In these unprecedented times our school's Services Society managed to complete two projects during the first part of the Autumn term. All of us together, pupils, parents and teachers, continued our support for the Soup Kitchen in Anavyssos, a philanthropic organisation with whom we, as a school, have longstanding strong links, by providing them with much needed food items for their everyday operations. 

We have been supporting the unaccompanied refugee young teenage boys of FAROS for a few years now. Currently there are 22 young boys who have very little to occupy them in their spare time. The Services Society, assembled 22 back-pack bags for them, packed with items as varied as notebooks, pens, pencils and other school supplies, drawing items, small puzzles, cereal bars, toothpaste and toothbrushes, Dettol soaps and disinfectant gels. We also donated to the organisation that takes care of them books that both the English and the Greek Departments kindly offered. It is certainly with great pleasure that we gave these bags to the 22 boys, who have experienced tremendous struggles in their lives so far, something constructive to do in their free time.

Many thanks are offered to all of those involved in these projects from precious young volunteer helpers of the Services Society from the Junior School through to the oldest Year 13 pupils who have never refused to contribute and help.

On Tuesday 27th October, St Lawrence College exhibited a celebratory air with lots of Hallowe’en fun!  The children and teachers came to school dressed for the occasion  and had a day of active learning with an autumn theme! The family efforts with classic pumpkin carving were outstanding again with some breath-taking designs!  

As we head towards the end of June 2020, the children of the junior school are quietly unwinding and dreaming about the summer holidays ahead. The teachers are really happy to have had these few weeks back at school to reconnect with their classes and finish off the academic year with some semblance of normality. What a rollercoaster of a year it was! But when we can take the time to sit with our children in a shady spot, read a book or discuss a topic of interest in class, we realise the importance of just being together as a group and sharing the pleasure of each other's company. That's what school is about, after all. 

This week, our Year 8 pupils presented their projects on the topic of fast food.

The pupils’ research project on ‘How fast food affects health and the environment’, linked to the science department’s  unit on ‘food and digestion’, and gave the pupils the opportunity to explore various aspects of the topic in an open-ended manner. Thanks to their research on this unit, the pupils have been motivated to make positive decisions about their diets, as well as to take action and further and inform and educate our school community, through a poster presentation event.

The event took place on Monday13^th of January, with teachers and pupils from across the senior school visiting the Year 8 science class. During the poster presentation, the Year 8 pupils set their stations around the classroom and presented simultaneously, as their guests circulated and asked questions. They explained the controversies of the topic, described the conclusions and made proposals for the future, discussing their views.

There was definitely a real buzz around the room and our guests were impressed by the pupils’ presentation and debating skills. Several pupils expressed that the experience of researching the topic and what they had learnt through listening to pupils would encourage them to rethink their fast food consumption. Well done Year 8!

In the summer term of 2019, the junior school held a number of sports days with events ranging from flat races, circuits activities, high jumps and tug-of-war to swimming galas. Children, parents and teachers loved the excitement of these competitions as the pupils earned house points that contributed to the grand total. There were a plethora of new school records in many disciplines this year too, including freestyle and breaststroke swimming races as well as the high jump. 

The standard of athleticism just keeps on rising higher and higher! At the Annual Awards Ceremony, Macedonia won the Sports Cup this year, having proved that they had the edge over both Epirus and Attica teams. Onwards and upwards towards next year's competitions and events!

One more project undertaken by the St. Lawrence College Services Society this year was a quite feminine one! After the great success of the Shoebox Campaign coordinated by the Services Society at Christmas, a warm relationship has been established between the pupils of our school and the children of the FAROS charity organisation in the centre of Athens.

Before Easter the FAROS organisation opened a day centre for young women and girls, called ‘Horizon Girls’, with the aim to help unaccompanied refugee girls and young women getting back their confidence and aiming for a better life. In their centre, the girls have started learning Greek, English, the use of computers and knitting and sewing.

The Services Society, through a non-uniform day, managed to raise enough money for the purchase of three sewing machines which together with a lot of knitting and sewing material was donated to the FAROS educational and recreational centre for refugee teenage girls and young women, who were reportedly very excited and happy to receive these donations. A big thank you to all pupils, parents and teachers who helped once again so eminently and efficiently.

On Thursday 11th April 2019, another marvellous evening of entertainment was held at St Lawrence College. The hall was packed with children from Year 3 all the way up to our most senior pupils, along with their families and friends.

The children took us on a musical journey like you've never been on before with a wide range of classical and modern pieces sung and played by our exceptionally talented pupils. There was everything from Bach to original compositions as well as Musical greats like Never Enough from The Showman and a Queen compilation from the Senior Show Club! ​

Greek dancing created a celebratory atmosphere, the choir warmed our hearts and the performance poetry of our youngest participants brought a smile to every face.  What an amazing way to bring recognition to all our hard working children and their very dedicated teachers. Bravo to all!

On Thursday 11th and Friday 12th April, the Senior School and Junior School in turn headed off the the Stavros Niarchos Centre in Faliro to participate once again in the famous charity event, No Finish Line. Even though the weather was not on our side this year, the children still made a valiant effort to run as far as they could in the adverse conditions, knowing that every lap counts! 

Bravo to all the pupils and teachers who ran, walked or traipsed around the lake, for once again giving it all you've got for a good cause!

On the last day of this half term, Friday 8th March 2019, there was a wonderful carnival atmosphere as all the pupils and their teachers dressed up for a day of celebration and fun. With a parade around the playground for all to admire each other’s costumes, disco music blasting from the speakers across the playground and party foods including cupcakes, pizzas and all kinds of goodies, the children thoroughly enjoyed a day of special treats before the Bank Holiday weekend for ‘Clean Monday.’

The celebrations ahead of the long weekend for Greek Independence Day got off to a wonderful start in the Junior School at St Lawrence on Friday 22nd March. The pupils working together with the teachers in the Greek department put on a delightful and touching performance that told the story of the struggles of the Greek people in the fight for independence in 1821.

The children sang, danced and acted their way through a heartwarming performance that brought smiles and tears to their family and friends.What a way to bring history to life! Bravo everyone who participated!

On Wednesday 19th December 2018, the hall was filled with young children from our Early Years classes and their families who'd come along to see their unique take on the nativity story. There was laughter and smiles all around!

The Noisy Nativity was an entertaining tale about a group of teachers teaching their students what Christmas is really all about. They took them back to the time of the birth of baby Jesus...in a very noisy way! There was singing, clapping, stamping and playing musical instruments throughout. All the well-known nativity characters took part: Mary, Joseph, the angel, a donkey and other stable mates,the three kings, innkeepers and shepherds watching over their flocks! Well done to our youngest children for putting on such a wonderful Christmas production!

On Saturday 7^th October our school participated in the 10^th ‘Race for the Cure’ in the centre of Athens. The ‘Race’ is organised every year in many big cities around the world and Athens is one of them with the participation exceeding in numbers many of the corresponding events abroad. The aim of the occasion is to raise awareness to the fact that breast cancer can be cured if diagnosed early and therefore prevention through medical tests is now a possibility that can no longer be ignored. As we have for the past ten years, our school once again took part in the run and the walk with the pupils, parents and teachers of our school all being there in Zappeio on what was a sunny Sunday morning to declare our desire for a world with less pain and more hope.

On Thursday 13^th and Friday 14^th December, Father Christmas will be visiting St Lawrence College and meeting all the children of the Junior School in his grotto!The Christmas Elf will be accepting letters to Santa that the children have written with their teachers, offering treats and photographing the momentous visit.

This year, class teachers will be able to schedule a visit and take their classes to the Witch’s Den for a bit of atmosphere as they either read a book or watch a short film. Starting Monday 10^th October, EYS, KS1 and Y3 will schedule a visit. The second week, decorations will be spookier, so Y4 to Y6 will be scheduling their visits. There will be fun and treats for all to enjoy!

On Friday 2nd March 2018, St Lawrence College held its 2nd Annual Science Fair in the gym. It was a packed, buzzing affair with pupils, parents and teachers revelling in the amazing science experiments on show. 

What impressed the judges most was how well the children were able to explain their investigations and talk about the various elements of their work. Many children exhibited a true understanding of the scientific method and how to conduct a really effective investigation.

Well done to the pupils and of course their families who supported them in the execution of such excellent work. Congratulations not only to the winners but to all pupils who actively participated and made it such a successful occasion.