NEW YORK – For the teachers and principals of the Archdiocese schools in the Direct Archdiocesan District and the neighbouring areas, Election Day, Tuesday, November 7, 2017 was a great opportunity to advance their professional standing, training and knowledge.

About 220 educators were registered for the 2017 annual Staff Development Seminar, organized by the DAD Office of Education held at St. Demetrios School in Astoria, NY.  The Seminar offered in-service training to teachers who serve in the District’s Greek-American day schools as well as the Greek afternoon/Saturday schools.

His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America attended part of the seminar and presentations and said he was impressed by the richness of its content. He praised them for their hard work and expressed his unequivocal support for the teachers at the Archdiocese schools and their sacred mission.

Dr. Jennifer Powell-Lunder, Psy.D, presented the morning keynote titled “Understanding Cyberbullying.” The presentation centered on helping teachers to recognize the signs of cyberbullying and explored some of the causes, symptoms and possible solutions for this growing problem.

Haroula Ntalla, MSED/ECSE/LP, a lecturer at Brooklyn College/CUNY in Early Childhood Education made a thorough and extensive presentation on developmental and learning challenges in the classroom. She addressed the many difficulties educators face in identifying, diagnose and work with students that have developmental challenges and special needs.

The other presentations had the following subjects: Analyzing Errors and Giving Effective Feedback, Concept-Based teaching, Fostering Parent and Family Engagement with your School Community, Identifying and Understanding the Needs of Students Receiving Special Education Services, Introduction to STEM and Inquiry Based Learning, Project-Based Learning and Tiered Behavioral Interventions.

The Staff Development Seminar was coordinated by the DAD Office of Education, director Maria Makedon and assistant Athina Filippou-Katehis. The special role of St. Demetrios School of Astoria as the host and its principal Dr. Anastasios Koularmanis were especially recognized.

See photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm5PQNeq

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