Culture Studies
When it comes to cultural studies, we do things a little differently. We don’t just teach a couple of Greek dances. We delve into our rich and glorious heritage and discover what it means to be Greek! You might ask us, "Does Pythagoras Greek School really do all these things?" And we would reply, "Don't all Greek Schools do the same?"
Ο Μικρός Αγιασμός
The school blessing occurs at the start of each year. We've been starting this way for over 40 years. On this day we learn about the Big Agiasmos and Small Agiasmos. The Big Agiasmos involves the blessing of all waters and occurs during our Summer Break in January. The priest throws a cross into the sea and young men and women, boys and girls, jump in to reach it. At school, we gather around and to observe the priest performing the Small Agiasmos. We love getting our hair and faces wet as he splashes the blessed water onto our foreheads.
Το καντηλάκι
Once a term, the children and teachers who celebrate their namedays light the kandilaki (vigil lamp) and lead the assembly into prayer. We also find out more about why we celebrate our namedays.
Οι Απόκριες
During Apokries we all dress up in our fancy costumes. Even the teachers! The parents are invited to watch the children and teachers take part in a Fancy Dress Parade. The children also perform traditional and contemporary songs and dances related to Apokries. One of our favourite traditional dance is the Dance of the Bride!
Η 25η Μαρτίου
At the 25th of March Parade students march with fervour and pride. Many come dressed in national costumes. At each campus, the students also perform traditional songs and dances to mark the commemoration of our Struggle for Independence.
Το Πάσχα
Students learn about the various traditions associated with Greek Easter. After the Easter break, students bring their strongest red eggs and take part in our annual (RECC) Red Egg Crack- Off Competition. And of course, the finalists and winners receive chocolate Easter eggs as prizes.
Ο Εθνικός Ύμνος
Dionysios Solomos, our national poet, visits us on his birthday. He explains to us how the first two verses of one of his poems became our national anthem. His poem was called 'A Hymn to Freedom' and it had 158 verses. Lucky we don't have to sing them all. We cut a cake for him and sing Happy Birthday to him in Greek:
Να ζήσεις Διονύσιε και Χρόνια Πολλά
Μεγάλος να γίνεις με άσπρα μαλλιά
Παντού να σκορπίζεις της γνώσης το φως
Και όλοι να λένε να ένας σοφός!
Η Ημέρα της Μητέρας
Although not part of our Greek heritage, a little tradition that has become part of the fabric of our Greek School is the Mother's Day Student Competition. The Prep to 4s draw pictures for their mothers while the older students write poems or stories. Winners are selected from each year level and prizes include mugs, roses and chocolates. Winning entries also make it into our Mother's Day Edition of our newsletter which we print out just for that month and hand to all students. This competition is held in memory of the late Mrs Anastasia Roubos, joint founder, beloved teacher and mother of our principal.
Η Αρχαία Ιστορία και Μυθολογία
In Term 3 the ancient gods and goddesses come alive! Children learn about the history and mythology of Ancient Greece. Our Grade 3s and 4s come dressed as their favourite god and present their wonderful research projects. Our secondary students focus on great historical figures such as Alexander the Great, while our Year 5s and 6s discover the Iliad and Odyssey.
Τα Χριστούγεννα
At our End of Year Concerts consist of plays, songs and poems, all about Christmas. Our Prep to 2s recreate the nativity scene and our older primary students dress up as crazy Kalikatzarakia. The real surprise is Santa Claus's arrival on stage. It's not who you think it is!