The work of Ioannis Kapodistrias was revived this year at our school celebration on Friday 22nd March to commemorate the anniversary of 25th March, and to celebrate the liberation of Greece.
Year 6 pupils reminded us of the important moments in history, as captured through the struggle of Kapodistrias to restore the Greek state and to organize education with strong foundations.

The school choir sang traditional songs and our pupils from both the junior and senior schools collaborated to present traditional Greek dances. We could not be more proud of our school community which upholds the Greek ethos and supports us in building the future whilst celebrating the past.

On Friday 15th March, we celebrated Carnival with a fun day of class parties, fancy dress, parading and dancing too. The sun shone kindly on us and allowed everyone to really enjoy the occasion with a smile. The children were exceptionally turned out as always with creative, colourful and clever costumes of all kinds. Teachers too got into the spirit and wore hilarious costumes that had their classes laughing along.

What a great start to a long weekend and the coming of Lent.

Enjoying books and reading stories from a very early age is crucial in the development of children. It helps with their ability to understand words, use their imagination and develop their speech, as well as being something they really enjoy.

Over the first half of this term our topic has been Favourite Fairy Tales, where children met a variety of different characters, heroes, princesses and princes. As our topic draws to an end, EYs classes held a Book Character Day on Friday 21st February.

On this day pupils came to school dressed up as one of their favourite characters and shared the story they were from. It was a delightful day of dress up with a purpose!

In celebration of the British Science Week this March, teachers organised a wide range of events including several lessons taught by senior school pupils to our junior school children. They were terrific and enjoyed by both the children-as-teachers and their pupils. Through lessons involving STEM activities with exciting physics topics, and exciting biology topics like Adaptation, the children were completely engaged in learning. Bravo to our budding teachers from Year 7!

On March 12th and 14th, our boys, and girls under 16 basketball teams took part in tournaments hosted by ACS.
Our boys won both of their group stage games against St.Catherines and ISA. In the final the boys once again won against Campion and received the 1st place trophy and gold medals for their incredible performance.
The girls also managed to advance to the final were in a close game they lost to ACS and finished in 2nd place out of 5 schools.
Well done for all the hard work that both teams put in during their training sessions and we are glad the results reflect their efforts. Finally, a big thank you to Mr Karamatsios and Ms Tzavella for their outstanding work with their respective teams!
 

Valentines was in the air on the evening of the Junior school disco in February. The children came along ready for a night of dancing, hugging and smiling! Years 4, 5 & 6 were really pleased to be together for the evening to dance and laugh with their friends. The dance competitions were taken very seriously too, with some super prize tickets up for grabs, and a lot of fun was had all round!

On Thursday, 8th February, our Year 3 and Year 4 pupils went on an outing to the Neos Akadimos Theatre in the centre of Athens. They were there to see the play “Magas” by Penelopi Delta, one of the greatest Greek writers. It tells the story of a small dog who, through comic episodes and adventurous twists, is confronted with truth and lies, right and wrong, and the value of friendship, having to decide to confront injustice together with the people he loves.

The children enjoyed the play very much and relished the experience of attending a live theatre performance. Learning inside and outside the classroom – it all counts!

On Friday 23rd February, 24 pupils of the senior school took part in the swimming tournament hosted by ACS. Ten international schools took part and only two of them were from Greece with a total of over 250 swimmers!
The tournament started early in the morning and finished late in the evening. After many hard-fought hours, several of our pupils managed to receive individual medals after placing in the top three. 
Those pupils were:
Varsity
•         A. Filippopoulos (2nd 50m Freestyle, 3rd 200m Freestyle)
•         K. Chachamopoulos (3rd 50m Freestyle)
•         A. Mylonas (1st 50m Breastroke)
•         E. Mylonas (3rd 100m Backstroke)
 Jr. Varsity
•         A. Ren (1st 200m Freestyle)
Furthermore, our school also performed extremely well as a team by placing on the podium in two different relay events which were:
4x50m Freestyle Mixed Relay Jr.
A.Ren, St. Chatzigiakoumis, J. Michaelides and C. Ricciardi
4x50m Medley Relay Varsity Boys
Ap. Filippopoulos, A. Mylonas, E. Mylonas, K. Chachamopoulos
Lastly, a big congratulations to all those who went and took part. Everyone contributed to creating an unforgettable atmosphere at the tournament, which was one for the ages.
 

We are delighted to share the incredible experience of our recent ski trip to Mt. Parnassos in Viotia, which took place on Thursday 8th and Friday 9th February. 61 enthusiastic pupils too part, accompanied by our dedicated staff members, and it was an adventure-packed trip filled with unforgettable moments.

The first day of our trip kicked off with excitement as all pupils participated in a 2-hour ski or snowboard lesson, tailored to their individual skill levels. Under the guidance of certified instructors from the ski school, our Year 8 pupils embraced the challenge and showed remarkable progress on the slopes. After an exciting day on the snow, our pupils had the chance to unwind and enjoy some leisure activities. Some chose to try ice-skating at an outdoor rink, while others relished the apres-ski life with hot chocolate and quality time chatting with friends, creating cherished memories that will last a lifetime.

On the second day, our pupils eagerly jumped back onto the snowy terrain, this time enjoying two additional lessons of 2 hours each. With determination and perseverance, many of them demonstrated remarkable improvement, demonstrating their newfound skills as confident skiers and snowboarders.

We are immensely proud of all our pupils for their exemplary behaviour and courage throughout the trip. From waking up bright and early at 6:30 am to ensuring all their equipment was organised and welcoming any challenge presented to them, they displayed commendable dedication and enthusiasm at every stage of this school trip.
A heartfelt thank you to all the pupils, staff, and parents for making this trip a resounding success.

Here's to many more exciting adventures ahead!

On the 13^th and 15^th of February, St Lawrence College Junior School hosted its annual Years 5 & 6 mini-basketball tournaments. Our pupils prepared for this event throughout their PE lessons this year and were full of excitement when the days of the tournament finally arrived. It was an achievement to host so many welcome visitors from other schools in Athens. Approximately 130 pupils from 5 schools took part in the year 5 tournament, whereas the year 6 tournament had 180 pupils from 7 different schools!

The tournaments focused on friendly competition, and everyone left a winner as there were smiles on the faces of all those who came and played.  

On Tuesday 13th February, our senior school Environmental Club embarked on a memorable excursion to the Hellenic Donkey Sanctuary in Koropi. This experience proved to be both captivating and enriching for our pupils. As they stepped foot into the sanctuary, they were greeted by a team of volunteers whose profound dedication to the welfare of the 23 resident donkeys was most impressive. St Lawrence College pupils really enjoyed being able to get up close with these adorable and charismatic creatures who simply lapped up all the attention they were given. Many of these animals bear the scars of a traumatic past and yet they enjoyed the care, attention and treats they were given by our Environmental Club members. Seeing this sanctuary firsthand served as a valuable reminder of our shared commitment to animal welfare and conservation.

In a heartwarming display of support, the Environmental Club proudly adopted Vasoula, the oldest donkey at the sanctuary. Welcome to the St Lawrence College community, Vasoula!

Our pupils in the junior school rugby club took part in friendly matches against Attica Springboks in Glyka Nera on Saturday 3rd of February.

Our young rugby players thoroughly enjoyed their touch rugby games, where they were able to display everything, they have learnt this term.

A big thank you for all the parents and supporters who were in attendance, as you made this day truly special for our team. Congratulations to all the pupils that took part and a special thank you to Mr Stephanou for his brilliant work with the rugby club.

Our over 16 boys’ basketball team took part in the annual tournament hosted by ACS on Saturday 3rd of February.

Our boys comfortably won their first two games against Byron and ISA and advanced to the semi-final. In the semi-final our team defeated St. Catherines advancing to the final against host team ACS. It was a bittersweet evening for our boys as they lost in the final after a very tiring day. Overall, our boys placed in 2nd out of six schools, a result that we are extremely proud of!
Congratulations to all the boys that represented our school and achieved such an amazing result. Thank you to all the parents and supporters in attendance. Lastly, a special thank you to Mr. Karamatsios for training and coaching the team this academic term.

On 29^th January, the Y4 French pupils of Ms Economou and Ms Torres celebrated La Chandeleur (Crêpe Day).

To make this day a success, three Y10 French pupils, Mando, Aleksandra and Amalia, delivered a presentation explaining one of France's most beloved celebrations La Chandeleur to our curious and enthusiastic Y4 French learners. The pupils enjoyed learning about the superstitions around the holiday as well as discovering and enjoying the tastiest French crêpe toppings - traditionally the classically simple lemon and sugar - before ordering a crepe, all in French, from our Y10 crêpe makers.

Next challenge for our pupils? Make crêpes at home with the recipe used for our ‘real French crêpes’!

On Thursday 25^th January, the Greek Department organised an outing to Katerina Vasilakou Theatre in the centre of Athens for our Year 5 and Year 6 pupils. The pupils watched the play “A child counts the stars” by Menelaos Loudemis, one of the greatest Greek writers and poets. The play presented the desire and the efforts of a poor child to be educated, and revealed timely messages such as acceptance of diversity, freedom of opinion, children's right to equal opportunity in education, etc. All our pupils enjoyed this play having enriched both their cultural and linguistic experience.