On Thursday 23^rd February, Year 2 headed off to the House of Ceramic Art in Maroussi, Attiki for a spot of culture and learning. The children participated in an artistic day, making ceramics themselves using a potter's spinning wheel which was great fun. The results ranged from round and smooth to wobbly and wonky, but all the pupils thoroughly enjoyed the process and the feel of wet clay between their fingers. An excellent day out!

Throughout December, the Junior School hosted several fundraising events with all proceeds going towards several worthy charities. The Charity Ninjas contributed much of their time throughout the autumn term in particular, to create wonderful pictures that were then used in greetings cards and a 2023 school calendar. These were sold at the bazaar, along with the colourful Loom band bracelets the Ninjas had made. This bazaar, the sponsored Walkathon earlier in the term and other moments of charitable effort all added up to a commendable sum of €5962 in total being raised for some of our favourite charities. Their appreciation is expressed in the letters attached, and we heartily thank our generous pupils, families and friends for this combined effort.

On Friday 24^th February, the pupils and staff at SLC revelled in a carnival atmosphere with music, dancing and lots of fancy dress. There were all kinds of hilarious outfits on show and the school came to life with a wide range of characters from TV, movies and real life too. The Junior School parade was enjoyed by all those who took part as they high-fived their friends while showing off their outfits. What a lot of fun!

Between Friday the 17^th and Sunday the 19^th our girls over 16 Basketball team took part in an international basketball tournament hosted by ACS Athens. 4 teams took part, ACS Athens, AIS Bucharest, ACS Cobham and St. Lawrence College. 

On Friday our girls won both of their group stage games. On Saturday they lost their final group stage game but despite that managed to qualify to the final. In the final they faced ACS Cobham and won 47-38 achieving another 1^st place finish. Two girls from our school received the honour of being selected in the best starting 5 of the tournament. Those girls were Mar Segura and Eleftheria Arapoglou. 

ACS Athens hosted another basketball tournament for the boys over 16, on Wednesday the 22^nd of February. 6 teams took part which were divided in to two groups. 

In the first group stage game our boys defeated St. Catherines comfortably. In the second group stage game the boys faced host team ACS. After a very close game we won by 3 points and advanced to the final where we faced ISA. In the final our boys defeated ISA 55-41 bringing home the gold. 

A big congratulations to all boys and girls who took part and a special thank you to the coaches Ms Tzavella and Mr Karamatsios. 

On Friday 17^th February, the children of Years 4, 5 & 6 happily travelled back to school after hours for an evening of dancing at the disco. The pupils wore their coolest outfits and their glitziest trainers ready to strut their stuff across the dancefloor all night long. With pizza and juice to fill their bellies in the mid-way break, they were reinvigorated to carry on and tear up the dance floor until the lights were turned on at the end.

A fun-filled way indeed to kick off the weekend!

On Monday 13^th February, the FS1 & 2 classes from our Early Years section visited the Playmobil park in Kifissia. 

There, all the children thoroughly enjoyed playing with a variety of toys, including castles, animals, fire engines, hospitals and dragons. This fantasy play, which is essential in any young mind, reinforced their current topic of 'Make Believe’ and gave each child a valuable opportunity to express themselves in a fun setting. 

On 8^th February 2023, the children in our FS1 and FS2 classes had a wonderful day of make-believe. This term, their fascinating topic of learning has been based around stories and make-believe characters. They have explored their favourite fairy tales, where children have met all the story characters they could want to: heroes, heroines, princesses and princes. In their Book Character Day, the children came to school dressed up as one of their favorite characters from a book. They brought in the storybook associated with the character to share with their classmates and friends. It was a fun-filled, exciting day!

On Wednesday the 15^th of February 21 pupils from our school participated in a swimming tournament hosted by ACS. Three schools took part with a total of 110 participants.

Our school won an incredible 22 medals, 7 of which were gold, 10 silver and 5 bronze. In the medley relay our boys finished in first place and our girls finished in second place.

Congratulations to all swimmers and a special thank you to coach Pablo Antonakoglou for his excellent work with the team.

On Wednesday 15^th February 2023, our school hosted a mini-basketball tournament for a lot of very excited Year 6 pupils. Another five international schools from Athens took part (ACS, BYRON, CAMPION, ST. CATHERINE'S and DES). A total of one-hundred-and-sixty young basketball players participated and played in teams of three for a riveting two hours in a packed gymnasium. There was a real sense of unity and cooperation as well as friendly competition of course. Many parents and pupils cheered along for the players creating a great experience for all those who took part.

Our next basketball event will take place in March when this time it will be the turn of Year 5 pupils to revel in the electric atmosphere. Good luck to all!

St. Lawrence College opens and operates as normal on Thursday 9^th February. All school buses operate their usual schedules.

Due to a late decision from the Prefecture of East Attica, which has ordered schools in East Attica of a non-local character to close, our school will stay closed on Wednesday 8^th February.

Lessons continue online.

The Greek authorities have ordered nearly all school districts in East Attica to remain closed tomorrow, Tuesday 7^th February, due to the weather concerns. St. Lawrence College is in an area in which schools must stay closed for safety reasons. For this reason St. Lawrence College remains closed on Tuesday 7^th February and all lessons will be conducted online in the same way they took place on Monday 6^th February.

The Greek authorities have ordered schools across Attica to remain closed tomorrow, Monday 6^th February, for safety reasons given the current bad weather. This order applies to St. Lawrence College, and all British schools in Athens, as well as Greek schools.

Although our school remains closed, our pupils will have lessons online according to their normal timetable. Teachers will start lessons at their normal time and pupils are expected to be online, joining the lesson as scheduled in each class Team by the relevant teacher.

Further information, when known, will be shared through online channels and through emails to pupils’ parents.

On Wednesday the 1^st of February our boys and girls under 14 basketball teams took part in a school tournament hosted by Campion.

In the girl's tournament 4 schools took part. Our girls first faced St. Catherine's and won comfortably which meant they would face ISA in the finals. The girls beat ISA and won the tournament.

In the boy's tournament 6 schools took part. The boys faced ISA for their first match which they won. In a must win match against ACS to reach the final the boys won again. In the final, the boys faced and lost to St. Catherine's, ultimately finishing in 2^nd place.

Congratulations  to all participants for such great results and a special thank you to the coaches Mr Karamatsios and Ms Tzavella for their exceptional work with their respective teams.  

At the end of November, a group of 30 Year 11 pupils had the wonderful opportunity to visit the unique natural landmark of Meteora in Thessaly, Central Greece. This UNESCO World Heritage site was an ideal setting for plenty of outdoor activities, including hiking and rafting on the nearby Venetikos river. A visit to the local Natural History Museum also enabled pupils to experience the variegated flora and fauna of the area in an interactive and visually-stimulating way. A lot of fun was had by all and plenty of memories were made on this last school trip for the current Year 11s.