News list
St John's welcomed 66 new pupils across the school at the start of the new term. Our youngest children 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. During their first ever independent learning session they were able to 'free-flow' and explore the two expansive Kindergarten classrooms which had been set up with purposefully selected activities for their first day. The children also had fun investigating the Kindergarten outdoor learning space along with its own mud kitchen,
Pre Prep children were encouraged to participate in a virtual 'at home' Sports Day this year with a range of suggested events in which to participate. Head of Sport, Mr Gareth McComb encouraged the children to practise the events during their allocated week and then perform them when it suited them best at home. The sports staff provided written and video instructions to help set up races and events and to start the 'ready, steady, go!' Families had the option to upload their photos and videos to the allocated Padlet to share the fun with their
Speech Days at St John's at the end of every summer term also coincide with the school's annual Senior House Art Exhibition. This event gives the chance for artwork across the academic year from each child to be viewed and celebrated. Head of Art, Mrs Sam Downer, was determined not to let the pandemic stop 2020's exhibition and, as a result, it was celebrated electronically with over 500 pieces of work to be enjoyed.
Please see below a selection of work completed this year in Design Technology at Senior House.
Form 3 Vehicles
There are several much-anticipated music events this term that have been cancelled due to the current lockdown but the St John's Rednotes band have been determined to continue their music remotely. Rednotes teacher, Mr Lepage-Dean, encouraged the musicians to come together online and to record a well-known track from the comedy musical 'Little Shop of Horrors'.
The much-anticipated annual Parents’ Association Fun Day extravaganza on 17 May took on a different guise this year and went virtual. There were long family walks, together with running, bouncing, hopping, skipping, cycling, dancing, cricket, basketball, traditional fete games of obstacle courses, welly wanging and apple bobbing and plenty more besides. Meanwhile some families preferred to evoke the joys of the tea tent, baking delicious looking cakes and bakes. There was fancy dress and face painting and even novelty school uniform!
Following a class English lesson spent writing a birthday letter to Colonel Tom Moore, the 100 year old war veteran who has raised over £30 million for the NHS, a T2 child was inspired to set up a bike challenge to see how many kilometres he could manage to travel in one weekend and asked family and friends to sponsor him. He completed a distance of 23km and raised an impressive £140 for the NHS. Another child in Form 3 also decided to raise money for the NHS by holding her own 'danceathon' by choreographing 26 dances herself during the month of
As part of their remote learning art sessions, children in Senior House embarked on a 'Painting from Poetry' project. Forms 3 and 4 studied Ted Hughes' poem,The Horses, and the older two year groups responded to The Lonely Scarecrow by James Kirkup. The children illustrated a particular line from the poem or its entirety and built up slowly with shapes and colours, patterns and textures. When responding, they were inspired to use images and colours that unfurled in their minds, rather than rely on the interpretations of others.
Children in T2 have been investigating onomatopoeia, the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. T2W pupil Aniruddha Reddy (aged 7) share his poem with you, reflecting on the lockdown.
After months of music, dance, fight and acting rehearsals, Form 5's drama production of Peter Pan took flight over two nights before the end of the Lent term. A reflection from one audience member said, "So much hard work clearly went into this show and it was amazingly professional, creative and very funny!" and another enthused, "Another lifelong memory that will be etched into my son's childhood memories". The production was a true team effort with children playing instruments, helping paint the set, manage the lighting, as well as learn lines, songs and complex choreography.