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6 THE SHEPHERD • FEBRUARY 2026 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO GREEK LANGUAGE SCHOOL DANCE & CHORAL Dear families, students and friends of our beloved community, February has brought both new beginnings and cherished traditions to our school com- munity. We are continuing to build momen- tum with the launch of the DREAMCLASS school management program, which is help- ing us streamline payments, homework as- signments, and communications. Families and teachers are already finding it easier to stay connected and organized. Our first semester has now concluded, and we are excited to welcome students back for the spring semester, which officially began on January 26th. Earlier this month, our stu- dents completed their end‑of‑semester ex- ams, followed by parent‑teacher conferences. We are proud to share that all of our students performed very well, achieving scores above 85% (equivalent to a B+) in their exams. These exams, for the first time, included both speaking and listening components, and our students rose to the challenge with great suc- cess. We are proud of their hard work and pleased with the progress they have shown. We also celebrated one of our most beloved traditions: the cutting of the Βασιλόπιτα (Vasilopita). In keeping with custom, the teachers gathered to share the cake, and our administrator Fendi was the lucky one to find the φλουρί (coin). In addition, we are very proud of all the children who partici- pated in the Epiphany Cross Dive celebration and bravely dove for the cross. Their dedica- tion to our faith and traditions filled us with joy and pride. Since the spring semester is now underway, I will leave you with this thought: «Η παιδεία είναι ο δεύτερος ήλιος για τους ανθρώπους.» (Education is the second sun for humankind.) — Heraclitus. This quote hon- ors the role of education as light and guid- ance, just as our newsletter highlights the students’ progress, the Epiphany traditions, and the joy of community. Με εκτίμηση, Dr. Eleni Sinopoulou San Diego Greek Language School Director At the time of this publication, we were gear- ing up for a very busy month. On January 21st, we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Simos Konstantinou a guest director from Florina, Greece who will be joining us for a 10-day intensive series of workshops to help our Pelagos dance group prepare for FDF. In addition, we were counting down the days to our FDF Preview and Glendi to be held in the church hall on Saturday, January 31st at 6:00 pm. In addition to the preview of the FDF competition performances for dance and choir, we decided to present a full dinner and glendi with not one, but two live bands! We are very excited to see the community turn out for our event and look forward to sharing photos in next month’s version of the Shepherd. FDF Preview means (of course) that FDF is just a few weeks away. The Pela- gos dance group is excited to present a suite of dances from the island of Crete in addition to a suite of dances from Florina, Greece. The Youth Choir will be showcasing their vocal talents for the second year centered around an original skit, so more of a musical theater offering than strictly choral. In addition, a second all-girls High School group will be competing at FDF. We look forward to shar- ing plenty of pictures from FDF with next month’s article. If you have any questions or want to learn more about joining our dance instructors or volunteering, please reach out at stspyridon- dance@gmail.com. One of the primary purposes of the Za- thas Foundation is to provide financial as- sistance to high school graduating seniors, community college students transferring to a 4-year college, and to full-time under- graduate college / university students. The amount of the scholarship awards, to be granted to a few qualifying students, varies from $500.00 to $1,500.00 each. The requirements are as follows: 1. Completed applications must be re- ceived before May 1, 2026 . 2. Eligibility is limited to high school grad- uating seniors, community college stu- dents transferring to a 4-year college, and to full-time undergraduate 4-year college / university students. 3. Scholarships will be granted only to qualified members of the Greek Or- thodox faith residing in the County of San Diego. 4. Scholarships MUST be applied for tuition. 5. Scholarships will be paid directly to the college /university on the student’s behalf. 6. The primary criterion for granting scholarships will be financial need. Oth- er criteria will be prior academic perfor- mance, scores of tests, character, moti- vation, potential, honors, and activities. If you would like an application, please con- tact Spero Tzathas at spe1@cox.net