Greek Afternoon Ethnic School

From the time of its establishment, the Greek Orthodox Community of St George has shown great interest in the promotion of the Greek language and the Greek culture. In order to achieve this, the first Greek Ethnic School was established in 1927 and since then many teachers have served to impart their knowledge of the Greek language and culture to all students, who are interested in learning the Greek language. The Greek Orthodox Community of St George offers a range of educational services, mainly in the teaching of primary school and high school level. Education is one of the most important aspects in the service delivery area that any Community is called upon to address. The Greek Orthodox Community of St George is endeavouring to meet the needs and requests of the Community

Classes

The Greek School holds classes at: South Brisbane (25 Besant St):

Day	Time	Classes for 2024	Commencement
Monday	3:45pm, to 6:30pm	Years 1-6	29 January 2024
Tuesday	3:45pm to 6:30pm	Years 7-12 and Accelerated Beginners	30 January 2024
Saturday	9:00am to 11:45am	Years 1-10	3 February 2024
Monday	7:00pm to 9:00pm	Adult Classes: Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced, Conversational Class	12 February 2024

* Note: Saturday is subject to enrollment numbers

Students are only required to attend one of these sessions. Classes run parallel to day school terms and student free days are also observed at our Ethnic School. Classes are conducted, using a variety of methods, as seen at the student’s days schools. The school feels it is important that students be exposed in a variety of ways to aid different ways of learning. Teachers are encouraged to use song, role play, games, dvds, flashcards, wall charts, among other aids. Technology is incorporated in the classroom with the use of laptops. Each class is equiped with a data projector, so the internet and online activities are used extensively in the classroom. The school fosters a warming and comforting environment for the students

Primary level (Years 1-6)

The Greek Ethnic School runs a course in the Primary sector, which is fully recognised and approved by Education Queensland. The program used is based on the Australian Curriculum for Languages, which has been developed to be used in all schools across the country. Each term students study themes, during which students are introduced to the language and grammar related to that theme. Students are taught to listen, speak, read, and write in Greek on these themes. During and at the end of each theme, students participate in assessment pieces, which encompass many of the themes and content covered throughout the term. Please note, students in Year 1 at their day school can enter Year 1 at Greek School.

We encourage students to continue into high school as this allows the opportunity to boost their rank in their final of schooling, if they sit the External exam in year 12. The workload for Year 7 is comparable to that of Year 6. Please note, there is no jump in difficulty from Year 6 to Year 7. The continuation of the study of Modern Greek further expands the student’s knowledge of this language allows them to communicate at a higher level.

Junior Secondary (Years 7-10)

This is a course (theme driven) which has been specifically written to prepare the students for the Senior High School course and is constantly revised, to meet the needs of the current cohort of students. Please note, due to the small number of students attending this level, composite classes are run for these students on Tuesdays and Saturdays. This allows a more focused and individualised approach to each student’s needs. In 2014, we introduced an additional high school class on Tuesdays, an accelerated class. This new class caters for students with limited or no formal study in Greek. It will run like the language courses in high schools, where in 3 years, students will have sufficient knowledge to successfully study Greek in the senior years.

Senior Secondary (Years 11-12)

This is a fully accredited course by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Students who complete this course can have Modern Greek included on their Queensland Certificate of Education and allow it to be used for ATAR calculations, if they wish to sit the final External Exam. There are many benefits of completing the Years 11 and 12. In previous years the use of Modern Greek has successfully assisted students in achieving their desired ATAR result. Another benefit is the Bonus Rank Scheme. By completing Modern Greek, students receive bonus rank points. Many universities use these points to select students for their courses. Note that students sit an External exam for this subject. Please also note that students are welcome to attend these classes, regardless if sit the final External exam or not. This exam is optional.

Other Activities

Students also participate in Greek dancing and aspects of Greek culture. The school celebrates the two Greek national days (25 March and 28 October). A concert is also held at the end of the school year, showcasing the language skills that students have acquired throughout the year.

Greek dancing classes

The Greek Community of Saint George is proud to provide the opportunity for our young Greek School Students to learn traditional Greek dances. The community believes that it is an important part of our rich history and culture. This culminates in a Glendi Night during which students showcase their dancing skills. Classes are offered during lesson time on all three days. The Senior Dance Group also rehearse on Tuesdays after Greek School 6.45pm – 7.15pm. The lessons are provided free of charge (for GOC St George Members, for Non-members a $30 membership fee applies) and are open not only to all students of the Greek Ethnic School, but to any student, who wish to participate in learning to dance. If you would like to participate, we kindly ask you to contact the Greek Orthodox Community of Saint George, Administration Offices on 32491000 to express your interest.

Online Classes

In 2024, we will also be offering two online classes for students who cannot attend face to face classes and wish to study Modern Greek.

The online Accelerated Beginners class is for high school students. This class caters for students with limited or no formal study in Greek. It will run like the language courses in high schools, where in 3 years, students will have sufficient knowledge to successfully study Greek in the senior years.

The online Years 11/12 class is for students, who have a good language background and wish to further their studies and would like to sit the Senior External Exam at the end of Year 12, so that this subject can be included on their Senior Certificate and can be used towards their ATAR calculation. This class will prepare the students for the final exam through the study of various topics with their associated grammar and vocabulary, as well as through the practice of previous external exams. These students will also be presented with techniques, which will aid them in succeeding in this exam. The basis of these units of work is the External Senior Modern Greek Syllabus, which can be found in the QCAA (Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority) website.

The online Accelerated class will run 4pm – 6pm on a day suitable to all enrolled students.

The online Years 11/12 class will run on Wednesdays 4pm – 6pm.

The platform to be used is Microsoft Teams.

Enrolments for online classes need to be made before the Greek School starting date of 29/01/24, so that the link to the online class can be sent to each student.

Adult Classes

Adult Classes are also offered to Greek and non-Greek speaking adult students.
These classes are held on Monday evenings, from 7 pm to 9 pm at the Greek School Building at 25 Besant St, South Brisbane). Numbers permitting, the levels offered are Elementary, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, Advanced and Conversational.

The aim of the adult classes is to cater to adults of non-Greek heritage, who wish to learn Modern Greek or adults of Greek heritage who did not have the opportunity to learn Greek in their early years. These classes also cater for adults who wish to brush up their Greek language skills. Students can enter a level, according to their ability. Adult Classes were set up by the Greek Orthodox Community of St George, Brisbane to provide courses in Modern Greek for adult students whose needs were not served by secondary schools or by other institutions.

In these courses the emphasis is on communicative teaching i.e. there is an emphasis on being able to communicate. This is achieved by basing all teaching on the four macro skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing (in the Elementary, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2 and Advanced classes) and listening and speaking (in the Conversational Class). Due to the nature of the courses, it is essential that students set aside time at home to study. When learning a language, if constant practice and repetition does not occur at home, then progress is slow. Classes run 2 hours a week for 30 weeks, with the opportunity of an optional assessment at the end of each of the courses.

ADULT CLASS COURSES

In 2024, five courses/levels of Modern Greek will be offered (numbers permitting):

ELEMENTARY (30 weeks) – Elementary classes are for students with no previous knowledge of the language. In this course you will be introduced to the Greek Language and will begin to learn functional Greek, which can be used in everyday life in Greece.

INTERMEDIATE 1 (30 weeks) – Intermediate 1 classes are for students who have completed the Elementary Course, or have a basic level of competency in the language and wish to further develop their capabilities in the language. In this course, grammar study will be extended with all four macro skills developed further.

INTERMEDIATE 2 (30 weeks) – Intermediate 2 classes are for students who have completed the Intermediate 1 Course or have a fair level of competency in the language and wish to further develop their capabilities in the language. In this course, grammar study will be extended with all four macro skills developed further.

ADVANCED (30 weeks) – Advanced Adult Classes for students who have completed the Intermediate 2 Course or who are able to achieve a satisfactory level of communication in the language. More rigorous grammatical structures will be taught, which will allow a greater capability to be able to converse in Greek on more advanced topics.

CONVERSATIONAL CLASS (30 weeks) –This is a new course that commenced in 2015. This is aimed at students with a basic command of the Greek language, who only wish to develop their listening and speaking skills. In this course minimal time will be spent on developing writing skills. But students will need to be able to read the Greek language, as all written materials will be presented in Greek. Grammar will be taught, when required, and will be incorporated in the topics studied. This course is not for students with no command of the Greek language.

ONLINE CLASSES

In 2024, all five levels of Adult classes will be offered on an online basis for students who are not able to attend face to face classes. These classes will run on Thursdays 7 pm – 9 pm, beginning on 15 February 2024.

The platform to be used is Microsoft Teams. Enrolments for online classes need to be made before the starting date, so that the link to the online class can be sent to each student.

For more information, please call the Community Offices on 07 3249 1000 or email us at reception@gocstgeorge.com.au