May 1955 | Mateos Ferrahian passes away. In his will Mr. Ferrahian has allotted his house as gift to the first Armenian High School in the U.S.A. Mr. Mateos Ferrahian’s remains are kept at Rosdel Cemetry 1831 W. Washington Bl., Los Angeles, CA 90007 |
October 1960 | Holy Martyrs Church property is purchased; $80,000 donation is made by Mrs. Satenig Arakelian. |
July 17, 1964 | Holy Martyrs Church Board decides to establish an Armenian day school on the church premises. |
September 14, 1964 | Holy Martyrs Armenian High School opens its doors with 12 students and Mr. Gabriel Injejikian Principal. |
October 25, 1964 | Official opening of the school. In attendance, Archbishop Hrant Khachatourian (Cilicia See). |
January 1965 | The first school periodical “Haghtanag” is published with 15,000 prints distributed throughout the USA. The official annual school publication bears the name “Hagtanag” and thereafter the name of the school yearbook. |
June 12, 1965 | First Dinner-Dance is organized and held at Statler Hilton in Los Angeles. |
August 1965 | Mr. Gabriel Injejikian travels to sixteen Midwestern, Eastern, and Canadian cities to organize support committees for the school. |
September 13, 1965 | School opens for the second year with 43 students enrolled. |
November 12, 1965 | The Second Annual Founders Day. Mr. Arshag Dickranian, the executor of Mateos Ferrahian’s will, presents a draft check for $235,000 to Archbishop Hrant Khachatourian, who in turn renames the school Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School. Subsequently, a fund is established the interest of which is allocated for the school needs. In 1969, two-thirds of the fund is allotted to Ferrahian School and one-third to Mesrobian School in Montebello. |
February 1, 1966 | Second semester starts with 61 enrolled students. |
May 21, 1967 | The Third Annual Founder’s Day. The school athletic field is dedicated to Dr. Suren Saroyan. |
1967-1968 | The first issue of the student newspaper “Eagle” is published. |
January 1968 | The Board of Trustees of Holy Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Church turn over the responsibility of governing Holy Martyrs Ferrahian Armenian High School to a newly-appointed Board of Governors with Dr. Suren Saroyan as President, Mr. Arshag Dickranian as the Honorary President, and Mrs. Lillie Merrigian as Secretary. From then on Dr. Saroyan served on the school governing board as its president till 1980. |
August 1968 | The 1967-1968 school year ends with an income of $57,278.21 and $54,406.86 in expenses.The projected budget for academic year 1968-1969 is set at $75,000. |
1968-1969 | “Armens” the first boys basketball and the first girls cheerleader teams are established. |
April 22, 1969 | Khoren Catholicos visits Ferrahian School. |
June 1969 | The first high school commencement. Seven students graduate. |
1969-1973 | The school acquires adjacent properties through the Ferrahian fund as follows:
|
August 26, 1974 | Groundbreaking of the construction of two-floor first wing (eastern wing of the building with four classrooms, a hall and a kitchen, with Vahram Jebejian as the architect, Mark Noorigian as the building supervisor. The Chairman of the Building Finance and Construction Committees then was Armen Muger. |
May 23, 1976 | Dedication of the east wing and the “Mihrtad Dickranian Hall.” A $25,000 donation is made by Mr. Arshag Dickranian. |
1977-1978 | The construction of the southern wing of the new building is completed with the addition of classrooms and a library. |
September 11, 1978 | The new library is dedicated to John Garabedian. |
September 19, 1978 | The school has 200 enrolled students with 10 full time and 20 part time faculty members. |
1978-1979 | The elementary and the kindergarten sections are established. The school is renamed: Holy Martyrs Armenian Elementary and Ferrahian High School. |
1979-1980 | The construction of the western and northern wings of the building is completed. A gymnasium/hall is erected in the center of the building. The hall is dedicated in memory of Arzouman Avedissian. A $100,000 donation is made by Kevork Arzoumanian. |
1981 | Holy Martyrs Church Board assumes the responsibility of governing the school, which was led earlierby the school governing body. |
November 14, 1984 | His Holiness Karekin II visits Ferrahian on the school’s 20th Anniversary. His Holiness had visited Ferrahian twice earlier on November 12, 1980 and on June 20, 1988. |
December 5, 1987 | Mortgage burning ceremony is held in Avedissian Hall. |
1988 | The school acquires an additional campus of approximately four acres in North Hills for $2,000,000. |
Summer 1989 | The new campus undergoes major renovations costing $500,000. |
October 23, 1989 | Grades 10, 11, and 12 relocate to the new campus. |
Summer 1990 | Principal Gabriel Injejikian resigns after 26 years of service. |
1990 | On the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the school, the school history, collated in 54 page volume is published in Armenian language, authored by Anahid Meymarian |
September 1990 | Mr. Vartkes Ghazarian is appointed Principal. He serves for three years from 1990 through 1993 with Mr. Levon Kasparian as Vice Principal. |
1990-1991 | Grades K-4 are transferred to North Hills Campus and grades 10-12 relocate back to Encino Campus. |
1990-1991 | For the first time the school participates in Model UN and DWP Science Quiz Bowl –extracurricular activities. |
February 14, 1991 | The pre-school classrooms are reorganized as a separate but as an integral part of the school. |
April 19, 1991 | A school emblem is adopted; designed by Mher Davitian and funded by Mr. and Mrs. Koko Deukmejian. |
April 28, 1991 | The Preschool is officially named: “Holy Martyrs ARS Pre-school and Kindergarten” with the ARS Regional Executive allocating $100,000 for the pre-school. |
1991-1992 | WASC accreditation process starts. |
September 1993 | Mr. Levon Kasparian is appointed Principal of the school. He serves for four years from 1993 to 1997and Mr. Paul Mooradian being the Vice Principal. |
1994-1995 | Two-year old program starts at the preschool. |
1994 | For the first time the school participates in private schools’ Academic Decathlon. |
June 1995 | The school is WASC accredited for six years with a midterm review visit. |
1998 | Articles and press releases printed in the Armenian press about the school from 1964 to 1988 arecompiled by Mr. Kourken Khanjianand are published in a 663 page volume. This publication had limited distribution. |
September 1997 | Dr. Marzbed Margossian is appointed Principal of the school. He serves for four years from 1997 to 2001 with the Vice-Principal being Mr. Vartkes Nalbandian. |
June 2000 | The school is WASC accredited for six years with midterm report. |
August 2001 | Mr. John Kossakian is appointed as Principal with Mr. Vartkes Nalbandian continuing in his position as Vice-Principal. |
September 2001 | The construction of the 5000 sq. ft. administrative building is completed.The new building houses the school administration, the Church Board offices, and the offices of cultural, youth, and relief groups. Mr. & Mrs. Osko and Yeran Karaghossian donate $150,000 toward the construction of the building at an official opening the building is named “Osko and Yeran Karaghossian Building”. |
May-June 2004 | On the occasion of the school’s 40th Anniversary a banquet and a public gathering is organized. A revised and an updated history of Ferrahian School is published (Armenian Language, 107 pages); authored by Anahid Meymarian. |
June 12, 2004 | 40th anniversary banquet in Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. School mortgage is lowered to $700,000. |
Summer 2005 | Major renovations take place at the North Hills Campus with the addition of fourteen mobile classrooms for grades K through 5, the library and a computer lab. Mrs. Ashkhen Pilavjiandonates $250,000 toward this renovation project. |
January 13, 2006 | At the official opening of the renovated campus, the Preschool is renamed “Holy Martyrs A.R.S. Ashkhen Pilavjian Preschool”. |
June 2007 | The school is WASC accredited for six years with midterm visit. |
June 2010 | WASC midterm visit states the school’s successful performance in all aspects of the Action Plans. |
January 2013 |
The Administrative offices of the North Hills campus are renovated
|
May 2016 |
Mrs. Sossi Shanlian is appointed as the new high school principal at the Encino Campus. Mr. John Kossakian continues on as the elementary school principal at the North Hills Campus. Mr. Vartkes Nalbandians continues as the vice- principal of the high school.
|
February 2019 | The school is WASC accredited for six years with a midterm report. |
March 18, 2020 | The school temporarily goes fully online (through Zoom) because of the COVID-19 pandemic. |
April 12, 2021 | The School reopens for in-person instruction under strict county and state guidelines. About 300 students opt in to come to school. Students who opted out, are present through Zoom. |