Hellenic School of Ottawa

Class Room List th (as of November 9 ) Grade JK - Room 103 Argiro Lafkas Grade SK Room 104 Antonia Kioulos Grade 1 Room 107 Paula Bouterakos Grade 1 - Room 109 Ioanna Fourlas Grade 2 - Room 108 Georgia Golfinopoulos Grade 2 - Room 110 Amalia Koutakos Grade 3 - Room 218 Yota Cosmopoulos Grade 3 - Room 219 Effie Andreou Grade 4 - Room 224 Eirini Boti Grade 4 - Room 225 Ioanna Katsori Grade 5- Room 223 Olga Loly Grade 6 - Room 228 Katerina Tymviou Grade 7 - Room 230 Eirini Vitoroulis Grade 8 - Room 229 Evangelos Michalis

November 2013 Newsletter

Gray Skies, Cold Rains and Bare Trees.... As parents of children enrolled in Greek school, we are all united in our desire to have our children learn the Greek language, its culture and history. Although we hope that our children will achieve a level of proficiency in Greek, we will all have varying expectations of how much of the language, culture and history that our children will retain. As a busy parent of two kids, I understand very well the time constraints that we are all facing when it comes to homework, and the challenges with the assignments especially for those families that do not have two Greek parents. The curriculum that is delivered by our teachers has been developed and mandated by the OCDSB and the teachers are expected to follow the curriculum and assign an appropriate amount of homework each week. This will allow students to develop their proficiency of the Greek language. The level of proficiency that is achieved among students will be different based on various factors, some of which exist beyond the classroom. For parents that have higher expectations for their children and would like them to attain a higher level of proficiency and work towards taking the Greek proficiency test (Elenomathea), the teachers are willing to prepare extra homework for them and also go over this extra work. If this is something that might interest you and your child, please talk to your childs teacher. Cultural Theme for the Month.... This month the students will learn about the Gods of Olympia the heroes and heroines and the mythical creatures of ancient Greece as they learn about Greek mythology. Greek mythology has been a major source of influence on the culture, arts, and literature of Western civilization and remains entrenched in a part of Western heritage and language and many poets and artists from classical times to the present have drawn inspiration from Greek mythology. Picture Day..... On November 23rd the students will have their class pictures taken by Athan Hadjis. The Hellenic School of Ottawa and the PGA would like to thank Athan for his assistance and time with this endeavour. Please have your child dress in the traditional blue and white Greek colour theme for Picture Day. Reminders.... Please make an effort to inform the instructors about any upcoming absences for your children or if you intend to pick-up them up early. I recommend that parents use the early sign-out form with the hall monitors at the start of class to make the early pick-ups as smooth as possible. Please do not hesitate to contact me (mr.vasiliou@gmail.com) if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions that would enhance the students experience. Sincerely, Paris Vasiliou Director - Hellenic School of Ottawa

Parents and Guardian Association 2013-2014 President Chris Papadatos Vice-President Mary ConstantarasIliopoulos Secretary Margaret Dritsas Treasurer Georgina Karlis Members at Large Vana Andreou Angela Tsourakis

HALL MONITORS:
The PGA would like to thank those parents who have graciously agreed to commit their time by signing up for hall monitor duty. If you are interested in volunteering please contact the PGA at: chris.papadatos@sympatico.ca. The following parents have volunteered their time for the month of November: November 2nd Chris Adamantidis & Nick Karaiskos th November 9 Cathy Pantieras & Monts Kokkinakis November 16th Chris Papadatos & Margaret Dritsas November 23rd Voula Barlas & Sia Ploutis th November 30 Angela Tsourakis & Georgina Karlis If you cannot attend on the date you volunteered for, please contact Chris Papadatos as soon as possible at: chris.papadatos@sympatico.ca.

D. Roy Kennedy P.S. You can reach the D. Roy Kennedy School Office at: 613-728-1993