On Saturday the 1^st of April, junior school members of our after-school Rugby club took part in friendly matches against Attica Springboks. Our young rugby players won both of their matches of touch Rugby. Children were overjoyed with their first ever Rugby competition and loved the competitive yet friendly atmosphere.

Thank you to all the parents who came along and enjoyed the games from the stands. A special thank you to the coach Mr Stefanos Stephanou for his excellent work with our young Rugby players not only this weekend but also throughout the year.

After two years of online Forensics tournaments, the competition was live again this year, bringing back the real feeling of Forensics to all participants.

The SLC Team participated with great enthusiasm as always. With 2 finalists and 1 honourable mention, we ranked 5^th out of 21 schools!

Our two finalists were: Zoe Courts, Year 10,(Oral Interpretation Comic) and Lydia Stephenson, Year 12, (Impromptu Speaking). Our Honourable Mention was the team president, Myrto Denediou, Year 13, (Oral Interpretation Comic).

Congratulations to all who participated, and many thanks to the teachers who were involved supporting the team, coaching them, judging and generally being part of this great, annual event: Ms Stafford, Mr Courts, Mr Strzemiecki, Ms Kladouchou, Ms Iliadou, Ms Torres.

On Thursday the 30^th of March our school hosted the annual under 14 boys and girls football tournament. Four schools took part for the boys with a total of 6 teams and three schools took part for the girls.

The boys were split into 2 groups. Group one consisted of St. Lawrence 1, St. Catherines and ACS 2^nd team. And in group 2 there was St. Lawrence (after school-club), ISA and ACS 1^st team. Our after-school club team faced ISA and ACS and unfortunately after losing both games they failed to qualify to the semi-finals. The St. Lawrence 1 team faced St. Catherines and lost after a close game. In the 2^nd game the boys faced ACS 2^nd team and won advancing to the semi-finals. In the semi-final our boys faced ISA. Despite going 2-0 up, ISA managed to turn the game around winning 3-4 after a very close game.

In the girl's tournament we faced ACS and St. Catherines. All girls on the team displayed an excellent amount of effort but unfortunately, they lost both of their games and did not qualify for the final.

For most of our young athletes this was their first ever school tournament. Despite not getting the results they hoped for, they all agreed that they loved the atmosphere of the tournament and look forward to more of these types of events.

Congratulations to the pupils that took part in the tournament. Thank you to all the parents who came and cheered for our teams. Finally, a special thank you to the coaches Mr Stefanos Strzemiecki and Mr Alex Styliatis.

On Tuesday 21^st March, the Early Years classes held a wonderful Pet Day with a friendly range of furry friends, and others too. The children’s experiences with animals were positive and productive, happening in a controlled, safe manner where both the children and the pets of families and friends that they met could enjoy the experience. Who knows if the goldfish were super excited, but the pups were certainly wagging their tails!

On Monday the 27^th of March St Lawrence College happily hosted the Annual 3 V 3 Basketball Tournament for the children of Year 5.  

Four schools took part (St. Lawrence College, St. Catherines, DES and Verita) with a total of 130 boys and girls! An incredible total of seventy seven mini matches took place. The success of the tournament could be seen on the smiles of all those participating and cheering from the stands. 

Well done to all the pupils for playing so keenly and displaying excellent sportsmanship in every match. A special thank you to all the parents and pupils who came along and cheered for their respective teams, helping to create a wonderful atmosphere. 

The pupils of Years 5 to 8 were treated to a hugely entertaining performance from a visiting choir on Thursday 23^rd March. The Yale Alley Cats may be their name, but they are anything other than wailing alley cats - they are an exceptionally talented acapella choir. Each of these accomplished of young men is currently studying at the prestigious Yale University in the USA, so clearly, they have more than one string to their bow. They are touring several cities and countries during their Spring Break, and we were lucky enough to have them visit us too. The pupils of St. Lawrence College sat in raptures listening to the wide range of songs and they were very entertained by humorous elements in the show as the choir added stand-up comedy to their list of merits.

Many thanks to The Yale Alley Cats (available on Spotify) for a most enjoyable experience here at school.

On Friday 24^th March, the community of St. Lawrence College took great pride in celebrating Greek Independence Day with a wonderful show in the gym. Staff, pupils and their families revelled in the warm, sincere atmosphere as the children from Years 5 & 6 acted, sang and danced their way through an hour of entertainment in honour of the heroes of 1821. They were joined on stage by dancers from the senior school who showed their skills traditionally dancing to some rousing tunes that had the pulse racing and the heart soaring.

A thoroughly enjoyable and much appreciated event signifying a welcome return to normality after years of restrictions in recent times. Bravo to all who contributed to this excellent occasion.

On the 9^th of March our U16 girls basketball team participated in a tournament hosted by ACS school.

Four schools took part in a round robin format. Our girls finished in 2^nd place with wins against St. Catherine’s and Campion and one loss against ACS.

On the 21^st of March our U16 boys basketball team took part in a tournament hosted by our school. Six schools took part in this tournament. The boys won both of their group stage games and advanced to the final. In the final after a close game they lost to ACS.

Congratulations to all the team members on their 2^nd place finishes and a special thank you to the coaches Ms Tzavella and Mr Karamatsios.

With great enthusiasm, our Junior School Robotics Teams entered the Panhellenic Educational Robotics Competition on Sunday 19th March. The theme was “How can we make our cities SMART?”

Year 6 pupils designed SMART traffic lights to improve city life! Their mantra? ‘We have decided to start the change that will improve the world – one step at a time, one traffic light at a time!’

Year 5 pupils designed SMART cities with underground roads, flying trains and green parks to relax in with safe play environments for children. They said, ‘World... a round of applause for an invention that will change the way our cities deal with waste. The BINBOT – a new garbage management system!’

The commitment these pupils showed as they strove for their team’s success was a credit to them! We are certainly looking forward to next year!

On Monday 20^th March, Year 5 visited the excellent science museum in Athens, Planet Physics. One word to describe our experience there: mind-blowing! Through a period of play, the children really got involved in fascinating scientific enquiry. Afterwards, there were demonstrations which focused more on the most recent topics in science: Magnetism and Sound. The children learnt about sound, how it travels, changes pitch and volume; they explored how magnets and magnetic fields create forces and how to create superconductors using liquid nitrogen. They recreated Galileo's famous gravity experiment of dropping different size spheres off the Tower of Pisa. It was all highly entertaining and as you can tell, the children's scientific curiosities were tantalised! 

On Friday 17^th March, St Lawrence Junior School held a wonderful Science Fair in the gym. In preparation for the event, the KS2 children had worked at home on projects of their own choice individually or in groups, to present a scientific investigation. The aim was to show-case their learning on a chosen subject and their grasp of the Scientific Method. The pupils made an outstanding effort to create and innovate, to deepen their understanding, and to handle themselves as mature learners during their interviews with the judges.

Their displays and demonstrations were entertaining as well as educational and reflected the wealth of learning that this science fair had brought about. Well done to all our enthusiastic participants – you put on a great show!

On Saturday 11^th March the IA Silver group departed school for their final expedition. The 6:00am start meant there were many bleary eyes and sleepy faces, especially amongst the Year 11s who had only just finished their mock examinations. The promise of a weekend hiking as well as a rocky ferry journey rapidly increased everyone’s energy levels. Once we had arrived pupils finalised their routes and had them checked, and then embarked on the day’s hike from Tinos town to Volax.  The pupils battled high wind speeds and variable weather as the steep slopes tested their fitness and navigation skills, especially the ascent up to Exomvourgo. However, on arrival to the camp the weather settled and pupils were able to enjoy a beautiful sunset over the boulder fields of Volax (see photo!). The next day involved returning to Tinos town via a different route, with the charming Cycladic-style villages of Falatados, Mountados, and Karia all taken in as well as stunning panoramic views of Mykonos, Delos, and Syros in the distance. Well done to everyone involved for such a mature and diligent attitude!

Make sure you watch the video!

From Monday 6^th March till Friday, the Junior School library was filled to the brim more than ever, with a huge array of reading books and material to inspire a generation of bookworms. Kidzbooks held a book sale for our families to make the most of, with delighted pupils rushing there at every opportunity. Usborne books, known for the colourful, imaginative content and the quality of the paperbacks and hardbacks they produce, were snapped up by our enthusiastic readers from EYs to Y6!

Keep reading and feeding your brains with top quality words, everyone!

The Charity Ninjas Club of St Lawrence College Junior School have continued their super efforts to raise money for charity throughout this term. They organised a wonderful bake sale on Tuesday 21^st February with our generous families from all classes donating all kinds of home baked and shop bought sweets & treats. Pupils right from Early Years through to Year 6 queued up in delight to buy all that they could – the sugar rush was real!

On Wednesday 8^th March, they proudly presented a cheque for €3000 to Mrs Mavrikou from Doctors of the World who visited our school to give her thanks to the children. Ms Diplas’ club look as pleased as punch with themselves and rightly so. Bravo, children, and thank you to our wider school community for their continued support in these worthy endeavours.

Lights, Camera, Action!

 On Monday 20^th February, Year 3 & 4 pupils visited Cinemax 1&2 in Kifissia to view a selection of short films; an important part of the Athens International Children’s Film Festival. This educational initiative was promoting film and media literacy, making films accessible to young people and allowing them to analyse and critically engage with the media. After the thought-provoking screenings, an open discussion allowed our pupils to share their ideas. What an interesting and enjoyable school day with a difference!