Between 6^th and 10^th June, Year 6 groups were taken on a trip to Milias Camps in Central Greece for an exciting few days of fun activities and group events. The teachers and pupils were treated to a range of things to do that included swimming, hiking up a hillside to an ancient castle ruin, walking an artistic river trail at Pavliani, learning archery, mountain biking and technical wall climbing too. The cabins were buzzing with the voices of excited children and the canteen meals were wolfed down by the children who worked up an appetite with all their non-stop activities and exercise! Take a look at the photos which show just how much they experienced at camp.

What a night was had! The pupils of Year 6 along with their happy teachers and other members of staff in St Lawrence College junior school trotted along to the Efilena Estate for our official graduation event – the Year 6 Formal Dance. The children were treated to an evening of fun and dancing with a super graduation photo booth to make memorable moments that last. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming with the DJ playing tunes that kept the kids on their feet right up till the end!

On Sunday 28^th May, at the Peace & Friendship Stadium, the municipality of Piraeus held a competition titled FIRST® LEGO® League Festival. Our team of budding Lego and Robotics experts from the junior school represented St Lawrence College and made us very proud. The pupils had endeavoured to create eye-catching Lego constructions and to control them robotically with focus and determination.

FIRST® LEGO® League introduces science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to children ages 4-16* through fun, exciting hands-on learning. Participants gain real-world problem-solving experience through a guided, global robotics program, helping today's pupils and teachers build a better future together.

They did very well and are sure to go on next year and achieve even more! Well done, children!

After two years of online Forensics tournaments, the competition was live again this year, bringing back the real feeling of Forensics to all participants.

The SLC Team participated with great enthusiasm as always. With 2 finalists and 1 honourable mention, we ranked 5^th out of 21 schools!

Our two finalists were: Zoe Courts, Year 10,(Oral Interpretation Comic) and Lydia Stephenson, Year 12, (Impromptu Speaking). Our Honourable Mention was the team president, Myrto Denediou, Year 13, (Oral Interpretation Comic).

Congratulations to all who participated, and many thanks to the teachers who were involved supporting the team, coaching them, judging and generally being part of this great, annual event: Ms Stafford, Mr Courts, Mr Strzemiecki, Ms Kladouchou, Ms Iliadou, Ms Torres.

The Greek authorities have ordered schools across Attica to remain closed tomorrow, Monday 6^th February, for safety reasons given the current bad weather. This order applies to St. Lawrence College, and all British schools in Athens, as well as Greek schools.

Although our school remains closed, our pupils will have lessons online according to their normal timetable. Teachers will start lessons at their normal time and pupils are expected to be online, joining the lesson as scheduled in each class Team by the relevant teacher.

Further information, when known, will be shared through online channels and through emails to pupils’ parents.

On Friday, 16^th December, we held our traditional Annual Christmas Carol Concert at the Cataleya Venue in Anemon Street. The pupils from Years 1 to 6 as well as the members of our choir club, the talented and tuneful St. Lawrence Singers, sang to a delighted audience of families and friends. Our music teachers and other willing volunteers provided musical accompaniments. The holiday spirit was alive and well!

During the third week of November, the junior school hosted a book exhibition with Kidzbooks, a company which has the greatest selection of English children's books in Greece. Teachers took their pupils along and helped them decide from the huge array of titles available, which books they would best enjoy. We thank Ms. Xilas from Kidzbooks for her continuous support through her generous donations to our school library.

On Friday, 18^th November, we ended the week in the best way possible for our Year 5 and 6 children: we held a disco at the gym where the children danced their socks off! The outfits were the coolest, the dance moves were the grooviest, and the ‘toons’ played by DJ OK were enough to keep everyone on the dance floor all night long, including the teachers.

Pizza and juice gave everybody enough energy to carry on till the lights went on and parents collected their exhausted but happy offspring. Fun times indeed!

On Sunday 2^nd October, the annual race against breast cancer, The RACE for the CURE, took place in Zappeio, in the centre of Athens. As we do every year since this event first took place back in 2012, our school pupils, parents and teachers participated in the organised 2km walk and 5km run. The aim of this event is to raise awareness on the prevention of Breast Cancer through annual monitoring, and the money raised is used by the Panhellenic Society of Women with Breast Cancer, “ALMA ZOIS”, to support women who have or had breast cancer all around the country.

This event, which is a great celebration of life in the face of a serious disease, and is organised in many cities of the world, is the first event organised by our school’s Services Society every year and all the members are proud for encouraging and enabling our participation in an important and worthwhile cause like this.  Well done to all of those who took part in the hope that no more lives will be lost from this disease!

Seven of our pupils have participated in an MUN Conference held over the 8^th-9^th October weekend. The event was held at Campion School and our school was selected to represent the delegates of France throughout the conference.

This was the first Conference held in-person after two years of online Conferences due to Covid-19 measures. And although our MUN Club members participated with dedication and enjoyed the online Conferences, there is no comparison to the atmosphere, the interaction, the friendships and the bonds made during a live, in-person Model United Nations conference. Their smiles over the two days of the event said it all! As teachers we are very proud of our young generation of future leaders of the world and congratulate all those who participated.

Additionally, Lydia Marie Stephenson was voted the Best Delegate in the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Committee while Kimberly Wang was voted Best Delegate of ECOSOC, the Economic and Social Council.

Further MUN Conferences are scheduled for later in the school year and our pupils are already looking ahead to those. All senior school pupils are invited to get involved and should see Ms Kladouchou or Ms Tsirigoti for further information.

This year’s competition was themed ‘Summer’ and many entries were received, being submitted by pupils from across all year groups. The teachers of the Art department judged the contest, and while it was a close call, all judges agreed on the winners from the Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 categories.

Photographs were judged on technical skill, artistry, and the overall effectiveness in conveying the theme. In Key Stage 3, the winner was Alexandros Roberts Taoufik with an impressive photograph of a summer storm; in Key Stage 4, Martina Cugat Gregoriadis’ photo of a sleeping cat with the sea was judged the best, and in Key Stage 5 Monica Colombo’s image of octopuses on a Greek harbourside captured the essence of a Greek summer.

All photographs that were submitted are soon to be displayed in school, providing a welcome reminder of summer as the autumn draws on.

On the last day of the summer term, Year 5 donned their swimsuits and happily headed off for the Aquapolis Water Park in Spata for a day of fun in the sun. The children were thrilled by the prospect of one whole school day of water play and could barely contain their excitement. The teachers remarked how well organised it was and how easily the children could be kept safe but hugely entertained by their surroundings. The sun shone, the water sparkled, and the children laughed. A great way to finish up the year!

Here at St Lawrence College, the Queen's Platinum Jubilee was celebrated with fun events to mark this important occasion. Assemblies were held to ensure all our pupils from far and wide understood the significance and meaning of the events, and teachers created a variety of lessons and activities to involve the children in a way that gave relevance. We held our very own street party picnic on Friday and played outdoor games; furthermore, we hosted soldiers from the Royal Welsh Regiment, who gave an amazing drumming display to the delight of our pupils! What an amazing week it was! 

Long live the Queen! 

During the Spring term, Ms Good invited pupils to ‘tea’ as a way of showing her appreciation for their wonderful, simple contributions to everyday life at school. Teachers nominated that special someone in their class for the treat – the pupil who never has to be asked twice to take out their books, the pupil who unfailingly responds with good manners, the pupil who shows a willingness to participate in whatever the lesson may be and always tries their best to improve. These personality traits matter here at our school and often it's the quiet child who exhibits them day after day, so what better way to say thank you than giving them a chance to show off their books and have a relaxing chat in Ms Good's office.

Greek Independence Day is a national holiday celebrated annually to commemorate the start of the War of Greek Independence in 1821. We commemorated this important occasion with our own assembly featuring pupils in our junior school working alongside teachers to present an array of performances to the school. This year, pupils in years 3, 4, 5 & 6 recited poetry, sang traditional songs with some pupils participating in traditional dances too along with some of our wonderful senior school girls. The performances were excellent all round!