The pitter patter of little paws were audible in the Early Years section of the Junior School on Friday 27th January at another exciting pet day for our youngest pupils. The children were eager to touch their new found furry friends and they enthusiastically learned how to act sensibly in front of unfamiliar creatures.

Goldie the fish swam in circles - well what else does a fish do? Sarah the cat arched her back as she was gently stroked, and the dogs, Uma and Alvin, were happy to make friends as their wagging tails showed. A caring touch is indeed a welcome touch for man and beast alike!

Find out what it means to me! Well that's what the classes of KS2 were able to do on Friday, 27th January, when Ms Bondiotis' Year 3 class treated everyone to an entertaining performance about the need to respect other people. They took the audience of fellow pupils and family members through a scenario where the awful Mr Rude had to learn an important lesson about why it was so important to treat others as you'd want them to treat you. He changed his mind in the end, didn't he?

What a super job the class did of showing us the way to behave!

In this week’s Senior School assemblies, pupils had the opportunity to learn about the turtle conservation work undertaken by the NGO, Archelon over the last 30 years. Mrs Anthoula, the Archelon Education officer, spoke about the challenges that these Mediterranean sea creatures face. She told them about the importance of NGOs having volunteers and it was inspiring to see our older pupils’ eagerness to sign up to assist this charity in their free time. Also, Sadin Abdul Fattah presented Mrs Anthoula with 520 euros that our pupils and staff had raised by running 5km and 10km races on the day on the Athens marathon in November. These funds will help to contribute towards the rehabilitation and care of the injured sea turtles that currently reside in Glyfada.

Thursday 15th December was the day we said bye-bye to Kerri and Diane, two student teachers who have spent the last six weeks on their final teaching practice here with us. All the way from Taylor University, Indiana, USA, they came to share their ideas and experiences with us all.

Diane worked closely with all the children as a music teacher while Kerri enjoyed the company of a Year 6 class for her time here. Thank you both, girls, for everything. The children will miss you MADLY!

On Friday the Upper Sixth Geographers had the opportunity to go to ACS to hear Dr. Jane Goodall speak. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to hear about her life and work as a primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist and UN Messenger of Peace. She is considered to be one of the world’s foremost experts on chimpanzees and is best known for her 55 year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. She shared some of her experiences of living in the wild and spoke about the importance of conservation and environmental protection.

All the pupils were inspired by her and it was great for them to see how the biodiversity topic that they have been learning about in Geography lessons links to Dr. Jane Goodall’s real life experiences.   

We all know how the playground rhyme goes: Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me! Well Ms Siafakas' year 5 class showed us the other side of that saying though, when they explored the topic of exactly how hurtful words can be.

On Friday 9th December, 5S put on a super assembly all about the choices we make and the way we choose to use our words every day. With a series of scenes and some great songs too, the children taught us all just how incorrect the idea of words being harmless is. So they rewrote the verse to be more appropriate and to say: Sticks and stones may break my bones and names can really hurt me! Something for us all to remember!

The Christmas spirit was certainly in the air in the Early Years section of the Junior School on Friday 2nd December, as the little ones got their fingers, arms and elbows stuck right into the doughy mixtures on the table and cooked up a storm!

The flour was flying, the sugar was sifting and the children were chewing on all the sticky bits that got left behind on their fingers - not that they weren't washing their hands frequently and keeping themselves clean and hygienic! It was learning and having fun all in one easy to follow recipe!

Well done to the teachers who had their hands full of little bakers baking as well as trays of cookies and cakes galore!

Year 1 went to the fire station in Koropi to learn more about fire trucks as they had been learning about "Trucks" as part of their non-fiction unit in literacy. Our excited little children had an exhilarating ride in a fire truck which made them all smile! They certainly learned a lot about the job a brave and organised fire fighter does. As always, our annual trip to the fire station was really interesting and informative.

Year 2 enjoyed a visit to the Ilias Lalaounis Jewellery Museum near the Acropolis in Athens on Wednesday, 23rd November 2016. As part of their topic work in science this term, the pupils have been discussing Changes in Materials. They were awestruck watching how gold is melted and worked with using various techniques to produce intricately beautiful gold pieces of art.

A hands-on approach to the workman’s bench and tools; a look at semi-precious stones like amethyst and obsidian in their natural forms; as well as a video on fine gold techniques, all had the pupils mesmerized. They even tried on a large golden snake and ancient neck piece!

Pupils were then asked to produce a sketch of their own which may end up as the basis for “real jewellery” from the Lalaounis craftsmen. Wouldn't that be a treat to see!

On Wednesday, 2nd November, Year 6 enjoyed an active 'History Day' which was part of this term's 'Stone Age to Iron Age' course. In particular, it followed on from a lesson on cave paintings. Thus, the children walked around the school grounds and gathered twigs, leaves, berries, flowers, olives, soil, anything that could be of use for them to create their own 'cave paintings.' The children even created their own paintbrushes with the materials they collected and let their imaginations run wild, back to the Stone Age, producing some amazing results. It was an incredibly creative and fun day where children were allowed freedom to express themselves with Mother Nature's help!

On Monday, 17th October, Year 3 followed up on a term of interesting educational activities on the topic of Healthy Living, with an exciting trip to Pedopolis in Glyfada. They took part in a workshop entitled Exercise for a Healthy Body and focused on developing good lifetyle habits for a happy, healthy existence. Paying close attention to the needs of a healthy balanced diet was the lesson of the day as they investigated portion control and food groups in creating nutritious snacks.
 
In addition, the children were allowed the opportunity to experiment with a little exercise on the public open air gym right across the square from the venue. They pounded their feet on those step machines and stretched their legs with some vigorous walking. The endorphins were obviously flowing as the children returned to school with satisfied smiles and happy faces!

Ms Orfanogianni’s blog (Junior School, Year 4)

The St. Lawrence College Art Club: Creativity and Fun!

The Art Club meets one lunchtime per week and is open to all pupils and to all levels of ability. The only thing required is enthusiasm! Much of what is created by the Art Club is exhibited around the school or at our annual, extremely popular, Art Exhibition.

Activities within the club allow its members to use of a wide range of materials and introduce pupils to a variety of artistic techniques and applications, such as mural painting, which go beyond what is taught during Art lessons. Moreover, club activities help promote pupils’ visual and historical awareness in Art and Design, while enhancing their confidence through the development of projects which require initiative. They also aim to encourage friendships and help pupils practise social skills, through working with children from different year groups. Above all, the club encourages creativity both individually and also through group projects.

When the club meets, Art teachers are always on hand to help pupils who want to further develop their natural talent as well as to those who need more guidance on improving practical skills. They build on the skills already taught during lessons and help children to improve their knowledge and understanding of the subject.

The Art Club offers A-Level Art and Design pupils an opportunity to show their appreciation of the subject through the organisation of small seminars or presentations based on a topic of their choice, which they prepare themselves. It also gives those pupils who have not chosen Art in Key Stage 4 an opportunity to continue to stay in touch with the subject and exercise their creativity in a safe and nurturing environment.

The Club is informal, fun, therapeutic and instructive in its style and content, while practically contributing to our school environment by creating and displaying work which can be enjoyed by pupils, staff and visitors alike.

On 4th of October the Government and Politics Lower VI class traced the origins of democracy on a trip to the Athenian Ancient Agora with the help and guidance of Ms Kyriakopoulou from the Greek department.  Pupils participated in an educational programme on the public life in ancient Athens and took a virtual tour of the Classical Agora at the Hellenic Cosmos Foundation. They were particularly impressed by the Athenian democracy’s methods to protect itself from potential tyrants as the assembly could vote to expel them from the country for a period of ten years. The trip was a great success, and presented an excellent opportunity for students to reflect on the foundations of their learning. How lucky we are to be learning such a subject at the birthplace of modern democracy!

The St Lawrence College IGCSE Computer Science revision site. The site is aimed at year 10 and 11 pupils who have opted for Computer Science as an option and can be used to aid classwork, homework and revision.