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.