News list
St John's Charities Committee spread festive cheer when children and staff members hosted their annual Christmas party for local care home residents. Both Byron House and Senior House members of the Committee provided such joy, engaged conversation and a variety of entertainment throughout this heartwarming event. The Christmas party is part of a rich and cherished tradition at St John's of helping the local community.
Form 4 raised £366 for the Cambridge Children's Hospital at their Victorian Fayre. The children chose the type of stall they wanted to run at this annual St John's community event and dressed in authentic Victorian costumes to add to the ambience of the event.
Form 6 visited Loughton Brook at Epping Forest to compare, velocity, channel width and depth, and load size and shape. This data will be used back in the classroom. Pupils also learnt the skill of being able to draw a field sketch, which is a useful method of qualitative data. It was a fantastic day putting theory into practice, and embedding the skills needed to progress to GCSE.
Form 3 turned back the clock to 1536 and experienced a typical Christmas under the reign of King Henry VIII donning costumes of the period to be nobility or servants. Children and staff left modern day Britain behind and travelled back to the Tudor era to explore life in the 16th century with a workshop run by 'History Off the Page'.
Form 1 embarked on an journey into the world of ancient Rome through an immersive Roman Day workshop with 'History Off the Page'. Transported back in time to a bustling Roman fort, the children were engrossed in a vivid recreation of life during that era and engaged in hands-on activities such as becoming lamp, leather and metals workers, wax tablet and mosaic workers, scribes, fresco painters, beauticians and charm makers.
On 11th November our St John's community came together for heartfelt Remembrance Day services, honouring the sacrifices of those who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars and subsequent conflicts, so that we might live in peace. This included 'The Last Post' and 'Reveille' which were played at both Byron House and Senior House by our pupils.
A new literacy programme for the teaching of phonics in Byron House has been introduced this term. After rigorous research carried out by our Pre-Prep teaching leads, the decision was made to choose the Sounds-Write system due to its strong evidence-based foundations. It is an expertly structured synthetic phonics programme based on the science of reading. This multisensory, code-oriented, comprehensive approach to literacy has been designed by teachers—for teachers.
Odd Socks Day on 12 November provided an opportunity for both children and staff at St John's to be themselves, celebrate differences and to spread awareness of the core values of Anti-Bullying Week (11 to 15 November 2024) promotes in a fun and inclusive way.
We welcomed astrophysicist, Professor Jo Dunkley, to St John's to give a talk about the origins and evolution of our universe to our Forms 3 and 4 as part of our Thursday Afternoon Enrichment Programme. Jo Dunkley is a professor of physics and astrophysical sciences who shared her delight in the wonders of the universe with the children.
Our Kindergarten classes enjoyed their first trip at St John's to Cambridge Market. They each had 50p to purchase vegetables which they then turned into delicious soup on their return to school.