STATEN ISLAND, NY  –  The Hellenic Classical Charter Schools – Staten Island celebrated the anniversary of the Rebirth of the Hellenic Nation on Thursday, March 21 with songs, poems, theatrical performances, and dance presented by the enthusiastic students.

The festivities began with a presentation about the history and significance of the day from Christina Tettonis, Superintendent of the two Hellenic Charter schools, which are located in Staten Island and Brooklyn. She thanked the teachers of the Greek Department, Katerina Petrakou, Angeliki Anastopoulou, Maria Gonakis, and Emanuel Tsagakis for organizing the celebration, as well as to the students for their zeal and efforts. “On Friday morning, we have the celebration at our other school in Brooklyn, where we will also admire our students for the outstanding program they will present. Many congratulations to the principal there, Natasha Caban, and to the teachers of the Greek Department,” she said. The Staten Island principal, Cathy Kakleas, expressed everyone’s pride in the quality of the program, emphasizing that the students managed to honor and celebrate March 25th in an exceptional way and deserve congratulations from everyone – parents, faculty, and students.

The Chief of Operations, Joy Petrakos, stressed that both schools honored this great celebration of Hellenism and Orthodoxy in the best possible way. “Our students, in Brooklyn and Staten Island, honored March 25th as they should and deserve congratulations from everyone. We must not forget that ours is a public school, not a private Greek school. There are students from many ethnicities, and the fact that they have all learned to speak our Greek language so well fills us with pride and joy. And we are proud of our homeland, for its development in the 203 years of its freedom, and we hope for the best for the future,” she added. The Greek teachers, in their message to The National Herald, stated: “March 25th, 1821, is one of the great holidays of our nation and it is celebrated worldwide by all Hellenes. This date is a milestone in modern Greek history, as after four hundred years of Turkish rule in Greece and after a long struggle and many sacrifices, the Greeks managed to gain not only their freedom but also their independence. Through our school celebration today, we wanted to pay tribute to the memory of our ancestors who fought heroically, and we hope to prove worthy of their sacrifices.”