...scaring the normals since 1823!

On Saturday 27th May, 2017, the St Lawrence Junior rugby team made us proud when they took part in a rugby tournament in Glyka Nera against the Attica Springbox Academy. They played with passion and committment in their first tournament that allowed them to experience the game as a contact sport of strength and skill. The number of rucks they took part in, their tries and above all else their strong tackling were all reasons to admire their guts and determination.

  They came away with a very respectable result table of one win and one loss, giving them overall second place. Their coach, PE teacher Giannis Rizos, was exceptionally pleased with their performance.

 "The boys really showed what they were made of - they weren't afraid and they went for every opportunity to tackle that they had!" he said with a smile.

Well done to Ivo, Hugh, Max, Jack, Charalambos, Andrew and Gregory on a fantastic debut into the world of rugby tournaments with school. We look forward to the next action-packed event with bated breath!

Ms Roumanas' year 4 class gave us a lovely class assembly called 'Perseverance' on Friday 26th May 2017.  The children acted out scenes from their favourite class novel and showed us examples of people who had persevered until they finally succeeded in overcoming all the obstacles in their way. 

A cute sing-a-long at the end rounded off this entertaining and educational assembly which was a lesson we must not forget: that success is down to 90% determination and only 10% talent, not the other way round. Well done 4R on a super assembly!

Ms Tsatsouli's year 2 class assembly this year was called “Empower me!”

The message was clear: when you educate children and believe in them, you empower them to go after their dreams. Isn't that the key to a good education? Isn't that what learning should be all about?

The children spoke about their dreams, their wishes and desires of things they ought to learn at school and they shared their Cobis competition video entries too. Thank you 2T for a sweet lesson in how to believe in yourself and reach for those goals.

The pupils and staff of St. Lawrence College today observed one minute’s silence in memory of those who lost their lives in Manchester on Monday 22nd May. The minute of silence was observed at 1.00pm, and was thus timed to coincide with the one minute’s silence called for by the UK government and observed across the UK at 11.00am UK time. 
Pupils were encouraged to reflect upon the impact of Monday’s attack on the lives of all those affected; the relatives and friends of those who were killed or injured and also the school communities which so many of the young victims were members of. 

Year 7 pupils had the chance to expand their sports activities on Tuesday 23rd May, by taking part in a Physical Education trip to the ‘Adventure Park’ at Malakasa. The activities included “flying routes", which are pathways from tree to tree the children must navigate using zip wires, rope bridges connecting some heights not for the faint hearted, and other exciting obstacles. The excursion was an excellent opportunity for children to put their physical fitness and dexterity to the test, in such a wonderful location with great weather. We look forward to going back soon!
 

You've surely heard of the mad Hatter's Tea Party, haven't you? Well in our Junior School, two special tea parties were held for a chosen few pupils in Years 5 & 6 who were invited by Ms Good for a small treat. On Monday 22nd May, 2017 a group from Year 6 headed to her office for a chat over a cuppa some typically British sandwiches - but NOT cucumber with the crusts cut off!
 
It was the turn of half a dozen pupils from Year 5 on Thursday 8th June 2017. These children were rewarded for handing in some outstanding pieces of work and were deserving of a little extra attention. 

"They were so well-mannered and happy to be here,"commented Ms Good afterwards, "I hope they all enjoyed the occasion as much as I did." 

"There is no such thing as 'away'; when we throw anything away it must go somewhere," said Annie Leonard. How true!

On Friday, 19th May 2017, Ms Kokkalis' year 3 class gave KS2, teachers, families and friends a most valuable lesson in an eye-catching manner. The 3 R's: Recycling, Reducing & Re-using were shown to us with skill and sensitivity as the children reminded us all how important it is to take care of the environment by not wasting our world's precious resources. 

In addition, to make sure we were all paying close attention, this class then took the unusual step of challenging us all to a dance off - and boy did we all have the moves like Jagger! It was a seriously fun way to end the week and send everyone home with a smile and a spring in their step for the weekend. Bravo Year 3!

As Michael Jordan said, "Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game!" 

Well that is certainly what was the order of the week at St Lawrence College with two sports days for years 1, 2 & 3 on Tuesday 16th, then for years 4, 5 & 6 on Friday 19th May 2017.

Both days were fortunate with the weather so the children were happy to run down to the sports field and participate in the well-organised events of our PE department. First there was the Skills Circuit with its wide variety of activities followed by flat races for each year group. The finale as always was the Tug-of-War for parents as well as the children, before medals and certificates were handed out to winners.

What an exhausting day it was - but the children certainly seemed to get a lot out of it. Well done to everybody who took part and gave their all for their team. Bravo Macedonia, Epirus and Attica teams!

On Friday 31st March the Junior School Science Fair was held and deemed a great success by all. KS2 pupils carried out various scientific investigations showcasing both their talent and knowledge to the rest of the school.

Following the event, St Lawrence participated in the COBIS Science Award 2017 by submitting a short video clip where pupils outlined the major steps needed for a scientific investigation.  The clip won 1st place out of more than 105 entries from 36 COBIS schools from all over the world with more than 730 people involved.

More information can be found here  

We are honoured to have won such a prestigious award.  Well done to the teachers, parents and pupils involved!

On Tuesday, 16th May, Year 4 visited the beautiful coastal village of Vravona, Attiki, for an excursion which combined geography and history. As part of this trip, the children went to see the extraordinary ancient ruins at the Temple of Artemis. They had a tour of the Museum and were able to see many artefacts which had been found both on site and in the surrounding area.

Later, the children walked along the mudflats towards the estuary, looking at the features of the landscape and its wildlife. It was an enjoyable and educational day!
 

We are very excited to announce the opening of the 2017 Art Exhibition of St. Lawrence College senior school later this month.

The exhibition is our opportunity to showcase the varied work produced by our students, mostly based around our chosen theme for this year, which is ‘Contrasts’. Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils have produced wonderful art work both individually and collaboratively. Their projects aim to demonstrate a celebration of Art elements in an expressive and imaginative way. 

There will also be a chance to view our Art & Design A-Level coursework. This is a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the talents of our senior pupils. Their portfolios are of exceptional standard both in their control and use of media as well as in the development of personal ideas and themes. 

Finally, you can enjoy the results of our photography competition, which was held recently in the school. Pupils and teachers were encouraged to submit their favourite photograph of 2016/1017, again on the theme ‘Contrasts’.
 
You can visit the exhibition in the Exhibition Centre, the building immediately in front of the administration block, from Monday 15th May until Friday 26th May during school hours. You will also have an opportunity to view this during the hours of our parent/teacher meeting held on Monday 22nd May.

We look forward to seeing you there!

On Monday 15th May 2017, the Foundation Stage 1 and 2 classes visited the fire station in Elliniko on a school trip that always goes down well with our little ones. It was an excursion to reinforce their current topic of learning, ‘People who help us’.

The children enjoyed seeing and learning all about the fire-fighters' protective gear, their equipment and they even got to wear a fire-fighter's helmet themselves too! The children took turns spraying water with the fire hose, and sat in the fire engine as the siren sounded loudly. What fun!

On Friday 12th May 2017, Ms Archolekas' Year 1 class taught us all about the importance of reading and writing in a sweet little assembly called The King's Sectret. This poor old king couldn't read, nor could he write, and he kept his shameful secret hidden from all. He decided that whatever he couldn't do, others across the whole of his kingdom shouldn't do either. How ridiculous, you may say. Well, yes! That's exactly what all the children said when all writing was banned by this bossy old king. 

In exploring the unthinkable idea of living a life without the written word, the children soon realised just how important it is in our daily lives. When the children found out about the king's secret, they offered to help him learn to read and thus embarked on a wonderful journey of learning together. 

When faced with a challenge, we must never give up, but must persevere in taking small steps towards our goals. How true that is. Thank you 1A for a super assembly!
 

life would be a mistake," according to Friedrich Nietzsche. Who could disagree?

On the evening of Friday, 12th May, music filled the air as the Annual Music Concert was held in the cultural hall. Our talented pupils from KS1 up, shared with us the results of their many hours of determined practice. We heard the choir sing songs from Mary Poppins, beautiful piano recitals, violins and guitars being played with varying degrees of complexity but always with an edge of growing confidence and a desire to please the crowd. 

The specialist music teachers supported their children with accompaniments that added to the atmosphere of celebration in this valuable added element of the children's learning at St Lawrence College.

On Friday, 12th May 2017, the Early Years department at St Lawrence was full to the brim with youngsters who are already enjoying their early education with us, as well as many other children who are planning on doing so. The Open Day, which introduced our staff to new groups of youngsters and introduced those children and their parents to us, was a big success all round. 

There was a wide range of activities that the children participated in: mini tennis, yoga, PSHE, maths, literacy, movement to music and of course singing too. Every face was smiling and everyone looked really pleased to be a part of such a fun day.  From 10:00 am when the activities began, until their winding down session which included a plentiful buffet at 13:00, the happy cries of children having a whale of a time echoed throughout the garden and the whole of the Junior School.

We look forward to welcoming these children back come September. Well done to the Early Years staff who put so much effort into that day, as they do each and every day!