EDITORIAL NOTE by Bambi Pomagalski
Christmas and the New Year are practically upon us and there is no better time to look back, with pride, at the semester we’re saying goodbye to. New students have joined and current students have built ever stronger ties, staff have worked hard to ensure the greatest learning experiences, safety and joy for all, and AIS has remained a true home to academic and personal growth through our care and teaching.
Whilst challenges can arise at any time, we have enjoyed a very calm but motivated semester. Celebrating achievements, grades and festivities, the semester has been a vibrant one where all of us, at Astoria International, have proven our worth and given our best. With so many things happening daily, it is our pleasure to share with you, in this semester’s Blazon magazine, a few of the highlights.
Arts & Culture - Greek Cultural Activity by Maria Teresa Viscusi
Both our Waterlilies A and Lilies, thanks to our Greek intern Lydia, were momentarily whisked away to Greece and discovered new customs and traditions of Greek culture. We learned about a new festivity we hadn’t known of before, “Clean Monday”! You must be curious? So were we! It is a very important Greek festivity which takes place 40 days before Easter and is famous for people gathering with colourful kites that dance in the sky above hilltops. We practiced some Greek language by learning what Greeks usually eat during this special day. Our kids were fascinated by Dolmadakia (which is made of stuffed vine leaves with lots of dill, mint, scallions, and tender rice) and Halvas (which is a tasty pudding-like dessert made with semolina). Ms Lydia had us drooling! At the end of the day, for our own Clean Monday souvenir, we made our own kite and had so much fun!
the Blazon 1 first Edition 2022 * Astoria International School