Event Information

Our students not only learn the Greek language in the classroom, but they also experience and learn about the Greek culture, history, religion, dance, customs and traditions by participating in various events throughout the year. These include the following (in approximate calendar order):

• Semaphore Greek Festival (Culture, Dance, Social)

Our wonderful students, with the support of their dance teacher Ms. MaryAnn Iliou, always make us proud with their amazing dance performances at the Semaphore Greek Festival, which is one of the biggest Greek festivals in Adelaide organised by the Greek Orthodox community of Port Adelaide. Our students are very proud of this event and they also like to volunteer and help out during the festival. The School council has a frappe tent where they serve coffee to raise money for our school.

• Blessing of the School (Religious)

At the beginning of the school year the students are blessed by his Grace Bishop Silouan of Sinopy and Father Ioannis Choraitis so they may have a successful year ahead, both in academic and personal growth.

• Apokries (Carnival Dress Up Day - Cultural and Religious)

Our students have a fun day making masks and learning about the traditions of Apokries with their teachers and their parents. It is also our dress up day where students and teachers have fun dressing up in their favourite costumes.

• 25th March 1821 (Greek Independence - cultural, Annunciation - religious)

In commemoration of the Greek Independence Day, our students attend church service followed by the Official Memorial Service and the Annual Student Parade and Dance Performances in the city. We also host a celebration with the students’ performances at the school, which include poems, songs, dances, speeches and theatrical plays to honour the events of the Greek revolution in 1821 and the heroes who sacrificed their lives for freedom and independence. On that day we also celebrate the Annunciation of Virgin Mary.

• Easter Activity Day (Religious)

The children have the opportunity to learn about the Greek Easter customs by dyeing red eggs, decorating candles (Λαμπάδες), making palm leaf crosses, engaging in Easter craft activities and join in a religious lesson with Father Ioannis Choraitis.

• Mother's Day / Father's Day Activities (Cultural)

On these two special days, our students celebrate the most important people in their lives, their parents and caregivers, by preparing special personal gifts for their beloved mothers and fathers or other special people who love them and look after them.

• Annual Dinner Dance (social, dance)

The school’s biggest fundraising event for the year is our Annual Dinner Dance. It is a fun night where our guests enjoy amazing dancing performances by our students followed by Greek dancing for all. All proceeds collected support the school learning programs.

• Sports Day / Walkathon (social)

Our families look forward to our Spring Sports Day every year. It is a fun day, filled with hilarious competitions and lots of laughter. Our wonderful community offers a sausage sizzle , homemade Greek pittes, loukoumades and frappe for lunch for everyone to enjoy.

• 28th October 1940 (OXI Day - Cultural)

Our students demonstrate their ethnic pride and commitment to our school curriculum activities by attending the Liturgy in Celebration of OXI Day at the church of The Nativity of Christ. The church service is followed by the students’ performances and a shared lunch to celebrate one of our most important national days as a community.

• End of Year & Christmas Celebration

At the end of every school year the whole community comes together to celebrate our students achievements, especially our Year 12 students who complete their Greek language and culture learning at our school. It is also an opportunity to host our Christmas celebration where our students demonstrate what they have learnt about the Christmas story by performing poems, songs or theatrical plays to celebrate this important day for our orthodox faith.

• Social Nights and Sleep over (Disco, Bowling, Quiz, etc)

Social nights are organised throughout the year including disco nights, bowling and quiz nights to give an opportunity to our students and their families to bond and create friendships outside school. The primary student council organised their first sleepover in 2021, which was a big success and we are looking forward to many more similar events in he future, including a camp.

• Fundraising Events

Our amazing school committee and parent volunteers organise a number of fundraising events during the year to help raise funds for the school but also to support other philanthropic organisations.

• PAGS Open / Orientation Day

Every year, in November, we host a Transition/Orientation day for all new students who wish to enrol at our School. This event gives the parents and prospective students, especially the ones in kindy and reception, an insight as to what Greek school is like in the early years by participating in fun learning activities.

• Greek Artefact Exhibition (cultural, religious)

Our Greek artefact exhibition and our school's museum is hosted every two years and we welcome all our students' students families to come and visit. The students bring an artefact from Greece which they have to research about and present some information. The students participate in a treasure hunt where they work in teams and look for clues amongst all the artefacts to find the answers to a puzzle. The winning team receives a gift from the community. Parents and students have a lot of fun with this event!

• Annual School Photos

We are very privileged to have a professional photographer coming to our school every year to take school photos of our students.

• Excursions and Incursions (e.g. Museums)

TBA

• Special Events

Greece Study Tour

In April 2019, twenty of our high school students, had the opportunity to participate in a once-in-a- lifetime educational trip to Greece where they visited iconic archaeological, historical and religious sites in Athens, Peloponnese, Central Greece, Thessaloniki and Northern Greece. They had the opportunity to be immersed in the Greek culture, history, language, religion and beauty of the country of their parents and grandparents and spent Easter in Greece with their families and friends. We are looking forward in organising the next Greece Study Tour in the next couple of years!