S A I N T D E M E T R I O S S C H O O L O F A S T O R I A
A L U M N I A S S O C I A T I O N
A B O U T S A I N T D E M E T R I O S A L U M N I
The Mission Statement
The mission of the Saint Demetrios Alumni Association is to create a sense of
community and continuity between the Saint Demetrios Greek-American School of
Astoria, its affiliate programs and its Alumni.
The Alumni wish to:
- Provide financial support to the school system and improvements to its building
- Mentor the Saint Demetrios students to advance their scholastic goals
- Impart firm community values to the students
- Encourage the students to continue the strength, spiritual and moral fortitude they were exposed to while attending St. Demetrios
- Inspire the students to convey the faith-based lifestyle they encountered at St. Demetrios to others
- Assist the faculty and staff in providing the best possible education and achieve the highest academic results for the students
Finally, The Saint Demetrios Alumni Association's mission is to assist
the school administration in continuing to provide a quality education and
sustain the Hellenic culture, Greek language and Orthodox religion for generations to
come.
History of the School
The St. Demetrios School system began with Greek-American afternoon schools in the Astoria area. With the influx of Greek immigrants into the area, a parochial Day School became a necessity. With a great deal of enthusiasm and support from the St. Demetrios community, the day school opened its doors in September, 1957. The School’s first class, totaling 16 students graduated in June 1959. From 1959 to 1975 the school operated Kindergarten through 8th grade classes and graduated 750 students.
During this period, the Greek Afternoon school also flourished. It conducted classes after 3 pm at the school building and at a number of local public schools such as PS 85 and PS 122. In 1975, the school system began its first expansion when it established a 9th grade class. Four years later, the first 12th grade High School class graduated in 1979. The current High School building began construction druing this time period and opened its doors in 1982. Concurrently St. Demetrios also established pre-school classes at the St. Catherine’s church center.
Eventually, “The Annex” building opened its door in 1975. This building, situated next to St. Catherine’s in the Ditmars area of Astoria, became the pre-Kindergarten to the 4th grade segment of the school system.
Today, the school system has over 600 students. It starts with preschool through 3rd grade located at St. Catherine’s. The Middle School from 3rd to 6th grade’s located at the original St. Demetrios School building and grades 7-12 are located at the High School building. The current school alumni administration includes Anastasios Koularmanis, Supervising Principal of the entire school system, Betsy Sideris, Assistant Principal of the Elementary school at St. Catherines, and the Greek-Afternoon School Principal is Mr. Timoleon Kokkinos.
History of the Alumni Association
The St. Demetrios Alumni Association began in November 1988 when Bishop Alexios granted the authority to create the organization. The founding officers were Nicholas Kokinakis as President, Ernie Pourakis as Vice President, Perry Poulos as Treasurer and Emanuel Kratsios as Secretary. Throughout the years the Association has achieved many wonderful accomplishments. As an organization we donated money to the following causes: the first of many scholarships were received by three student in 1989/90 totaling $1000, we have supported the community journal annually, we began a collection in 1997 for a fellow alumnus who was critically injured in a construction accident, we donated money for the gym bleachers and a glass bulletin board in 1999 and we sent a contribution to the Greek Children’s Fund in honor of deceased alumni. We will always stand beside the school whenever it is in need. Recently, we created the alumni website to keep in contact with the school and our fellow alumni. We are 2000 strong and continue to grow. On behalf of the current Executive Board, James Hartofilis, Vice President, Perry Poulos, Treasurer and Tony Andriotis, Secretary and the entire Alumni Association, we sincerely wish the school, its faculty, the administration and the community at large all the best in the coming years.