HEMPSTEAD, NY – The Greek School of the Cathedral of St. Paul in Hempstead, Long Island, NY, celebrated the national anniversary with an impressive festive program on March 26.

In the packed community hall, students recited poems, sang, recounted the history of March 25th, performed skits and danced, bringing joy and pride to their parents and grandparents.

Fr. Elias Pappas sent the following greetings through The National Herald: “As we know, March 25th is a big and dual celebration. The whole world celebrates the Annunciation of the Virgin. This holiday reminds us that nothing is impossible in the eyes of God.”

He continued: “When the Archangel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary the joyful news of the Annunciation, the Virgin Mary asked what will happen since I am a virgin? And here the angel answered that nothing is impossible for God.”

“The Fathers of that time period identified this ecclesiastical celebration of the Virgin Mary with the Greek Revolution because they believed that there is nothing impossible in the eyes of God and if God wills something it will be done immediately,” Fr. Pappas said. “Although some asked how our beloved country will be freed after 400 years of slavery, how they will gather all the Greeks to help in this project, the leaders of the Revolution believed that with the blessing of the Virgin Mary they would win. Long live Greece, long live the heroes of 1821 who sacrificed themselves for faith and country.”

Principal Mary Vlogiantis congratulated, through the newspaper, the educational staff, Evdoxia Panos, Christos Vretzakis, Evgenia Kotroni, Korina Perdikari, Athina Spaliaras, Martha Poursanidou, Christina Kostakis, Rania Mesiskli, Lamprini Misetzi, Irene Apollonatos, for their professionalism, zeal and dedication, all the students for their excellent presentation at the celebration, and the parents for their continuing support of the school.

She added: “The celebration of March 25 gives us an opportunity to highlight different aspects of the historic and sacred struggle of our ancestors for Freedom. Our celebration each year is not limited to only poems, plays and dances, but instead focuses on specific historical events. This enables students and parents to deepen their knowledge of the history of Greece but also to gain a greater respect and appreciation for the struggles of our ancestors, and to be inspired by their courage and dedication to the values of freedom and of democracy.”

“St. Paul’s Greek Afternoon School has 185 students and we offer our children a complete educational experience that includes not only the acquisition of knowledge about the Greek language, our culture and history, but more importantly the strengthening of Greek consciousness and identity,” Vlogiantis said. “We also teach the children our religion, since Orthodoxy is an important part of the cultural heritage of Greece.”

“Essentially, the purpose of our school is to transmit our National Heritage to a new generation of Greek children who will not only honor it, but also enrich it in turn,” she continued. “All of this would be impossible if we did not have the majority of our teachers from Greece who have direct contact with the experiences of our special homeland.”

“We have classes from pre-kindergarten to 6th grade and the children continue with the Regents class,” Vlogiantis noted. “We also have a separate class for Greek studies.”

“In addition to classes for children, we also have a section for teenagers that focuses on oral language, through the highlighting of modern Greek society,” she said. “We also have adult classes for both beginners and advanced students. Our school offers education to everyone regardless of age who would like to learn the Greek language and Greek culture. We place great importance on modern educational methods as well as the use of technology with Chromebooks for all our students.”