The Services Society of our school has being really active this Christmas. With the help and support of parents, the members of St Lawrence College Services Society helped, as they have done for several years now, the Soup Kitchen in Anavyssos - Saronida, and two new charities and shelter providers, FAROS in the centre of Athens who take care of unaccompanied refugee children, and ECHO100PLUS in Leros who take care of refugees arriving at the island, on a daily basis almost, having survived the terrible crossing of the Aegean Sea.

The most important project that the members of Services Society underwent was the launch of the SHOEBOX Campaign. For that they packed a box for a girl or a boy of various age groups with things like toothpaste and toothbrushes, hair combs, soap, shampoo and deodorant, colouring books and colouring pencils, small toys and puzzles, items of clothing such as T-shirts, gloves, hats or warm socks and always a small book for them to read. We managed to produce 160 boxes full of these items! 30 of these boxes were given to the soup kitchen in Anavyssos - Saronida together with a lot of food items that the pupils themselves bought in a visit to a local supermarket using some of the money collected at the Autumn Festival through various games played that evening on our school’s playground. The other 130 boxes were given to FAROS children who were reportedly very excited and happy to receive them. We, in Services Society, sincerely hope to make the SHOEBOX Campaign an annual event for our school, an event that will grow bigger and bigger every year.

We also helped ECHO100PLUS with their request of gathering coats, shoes and clothes needed desperately for refugee men arriving in the far away island of Leros. These items were either kindly donated by parents or bought using some of the Autumn Festival gathered money.

The act of giving matters! To those who receive, since it reduces their feelings of isolation and loneliness, and reminds them that they are not ignored or forgotten but they are valued members of our society. To those who give, since it brings people together and works towards giving a human face to the broad issue of poverty which should be eradicated completely from this world. And our pupils gave with all their heart, not only goods that can be bought with money but by sacrificing numerous lunchtimes and free periods to produce presents for other children who they have never even met. Our pupils make us proud and yes, they make us think that we all work towards a better world.

St. Lawrence College is proud to deliver The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award

The Award

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is the world’s leading youth achievement award, bringing together practical experiences and useful skills to equip young people for life. Since it was founded, in 1956, by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh (husband to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom), over eight million young people have participated in the Award in over 140 countries and territories. Schools, colleges, universities, employers, social clubs, youth organisations such as the Scouts, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides, young offenders’ institutions, religious organisations, sports clubs and more all run the Award.

...the world’s leading youth achievement award...

St. Lawrence College has a long history of offering the International Award to young people aged 15 to 18 and the numbers of pupils involved has grown steadily over the years, making it one of our most popular activities.

What is involved?

The Award is voluntary, non-competitive, enjoyable and balanced, and requires effort over time. There are two levels of the Award at our school: Bronze and Silver.

The Bronze Award

The Bronze award is open to Year 10 pupils and its club meets once a week after school, from 3.30 to 4.30 pm. For the Bronze award, children are expected to undertake four adventurous expeditions –to Mt. Parnitha, Mt. Hymettos, Mt. Helikonas (with overnight camping) and Kea Island (with overnight camping).

The Silver Award

The Silver Award is open to pupils from Year 11 and above, who meet occasionally during school lunchtimes and more frequently prior to expeditions. For the Silver Award, children are expected to undertake two treks –to Mt. Menalo and Mt. Parnassos (3 days and 2 nights each).

Young people design their own Award programme, set their own goals and record their own progress. They must complete voluntary work, commit to physical recreation, learn a new skill and go on an expedition. During the expedition, they are only competing against themselves by challenging their own beliefs about what they can achieve.

More information on The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award can be found at www.intaward.org.

On Thursday, 27th March, our U14 boys and girls basketball teams competed in their respective tournaments. The boys went undefeated in the pool stages and reached the final, securing second place after a hard-fought match against ACS.

The girls, also undefeated throughout the tournament, finished in second place after a draw with Campion School, losing out on goal average.

Congratulations to all our players and coaches for their excellent performance and teamwork!
 

On March 12th, our Under-16 boys’ and girls’ basketball teams achieved great success in their respective tournaments.

The girls travelled to Campion School, where they faced four different teams. They won all four games by an impressive average margin of 17 points! The girls were thrilled to bring home gold medals just in time to cheer on the boys, who were up against St. Catherine’s in the final.

The boys’ final was full of dramatic moments. With just 30 seconds left on the clock, they were trailing 27-30. They quickly tied the game with a clutch 3-pointer. Then, with 18 seconds remaining and the game tied at 30-30, the boys regained possession. In a stunning turn of events, they scored the winning basket just as the buzzer sounded the end of the game, securing a dramatic comeback victory. The players celebrated alongside the girls, who cheered them on from the stands.

A huge congratulations to both teams for their outstanding performances, and a big thank you to our coaches, Ms. Tzavella and Mr. Karamatsios, for their hard work with the teams.

On Tuesday, 18 February, our talented Under 16 Girls’ basketball team competed in the Over 16 tournament hosted by ACS School. Despite being the youngest team in the competition, they demonstrated outstanding skill, teamwork, and determination.
With impressive victories against St. Catherine's and Campion, our team advanced to the final. In a hard-fought match against the strong ACS host team, our players gave their all but narrowly missed out on the championship title.
Congratulations to our young and promising athletes for their incredible performance and bright future ahead!
 

From Thursday 5th until Sunday 8th December, our boys' and girls' Over-16 football teams participated in a 4-day tournament hosted by Anatolia School in Thessaloniki. For three consecutive years, we have proudly had at least one team reach the final.

This year, while our boys’ team didn’t make it past the group stage having lost to PIERCE, in their second game they displayed great effort with a 3-1 victory over AFS School. On the other hand, our girls’ team demonstrated outstanding resilience and determination, battling through extreme weather conditions to secure a spot in the final. With two wins (against Campion and PIERCE) and a draw (against St. Catherine's). In the final they faced the host school, Anatolia and despite coming up short after a hard-fought match, our girls were proud to finish in 2nd place—a fantastic achievement!

Special recognition goes to our exceptional centre-back, Stella Nouvaki, who was awarded MVP of the tournament. Additionally, we extend heartfelt congratulations to both teams for their exemplary behaviour, dedication, and incredible efforts throughout the trip.

A big thank you to our boys' coach and devoted teacher, Mr. Strzemiecki, as well as the girls' coach, Mr. Styliatis, for their unwavering support and guidance over the past three years. Their commitment has been instrumental in fostering the teams' growth and success.

During the weekend, Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th of October sixteen pupils participated in the Campion School MUN, representing our school, and making us very proud for their dedication and impeccable behaviour. This time we had two pupils serving as Chairs of Committees, Konstantinos Zafeirakis in the GA3 Committee (Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Committee) and Penny Farmakidi in the WHO Committee (World Health Organisation) but also many pupils of Year 7 who very bravely took part in what was a very long weekend for them, a real achievement for pupils so young!

And they are all excited and ready for the upcoming participations in the Costeas-Geitonas School CGSMUN and the St Catherine’s SCMUN! No doubt these will be as successful and rewarding experiences as the first one of this academic year was. Well done to all participants!

Congratulations to our International Award Bronze team for successfully completing their final expedition last weekend, marking the end of their IA programme. The Year 10 pupils embarked on a two-day hike on the island of Kea for two days, culminating in a refreshing swim at Pisses beach, where they also camped for a night, cooked their own meals and bonded under the starry sky.
Throughout the IA programme the pupils demonstrated resilience, stretching their comfort zone and trying new things. We hope that the skills and experiences gained from this programme will benefit them in their future endeavours. We are proud of their achievements and the personal growth each student has shown. Well done to everyone!
 

Congratulations to our International Award Silver team for completing a three-day expedition to Mt Menalon last weekend! The pupils hiked for three days in the mountain and tried to find their way using just a map and a compass. They hiked in groups making their own decisions and when they reached their destination they camped there for the night. The pupils demonstrated great stamina, hiking more than 20 kilometres in three days while carrying their own equipment, and amazing team building skills, making sure each member of the group would make it to the final destination! Well done to all our Y11 IA pupils!

On March 12th and 14th, our boys, and girls under 16 basketball teams took part in tournaments hosted by ACS.
Our boys won both of their group stage games against St.Catherines and ISA. In the final the boys once again won against Campion and received the 1st place trophy and gold medals for their incredible performance.
The girls also managed to advance to the final were in a close game they lost to ACS and finished in 2nd place out of 5 schools.
Well done for all the hard work that both teams put in during their training sessions and we are glad the results reflect their efforts. Finally, a big thank you to Mr Karamatsios and Ms Tzavella for their outstanding work with their respective teams!
 

On Monday the 20th of November our school participated in two school tournaments. The boys took part in the under 16 volleyball tournament hosted by ISA. Whereas the girls took part in the under 16 football tournament hosted by Campion.
The boys just narrowly missed out on the final by losing their final match in a tiebreak. The girls won their tournament scoring 7 goals in 3 matches and only conceding once.
Congratulations to everyone who represented our school so valiantly during these tournaments and a big thank you to our coaches Ms Dikaioulia and Mr Styliatis.

Our school hosted the Over 16 boys’ football and girls’ volleyball tournaments on Wednesday the 18th of October. 
There were six schools that took part in the boys' tournament. After one draw and one win the group stage our team advanced to the final. In the final we lost to St. Catherine's ultimately finishing in 2nd place. Following this very pleasing display, our boys now look forward to competing in the Aegean tournament in Thessaloniki, which commences on the 30th of November. 
Both the girls Under 16 and Over 16 team took part in the volleyball tournament where 5 schools took part. The Over 16 team managed to get into the final where they faced Campion. After a very close final which was decided via a tie break, our girls finished in 2nd place. 
Congratulations to all our athletes for their excellent display in this tournament and a big thank you to the coaches Ms Dikaioulia and Mr Strzemiecki for all the effort they put into preparing our teams for this big event.

The IA Bronze group have successfully completed their final two expeditions of the year over the past few weeks. The practice expedition was completed in Western Parnitha, with pupils hiking from the village of Fyli to the Fyli Fortress, where they camped, before returning to Fyli the next day. During this journey all groups focused on improving their navigational skills, using physical and human features in the landscape to help them navigate as well as compass bearings. The final expedition to Kea was an opportunity for pupils to showcase what they had learnt over the year with all pupils demonstrating excellent skills and knowledge. The pupils enjoyed two days of brilliant hiking from Coressia to Pisses in beautiful weather whilst taking in the wonderful vistas offered by Kea as well as the local flora and fauna, including vibrant wildflowers, snakes and spiders (which some pupils were not too keen on!). The first day ended at the beach of Pisses which allowed students to relax, play ball games on the beach and swim. A speedy return to the port on the second day was made by all groups, passing the Monastery of Agia Marina and through the Flea valley, and then it was back on the ferry to Lavrio.  It has been a pleasure to guide this group through their IA Bronze and we have immensely enjoyed seeing these pupils develop into independent, confident and resilient young adults.

Parents of our junior school and Early Years Foundation Stage pupils are invited to a parental workshop that will be presented by our visiting school psychologist, Dr. Hadjipateras Giannoulis, and our school counsellor, Ms Stefania Zarri.

Dr. Hadjipateras Giannoulis and Ms Zarri will be presenting on the topic of ‘Dealing with peer conflict and bullying: promoting your child’s friendships’.

The workshop will take place on Monday 15th May at 9:15-11:00 a.m., and will be held at the Efilena Estate, next door to the school campus. There will be time for questions and coffee and refreshments will be available. Parents will be able to drop off their children at the school gates and continue to make their way up Anemon Street to park inside the Efilena grounds.

If you would like to attend the workshop, please contact juniorschool@slc.gr

On the 9^th of March our U16 girls basketball team participated in a tournament hosted by ACS school.

Four schools took part in a round robin format. Our girls finished in 2^nd place with wins against St. Catherine’s and Campion and one loss against ACS.

On the 21^st of March our U16 boys basketball team took part in a tournament hosted by our school. Six schools took part in this tournament. The boys won both of their group stage games and advanced to the final. In the final after a close game they lost to ACS.

Congratulations to all the team members on their 2^nd place finishes and a special thank you to the coaches Ms Tzavella and Mr Karamatsios.