teachers and students) who participated on this exciting and fun day.

“World Maths Day uniting the world with numbers.”

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Πάντα ήθελες να επισκεφτείς τη Μύκονο και τώρα θα έχεις µια µοναδική ευκαιρία να πάρεις µια γεύση από ελληνική κουλτούρα, ελληνική γλώσσα, τη ζωή του Έλληνα νησιώτη και την οµορφιά του νησιού µε τις µαγευτικές ακτές και τη νυχτερινή ζωή που η νεολαία προτιµά για διασκέδαση µέχρι τα ξηµερώµατα.

police station. This contrasted with the restored Finger Wharf with its expensive apartments and restaurants. Year 10 were given the opportunity to use a range of geographical fieldwork methods to investigate the gap that exists between the rich and the poor in urban areas.

Special thanks to Mr Meintanis, Mr Zafiropoulos who accompanied Miss Gonzalez, the Year 10 students and me on the day.

Το βασικό θέµα του έργου έχει να κάνει µε έναν Έλληνα γεννηµένο στην Αυστραλία που κληρονόµησε ένα εστιατόριο και παραλιακό οικόπεδο στη Μύκονο από τον πατέρα του και πρέπει να πάει εκεί. Έτσι ο Steve πάει µε τον φίλο του τον Frank, από την πρώτη στιγµή όµως αρχίζουν οι περιπέτειες.

Miss D. Kladakis Social Science Team Mrs A. Katsogiannis Principal Senior School

GREEK

Ο φίλος του Steve, είναι ιταλικής καταγωγής και βλέπουµε ένα συνδυασµό της Αυστραλιανής, της Ιταλικής και Ελληνικής κουλτούρας να συνυπάρχουν σε µια ξεκαρδιστική κωµωδία που θα σου αρέσει πολύ και δεν πρέπει να την χάσεις. Τέλος πάντων, δεν θέλω να σου αποκαλύψω όλη την ιστορία του έργου, θα σε αφήσω να το απολαύσεις, να το ευχαριστηθείς µε την καρδιά σου!

COLUMN

Αγαπητοί γονείς και φίλοι, Στο τεύχος αυτό δηµοσιεύουµε µια εργασία µαθήτριας της Β’ Λυκείου σχετικά µε τον προσωπικό της κόσµο. Επίσης την εργασία ενός µαθητή της Γ΄Λυκείου , η οποία παρουσιάστηκε ως µονόλογος σε περίοδο προφορικών εξετάσεων. Καλή ανάγνωση! Μ. Φαλέτα

Μην µου πεις ότι δεν θα έρθεις µαζί µας γιατί θα στενοχωρηθώ πολύ. Μη µας στερήσεις ένα όµορφο απόγευµα. Α, να µην ξεχάσω να σου πω ότι αυτό το έργο κέρδισε πολύ καλές κριτικές και πραγµατικά δεν πρέπει να το χάσεις. Εµείς οι δυο ειδικά, θα το ευχαριστηθούµε περισσότερο επειδή καταλαβαίνουµε και τις δυο κουλτούρες, την αυστραλιανή και την ελληνική. Πάντως, µου έχουν πει όσοι το είδαν ότι η µεγάλη πλάκα βασίζεται στις διάφορες κουλτούρες και στο συνδυασµό τους.

1. Θέµα: Try to convince your friend to come with you and see your favourite movie. Γεια σου ∆ηµήτρη, είσαι καλά; Έχω πολύ καιρό να σε δω. Αύριο θα πάω στον κινηµατογράφο µαζί µε τους γονείς µου και τον αδελφό µου τον Ανδρέα. Πολύ θα ήθελα να έρθεις κι εσύ µαζί µας. Σε παρακαλώ, έλα να πάµε µαζί, να τα πούµε, να κάνουµε λίγη παρέα που έχω πολύ καιρό να σε δω και να δούµε µαζί αυτή την ταινία που προβάλλεται στον κινηµατογράφο HOYTTS.

Κατά τη γνώµη µου είναι µία από τις καλύτερες αυστραλιανές παραγωγές µε γνωστούς ηθοποιούς όπως ο Νίκος Γιαννόπουλος και ο Αλέκος ∆ηµητριάδης και πού να δείς και τον Απόλλωνα, αλλά δεν σου λέω ποιος είναι ο «Απόλλων». Πρέπει να έρθεις µαζί µας αύριο, στον κινηµατογράφο και να το ανακαλύψεις µόνος σου. Η µεσηµβρινή προβολή αρχίζει στις δύο και τέταρτο και διαρκεί για περίπου µια ώρα και σαράντα λεπτά.

Μόλις ακούσεις για ποια ταινία πρόκειται, είµαι σίγουρος ότι θα ενθουσιαστείς κι εσύ και θα έρθεις οπωσδήποτε! Λοιπόν, ο τίτλος της ταινίας είναι «Kings of Myconos» και είναι το πιο αγαπηµένο µου έργο αυτό τον καιρό. Παίζουν οι ίδιοι ηθοποιοί που πρωταγωνιστούσαν στο «Wog Boy». Θυµάσαι τι γέλιο κάναµε και µ’ αυτό;

Θα περάσουµε από το σπίτι σου στις δύο η ώρα αύριο και θα σε πάρουµε µαζί µας. Γι’ αυτό δεν θέλω ν’ ακούσω όχι, θα σε δω αύριο και θα δεις τι ωραία που θα περάσουµε!

Αλλά, το έργο αυτή τη φορά γυρίστηκε στην Ελλάδα µας και κατ’ ακρίβεια στη Μύκονο. Ξέρω ότι αυτό το έργο θα σου αρέσει πολύ λόγω του ότι είναι µια ταινία που έχει γέλιο, δράση, διασκέδαση, ροµαντικές σκηνές και τα τοπία θα µας µείνουν αξέχαστα αφού είναι ελληνικά τοπία!

Mathew Kambos 12GK (Accelerated)

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µετά το σχολείο παίζουν τέννις ή ποδόσφαιρο στη µέση του δρόµου. Σε περίπου πεντακόσια µέτρα απόσταση από το σπίτι µας υπάρχουν ωραίες καφετέριες και εστιατόρια όπως επίσης και µια µεγάλη υπεραγορά όπου κάνουµε όλα µας τα ψώνια.

Ο εαυτός µου και το περιβάλλον µου Το όνοµά µου είναι Αικατερίνη, αλλά όλοι µε φωνάζουν Κατερίνα. Είµαι δεκατεσσάρων χρονών και είµαι αρκετά ψηλή για την ηλικία µου. Έχω µακριά, καστανά µαλλιά και καστανά µάτια.

Η ζεστασιά και ηρεµία του σπιτιού µας και όλες οι ευκολίες που προσφέρει το προάστειο που µένουµε, κάνει όλα τα µέλη της οικογένειας να µην θέλουν ποτέ να µετακοµίσουν σε άλλη περιοχή.

Φοιτώ στην Α’ Λυκείου και όπως όλα τα κορίτσια της ηλικίας µου, µου αρέσει να περνώ τον ελεύθερο χρόνο µου ακούοντας µουσική, βλέποντας ταινίες και µιλώντας στο διαδίκτυο µε τις φίλες µου. Επίσης µου αρέσει να διαβάζω βιβλία κοινωνικού περιεχοµένου, όπως επίσης να ζωγραφίζω, να παίζω τέννις και να ασχολούµαι µε την οικογένειά µου ιδίως µε τα µικρά µου ξαδελφάκια.

Katerina Arvanitakis Year 11 (Accelerated)

MIDDLE REPORT

Μεγαλώνοντας σε µια αρκετά µεγάλη οικογένεια µε παππούδες, γιαγιάδες, θείες και θείους, έµαθα από µικρή να τρώω τα παραδοσιακά µας φαγητά. Μερικά από τα αγαπηµένα µου φαγητά είναι το κοντοσούβλι, σπεσιαλιτέ του παππού µου και οι µπάµιες µε κοτόπουλο, ειδικότητα της γιαγιάς, αλλά δεν λέω όχι και στα ντολµαδάκια και τα κεφτεδάκια...

SCHOOL

“Be the change you want to see”………Ghandi LEADERSHIP At the recent Scholarships and Student Leadership Assembly we acknowledged and congratulated students who have demonstrated commitment, citizenship, and a desire to represent others. All these qualities are examples of leadership in different forms. It is inspiring to see so many eager students across all year groups taking on added responsibilities. We look forward to reporting on their good work as the year unfolds.

Φυσικά µου αρέσουν πολύ και τα γλυκά και πάντα βοηθώ τη µητέρα µου όταν φτιάχνει κουραµπιέδες, µελοµακάρονα και µπακλαβά µε φυστίκι Αιγίνης κι έτσι το µαγείρεµα έχει γίνει για µένα χόµπυ. Ένα άλλο χόµπυ µου είναι και το κολύµπι και είµαι τυχερή γιατί το σπίτι µας βρίσκεται σε ένα παραθαλάσσιο προάστειο του Σύδνεϋ περίπου εφτά χιλιόµετρα από την πόλη.

It is with pleasure that we welcome the new Student Representative Council (SRC) for 2012

Το σπίτι µας είναι µια µονοκατοικία τριών υπνοδωµατίων µε σαλόνι, τραπεζαρία, καθιστικό, κουζίνα, δυο µπάνια, µεγάλη αυλή και µεγάλο γκαράζ. Η διακόσµηση είναι πολύ απλή, σε αποχρώσεις του µπεζ κι αυτό το κάνει να είναι πολύ ευχάριστο, ζεστό και φιλόξενο.

7KConstantinos Kollias, George Raptis 7D Giorge Gemisis, Peter Giokas 7F Lewis Athanasopoulos, George Dimas 8M Chrystal Christie, Manuel Margelis 8Z Sebastian Zois, Daniel Arzani 8S Alexia Rizzo, George Mandilis 9P Peter Contominas, Stephanie Hatzis 9S Dion Alexander, Allyssa Stemitsiotis 10G Elias Andreaou, George Karapanayiotides 10D Dane Ivanovic, Sandra Milisaljevic 11P Maria Mio, Leonidas Andrew 11K Louis Andreaou, Estelle Krassas 11F Niko Fotopoulos, Petro Stefadouros 12 Kostandino Baratsas, Marielle Pizanis, Demi Flokis

Το δωµάτιό µου έχει δυο µεγάλα παράθυρα γι’ αυτό και είναι πολύ φωτεινό κι η εντοιχισµένη ντουλάπα το κάνει να φαίνεται ακόµα πιο µεγάλο. Στο δωµάτιό µου εκτός από το κρεβάτι µου έχω και το γραφείο µου και φυσικά εκεί περνώ τις περισσότερές µου ώρες διαβάζοντας. Το δωµάτιό µου είναι το καταφύγιό µου και η όασή µου!! Αν οι τοίχοι του δωµατίου µου µπορούσαν να µιλήσουν θα λέγανε πολλές ιστορίες, θα τραγουδούσαν πολλά τραγούδια και θα απάγγελαν ποιήµατα!

Congratulations and well done to all Year 10 Peer Support Leaders, whose efforts were also formally acknowledged when they received their badges .

Το σπίτι µας βρίσκεται σ’ ένα ήσυχο, δεντροφυτεµένο δρόµο και γι’ αυτό τα παιδιά,

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ourselves about this man (by visiting dedicated websites and other available links), we thought it important to help spread the message out into our school community as well. The misuse of Technology is often criticised, however it can also be a very powerful tool in getting the word out on certain issues and campaigns.‘ KONY 2012’ is one example of this. Read below and then follow the links to get more information about how to help.

PEER SUPPORT LEADERS 2012 Katerina Arvanitakis , Nikolas Baratsas, Nicolette Gregory, Georgia Giastios, Panayioti Kapodistrias, George Karapanayiotides, Dylan Kontos , Nansia Koukounaris, Chloe Kourtesis, Rena Lambos, Eleni Mavrolefterou, Sandra Milisavljevic, Stephanie Mio, Lena Nesterenko, Pamela Prineas, Lena Sialepis, Evelyn Tsivakis, Anthony Vasili,

Who is Joseph Kony?

Some people have recently said that Joseph Kony is one of the world’s worst war criminal. In 1987 he took over leadership of an existing rebel group and renamed it the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which originally began in Uganda (a country in Africa).

EARTH HOUR On March 31 EARTH HOUR will occur once again. This is the time where we all reflect on how to further improve our world by reducing our carbon footprints, by being more environmentally conscious, and by focusing on how to create a more sustainable world. Following Earth Hour St Spyridon students will once again go beyond the hour by holding their own EARTH HOUR every day, by turning off lights during Period 4 everyday. This being a reminder of the challenges that global warming presents to the world and the power we all have when banding together, to turn it around.

The LRA has earned a reputation for its cruel and brutal tactics. When Joseph Kony found himself running out of fighters, he started abducting children to be soldiers in his army and also forcing them to do other unspeakable acts.

The LRA is no longer active in northern Uganda, but it continues its campaign of violence in Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and South Sudan. In its 26-year history, the LRA has abducted more than 30,000 children and displaced at least 2.1 million people.

Don’t forget that on Saturday March 31, between 8 - 9pm more than 3 million Sydney-siders and thousands of businesses will turn off lights and non- essential appliances. All students and their families are encouraged to participate.

THE ‘ KONY 2012’ Campaign and its Goals?

The organization ‘Invisible Children’ has for the past 9 years been working towards ending Africa’s longest-running armed conflict involving Kony and the LRA. US military advisers are currently deployed in Central Africa on “timelimited” missions to stop Kony and disarm the LRA. Organizers of this campaign are taking action to ensure these two things: 1) That Joseph Kony is known as the World’s Worst War Criminal.

2) That U.S. and international efforts to stop Kony are bolstered with a more comprehensive strategy for disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR).

YEAR 9 ‘DONATE A TIN CAN’ EASTER APPEAL Next week Year 9 will begin this years food drive for disadvantaged people in our community. They will start the ball rolling by bringing in nonperishable food products. The ‘Donate a Tin Can’ appeal is an initiative run by the Greek Welfare Centre.

Through everyone’s effort it is hoped that other students across the year groups will be motivated to make donations. These will be picked up and distributed to those who need them most by the Greek Welfare Centre.

Why make Joseph Kony "famous"?

Invisible Children’s KONY 2012 campaign aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice. In this case, notoriety translates to public support. If people know about the crimes that Kony has been

LOST AND TROUBLED AFRICAN CHILDREN In recent days there has been a lot of media focus on a man called Joseph Kony, and as a result here at St Spyridon College the curiosity of Upper School students was ignited. After educating

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committing for 26 years, they will unite to stop him.

realised it wasn’t so bad. Then all of my worries were eased.

Secondly, the Invisible Children’s KONY 2012 campaign wants Kony to be famous so that when he is stopped, he will be a visible, and be concrete example of international justice. Then other war criminals will know that their mass atrocities will not go unnoticed or unpunished.

At the end of the day I felt sad because school had finished but was happy that I could go home and just think what’s going to happen the next day.

After a hard first day of high school I went home, did my homework and fell asleep.

For info on Invisible http://invisiblechildren.com

When I look back at the first day of high school I feel proud that I survived that first day. I will remember every part of that day because that was one of top ten days of my life.

Children:

Ms G Kokinelis Dean of Middle School

LISTENING STUDENTS

Peter Giokas 7D

TO

OUR

MY FIRST DAY OF SENIOR SCHOOL The night before my first day of high school I was extremely excited! I hardly knew what to expect. I had heard a lot about the school because of my older brother and sister but a lot has obviously changed since then. I just hoped I would be able to keep up with the work with no problems. I had visited the school twice before, once at orientation day and once at open day, yet I was still a little confused about where everything was.

MY FIRST DAY AT SENIOR SCHOOL My First day of secondary school started a bit like this…

I had to pack my bag the night before. That night I couldn’t sleep. I was very excited because I was going to meet new friends and new teachers. The night before, I was hoping to play different sports and I was worrying about getting detention.

On the day that was the beginning of a whole new life, I woke up earlier than usual from excitement. As I was getting ready and it felt so good because I looked at myself in the mirror while wearing my uniform realising that I was going to be dressed like that for the next six years.

I had butterflies, for I was nervous and excited at the same time. My family was super supportive of me. They all came to the first day of school with me and, to me, that is a big deal because I say that there is nothing more important than family.

When I was getting ready for school, I got up earlier than usual because I wanted to get ready before everyone else in the family. As soon as I woke up that morning I felt so excited because it was my first day of HIGH SCHOOL!!! When I was getting ready I had so many butterflies I couldn’t eat breakfast.

When I hopped in the car to go to school I had a lot of butterflies. All that was going through my head was ‘Am I going to be late or am I going to get there on time?’ I was hoping to get there on time!

My mother took me to school and my dad and brother met us there. While mum was driving me to school, she filled me in with all the things that Greek mothers would say to their children on their first day of school.

As soon as I got to school, I started running so I didn’t miss the assembly. My first impression of the school was that it was a huge school and I was going to have to learn my way around. When I got to assembly I was talking to some friends and then I felt a lot better.

As I was taking my first steps into my high school journey, something just completely dropped in my stomach. I was FREAKING OUT! I didn’t talk to anyone, I just stayed with my family and felt completely nervous.

When school started I found out all my classes. At first I wasn’t that happy I didn’t have close friends in my class, which meant I had to work hard, and then later I made more friends. When I found out what teacher I had I was a bit scared, but then I

When the day began we had a lot of information to take in as Ms Kokinelis was talking to us. We then found out our homerooms and other things that were really exciting. I met some people at orientation day so I had a group of girls to sit with

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at lunch which was really nice. Everybody at the school was so nice (and still are)- the teachers the other pupils… just everyone!

older students, and our younger students were keen to share their strategies with each other.

All students enjoyed the day and spoke enthusiastically about maths when they reflected on their experience.

At the end of the day I was so upset that I had to leave yet so excited to tell my family all about my day. Before I went home I made a little visit to my primary school (Matraville Soldiers Settlement Public School) which was so exciting. I went straight into the office to see all my old teachers and everybody said that I looked so grown up. I could not stop smiling the whole day. Even when I got home I was jumping around in excitement knowing that I was going to go back the next day.

When I got home we had some visitors to ask all about my first day and as I was talking about it I got even MORE excited knowing that I will spend my next six years of my life there.

Aaron Nissirios 6M

A GREAT DAY Professor Maths Day was a fun and enjoyable day were we did wonderful and exciting activities.

Professor Maths was a girl in wacky white clothes and glasses. We were arranged into groups and we were explained the rules and we went straight to the activities.

There was a variety of activities to try. Some of the activities were a Super Challenge which meant if you got it correct, you got to wear a weird looking wig and glasses which Professor Maths said made us 10% smarter guaranteed.

Looking back to my first day I now realise that I had nothing to worry about, except for the bagsthey only get heavier unfortunately.

Not all my family was there, unfortunately my sister was not able to make it as she was not in Australia but I spoke to her on Skype that night and she was also extremely supportive.

It was a fun day and I would like to thank Professor Maths to coming to this terrific school.

William Georgas 5I

Danielle Petrakis 7K PROFESSOR MATHS PROF MATHS INCURSION th

On Friday 9th March, Professor Maths came to our school. Once we got to the hall, Professor Maths put us into groups.

th

On the 8 and 9 of March 2012 the Professor Maths Travelling show was invited to our school.

Then we went off to the Maths games. We had been told that the games that had a sticker of Professor Maths on them were a challenge. My group got to wear a funny hat with glasses every time we did a challenge. Some challenges we did we hard.

The students were given the opportunity to experience different approaches in the solving of mathematical problems. Below are some student reactions to the experience.

MATHS PROFESSOR

Once our time was up, Professor Maths got some of us to say what we learnt and if we had a good time! I had a great time and I cannot wait for us to have that day again. Next time I hope there are more challenges to do and more activities to challenge us.

On Thursday 8th & Friday 9th March, students across the whole school were treated to a visit from the inspiring and entertaining Professor Maths!

In recognition of National Literacy and Numeracy Week, each class engaged in hands-on, fun, problem-solving and strategy-based mathematics challenges.

Alyssa Alas 4T

MY GREAT ADVENTURE!

The groups of children moved through numerous activities, and they even got to wear Professor Maths' wig and ‘special mathematician glasses' if they successfully completed a Super Challenge!

There was some healthy competition between our

Professor Maths was a lady and she had fuzzy little hair and glasses which she said “these glasses will make you 10% smart.”

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Professor maths organised really fun activities, example: money maze, triangles and balancing bridge.

Professor maths also put a super challenge on a few of them, when you get a super challenge right you get ginormous glasses and a black and white wig.

I was very excited because Year 4 was the first grade to do the activities with Professor Maths.

Year 4 walked down to the hall. The hall was setup with maths activities.

First, Professor Maths explained the activities and we were put into groups of 4. Professor Maths gave 1 group a spiky grey and black wig and a pair of black and pink sunglasses to wear while they worked through the maths activities. The wig and glasses were passed onto each group. It was fun wearing the wig and sunglasses.

Teachers tried and they found it difficult. Thank you Mr Dookie for all of his hard work to make all this happen and thank you professor maths for coming.

Jonathan

Lynch

5I After Professor Maths finished explaining the rules my group and I rushed to the first activity because we were so excited about solving the maths problems. There were about 12 different maths activities and each activity taught me something new.

PROFESSOR MATHS Professor Maths was so fantastic I learnt so much things while having fun at the same time!!!

The professor was really funny and helped everyone with all the awesome games. One of my favourite games was Cubes. You play cubes by adding up the yellow and red blocks and the fun thing was you got to make one big cube.

After the activities, we all sat on the floor and Professor Maths asked us lots of questions about the activities.

Also I got to be with me friends!!! One of the greatest things were we got to wear cool fuzzy professor hair wigs and cool glasses that were big, small and colourful!!!!

Having Professor Maths come to our school was lots of fun because we got to participate in many activities. My favourite activity was a maths puzzle where we had to use triangles to fill in a pentagon.

IT WAS THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!

Nicoletta Tsimboukis 4C

Katherine Raptis 5A

MATHS FUN DAY 2012 On the 9th March 2012 Year 5 attended the maths fun day where we played different types of maths games in playing these games we learnt so much including shapes definitions of maths words it was also good because we got to work together as a team.

At the end we also did some worksheets to show what we learnt and discussed the answers. The Best part of the day was when we got to dress up in a crazy wig and big glasses when we got the answers right.

Dyana Chakos 5I

PROFESSOR MATHS On Friday the 9th March 2012 Professor Maths came to our school to do fun and interesting maths activities with the all the classes.

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teacher’s name is Miss Bletsogiannis and my Greek Language teacher is Miss Theodossiou.

The College includes a Greek Orthodox Church which we attend about once a month.

My two best friends are Katherine and Efthimia.

St Spyridon College is located in Kingsford.

Kingsford is a suburb close to various things such as housing commission, shopping centres and beautiful gardens. It is a detailed area with many sites. It’s also a multicultural area. Kingsford belongs to the Randwick City Council.

The Randwick City Council has 12 suburbs that are filled with nature and people. One of the surrounding councils is Waverly Council. These can be found in the state of NSW. NSW is one of the 7 states and territories of Australia. Some others are Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland. NSW is located on the east coast of Australia. It also includes the ACT which is the Australian Capital Territory.

Australia is a continent and also the biggest island in the world!

It is part of the British Commonwealth. Australia is surrounded by the Coral and Tasman Seas. It is one of many islands in the southern hemisphere. The southern hemisphere and Australia are both part of the planet Earth.

Earth is one of the nine planets in the Solar System. They all orbit the sun which is a star. The sun and all the planets belong to the Orion Arm. Did you know that our Solar System is only a speck in the Orion Arm? The Orion Arm is one of eight arms in a galaxy called ‘The Milky Way’.

It’s a galaxy in the Universe. The Universe is the furthest thing astronomers know of.

FACTUAL RECOUNT ‘MY PLACE IN SPACE’

And that’s my place in space!

My name is Rose Christina Economou and I’m Greek. I live in Mortdale. I’ve got two sisters, one brother and a mum and dad. My father is a paramedic at the Rockdale station and my mum is a teacher at a Jewish school called ‘Emmanuel School’. I’m a pupil at St Spyridon College and I’m 9 years old.

At my school, there is an average of about 300 students. The address of the school is 80 Gardeners Road. It is a K-12 school with fantastic staff. It is also co-educational and private. My

Rose Economou 4C 16

SPORTS

COLUMN

ISA SWIMMING CARNIVAL 2012 Date: Friday 16th March Time: 3:15pm – 10:30pm Venue: Sydney Aquatic Centre, Homebush.

Bus Times: Bus will be leaving St Spyridon College at 1:00pm(students need to be at school at 12:30pm the latest). The bus will be returning approximately 11:00pm (bus will pass the College and Brighton on the way back).

Students are to be dressed in their school tracksuits with sports T-shirt. STUDENTS NEED TO WEAR ST SPYRIDON SWIMMERS

GIRLS SPORT CONGRATULATIONS Opens Girls and Junior C Basketball teams who played in the ISA Basketball Grandfinals last Saturday and are both Premiers.

Junior C team made a marked improvement over the season and were successful winners against St Pauls Grammar School. Praise to Ms Savva and her team who were committed each week and showed diligence during training at lunch times.

Well done Tiana Milisavljevic, Chrystal Christie, Eve Barton, Anastasia Barton, Isidora Stefanovic, Kristen Mouhnesis, Mariah Stavrou, Tina Ventoura, Christina Balayiannis and Alexia Rizzo.

TOUCH FOOTBALL Monday 12th March selected Year 9 Boys and Year 10 Girls competed at a NSW Touch Football competition. A sport less familiar with our students but an opportunity to diverse our skills.

Many of the students were able to grasp some of the essential skills and appreciate the skill and pace needed in Touch Football. The boys competition was fierce with much of the opposition clearly experienced in Football however, the boys continued to play with their heads up and enjoyed the experience. The girls were more competitive winning a couple of games and only defeated narrowly in others. Well done to all students who competed and Mr Kaldis who encouraged the students from the sidelines.

Open Girls remained undefeated the whole season and finished with a convincing win over Oxley College. Pleasing to watch not only their extreme talents and skills but also their sportsmanship and maturity throughout the season. These girls continue to improve and build on their existing skills, which will be needed next year as we are promoted to Division 1 an exciting challenge ahead. A fitting finish for Erin Criticos and Irene Koukounaris who have been the members of the Open team since Year 9 hopefully we can also win Greek Orthodox Colleges and send them off as winners as they deserve to finish.

Well done, Rena Lambos, Irene Koukounaris, Erin Criticos, Yianna Criticos Nansia Koukounaris (C) Andriane Efstratiou, Natalie Michos, Cassie Georgiou and Nicola Demetri.

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Ms K. O’Shea Girls Sport

BOYS BASKETBALL 2012 Defining moments in sport are often a product of determination and drive for excellence. The 2011/2012 Basketball season had many such moments. Excellence has always been at the forefront whenever students are involved in representing St. Spyridon College, irrefutably it is the determination that best characterizes season 2011/2012. Of the three Boys Basketball teams representing the college in the ISA Basketball two teams managed to win the finals (Open’s and 14’s) and all three made teams to make the semi finals (Opens, 14’s and 13’s). The boys exhibited not only good sportsmanship on and off the court but endeared themselves to the many people who watched them play. What made this season particularly memorable for me as a Boys sports master was the resilient attitude and pride they adopted the moment they ran onto the basketball courts for their college. The benchmark set this year was fairly good, the students now must outdo themselves in the 2012/2013 season if they are to reach greater heights. A challenge they will no doubt respond to after all this is what best characterises the students of this college. In sport our students consider Challenges to be mere obstacles that must always be approached with determination in order to be overcome. May all your goals and aspirations in the season to come be fulfilled.

Mr A. Condous Boys Sport

Congratulations to all the boys basketballers and their respective coaches (Mr Georgoulopoulos, Mr Giles and Mr Sobolevski) on a fine season.

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Prefect Page Speeches made at Scholarships and Student Leadership Assembly held on 14th March, 2012 Kostandino Baratsas I am your College Captain and Sport Captain of 2012. Beside me are Vice-Captain Demi Flokis and Senior Prefect Marielle Pizanis. We proudly represent the students of St Spyridon College whether in or outside the school grounds. It is said the average person influences about 10,000 people throughout their lifetime. That is why we feel it is very important to be the best role models we can be for the younger students. So that hopefully it will rub off on them in some way. Being a Greek Orthodox school it may, from an outsider’s perspective, seem closed off to people of differing backgrounds and religions. In actual fact we welcome other cultures and have students attending the College from a range of countries. We embrace their customs and give them an insight into ours. Growing up at St Spyridon College has helped me understand respect and I thank the school for teaching me this value. This is the main focus I would like to address today.

When I asked Google to define respect, it responded with: Respect – A feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.

What this says to me is that you respect someone for what they can do (abilities). How they do it (qualities) and what they have done (achievements). I thought this definition was incomplete. I agree that there should be respect for the people who are exemplary in our minds but, at some level, all people are worthy of our respect. Most of all you need to respect yourself; how can you respect others without self-respect. I feel this is evidently present in the school environment. No matter what year you’re in, you should have an equal amount of respect for your teachers and peers in your year and the students that are in their first or final year at school. The most important things I will definitely carry with me throughout my life are the moral and ethics I have inherited, collectively from my parents and this school. Thank you.

Demi Flokis Not only does our College educate us on these values and morals but we are also able to put them into practice. St Spyridon College encompasses the Greek Orthodox faith by upholding the customs and beliefs that it stands for.

I know as a fact that one of the major things I’ll miss and take away with me is the way the school embraces our religion and culture. We have been instilled with values and morals that define who we are. We have outside school events that we attend in school uniform , such as the 25th March celebrations that start in our Church and conclude with a march at Martin Place.

Every year the boys of Year 11 are bestowed the honour of carrying the tomb of Christ on Good Friday. For some of us that had the opportunity to travel to Corfu with the Parish Trip to Greece, we had a very spiritual experience when we were so fortunate to see and pray to St Spyridon’s whole body. To be there knowing that St Spyridon is our patron saint was quite remarkable and a highlight of the trip.

OHI day services on the 28th October is another annual event that we are taught about the significance of that day in WWII. Winston Churchill later said ‘Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks.’

Attending these Church services and representing our school at outside events symbolizes our true meaning of our faith and heritage. We are reminded of our beliefs every day whether saying the Lords Prayer each morning in roll call, attending Divine Liturgy with the whole school community or chanting the Easter hymns on Good Friday.

All these ultimately bring our school community closer as a family. We will take these away with us forever and we will admire the next generation of students following in our footsteps.

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Marielle Pizanis Students at St Spyridon College feel a sense of community and embrace the school as a second home. Due to the fact we are a small school it works to our advantage as we really feel like a family. One of the school’s aspects that we focus on is building relationships with our teachers and peers. This is how we essentially build this community spirit. Also, by working together we can achieve a school community whose distinguishing characteristics are those of friendship, compassion, and decency. A mutual respect between teachers and students is developed and students feel more comfortable to approach their teachers.

Relationships between students are valued deeply in the school and because our school is not as big as others we can really get to know our school community. This involves building long lasting friendships or even just acknowledging students by their first names. The Student Representative Council and Peer Support program help us form relationships with students and give us the opportunity to interact with different year groups.

At the College, academics, sport and the arts are all important focuses in which the teacher-student relationship is evident. We consider our studies to be our main goal and undertake to be active participants in our own learning. In sport, academic and the arts, we set goals for our lives and strive to achieve them with a positive state of mind.

The thing that I will personally miss is how St Spyridon College has taught me to respond to the difficulties of life with patience, dignity and faith, and never fearing to start again, and this is embodied in our school’s motto “Forever Excelling”.

Senior Leaders

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