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.

On Monday 23rd October Ms Treharne's and Ms Katsamba's Reception  classes went on a fun outing to Jumicar in Nea Makri, Attiki. The children had loads of fun learning all about a most essential life skill - road safety. They practised their knowledge of the ‘law-abiding’ highway code whilst riding mini battery-powered cars. Great fun!

They also got to enjoy a short mini-train ride and they observed a police dog following instructions from his trainer. To finish off and expend some of their energy, they all had fun on the bouncy castle and slide too. The teachers ended up taking back to school a weary but happy bunch of little ones. What a super day out that was!

It barely felt like the end of summer, let alone autumn, on the warm evening of Friday 20th October 2017 when the St Lawrence community put on its biggest bash of the year. Wizards, witches, ghosts and skeletons filled the school grounds and the smell of sizzling souvlaki enticed everyone to eat, drink and be merry! 

The night was the finale to a two-day celebration in the junior school which saw the return of the classic Spook House created to shock and thrill the children in traditional Halloween style! In addition to the treats, food and drink on offer, there were of course the fantastic pumpkins on display; they seem to get more creative and ambitious in design every year! 

The senior school also used the opportunity to support the charity Khora which helps refugees here in Athens, and the school council gave children the opportunity to throw wet sponges at some of the senior school pupils, all for a good cause!

When the pumpkin class prizes had been awarded and the music was finally turned off, the party came to an end, but what a success it was! Here's to next year!

On Tuesday 17th September, St Lawrence College participated in the over-16 girls football and boys volleyball tournaments, held at ACS Athens. Six international schools of Athens participated in total. A a few hard-fought games, our girls team took 3^rd place while our boys team lost in the semifinal and took 4^th place. Well done to all involved for their hard work and determination. 

On Tuesday, 17th October 2017, Year 4 children and their teachers visited the beautiful coastal park near Vravona, Attikis.To enhance their learning of the Geography syllabus, they took a leisurely stroll along the mudflats towards the estuary, studied the features of the area and its wildlife, and saw firsthand how the water cycle works.

They also visited the extraordinary, ancient ruins at the Temple of Artemis, exploring the site and learning about its history. Later, the children were given a guided tour of the Museum there, and were able to view many artefacts which had been found both on site and in the surrounding area.

It was an enjoyable and rewarding day for all.