And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17b-19
There are so many reasons the William Spyropoulos School of St. Nicholas is a great place. In the short time I’ve been here (twenty years), I’ve been amazed by the exceptional staff and the strong leadership. I am so impressed with the strong tradition of academic excellence and high expectations for all students, from K – 8. I am also encouraged by the loving family culture that is so evident among the School’s people. But what truly sets our school apart is that the faculty and staff here are driven to live out its vision: equipping every student to impact the world with a strong Orthodox Christian and Hellenic identity. We are not perfect, but our true intention is to build everything we do on the backdrop of our precious faith. We don’t want our students to know about our traditions—we want our students to make these traditions their own!
Elementary and Middle school is an incredible time in students’ lives. They grow and change almost daily. It is a time of physical, emotional, and spiritual development where they make decisions that will impact the rest of their lives. Our Priests, faculty and staff recognize the huge responsibility we have to mentor, guide, and instruct our students through these important days. We have an incredible faculty that is knowledgeable in their subject matter, but more importantly, they love their jobs and love their students. Our middle school offers an extensive academic program and an outstanding cultural program that we encourage our students to participate in as much as they can. We want our students to grow into well-rounded young people. We believe our religion classes are the most important classes we teach, and we want to share the knowledge of our Faith with our students. Once a month students participate in the central act of our Church’s worship by attending the Divine Liturgy and participating in the Holy Eucharist. The newly organized children’s choir of our parish and school chant the responses in the Liturgy. The students are encouraged to participate and organize service projects, we want our students to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, and to experience and be filled “to the measure of all the fullness of God”.
The Saint Nicholas William Spyropoulos School by its very nature as a Christian School is to glorify God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, through the training and nurturing of students in their spiritual, academic, physical, emotional, and social development. This is achieved through an Orthodox Christian centered education based on the Holy Tradition and Biblical truths as interpreted by the Holy Fathers and the Orthodox Christian Church, which lead to the formation of the character of God within. God’s character imparts wisdom, knowledge, and love, helping our school community to become not only hearers but doers of the word of God. The children are encouraged to frequent the sacraments of Confession and the Holy Eucharist. We celebrated the Divine Liturgy as a school community monthly. A glorious children’s choir involving students from grades 3-8 chant the responses of our worship services and participate in various cultural and religious events through the academic year. Our choir has performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the musical conservatory of Columbia University promoting the tradition of Byzantine Music. Byzantine Music is taught to the junior high students.
Religion is a major subject at Saint Nicholas William Spyropoulos School. A curriculum of instruction include grades K-8. Students are encouraged to engage in service oriented projects, including participation in our Parish’s Thanksgiving and Christmas Food and Gift Drive to needy families.
Protopresbyter Paul C. Palesty
