We will be holding the first of this year’s careers mornings for KS4 & 5 (Years 10 – 13) on Monday morning 8: 50am – 10:10 am. The visiting speakers are our ex-pupil Kareen Naiman (nee Kareen Pong) a charity worker, Mr Andreas Persidis who founded a biotech company and  Mr Stavros Halkias who runs a games company. 

The pupils of years 4, 5 & 6 were burning up a serious fever, DISCO fever nonetheless, on Friday 24th November 2017. They had a blast, it has to be said! The dancing was frenetic, and when THE HAT was placed on their heads, boy did they go for it! They were searching out the spotlight to show off their talent and enthusiasm for getting down to the music. 

Of course as usual, the pizza, juices and litres of water were consumed with as much gusto as the music, so all in all it was undeniably a success. Well done to all the children and teachers who participated so enthusiastically and kicked off the weekend to a roaring start!

In the true spirit of Thanksgiving, the children in Early Years had a wonderful celebratory feast on Thursday 23rd November 2017 to mark this special holiday. They learned all about the pilgrims, the Mayflower, and they even donned bonnets and hats in the traditional style. 

When asked about why it was important to share their food around a big table, one happy little voice piped up, "We want to give food to our friends like this!" Yes indeed, sharing with friends is very important. And fun too by the looks of it!

On Wednesday 22nd November 2017 Year 4 had a special visitor, Mrs Navarro, who came to talk to them about her specialist subject, the Maya civilisation. This was a valuable visit to enhance the children's understanding of a topic studied in History.

Teachers and pupils were fascinated by her interesting and insightful presentation which made clear her in-depth knowledge of this subject. Everyone found it both informative and enjoyable, a fact that was reflected in the many questions put to her. The children's curiosity was piqued, and she taught them many amazing facts about this great civilisation.

Many thanks to Ms Navarro!

On Monday 20th November the Foundation Stage One & Two classes donned their wellington boots and visited the Cultural Park in Keratea to participate in an educational programme called 'At the Olive Press'.

The children travelled around the muddy olive groves on the wooden train which excited them greatly. 'This is the best place, EVER!' three-year-old Rasha exclaimed as they trundled around the farm.

The children worked as a team to collect olives and take them to the olive press where they witnessed the process of pressing the olives and observed the olive oil running into traditional ceramic pots.They learned how olive oil could be used to make soap and watched how olives are produced for eating at the table. 

The children made olive bread which was baked in a wood-fired oven. What a lovely trip to the countryside!

On Wednesday 15th November 2017, Year 5 had the opportunity to visit an Egyptian exhibit at the Archaeological Museum in the centre of Athens. Led by a tour guide with plenty of expertise in this area, they experienced first-hand, hundreds of artifacts from Ancient Egyptian times. 

The highlight of the trip was the amazement of the students when they saw a sarcophagus with a real mummy still inside! Their imaginations ran wild, I can tell you, and they were fascinated! Let's just be thankful it didn't wake up! 

On Wednesday 15th November 2017, Year 5 pupils who follow Ancient Greek History this year visited the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. They toured the Prehistoric Collections  of the Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean eras. They followed an educational programme on the main characteristics of these civilisations in Greece focusing on architecture, weaponry, pottery, sculpture, wall-paintings, jewellery and burial customs. The visit was concluded with a view of artefacts from the Geometric and Archaic periods. 

The children appreciated the opportunity to take their learning out of the classroom where they could see first hand, real artefacts from the past. A worthwhile visit indeed!

49 pupils, from Years 7,8 and 9, will enjoy an after school trip on Friday, 15th December at Megaro Mousikis in Athens. They will have the opportunity to see "Shadowland" performed by the New York Pilobolus theatre company. The show will commence at 5pm and will last 1 hour and 30 minutes. 

It combines multimedia, projected shadow play and front of screen choreography. This is the first shadow theatre event of its kind to tour the globe and it has already been watched by more than a million people in 32 countries. Indeed, before Pilobolus come to Athens it will be in Argentina and then is off to China. 

Parent - Teacher meeting, Years 7-13, 3.30 p.m. - 6.00 p.m.

Parent - Teacher meeting, Years 1-6, 3:30 p.m. - 6.00 p.m.

Year 10 Geography pupils went to Viotia, in central Greece, for a two day trip last week to gather data for their IGCSE coursework. On Mt. Parnassos they investigated the impact skiing is having on the soil and vegetation. In the stunning town of Arachova they evaluated the effect of tourism on the environment by conducting litter, traffic and environmental quality surveys. They interviewed locals to ask them about whether the town has changed economically and socially/culturally due to it being a tourist honeypot.

After gathering information for their projects, the pupils then enjoyed a guided tour of the ancient Delphi site and the museum. Moreover, they spent an afternoon by the sea in beautiful Galaxidi. All the pupils were enthusiastic about having the opportunity to do their tourism research in the field. As well as learning, much fun was had by all!

More than 51,000 runners, from some 100 countries, took part in the Athens Marathon races this weekend and St. Lawrence College was represented as always! We had an enthusiastic group of teachers and pupils taking part in the 5km and 10km races. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the sporting events and the atmosphere throughout the city centre was electric. Finishing in the Panathinaikon Stadium was a truly memorable experience for all involved. Next year we are hoping to enter an even bigger team….so great training if you're interested!  

Some pupils in Years 7-9 enjoyed a wonderful evening in central Athens on Friday. First, they visited ‘Van Gogh Alive – The Experience’ at Megaro Mousikis. This is no ordinary art exhibition; our pupils found themselves interacting with art in ways they never imagined. From start to finish they were surrounded by a powerful and vibrant symphony of light, colour and sound that brought Van Gogh’s masterpieces to life as they walked right into the paintings. The exhibition provided an unforgettable multi-sensory experience!

From Megaro Mousikis the pupils headed to the National Observatory of Athens, on the Hill of the Nymphs overlooking the Parthenon and the lights of the city. Inside the beautiful Sinas building pupils learnt how this site has been used for astronomical observations since the 5^th century BC. Pupils had the opportunity to examine the first optical telescopes of Greece, including the original telescope used by Juilius Schmidt to draw the most accurate map of the moon during that period as well as the meridian refracting telescope, which was used up until 1964 to measure the transit times of stars across the local Athens meridian to calculate the official time of Greece. However, the highlight of the observatory tour for the pupils was when they got to use the 5m Doridis telescope to observe a star 25 light years away.

On Monday 6^th November our school hosted the over 16 girls volleyball tournament. Six schools participated and St Lawrence College took 1^st place, winning all games 2-0.

Our amazing team didn’t lose a single set and beat ACS in the final 2-0. Our captain, Raphaella Lepenioti, led the team in this triumph with an outstanding performance !

Amazing work!

In an annual tradition of remembering the sacrifices and courage of those before us, St Lawrence College had a number of memorable events to mark the national day of remembrance in Greece - 28th October.

Under the guidance of Ms Tsirigoti and the Greek department, the children of Years 5 and 6 in the Junior School performed a beautiful piece which saw them show empathy and understanding of the great hardship and suffering that the people of Greece endured during the harsh war years. 

Over in the senior school, the national day was celebrated with a play presented by pupils of Years 8-11, members of the Greek Drama Club. The play was a dramatized adaptation of the second part of the Alki Zei’s novel Petros’ War on the topic of the Nazi Occupation in Greece and the changes in people’s lives. At the same time, a PowerPoint presentation showed images, audio and video extracts from that time.

Very well done to the children and staff who gave us every reason to feel proud of their heartfelt performance.