ENCINO- On Saturday, May 7 more than 300 supporters of the Ferrahian Schools (A.R.S. Pilavjian Preschool, Marie Cabayan Elementary, and Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School) gathered in the school’s Avedissian Hall to celebrate the accomplishments, academic excellence, and continued success of the first Armenian school in the United States.
The annual fundraising banquet was coined The Golden Apple Gala in referenc
e to a special year that has been dedicated as The Year of the Teacher and was organized by the collaborative efforts of the School Board, the Parent Support Committee, the Armens, and the Ferrahian Alumni Association.
The 300 guests including parents, alumni, community leaders, and friends of Ferrahian, in addition to the newly appointed Encino campus principal, Mrs. Sossi Shanlian, were all mesmerized by the magical transformation of the Avedissian Hall- the ordinary gym turned into a mystically lit, elegant venue.
Master of Ceremonies- School Education Board chair Dr. Paul Nargizian welcomed the guests and invited Ferrahian’s School Board chairman Serop Beylerian to address those in attendance. Mr. Beylerian noted the importance of remembering the institution’s visionaries like Mr. Mateos Ferrahian and Mr. Gabriel Injejikian, while thanking the hundreds of faculty members, teachers, board members, parents and the alumni for their devotion and belief.
Principal John Kossakian also provided a message regarding the successes of the school, including this year’s 81% four year college acceptance rate of the senior class and praised the girls varsity basketball team for winning the first ever CIF southern section division 5A championship- a first for all Armenian schools.
With generous donations of $50,000 by Dr. Vatche & Mrs. Shoushig Cabayan, $13,000 by Mr. Vahe & Mrs. Veronique Karapetian, and $10,000 by George Ignatius Foundation, this incredibly successful night superseded all expectations by raising over a quarter of a million dollars, and more importantly further strengthened that which makes our community a special one; our tie to one another, our cultural roots, and our schools.
To the world you may be just a teacher, but to Ferrahian you are a Hero.
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What a wonderful event this must have been. I was a post-B.A. student back in 1968-69, and taught at Holy Martyrs through the work-study program at Northridge, as had my sister a few years earlier. I taught 6th- and 7th-grade English, ESL (which I call EFL, as most of the students were learning English as a fourth or fifth language!), and accompanied the choir. We performed for the visiting pope from Antelias and at the school’s very first graduation ceremonies, held at the memorial in Montebello. The guest speaker was then-Senator George Deukmejian. Teaching at Holy Martyrs was a wonderful experience and I’m sure I learned as much from my students as they did from me. Their enthusiasm for life and their respect for a teacher (even a student teacher) were memorable. Congratulations on the continued growth and success of the Ferrahian school!