February 2015

Feb 2015
Over 60 St John’s parents attended our first Emotions for Learning (E4L) Morning in Byron House.  Parents were invited to watch aspects of our E4L curriculum and Mindfulness programme in action during the day, experiencing it with the children, as well as listening to key presentations from the staff. E4L was developed at St John’s with the help of the school’s former Child Psychotherapist who set out to create a 4-year social and emotional curriculum for our youngest children, based on up-to-date research about how children’s minds and brains develop. It is designed to encourage the
Feb 2015
The T1s (Year 1) visited the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) as part of their Antarctica topic. The tragic events of Captain Scott’s last expedition were made even more realistic for the children with a question and answer session with the famous explorer’s granddaughter, Dafila Scott, in the University lecture theatre complete with a life-size polar bear skin. The children also had the opportunity to ring the real bell from the Terra Nova as part of their trip. Dafila Scott is an artist in residence at the SPRI. She enthused the children with tales of her travels to Antarctica
Feb 2015
The Fourth Form has been learning about Sikhism since the beginning of term and had a wonderful opportunity to see so much of what they had been studying on a recent visit to the Cambridge Gurdwara, the first such visit made by St John's as there has been a Gurdwara in Cambridge for only two years. All that the children have been learning in the classroom was brought alive as they explored aspects of Sikh worship in the Diwan Hall, the place of worship, and ate together in the Langar Hall. As required by Sikh tradition, the children all brought scarves to cover their heads. They
Feb 2015
‘Keep Calm and Curry On’. This was the theme of the PA’s Quiz and Curry evening for the event on 7 February which was a well-attended and fun event. 14 tables completed against each other in a challenging and entertaining quiz with Head of Drama, Mr Tim Clarke, hosting the evening as the fabulous quiz master adorned in gold jacket. Proceeds from the evening will go to local charity, The Prospects Trust. Teams had to choose their own team name and accessorise themselves and their table accordingly if they wished to. The best team name prize was awarded to 'All the Gear, No Idea' who
Feb 2015
St John’s First Form regaled an audience of parents and pupils with their performance of The Bumblesnouts Save the World, a musical comedy with a strong moral message. In their voyages across the universe, a team of Bumblesnouts (an alien life-form) make a return journey to earth, a planet renowned for its beauty, diverse climates and wildlife, but are dismayed to find that the human race (who is ‘thought to be the most intelligent’ species on the planet) is not looking after it properly: they encounter violent bullies who drop litter; cleaners who use environmentally-harmful aerosol
Feb 2015
One of St John’s College School’s pupils, Andrew Knight, has qualified for the British National Dance Championship Finals this November in both the Ballroom and Latin solo section. Andrew, aged 10, amongst approximately 200 other competitors, danced the Quickstep (Ballroom) and the Cha Cha Cha (Latin) in the regional rounds to qualify for the finals at the prestigious Blackpool Tower Ballroom. Andrew started dancing from an early age; he particularly loves tap and ballroom but also attends ballet classes. His favourite dance memory is “dancing as a springbok as part of a dance recital