The Greek Star

On May 9, Taylor D. Prodromos was admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois. Taylor graduated in 2 ½ years from The John Marshall Law School. (And she’s only 23).   Moreover, she had completed her bachelor’s degree in 3 years from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana focusing on Corporate Communication & Economics.

BUSY WEEKEND FOR NHS AND MUSEUM: Chicago was center stage Mother's Day weekend for a good majority of the Greek community's most accomplished business and civic leaders coast-to-coast, not to mention playing host to the CEO of the 2004 Athens Olympics. Leading off was a Thursday night book-signing at the National Hellenic Museum, where Greece Ambassador Gianna Angelopoulos Daskalaki spoke of how she pulled together disparate interests as Olympic CEO to accomplish one of the most successful Games in modern times.

On April 13, The Greek Women’s University Club (GWUC) successfully hosted its 25^th Annual National Music Competition at Alice Millar Chapel in Evanston, Illinois. Audience members enjoyed an afternoon of exciting vocal and instrumental performances, followed by refreshments. Chairperson was Anna Moreno.

On Thursday April 11, Orthodox Christians throughout the Chicago area gathered for the Annual Pan-Orthodox Grand Banquet and Silent Auction at the Rosewood Restaurant and Banquets to show their gratitude and faithful support for the work of the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC). 

On the same day that the Chicago Public Schools announced the closure of 54 schools, International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) responded with a donation of $1 million in new books to benefit schoolchildren participating in after-school enrichment opportunities, mentoring and summer learning programs in the Chicago area. Bishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago, also the past president of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago, facilitated the gift on behalf of Orthodox Christians in Chicago.

NILES— Students at Aristotle Preschool and Kindergarten at Saint Haralambos Church in Niles, Ill., are exploring various simple science concepts.  Some of these are easy enough that any parent can do them at home with their child.

In Science Lab, students discussed air, and learned that it is a gas we breathe. They learned he properties of gas--gas expands and takes up all the available space; gas expands when it is heated (the molecules have more energy and they move around more); gas condenses when it is cooled (the molecules lose energy and slow down).

 Try some of these fun and educational experiences at home with your child.

Experiment #1
Take an empty water bottle and put a balloon over the bottle opening. Put the bottle in a bowl filled with ice and water. Observe what happens to the balloon. Next, take the balloon and bottle and place it in a pot of boiling water. Observe what happens to the balloon. 

Repeat experiments over again and again. Note that the balloon deflates in the cold water and expands in the hot water. 

Explain to the child that the gas in the balloon expands when placed in the hot water. The heat from the water causes the molecules in the gas to gain energy and they move around more and expand. When placed in the cold water in the molecule slow down, lose energy and condense causing the balloon to deflate. 

Experiment #2
  With a funnel, pour 1/2 tablespoon of baking soda into a 9 inch balloon. Next, pour a half cup of vinegar into an empty water bottle. Place the balloon over the opening and lift up balloon so baking soda falls into the vinegar. 

The balloon will inflate. The chemical reaction between the baking soda and vinegar produces carbon dioxide gas which inflates the balloon. 
               

The object of this experiment is to demonstrate the presence of carbon dioxide gas in soda.

Experiment #3

 Put a teaspoon of salt into a balloon. Cover the mouth of a soda bottle with the balloon. Pick up the balloon so the salt will go into the soda. Watch and observe what happens. It is a good idea to put the soda on some newspaper. This can get messy!

 With this experiment, we see that salt releases carbon dioxide from the soda, making the balloon inflate. Many carbon dioxide bubbles form on each grain of salt (nucleation sites) resulting in the soda foaming up. The soda goes back down into the bottle, but the balloon stays inflated due to the carbon dioxide gas.

   For more information about Aristotle Preschool and Kindergarten, please contact Director Rita Petratos, at 847.647.0991.

http://www.aristotlegreekschools.com/

A fire today destroyed the altar of St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church, 733 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL. The fire began a little before 12:30 and was extinguished in about 20 minutes.  Chicago Fire Deputy District Chief Steve Chikerotis said there is no suspicious cause of the fire but rather it began around the base of the altar.

 On Sunday, February 17, the second son of Reverend Father Sotirios (Sam) and Presvytera Pamela Dimitriou was baptized Christopher Dimitri at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church temporarily located in Orland Park.

CHICAGO 03/01/2013—FilmHellenes announced a call for entries for its 3nd annual Greek Film Fest Chicago!, to take place November 7-11, 2013. Feature-and short-length entries produced by international filmmakers of Greek and Greek-Cypriot descent are now being accepted for admission. Films about Greece and/or Hellenism by non-Greek filmmakers are also welcome. 

URBANA—The U. of I. Modern Greek Studies Program recently announced the establishment of the Dr. Arthur G. Nikelly’s annual lectures.