News list
The Parents' Association Fireworks Night at St John’s College School always marks the real start of winter and is one of the most splendid displays in the area. This year parents, children and friends came out in large numbers to marvel at the rockets and Catherine Wheels in a cold, clear sky.
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 Piazza was transformed into a multi-coloured rainbow of different playground designs on 18 October as all the children in Senior House embraced The Big Draw challenge. “The Big Draw Festival 2018 is all about letting loose, embracing happy accidents, discovery, and most importantly having fun with your weird and wonderful materials of choice!” (The Big Draw – www.thebigdraw.org)
Form 2 took part in a ‘Dancing with Dementia Patients’ project as part of their Responsibilities Development and as an extension of the school’s Outreach Development. Miss Worthington, Deputy Head of Junior Department, explained, “The aim was twofold: to provide Outreach Opportunities to Form 2 children to increase their understanding, compassion and self-awareness whilst also developing their sense of responsibility towards others in the local community. We believe that by doing this, children will be given opportunities to embody and develop the values of trust, compassion, love and
Two current St John’s pupils and two past pupils have had their poems shortlisted for the 2018 John Betjeman Poetry Prize. Their poems will be published in the annual anthology, together with the other 50 shortlisted poems. The annual John Betjeman Poetry Prize is a National Competition open to 10-13 year olds.
A delegation of four pupils were invited to The Palace of Westminster by UNESCO and ‘Voices of Future Generations’ to discuss key worldwide issues such as Sustainability and the Rights of the Child with children from schools around the country, focusing particularly on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Two of our talented pianists had the opportunity to take part in a Steinway & Sons piano masterclass at Steinway Hall, located in Marylebone, London. The day included a masterclass with Charles Owen, Steinway artist, a tour of Steinway Hall and the restoration centre, and an opportunity for the pupils to play on the Steinway’s world famous, concert grand pianos.
Form 2 experienced life in Ancient Egypt as Byron House Big Room was transformed into an Ancient Egyptian market, where the children had the opportunity to make many Egyptian artefacts and experience skills used in the era.
Form 4 visited Wandlebury Country Park, a 110 acre estate in the Gog Magog hills, just south of Cambridge for an orienteering activity and to learn about the history of the park and park management. The children spent the morning discovering that orienteering is an adventurous sport, as well as being incredibly competitive! The children learnt new map reading skills in an exciting and energetic way. They used accurate yet speedy observations to relate features on the ground to symbols on the map.
In the run-up to national Poetry Day at the start of October the whole of Byron House was treated to a fabulous Assembly led by acclaimed children’s poet, Paul Cookson. None of the children could resist joining in with the catchy rhythms and repeating lines in his amusing poems. Although he does not describe himself as a musician, he brought his poems to life by putting them to music played on his electric ukulele while encouraging plenty of audience participation. The children were given an insight into the works of the poet as he spent time sharing his top creativity tips.