Our Program

 

Annunciation Greek School

 

Program

The school aims to offer a complete Hellenic Studies program to students from Pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade. PreK-K students attend language/culture classes once per week on Saturday mornings for two hours. Our program here is age- appropriate and explores learning through fun and play activities. Students of 1st to 8th grades attend classes twice a week in the afternoon and are offered language instruction as well as history/culture/music and traditional dancing instruction.

Our classes are small and our program is flexible and tailored to our students’ level of language skills and needs. For materials we use a variety of books meant to teach Greek to foreign language speakers including the Archdiocese series as well as textbooks and workbooks generously sourced in Greece by the PTA.

Upon graduating 8th grade, our students qualify for the Comprehensive Examination of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in accordance with the New York State Regents requirements. We are proud that our students have had a near perfect success rate on this exam starting in 1980.

In the town of Stamford, students can use the results of the Regents exam to qualify for the Seal of Biliteracy in their high school diploma.

Curriculum

Each class follows a detailed curriculum aimed at the development of the four basic language functions: listening, speaking, reading and writing. In additional to language all of our students are offered opportunities to explore important topics of our Hellenic mythology, history and culture through research projects, songs, dances and other multi-media exposure. Upon completion of the program, each student has acquired a solid foundation of the Greek language and culture which they can build on in their later academic years.

Because of the importance of homework in reinforcing what is taught in class, reading and written work are assigned to our students weekly and are expected to be completed at home.
Progress report cards are distributed twice a year at the end of each semester (Mid-January and Mid-May). Parent Teacher Conferences are offered and can be scheduled by parents with the individual teachers.

On the anniversaries of religious and ethnic holidays, such as October 28th and Greek Independence Day all students participate in special performances that involve acting in short plays, making speeches, reciting poems, singing and traditional dancing. On other occasions such as Greek Letter’s Day our students are given a specific topic which they have to research and create a presentation that is shared with the community. These performances and projects serve a dual purpose: they build their speaking skills but also give the students a venue to showcase their achievements.