Exploring English: Shakespeare

2016 marks the 400^th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. The British Council invites all learners of English language to join for events and activities celebrating Shakespeare’s work.

A new free online course  (MOOC) starts on January 11 2016. This six-week course looks at the life and works of William Shakespeare and takes you from his birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon to the Globe Theatre in London, from where he secured his central place in English literature. 
The course looks at five of Shakespeare’s plays with the help of actors and experts from around the world. They will explain and explore the universal themes Shakespeare addressed in his work. Also, the video tutor will guide you through the course and look at some of the words and expressions that Shakespeare introduced to the English language.

For more events and activities you can take a look at ShakespeareLives website.

Season's Greetings

Our warmest wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

May this holiday season sparkle and shine, may all of your wishes and dreams come true, and may you feel this happiness all year round!

Reminder: Classes stop on Tuesday 22^nd December. We resume our sessions on Monday 11^th January.

LS "Parnassos" - 150 years of history

The Literature Society “Parnassos” celebrates  150 years of continuous history, presence and active involvement  in cultural and social life of Athens. Through a series of events highlighting its legacy, LS “Parnassos” opens its doors to adults and children inviting them to enjoy a wide range of artistic, musical, literary and social happenings. For a detailed list of the events throughout November 2015, please have a look here or at LS "Parnassos" official site.

True to the dream of its founders we hope tha LS Parnassos along with its School will continue offering culture and affordable education in Greeek and Foreign languages for many years to come.

English Language Exams: December 2015

September is the month of registration for the December language exams. So, you should be aware of the process and the dates of the upcoming exams.

Michigan University – December 2015

Eξέταση	Ημερομηνία	Eξέταστρα	Περίοδος εγγραφών
ECCE	12 Δεκεμβρίου 2015	160 €	1/9/2015-30/9/2015
ECPE	13 Δεκεμβρίου 2015	180 €	1/9/2015-30/9/2015

For more information please visit this  page.

As for Cambridge exams, here are the dates and the fees:

As for Cambridge exams, here are the dates and the fees:

Cambridge English: First for Schools

ΓΡΑΠΤΕΣ ΕΞΕΤΑΣΕΙΣ	ΕΞΕΤΑΣΤΡΑ	ΕΓΓΡΑΦΕΣ
05/12/15	€160	21/09/15–16/10/15

Cambridge English: Advanced

ΓΡΑΠΤΕΣ ΕΞΕΤΑΣΕΙΣ	ΕΞΕΤΑΣΤΡΑ	ΕΓΓΡΑΦΕΣ
05/12/15	€175	21/09/15–16/10/15

Cambridge English: Proficiency

ΓΡΑΠΤΕΣ ΕΞΕΤΑΣΕΙΣ	ΕΞΕΤΑΣΤΡΑ	ΕΓΓΡΑΦΕΣ
06/12/15	€180	21/09/15–16/10/15

For more details you can visit the British Council page.

Registration for October 2015 English language classes

Dear all,

Registration for the English language classes has already started. This school year there will be offered only B’ (level A2), C’ (level B1), D’ (Lower – level B2) & Proficiency (level C2) classes. The fees are 300 euros per year. For the time being, you can register at LS Parnassos School premises, Themistokleous & Katakouzinou 2, near Kaningos square, Monday to Friday 17:00-21:00.

Because there are limited places available we operate on a first come – first serve basis, so make sure that you apply asap!

For more information  you can call 210 38 04 853 

& 210 38 21 507.

Congratulations!!!

Once again I’d like to congratulate our students on their success in language exams! 
More specifically, 4 out of 4 candidates passed successfully the state exams (kpg) for level C, and 5 out of 5 have been awarded the Michigan Proficiency certificate.  I’m sure that candidates of B1 & B2 levels, as well as candidates of the other foreign languages exams have been equally successful. (Unfortunately, I’m not aware of the respective statistics).

European Day of Languages

Join European Day of Languages Multilingual Festival!

Celebrate the European Day of Languages at Klafthmonos Square on Saturday 26 September 2015 from 10.00 to 15.00!

Twelve EUNIC Greece institutes and embassies in collaboration with the City of Athens and the Representation of the European Commission in Greece will present a multilingual festival of song, dance, storytelling and interactive games for all the family, as well as a treasure hunt with a prize draw every hour.

You can take part in the online competition to celebrate this year's European Day of Languages – you could win a free language course in English, French, German, Polish, Swedish, Czech or Italian!

The end of an era?

It has been a long-dreaded and persistent rumour: our school is not going to open next year. We lived with that threat for almost two years, both teachers and students sharing the same bitterness. Today the rumour was confirmed and the threat was carried out. So it is definite, not a mere speculation any more, but a plain matter of fact. The foreign languages school downsizes. No more French, German, Italian or Spanish classes.

The only department which seems to survive in a cut-down version – for how long who knows? – is that of the English language. So my near and dear readers of these lines, you should be aware that in September you will be able to register only for B, C, Lower & Proficiency classes, which will probably be held at the central building of LS Parnassos, at St. George Karytsi square.

We’ll be in contact to let you know every small detail asap.

But before finishing off, I can’t help lamenting the closure of our school. Some of you may still remember December 2008 riots. When downtown Athens was on fire and enveloped in a cloud of tear-gas, only a bunch of mad devotees, teachers and students of Parnassos School of Foreign Languages, defied any sense of danger, ignored the barricades, and not once but many a time came to classes faithful to their duty. And since troubles have never left this land, many of you can recall times that reaching the school seemed impossible, because you had to walk through crowds of demonstrators, under the blaze of Molotov cocktails. But even under these harsh conditions, you still kept coming to your classes. It was the feeling of community we all shared, an incentive for you as students and us as teachers.

I want to thank you all for your keen interest and your faithful and sincere support. It is a feeling and a memory I will always treasure. 

Our classroom - 2015 by Kelly V.

Quirky places to stay

 Either we like it or not, summer is here. So, inevitably, we start thinking about and making holiday plans. If you are interested in staying somewhere with some  real character,  here are some suggestions for alternative holidays and unusual places to stay in Britain. What about a night in a luxury treehouse instead of the more conventional 5star hotel room? Or maybe a stay in a castle is more your thing?

Get inspired by Britain’s quirky places to stay.

Mouthwatering Sunday lunches

Sunday lunch is a big deal for many people around the world, and Britons seem to take it very seriously. The celebrated main meal is the Sunday roast, which of course could be eaten on any day of the week. Consisting of roasted meat, roast or (rarely) mashed potato and accompaniments such as Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, vegetables and gravy, the meal is often comparable to a less grand version of a traditional Christmas dinner.

You could enjoy it at home, with your family and friends, or eat out. If you happen to be visiting London, you could check out one (or more) of the  21 unmissable spots recommended. In any other case, you can still enjoy a Sunday lunch recipe by Jamie Oliver.

Sci-Fi, AI & Proficiency exams

Studying for the exams can sometimes be good fun! It has to do of course with the nature of the text you are supposed to read and comprehend; (since the majority of exam tasks relates to reading comprehension). Ocassionally we stumble across a text that sparks up interest and a web research with unexpected results. That happened recently with a text about the father of Artificial Intelligence.

John McCarthy (September 4, 1927 – October 24, 2011) was an American computer scientist and cognitive scientist. McCarthy was one of the founders of the discipline of artificial intelligence; he actually coined the term "Artificial Intelligence" (AI). He also developed the Lisp programming language family, popularized Timesharing, and was very influential in the early development of AI.

On a Stanford University web page he talks about his sci-fi story “The Robot and the Baby”:

“This is the first science fiction story I have put up for the public to look at. While it was written just as a story, it partly illustrates my opinions about what household robots should be like… The movie AI illustrates one disadvantage of having robots with emotions or which elicit human emotions. Unless you make them really human they will not fit into human society. Better just make them suitable as a kind of tool…”

If you are interested in reading more, or the short story itself, here is the link: The Robot and the Baby

Forthcoming English Language Exams

May 2015 Exams: Schedule, Fees & Registration Periods

The ECCE and ECPE are administered in Greece twice a year; the ECCE is administered in May and December and the ECPE is administered in May and November.

Written sections are administered on weekends (Saturday-Sunday). Speaking sections are administered on the same or a different date, before or after the written section.

Below please find the dates, fees and registration periods for the upcoming ECCE and ECPE administered in Greece under the auspices of the Hellenic American Union:

May 2015

Examination	Date	Exam fees	Registration Period
ECCE	May 23, 2015	160 €	2/2/2015 – 27/2/2015
ECPE	May 24, 2015	180 €	2/2/2015 – 27/2/2015

For more information and instructions on how to register for the exams follow the link Registering for the Exams  and choose "Individual candidates".

Also, you can find examination dates, fees and the registration period for forthcoming Cambridge English examinations below.

Cambridge English: First for Schools

EXAM DATE	FEE	REGISTRATION
09/05/15	€160	30/01/15–18/03/15
05/12/15	€160	21/09/15–16/10/15

Cambridge English: Advanced

EXAM DATE	FEE	REGISTRATION
09/05/15	€175	30/01/15–18/03/15
05/12/15	€175	21/09/15–16/10/15

Cambridge English: Proficiency

EXAM DATE	FEE	REGISTRATION
10/05/15	€180	30/01/15–18/03/15
06/12/15	€180	21/09/15–16/10/15

For more information please visit How to Register

The exams for κπγ (the Greek state certificate) are to be held on Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th May 2015. You can register between  19/2/2015 & 9/3/2015. For more details you can have a look at κπγ-Μάιος 2015. You can also follow the link for Διευθύνσεις Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης where you should register.

Treasure Island - Live from the National Theatre of London

Probably there aren’t many among us who haven’t read (or watched a screen version of) “Treasure Island”.  If you feel nostalgic or just adventurous enough to experience – once again - Robert Louis Stevenson’s exciting novel, you will have the chance on 22 January at 21:00, at Megaron (the Athens Concert Hall). A live transmission from the National Theatre of London brings to life the tale of “buccaneers and buried gold” in a thrilling adaptation by Bryony Lavery.

For more details you can visit Megaron 

Happy New Year

Ring Out, Wild Bells

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind,

For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in navyress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson