The community hall of St Panteleimon Church in Dandenong came alive on Tuesday evening as proud families and teachers gathered for the awards ceremony of the 7th Student Public Speaking Festival, organised by the Modern Greek Teachers Association of Victoria (MGTAV).
MGTAV Vice President Natasha Spanos, who co-presented the evening with MGTAV secretary Ourania Papageorgiou, told The Greek Herald that the festival continues to grow.
“When the festival first began, students would present their speeches in front of judges,” she said.
“With COVID-19 we changed the format to video submissions, and we decided to continue in this way. Submitting recordings allows more students to participate, it takes some of the stress away and this year we had 142 submissions – our highest ever.”
Hosted by the Greek Orthodox Community of Dandenong, the event gave primary and secondary students the chance to showcase their language skills through poetry, literature recitation and public speaking. At the awards, students accepted prizes and got to view their speeches from screens.
Teachers emphasised that the festival is about much more than competition.
“Through oral word and writing, the children gain confidence, they stand on their own two feet, and they connect with Greece through language and culture,” Vicky Lambropoulou, a teacher at the Greek Community of Melbourne, said.
The students themselves echoed that sentiment. Bentleigh student Rafaela Vryoni said: “Participation helped my Greek and made me more confident. I learnt a few new words and I think my pronunciation helped me get first place.”
Constantina Bakaimis, of Cretan background, was thrilled with her third-place award. “My speech was about how we embrace our Greek culture in Melbourne. It was fairly easy because I’ve been going to Greek school since prep, and now I’m in Year 12,” she said.
Sisters Anastasia and Paraskevi Caraccia from Dandenong also enjoyed the experience.
“I gave a speech about whether kids should have phones. I got to speak in Greek and enjoyed it,” said Paraskevi, adding that she took notes for next year after watching John Sismanidis deliver the winning speech in her category. “I looked at his expressions and vocabulary.”
Anastasia added that her poem about the Ancient Greek gods helped her learn new words.
Their father told The Greek Herald he was proud to see his daughters speaking both Greek and Italian, adding that he himself had learned Greek after living in the country for seven years.
Year 7 student Magdalene Diamantopoulos spoke passionately about the Greek language itself. “The Greek language is beautiful and has many words that can’t be translated into English. In reality, many English words come from Greek,” she said.
Acting Coordinator of Educational Affairs of the Greek Consulate of Melbourne, Moira Triantafillou, praised the efforts of all students.
“It takes a lot of effort to balance school responsibilities with learning Greek. We know it needs effort, patience and a lot of love for our roots,” Ms Triantafillou said. “It is difficult but I want you to consider that every word you learn, every story you read, every song you sing brings you closer to the Greek language, our tradition and our beloved Greece.”
The event also looked to the future. In a video address, La Trobe lecturer Stavroula Nikoloudis encouraged students to consider studying Modern Greek at tertiary level.
“There’s actually a shortage of Greek language teachers at the moment,” she explained. “If you choose Greek as a specialisation, you are almost assured of a job.”
As the evening ended, proud smiles filled the hall. President of the St Panteleimon Greek Orthodox Community of Dandenong, Steve Karamoschos, thanked everyone for their support, noting the warm and welcoming atmosphere of the evening.
The young participants cheerily left with their awards, and one message was clear: the festival had not only recognised talent but had also strengthened confidence, cultural pride and the bonds of community across generations.
Full list of winners:
Section 1: Poetry Recital
Years 3 and 4:
- Nina Kyrkylis – Greek Orthodox Community of Dandenong and District Saint Panteleimon of Dandenong
- Eleni Karefilakis – Aetolian College Reservoir Campus
- Petroula Balaskas – Greek Orthodox Community of Dandenong and District Saint Panteleimon of Dandenong
Years 5 and 6:
- Irini Hatzimanolis – Alphington Grammar School
- Paraskevi Katsoula – Greek Community of Melbourne School – CBD Centre
- Daphne Alexiadis – Greek Orthodox Community of Dandenong and District Saint Panteleimon of Dandenong
Years 7 and 8:
- Victoria Scicluna – Alphington Grammar School
- Penelope Balaskas – Greek Orthodox Community of Dandenong and District Saint Panteleimon of Dandenong
- Vivian Dimitropoulos – Alphington Grammar School
Years 9 and 10:
- Eleni Kompogiorga – Greek Community of Melbourne School – CBD Centre
- Rafaela Vryoni – Greek Community of Melbourne School – Bentleigh East Centre
- Maria Eirini Moschoni – Greek Community of Melbourne School – CBD Centre
Section 2: Demostheneia
Years 5 and 6:
- Mathew Loutas – Greek Orthodox Community of Dandenong and District Saint Panteleimon of Dandenong
Years 7 and 8:
- Magdalene Diamantopoulos – Greek Orthodox Community of Dandenong and District Saint Panteleimon of Dandenong
Years 9 and 10:
- John Sismanidis – St John’s College Preston
- Despoina Klostopoulou – St John’s College Preston
- Paraskevi Caraccia – Greek Orthodox Community of Dandenong and District Saint Panteleimon of Dandenong
Years 11 and 12:
- Vaia Klostopoulou – St John’s College Preston
- Christina Koufomanolis – Greek Orthodox Community of Dandenong and District Saint Panteleimon of Dandenong
- Constatina Bakaimis – Greek Orthodox Community of Dandenong and District Saint Panteleimon of Dandenong
*All photos copyright The Greek Herald / Mary Sinanidis.
