Cherry Hill, NJ – Several times a year, St. Thomas Greek school gathers to perform for the parish and community. The hours of work and dedication to Hellenism were evident and stood true again. This past Saturday they celebrated Greek Independence day with singing, poems, and theatre.
The afternoon of celebration began with the Flags of Greece, Cyprus, and America being raised and paraded into the church gym by the Greek school members. Following the invocation by Father Emmanuel Pratsinakis of St. Thomas, the National anthems of Greece and the United States were sung by the 5th and sixth graders.
Speeches about the celebration were given by Dimitris Rozanitis of the Federation of Hellenic-American Society of Philadelphia and Konstantinos Kalkandis, Commander of the (SC) of the Hellenic Navy.
As parents and family looked on, a series of poems and songs from each class (including the kindergarten through sixth grade) were performed. The songs and poems were dedicated to the hero’s (both men and women) and battles of the Greek war of Independence which is recognized “March 25th, 1821”.
The afternoon concluded with a series of dances by each group.