Biographical note about our Principal

Andrea Garivaldis is is the founder and principal of of Zenon Education Centre, a Community Languages School, accredited by the Department of Education in Victoria and operating under the auspices of Community Languages Victoria since 2009. She is a specialist VCE teacher with over thirty-five years of teaching experience in the area of Greek language teaching. She has taught Greek and English (EAL) at government, private and community language schools as well as Higher Education institutions.

Andrea has attended post-graduate programs in Greece and has participated in several conferences and seminars in Australia and overseas. She has attended several Second Language training programs at the University of Crete (1998, 2004, 2006) and was also awarded a Fellowship at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2012).  Andrea has also escorted students from Australia on educational trips to Greece and Cyprus, funded by the Greek and Cypriot governments.

Andrea served as Study Specialist Vetter and Sitter Vetter at the Greek Examination Paper setting panel of VCAA (Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority) for many years and has also been an Assessor in both, oral and written VCE Greek final examinations. She is also a Trainer and Assessor in Adult Education.

In 2006 Andrea presented a conference paper at the International Conference “Greek Language and the Greek Diaspora” organised at the University of Grete, and in 2007 she presented a seminar at a Greek teachers’ seminar held at La Trobe University on effective teaching methodologies based on Greek textbooks published by the University of Crete. In 2008 she presented a conference paper based on her own research on Diasporic Literature at RMIT University. In July 2009 she presented an academic paper on ‘Diasporic and Transnational Identities in the Literature of Greek Writers in Australia’ at the 8th International Conference on Greek Research at Flinders University in Adelaide.

In addition to her teaching career, Andrea is a researcher (Greek Language and Identity – RMIT University) and also an accredited interpreter and translator by NAATI (National Accreditation Authority of Translators and Interpreters).

Andrea is a renowned author. She writes poetry, short stories and academic articles. She has published four poetry collections and several articles and essays in literary periodicals in Australia and overseas. Her literary contribution has been acknowledged and included in anthologies and scholarly journals in Australia, Greece and Cyprus. Her works also appear electronically in a number of internet sites, ie. Diasporic Literature Spot, The land of Gods, Poetry and Prose writing of Cypriots.

Andrea is a member of many Literary and Education organisations, ie. Modern Greek Teachers Association of Victoria, the Greek-Australian Cultural League, the Hellenic Writers Association of Australia, the Association of Cypriot Writers, the Association of Children and Youth Books in Cyprus.

In 2020, Andrea was awarded the Honorary Membership of the Cultural Association of Greece and Cyprus, based in Thessaloniki Greece.

Andrea’s vision is to inspire children to discover the wealth of the Greek Language and Culture through consistent formal and personal study and help them succeed as happy, bilingual, independent, and responsible individuals, proud of their cultural identity.