Earlier this week students of Adelaide High School spent a day connecting with their elders from the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia’s (GOCSA) St Nicholas Church senior group.
On Monday July 22, the Year 9 Modern Greek students swapped the classroom for the Thebarton Greek Community Centre, where they shared stories, forged connections and shared a meal with pensioners.
Visiting local Greek pensioners groups is a regular occurrence for Adelaide High School Modern Greek students, who wish to capture their stories and connect with seniors through language and culture.
In a media release Greek Italian student Dion said that projects like this are very important to keep culture alive.
“The culture lives with the language. Without the language, there is no culture, and it’s important to keep it,” Dion said.
The senior group welcomed the students’ presence with excitement and said that more schools should get involved in initiatives like this.
“Today was a nice day. We feel proud that young kids want to learn about their roots, and although we live in Australia, Greece is always in our hearts. We don’t forget our homeland,” said pensioners Eugenia and Polyxeni.
Adelaide High Modern Greek Teacher Dimitra Rozaklis said that forming connections with the community provides invaluable lessons, allowing learning to occur outside the confines of the classroom.
“It encourages students to use their communicative skills while learning about the sacrifices, hardship and successes of the community members while showcasing their passion for Hellenism,” she said.
“It’s the authentic relationships that are forged bridging the gap between the generations which provides all participants the opportunity to see life from a different perspective.”
As part of Monday’s visit, the students got to play music, perform traditional Greek dances for seniors, interview them to ensure their stories can be passed onto future generations, and engage with them in various social activities.
“When students use language, dance, and highlight their philotimo by bringing homemade ‘finikia’ to share, it proves to the older generation that the future of Hellenism in South Australia is safe in the hands of our youth,” Rozaklis said.
This was a program in collaboration with Neoléa, the youth committee of GOCSA, and committee chair Anastasia Mavrides was delighted to see the student and elder bonding time.
“Watching the students interact with our seniors was heartwarming. This is what community is all about,” she said.
“Neoléa will continue celebrating and supporting initiatives that help bridge gaps between generations and create a sense of belonging through intergenerational learning and cultural connections.”
