NEW YORK, NY - Educators and leaders from Armenian schools throughout the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America gathered at the Diocesan Center here on Saturday, September 7, 2002, to discuss challenges they will face in the coming years.

They symposium, organized by the Diocese's Armenian Language Lab and Resource Center (ALLARC), focused on new ways to teach young people about the Armenian heritage and Divine Liturgy.

Along with discussions of teaching methods, lesson planning, classroom contests, and new publications available for teachers, the symposium introduced Armenian school educators to a lesson plan called "Right on Target," which, using the theme of the badarak, consists of songs, dance, music, poems, spelling tests, and riddles to teach the badarak while reinforcing the Armenian language and traditions.

"The badarak is the key component of our Armenian faith," said Sylva der Stepanian, director of ALLARC and organizer of the symposium. "And learning about the badarak also helps us to teach young people the Armenian language, which is of course a crucial part of our culture and our everyday lives."

During the one-day symposium, several Armenian Schoolteachers and administrators were recognized for 10 years of service in Diocesan Armenian schools. They were Yn. Anahid Kalayjian of Washington, DC; Nora Roubian, of New Jersey; and Mayreni Sanag, Isgouhi Shamamian, Garo Shamamian, Melik Shamamian, Karin Vorperian, and Arto Vorperian of New York, Noelle Sarkissian, of Charlotte, NC, was honored for attending all three of ALLARC's various summer courses.

"These people are involved in a noble enterprise,"