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!

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.

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! 

Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and Philosophy for Children (P4C)

At St. Lawrence College, we introduce both PSHE and P4C from the earliest opportunity.

In the Early Years, our youngest pupils begin to form new relationships while developing self-confidence, awareness, and independence. These foundations help them approach learning with assurance and growing autonomy. Throughout this stage, opportunities to build self-awareness and social skills are encouraged, preparing children for positive experiences throughout their schooling.

encouraging children to think deeply and critically

From the Early Years onwards, PSHE is taught weekly, with its values embedded across the wider curriculum. Lessons focus on themes such as family and relationships, health and well-being, safety, and citizenship. In this way, pupils are supported to develop the emotional and social skills that equip them for life both in and beyond the classroom.

P4C complements this process by encouraging children to think deeply and critically. It is an approach in which pupils learn to generate their own philosophical questions. Teachers — who have all received training in this area — act as facilitators, guiding children in their reasoning and questioning. Through an enquiry, based on structured dialogue, pupils learn to express their ideas clearly, to listen respectfully to others, and to respond thoughtfully within discussion.

At the end of the summer term in May and June 2021, a number of pupils who receive tuition from our experienced team of peripatetic music teachers sat for important music exams with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. And what an outstanding set of results they achieved! We wish the warmest congratulations to our pupils to our young pianists:  

• Mike Enyuan received Grade 6 Distinction 

• Xizhe Ji received Grade 6 Merit 

• Lawrence Papadakis received Grade 1 Merit 

• Julia Min received Grade 1 Distinction 

• Abby Su received Grade 5 Distinction 

• Leona Zhu received Grade 5 Merit 

And for our young guitarists too, we heartily congratulate them: 

• John Esther received Grade 5 Merit 

• Kimberly Wang received Grade 4 Pass 

Here we are at the start of an exciting new school year, the academic year 2021-2022. As St Lawrence College enters its forty-first year, the pupils have made a super start. They have come into school today with smiles on their faces and a spring in their step. The classes are calm and teachers are getting to know their children already. It’s an exciting time and we are all prepared for whatever we may face this year!

Here’s to a successful year ahead!

On consecutive Fridays, the 4th and 11th June, our senior and junior school drama clubs put on their wonderful performances. Both plays, 'The Lost Tribe of Arrendale’ and ‘The Spirit of the Jungle’ were versions of famous stories adapted by Dr Lindy McMullen, our drama club teacher.  Our pupils had managed to persevere through a lockdown with online rehearsals, then on our return to school it was all about preparing for each of the big nights. They did an outstanding job, performing like professional actors and making all their families and teachers proud of them. Well done to all who participated! 

Our youngest pupils in the Early Years department have been happily bouncing around since returning to school last month. Doesn’t it show on their faces? They reflected on a year of learning at school and at home with their teachers on a computer screen. As they realised, they may not have heard as much or seen as much as usual, but it was most definitely a year filled with LOVE! 

The little ones in Early Years are learning about ‘people who help us’ so took a close-up look at firefighters. The teachers took them around the school to look for fire extinguishers and identify school’s safety features. Following this, the children painted their own fire-red pictures with their hands and finally relaxed with a garden picnic in the shade. This third term since our return to school has been packed with fun! 

Congratulations to our pupils who participated with great success once again in the Panhellenic Forensics Tournament which, for the first time, was held online on 1 – 4 April.

St Lawrence participated in many events: Oral Interpretation, Monologue, Impromptu, Group Discussion and of course Debate. We had two finalists: Harry Courts (Comic Oral interpretation) and Dimitris Thodis (Impromptu Speaking), both Year 12. We also had three Honourable Mentions: Charlotte Galatis (Dramatic Oral Interpretation), Jason Spanoudis (Comic Monologue) and Lenora Kirkland (Comic Monologue), all Year 12 pupils. 15 schools and around 400 pupils from many parts of Greece were involved, making it a very successful tournament.

Many thanks to our teachers who helped by coaching and/or judging, Ms Stephanie Stafford (Head Coach and Judge), Mr Russell Courts (Debate Coach and Judge), Ms Argyri Kladouchou (Coach and Judge), Ms Peggy Iliadou (Coach and Judge), Ms Rania Kouvari (Judge) but also to SLC alumni who came back to help coach and judge: Stefanos Strzemiecki (Coach and Judge), Rosie Vorri (Coach), Achilleas Papadimitriou (Coach), Melina Spanoudi (Judge) and Arietta Valmas (Judge). 

On Thursday 4th March 2021, World Book Day brought fun and games to online learning. Despite not being face to face at school, the teachers and children enjoyed dressing up as their favourite book characters for all to see. There were some wonderful costumes and interesting interpretations of some well-known characters created by authors of the past and present. Everyone from Mulan to the Cat in the Hat, from Artemis Fowl to Gangsta Granny and even the Mad-Hatter as well as the Queen of Hearts made our lessons come to life today!

In the past month, St. Lawrence debaters have taken part in two online competitions. Two weeks ago, some of our senior debaters pitted their wits against the best in Greece at the Cambridge University Athens Schools Competition, and last weekend, 12 of our younger orators entered the International Competition for Young Debaters (ICYD), which was also organised this year by Cambridge University. All of them performed well in tough debates and received some valuable feedback from some experienced judges. Special mention to Kristian Narcessian who finished amongst the top 10 individual speakers in the ICYD competition. Also, many thanks to the teachers and ex-pupils who gave up time on the weekends to help judge.

On Friday 29th January, 'Book Character Day' was held here in our Early Years section of the Junior School. Our littlest pupils looked their cutest as they dressed up in some imaginative costumes for a fun Friday at school! They chose a range of their favourite story characters to represent including Little Red Riding Hood and even the Big bad Wolf! By bringing their favourite story to school, they were able to share the enjoyment with their classmates and teachers. What a lovely day!

During the weekend Friday 11th to Sunday 13th December, fourteen pupils from St. Lawrence College participated in the Costeas-Geitonas MUN Conference, following a long tradition of pupils from our school taking part in this event which is held every December. This year’s Conference was held online and, despite the challenges, our pupils were as excited as ever and participated with enthusiasm, dedication and commitment. Everyone is very proud of them, especially their teachers and their parents, as they sacrificed much free time preparing for the event as well as participating for long hours over the weekend, discussing important international issues with their fellow delegates from other schools. And they are already discussing their participation to the next MUN Conference! A special mention needs to be made of Eleni Kalendi, Joanna Sakkadas and Christina Beykou who held Chairing positions in the Legal Committee, the Environmental Commission and the International Court of Justice; positions of great responsibility and ones that required extra work from them even during the summer. And they held those positions like true ladies! This event seemed to prove once again that young people are the only hope we have for a better future!