AGBU Alexander Primary School’s annual Christmas Concert & Graduation evening took place on Sunday 5th December. For the second year in a row, the Gemjian Hall was not filled to its usual full capacity, and the guests were not trying to secure an ideal spot to enjoy the event. In fact, once again, there was plenty of room and distancing between the group of seats that were allocated and reserved for each of the guests. Only parents and students of Years 5 & 6 were the lucky ones who were allowed to attend this unique graduation ceremony, which was once again live streamed on the school’s social media pages to the rest of the school community or anyone across the world.
Another academic year had come to an end. A year that had not only seen the same conditions as the year before, but even more with the fact that over a term of schooling was done by Remote Learning. The year had started with the promise in continuing to plan and celebrate 30 Years of Educational Excellence & Schooling at Duffys Forest. However, due to the extensive lock-down conditions, these had to be pushed aside once again, as we all came to experience one of the most challenging and unprecedented times for the school community.
Despite all the challenges, our staff, led by the school executive, did their best to continue the education of our students online, to help ensure minimum disruption to the learning of our students. We are forever grateful to the dedicated teachers of AGBU Alexander School.
This year, the Christmas Concert was pre-recorded for the evening. The first part consisted of a Christmas Story, titled “Getting Ready for Christmas Concert”. The story took place at the end of the term where everyone at AGBU Alexander Primary School was up to their eyes preparing for the Christmas Concert. The unexpected arrival of two school inspectors added to the mix of mayhem! From the word go, to the closing moments of the final performance we were drawn into the wonderful world of the school’s “Getting Ready for Christmas Concert.”
This whole segment required pre-recording, with no students from Prep to Year 4 being present at the event. The second part of the program was dedicated to the Year 6 Graduation ceremony.
During the formal proceedings, the prestigious ‘Alexander Medal’ for 2021 was announced by the Principal, Mr Manoug Demirjian and awarded to Dzila Mikaelian from Year 3. Following the student votes, which had taken place few days earlier, the School Captain for 2021 was also announced to be Adelin Galstian.
As the ‘Unforgettable Memories…’ of the three graduates was live-streamed, we listened to the reflections of Sargis Hambardzumyan, Lara Bozikian and Berj Tomassian. We also heard from their teachers Mrs Seta Keoshgerian and Mrs Libby Lattimore. By realising how the years had passed, the time had also come to present them with their graduation certificates. This was done with the support of the AGBU Sydney Chapter Chairman, Mr Mihran Lepedjian. Finally, after the traditional ‘Alexander School Farewell Song’ was sung for the last time by the graduates, Archbishop Haigazoun Najarian concluded the evening with his closing address and prayer.
The school concert once again highlighted the quality of bilingual education offered at Alexander school. It showcased the level of care, the development and fostering of talent to the realisation of each student’s potential. By reflecting on these graduates and past students, there is no doubt that this wonderful educational establishment has offered them opportunities that otherwise would not have been possible.
As we continue to increase our student enrolments, we hope more parents will also make the choice to direct their children to Alexander school, where they will continue to ‘Grow & Serve’.
