According to the ‘2023 HSC school ranking’ list provided by The Sydney Morning Herald, St Spyridon College at Maroubra ranked in 78th place in NSW. The school jumped up from 112th place in 2022.
All Saints Grammar at Belmore was not far behind, claiming 86th place. They improved their position by 104 places from 190 in the 2022 HSC.
In a post on Facebook, All Saints Grammar said they were “thrilled” at the fantastic news and congratulated their students and teachers.
“Your hard work and dedication have truly paid off, and we couldn’t be prouder of your outstanding HSC results,” the school wrote in the post.
St Euphemia College at Bankstown came in 224th place on the HSC school ranking list for 2023. School student David Stanisavljevic secured the title of ‘First in the Course’ for Serbian Continuers.
More school rankings across the state can be viewed here.
A Hanukkah celebration at the Victorian Parliament on Monday saw representatives from all sides of politics light candles for the Jewish community of Melbourne.
According to Australian Jewish News, the Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs, Nick Staikos was one of many to attend the celebration, representing the Victorian Government.
In a speech, Mr Staikos described how he had attended another Hanukkah celebration alongside Mr Pesutto the night before at the Hellenic Museum.
“There was a beautiful fusion of Jewish and Greek culture and that was most enjoyable,” he said.
Mr Pesutto stated that “non-Jews in Victoria” also “take pride” in the Jewish community.
“I think I can say Nick and I and our colleagues will protect not only Victoria’s amazing Jewish community, but we will do it in the name of other people of goodwill,” Pesutto told those in attendance.
St Kilda Shule’s Rabbi Yaakov Glasman also spoke to the community about the significance of Hanukkah especially amidst the current Israel – Hamas war.
Greece’s Minister of National Defence, Nikos Dendias met with his Armenian counterpart, Suren Papikyan, in Athens on Thursday, 14 December to discuss military cooperation.
According to Ekathimerini, Dendias highlighted that importance of the meeting during a moment of increased tensions, citing the events in the Caucasus, Ukraine, and the Middle East as contributing to the region’s numerous areas of instability.
Greek and Armenian defence ministers meet in Athens to sign military cooperation agreement. Photo: Massis.
Dendias also stressed that signing the military cooperation agreement with Armenia would enhance Greece’s military sector, alongside helping to protect Armenia’s territorial integrity.
“We advocate for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states, firmly opposing any attempt to forcibly redraw borders…we stand by the Armenian people,” Dendias said in the meeting.
Papikyan concurred with the Dendias’ statements, urging the importance of “bilateral military cooperation” and “mutual support” between the two countries.
It started back in February of this year, when Mario Nearchou, 62, decided to band a group of friends together in the hope of achieving one common goal – raising funds to cure cancer.
But there was one catch. All members of the group had to be both “car enthusiasts” and “over the age of 50,” essentially creating what has come to be fondly known as “Old Blokes Driving for a Cancer Cure.”
The impressive ‘Old Blokes‘ group comprises of Sydney-based members Mario Nearchou, Harry Moustakas, Nick Harris, Michael Skyllas, John Assarapin and Bob Hickman. 90 per cent of them, including Mario, are Greek.
Mario (L) is all smiles with part of ‘Old Blokes’ group, wearing t-shirts for their cause..
Mario left for the trip at a time when one of his daughters was about to give birth and arrived back just in time to see his other daughter give birth as well, in the same hospital.
For the past nine months, alongside all other life pursuits and aside from the big road-trip, ‘Old Blokes’ has generated public involvement through arranging ‘cars and coffee’ meetups, sausage sizzles with prizes for raffles, charity auctions and more, all in the pursuit of gathering whatever funds they could for the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF).
‘Old Blokes’ with their cars.
The last time The Greek Herald spoke to ‘Old Blokes’ founder Mario was back in May, where the group’s five-day road trip saw $30,000 gathered from their hard work and community engagement. The group then raised another $50,000 in one night at a gala held at Doltone House in June.
Today, ‘Old Blokes’ has raised over $100,000 in donations.
Mario told The Greek Herald today he had “high hopes” for the group, but never imagined such immense support from the public.
“I thought $30,000 and another $50,000 on top was a lot, but this is incredible,” he said, as he took a long breath in.
‘If I’m capable of doing this, then it’s my calling’
The initial inspiration for this noble pursuit came from what many of us have come to experience – the inexplicable grief of losing a loved one to cancer. For Mario, it was his father and father-in-law, among other friends and colleagues of his, who gave him the strength to start his journey with ‘Old Blokes.’
“It takes work but if I’m capable of doing this, then it’s my calling. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Mario said.
On November 15, the group visited The Lodge in Canberra for the 2023 ACRF Grant Awards, where the ‘Old Blokes’ also met the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley.
‘Old Blokes’ with the Governor-General of Australia, David Hurley at The Lodge in Canberra for the 2023 ACRF Grant Awards.
It wasn’t until the most recent lunch drive on Friday, November 24 at the Lagoon restaurant in Wollongong however, where the funds raised helped push the group’s total to just over $100,000.
‘Old Blokes’ at the big lunch drive in Wollongong.Family of ‘Old Blokes’ at the big lunch drive in Wollongong.
A few days later, on Tuesday, November 28 the ‘Old Blokes’ also attended a Celebration Dinner at the Taronga Centre in Mosman, which they had been formally invited to by the ACRF Chair, Tom Dery AO.
“It was a wonderful night. It was great to be able to further thank everyone for their support,” Mario said.
‘Old Blokes’ at the Celebration Dinner at the Taronga Centre in Mosman, which they had been formally invited to by the ACRF Chair, Tom Dery AO.
Mario describedthe ACRF’s members as “wonderful people” making a “world of change.”
“Brain cancer never used to get a lot of funding, but with this now… we have come leaps and bounds with the help of [ACRF] fundraising for cancer research,” he added.
‘We’re not going to stop’
As for his ‘Old Blokes’ group, Mario gushed over each member with warming sentiments.
“They are a wonderful group to be involved with… they have made me feel it, they’ve made me see it,” he said.
Mario aims to keep the ‘Old Blokes’ convoy of classical cars – from Mercedes to Porsches to his very own 1966 cream-coloured Volkswagen Beetle – on the road and expressed his hope for the group to get “bigger and better.”
“The goal is to continue on, whether that be hosting a fundraiser each year or every two years. The team are ready to keep working hard. We’re not going to stop,” he said.
Mario also visited the ACRF main office on Wednesday, December 6 to present a novelty cheque of all the funds gathered so far to them.
Delivering the cheque to the ACRF.
If you, or anyone you know wants to join the legacy, visit: mycause or email: oldblokesforcancer@gmail.com to help Mario and his group of ‘Old Blokes’ continue their journey in raising funds for a cancer cure.
The annual group baptisms in Morogoro, Eastern Tanzania, took place at the Holy Church of Saints Arsenios and Paisios this month with the blessing of Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa.
Metropolitan Dimitrios of Irinoupolis presided over the baptisms, where individuals, following catechism led by Archimandrite Eleftherios Balakos, were overjoyed.
Scenes from the annual baptism
The joy of the newly baptised, including many Muslims, was evident as they celebrated their embrace into the Orthodox church.
Since 2004, over 60,000 people in Tanzania have received baptism.
A man has recreated a traditional Cypriot wedding scene using the popular children’s action figure toys “Playmobil.”
According to the Cyprus Mail, Charalambos Pisia has been playing with Playmobil since he was a small child.
Photo: facebook / Charalambos Pisia
“15 years ago, I began collecting and buying them for myself inside and outside of Cyprus,” he said after presenting his work at the Hellas Playmobil Customisers exhibition in Athens, Greece.
His first ever visit to a Playmobil exhibition was in 2019. He was already a member of many groups with fans who share their love about the popular toys.
Photo: facebook / Charalambos Pisia
“From there, I began participating with my own scenes, and this is the second time I have submitted a creation of my own,” he said, adding that it took “months” of work for the wedding scene to be completed.
Describing the reason behind his latest creation he said, “I wanted to present something about Cyprus, so I decided to create the wedding scene so I could highlight Cyprus’ customs and traditions.”
A new discovery in the City of David has provided tangible evidence of the Greek presence in Jerusalem’s history.
According to foxnews.com, 16 pieces of ceramic roof tiles were recently discovered during excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University and they date back to the time of Greek Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
The findings, published in the Journal of Hellenistic Pottery, align with the historical account of Antiochus IV spreading Greek culture, enforcing Hellenistic views, and desecrating the sacred temple, leading to the Maccabean revolt.
“These roof tiles, or at least modern roof tiles, were invented in the seventh century B.C., in the middle of Greece itself, and then spread around the world, but never to the Middle East,” Dr Filip Vukosavović told Fox News.
The inception of ceramic roofing tiles took place in Greece. In Israel, however, these tiles were not used until many centuries later.
Photo: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority
Researchers utilised stratigraphy to identify the roof tiles from the relevant time period. Additionally, a petrography analysis was conducted, confirming the local origin of the clay from the Motza area west of Jerusalem, supplemented with locally sourced sand and straw.
The discovery provides material proof of a story often told.
According to Dr Vukosavović, the first book of Maccabees describes the arrival of the Greeks, Antiochus IV and the struggle. There were also tradition talks much later about the defilement of the temple and the miracle of the oil and eight days. However, there was never real material proof for the presence of the Greeks themselves.
For the sixth year in a row, Youth In Action, the youth group of The Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of Burwood and District St Nectarios, has prepared 120 Christmas hampers for refugee families, to be delivered through Metro Assist on Monday, December 18.
The youth held a successful fundraising event,A Mamma Mia Kind of Trivia Night, in October, which raised $3,282 for this important cause, allowing the youth to shop for groceries for the hampers. Parishioners also donated additional groceries and made donations towards the shopping.
All photos supplied.
Youth In Action representatives spent five hours during last Saturday’s sweltering heat sorting grocery donations and then went shopping for the balance of groceries needed. The final step was a hamper packing night earlier this week, which saw local youth and other Parishioners and friends joining together with a great spirit of fun and camaraderie to pack the hampers, ready for delivery.
Volunteer Chris Doukas arrived with his truck, ready to load the hampers onto pallets for delivery to Metro Assist in Bankstown.
An official Christmas Hamper presentation day for refugee families takes place at Metro Assist on Monday, December 18, with Youth In Action Coordinator Nicole Economos to attend to meet and greet the recipients and help Metro Assist staff hand out the hampers.
“Our Christmas Hamper project is one of the highlights of the year for Youth In Action,” Nicole Economos said.
“Everyone rallies around this important cause and it’s so great to know we are spreading some love and compassion to those who have experienced unimaginable challenges.
“We’re proud to deliver some cheer and share in the true spirit of Christmas with those less fortunate.”
With this year’s contribution, Youth In Action has so far fundraised for and donated 720 Christmas Hampers to refugee families through Metro Assist – an incredible achievement.
When Year 12 student Mietta Paipetis missed a call from the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) this month, she had no idea what to expect.
“It was such a crazy day,” Mietta, who has Greek Cypriot heritage, tells The Greek Herald.
“I mean I’ve been sleeping quite late being a teenager and having nothing to do, so I woke up at 12pm and I saw the missed call… and I had no idea what it could possibly be about.
“I thought, ‘omg they’ve called to tell me that they’ve lost my exam paper or I failed a course or I’m not getting an ATAR this year’.”
Mietta Paipetis couldn’t believe her result in Chinese Extension. Photo supplied.
When the 17-year-old eventually returned the call, what she heard over the phone line was the complete opposite.
“I actually asked her to check the list about three times to make sure that she had the right person. I still really can’t believe it. It seems like something that I dreamed.”
Whilst the young student definitely didn’t make up the good news, it was a dream come true for her as she’s been passionate about the Chinese language ever since she was introduced to it during an Open Day at her school, SCEGGS Darlinghurst.
Mietta Paipetis.
“When the teachers were showcasing the languages to us, I absolutely just feel in love with the complexity of Chinese. It’s not only a tonal language, which is different to romance languages, but there’s also character writing – no character is the same, you have to memorise it – and I just loved that,” Mietta says.
“There were so many different things that compose the language and I love challenges, I love puzzles and I love memorising things and all of that just appealed to me when it came to Chinese. So I just fell in love with it.”
This love for Chinese continued throughout Mietta’s entire Year 12 studies and also extended to her other select courses – Physics, Chemistry, Maths Extension 1 and English Advanced.
In the end, her hard work paid off and on Thursday, December 14 Mietta found out she had received an ATAR of 99.7.
She says she couldn’t have achieved that result without the support of her family, school teachers and classmates.
Mietta Paipetis with her parents.
“It’s so fulfilling to know that after working so hard with your classmates and your teachers for so many years and then to be able to achieve so highly and to thank them in such an honourable way and show them how much you appreciated their efforts and support, I think that’s really special,” Mietta explains.
The 17-year-old now plans on studying a double degree of Mechatronic Engineering and Computer Science at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), where she has been offered a scholarship.
She stresses that she also has no plans to quit learning the Chinese language just yet.
“So I’m going to be doing a Diploma of Chinese as well at the university,” Mietta says with a laugh.
“I’m not abandoning Chinese, I would never dream of it.”
We wish her all the best in her future endeavours!
The Sunday School of the Parish of Saint Sophia and her Three Daughters at Darlinghurst, Sydney celebrated another successful year with a Christmas event last Sunday, 10 December.
On the day, Parish Priest Father Ireneaus said it was pleasing to see the continued growth of the Sunday School four years after its revival.
It was a real family affair with the primary students presenting a short sketch and the older students speaking about St Paisios, elaborating on his connections to Australia and why St Paisios has been declared the Patron Saint of Australia.
The students were then joined by some parents in singing traditional and modern Christmas carols.
In closing, Parish President Con Zannetides expressed his gratitude for the support of the parishioners and their families throughout 2023, a year which featured the formation of the Agia Sophia Hellenic Lyceum Dancers. Rehearsals are held Friday evenings at the Parish Hall.
Fr Irenaeus and Mr Zannetides wished everyone a blessed Christmas and a joyful 2024.
