Scholarships

Academic Awards for Excellence in Greek Language Education

The Greek Community of Toronto, in collaboration with institutions, organizations and citizens of the metropolitan area of Toronto, has begun to grant Academic Awards for Excellence in Greek Language Education. These awards are scholarships for students, who attend and excel in Greek Language and Heritage Programs run by the Greek Community of Toronto (GCT). The GCT has established the Paideia Scholarship Foundation in order to accept and assess all applications from eligible candidates. It is important to note that the scholarship funds are deposited directly in the University or College accounts of the.

The following Academic Awards for Excellence in Greek Language Education are offered:
 

  Louis Georgareas Academic Award for Excellence in Greek Language Education

Ms. Fouli Georgareas-Tsimikalis and her spouse Mr. Stavros Tsimikalis, owners of Toronto Prep School, in cooperation with the GCT, decided to grant two scholarships to students of the GCT. The scholarships are established in honour of Mr. Elias Georgareas, who for several decades has offered and continues to support and promote Greek Education and Hellenism in Canada. The Louis Georgareas Academic Awards for Excellence in Greek Language Education are $ 2,500.00 each, and they are granted to students of the GCT, in order to cover their tuition costs at any institution of higher education in Canada or abroad.
 

 “Aristotelis” and “Hypatia” Academic Awards for Excellence in Greek Language Education

Mr. Dimitris Agouridis and his company Canadian Locators Inc. decided to offer two scholarships each to students of the GCT. The scholarships are established to support and promote Paideia, the GCT’s new Greek Language Program which is being developed in collaboration with the University of West Macedonia. The two scholarships, “Aristotelis” and “Hypatia” Academic Awards for Excellence in Greek Language Education, are $ 500.00 each, and they are granted to students of the GCT, in order to cover their tuition costs at any institution of higher education in Canada or abroad.

Qualification Criteria, Requirements and Guidelines

The Paideia Scholarship Foundation has established objective criteria which add transparency in the application process (i.e., submission, assessment and final selection of award recipients). It is important to clarify that the Paideia Scholarship Foundation will evaluate applications of candidates who submit their applications between September 1 and December 10. Applications which meet all criteria and requirements will be included in the evaluation process. The scholarships will be awarded to the recipients at the Three Hierarchs Academic Awards Ceremony, which is hosted by the Greek Community of Toronto during the month of January.

A. Application Criteria

The submission and evaluation criteria for all Academic Awards for Excellence in Greek Language Education are the following:

  1. Ellinomatheia Exams Certification: The Ellinomatheia Greek Language Proficiency Examinations are conducted and assessed by the Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs of Greece and the Greek Language Center. The fact that the grading of the examination papers is conducted by the Greek Language Center in Greece, and not by GCT, adds transparency to the evaluation process. Candidates are tested in six levels of language proficiency and are assessed in four or five skills: reading, writing, understanding, speaking and the overall effective use of the Greek language. In cases, where there is only one candidate who has achieved the highest level of attainment and meets all of the other criteria, then he/she will be awarded one of the aforementioned academic awards beginning with the awards that offer the highest financial support. If there are no candidates at the highest level, the evaluation process moves to the next level of attainment in hierarchical order.

  2. Five years minimum attendance in a GCT Greek School: To be eligible for an Academic Award for Excellence in Greek Language Education, the applicants must have studied at GCT Greek Schools for at least five years before the date of the application. Attendance of grades 11 and 12 are mandatory.  The above criteria reinforce the objectivity and transparency of the process, promote the Greek-language programs of the GCT, and reward the students and families that have supported our programs for a long period of time. The criteria establish equity and fairness in this process, since students who have recently moved to Canada from Greece, will not be eligible to apply for the aforementioned awards. In the near future, it is the intent of the GCT to grant additional scholarships based solely on financial and social criteria.

  3. Ontario High School Average - Applicants for Academic Awards for Excellence in Greek language Education, must be Ontario High School Graduates who have been accepted by a Canadian or foreign University or College. The highest high school averages (i.e., all grade 12 university level courses will be included in the calculation) are considered first for the scholarships. An application will be accepted only if a candidate’s high school average exceeds 79%.

  4. Greek Community of Toronto Membership. Applicants or their parents/guardians must be active members of the Greek Community of Toronto at the time of the application.

  5. Tiebreaker Situations - In cases of tiebreaker situations, socio-economic criteria (i.e., low family income, single parent family, etc.) will be taken into consideration.  Additionally, the scholarship committee will take into account any voluntary work that the candidates may have contributed to the GCT.  Finally, the quality and the completeness of the applications will be considered as well.

B. Scholarship Evaluation Committee

All applications will be evaluated by a three member committee. Specifically, the committee will consist of the Chair of GCT’s Education Department, the GCT’s director of education, and a member of the GCT’s parents’ associations. In order for a scholarship to be awarded, it is mandatory that there is a unanimous decision of the three committee members.

For the 2016-2017 school year the members of the committee are:

1. Anastasia Ganogiannis-Reid (Chair of Education)

2. Konstantinos Flegas – (Director of Education)

3. Elias Kyriakou – Chair of Parents Associations Committee

C. Application Process

All candidates must submit their applications to the GCT’s education office within the application period (September 1- December 10).

When applying, all candidates must submit the following:

1) Copy of Ellinomatheia Exams Cerificate (if applicable)

2) Copy of Official Ontario High school Transcript, which indicates the scores of all secondary school courses, including all grade 12 courses.

3) Photocopy of two pieces of photo identity (passport or driving license and birth certificate)

4) Short CV where the candidates explain the reasons for applying for the scholarship.

5) Application Form which is provided by the GCT’s education office.

D. Evaluation of Applications

The committee will evaluate all eligible applications according to the following process:

Phase 1: Pre-Selection

1. Only applications which have been submitted before the due date (i.e., December 10) will be accepted. Past due applications will not be accepted.

2. An application will be accepted, only if the applicant has completed grade 12 or has graduated from a Canadian high school in the calendar year in which the application is being submitted. Additionally, the candidates must be enrolled in a Canadian or Foreign University or College.

3. An application will be accepted, only if the applicant has studied in GCT Greek Schools for a total of five years minimum.  The aforementioned period does not have to be continuous and uninterrupted. However, grades 11 and 12 are mandatory.

4. An application will be accepted, only if the applicant or their parents/guardians are active members of the GCT.

Phase 2: Evaluation of Applications

Only applications who meet all of the above four criteria of the pre-selection process will be included in the stages of the evaluation process.

1. Ellinomatheia Exams Certification

The candidates’ Greek language proficiency will be assessed through their Ellinomatheia Examination Certificates, which are issued in Greece by the Centre of Greek Language.  The scholarships will be awarded according to the level of Greek Language Attainment of the candidates. Specifically, the awards will be granted to the candidates with the highest level of language attainment. For example, a sole candidate with the highest level of Greek language attainment (verified by an official Ellinomatheia Exams Certificate) will by default receive the scholarship that provides the biggest financial support. If two applicants stand out with the highest levels of attainment in Greek from all other applicants, by default they will receive the two biggest scholarships. This process will be repeated until all available scholarships have been granted.  

2. Ontario High School Grade 12 Average

In tiebreaker situations, or if all of the scholarships have not been granted because of a small number of applicants with Ellinomatheia Certificates, the committee will then take into consideration the candidates’ grade 12 high school average. The average will be calculated by adding the final mark of all grade 12 subjects and then dividing this sum with the number of grade 12 subjects that are indicated in the transcript.

3. If the above process does not produce any eligible recipients or tiebreaker situations remain, then the committee will take into consideration socio-economic criteria (low family income, single parent family, etc.).  In addition, it will consider any volunteer work that the candidates may have provided to the GCT.  Finally, the completeness and quality of the application package and the candidates’ resumes will play a role, if all of the above processes have not produced a clear awardee for the remaining scholarships.

Phase 3 – Final Results and Announcement of Results

After a unanimous decision, the members of the scholarship committee will sign their decision granting scholarships for specific recipients. The results will be communicates to all the families that took part in the evaluation process,  including the families of the candidates who were not granted an award. Scholarships and final results will be published no later than the established Awards Ceremony of the Three Hierarchs, which is organized by the Greek Community of Toronto, during the month of January.

Phase 4 – Receiving Scholarship Funds

Scholarship funds will be directly credited to the recipients’ student accounts at their university or college, in order to be applied towards the recipients’ tuition fees. If a recipient has already paid their tuition fees, they may have a credit balance in their student account after receiving the scholarship.

For more information about our Academic Awards for Excellence in Greek Language Education, please contact the Education Department of the Greek Community of Toronto.

Phone (416) 425-2485

Email: education@greekpaideia.org

Greek Community of Toronto

Education Department

30 Thorncliffe Park Drive,

Toronto, Ontario

M4H 1H8