News list
The St John’s Charities and Community Links Committee hosted its annual Christmas party for elderly people living in the Cambridge area to bring on the festive cheer. Committee members from both Byron House and Senior House provided merriment, conversation and entertainment for the guests. The Christmas party is part a rich and long tradition St John’s has of helping the local community.
Our festive ‘Services in Preparation for Christmas’, held over two days in the magnificent Chapel of St John’s College, once again heralded the start of the season with a range of carols, poems and readings all presented by the children. The carols and readings were interspersed with 5 congregational hymns. The Services provided a sense of calm from the busy nature of this time of the year and created up a contemplative mood to help prepare for Christmas.
Parents, friends and Byron House children were treated to a charming Nativity performance from the two Kindergarten classes with this year’s production, Whoops-a-Daisy Angel. While the angels in Heaven are busy going about their special duties efficiently and smoothly, Whoopsie, a slightly accident-prone angel who is never trusted with the important jobs, finds himself counting snowflakes again. This year, however, things are different: God Himself charges Whoopsie with the task of telling the world about the imminent birth of Jesus, the Saviour of the World. In spite of a few mishaps,
Parents and pupils alike were enchanted by T1’s rendition of their drama production, Christmas with the Aliens. This humorous modern nativity by Nikki Lewis retells the traditional Christmas story to some alien visitors who become stranded on earth and meet a group of schoolchildren rehearsing their Christmas play.
Form 1 experienced the world of ancient Rome with a Roman Day workshop. The children were transported back to Roman Britain with a recreation of life in the past including role-play, practical activities and hands-on experiences with Roman replica artefacts. The children were aptly dressed as Roman citizens, slaves or even barbarians!
With this year’s performance of Macbeth, the Young Shakespeare Company yet again provided a wonderful opportunity for the children to experience Shakespeare through direct involvement in one of his plays. Forms 4 and 5 enjoyed workshops before watching a mesmerising performance of the play by a storyteller and four five Young Shakespeare Company actors.
The St John's PA committee had all eyes on the ominous weather forecast the week before the Fireworks Night. News of gale force winds and a slew of fireworks cancellations over the preceding weekend meant the Committee had everything crossed that they would chance upon a lucky window for one of the most eagerly anticipated PA events of the year.
The College Choir's latest CD, Magnificat, was released on 25 October. Celebrating the Evening Canticles that play a significant part in the Choir's Evensong services, it is an Editor's Choice Pick from Gramophone magazine who commented, ‘Take one of today’s finest collegiate choirs, experiencing a truly golden period, and music that sits at their very heart, and the result is an album which embodies Evensong’s sublime power.' Magnificat, is available to buy, download and stream: (http://smarturl.it/Magnificat).
398 children and staff took part in a national mindfulness ‘sit’ at Byron House and Senior House on 9 October to mark World Mental Health Day 2019. The Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) community invited teachers and pupils who regularly use practice mindfulness in schools to come together to raise awareness of the need for young people to develop skills to support their own wellbeing both inside and out. #SchoolsSitTogether is part of MiSP’s wider 'A Million Minds Matter' campaign to bring mindfulness to more children and more schools.
Mr Nick Penny, musician and instrument maker, spent the day with Form 2 (Year 4) with his workshop focusing on a fusion of DT, Science and Music. The children’s DT skills were put to excellent use as they developed their own ideas, chose appropriate materials and designed and constructed their own banjo/ukulele instruments from everyday recyclable resources.