Today was the 100^th anniversary of the publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses, and A-Level Literature pupils enjoyed a special lesson, led by Headmaster Phil Holden, marking the anniversary. The pupils were given an introduction to James Joyce, listened to recordings of readings from the book, discussed the modernist style Joyce used, and studied the publishing history of Ulysses. The pupils were able to examine various editions of the book, including a first edition that was 100 years old today!

With the reopening of schools anticipated for Monday 31^st January, pupils and parents should be aware of covid self-testing requirements for the coming week.

Pupils will need to bring evidence of a negative covid self-test on Monday, Tuesday and Friday mornings. This means pupils should take a self-test on the afternoon/evening of Sunday, Monday and Thursday. School staff are following the same schedule of self-testing.

The Greek authorities have announced that all schools in the region of Attica, including St. Lawrence College, must remain closed on Friday 28^th January, following the extreme weather conditions this week.

Online classes will take place for all our pupils, so that a normal Friday timetable will operate from 08.50am through the Microsoft Teams platform.

Parents will be emailed when the requirements for pupils’ covid self-testing for school attendance next week is made known.

The Greek authorities have today extended the closure of schools across Attica to include tomorrow, Thursday 27^th January. However, the authorities have given the green light for online learning to restart.

For the pupils of St. Lawrence College, online learning recommences on Thursday, at 08.50am, through the Teams platform.

Any decision from the Greek authorities relating to the operation of schools on Friday 28^th January will be communicated to pupils’ parents by email, and posted on the school website and Facebook page. Pupils and parents should be aware that if schools do operate on Friday, pupils will need to take a covid self-test on Thursday evening and bring the documentation of their negative result to school on Friday morning.

The Greek authorities have today, Tuesday 25^th January, extended the ongoing public holiday to include Wednesday 26^th January.

This directive, taken for safety precautions amid the extreme weather Greece has experienced in recent days, specifically states that all schools must remain closed, and that online learning cannot take place on Wednesday 26^th January. St. Lawrence College, along with all schools, must comply with this order.

For this reason, St. Lawrence College must remain closed on Wednesday 26^th January, and cannot operate online classes.

An announcement was made at 8.30pm on Monday 24^th January, that all work activity would stop across Attica on Tuesday 25^th January, as a consequence of the severe weather affecting the region.

This announcement specified that online learning as provided by all public and private schools also has to cease for Tuesday 25^th January.

For this reason, in line with all other schools in Attica, St. Lawrence College will not be operating online classes on Tuesday 25^th January.

Further communication will follow concerning operations on Wednesday 26^th when government authorities make their decisions (likely during Tuesday 25^th).

All schools in Attica have been ordered to remain closed on Monday 24^th and Tuesday 25^th January 2022. This directive, issued by the Greek authorities late on Sunday 23^rd January, also applies to St. Lawrence College.

Parents of pupils have been emailed with details on how their children will receive full lessons online through the Microsoft Teams platform. Headmaster Phil Holden commented “The familiarity with online learning that teachers and pupils have acquired through the experience of covid lockdowns allows us to meet these brief closures caused by extreme weather. I am confident that whatever the cause of a school closure, we can now meet our pupils’ needs online”. It remains to be seen whether the closure will be extended to Wednesday 26^th January and parents are asked to monitor their emails for updates as further announcements are made.

On Wednesdays, our Early Years tennis enthusiasts can take part in a lunchtime club we offer: Mini-tennis. The children may be small but it’s never too early to start learning how to control a ball with a lob over the net, to perfect your forehand smash or to serve an Ace!  

Well, they may be some way off that level of skills yet, but aren’t they having fun! 

No matter the weather, there's always something to put a smile on your face at St Lawrence College. What lies at the end of a rainbow – a pot of gold or a school full of happy children learning and living their best lives?! 

The start of the new year brings hope and positivity for the year we're embarking on, so we're collectively putting our best feet forward as we march on. 

December 2021, and 2B has had the busiest time learning this term – everything from taking a trip to the Goulandris Museum of Natural History to learn about conservation, to the Great Fire of London in History, to making money in maths at school! 

A super class assembly online to showcase the children’s learning of British history was a memorable event this December! The term would not be complete, of course, without a wonderful afternoon decorating their class Christmas tree with garlands, ornaments and plenty of tinsel! It was all happening in Ms Bitra’s Year 2 class! 

As we are all very aware, Christmas is a time of giving, and we are incredibly touched by the generosity of our families and the willingness of our pupils to help with charitable causes this Christmas season. For one, the Junior School Charity Ninjas have worked together with the Senior School Services Society to gather Christmas gifts for needy refugee children in Athens, and our wonderful Shoebox campaign enabled us to give hundreds of gift boxes to Ark of the World Metadrasi, Faros and the Soup Kitchen in Anavyssos which has been long supported by SLC.  

Furthermore, the charity Floga (Φλόγα), the Panhellenic Association of Parents of Children with Cancer, has been supported with a large donation as our pupils hosted a holiday sale with their items. This charity represents and supports thousands of families all over Greece and fights for better medical, psychological and social care of children suffering from cancer. 

We also supported Make A Wish Greece by having our pupils make a donation and write their heartfelt wishes on a star that we then hung on our branches of kindness. This well-known charity is one of the charities we donate to annually and has expressed its appreciation over the years.  

Another charitable effort was held with a Festive Jumper Day to raise money, as well as a raffle that offered a lusciously full gift basket brimming with all kinds of goodies as the prize. Both were successful enough for us to make a sizeable donation to Doctors of the World Medecins du Monde and Ark of the World. 

We thank all our generous, kind families for their efforts to help others through our combined efforts. Community is everything, as we certainly can see.  

On Friday 17th December 2021, St Lawrence College Junior School had an enjoyable Christmas carol concert with each year group singing uplifting Christmas carols and reciting seasonal poetry. Our music teacher, Ms Papalamprou, helped our pupils put on a super performance that showed just how delightful it is to perform and relish the joy of singing. Our school choir, with pupils from both the junior and senior schools, under the skilful guidance of Ms Romeos, sang beautifully too, raising spirits and putting everyone in a festive mood as we approach the holidays.  

Although friends and families could not join us for the actual show, it was videotaped and shared with our school community to enable us all to celebrate this most wonderful time of the year! 

Full video here

December is always a fun time at school and this month has been no exception. Our youngest cuties in Early Years classes have been baking all kinds of Christmas goodies to take home for their families, including cookies and cupcakes with chocolate, sprinkles and sweetness galore! 

Just looking at the concentration on their faces is enough to melt the heart, and listening to their chatter as they cook happily under the guidance of their caring teachers brings a smile to your face too. What a day! 

Representatives from the Hellenic Field Hockey Association visited our school between 6^th and 10^th December and pupils both in KS2 and KS3 were given the opportunity to play and be coached by these specialists. The students had a fantastic time learning with the experts and learned some awesome new skills. We hope this may spark interest in this sport amongst our pupils and we are looking to have a field hockey team in the near future so we can compete against other international schools in Athens. Watch this space!

Last month, Mr Karyofilis, Mr Courts, Harry, Dimitris, and Ali took part in the Movember challenge to  grow a moustache or idiosyncratic facial hair. Together we raised over 250 Euros for the Movember organisation which is an international charity that funds health projects targeting men's mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer. The organisation also challenges participants to get active and host events to raise money and awareness. For more information go to movember.com. To donate in our name, search for St. Lawrence College Athens.