Greek School. Armidale. 1982-1987.

"The Greek ethnic school in Armidale was established in 1982. It held classes on Sundays during school terms at one of the local primary schools. It closed down in 1987 because most of the children had either moved out of town, or gone on to high school. Those wanting to continue the language at secondary school do so by correspondence courses.

An ethnic school is run by a particular community in order to impart the language, culture, and heritage of the community to its children. These schools are most often run on a voluntary basis. either after regular school hours or on weekends. M. P. Tsounis, Greek Ethnic Schools in Australia, ANU Press, Canberra. 1974, provides an enlightening overview of the history, nature and function of these schools in the Greek community; and Frank Lewins, Ethnic Schools and Multiculturalism in Australia, in R.K. Browne & L. E. Foster (eds), Sociology of Education, Third edition, Macmillan, Melbourne, 1983, sets them in a broader context.

From:

Janis Wilton.
Immigrants in the Bush.
Cafes and Cafe Owners.
Armidale College of Advanced Education.
1989.
81 x A4 pages.

I know that father George Kokkinos (now deceased) the priest for many years at Dubbo, in NSW, would travel 40 miles to Gilgandra every Tuesday afternoon, and conduct a 2-hr Greek class.

What little command of Greek I managed to garner in my life-time I owe to him.

What was your experience of Greek school?