(1) The following celebrations are organised at school and they constitute part of the planning which takes place in the beginning of the school year at a teachers’ meeting. Parents/guardians may also be invited to these events, at the discretion of the school. The school selects at least four of these events, with the exception of national holidays, to be celebrated through classroom-based activities.
Blessing of school for starting the lessons (September)
Memorial Day and Tribute to the Hellenism of Asia Minor and the Asia Minor Catastrophe (September 14th)
Independence Day (1st of October)*
Educators’ Day (October 5th)
National Celebration of the 28th of October and Celebration of the Flag*
Missing Persons Day (October 29th)
Day of Remembering the Occupied Places - Day of Remembrance for the Killed, Missing, Enclaved, and Prisoners of war during the Turkish Invasion of 1974 - Day of Condemning the Declaration of the pseudo-state (15th of November)
Day of Remembering the Struggles and Sacrifices to defend Democracy - Athens Polytechnic uprising (17th of November)
World Children's Rights Day (November 20th)
International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3rd)
Day of Remembering and Honouring the Fighters of Resistance (7th of December)
Memorial Day of Archbishop Makarios III (19th of January)
Celebration of Greek Literacy – The Three Hierarchs (30th of January)*
Celebration for the Trees (January - February)
Anniversary of the Sacrifice of Grigoris Afxentiou (March 3rd)
National Celebration of the 25th of March*
National Celebration of the 1st of April*
Remembrance and Tribute Day for Prisoners of the 1974 War (April 23rd)
Day of Europe (9th of May)
*Where there is an asterisk, due to the fact that the specific day is a holiday, the celebration takes place the previous day at the school. If the previous day is a Saturday or Sunday, the celebration takes place on Friday. For other celebrations, which do not have an asterisk, if the day to be honoured is a Saturday or Sunday, the celebration takes place at the school on the previous Friday.
(2) National celebrations are carried out during school hours and parents can be invited.
(3) In addition to the celebrations referred to in paragraph (1) the Christmas and the end-of-year celebrations are carried out for parents after school hours, preferably at the school premises, provided there are the necessary facilities. All the members of the teaching staff participate in the celebrations.
(4) The duration of celebrations held for parents after school hours should not exceed one hour in total, including opening addresses, the artistic part of the event, awards, presentation of gifts, etc.
(5) All celebrations or events are held with the aim of broadening the pupils’ knowledge through the presentation of historical, religious, environmental, and other topics or events; of cultivating positive attitudes such as cooperation, mutual assistance, mutual respect, and self-confidence; and of developing various skills, including musical, dancing, gymnastic, and other abilities. For this reason, they should be simple, require little to no financial contribution from parents or guardians, be brief, not demand extensive preparation, have quality content, be appropriate to the pupils’ age, and relate to topics consistent with the school’s goals and our cultural heritage. Pupils with disabilities, should always be included in the celebrations together with their classmates.
(6) Other events that promote the purposes of the school, or are in line with them, may be organised either after school hours or during school hours, at the discretion of the school in collaboration with the Central Pupil Council:
It is understood that in cases of events organised after school hours, prior consultation with the respective Parents’ Association will take place.
Web Services and Communication - Cyprus Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth
