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.

With great enthusiasm, our Junior School Robotics Teams entered the Panhellenic Educational Robotics Competition on Sunday 19th March. The theme was “How can we make our cities SMART?”

Year 6 pupils designed SMART traffic lights to improve city life! Their mantra? ‘We have decided to start the change that will improve the world – one step at a time, one traffic light at a time!’

Year 5 pupils designed SMART cities with underground roads, flying trains and green parks to relax in with safe play environments for children. They said, ‘World... a round of applause for an invention that will change the way our cities deal with waste. The BINBOT – a new garbage management system!’

The commitment these pupils showed as they strove for their team’s success was a credit to them! We are certainly looking forward to next year!

On Monday 20^th March, Year 5 visited the excellent science museum in Athens, Planet Physics. One word to describe our experience there: mind-blowing! Through a period of play, the children really got involved in fascinating scientific enquiry. Afterwards, there were demonstrations which focused more on the most recent topics in science: Magnetism and Sound. The children learnt about sound, how it travels, changes pitch and volume; they explored how magnets and magnetic fields create forces and how to create superconductors using liquid nitrogen. They recreated Galileo's famous gravity experiment of dropping different size spheres off the Tower of Pisa. It was all highly entertaining and as you can tell, the children's scientific curiosities were tantalised! 

On Friday 17^th March, St Lawrence Junior School held a wonderful Science Fair in the gym. In preparation for the event, the KS2 children had worked at home on projects of their own choice individually or in groups, to present a scientific investigation. The aim was to show-case their learning on a chosen subject and their grasp of the Scientific Method. The pupils made an outstanding effort to create and innovate, to deepen their understanding, and to handle themselves as mature learners during their interviews with the judges.

Their displays and demonstrations were entertaining as well as educational and reflected the wealth of learning that this science fair had brought about. Well done to all our enthusiastic participants – you put on a great show!

On Saturday 11^th March the IA Silver group departed school for their final expedition. The 6:00am start meant there were many bleary eyes and sleepy faces, especially amongst the Year 11s who had only just finished their mock examinations. The promise of a weekend hiking as well as a rocky ferry journey rapidly increased everyone’s energy levels. Once we had arrived pupils finalised their routes and had them checked, and then embarked on the day’s hike from Tinos town to Volax.  The pupils battled high wind speeds and variable weather as the steep slopes tested their fitness and navigation skills, especially the ascent up to Exomvourgo. However, on arrival to the camp the weather settled and pupils were able to enjoy a beautiful sunset over the boulder fields of Volax (see photo!). The next day involved returning to Tinos town via a different route, with the charming Cycladic-style villages of Falatados, Mountados, and Karia all taken in as well as stunning panoramic views of Mykonos, Delos, and Syros in the distance. Well done to everyone involved for such a mature and diligent attitude!

Make sure you watch the video!

From Monday 6^th March till Friday, the Junior School library was filled to the brim more than ever, with a huge array of reading books and material to inspire a generation of bookworms. Kidzbooks held a book sale for our families to make the most of, with delighted pupils rushing there at every opportunity. Usborne books, known for the colourful, imaginative content and the quality of the paperbacks and hardbacks they produce, were snapped up by our enthusiastic readers from EYs to Y6!

Keep reading and feeding your brains with top quality words, everyone!

The Charity Ninjas Club of St Lawrence College Junior School have continued their super efforts to raise money for charity throughout this term. They organised a wonderful bake sale on Tuesday 21^st February with our generous families from all classes donating all kinds of home baked and shop bought sweets & treats. Pupils right from Early Years through to Year 6 queued up in delight to buy all that they could – the sugar rush was real!

On Wednesday 8^th March, they proudly presented a cheque for €3000 to Mrs Mavrikou from Doctors of the World who visited our school to give her thanks to the children. Ms Diplas’ club look as pleased as punch with themselves and rightly so. Bravo, children, and thank you to our wider school community for their continued support in these worthy endeavours.

Lights, Camera, Action!

 On Monday 20^th February, Year 3 & 4 pupils visited Cinemax 1&2 in Kifissia to view a selection of short films; an important part of the Athens International Children’s Film Festival. This educational initiative was promoting film and media literacy, making films accessible to young people and allowing them to analyse and critically engage with the media. After the thought-provoking screenings, an open discussion allowed our pupils to share their ideas. What an interesting and enjoyable school day with a difference!

On Thursday 23^rd February, Year 2 headed off to the House of Ceramic Art in Maroussi, Attiki for a spot of culture and learning. The children participated in an artistic day, making ceramics themselves using a potter's spinning wheel which was great fun. The results ranged from round and smooth to wobbly and wonky, but all the pupils thoroughly enjoyed the process and the feel of wet clay between their fingers. An excellent day out!

Throughout December, the Junior School hosted several fundraising events with all proceeds going towards several worthy charities. The Charity Ninjas contributed much of their time throughout the autumn term in particular, to create wonderful pictures that were then used in greetings cards and a 2023 school calendar. These were sold at the bazaar, along with the colourful Loom band bracelets the Ninjas had made. This bazaar, the sponsored Walkathon earlier in the term and other moments of charitable effort all added up to a commendable sum of €5962 in total being raised for some of our favourite charities. Their appreciation is expressed in the letters attached, and we heartily thank our generous pupils, families and friends for this combined effort.

On Friday 24^th February, the pupils and staff at SLC revelled in a carnival atmosphere with music, dancing and lots of fancy dress. There were all kinds of hilarious outfits on show and the school came to life with a wide range of characters from TV, movies and real life too. The Junior School parade was enjoyed by all those who took part as they high-fived their friends while showing off their outfits. What a lot of fun!

Between Friday the 17^th and Sunday the 19^th our girls over 16 Basketball team took part in an international basketball tournament hosted by ACS Athens. 4 teams took part, ACS Athens, AIS Bucharest, ACS Cobham and St. Lawrence College. 

On Friday our girls won both of their group stage games. On Saturday they lost their final group stage game but despite that managed to qualify to the final. In the final they faced ACS Cobham and won 47-38 achieving another 1^st place finish. Two girls from our school received the honour of being selected in the best starting 5 of the tournament. Those girls were Mar Segura and Eleftheria Arapoglou. 

ACS Athens hosted another basketball tournament for the boys over 16, on Wednesday the 22^nd of February. 6 teams took part which were divided in to two groups. 

In the first group stage game our boys defeated St. Catherines comfortably. In the second group stage game the boys faced host team ACS. After a very close game we won by 3 points and advanced to the final where we faced ISA. In the final our boys defeated ISA 55-41 bringing home the gold. 

A big congratulations to all boys and girls who took part and a special thank you to the coaches Ms Tzavella and Mr Karamatsios. 

On Friday 17^th February, the children of Years 4, 5 & 6 happily travelled back to school after hours for an evening of dancing at the disco. The pupils wore their coolest outfits and their glitziest trainers ready to strut their stuff across the dancefloor all night long. With pizza and juice to fill their bellies in the mid-way break, they were reinvigorated to carry on and tear up the dance floor until the lights were turned on at the end.

A fun-filled way indeed to kick off the weekend!

On Monday 13^th February, the FS1 & 2 classes from our Early Years section visited the Playmobil park in Kifissia. 

There, all the children thoroughly enjoyed playing with a variety of toys, including castles, animals, fire engines, hospitals and dragons. This fantasy play, which is essential in any young mind, reinforced their current topic of 'Make Believe’ and gave each child a valuable opportunity to express themselves in a fun setting. 

On 8^th February 2023, the children in our FS1 and FS2 classes had a wonderful day of make-believe. This term, their fascinating topic of learning has been based around stories and make-believe characters. They have explored their favourite fairy tales, where children have met all the story characters they could want to: heroes, heroines, princesses and princes. In their Book Character Day, the children came to school dressed up as one of their favorite characters from a book. They brought in the storybook associated with the character to share with their classmates and friends. It was a fun-filled, exciting day!