COVID 19 has not deterred the education sector of the Greek Community of Melbourne continuing its work on a range of issues.

Together with the modern Greek Teachers Association of Victoria, online Zoom meetings have taken place with parents and teachers who are involved in the Greek language programs which operate in various primary and secondary state schools.

Both Mr Theo Markos, Vice President and Convenor of Education of the Greek Community of Melbourne, as well as Ms Anita Ladas, President of the MGTAV met online with parents from Lalor North Primary School, which is the only school in Melbourne which offers a bilingual Greek immersion program.

Children are taught maths, geography and other subjects in Greek, thus developing unique skills in the language. Discussions revolved around how can further promote the program to children around the Lalor area and surrounding suburbs as well as exploring ways to ensure the delivery of a high quality program.

A similar meeting took place with parents from Coburg West Primary School and Strathmore Secondary School that offer Greek as part of their curriculum. It was great to see enthusiastic parents wanting to have an input and discussing how these programs can attract students of diverse backgrounds.

Parents and teachers were able to discuss issues of concern with members of the Education Committee of the Greek Community of Melbourne.

"Dr Steph Nikoloudis who heads the Greek Studies Program at Latrobe University was also in attendance pledging her support and willingness to assist in anyway possible," said Mr Markos.

"It’s also encouraging to know that the Greek Government via its education Consul in Melbourne Ms Nikolaidou is always supportive of Greek in the public school system providing seconded teachers from Greece to assist in the delivery of these programs.

We encourage all parents who live in those areas where Greek is offered in public schools to take advantage of this unique offering."

An ad for the bilingual program at Lalor North as well as the link which displays the amazing skills and abilities of some of Lalor school children was published in the Greek media!

Checkout out Lalor North PS students performing Greek rhymes on our FB page

Also from 2021 there will be two levels of VCE Greek based on the students linguistic background, thus creating a level playing field !

"So let’s keep on encouraging our students to continue studying Greek to VCE level," said Mr Markos.