The voice of St. Spyridon College | December 2014 | NUMBER 19 |

Cover and Photography by Mike Flokis Photography and Anthony Condous.

A Springboard to the Future...

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.

stylusThe Strategic Plan 2012 – 2016*

The new Strategic Plan 2012-2016, will pursue “Excellence in All Things”.

The College will provide students with a culture of high expectations driven by best effort from

everyone – from students, teachers, parents, the Board and Parish.

A focus on programs for students with a high intellectual potential, will enrich the educational

practices of differentiation and innovation.

Students will experience an education with a moral purpose. As Global citizens, they will work

together and alone to make a difference – to make the world better by their presence, thoughts

and actions.

Students will have faith in God and in themselves because they learn in a culture of confidence and

trust, that upholds the dignity and worth of every person.

Strong and effective operations will ensure a safe and secure environment where students learn in

functional and conducive buildings and facilities with optimum access to up to date technologies.

The Seven Goals of the Strategic Plan 2012 – 2016

Goal 1 - Rich and diverse educational experiences that aim for excellence and demand best effort.

Goal 2 - A Passport to Global Citizenship for students.

Goal 3 - Teachers of excellence.

Goal 4 - Strong and dynamic partnerships with parents.

Goal 5 - Established reputation as a centre of excellence.

Goal 6 - A safe environment based on sound policies and procedures.

Goal 7 - A secure financial future with functional and conducive buildings and facilities.

The Pursuit of Excellence in all things

* A copy of the full Strategic Plan is available for download at www.stspyridon.nsw.edu.au

Extract from speech at K-12 Academic & Leadership Assembly

As you are no doubt aware, last year was full trials and

tribulations. So as 2014 commenced, we needed to

stand together and rebuild our faith and energy, and make

it a year of healing and of growth. I wish to commend our

two Principals, Mrs Katsogiannis and Mrs Synesios, together

with all staff for making this happen.

The smile has returned to the face of St Spyridon College.

And it is you my dear students, who gave us the strength and

the resilience to bring back the smile. You are the centre of

our every waking moment. We are truly blessed, because you

give our life shape and meaning, and we thank you.

Our strategic goals aim to prepare our young people to

manage a complex and conflicted world, with confidence and

success-by building their capacity to think, to solve problems,

to analyse, to exercise judgement, and to take action.

But all these, of themselves, would be as nothing if our

students had no values. A technologically connected world,

wonderful as it may be-cannot protect us from anomy,

confusion and despair. At such times, what sustains us is

our faith in God, companionship and compassion, a sense

of identity and a strong sense of belonging. This I believe is

what we do best here at St Spyridon College.

The inception of the Appreciating Culture Lectures and

Art Exhibitions has been important in building our school’s

reputation. It is my pleasure to announce that our Speaker

for 2015 Appreciating Culture Lecture will be Dr Nicholas

Pappas. His many posts of importance include current

Chairman of the South Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby League

Club, Board Chairman of the Bank of Sydney, and member

of our own Board at St Spyridon. We look forward to hearing

from Dr Pappas in the new year.

We are very proud to have the kind of P&F Committee

that raises considerable funds for our College – a total of

$79,000 for this year to be exact. Significantly the P&F

members promote the good name of our school, as great

ambassadors. We thank the P & F Committee 2014 and the

inimitable Mrs Anna Stamoulis, for her leadership of the

P&F as President over a period of 6 years.

Mrs E. Stefanou-HaagHead of College

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Year 12 was both an exciting and daunting

year. Most of all I remem-ber the fond memories I had on the bus rides home. Never will I forget those moments of bond-ing and camaraderie.

In this final year, a constant swirl of assign-ments and essays, a few steps can maximize your

results. I urge students to have clear and realistic goals and base their study around the HSC outcomes.

Finally your teachers are your greatest assets. As HSC markers they know what is needed to attain the top marks. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my teachers, for their support and encouragement.

Mrs. Koutsoukis, your passion inspired us to appreciate the great works of literature while your warmth and understanding guided us through the difficult moments. Likewise, Ms. Gambriell, my fellow Koan helped achieve three band sixes and offered so many resources and out of school hours. My heartfelt gratitude to Dr Hickie who had the most ingenious ways of distilling her knowledge from comparing the ancient city of Pompeii to Randwick,

to using textas to demonstrate the movements of the Hyksos and the Egyptians. Moreover Dr Hickie proved a formidable opponent as we discussed wide-ranging political issues. She opened my eyes to so many alternative view-points, none of which I share. In the same vein gratitude to Kyria Faleta, whose expertise and good humor led her students to a heightened understanding of the complexities and nuances of the Greek language. My Greek has improved greatly because of you Kyria.

I am thankful for the school that nurtured and encouraged my learning .St Spyridon has remained true to both its ancient Greek and Byzantine ideals moulding young people into άνθρωποι. The nurturing and wholesome environment is the defining and unique feature of this school, one that I have sorely missed in university. St Spyridon has excelled in cultivating mind, body and spirit in accordance with the ancient Greek ideals. In addition to this unlike other schools it encourages the Christian ideals of compassion, humility and altruism, qualities greatly needed in this society.

I have always felt welcome back at my old school and it remains fondly in my heart. I wish you all a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New year.

Tribute - Academic Excellence

Andreas Nicholson – UNSW AAA Scholarship and Aroney Award winner

Christos Raptis – College Captain 2015

Billy Bourdaniotis and Vicki Synesios, Junior School Captains 2015

Nicholas Stasos – University Scholarship and Aroney Award winner

Nikyle Konstantin, Sophia Rizzo and Juliet Manolias – ACER Scholarship 2014 winners

ANDREAS NICHOLSON – HSC CLASS 2013 - UNSW AAA SCHOLARSHIPPROF. MANUEL ARONEY AWARDUNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP

WHERE ARE THEY NOW:

Bachelor Of Law and International Studies UNSW

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It is with great humility and gratitude that I receive the Professor Aroney award today. An award, which I believe

every St Spyridon student strives for, and one which I have drawn great inspiration in watching my predecessors including my brother receive. I would like to thank the late Professor Manuel Aroney, the Aroney family and the Sydney University Greek Society for this prestigious award.

While St Spyridon College was my home for 13 years, it will always hold a special place in my heart. It has provided me with life long friendships, culture and skills that no other school would be capable of. In my time as a student here I have seen boys turn into men, girls turn into women and the growth and development of so many individuals of all walks of life. This all stems back to the thousands of periods and lessons, which at the time may have seemed futile, however all amounted to something far greater – knowledge, wisdom and self-development, which will be carried through for the rest of my life.

While only having the opportunity to speak for a few minutes I do not have sufficient time to give thanks to everybody who provided their support over the last year. First and foremost my family, my parents, brother Christopher former student and College Captain, grandparents and grandfather looking down on me, all being a pillar of constant support, inspiring me, encouraging me and keeping me focused. Further my teachers, Dr Hickie, Mrs Koutsoukis, Mr Kollias, Mrs Kladakis,

Ms Gonzales and my Year Adviser Mr Kaldis who went above and beyond their job description to ensure that every student achieved their maximum potential. I believe the contribution that the Year 12 class of 2013 had to the school in both the academic and sporting arena, including the fantastic HSC results and school ranking is a testament to the hard working ethic and mantra adopted by the teachers and students working in collaboration.

As I conclude I’d like to leave you all with a quote from Kevin Durant which changed my life, “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” I pondered over it for days, months and years until I realised how significant it is – you will only get out of life what you put into it. So I hope it can have a similar impact in all of your lives. Lastly, I wish good luck to the year 12 class of 2014 for their upcoming HSC results. I have every confidence you will continue to make your school, and more importantly yourselves as individuals proud.

Dr Nicholas Pappas presents The Goldstein Award for Leadership by Example to Eleni Mavrolefteros.

Mr Ron Hoenig, MP presents the Outstanding Leadership Award to Nicholas Drakoulis.

Mr Trent Murray presents the Kingsford Smith Award for Outstanding Community Service to Calioppe Kefalas.

Mrs Olga Evangelinidis-Brown with The Orthodox Studies Awardees Years 6 – 10 winners

Student LeadershipNICHOLAS STASOS – HSC CLASS 2013PROF. MANUEL ARONEY AWARDUNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP

WHERE ARE THEY NOW:

Bachelor of Law/ Bachelor of Business UTS

Year 12 Bodies of Work 2014

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Celebrating the Arts

Over the year, Year 9 explored different sculptural practices. They learned about assemblage, modelling, different methods of mould making for casting and carving. These photos are from a casting task, where the students had to image themselves in the places of their ancestors. The resulting ‘Self Portrait as Ancient Greek’ was first moulded in clay. A latex and plaster

mould was constructed and the final works were cast in plaster. Presently, the students are polishing the works that they have carved from soapstone. Polishing usually takes longer than the actual carving, but the results can be stunning.

Ms M. Pringle Visual Arts Teacher

From the Artroom

Year 8 experimented in colour printing. The technique used is called the reduction technique. This is when an amount of the lino is cut away after each colour is printed and then is printed on top of the previous colour. The trick is to register the colours perfectly, easier said than done.

Rena Lambos

Sophia Lee Georgas

Stephanie Mio

Michael Vlahos

Nicolette Gregory

Alexander Vij

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Falling Down the Rabbit Hole

In November, Years 3 and 9 fell down the rabbit hole. The talented Year 9 drama class, put on an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ play just for Year 3. No other grades were there. Luckily, we were chosen as the grade who would become the audience.

In the morning, once I arrived at the Senior School, everyone was playing handball. I started playing gymnastics with Nicoletta and Talia. It was getting hot, so I took off my blazer. Then it was time to go into the theatre. It was a little space. The set was colourful and decorative. The room was dark, and only the stage was lit. I was excited, and wondered what the play would be like.

During the play, one of the students who was standing on the side of the seats, kept on taking photos of me, because

I was laughing extremely hard. The characters in the play were Alice, the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter and a few more. They were all dressed in funny and interesting costumes. I liked the mad Hatter’s costume the best, because it was colourful like the rainbow.

After the play, the students of the Year 9 drama class handed out yummy lollies. I received a strawberry lollypop. I ate it straight away. Then we went outside and walked to the bus. I was sitting next to Jasmin on the way back to school.

Overall, the play was awesome, and I hope they invite us again.

Amelia Raptis - Class 3A

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Noah Minor from the UNSW Co-op scholarship program came and spoke to interested Year 12 students. Noah is in his second year of the scholarship program, studying Industrial Chemistry. He informed them about the many benefits and opportunities offered by this program and provided tips about the application process.

The students were very appreciative of this insight which they found very helpful.

Year 9 made the long journey to ANSTO Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation). This was a very informative and enjoyable trip.

When we arrived we had a small talk from one of the Scientists about what they do at ANSTO and how it helps people. They provide medical attention to people who are sick. We then got to play with some of the gadgets that were there before we went on a tour of the facilities.

On the tour we saw the machines that they use for their studies. For example, the platypus machine was being used to try and invent a new medicine and the wombat machine was trying to figure out how to make your phone battery last longer. We were then taken to the Scientist’s office and got to go down to an actual nuclear reactor which was extremely big.

Overall, it was a fun and educational excursion and we are thankful for the opportunity.

Deyarna Xenos - Class 9G

Academia ConnectionsCo-op Scholarship Presentation

Australian Nuclear Science Technology Excursion

Year 12 Chemistry class went to the Australian Maritime Museum to enhance their studies for the option topic ‘Ship-wrecks, Corrosion and Conservation’.

The class were first treated with a presentation outlining the differences between conservation and restoration of historical artefacts and the chemical treatments that these artefacts need

to go through from the time they are found in the ocean to when they are displayed in the museum.

After a short break, we were taken on a tour of the museum where we got to observe and discuss Captain Cook’s cannon that was on the HMB Endeavour as well as anchors from the

HMS Sirius.

Lastly, we were taken on board the HMS Onslow which is a navy submarine that was commissioned during the Cold War.

Overall the students found this excursion to be a valuable experience to aid in their Chemistry studies for the HSC.

Mr D. Giles Chemistry Teacher

A Chemical look at the Australian Maritime Museum

In July we were visited by an Astrophysicist; Dr Alan Duffy. He spoke to us about our Solar System and Dark Matter.

Dr Duffy first spoke to us about the Milky Way Galaxy along with other clusters of galaxies. He showed us a picture of a galaxy and how it looked like a stretched Emu - an ancient Indigenous belief. He showed us Jupiter and explained why it has a red spot. We found out that inside that Red spot is a 400 year old hurricane that no human being would be able to withstand. He then showed us what Dark Matter was all

about. He told us to make a circle with our hands and to block one side and then hold it up to the sun. He explained that even though Dark Matter is invisible, tiny millions of pieces of it had just flown through us right now. He

also said that every time Dark Matter comes around, it knocks an atom off you.

Next Dr Duffy conducted a second experiment to explain a concept about our solar system. He grabbed a ‘Space Bear’ with a string attached. He asked for a volunteer, Michael, to slowly spin the space bear around and then asked Michael to start spinning the space bear faster and to give it longer string. With Dr Duffy’s help, Michel explained how it was getting harder to spin the bear because of all the energy pushing towards it. Dr Duffy then showed us a picture of the Milky Way Galaxy and said that Orion Arms exist because gravity is pulling towards the centre.

Interestingly, Dr Duffy showed us how to catch a’ ghost’. He even showed us a picture of the machinery that he uses to catch ghosts. Astrophysicists use a special UV light filter to see the ghostly Dark Matter.

The last thing he showed us was a picture of the Parkes Satellite Dish which astronomers use, like Dr Duffy had the

chance to climb, for research.

He also told us that an Italian astronomer was the first person

to build a telescope. His name was Galileo Galilei.

At the end of his presentation, two students from Year 6 gave Dr Duffy a gift to say thank you for teaching us about our Solar System and Dark Matter. We loved Dr Duffy’s talk! We hope he visits again when he has proven his theory on the existence of Dark Matter.

Georgia Athanasopoulos and Alyssa Alas - Class 6M

What I Learned with Dr DuffyMr Galileo Galilei invented the first telescope. The universe is 13.8 billion years old. Kangaroos use ultra violet to see. The Australian Aboriginal Astronomers thought that the Milky Way formed an emu.

The red spots in the string that look like spider webs are actu-ally lots of universes put together. Dark matter is all around us. You can’t see it or catch it, but it works to keep things in place in the universe.

Alexander Kumar - Class 3S

An Astronomy Lesson with Dr Duffy

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DR ALAN DUFFY @ ASTRODUFF ASTRONOMER Research Fellow @ Swinburne University

Dr Duffy is a professional astrophysicist and passionate science communicator. He investigates how galaxies form as well as studying the larger properties of the Universe, and tries to explain it to as wide an audience as possible.

Currently he is at the Centre for Astrophysics and Computing at Swinburne University. Before then he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Melbourne, and a postdoctoral research associate with ICRAR at the University of Western Australia.

Imagine being President of a P&F College committee for six, solid, special years. Imagine the energy, drive, strength and initiative you would need to muster up to march us through the countless fun filled fundraisers over the years through events such as 25th March celebrations, Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Lambatha stalls, Open Day lunches, Spring Fairs, Mothers Day dinners, Walkathon, Taverna Nights, Trivia Nights and many more.

It is a voluntary role, but a mammoth one, which is why College and Parish executive members came to the most

recent P&F meeting to acknowledge, to praise and to express their appreciation and sincere thanks to P&F President, Anna Stamoulis.

Anna has served and successfully filled this position and has done that together with the huge commitment, support and dynamic team over the last few years. Her gift of the gab, her entertaining sense of humour and her marvelous man-ner to magnetise and motivate us all into membership and management of P&F, are all attributes we value and admire in her which have led her and the committees over the years to reach impressive levels of success in our fundraiser achieve-ments. In her final year, she did say “I will go out with a bang” as P&F profit levels reached an all-time high total amount of 2008. She will officially resign from her role at the next AGM in February 2015.

On behalf of all the P&F members from 2008 – 2014, I sincerely thank her for her great leadership, guidance, generosity, warmth and support over the years. We continue to welcome her input and efforts in 2015 and beyond.

Mrs M Pascalis P & F Committee

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From the P&FThank you Anna Stamoulis

Thank you P&F for a great Spring FairOur Spring Fair, faired very well again this year,

with a profit of $19,000! The atmosphere was

filled with a lovely community spirit of families

and friends coming together to enjoy delicious

food, Greek dancing, music and more under

the glorious sunshine! Well done to all the

students, parents, friends, staff and volunteers

who assisted both behind the scenes, and on

the day. Your dedication and support helped

make it a resounding success in more ways than

one. Another huge thank you goes to our stall

holders for their participation - your support is

truly appreciated. Finally, congratulations to the

P&F committee members (and their spouses

who help us as well!) for their tireless effort,

and on making St Spyridon College Spring Fair

2014, such a success!

Thank you P & F Committee – every good wish

for 2014.

A fun filled active day for all! The dark, heavy, grey clouds and the light shower did not stop our eager walkers who have countless sponsors wait-ing to fund their 700 metre laps of Jellicoe

Park, Pagewood. Some impressive walkers reached as high as 30 laps of the park. However walking was not the only sport of the day – cricket, soccer and other activities took place in the centre of the park in order to stagger groups to walk at a comfort-able pace. The Infants enjoyed some quality time on the park’s play equipment which was their greatest highlight of the day. P&F provided a sausage in a roll, a drink and a sweet treat to all the hungry walkers.

As a result, $22,876 was raised. A marvellous achievement! We congratulate the winners.

We thank all the P&F members who attended and prepared for this event as well as some members and parents who made some generous donations. Thank you also to parents who came to encourage our walkers and took a day off work to bond with their children and assist with the day.

Mrs M. Pascalis P&F Committee

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Junior School P&F Walkathon

Community ActionShoes for Planet Earth

Year 6 held a fundraiser for a great cause, Shoes for Planet Earth. This is a charity working together with local and international communities to provide recycled running shoes to those in need around the world. These include homeless shelters, youth and female crisis centres, indigenous community sporting groups, orphanages, churches and many, many more.

We would like to thank everyone who supported this great cause. More than 150 pairs of shoes were donated. A special thank you to Mrs Petratos, who donated boxes of brand new shoes!!!

“... Thank you so much for your wonderful supply of shoes!! We cannot believe that you received so many to donate and

we are very happy to have every one of them. More and more people are asking for shoes at the moment so at least we can now say YES to them all. Please thank all your students for their very generous support of our charity.”

Miss A. Sirmanoglou Year 6P Class Teacher

Jeans for Genes Day 2014

Congratulations everyone for the $1881 collected last Friday in support of the Children’s Medical Research Institute. $770 was collected here at school by SRC and another $1,111 by Year 10 volunteers: Nicole Adam, Chrystal Christie, Mariah Stavrou, Kristen Mournehis, Lia Albanakis, Georgia Koukounaris, Elias Hatzon, James Stathis, Manuel Margelis, Sebastian Zois, Alexander P Cardamis and Zac Prineas. These students sold Jeans for Genes merchandise at Pacific Square Shopping Centre over a 6 hour period during the day. Well done everyone!

We thank Ms Kokinelis for co-ordinating this event and Ms Gambriell for her support of Year 10 students

In November Harrison participated in the White Ribbon Walk for the prevention of violence against women. Harrison took the pledge,

“I swear never to commit, excuse or remain silent about violence against women”.

Harrison Andrews from Year 2 Aqua and his father Cr Anthony Andrews with Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione.

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White Ribbon Walk

Two Year 10 students, Chrystal Christie and Sebastian Zois, represented our College at the Global Dignity Day event held at NSW Parliament House. This event provided school representatives with the opportunity to listen to guest speakers, meet students from a variety of schools and participate in group discussions on the topic of Global Dignity. The students came back enthused and motivated by their experience.

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The Junior Campus raised $1031 for Genetic Research at the recent Jeans for Genes Day Fundraiser on August 29th. Students and staff were colourfully dressed with a focus on jeans and denim.

Thank you to all students and their parents who donated on the day. Many were rewarded with prize packs for giving what they could for the cause. Thank you to staff, parents and administration for all of your support this year.

Miss D McCarthy Stage 3 Coordinator

Global Dignity Day

SRC’s from Year 9 went to Pacific Square Shopping Centre, Maroubra, to sell merchandise for LEGACY as part of our Pastoral Care Programs Community Service focus. Thank you to Constantinos Kollias, Larissa Andrianakos, Jessica Mazis, Nicholas Xeras, Jakob Krasadakis, Deyarna Xenos, Con Gouskos and Shivan Raj for the leadership you have shown by your efforts and Ms Barbouttis and Mr Condous for supervising students.

LEGACY is dedicated to looking after the children & wives/husbands of defence force personnel killed in war and other hazardous service, in peacekeeping operations, or in

accidents while training for war. Today, throughout Australia, Legacy assists more than 120,000 widows, 1,800 children and dependants with a disability.

The help given from money raised through the sale of merchandise provides the families left behind with pensions, dental care, financial and social support to ensure they are not disadvantaged.

Legacy 2014

Over 140 students across year groups put on a spectacular Showcase 2014. Bravo to all the students who performed and the teachers who worked tirelessly to prepare students for this Showcase. Applause to Mrs Faletas, Ms Savva, Mrs McCoy, Mrs Coyne. Special thanks must also be extended to all other staff who assisted behind the scenes: Mr Zafiropoulos, Mr Sobolevski, Ms Gikas, Mrs Petzler, Mrs Mulligan, Ms Alexandropoulos, Mr Croft and Mr Condous.Ms G Kokinelis - Showcase Director 2014

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HSC Class 2014 - Students Step Up & Out

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... I grew up in the beachside suburb of Maroubra in Sydney. In a previous life, I graduated with Honours in Economics and jumped from accounting firm to economics practice a few times before taking the plunge and starting Fiel Sol. The name Fiel Sol means ‘Faithful Sun’ in Spanish.

Every day has been a stand out moment as I’m constantly learning. However, if I were to choose a few they would have to be our photo shoot in Greece July this year. It was a great opportunity to showcase our designs against such a naturally

beautiful backdrop and the team was absolutely fantastic to work with. Also, our tradeshow trip to New York and Los Angeles October last year (2013). Travelling to the US was such an adventure and more recently, working on our latest collection of Bridal jewellery. Following on from my wedding, we have had an enormous number of our clientele enquiring about bridal jewellery and so the evolution to specialise in this area was a natural one. It has been so much fun! I love working closely with brides and being a part of their special day.

Marissa Panigiris HSC Class 2005. Bachelor Economics Majoring in Accounting,

Honours in Economics University of New South Wales (UNSW). Graduated 2010.

Where are they now?

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Celebrating the Literary Arts

“And there on the floor, their covers torn off and spilled out like swan feathers, the incredible

books that looked so silly and really not worth bothering with, for these were nothing but

black type and yellowed paper and ravelled binding.”

Fahrenheit 451: the temperature at which book-paper catches fire and burns. Guy Montag is a fireman. His job? To burn books, which are forbidden, being the only source of discord and unhappiness. But when Guy Montag meets an odd seventeen year old girl on his walk home at night from the fire station, he realises that in all his years, he has taken no notice of the world around him. Through the girl’s actions and words, he realises that society has hidden something so vital in the world: truth.

When he reaches his home he finds his wife, Mildred, lying half dead with an empty glass bottle of sleeping tablets discarded on the floor. Doctors manage quite easily to save her with the technology of the dystopian world they live in, and what appeared to be Montag’s biggest problem becomes one of many issues which cause discord and unhappiness in his life, and which ultimately turn his life around. From being the fire-man — burning down homes that house books which the Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department sniffs out — Guy Montag becomes the book keeper, reading books to discover their true meaning and importance. But the Mechanical Hound is not far from sniffing out his door step…

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, set in the future, addresses many issues important to human beings which have occurred since the introduction of the novel in 1956, or might occur in the future. It pre-

figures advances in technology, the effects of drugs, advances in medical research, the reaching of deca-dence in society, new beginnings, egoism and the consequences of a future world conflict or war. But most importantly it shows the corruptiveness of humanity when completely controlled by the media. The minority in this new, futuristic society are those who think, observe and are not sucked into “normality”. They don’t live lives of “fun” and fake happiness, but witness living in all its dimensions:

joy - depression - happiness - love - pain - hope - sadness

The author gives us these thoughts through provoking imagery and ideals which cannot be described but only read. He writes magnificently in this book with unending description and really l o n g sentences. Fahrenheit 451 is a treasure and a must read. Its context can be quite confusing, especially towards the last few pages, as well as confronting and so suits a reader of age 15+ to be properly understood and enjoyed. The reader must also be open to new ideas and appreciate loads of description and its significance. Fahrenheit 451 deserves the following rating 8.75/10.

“The books leapt and danced like roasted birds, their wings ablaze with red and yellow feathers. Forget them. Burn them all, burn everything. Fire is bright and fire is clean.”

Constantinos Kollias - Year 9

The First Third by Will Kostakis

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Well that’s how Bill’s grandmother explains it. As his grandmother is in hospital, she has given him a bucket list and now it’s his job to glue back their family together which have never been so far part. Won’t be too hard, would it? Well, it’s a Greek tragedy waiting to happen.

The First Third by Will Kostakis is a novel which is a highlight read of 2014. It is a book which will surface all emotions, from laughter to tears. Will Kostakis has carefully written the novel to be humorous in many ways but sad and touching when tragedy strikes. I can wholeheartedly say that the topics addressed struck a chord in my heart. When concerning the Greek background and themes, I couldn’t agree more. Bill continuously resurfaces the idea of keeping the Greek tradition alive which I believe is so important. We must keep intact with our Greek heritage, even though we were born and live in Australia. We cannot leave it up to our grandparents to keep the culture up and going rather we should adapt and continue the cultural Greek traditions so they can be present in our lives. I couldn’t help but compare Bill’s grandmother to mine as they were so similar in so many ways.

The fact that family is so important as well as traditions is a major theme in this novel. The Greek foods always are present in the minds of our grandmothers. As many of the Greek grandparents never learnt English in depth, it is quite humorous to see the Greek grandparents attempting to communicate in real life situations where the other person has no idea what they are talking about. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that Will Kostakis related this to his grandmother’s situation in the novel which was taken from real life situations.

I read this book for, “The Book I’ve Been Wanting to Read but Haven’t Had the Chance to” week and although I have my reasons for not picking up this book earlier, I am glad I did. I became curious about the novel at the Sydney Writer’s Festival which was an English excursion as Will Kostakis was one of the four authors discussing his novel on the day. I believe it’s hard for upcoming debut authors to showcase their new novels; especially Australian authors who are not quite well-known internationally although may be domestically. New Australian authors are often brushed aside as many readers do not feel motivated to try new works as they are not “popular”.

It is for this reason why it is hard to produce a new book where readers are not aware of you as many readers tend to

keep in their comfort zones and read what is “popular”. I can say I am guilty of this action although I am very happy I did read this novel and have now breached my horizons to consider books produced by Australian authors rather than international authors. Thereby, I consider books in the young adult section from every author, not considering popularity or country of origin.

Overall, I believe the First Third by Will Kostakis is a wonderful coming of age book which addresses topics concerning Greek culture dear to my heart. Although I did not cry as some people did, it definitely made me laugh and brought up many emotions which emphasised my love for this book. I can say wholeheartedly that this book is one of my favourite books for 2014 and possibly a stand out book I’ve read when concerning the ‘contemporary’ genre.

My rating was 8.5/10 and I recommend this novel to readers over the age of 14.

Written by Mersina Hristeff - Year 9

“Life is made up of three parts: in the first third, you’re

embarrassed by your family; in the second, you make a

family of your own; and in the end, you just embarrass

the family you’ve made”.

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UNSW Engineering Work Experience week

During the recent school holidays, Paul Mandadakis of Year 10 attended the UNSW Engineering Work Experience week. Here is his report:

In June, I was lucky enough to undertake a Civil and Environmental Engineering Program, hosted by UNSW. There were 60 Year 10 students from around NSW who had the opportunity to participate in this program, which was extremely educational and gave us a sense of a day in the life of a civil engineer. We were informed about the many different paths that civil engineering may take us, including structural, geophysical and hydraulic engineering. We were also taken to visit many structures, such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Anzac Bridge and the Opera House. Although by far the best experience was on the last day, when we were able to input everything we had learnt to attempt to build our own bridge using resources such as plastic straws, sticky tape and string. Overall the experience that I gained was phenomenal and this program definitely helped me with choosing a future career path.

Paul Mandadakis - Year 10

A question of ValuesMasada College, Rouse Hill Anglican

School and St Spyridon College share

a commitment to providing a values-rich

education for students within each of

our faiths and traditions.

I am happy to announce that our three

schools as a cluster have been successful in our application to the AISNSW, for funding for a research

study to be known as the ‘Educational Excellence - A question of values’ Project. The AIS NSW

is to provide $150,000 over two years towards this exciting project.

The research project will seek to identify how our values inform and shape our school’s responses to the social and ethical responsibilities we have for students and the wider community.

The aims of the project is to develop new knowledge on:

• The common values and experiences of our three diverse schools

• The distinctive values and experiences emanating from our diverse faiths and traditions.

It will create a unique opportunity for school leaders, teachers, and students across the three schools to work together to:

• Enhance understanding of ourselves,

• Enhance understanding of others

• Build relationships across cultures, faiths, and traditions.

In addition, this study will give us an opportunity to test the

experience in other contexts that:

Academic results are enhanced when schools make values explicit and central to students’ learning.

We will be providing our communities with project updates, and in time, will invite parents to contribute to this study.

We are proud that the AIS Education Research Council has selected our project based on exacting criteria, to undertake this important work. In addition to the moneys, the Council will support the project through facilitating access to external expertise and professional learning, promotion and publication of project outcomes and implementation of research recommendations.

To read more go to: https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/Services/EducationResearch/Pages/default.aspx

Mrs E. Stefanou-Haag Head of St Spyridon College for Project Team

Educational Research

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Robocup 2014

UNSW Engineering Day for high school students

Recently, and for the first time ever Mr Georgoulopoulos and some of his Year 10 and four of his Year 9 Information Software and Technology class had gone and competed in this year’s Robotics Competition which was held at the University of New South Wales. The teams worked really hard over the two day period and what was really surprising was that we worked really well together as if we knew each other for many years. To our surprise the team did really well as we had participated in the Rescue competition where the team had to program the robot to rescue a victim from the end of the course. Our Robot was named Spirit On and we came 10th out of all the 26 schools that were there. All in all the competitors really enjoyed the event and the complexity of programming a robot to achieve the necessary things that needed to be done to complete the track and make the rescue. Mr Georgoulopoulos was especially happy with the competitors as it was the first year our school participated in the competition and to come 10th in the first year just blew him away. We have included some photographs including our Spirit On Robot.

George Gemisis - Year 9

Recently, four students in Year 10 – Archie Lambrinos, Paul Langlands, Manuel Margelis and Sebastian Zois - attended the UNSW Engineering Day for high school students. All four boys found the day very informative as well as enjoyable. Here is a summary of the day:

In October, three other Year 10 students and I were given a great opportunity to attend the Engineering Day at UNSW. This day provided great insight into all fields of engineering available at the university and was useful for students interested in pursuing a career path in any of these fields. At the start of the day, over 200 senior high school students from all over NSW gathered in a theatrette where they were spoken to by students from the different areas of engineering. They informed us about how the day was going to operate and thoroughly explained the varied branches of engineering - what they are like and what types of job opportunities there are. We then broke off into smaller groups to participate in workshops in the different labs, where we gained firsthand experience with professors and students in our chosen fields. Overall, the entire experience I gained from the day was amazing. Being a student unsure about my career path, I found it was a great way to assess the future choices available to me and also gain key experiences in the many fields of engineering.

Sebastian Zois - Year 10

Advancing Careers

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Nikyle Konstantin, Sophia Rizzo and Juliet Manolias – ACER Scholarships 2014

Mr Con Pavlou with recipients of the award for Diligence and Sustained effort in English.

Mr James Phillips, presents the Archimedes Award to Sebastian Zois & Nicole Adam.

Mr Spiros Arvanitakis presents the Athena Pallas Award for the study of English to Katerina Dion Arvanitakis.

Cassandra Georgiou - ISA Sporting Excellence Award recipient with Eleni Mavrolefteros, College Captain 2014.

K-12 Academic Excellence - Student Leadership Assembly

Mrs Vaya Tournas presents Natalia Srnic with her awards, in Memory of William Tournas.

Mr Nick Simitzis presents the Agora Award to Evelyn Tzivakis with Mrs Vaya Tournas.

Ms Anna Stamoulis, P & F President, Mrs Stefanou, Head of College, Father Sotiri and Father Steven with Nicholas Drakoulis – Junior School Dux.

Mrs Christine Lynch with award recipi-ents from Year 5 Iris.

Mrs Rekas and Mrs Diakovasili, AHEPA (NSW) present the ΑΡΙΣΤΕΥΕΙΝ Scholarship Award to Roza Papas.

Mrs Christina Tsaconas with Panayioti Kapodistrias – College Dux.

Ms Christina Totsis, Pan Arcadian Association with recipients of the Athena Pallas Award for the study of Classical Greek.

Prof. Socrates Dokos presents the Primary Award for Mathematics to Nicholas Drakoulis.

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stylus

Mr Elia Economou with award recipients from Year 3 Amethyst.

Cr Anthony Andrews with award recipients from Year 1 Topaz.

Nicholas Stasos – University Scholarship and Aroney Award winner

Cr George Glinatsis, Deputy Mayor City of Botany Bay Council with award recipients from Year 2 Crimson

Andreas Nicholson – UNSW AAA Scholarship and Aroney Award winner

Mr Michael Stavropoulos with Archimedes Award recipients.

Sue Mayson with award recipients from Year 6 Pearl.

Con Livissianis, Parish Vice President with Year 9 award recipients.

Mr Michael Daley, MP with Year 11 award recipients.

Mr Bruce Notley-Smith, MP with Year 8 award recipients.

Mr Panikos Achilleos with award recipients from Year 12.

Ms Julie Elliott, CEO Bank of Sydney with Primary School Athena Pallas Award recipients.

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 CRICOS Provider Numbers: Junior School ~ Years K-6 ~ 061558A Senior School ~ Years 7-12 ~ 02319E