St Spyridon Stylus 26

The voice of St. Spyridon College

| August 2018 | NUMBER 26 |

«Υμεῖς έστε το φῶς τοῦ κόσμου» “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14) Original photography – Victoria Stathos Year 6M

stylus The Strategic Plan 2017 – 2021 - Seven Goals The new Strategic Plan 2017-2021, will provide our students with opportunities to develop into integral and principled individuals who possess a strong sense of history, have the capacity to critically engage with complex ideas, and to achieve and accomplish in ways pleasing to God. In the context of our college, this means:

• To be fair, just and respectful to all people.

• To respect and care for the environment and all living things.

• To contribute to the welfare of others.

• To take dynamic and coherent action to impact on the world for the better.

• To exercise judgment within an ethical framework.

As professionals of the highest calibre, our teachers will be supported in their work with students with access to professional development and purpose-built future focussed facilities.

Our reputation as a Centre of Educational Excellence in teaching and learning, will be enhanced by our partnerships with Universities, and other professional bodies.

Goal 1 - Build students’ capacity to critically engage with complex concepts, through learning experiences that incorporate the Big Human Ideals and Ideas; Big Stories and Great books; Current global issues and events.

Goal 2 - Develop multidisciplinary approach to learning through programs that integrate the study of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Humanities, English, Maths and Science (HEMS).

Goal 3 - Expand our languages and culture programs.

Goal 4 - Expand professional links of our educators with academic institutions-locally and globally and further enhance academic careers of our students.

Goal 5 - Enhance communications and comply with all mandates.

Goal 6 - Build reputation as a school that cultivates global citizenship for its students.

Goal 7 - Develop and implement a Master Plan to incorporate new purpose-built and conducive facilities to accommodate an enrolment of 960 students K minus 1 to Year 12 (460 K minus 1-Year 6 and 500 Years 7-12).

The term Stylus is used to describe a myriad of different devices used in computing, science, medicine, art and technology. In ancient times, a stylus was the bone or ivory pen used to write on wax or clay tablets. Stylus is also the Greek word for pillar, denoting strength and grace. * A copy of the full Strategic Plan is available for download at www.stspyridon.nsw.edu.au

From the Head of College

I

was recently invited to a special forum organized by the

central to who we are. We develop character and conscience

AISNSW on CEO Perspectives: The Future of Schooling

and teach the value of hard work and collaborative effort. As

in Australia. The CEO’s of major companies, including

a result, our students experience success in winning scholarships

Kellie Parker CEO of Rio Tinto and Ken Boal Vice President of

and places in prestigious courses such as the National Art

Cisco Australia and New Zealand (in the presence of the Hon.

School Intensive Studio Practice. They excel in the spoken

Craig Laundy and Luke Foley MP and Leader of the Opposition)

arts, in digital technology, and in academic competitions.

advised Heads of Schools on how to prepare their students

Sports is another area of excellence for our boys and girls.

for the world of work. To my relief they did not want to take us “back to basics”. Nor did they talk about the need to teach students to “compete” for a place in the so called “real world”. To my surprise and pleasure they exalted the importance of ethical conduct, values, flexibility, curiosity,

But we aspire to something more – we want our students to change the world for the better. We do this in partnership with our parents – who are themselves principled and capable people of faith and resilience.

imagination, agility and above all collaboration and empathy.

Dean Albanakis our College Captain, describes leadership as

They spoke with passion about the need for young people

“an act of generosity”. Whether it is contributing to Brain

to develop those attributes that we at St Spyridon College

Cancer research, sharing with Africa or any other cause, our

associate with fundamental Christian values.

students rally round and contribute.

As you read this Stylus, you will see ample evidence of our

We hope you enjoy reading through the many activities

College’s capacity to lead students in their quest to develop

across all areas of endeavor, that make St Spyridon College a

these 21st century citizenship attributes. Indeed these are

unique and dynamic place for our students and their families.

Mrs E. Stefanou-Haag Head of College

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Student Leaders - Building Ethos and Values The Matt Thistlethwaite Student Leadership Assembly 2018 Address by Dean Albanakis - College Captain I am honoured to be the College Captain for 2018. It is my privilege to be speaking to you at today’s leadership assembly. I am very honoured to be representing all the leaders of our college here today.

By definition, a leader is the ability of an individual to lead or guide other individuals and teams. The role of a leader is to motivate and inspire others by setting a good example. When elected captain my initial thought was “What big things can I do to help the school” and “How can I make a difference” but then I realised as Martin Luther King Jr said. “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way”. Each and every one of you can aspire to be a great leader, if you have the right growth mindset.

A good leader doesn’t happen without the support of a leadership team. I am grateful to have Joanna and Anastasia as well as the entire prefect body to assist me with decision making, in the best interest of the school.

Everyone here today is surrounded by role models, whether it be your parents, roll call teacher, your soccer coach or even an older sibling. Throughout my 13 years of education at St Spyridon College, I have been influenced by many educational

leaders such as Mrs Stefanou, Mrs Katsogiannis, Mrs Synesios and the late Mrs Hamer. Moreover, both Father Steven and Father Sotiris have also influenced me significantly as I have been an altar boy for St Spyridon Church for almost 11 years, working under their guidance.

As College Captain, I understand how privileged we are to not only have the right to an education but to have an education here at St Spyridon College. We should embrace our school and its family and show pride in it. Our faith and culture are incorporated in our learning thus allowing us to develop our mind, body and soul. Our school motto “forever excelling” fits perfectly with the schools ethos.

Leadership begins with an act of generosity. And, that generosity originates from outside of us. As leaders, we have volunteered at events such as the Brain Cancer Group and have represented the College at the recent ANZAC Day Memorial Services and the Battle of Crete Memorial Commemoration; most recently the student body raised $1500 for the Archdiocese “Share With Africa Appeal”.

A great leader understands that it is the people they lead that ultimately determines the success or failure of any venture. For this, I thank my leadership team and their assistance and support so far this year. Congratulations to all Junior and Senior School leaders who received /are receiving awards today and we would like to thank Mr Thistlethwaite for recognising leadership in our school and for always supporting St Spyridon College.

L to R: Ms Kokinelis, Mrs Synesios, Christina Tsaconas, Dr Savoulis, Mrs Stefanou, Matt Thistlethwaite MP, Mrs Katsogiannis, Dean Albanakis, Mr Dookie.

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Leaders Day at NSW Parliament House and Government House Two of our Year 12 students, Dayna Kostantakis and Sarantos Makris, represented our College at the Annual Senior Leaders Day. They listened to presentations on Leadership, met members of the Parliament, visited Government House and an opportunity

to mix with other Seniors from a variety of Public and Independent Schools.

Ms G Kokinelis - Dean of Middle School

Congratulations to Nicholas Kollias (Sports Captain) who on Sunday 18 March competed in the 2018 Australian Junior Championships in the Men’s High Jump Under 18 at Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre. Nicholas, who was representing NSW, achieved 4th place in Australia jumping 1.95m. This is his best placing so far, an outstanding achievement.

Year 10 Peer Support Leaders Recently the Year 10 Peer Support Team Leaders spent time training and preparing for their sessions with Year 7.

The five group Peer Support sessions aim to further assist our younger students with their transition to the Senior School.

Each session that is facilitated by the PSL’s has a dedicated theme and associated interactive activities: Session 1: Ice Breakers and Energisers that Develop Positive Relationships.

Session 2: Understanding how to build great friendships.

Session 3: Team Building and Group Dynamics.

Session 4: Decision Making and Problem Solving.

Session 5: Communication and Listening Skills.

Judging from the laughter and happy faces, Year 7 thoroughly enjoyed their first session. Peer Support leaders reported that students within each group worked well with one another and were respectful and cooperative.

Ms G Kokinelis - Dean of Middle School

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In the Pursuit of Excellence ACER Scholarship Winners Congratulations to Paul Bessiris and Chloe Drougas, Year 10 who have each been granted a two year Scholarship for continued study in Years 11 and 12.

Congratulations to Alexandra Bizannes, Year 6 granted the 2019 four year scholarship to St Spyridon College.

The scholarships are based on the results of ACER Scholarship exams held in February. There was a strong field of candidates from other primary schools, our Year 6 and Year 10 students.

We commend all students who attempted this challenging exam.

Paul Bessiris

Chloe Drougas

Alexandra Bizannes

National Arts School - Congratulations We are happy to announce that this year three students were accepted into the National Art School Intensive Studio Practice. They are Nikolija Jovanovic, who was accepted into Printmaking, Sophia Keterinis, who was accepted into Photography and Roula Nicholos, who was accepted into Life Drawing. We are very proud of these students’ achievements. This is a highly competitive program, accepting about 50 of the 1500 students across the State who apply.

We wish them well.

Ms M. Pringle Visual Arts Teacher L to R: Nikolija Jovanovic, Sophia Katerinis & Roula Nicholos

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Roula Nicholos - Drawing

HICES - Best Debaters

stylus Opens Team 1st – George Bozikis (Year 11) 4th – Jade Capitanelis (Year 11) Senior Team 2nd equal – Maria-Angela Patsalis (Year 9) 4th equal – Nicholas Drakoulis (Year 10) Middle Team

We congratulate the St Spyridon College students who were awarded places for ‘Best Debaters’ in our HICES region.

Places were awarded as follows:

5th equal – Alexander Kumar (Year 7) 6th equal – Elena Kaldis (Year 8) and Gabriella Guerrera (Year 7) Ms V. Laskas - English and History Teacher

Sophia Keterinis - Photography Nikolija Jovanovic - Printmaking

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Focus on our Educators Profile of Mrs Anna Gambierakis

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Arts (English Language & Literature) – Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1987-1991)

• Certificate of Proficiency in English (1992) Grade A

• Graduate Diploma of Education in Secondary English – Wesley Institute (2013)

• NAATI Accredited Professional Translator & Interpreter (Greek <> English)

Roles and responsibilities:

• Teacher of Modern Greek

• Coordinator of Modern Greek at Junior School Mrs Gambierakis has enjoyed a teaching career spanning over 24 years, during which she has taught both in Greece and Australia. She first came to St Spyridon College in 2012 when her family moved to Sydney, and has been part of the St Spyridon family ever since.

Although secondary trained, Mrs Gambierakis has always taught primary students whom she finds to be a perfect match to her lively and energetic approach to learning and teaching; young learners inspire her to be the best ‘’awakener’’ and ‘’pupil’’ she can herself be.

As a professional, Mrs Gambierakis has strived to follow Art Linkletter’s advice: Do a little more than you’re paid to. Give a little more than you have to. Try a little harder than you have to. Aim a little higher than you think possible, and give a lot of thanks to God for health, family and friends.

Profile of Mr Anthony Picardi

Qualifications:

• G raduate Diploma of Education (GradDipEdUNE).

• Admission into the Supreme Court of NSW.

• Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (GDLP) – The College of Law.

• Bachelor of Laws (LL.B USyd) – The University of Sydney.

• Master of Arts (MA SCD) - St Andrew’s Theological College, The Sydney College of Divinity.

• Bachelor of Theology (BTh SCD) – St Andrew’s Theological College, The Sydney College of Divinity.

Roles and responsibilities:

• Orthodox Studies Years 7-10.

• Legal Studies Years 11-12.

• Member of AIS SBRN ‘A Question of Values’ Education Project Team (2014-2016).

• Year 7 Home Room Teacher.

Teaching at St. Spyridon College is not merely a profession. It is a calling. Education at St. Spyridon College is more than just about transmitting knowledge. It is about moulding young characters and inspiring them to discover their purpose in the world while helping them to reach their true potential. As a Year 7-10 Orthodox Studies teacher at St. Spyridon College, my role is intrinsic to the Orthodox Studies Program, the aim of which is to ensure that the Orthodox faith and ethos permeates all aspects of our College Community. This begins by cultivating in the hearts of our young students a love and understanding of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and His Holy Gospel, while also bearing witness to the living tradition of the Orthodox Church. As a Year 11-12 Legal Studies teacher, my knowledge and passion for the law, coupled with my experience in the legal profession, has also enabled me to develop my students’ knowledge, understanding and critical thinking skills in relation to the Australian legal system and its effectiveness in promoting a just and fair society both here and abroad.

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Focus on Past Students Christopher Georgiou – HSC CLASS 2006 My history at St Spyridon College • HSC Class 2006 • College Prefect Tertiary Studies • Bachelor of Commerce, Marketing major at University of Wollongong (UOW) • Hospitality Diploma at TAFE Graduated 2010 Current I am currently working at Qantas as a Programmatic Advertising Specialist, within a newly established team that is dedicated to the roll-out of in-flight Wi-Fi on Domestic & International fleets. It’s an extremely dynamic role, where I might interact with a number of different internal/external stakeholders on any given day, including Heads of Marketing, Customer Service Managers, Data Scientists or Flight Deck Engineers.

“St. Spyridon helped me to respect and embrace not just my own culture but the cultures of others. This laid the perfect platform for working in such a large and culturally diverse company like Qantas.”

St Spyridon Contributes to NESA Review K – 10 Modern Greek Draft Syllabus St Spyridon College was honoured to be part of the consultation process for proposed new Modern Greek Syllabus of The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).

Mrs Josephine Ardino, Senior Curriculum Officer, Languages and Curriculum Standards visited both the Junior and Senior School Campuses to hear from the students about how they like to learn Greek and what they want to learn more about. The students took the process very seriously and gave insightful comments.

Mrs Ardino stated “It is heartening to read such insightful comments about learning Modern Greek and we all agree here that it is evidence

of sound teaching and learning practices at St Spyridon College. Certainly a credit to the teachers and the executive”.

Mrs Synesios, Mrs Faletas, Mrs Alexandropoulou, Mrs Gambierakis, Mr Volas, Mr Amditis and Mrs Georgakopoulos attended the Teacher Consultation and Review of the curriculum to provide feedback.

Mrs Gambierakis and Mr Amditis will be working with NESA to make final adjustments and modifications to the K – 6 Modern Greek document.

We thank NESA for including us in this important project and for valuing the expertise and work done in our College.

Mrs A. Synesios Principal Junior School

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Brain Cancer Research

Girls Night In Fundraiser In May all Year 12 girls and a number of female teachers joined together to spend some time away from books and the pressures of normal school routine, to enjoy each other’s company, share memories of great times with old and new friends, as well as reflect on the fact that we had all gathered in support of raising awareness and much needed funds for brain and breast cancer research. To gain insight into the impact of disease on individuals, we watched a short video: “Dying to Live, Living to Die” about a girl of a

similar age to our students who had been diagnosed with brain cancer. https://youtu.be/bh5sswbaC5U. Even though there was a sobering and tear filled silence afterwards, knowing that $2,500 had been raised from our event, made everyone feel proud to have contributed towards funding cancer research that hopefully one day will lead to a cure.

Ms G Kokinelis - Dean of Middle School

Prefects Visit the Brain Cancer Research Facility Year 12 Prefects who assisted at last Year’s White Pearl Ball Fundraiser for Brain Cancer, were invited to a “Thank You Morning Tea”, Certificate presentation and tour of the Brain Cancer Research Lab at the Kolling Institute, Royal North Shore Hospital. It was fascinating to learn about the complexities of the research that is being conducted. It was also wonderful to hear and see that funds we helped raise were put towards the purchase of a specialised laboratory microscope, as well as enabling one of the key researchers in immunotherapy to

continue her work for another three years.

We thank Mrs Suzane Peponis - Brisimis (Director and Board Member of the Brain Cancer Group - formerly known as SNOG) for all her efforts and the hospital staff for taking time out of their very busy day to not only warmly welcome us, but also present an informative power point, lab tour and morning tea. We look forward to future collaborations for this worthy cause.

Ms G. Kokinelis - Dean of Middle School

Boys Night In Fundraiser The Year 12 boys organised a night in at the SPACe in order to raise funds and awareness about brain cancer.

The night was full of fun, soccer and basketball games, and all the boys got closer by sharing our experiences about our time at the school.

The night in was very successful as we raised $1200 through all the donations we received.

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We would like to thank Mr Condous, Mr Kaldis, Mr Sialepis, Mr Meintanis, Mr Picardi and Mr Kollias for supporting us during the night, and we would like to especially thank Mr Zafiropoulos and Mr Mouhtaris for spending the whole night with us.

Dean Albanakis College Captain

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Governor General Peter Cosgrove acknowledging Peter Kotsis’ fund raising efforts.

Year 7 Student With a Big Heart Congratulations to Peter Kotsis of Year 7 who was invited to attend a special ceremony hosted by the Governor General Peter Cosgrove at Government House, Sydney. This was a formal acknowledgement of his fund raising efforts last year (part of

“the schools aid trust” initiative) for St Basils Nursing Home at Lakemba. Well done Peter!!

Ms G. Kokinelis Dean of Middle School STYLUS Page 9

Global Connections Share with Africa Congratulations to the Student Representative Council that recently banded together to bake and donate a vast array of tasty treats for their “Share with Africa”cake stall fundraiser. A real sense of team work was visible as students packaged biscuits, cut up cakes, set up tables, worked out prices, experimented with table displays and sold the items they had brought in.

Congratulations and thank you to all SRC’s for your enthusiasm, and to all other students and staff, for your purchases! As a result, the SRC cake stall raised an outstanding $1500 for the “Share with Africa” appeal. The team work, leadership and support shown by all are inspirational. Thank you Ms Kokinelis, for your leadership in this important initiative.

Mrs E. Stefanou-Haag Head of College

World π Day - The Welsh Connection On Wednesday, March 14th, Year 5 and Year 6 celebrated World Pi Day during our Mathematics lessons. It was interesting to hear from Mr Davies, a Welshman teaching Mathematics in a Greek school, that the first person to use the Greek letter pi and the symbol π, was in fact a Welsh mathematician, William Jones (1675-1749).

We briefly watched a video on an artist called Martin Kryzwinski who found artistic beauty in the randomness of Pi. We made our own piece of Pi Art to highlight how Pi is an Irrational Number.

We finished the lesson by finding out our Pi Day. We typed our birthdate into www.mypiday.com and it calculated where that number sequence appears in Pi. My birthdate 03.01.07 was the 57361st digit in Pi. Steven Paras from 5A found that his birthdate appeared as the 5890262nd digit in Pi. Wow! Today’s lesson was thoroughly enjoyable and I’m already looking forward to the 14th of March 2019.

Dimitra Kasmas Year 6P

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Parish Trip to Greece 2018

In 2008 I embarked on what was going to be the most influential trip of my life, the St Spyridon Parish College Pilgrimage to Greece. As a Year 10 student of the College, this trip is something you look forward to for most of your high school life. The experience of being in the motherland with your friends and fellow classmates and visiting so many incredible archaeological and religious sites is something that remains with you for life.

Ten years have passed since that time. This year I was honoured to be asked to accompany the current Year 10 cohort on their trip. As Year Adviser of this current group, I was looking forward to being able to experience this trip with the year group, this time experience everything it has to offer and from the perspective of a teacher. I wanted to ensure the students would gain as much as possible from everything the trip has to offer.

On the 21st of June, 32 students and four leaders headed off for what would be another unforgettable experience.

The Acropolis in Athens, the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion, Epidauros, the Lion’s Gate in Mycenae and the Delphic Oracle in Delphi are just some of the archaeological highlights of the trip. The incredible views at Meteora and our spiritual journey at both Ecosifinissa Monastery for the girls and Mount Athos for the boys were truly grounding experiences for all.

What stood out most for me this time around was the tremendous maturity that our students showed when visiting the religious sites. An attribute that is credited to our College and what it stands for. It is for this reason, that the highlights of the trip for me on a personal level were our visits to St Nektarios Monastery in Aegina and our experience at the church of St Spyridon in Corfu. The students and leaders gained so much from this time. We reflected and

saw it as an opportunity to be thankful for everything we have as well as an opportunity to pray for guidance in our struggles. It was the first time the trip visited St Spyridon Church on a Sunday for a Divine Liturgy service. Another incredible moment where our students were able to receive Holy Communion at the home of our Patron Saint, as well as being able to venerate his body at the conclusion of the service.

I have an immense sense of gratitude to Mrs Stefanou and Mrs Katsogiannis for having allowed me this opportunity to experience the trip for a second time. I never imagined I would be able to do it again and am honoured to have been a part of this year’s group. I feel I also wouldn’t have gained as much as I did on this trip if it wasn’t for the other teachers who travelled. Both Mr Meintanis and Mrs Mio were my teachers throughout high school and are now my colleagues who have mentored me for over 13 years. There is no doubt that it was their leadership and the way they demonstrate their strong belief in their faith that allowed our students to have a holistic experience of what this trip is all about.

I would very much like to thank Mr James Phillips from the Parish for his leadership on the trip which added another element of nostalgia as he accompanied me on my trip in 2008.

To the students of the trip, remember everything you have learned and be thankful for everything that you experienced.

The bonds that were formed and memories that were made, will be with you for a lifetime. I pray that our Patron Saint, St Spyridon sees you able to return and visit him in the near future.

Ms A. Flokis Year 10 Adviser

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Memorable Moments - Trip to Greece

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Parents and Friends - A dynamic force

Mother’s night out

Our warmest congratulations are extended to Mrs Kasmas and the P & F Committee for the wonderful Mother’s Day dinner that they hosted on the 17 May. It was wonderful to be in the company of strong and faithful women across the generations. We thank all the parent body for their

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support of the P & F through your attendance at events, the purchase of prizes and raffle tickets and the generous donation of prizes. An amazing $17,000 was raised!

Desma Spyridopoulos – P & F Assistant Secretary Leslie Paparsenos – P & F Secretary

The Parents & Friends Committee invites you to join our SPRING FAIR at the Senior School Music. Dance. Children’s rides and activities for all ages.

Market stalls. Greek style BBQ. Delicious sweets and gourmet coffee.

Proudly hosting the Greek Welfare Centre Walkathon.

Sunday 28th October, 2018 1130 Anzac Parade, Maroubra – 11 am – 5 pm

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Junior School Focus Waverley War Memorial Hospital Visit Our wonderful commemorative tradition has continued this year as well…

On the occasion of the commemoration of the 25th March, 15 boys and girls from Year 6 visited our Greek Senior Citizens at Waverley War Memorial Hospital to celebrate Greek Independence Day & The Annunciation all together. Our students’ chanting and singing brought tears to the eyes of our παππούδες και γιαγιάδες who were overwhelmed with

pride and joy. They noted how much they look forward to this event every year as our students never fail to perform their best and remind them of the significance of the day for Greek people everywhere in the world. Και του χρόνου, λοιπόν!

Mrs A. Gambierakis Modern Greek Coordinator Junior School

ICAS Digital Technologies Each year all primary students are given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities in, and understanding of digital technology. They sit an assessment prepared by UNSW. We are indeed proud to report that our school again performed extremely well, which led to our students earning, an impressive, 31 Credit (in the top 35% of students in NSW) and 6 Distinction (in the top 11% of students in NSW) certificates.

Mr A. Dookie Deputy Principal Junior School

CREDIT Year 3 Oliver Borean Kostan Papadopoulos Marcus Kalyvas Connor Kasmas Adriana Poulos Year 4 Khrysa Psillakis Mitchell Coutts Paige Sigrimis Christian Billiris Krystal Preketes Year 5 Ryan Lynch Franklin Skouteris Peter Winnel Aki Dimitrakopoulos Mariah Sartzetakis Peter Baroutis Chrissy Drakakis Angelo Mastroperos Cara Diamond

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Year 6 Andrew Dalessis Chloe Kristallis Elizabeth Notaras Alexandra Bizannes Dimitra Kasmas Sophia Lane Peter Bebonis Catherine Coutts Tara Zinopoulos Victoria Stathos Julia Kamaras Isabelle Zeiderman DISTINCTION Year 4 Zac Boutsalis Michael Boutsalis Michaela Deftereos Louis Degabriele Year 5 Amali Roumanous Year 6 Myles O’Reilly

Digital Technologies – New STEM Lab Junior School STEM is an acronym for the four pillars of ‘Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics’. To facilitate additional and innovative ways to engage our students in STEM learning, exciting updates are happening in our Junior School ICT room to convert it to a STEM Lab. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be

This is referred to as ‘code’. Programming is a core element of the Digital Technologies curriculum. It is the process that makes it possible to create computer software, applications and websites. Coding assists students to develop essential skills such as problem-solving, logic and critical thinking.

Robotics A robot is a mechanical device that can be programmed to follow a set of instructions.

Robots have processing units, sensors to help them perceive things in the surrounding environment and motors and actuators so that they can move. Robots may also have the added programmable functionality of lights, sounds or speech recognition.

rolling out 28 iPads Pros to support our STEM learning activities.

These iPads will enable us to expand upon the coding applications we currently use as well as enable us to implement many new forms of robotics in the Junior School.

With the introduction of a new K-6 Science and Technology syllabus in 2019 comes a new strand - Digital Technologies.

Digital Technologies will...help students to become innovative creators of digital solutions, effective users of digital systems and critical consumers of information conveyed by digital systems.

What does the curriculum mean by ‘creators of digital solutions’?

This means that students will learn to create programs with code, so that they can become creators of digital technology, not just users.

Coding

Educational robotics is a broad term that refers to a collection of activities, programs, physical platforms and educational resources. In addition, behind the physical elements lies a pedagogical philosophy that matches the new Digital Technologies curriculum.

Age and stage appropriate strategies and tools Below are some of the tools and applications we’ll be using in Kindergarten through to Year 6.

We thank Mr Arnott for all his work behind the scenes to get our new STEM Lab equipped. These resources will also be used in the other curriculum areas in the classroom. Join us for the official opening of the new Lab on Open Day 28th September 2018.

Mrs A. Synesios Principal Junior School

Computers require ordered instructions to know what to do.

Computational & Algorithmic Thinking Students in Years 5 and 6 joined students from another 455 schools to participate in the Computational & Algorithmic Thinking (CAT) competition. The competition seeks to identify computer programming potential. The problems presented test the students’ ability to accurately perform procedures that require logical thought. 17 students at our College were awarded Credit certificates while Alexandra Bizannes from Year 6 was awarded a Distinction.

Below are the names of the students that need to be commended for their outstanding performance in gaining a Credit.

Year 5 Ryan Lynch, Alster Dhamari, Amali Roumanous, Chrissy Drakakis, Phillip Preketes, George Alexandratos and Peter Winnel.

Year 6 Dimitra Kasmas, Catherine Coutts, Chrysa Kirkis, Sarah Constantinidis, Elizabeth Notaras, Isabelle Zeiderman, Holly Durrant, Jordan Haramis, Andrew Dalessis and Gabriella Gouveros.

Mr A. Dookie Deputy Principal Junior School

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Combined Greek Orthodox Swimming Carnival Our Annual Combined Greek Orthodox Swimming Carnival with our sister Schools, St Euphemia and All Saints Grammar, was held in glorious sunshine at Botany Pools. St Spyridon College hosted the event.

Throughout the day I saw students, parents and teachers cheering, encouraging, and socialising with big smiley faces.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wonderful when we come together as an Orthodox family and celebrate our achievements.

The carnival was filled with impressive individual and group performances and exemplary behaviour was demonstrated by

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all competitors. The St Spyridon team represented the school in a professional manner and also displayed great sportsmanship to all involved.

Thank you to the staff and parents who assisted in the smooth running of the carnival.

St Spyridon College won the competition with a significant lead in points. Congratulations to all involved!

Mrs A. Synesios Principal Junior School

Cricket Interschool Gala Day

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In March we invited the ASISSA schools to Rowland Park for a Cricket Gala day. Mount Sinai, International Grammar School, International Football School, Redeemer College and Moriah College took part. The objective for organising this carnival was to expose our students to this sport which is quite popular in Australia, allowing them to gain confidence in the skills and rules of Cricket.

We took all of Year 6 (3 Boys teams and 3 Girls teams) and 4 students from Year 4 & 5 who are in our representative School Cricket team.

Cricket Australia organised the draws and umpired the games and after lunch we had a high catching competition which the students thoroughly enjoyed. Connor Kristallis won the boys

competition and Gabriella Gouveros was runner up in the Girls competition.

Spiros Zafiropoulos, Manny Giokas and Steven Stamoulis from the Senior School, who have experience in Cricket, came to assist on the day, coaching and encouraging our teams on the sidelines. Our students welcomed the Year 11 boys with delight and were loud in admiration of their leadership skills and experience.

It was a fantastic day with plenty of healthy competition, enthusiasm and laughter.

Mrs C. Diavatiotis Sport Coordinator Junior School

Congratulations Steven Paras of 5A was presented with his prize of an iPad mini for winning the 2017 Antenna Christmas Card Competition. Children from around Australia participated.

We thank Mario Kiteri and Antenna Pacific for the opportunity to participate.

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Science and Technology Science students at UTS Super-Lab Students had the opportunity to visit the Super- Lab at UTS and they learned how a modern laboratory operates.

All students enjoyed conducting the various experiments and investigated some applications of specific areas of Science that are used in everyday life.

Student’s impressions of the Science Excursion to the UTS: “One of the three workshops we participated in was Physics, where we had the opportunity to test out a thermoelectric generator until we achieved the highest reading with the equipment provided. A thermoelectric generator is a small device which generates electricity by having on side exposed to heat and the other exposed to cold. Through this experiment we learned about T.E. Generators and their practical application.

We also learned not to challenge Mr Karras in Physics as he effortlessly proved why he is the king of Physics.”

Paul Bessiris and Andrew Karaniki – Year 10 students

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“Forensics, body, blood, evidence… Murder?

In March, Year 10 had a Science excursion at UTS compiled of 3 different workshops. We discovered the fields of Forensics, Microbiology and Physics. In Forensics we learnt about fingerprints and blood placement and used them to analyze a crime scene. In Microbiology we used a microscope to differentiate different causes of sickness. In Physics we looked at how various metals require heat and cool temperatures to measure volts on the multimeter. The highest score was 275 volts. We also had a talk about the numerous types of Sciences and how to perform them.

Overall, this day was a highly enjoyable day, we all learnt a lot and would love to take part again.

Irene Kourliafti, Marissa Diakoumis and Sasha Douglas – Year 10 students Mr A. Karras - Science and Physics Teacher

St Spyridon Students Excelling in Information Software and Technology

More than 6,000 students from around the world participated in “Grok Learning’s Web. Comp.2018”. They competed for 5 weeks, using code to design websites of increasing sophistication and complexity.

Students of Year 9 and 10 Information & Software Technology classes have recently performed outstandingly in this international coding competition, and achieved exceptionally high scores.

Year 9 participated in the Web. Comp (Beginners) strand.

Students in Web. Comp (Beginners) learn to write web pages in HTML and CSS while competing with students from around the world. The Beginners stream is designed for students with no prior experience of web development, and covers everything necessary to start building real websites.

The results were: With a Perfect Score: Anastasi Poulos George Nicholos Danae Margaronis-Lopez John Leondios, Mateo Keres Bill Bourdaniotis Nikolaos Ghelis With a High Distinction: Kosta Ioannou Andre Jovanovic Christo Keramitzis Matthew Serghis Neofyto Tsakirios Year 10 also participated in the Web. Comp at they were at the Intermediate strand. Students in Web.Comp (Intermediate) also learn to write web pages in HTML and CSS while competing with students from around the world. However, the Intermediate stream is designed for students who have some prior experience of web development, and moves rapidly through the basics of building real websites.

The results were: With a Perfect Score: Thomas Mouratidis Reece Malanos Andrew Karaniki George Kalergis Belal Hijazi Nicholas Drakoulis Marissa Diakoumis With a High Distinction: Michael Dimitrakopoulos George Hatzidis With a Distinction: Paul Bessiris With a Credit: Amin Shokri

The Design Tournament, which is the culmination of the competition, was in the fifth week. The Tournament gives students a chance to flex their coding and design skills, submitting website designs which are then voted on in head-to head-rounds.

It would be wonderful to recognise the work and achievements of these students, who did a phenomenal job in keeping engaged, excited and inspired for the 5 weeks!

To quote the organisers: “A huge congratulations to these students, as well as to all students (and teachers!) who submitted designs. We were blown away by the quality and creativity of your students’ work and they should all be incredibly proud of themselves!”. And we are.

Mr G. Georgoulopoulos IT Senior Teacher

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GOA National Schools Event 2018 The Annual Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia National Schools Event took place this year in Melbourne.

St John’s College hosted the event over three days in May. This event is highly anticipated event by all students as not only do they have the opportunity to display their talents in their sporting endeavours but they more importantly are provided with an opportunity to foster friendships with other students who share similar cultural and religious beliefs.

The schools included; St John’s College (Melbourne), Oakleigh College (Melbourne), St George College (Adelaide), St Andrew’s College (Perth), St Euphemia College (Sydney), All Saints College (Sydney) and St Spyridon College.

With competition in Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer, Futsal and table tennis as well as the performing arts there is always ample opportunity for the students to showcase their skills in various sports and performances. For the year 12 students competing it was their last Orthodox Sports week and the motivation to do well was clearly evident on the first day of competition on Wednesday with the Futsal and Volleyball competition.

Before competition began the students from all Schools assembled at Church for the opening blessing service on Wednesday 9th May which was presided by his Grace Bishop Ezekiel. It was a very moving occasion for all involved. The beautiful chanting that accompanied the service was inspiring and a true blessing for all to be part of. In addressing the students his grace emphasised the importance of the resurrection hymn, and emphasised the need to forge long lasting friendships among the students.

His grace also compelled the students to compete fairly but with vigour and to enjoy the games for what they truly are a celebration of what unites all the students across all the Archdiocese schools.

Both boys’ teams were victorious on the opening day of competition winning both the Volleyball and Futsal. It is only the second time in the competition that the boys have been able to win the Volleyball and this feat is certainly due to their positive approach and enjoyment of the competition.

The team really enjoyed their underdog status and they thrived together with their coach Mr Zafiropoulos who managed to get the best out of the boys. For the Futsal team it was a memorable day with the boys remaining undefeated for the tournament. The game against All Saints Grammar was particularly exciting for all involved with the boys coming from behind to secure a 3-3 draw with Hesan Soufi scoring in the final minutes off a free kick, drilling the ball past the keeper to ensure the team remained undefeated to clinch a memorable tournament win for the boys.

Perhaps the team with the most pressure going into this tournament was the girls Basketball team. A strong previous school history winning this tournament 19 years straight set the expectations for the girls. The girls were focused and determined all day winning most their games comfortably but most importantly all girls contributed to the success on the court. Once again the final result would be decided by the last game with both St Euphemia and St Spyridon undefeated throughout the day. St Spyridon girls led early and continued the lead throughout the duration of the game eventually winning the game and consequently retaining the schools proud history in this event. Congratulations Rhea Tsimboukis who was awarded Most Valued Player for Basketball.

Thank you to St John’s College for hosting a seamless event, an event that is highly anticipated. Their Parish and leadership team showed a flawless display as to how to be a hospitable host.

Mr F Kaldis - Boys Sport. Ms K O’Shea - Girls Sport

Boys Soccer - Champions Attn: St Euphemia College Details: College Crest Colours: Pantone 282C White Type: Myriad Semi Bold

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Most Valuable Players Selected From Each Sport Congratulations to all the boys and girls who received the Most Valuable Player for their respective sports in 2018.

Boys Volleyball – Zac Prelec Soccer – Hesan Soufi Futsal – Jonathon Lynch Table tennis – Nicholas Kollias Basketball – Alexandros Gousetis

Girls Futsal – Nikki Cardamis Volleyball & Netball – Christina Vlahos Table Tennis – Ephemia Damianos Basketball – Rhea Tsimboukis

Thank you also to all my colleagues for their support and encouragement throughout the three day event, truly a team effort, and now the students’ attention turns to Adelaide as St George host next year’s competition.

Girls Basketball - Champions

Boys Basketball - Champions

Boys Volleyball - Champions

Boys Futsal - Champions

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Junior and Senior School Athletics

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1130 Anzac Parade, Maroubra NSW 2035, PO Box 462, Maroubra NSW 2035 Phone: 61 2 9311 3340 Fax: 61 2 9311 4532 Email: admin@stspyridon.nsw.edu.au Website: stspyridon.nsw.edu.au Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, St Spyridon Parish of South-East Sydney A.C.N. 000 410 891 A.B.N. 84 480 080 247