HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ARMENIAN SCHOOL

Glendale News Press
sept 10 2009
CA

Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America Archbishop
Moushegh Mardirossian speaks to students and parents gathered for
the 35th Anniversary celebration during the first day of school
at the Chamlian Armenian School in Glendale on Wednesday. (Raul
Roa/News-Press) Parents, teachers say Vatahan and Anoush Chamlian
Armenian School is like family.

By Max Zimbert Published: Last Updated Wednesday, September 9, 2009
8:28 PM PDT

It began with eight students in 1975, but in the 35 years since,
Vatahan and Anoush Chamlian Armenian School has grown to accommodate
500 first- through eighth-graders.

Its 35th anniversary celebration Wednesday drew religious and local
government officials, including Mayor Frank Quintero, who lauded the
school for its place in maintaining Armenian culture and traditions
among Glendale’s youth.

"It is not a celebration of 35 years of dedicated service, but the
success of the present and expectations and visions of the future,"
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, prelate of Western Prelacy of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, said in an Armenian and English address.

Children ran around the playground before the ceremony and recited
Armenian and American pledges of allegiance to begin the anniversary
program. Eighth-graders held the hands of first-graders as they joined
the other students, a symbolic gesture to illustrate the continuity
of Armenian generations. The longevity of the culture, elements of
which organizers said date back to 3,000 B.C., is a central draw for
perspective parents.

"The first day of school is usually a big day, but this is very
special," said Nadia Shamsi, whose daughter is in third grade. "I don’t
think anyone expected this [milestone] in Glendale or in the Armenian
community, but we’re so proud of being here and being parents here."

School officials also presented Glendale firefighters with a $1,000
donation to the memorial fund for the families of two Los Angeles
County firefighters who died battling the Station fire.

Capt. Vincent Rifino took an impromptu poll, and asked students what
they thought was the hardest profession. Hands shot up, and Rifino
told students that teaching was the most difficult.

"We would not be up here doing what we do were it not for our teachers
and our first teachers — our parents," he said.

The first-through-eighth grade campus, like its sister schools and
kindergarten campus in South Glendale, is governed by the Western
Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and fully accredited by
the Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges. The main campus on Lowell
Avenue had its accreditation renewed last year.

Many students are born in the U.S., but the school has been an alma
mater for many immigrants from Armenia and diaspora countries like
Lebanon, Iran and more recently, Iraq, Chamlian Principal Vazken
Madenlian said.

In the last 35 years, students have been able to develop a duel
identity, he added.

"They know their culture, why they are in this school, and on the other
hand, they know they have to function in a broader American society, go
to university and be a contributing citizen to the community at large,"
he said. "They are as Armenian as shish kebab and American as popcorn."

Parents and teachers described Chamlian as a family, and that was
one reason Terri Melkonian said she decided to bring her fourth-grade
son out of public school and into Armenian school.

"This is such a nurturing environment and everyone is like aunts and
uncles," she said.

The opportunity to learn the Armenian language was pivotal.

"I speak it, but it’s great for him to learn," she said.

Councilman Ara Najarian, who has two nephews enrolled at the school,
said Chamlian was a valuable resource for families.

"It brings an energy and force for young students within the broader
Armenian community," he said.

School officials continue to look for a suitable property for a high
school, but there are no concrete expansion plans, Madenlian said.

"I went to Armenian school and we’re in diaspora away from the
country, so this helps children maintain heritage and puts it in
new perspectives," said George Khachatourian, whose daughter is
a sixth-grader.

Teacher Garine Palandjian finds her fifth- and sixth-grade students
especially receptive to lessons plans surrounding Armenian culture.

"They are so lucky to take classes in Armenian — it’s an ancient
language," she said. "Civilizations like Mesopotamia die out, but
Armenian culture continues to thrive."