2019 Graduate Speech #2- L.K.

Hi, my name is L.K., I have been here for 6 years.  I remember the first day I walked into this wonderful school to shadow.  I remember having to be in the choir, that was the most terrifying part of the day.  At the end of the day I said to my mom, “Mom, I want to go to this school.” Thankfully, after the summer my mom signed me up to Agia Sophia.  Thanks! Mom for taking me to ASA.

          I have had some of the most enjoyable and educational experiences at ASA. The Spring Fine Arts night is one of these times. Some of my favorite things about the Spring Fine Arts night were practicing in class to get ideas, using a lot of team work if we wanted our skits to work out and rehearsing was always fun, exciting and challenging.  I’d really like to thank Mrs. Powell for setting up the Spring Fine Arts night. She always helped us with our teamwork and never let us give up.  I would also like to thank all of the students in the school for working together and making it so fun.  An educations thing that we learned while practicing for tonight was that Funga Alafia is a welcome song from Africa.

          At this time I would like to thank a few people who have been a big part of my life these past 6 years.  I would like to thank Mrs. Faris for volunteering at our library.  I remember always wanting to spend time with Mrs. Faris, so I would ask if I could read to her.  Thank you Mrs. Perussi for being a wonderful and kind art teacher.  I will remember when I would hug her and sit right next to her during our art lessons.  I would like to thank my language teachers, Magistra Doans and Kyria Maria for being wonderful teachers and always making sure I knew what I was doing.  On top of that, thank you Kyria Thespina and Kyria Theadora for being the best substitutes Greek teachers.  Kyria Thespina taught us the animals and Kyria Theadora taught us the byzantine chant.  I’d like to thank Mrs. Powell especially for keeping my strength up and always being the best music teacher ever.  One of my favorite teachers who taught me in kindergarten and first grade is Mrs. Blankenstein.  I was very lucky to have her as my teacher. I remember in the afternoon Mrs. Blankestein would shake our hands and say “good afternoon”.  This would make me feel so welcomed and joyous. Next I would like to thank all the Principals I have had over the years, Mrs. Rodent from kindergarten to second grade, Mrs. Rice in 3^rd and 4^th and Mrs. Blankenstein in the 5^th.  Lastly, I would like to thank my most favorite teacher. Fr. Ed. He is the funniest teacher ever.  He taught us a lot, especially in science.  We learned how to conduct electricity from one place to another.  When it came to math, I got confused, but Fr. Ed never gave up and spent time with me to make sure I understood it.  I’m going to miss Fr. Ed the most, but I will remember all his humorous sayings and that he never let us give up.

          The most important thing to me about tonight is that everyone has a blast and I would like to congratulate all the other 5^th graders and wish them good luck in their new schools.  I will miss this school very much but will never forget all my teachers and all of the students at ASA.

          Thank you.

2019 Graduate Speech #1 - T.S.

Reverend Fathers, parents, ASA teachers, and everyone present,

  My name is T. S. I’ve been in this school for 2 years, but in that short time, I’ve had an amazing experience. In my whole life, I’ve been in four states and three schools, but I can say undoubtedly that this one was the best. I just can’t believe that I’m leaving. I feel like, so little time ago, I walked nervously into the classroom. But as soon as I saw the welcoming faces of Mrs. Rice and all of my new classmates, I was immediately relaxed.

  Before I go on, I would like to thank God, for the way that he worked through others to guide me and my parents to this school.

  I would like to thank my amazing parents: my Dad, for working day in and day out for us, and my Mom, who takes care of all the boys at home, and always asked us how are day was when we sat down to the amazing snack she made.

  The next people that I will thank are my classmates. I remember when I fell once, and some of you where even on the other side of the parking lot, but you still ran over and saw if I was okay. I’ve heard that in a small Christian school like this, you always feel like family by the end of the year. Well, I do.

  Next, I would like to thank all the amazing teachers and staff: Mrs. Powell- the best music and PE teacher this side of the Mississippi, Mrs. Perusi the art teacher- who could paint a masterpiece more detailed than the Mona Lisa, Mrs. Farris, the librarian, who always knows the book you need, the Greek teachers- Kyria Despina, Prezvytera Theodora, and Kyria Maria, who knew more Greek than Plato himself, and the Latin teacher, Mahistra Downs, who knew more Latin than Julius Ceaser.

  Thank you also to 3 teachers who work very hard with the younger students- Mrs. Hunt, Mrs. Padma, and Mrs. Rusudan.  

  Another two people that are very important in the functioning of this school are Mrs. Blankenstein, and Mrs. McKenzie.

 I have had a wonderful time here and learned many life lessons. One of the most important was the spirit of brotherhood, that we were all like a big family. These lessons will help me in the years ahead greatly. Another lesson that this school has taught me is to pray. To pray, (as in the words of Kyria Despina) not only when things get hard, but when they are good too.

 Thank you also very much to all the benefactors and supporters of ASA, those who participated in events such as the Greek open, the 15th Anniversary Gala, and my Grandparents.

 There are also others who helped in various ways- substitutes, previous principals and teachers (i.e. Mrs. Rice, Mrs. Chiprout, and many others.)

But the teacher that had the most impact on my life was the one the only………………….

FR. ED!!!! Thank you, Fr. Ed, for teaching me so many life lessons that will last me a lifetime. You taught me to never give up, you taught me how to be obedient. If anybody has 3^rd, 4^th , or 5^th Grade students, I would strongly recommend you to Fr. Ed. With all sincerity, thank you Fr. Ed.

 Thank you again everyone. And farewell.

The Ascetic Lives of Mothers

This is a book review on the audiobook. I was gifted a copy of this audiobook for an honest review.

After answering the call to pick an Ancient Faith audiobook to review, I was drawn to the title of this book. I am a mother. Therefore, I probably need to read this book. But, I did not read the entire title. The Ascetic Lives of Mothers: A Prayerbook for Orthodox Moms. Imagine my surprise as I began listening to this book. It is another hectic afternoon. I have finished working for the day (part time Orthodox school principal). I am at home, earbuds in, ready to dive into an audiobook when I realize- this is about prayer. And that this book is actually a prayerbook. And, this is exactly what I needed to hear on this challenging day. When I realized what this book really was about- I paused and made the decision to spend time really listening to the prayers, quotations from our Church Fathers, direction, and advice. Normally, I will listen to an audiobook for a few hours at a time (those precious hours when the boys' are at school, my husband is in his home office working, and I am doing the mom thing). This prayerbook needed more time to digest. I listened in short bursts of time over a few weeks. I found that by listening to this book while working around the house helped to keep me focused on praying while working. The book is divided into chapters with a special focus on a specific topic, prayers for different occasions, and daily prayers. The author's voice is soothing to listen to which is especially important in audiobooks.

And, listening to the audiobook now has me wanting to purchase a copy to keep in my prayer corner as the audiobook (at least on my kindle) does not have chapter names listed. 

This book was a delight and a surprise! I look forward to re-listening to it in the future. 

Virtue of the Month- Humility

“Humility is the mother of all virtues; purity, charity and obedience. It is in being humble that our love becomes real, devoted and ardent. If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are. If you are blamed you will not be discouraged. If they call you a saint you will not put yourself on a pedestal.”

- Mother Teresa, In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories and Prayers

It is fitting that at the end of the year, our focus is on humility; the mother of all virtues as Mother Teresa describes it. From September to now, we have introduced a different virtue to our students each month. Our deepest desire for all of our students at ASA is that they go on to lead lives of virtue and that they, outside of our walls, will be an example to others of what it means to lead a virtuous life. We provide them with these tools based on our Orthodox Faith that when they are grown, they will remember the words and example of the ASA staff and of you, their parents, in order to persevere in the virtues.

“We suffer because we have no humility and we do not love our brother. From love of our brother comes the love of God. People do not learn humility, and because of their pride cannot receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, and there for the whole world suffers.”

-St. Silouan the Athonite

May we always strive for humility in all areas of our life.

Mrs. Blankenstein

Virtue of the Month- Patience

 

And so let us be glad and bear with patience everything the world throws at us, secure in the knowledge that it is then that we are most in the mind of God. – St.Basil the Great

Every month, I attempt to write an article on the Virtue of the Month. As I think on what to write, I search for a quotation from the Church Father’s to hopefully inspire me as I write this. Sometimes, the simplest quotation seems to convey the exact message that I am looking to pass to you and our students. This month, St. Basil the Great, beautifully writes (better than I ever could write) the importance of patience. As we enter the last few weeks of Lent, let us be mindful and continue our struggle with patience as that will be when we “are most in the mind of God”. Kalo Pascha!

May it be blessed,

Mrs. Chrstina Blankenstein

Thank you!!!

Thank you to the nuns of Paracletos Monastery who donated a beautiful icon of our Feast day to the school!

Check out all their fabulous images at https://www.orthodoxmonasteryicons.com/collections/festal-icons/products/midfeast-of-pentecost-icon.

Virtue of the Month- Generosity

“When a man really considers his neighbor as himself, he will never tolerate having more than his neighbor. If he does have more, but refuses to share things generously until he himself becomes as poor as his neighbor, then he will find that he has not fulfilled the commandment of the master. He no longer wants to give to all who ask, and instead turns away from someone who asks of him while she still has a penny or a crust of bread. He has not treated his neighbor as he would like to be treated by him. In fact, even if a man had given food and drink and clothes to all the poor, even the least, and had done everything else for them, he has only to despise or neglect a single one and it will be reckoned as if he had passed by Christ and God and He was hungry and thirsty.”— St. Simeon the New Theologian

We have reached the beginning of Lent. This is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on our journey in our Faith and whether or not we are leading lives of virtue. Our virtue of the month for March is generosity. Be kind to everyone you meet. Give to all- not only to those who are less fortunate but give of ourselves (time, patience, love) to everyone that crosses our path. At Agia Sophia Academy, our staff strives to instill in our students the importance of giving to one another as one of the highest of virtues. We must continuously teach our children through our own example of giving and generosity to all.

By the way, this Lenten season, remember to pick up a “grab and give” bag to hand out to those in need. And, please look at our Food Barrel Friday list for those in need. These are all simply and easy ways to share what we have with our neighbors.

Kali Sarakosti! Have a blessed Lent!

In Christ,

Mrs. Christina Blankenstein