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6 THE SHEPHERD • OCTOBER 2026 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO Dear students, families and friends of our Greek School, We are excited to share our October updates with you. Classes have officially started, and our students and teachers are off to a won- derful beginning. The energy in every class- room has been positive, focused, and full of enthusiasm for learning Greek. Our Meet & Greek Open Day event on Au- gust 30th had a fantastic turnout. It was won- derful to see so many families come together to meet one another, connect with our teach- ers, and celebrate the start of the new school year. We also held our annual Αγιασμό (blessing) with Father Andrew on Friday, September 11th, who blessed our school and our students for the year ahead. His presence brought warmth and meaning to our open- ing week, and we are grateful for his ongoing support and guidance. We are proud to share that our registrations have increased by more than 20 percent this year. Our adult beginner and adult inter- mediate classes are thriving, each averaging over fifteen students per class. This growth reflects the strong interest in Greek language and culture across our community, and we are delighted to welcome so many new learn- ers. We would also like to warmly welcome our two new teachers, Sophia Kiortsis and Tha- nos Karavokiris , to our team this year. We are very happy to have them join our school, and we look forward to the wonderful con- tributions they will bring to our students and community. We look forward to a productive and joyful October together. Thank you for being part of the Greek School of San Diego and for supporting our mission to preserve and cele- brate the Greek language. Warm regards, Dr. Eleni Sinopoulou San Diego Greek Language School Director GREEK LANGUAGE SCHOOL The Board of Directors of The Zathas Foun- dation is proud to announce the 2026 Schol- arship Recipients: • Emmanuel Andronikou • Alexandra Arapostathis • Eleni Arapostathis • Luke Billings • David Bonadeo • Katherine Bonadeo • Kaitlyn Dennis • Marianna Dick • Penelope Kalamaras • Marianna Newby • Alexios Savvides • John Savvides Since 1994, The Zathas Foundation has awarded scholarships to our Greek Ortho- dox youth of San Diego County helping them further their college education. The Zathas Foundation is a 501c3 Not-for- Profit Corporation organized, in part, to support educational scholarships for mem- bers of the Greek Orthodox youth of San Di- ego County. If you would like to help our youth with their college education, the foundation is accept- ing tax deductible cash donations. Please mail your donation to The Zathas Founda- tion 11905 Riverside Drive, Lakeside, CA 92040. We thank you in advance for your consider- ation. In preparation for the Solar System Instal- lation approved at the Spring 2025 Gener- al Assembly, the roofing on the Parish Hall is being replaced in the flat areas above the three areas that include the Youth Room, Philoptochos Room, and the front entry foyer. The work commenced on September 8th and is expected to take three weeks to complete. Hall Roofing Renovation