World Theatre Day is celebrated every year on March 27 to celebrate the beauty and importance of the theatre arts, the role theatre plays in the entertainment industry, and the significance it plays in our life. World Theatre was created by the International Theatre institute and was celebrated for the first time on 27 March 1962, the date of the opening of the “Theatre of Nations” season in Paris. Ever since, each year on that date, World Theatre Day is celebrated on a global scale.
The goals of World Theatre Day are;
• To promote the art form across the world.
• To make people aware of the value of the art form.
• To enable theatre communities to promote their work on a broad scale so that opinion leaders are aware of the value of these forms and support them.
• To enjoy the art form for its own sake.
Theatre and drama play a key role in our IB curriculum and are taught by our two wonderful specialist Vasias! Students learn about different forms of theatrical tradition and production and are able to develop their confidence and creative skills. In Waldorf theatre is integrated into the curriculum to make subjects like history, mythology, and literature tangible. By performing roles, students gain an emotional connection to their studies rather than just intellectual understanding. Furthermore, working together on a play teaches teamwork, cooperation, and empathy as children take responsibility for their part in the whole. Every year each Waldorf class produces and performs a play or musical.
Theatre in Montessori education focuses on creative expression, collaboration, and building self-confidence, often featuring equitable, child-led roles. It incorporates storytelling, mime, movement, and role-playing, which enhance communication skills and foster a deeper understanding of symbolic thinking. Indeed, last week we saw our Montessori primary class produce a drama about international peace and key historical figures and performed their song this week in primary assembly to the whole school.
Today children from across primary and secondary are coming together to perform a production of Hercules at the Ypsonas Theatre at 7pm. This musical theatre production incorporates acting, music and dance in a performance that promises to be amazing. I hope you are able to join us this evening to celebrate the creative successes of our actors, dancers and back stage support crew. Thank you to the great team led by Vasia who have brought this amazing production to the stage!
This week we also had a public holiday to commemorate Greek Independence day.
The celebration of the Greek Revolution of 1821 takes place in Greece and Cyprus on 25 March every year, coinciding with the Feast of the Annunciation. The event marks the start of the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire after nearly 400 years of rule.
The Motto is "Eleftheria i Thanatos" (Freedom or Death) and the nine stripes on the Greek flag represent the nine syllables of this defiant cry.
The celebration is also based on the Christian Day of Annunciation; for the Greek Orthodox Church, this day celebrates the Archangel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she would become the mother of Jesus. The choice of this date was symbolic, linking the "rebirth" of the Greek nation with the religious concept of hope and new beginnings.
Students across the Island school learned about this event in their Greek lessons this week and thanks therefore go to our Greek teachers for educating children about this important day in the Cypriot calendar and helping students understand the importance of this event in Cypriot culture.
Students have been out and about again this week with Waldorf Class 4 visiting both the Paphos Zoo and Artemis trail to deepen their understanding of their study on Man and Animals. Big tanks to Yolanda for the organisation. Grade 3 PYP visited the Petrides farm - thanks to Tasos and Victoria and team and our boarding students enjoyed a visit to historic Lefkara, the village of lace and craft on the public holiday. Thank you to the boarding team for all their efforts out of hours!
Next week we will welcome a number of visitors in school, including the new designated Head of School Mr Jak Kearney who will be joining the school this summer, representatives of the Tech Leaders of the Future programme and also members of our educational advisory Board.
I wish you all a relaxing and pleasant weekend - it's a big week next week!