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6 THE SHEPHERD • NOVEMBER 2025 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO DANCE & CHORAL The St. Spyridon Greek Dance and Choral school has been busier than usual this last month! Our Youth Choir Master Kathy Meck has been preparing her charges for the annual Christmas Concert (mark your calendars for December 7th at 6:00 pm , you won’t want to miss it!) and she will be taking two groups to FDF in Arizona this year, the Youth Choir and a High School Girls Choir. Our youngest dance group, Ta Spyridonakia (ages 4-6), have two new directors this year, Sophia Thiros and Tina Perri . Welcome to the team, ladies! Helios , our 7–10-year-old dance group is made up of eight lively and talented young dancers who are learning dances from Ke- falonia this year. We are seeking a permanent director for this group (if you are interested, please reach out) but have welcomed Gabri- ella Livanos as our assistant director. Thank you, Gabriella! Pelagos , our dance group of 11- to 18-year- olds has ballooned to nearly 30 dancers! Pel- agos will be going to FDF this year, and they are busy learning the dances of Florina and refining their current suite of Cretan danc- es. Their directors, Sia Brown and Dimitri Litsas , have been working tirelessly to get the kids ready. They recently brought in Sta- cey Zoumberakis, who specializes in Cretan dances, to conduct the first of two work- shops for the group. Dimitri is in the process of organizing a second workshop with Simos Konstantinou, one of the instructors he met at a dance symposium he participated in over the summer in Greece. Arhondia , our young adult dance group headed by Margarita Veziris started practices in October. Though they won’t be participat- ing in FDF this year, the group has welcomed several new members and is excited to prac- tice and participate in several perfor- mances throughout the year, including their first one at the “Οχι” dinner dance on October 25th. Sia Brown renewed her popular six- week Adult Begin- ner Greek Dance classes this year and added a second Adult Cardio Greek Dance class focused on fun and fitness, Greek style! Mark your calen- dars now for Sat- urday, January 31, 2026 , when we will have our FDF Preview Night in the church hall. We have a few other performances and another fundraiser in the works before the year is over, so be on the lookout for information in our weekly and monthly church bulletins. If you have any questions or want to learn more about joining our dance instructors or volunteering, please reach out to Tim- my Paraskevopoulos at stspyridondance@ gmail.com. GREEK LANGUAGE SCHOOL ΣΧΟΛΕΙΟ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΓΛΩΣΣΑΣ Dear families, students, and friends of our beloved community, As we settle into the school year, I’m thrilled to share some exciting updates from our Greek School and introduce the wonderful team behind its success. SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS On November 7th at 5:00pm we will have our annual Αγιασμό (blessing) service by Father Andrew. Moreover, our classes are thriving! We currently have 80 students, children and adults combined, and the en- ergy in every classroom is inspiring. A spe- cial shout-out to our youngest group, Tiny Greeks (ages 3–5), who learn Greek through play and song every Saturday at 11am. Our Adult Beginners Class is also going strong, with 19 dedicated learners diving into the beauty of the Greek language. Bravo to all! Lastly, along with our kids’ class curricu- lum our adult Greek classes curriculum has also been revised for our Beginners and Ad- vanced classes – and we are getting excellent feedback from our students. MEET OUR TEAM At the heart of our school’s success is our in- credible team of educators. Their dedication, warmth, and spirit are what make our Greek School flourish, and we’re proud to showcase them to the community. Maria Kapetanios , our newest and youngest staff member, brings joy and patience to our Tiny Greeks. Her loving nature has quick- ly made her a favorite among our youngest learners. Dr. Olga Jafou has been with us for over five years and continues to be a steady, caring presence in our mid-level classes. Her experience shines through in her students’ progress year after year. Evangelia Papa- georgiou recently returned from materni- ty leave and was welcomed back with open arms. Her rapport with older students and engaging teaching style make her a standout. Nikos Koufiotis teaches both children and adult classes, and his excellent communica- tion skills consistently earn glowing feed- back across both levels. Nektarios Tradas , our veteran educator, is the backbone of our adult program and now serves as Lead Adult Instructor. He oversees the curriculum de- velopment and instructional materials with care and expertise. We are deeply grateful for his years of hard work and dedication. And last but certainly not least, our volun- teer administrator Fendi Vadevoulis keeps everything running smoothly behind the scenes. Her tireless support and organiza- tional skills are essential to our success. Σας ευχαριστούμε! Our school excels because of your commitment, diligence and passion. Thank you for your continued support and commitment to preserving Greek language and culture in San Diego. Let’s keep the spirit strong and the community thriving! Με εκτίμηση, Dr. Eleni Sinopoulou San Diego Greek Language School Director