A celebration dedicated to Asia Minor and Philhellenes, at the Brunswick Campus of the “Aetolian College”

A special celebration was organised by the Brunswick Campus of the Greek College of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia “Aetolian College” to bid farewell to this academic year.

Specifically, on Monday, 11 December 2022, the Brunswick School of the “Aetolian College” of the Parish of St. Vasilios, in Brunswick, Melbourne, organised a celebration for the end of this year in which high school aged students of the School participated.

Commemorating this year the dark anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, the first part of the celebration was dedicated to Asia Minor and the Greek Communities that were uprooted 100 years ago. The students presented a passage from Ilias Venezis’ novel “Land of Aeolia (Romiosyni)”, in which the author refers nostalgically to his childhood memories in Kydonia (Aivali) of Asia Minor. Also, the students had prepared a historical document about the Asia Minor Catastrophe, as well as about the rebetika songs.

The second part of the festive event was dedicated to the Philhellenes. This year the students of the third Lyceum (Year 12) studied the topic “Philhellenes and Famous Greeks Abroad”. As they mentioned in the introduction of their presentation, they were impressed by the fact that since ancient times Greece had Philhellenes, in other words, foreigners who had a special love for the Greeks and everything Greek, manifesting it through speech and works.

This was followed by a special presentation by the student of the third Lyceum (Year 12), Alexander Raitsanovski, who narrated his own Greek journey that started from Greece where he was born, in a family with roots in Constantinople and Ukraine, and ended up in Melbourne.

The celebration was also rich in traditional dance performances. The students, under the guidance of the dance teacher Mr. Philip Pantazis, showcased various dances from Asia Minor.

The celebration ended with the awarding of graduation certificates to the final year students by Ms. Natasa Spanou, member of the Governing Committee of the Greek College of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia “Aetolian College” and the teacher of the third Lyceum, Ms. Maria Foskolou.

The Coordinator of the Brunswick Campus, Ms. Frederiki Pertile, warmly thanked the parents who supported the work of the teachers throughout the school year and congratulated the students on their progress.

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