STATEN ISLAND – With emotion, joy, and pride, family and friends crowded the Katsoris Hellenic Center for the Holy Trinity/St. Nicholas Greek School graduation ceremony which was held on June 10 immediately following the Divine Liturgy.

The graduates of the school: Alexandra Doyle, Maria Bacalexis, Stamatis Mallas, and George Pefanis.

The presiding priest of the community, Fr. Nicholas Petropoulakos, congratulated the students for the diligence shown during the school year, the Principal Anastasia Mantas for the excellent work done, and the parents for their love and support.

Principal Mantas warmly thanked the community for its limitless help and support in the work of the school. Addressing the students, she congratulated them on the care and attention, the goodwill and the love of learning they displayed from the first to the last day of school.

In their speeches the graduates spoke with words of love for their school and thanked their parents and teachers for everything they gave them.

Alexandra Doyle noted that the years at Greek school were not easy as she had to learn vocabulary, grammar, speech. “But,” she said, “it was worth the trouble and I’m very happy to have done it.”

Maria Bakalexis said farewell to Greek school with words of joy and sadness.

“Joy,” she said, “because we will no longer have work to do but sadness because a very beautiful chapter of my life is closing.”

Stamatis Mallas referred to the tremendous value of the Greek heritage, language, and culture, which was taught so well in the Greek school.

George Pefanis thanked his family for taking him to the Greek school, and said he will miss the Greek school classes, his friends, school celebrations and parades.

Parish Council President Leah Platis, PTA President Paraskevi Lagkis, Philoptochos President Diana Venardos, and Manolis Vlastakis, representative of the Cretan Philoxenia handed out the awards to the graduates.