News list
St John’s became a hub of poetic vision on Thursday 1 October when ÐÔÓÃÉç across all ages celebrated National Poetry Day. National Poetry DayÌýis the annual mass celebration on the first Thursday of October that encourages all to discover, enjoyÌýand share poetry.ÌýThe theme for this year was ‘vision’ with the motto to ‘see like a poet’ and #ShareAPoem. Head of English, Mrs Elaine Atkin, explained, ‘It is always incredible to see how imaginative and sensitive the ÐÔÓÃÉç are through their poetry. They approach poetry with an open mind and produce work which is far beyond their years.’
On 1 October, our three ÐÔÓÃÉç Science quiz teams competed in the Finals of the Quiz Club National Inter-School Championships, postponed from last term. There were 442 teams (1768 ÐÔÓÃÉç) from 308 schools taking part in the Science Championship during the last academic year and there were 51 teams (200 ÐÔÓÃÉç – allowing for the teams with less than 4 players) from 44 schools in the Finals. As always, the questions were beyond theÌýknowledgeÌýof the National Curriculum but the ÐÔÓÃÉç took the challenge in their stride and battled it out for a tied 4th place and 18th place.
Our 'Action Stories' are based on a peer massage programmeÌýwhere the ÐÔÓÃÉç are led through aÌýset of massage strokes devised by the Massage in Schools Programme. Action Stories areÌýan integral part of the Emotions forÌýLearning (E4L) curriculum at Byron HouseÌýand teachers and ÐÔÓÃÉç have seen the benefits for over 10 years at St John’s. They aim to promote the well-being of young ÐÔÓÃÉç in the knowledge that nurturingÌýtouch is a basic need and powerful tool to help ÐÔÓÃÉç develop intoÌýhealthy, well-balanced human beings.Ìý
This year our Harvest Festival services were held across one week at Byron House. The food and monetary donations came flooding in andÌýwere delivered to Newmarket Open Door Foodbank. This charity redistributes donated foods and household products to those needing support through their Foodbank shop, as well as via other charities andÌývoluntary and social welfare organisations.ÌýCoinciding with our Harvest charitable giving, theÌýannual Byron HouseÌýHarvest Competition was as popular as ever with entries in the following categories: vegetables, sunflowers, art, photography, cookery and Lego.
Form 6 had a collaborative art and design technology whole day workshop with world-renowned visual artist, Mr MichaelÌýBrennand-WoodÌýwho stayedÌýin contact with the ÐÔÓÃÉç via Zoom. The ÐÔÓÃÉç were encouraged to thinkÌýabout geometry, woven patterns, negative shapes and rhythms to create their own unique artwork, exploring textiles and taking inspiration from the artist’s own imagery. MrÌýBrennand-WoodÌýis internationally regarded as one of the most innovative and inspiring artists working in textiles.ÌýAllÌýthe material used for the ÐÔÓÃÉç's work was recycled.
The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan Cancer Support's biggest fundraising event, where the charity asks people across the UK to hold a coffee morning and raise money for people living with cancer. In 2019Ìýthe charity’s coffee mornings raised nearly £27.5 million. The St John’s College School PA’s Macmillan Coffee Morning took place virtually this year due to current circumstances and families were encouraged to donate £3 or more for each entry.ÌýInstead of being a coffee 'morning', eager bakers were asked to upload photos of their bakes to aÌýpadletÌýthroughout the week as part ofÌýa
Our Form 2 classes benefit fromÌýa WednesdayÌýafternoon ofÌýSTEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) everyÌýweekÌýthroughoutÌýeach of the threeÌýterms. The ÐÔÓÃÉçÌýare able to use the extensive facilities on offer at Senior HouseÌýin our two Science labs and computing suite. Already this term they have carried out an orienteering session and as one of their first STEM teamwork missions, they undertookÌýan engineeringÌýprojectÌýwhich centred onÌýworking collaboratively to build the tallest freestandingÌýstructure using only 40 straws and 20 pipe cleaners.
The School's aim is toÌýdevelop all pupils’ sporting ability to theÌýfull byÌýprovidingÌýa diverse, challenging, multi-sport experience at all ages and across all abilities.ÌýSport can help to develop confidence and a positive mental attitude thatÌýpermeatesÌýall aspects of a child's life.ÌýWe hope to develop a love of sport that will last our ÐÔÓÃÉç a lifetime. InÌýofferingÌýsuch a wide range of sports weÌýfeel confident that the school has something for everyÌýabilityÌýand interest. We recognise the important mental and physical benefits that come with regular play and competition. Equally, we
Senior House ÐÔÓÃÉç have benefited from the waterproof outside area for outdoor art activities,Ìýadjacent to the existing Art Room, for their first full week back in school. The ÐÔÓÃÉç have benefited from the warm weather and the expansive purpose-designed outdoor space to work on continuous figurative line drawings with enough space to use large-scale paper and spread out in a circle with all the ÐÔÓÃÉç facing the posed figure.Ìý
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ÐÔÓÃÉç welcomed 66 new pupils across the school at the start of the new term. Our youngest ÐÔÓÃÉç spent a happy first morning in Kindergarten settling in and getting to know their teachers and classmates, as well as the routines of school life.ÌýDuring their first ever independent learning session they were able to 'free-flow' and exploreÌýthe two expansive Kindergarten classrooms which had been set up with purposefully selected activities for their first day. The ÐÔÓÃÉç also had fun investigatingÌýthe Kindergarten outdoor learning space along with its own mud kitchen, raised flower and