St. Stephen’s Students Celebrate Armenian Cultural Day

WATERTOWN, Mass.—For the 14^th consecutive year, St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School (SSAES) held its annual Armenian Cultural Day celebrations on its campus at the Armenian Cultural and Educational Center (ACEC) on Thurs., Oct. 24. The event brought together students, teachers, administrators, and families to commemorate the rich cultural heritage shared by Armenians around the world.

Grade 2 students presenting their family trees

The day began with a presentation of Gomidas Varabed by two guest musicians, Ara Sarkissian and Martin Haroutunian. Both played a medley of traditional Armenian melodies, including “Gakavig,” “Antsrevn Yegav,” “Keleh Keleh,” and “Yeranki.” The performance was followed by a presentation by the grade 5 students, in both Armenian and English, about Armenian language, religion, and history. Next in the program was a talent show featuring the musical gifts of several SSAES students from grades 3-5.

“It was heartwarming to see the children radiate such pride in their Armenian culture and heritage,” said Tanya Haserjian, an SSAES parent whose two children attend the school.

Following the student performances, Diana Adamyan, a 14-year-old guest violinist from Armenia, took to the stage and charmed the audience with a phenomenal performance that included “Keler Tsoler” and “Groung” from Gomidas, and a few violin pieces from Kreisler. The event concluded with a display of SSAES students’ culturally based projects, which ranged from dioramas and paintings depicting traditional Armenian scenes to family trees.

The celebrations left attendees with a renewed sense of pride and enthusiasm for the community’s Armenian heritage and the school’s commitment to keeping the Armenian language and culture alive and thriving.

“As a new teacher at the school, I am not only enjoying learning more about Armenian culture but am encouraged to see that my third grade students are proud and eager to share their heritage with me,” said teacher Morgan Grunwald.

St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School was founded in 1984. The school has distinguished itself with its bilingual curriculum, academic strength, devoted staff, and low student-to-teacher ratio. SSAES is the only Armenian day school to be fully accredited by the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE), the accrediting body for independent elementary schools. AISNE has commended the school for “creating an environment where all the students love to read and appear committed to academic excellence” and for recruiting a remarkably talented and dedicated staff. To learn more about SSAES, visit www.ssaes.org.