Making Children’s Wishes Come True
Once again, our students have made us proud and showed us that “Non ministrari, sed ministrare” is more than a motto to them – it’s a way of life.
Students from the Pierce Gymnasium and Lyceum classes worked together and collected enough money to fulfill the wishes of four children suffering from incurable diseases, by taking part in the program “Stars for Wishes” of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Six-year-old Michael made a wish to meet all the Olympiakos players in person, and Christina, 9, wanted to visit Rhodes. Not everyone wished for trips and celebrities though; seven-year-old Christina asked to have an aquarium of pretty fish, and little Aiyiaz, 3, wished for a DVD-player. No matter how big or small, our students made the children’s wishes come true, putting a smile on everyone’s face.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is one of the leading organizations that fulfills the wishes of children with serious and life-threatening diseases. Seeing their dreams come true, helps the children overcome their fear and gives them the necessary tools to continue the fight: joy, strength, and above all, hope.
The Theater Improvisation Club takes part in Theartistatement
This past June, 15-18, students from the Pierce Theater Improvisation Club participated in an exciting initiative called THEArTistatement, held at the Beton7 Center for the Arts in Athens.
With the guidance of Georgina Konsta, students Giannis Syrigos, Kassiani Syrigou, Maria Kontogianni, Christina Tsianaka, Katerina Varagi, Elli Moraiti, Elli Hatziandreou, Myrto Rozaki, Maira Botsarakou, Konstantina Chronopoulou, Anna Mikrou, Maria Papanastasiou, Yuli Tiligada, Roxane Kaloura, and Konstantinos Karathanasis took part in the Run Now (Nå løper vi) theatrical production by Norwegian artist Pia Maria Roll. Having received many awards for her performance, Run Now is the artist’s first theatrical production for children.
THEArTistatement is a platform for creative expression and communication where artists and activists from around the world can discuss issues, offer proposals, and work together as a community to create change. The platform’s program operates within the framework of the Arts for Social Development program organized by EUNIC, the European Union National Institutes for Culture, and in cooperation with it.
EUNIC aims to create collaborations and communication networks to improve upon and promote cultural diversity, to encourage understanding between European societies, and to reinforce dialogue and cooperation on an international level. The British Council, the Greek Culture Foundation, the Norwegian Embassy and the Norwegian Institute, the House of Cyprus and the Swedish Institute all participate in the Arts for Social Development program.
Pierce Represented at the Youth Parliament
Konstantinos Papadopoulos and Nikolaos Patas, B’ Lyceum class students, will represent their school in the proceedings of the KA’ four-day summit of the Youth Parliament. Konstantinos as an MP of the secondary educational district of Athens (τακτικός Βουλευτής Β΄ Αθήνας), and Nikolaos as a statewide Member of Parliament (Βουλευτής Επικρατείας).
The Youth Parliament is organized by the Hellenic Parliament Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy, in cooperation with the Greek Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs, and the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus. The election of Youth Representatives was a three-month-long procedure that took place January-March, during which time students participated in varied activities and had their knowledge truly tested in topics such as parliamentary institutions, and the political system’s operational principles.
By participating in the Youth Parliament, Konstantinos and Nikolaos came to realize the significance of citizen participation in the decision-making process and the impact such involvement can make on strengthening democratic institutions.
