Mission Statement:

The Armenian School partners with our parish families to support our parish’s mission and create an environment for children to connect with their Armenian heritage exploring its cultural dimensions including Armenian history, art, literature and geography through study of the Armenian language

Vision Statement:

The Armenian School aims to create and maintain a stimulating and fulfilling environment for learning the Armenian language and heritage while empowering families to participate in enhancing their children’s education.  Children who are endowed with language and cultural education, inspired to continue lifelong learning and contribution to Armenian culture while embracing and enhancing the values and moral principles of our the Armenian Church represent our vision.

Curriculum:

It is will great pleasure that I announce to you an evolution and improvement to our curriculum for the 2010-2011 school year.  We will be focusing on multiple aspects of our Armenian Heritage over the coming year.  Specifically, we will introduce Armenian Music each week to every class.

Along with the start of a new school year come new ideas that we will be implementing in the 2010/2011 school year.  It is with incredible enthusiasm that I am able to communicate that we will be significantly enriching the Armenian School curriculum with topics of widespread interest. In addition to the core curriculum of learning the Armenian language, this year we will spend half of our school time on 3 important cultural topics:  (1) Armenian Music, (2) the written works of HovhannesToumanian and (3) important Armenian historical events and people throughout Armenian history.

ARMENIAN MUSIC: Weekly, we intend to focus on listening to a different Armenian song, having a discussion about it, understanding the meaning of the words of the song, comparing it to other songs and as a community, becoming more familiar with the genres of Armenian music.  We will be creating a CD of the songs that we will cover and provide it to the parents at the beginning of the school year.

HOVHANNES TOUMANIAN: Our second pillar of focus will be on the written works (short stories and poems) of the famous author HovhannesToumanian. During class, we will read the English translated versions of some of the best works of this author.  The children will have an opportunity to discuss the meaning of the writings, compare and contrast the different stories, make connections with works they are familiar with, identify Armenian vocabulary from these stories and much more. We hope that at the end of the year, they will have a firm grasp of some of the Armenian literary greats.

ARMENIAN HISTORY: Our third pillar of focus is expanding on the successful cultural programs from last year.  Last spring, Stepan Piligian, with help from a few volunteers, researched, wrote, choreographed and hosted practices with the kids a fantastic program on Vartanantz.  This year, after having learned what works best has agreed to expand the effort to teach our children and will be writing 2 programs – one on October 24th on “the Holy Translators” and another performance in April.  We have found that this is one of the most effective ways for these children to learn and internalize  these historically significant events and people in Armenian history.  So, mark your calendars for a fantastic show with our very own superstars!  Also, at the end of last year, Andrew Piligian agreed to take on the role of Armenian History and Culture lecturer of the Armenian School.   This year we will be expanding on that role also and formalizing it. Each month, Andrew will be putting together a well researched topic of interest and significance to share with the older grades and any interested parishioners.  It is such an enriching dimension of being an Armenian-American when the past is understood and helps to define what being Armenian really means to each student.  So, thank you to the Piligian Duo for a fantastic enhancement to the Armenian School curriculum.

Hours of Operation:

Armenian School starts on Sunday, September 19th from 9:00am-10:00am.  Each Sunday with the exception of holidays and Instructional Badarak days, there is Armenian School at 9am SHARP.  Please see calendar in package and web site for further details.

Please make a commitment to be on time each week so that we get the most out of our limited time together. We request that you work with your parents to arrive by 9:00 a.m. (and not after) as school begins right at 9:00 a.m.  We need to all work together (parents and teachers) to make this starting time more of a reality this school year.  We request that parents accompany their children to the door of their classrooms.  This year we will try a new approach where the teachers will go directly to their classrooms and the children should go straight there, not pool in the fellowship hall first to go as a group.

Staffing:

Group                                 Lead Teacher                      Location

Nursery (2-3 year olds)                 Maral Balayan                                   Der Krikor’s old conference space

Kindergarten/First Grade             Lenna Bablouzian                            Across from Der Krikor’s office

Intermediate Group                      Carmen Kundakjian                         Upstairs, Middle Classroom

Advanced Group:                           Jirair Balayan                                    Upstairs, Parking Lot Side Classroom

Armenian History and                   Andrew Piligian                                Upstairs for all but Nursery
Cultural Lecturer

Hantes/Performance                    Stepan Piligian                                 Rehearsals in Fellowship Hall
Creator & Choreographer                                                                                             

NOTE TO PARENTS: We would welcome any parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or friend to join us with an interest in teaching/assisting…Armenian language skills a plus, but not mandatory.  Everyone can play a role.  The challenge of teaching our children becomes a richer experience for all when we each contribute our individual talents….trust me…the kids feel the difference.

Facilities:

You will notice that our fellowship hall has changed.  We have removed the partitions for the 2 younger classrooms and transformed our hall into a much more functional and appealing space.  The bathrooms have been completely renovated…they look beautiful!  We have also spent considerable time converting the conference room into a pre-school classroom and the room across from Der Krikor’s office into a more usable younger classroom set up.  Soon we will be installing blackboards and white boards into the classrooms for a more interactive learning experience.  All very positive contributions to facilitate a great learning experience for you!

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