Note: children who are participating in the costume & fashion show must arrive by 9:00 AM.

Below is the invitation from the Hellenic Heritage Museum for May 2nd Protomayia Celebration. Our school will celebrate with the theme "Children are drawing on the wall" where we will let children draw and paint spring related pictures on a long paper using a variety of paints and colors!

The Feast of Flowers is an annual celebration in Greece dating back to ancient times. Held on "Protomayia", a national holiday in Greece, this Celebration of Spring traditionally finds families picnicking in the countryside, picking the season's first blooms of wild flowers. The flowers are woven into beautiful wreaths and taken home to adorn front doors until August 29, where during another festival commemorating the Feast of St. John, they are burned in giant bonfires.

SAVE THE DATE! COME CELEBRATE WITH US

ELLINIKI PROTOMAYIA

ON SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2009

12NOON TO 6PM

At the Hellenic Heritage Museum

On March 28th Fanari celebrated Greek Independence Day. Each class had a small in-class celebration and parents were invited to watch their children sing, play theater or say their poems. Well done to all the teachers for their efforts!

December 13, 2008

Join your children on Saturday Decemeber 13th at 5:00pm in singing Christmas carols at the 25th annual Christmas in The Park in downtown San Jose. Fanari Academy has reserved stage time at the center of the park for 5pm. If you have never been to this classic display of Christmas exhibits, it is a real treat for the whole family. This is a great opportunity to have our children to show the community how fun their rich Greek culture is.

 If you have a classic handheld triangle chime (trigono) to supplement the music, please bring it along for your student to play. For any questions, please contact me at Asi.Panoutsopoulou@FanariAcademy.org You can also go to the event website for more info: www.christmasinthepark.com under the tab about CITP- frequently asked questions.



Tradition of Greek Christmas carols

 
Greek Christmas carols are called calanda in Greek, and are sung on the eves of Christmas, New Year and Epiphany. Children, in groups of two or more, make the rounds of houses singing carols, usually accompanied by the triangle or occasionally by a guitar or accordion.
The children go from house to house, knock on the doors and ask: "shall we say them?" (Na ta poume?) If the home owner's answer is yes, the kids sing the Christmas carols for several minutes before wishing the host "And for the next year, many happy returns." Traditionally the children were offered holiday sweets and pastries, but today they are given some money.

See you at the park.

No classes will be held on Saturday November 1st as we would like you to join your children in the celebration of OXI day.

The celebration will be held in the school amphitheater at 10:30am where students will present poems and songs. Please arrive 15 minutes earlier, so the students can get together with their teachers and allow for the celebrarion to start on time.

Traditionaly students wear blue and white shaded clothes,( white top, blue pants/skirts) since these are the colors of Greece.

History of OXI day celebration:
On the 28th of October 1940, Greece gave a resounding "No!" to Italy's demand to surrender and ensure its ally Nazi Germany safe passage to Africa. Greece paid dearly for that brave decision of resistance, as at least 500,000 citizens lost their lives in the inevitable Nazi German occupation which followed. This national sacrifice is considered to be one of the key elements in the victory of Allied forces over Germany in WWII.

From the days of the ancient Greeks, the olive (elia) and the grape (stafyli) were central to culture, economy and to health.

However we are far from Greece, and locally the fields of "The Valley of Heart's Delight" have long ago been transformed into Silicon Valley.

Fanari Academy is once again bringing a little taste of Greece through the annual celebration of the olive and grape harvest (Trygos).

This Saturday October 11th, we are waiting to see you all at school to participate in and experience some of the wonderful traditions of Greece. Classes will be held as usual for the students, who will be able to join parents before or after their class. Activities will take place from 9:00am to 1:00pm and will be dedicated to the olive harvest, olive and olive oil tasting, and the grape harvest including the pressing of grapes in the traditional barefooted way, among other things!

Please feel free to bring some of your favorite olive oil for all to sample. Some of you may have a favorite to add to the varieties presented.

Do you have friends interested in Greek culture? We encourage you to invite them to join in the fun.

Put on your costume and come to celebrate with music, dance and fun games the most colorful time of the year!

On Saturday March 1st, 2008 Fanari will be hosting a Carnival party at the Rainbow Montessori Campus.

There is a $5 per child entrance fee, which includes light snacks and refreshments. The party starts at 3:00pm and it is scheduled to finish at 6:00pm.

We are encouraging you to bring your friends over and share with them an evening full of music, dance and fun games.

Holidays are just around the corner and it is time to celebrate! We are happy to invite you at a Holiday Celebration event on Saturday, December 22nd, 2007. Fanarakia are going to delight us with an exciting program full of songs, poems and theatrical plays in the jolly spirit of the season!

Festivities will commence at 10:30am in the amphitheater of the school. Please plan to arrive by 10am so that your children will be able to prepare for their presentations. The duration of the program is approximately 90 minutes. Then, in true holiday spirit, we will share goodies and warm wishes at a potluck in the school cafeteria*.

Please note that no classes will be held on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd.

We are looking forward seeing all of you there this coming Saturday.