On Wednesday 21^st November, Year 6 was the first junior school group to take an active trip to the Hellenic Cosmos Museum in Athens to participate in a really cool ‘live’ exhibition. With high tech features to bring ancient and modern Olympic sports to life, the children tried out a range of sporting events alongside some of the greatest names in sporting history. Tired but happy children returned to school with a smile, and it’s not long till years 4 and 5 have their turns too!

Every summer, for one month, St. Lawrence runs a highly successful, action-packed, fun-filled summer programme suited to children aged from three to fourteen. Yet again this year, SLC is the place to be as we are busy preparing a productive and enjoyable course of activities for your children in June and July.

As always, we wait with excited anticipation to welcome back old faces and meet new ones too. It is satisfying to renew old friendships and initiate new ones in such a positive, stimulating environment! We guarantee a special experience for our pupils, as we offer optimum learning and superb sports facilities on our spacious campus.

Here at St Lawrence College, there is everything on offer - from exceptional tuition in English language to sport, dance, chess, recycled art, 3D paper architecture art, robotics, yoga, field games, mini golf, roller skating, crafts and many more activities. This year we are also happy to introduce to our programme a Greek Philosophy, Drama and Dance class for ages 7+. Greek language is also offered to children aged 5-7.

Registration is now open and we look forward to seeing your child/children on 25th June at 9:00 a.m. for the start of an exciting summer.
Please contact the Registrar, Mrs. Emily Naoum, for further details, either by email or by phone at +30210 8917000

41 pupils in Year 8 went to Mt. Parnassos, the most well-developed ski centre in Greece, to enjoy a two-day ski trip last week. It was an action-packed adventure with pupils partaking in seven hours of ski or snowboard lessons with certified instructors. For some it was their first chance to have a go at learning these winter sports, whilst for others it was an opportunity to hone their skiing or snowboarding skills to a more advanced level. The pupils enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenery, fresh air and glorious weather. After hitting the slopes, they were able to enjoy some ice skating and there was plenty of opportunity to sample traditional local cuisine in mountain tavernas. Great fun was had by all and their huge smiles said it all!

Year 7 pupils had the chance to expand their sports activities on Tuesday 23rd May, by taking part in a Physical Education trip to the ‘Adventure Park’ at Malakasa. The activities included “flying routes", which are pathways from tree to tree the children must navigate using zip wires, rope bridges connecting some heights not for the faint hearted, and other exciting obstacles. The excursion was an excellent opportunity for children to put their physical fitness and dexterity to the test, in such a wonderful location with great weather. We look forward to going back soon!
 

The annual St Lawrence College Swimming Gala took place on Thursday 11th May in the beautiful Athens sunshine. After some tight races and some incredible victories, the results were as follows:

Attica: 630
Epirus: 980
Macedonia:1050

These points will be added to the Sports Day totals to decide the final scores at the end of the year.

We also have some new school records to add to our record book:

50 m freestyle year 8 girls: 35,62 Emily Valmas
50 m breaststroke year 8 boys: 37,82 Angelos Mylonas
50 m breast stroke year 8 girls  : 44,02 Katrina Lemane

Congratulations to everyone who took part and we look forward to seeing you all at the end of year celebrations where our house champions will be formally announced.

St Lawrence College welcomes families with children from two and a half years old to four years of age to drop in, stay and play at our Early Years Family Open Day on Friday 12th May between 10am and 1pm. Why not come along and meet other prospective pupils, parents and staff? Enjoy refreshments  while your young children participate in fun activities in our garden. Watch your children take part in creative arts activities and see what we can offer you and your children to support their first steps in active learning. Experience first-hand the British Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum in action with our senior leadership team & Early Years practitioners. You may take the opportunity to view our extensive campus and all its excellent facilities.
 
In addition, your children will participate in a physical development session with our professional instructors of games and sports including  mini-tennis, yoga and other games. Furthermore, your children will experience our mindful approach to Personal Social & Emotional Development through the use of the Jigsaw scheme for young children. Alongside this, they will listen and interact in a communication language & literacy session specially designed to help them in their interactions with others and you will see them engage in a hands-on numeracy lesson. 

A limited number of places are available, so please apply by Friday 5th May at the latest by sending an email to info@slc.gr stating the parent's name, the pupil's name and date of birth, and a phone number. Alternatively, contact our school office (210-8917000) for more information. We look forward to meeting you on our Open Day!

...was first an amateur," as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said. The St Lawrence Junior School Art Club has been underway since September encouraging the amateur in every child to come to fruition. It has a great collection of works to show for their efforts again this year. Our Lilliputian artists have been busy in this popular after school club creating their own mini masterpieces!

Paintbrushes have been at work making a slew  of new color combinations and creative designs. Newspapers and magazines have been combined, cut and stuck in unusual collages that seem to jump off the paper at you. Shaving cream has even become Santa Claus' beard! Sports themed paintings positively burst with energy!

What new ideas await our budding artists in the coming months? Watch this space!

On Monday 14 November St Lawrence College school hosted an under-16 volleyball tournament between 5 Athens international schools. After several exciting matches our school was crowned the winner, taking 1^st place after beating all 4 other competitors.

Meanwhile, at the American Community School, our boys were taking part in a football tournament, in which they managed 3^rd place out of 6 competing schools.

Our sports teams never fail to make us proud and we look forward to the next competition.

School would be a very dull place if all that ever happened there was classroom education.

At St. Lawrence College we recognise that learning can and does happen at all times and not just in the classroom. That’s why we encourage our pupils to develop interests and skills across the wide range of activities that are made available to them at lunchtimes and in the afternoons.

Activities available include extra sports activities such as swimming, football, basketball, volleyball, rugby and tennis and also drama, music, debate, forensics, Model United Nations, charity work, environmental work, chess, and even philosophy discussion.

Whether the activities a pupil chooses are competitive or not, whether they represent a new challenge or serve to strengthen a skill the pupil already possesses, they all help in the development of self-confidence, while providing an opportunity to make new friends across year groups and, above all, to have great fun!

Senior school education, experienced by pupils aged 11 to 18, in addition to being central to a child’s future should also be packed with learning, fun and self-discovery, taking place in a friendly and supportive environment.

The teachers and leaders of the St. Lawrence College senior school are therefore supremely aware of the immense importance of their role in ensuring the best possible educational journey for every child in our school.

...ensuring a rapid acclimatisation into a friendly learning environment...

Learning is vitally important and here at St. Lawrence College we recognise that learning takes place in a multitude of ways and is not restricted to academic tutoring aiming at formal educational qualifications. For this reason, pupils are encouraged to involve themselves and to enjoy activities as accessible and diverse as debating and forensics (public speaking), more than a dozen sports, charity work, environmental awareness and volunteer work, the International Award, drama, music, philosophy, chess as well as many others.

Academically, the senior school of St. Lawrence College follows the English national curriculum and so provides continuity for pupils joining from Year 6 of any British school, wherever that might be around the world. At St. Lawrence College we are also mindful of the fact that some pupils may have their first British school experience when joining our school during senior school. Every year we welcome new pupils into our school and we are well-practised in ensuring a rapid acclimatisation into a friendly learning environment, whatever the prior educational journey that the child has experienced.

At St. Lawrence College senior school classes follow the same stages as in the British education system.

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9) gives pupils enormous opportunity to develop skills of enquiry and communication across a range of subjects. It is a vitally important Key Stage as it introduces pupils who have left junior school to a system of subject-specialist teachers with learning across ten subjects and also guides them right through the selection of the IGCSEs they will study. Pupils discover a lot about themselves in Key Stage 3, including an analysis of how they learn as they start to develop the study skills that will be vital to them in later examination years.

Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11) represents the IGCSE stage of the school. Pupils study a range of subjects and are supported by intensive guidance and formative assessment, designed to show them how they can improve their performance. Our pupils produce, year after year, extremely high IGCSE results which they and we are very proud of.

Key Stage 5 (Years 12-13) covers the AS and A-Level examinations; the traditional and most widely used school-leaving academic qualification system in British education globally. Pupils are challenged rigorously and, with additional emphasis placed on guidance from their teachers and tutors, progress towards the development of powerful independent study skills alongside classwork and homework. These are essential skills to have in place in anticipation for higher education and undergraduate study for Bachelor degrees. Indeed, more than 80% of our pupils proceed to UK universities following their A-Levels, while others take up studies in the USA and elsewhere around the world. Anything is possible with A-Levels.

The real strength of the senior school at St. Lawrence College comes from the constant and high-quality guidance, support and pastoral care that our pupils enjoy. This is especially so at the sensitive transition stages between Key Stages and during the university application process. Pupils are counselled at every stage through a diligent and caring network of pastoral care which, combined with a pupil-centred approach and a safe, happy environment, really allows pupils to flourish as they take ownership of their learning. You will find more details about the great emphasis we put on these issues elsewhere in this website, but rest assured - senior school at St. Lawrence College combines fun with challenge, opportunity with awareness, and all against a backdrop of academic rigour and substantial learning.

Above all, it is the aim of the senior school to help our pupils get ready for the world – both for their own sake and also so that they become productive, thoughtful and caring citizens in the global society that awaits to be enriched by them.

Our pupils are our ambassadors and it is therefore essential that they convey the highest possible standards of behaviour and appearance.

All pupils attending St. Lawrence College, up to and including Year 11 must wear the prescribed school uniform when attending school, or when participating in a school-organised event outside normal school hours.

Our uniform policy and items succeed in:

• promoting a sense of pride in the school and in the pupils’ personal appearance
• engendering a sense of community and identifying pupils with the school
• supporting positive behaviour and discipline
• being comfortable, smart and practical for a day’s activities
• being flexible enough to be suitable whatever the season or climate
• preventing pupils from creating a distraction in class by coming to school in fashion-conscious clothing
• making pupils feel equal to their peers in terms of appearance
• taking into account health and safety
• providing good value for money by specifying clothing that is hardwearing enough for any pupil’s day

The school shop operating within the administration building provides a wide variety of uniform clothing items, i.e. shorts, trousers, sports bottoms, T-shirts, polo shirts, jumpers, sweatshirts, fleeces or hoodies and more.

Please refer to our Junior and Senior school policies for more specifics.

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.

School would be a very dull place if all that ever happened there was classroom education.

At St. Lawrence College we recognise that learning can and does happen at all times and not just in the classroom. That’s why we encourage our pupils to develop interests and skills across the wide range of activities that are made available to them at lunchtimes and in the afternoons.

Activities available include extra sports activities such as swimming, football, basketball, volleyball, rugby and tennis and also drama, music, debate, forensics, Model United Nations, charity work, environmental work, chess, and even philosophy discussion.

Whether the activities a pupil chooses are competitive or not, whether they represent a new challenge or serve to strengthen a skill the pupil already possesses, they all help in the development of self-confidence, while providing an opportunity to make new friends across year groups and, above all, to have great fun!