Mini Basketball Interschool Tournament Years 5 & 6, boys and girls, hosted at SLC

On the last day of the term, on Thursday 21st December 2017, most classes held their Christmas parties at school. Year 6 teachers and children though  held their end-of-year celebration at Blanos Bowling in Glyfada. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves with a day's fun which included bowling, roller-blading and trampolining. The party atmosphere was accentuated by the chance the children had to share food, drinks and treats around with their friends. 

When it was time to leave, the children didn't want to of course! Well that's the sign of a successful outing by anyone's measure, isn't it!

Christmas is the time of giving and sharing! What better time could there be to show our care for people less fortunate than us than this time of the year! Once again the spirit of Christmas shone in our school and the pupils and teachers of the Services Society are very happy to thank all of their classmates and all of the parents who helped with the collection of basic toiletries, clothes and school supplies for the Saronicos Young Volunteers Group. Our school has a long tradition of assisting the Soup Kitchen in Anavyssos which is part of this group, especially at Christmas time, and our donations and contributions are always appreciated. The young girls and boys of Anavyssos showed their appreciation by a nice message of gratitude and by offering to us a special “box of gratitude” made by them inside which our pupils can collect little notes of things they are grateful for and this information can later be exchanged between them. What a lovely idea to remember from time to time that there is always something to be grateful for! And what better way of finishing the year but by the giving of practical things for everyday needs and, above all, giving of love and showing of care. Well done and a big thank you to parents, pupils and teachers!

Mr Holden took time out from his busy schedule as Headmaster yesterday to do a bit of impromptu juggling tuition. Pupils from all year groups, and even some teachers, got involved in the juggling lessons which took place at lunch time. After a bit of fumbling and a few spillages, people were starting to get the hang of it, but perhaps not quite reaching the party-trick levels of the Headmaster. 

An excellent, fun way to close a very enjoyable first term. We look forward to seeing the fruits of the session in next year’s Christmas talent show

On Saturday 16th December, the St Lawrence College Junior rugby team comprising of pupils from years 5, 6 & 7 played two games of seven-a-side against the club Attica Springboks at Glyka Nera Municipal Stadium in East Attica. In the first match our boys powered their way to a victory score of 30-15 but in the second match we were narrowly defeated to the score of 25-30.
   
Both games were played strongly with a very respectable number of tries and some brave tackling. Even the new team members got to experience a real taste of the sport at a competitive level, which is no mean feat! Well done boys, with the guidance of your super coach Giannis Rizos you're sure to go far.  

Year 7 pupils thoroughly enjoyed their recent excursion to the centre of Athens. In surprisingly warm December sunshine they climbed the 150m high Acropolis to visit the ancient citadel above the city, including the Parthenon. The guide told them about the ancient Greek civilisation and informed them about the history of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. They were also given the opportunity to take in the panoramic views over the modern city.   

Then the pupils enjoyed a guided tour of the Acropolis museum. They saw finds from the sanctuaries on the slopes of the Acropolis, as well as objects that Athenians used in everyday life from all historic periods. They walked amongst the statues from 7 B.C. to the Persian wars. Moreover, they visited the Parthenon gallery to learn about the construction, inscriptions and cultural decorations of the architecture at this world-famous site.

Pupils certainly were able to enjoy the day out and they learnt plenty about the history of the city in which we live. An interesting time was had by all! 

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, St. Lawrence was visited by Marialena Kalyva-Dragazi, a clinical psychologist who specialises in family therapy and working with young people. On Monday morning she spoke to parents on the topic of Internet and Gaming Addiction, a subject which is a very real issue in many households. The seminar was very well-received by a packed room of parents who stayed for a long time afterwards to ask questions and receive practical advice.

The rest of Monday and Tuesday was spent with pupils, as Ms Kalyva-Dragazi worked with Years 9-13, talking to them about mental well-being and ways of coping with stress, both positive and negative. Pupils were given useful strategies on how to live happier lives and also had the opportunity to talk in more detail and more personally about some of the issues raised.

During the weekend of the 8^{th -} 10^th December, seven pupils from our school took part in the 12^th Costeas-Geitonas Model United Nations (MUN) which this year had as its main theme ‘The Rise of Populism’. Our pupils acted as delegates of Turkey and the Republic of Korea in the Human Rights Committee, the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee, the Environmental Committee, the Disarmament Committee, the Economic and Social Council and the Special Conference on the Rise of Populism.

They discussed and debated topics as diverse as addressing the risks of cyber-terrorism, enhancing humanitarian assistance in times of conflict, ensuring access to healthcare for migrant populations, analysing the rise of populism as a threat to human rights or finding measures to counter hate speech.

MUN participation is very popular in our school and although this year only seven pupils took part, they were the most dedicated pupils to MUN ever attending, with one of them taking part on crutches and very bravely climbing up the many steps of Costeas-Geitonas school! As always our pupils made a noticeable presence in their Committees, with one of them being voted the best delegate of the Special Conference. The dedication of all our participants is remarkable since, as they describe it, they enjoy meeting other young people and learning a lot about world affairs through serious discussions on contemporary problems; and this became even more apparent in the way they have already started to prepare themselves for their next conference. Well done to all!

On Thursday 7th December, in order to enhance the children's learning and to make the most of the festive season, Year 3 visited Paradise Park in Acharnes. The children had a whale of a time decorating Christmas shortbread biscuits with melted chocolate and sprinkles. They  took part in tremendously fun activities which included a ride on a horse drawn cart with Santa, built an obstacle course and played lots of group games too.

"This is the best day EVER!" exclaimed one excited pupil. We have to agree it certainly looks like they had a lot of fun!

The half term holiday saw a group of sixth-formers travel to Krakow in Poland. The highlight of the trip was, of course, the visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau where over 1 million people were murdered during the Holocaust. Despite the awful weather conditions it was an interesting and moving day during which the group spent 3 hours at Auschwitz, the site of the prison camp, before traveling to take in the unique atmosphere of Birkenau with its iconic railway, guard tower and wooden barracks.

As well as visiting the camp there was an interesting trip to the Wielszka salt mine, as well as many hours investigating the beautiful city of Krakow and its museums. Another highlight was the visit to the Jewish quarter and Jewish museum where Mrs. Monika Goldwasser told the fascinating story of how she survived the liquidation of the ghetto when her parents smuggled her into a local convent from where she was adopted.

Counselling psychologist Marialena Kalyva Dragazi will be talking to parents, and taking questions, on the subject of “Internet and Gaming Addiction”. The presentation will be in English and will take place in senior school. Parents who are attending should make their way to the senior school reception area from where they will be directed to the room hosting the presentation. 
The problem of children suffering addictions to the internet and online gaming is a concern for many parents, I know, and so I ask you to contact either telephone or email the senior school (seniorschool@slc.gr) or junior school (juniorschool@slc.gr) to let us know if you plan to attend this presentation. 
Ms Kalyva Dragazi has worked with the staff of St. Lawrence College in the past and, being aware of how knowledgeable she is, and what an effective communicator she is, I am very pleased that she has agreed to return to our school to speak to parents on this important theme. In addition to making this presentation, Ms Kalyva Dragazi will be in school for two full days working in several year group sessions with pupils from Years 9-13 on the theme of self-esteem and the worrying problem of self-harming among teenagers.  

The presentation will take place at 9:00 am on Monday 11th December
 

Eight pupils of our school will take part in the 12th “Costeas-Geitonas School” M.U.N. (Model United Nations) Conference which will be held on Friday 8th, Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th of December 2017 at the Costeas-Geitonas School.

The Costeas- Geitonas School M.U.N. conference is THIMUN Affiliated Model United Nations and its higher level is certain to be appreciated and enjoyed even more by the pupils taking part. This year the CGSMUN conference focuses on The Rise of Populism.

The pupils have to be at Costeas-Geitonas School at 9:00 am on each day and will have to stay there until approximately 6:00pm. On Friday morning only will they be taken from our school to Costeas-Geitonas with our school bus.

Pupils will take part in the exciting Annual Talent Show. Parents are very welcome to come along and be amazed at the variety of talents pupils will  be enthralling the appreciative audience with. The show will begin at 1pm and will go on until approximately 2:50pm.
 

Starting at 9:30 am and finishing at approximately 11:45am we will have our Annual Quiz. Teams from each Key Stage will compete against each other as they are tested on their general knowledge skills. 

The Annual Speakathon in the Cultural Hall starts at 9:30am and goes on until 3pm. An example of important topics that will be discussed by the teams are:
-Professional athletes should not express political beliefs at sporting events.
-Abolish prison as a punishment for non-violent crimes.