News list
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.
Form 6’s production of The Passion recalls the final days of Jesus’ life – from his entry into Jerusalem, to his crucifixion five days later – and all of the complex plotting, political side-stepping and betrayal that facilitated Jesus’ downfall. The Passion Play is a moving story that requires a deep intensity and thoughtfulness, which the Sixth Form delivered. It is a tradition for all children in Forms 1 to 5 to end the Lent term watching The Passion but, due to current circumstances, the production was filmed and streamed to classrooms.
The 11 members of St John's College School staff who competed in the mixed category at the Cambridge Half Marathon have recently been informed by the organisers that they came first with a fantastic time of 05:59.19. The staff entered and ran to raise money for the school's current charity, Humanitas. For more information about this charity: https://www.humanitascharity.org/
International Development Manager at Humanitas Charity, Ms Genevieve Jones-Hernandez, delivered a talk for children in Forms 4 and 6 about the work the charity is doing in Ghana and, in particular, at Ayensuako School in southern Ghana for which St John's has been raising money. This is as part of a larger humanitarian project by the charity to help provide much needed resources for the school and to help it continue to succeed. Humanitas Charity believes that, “Everyone is entitled to healthcare, an education and a family. We strive to provide these 3 keys rights
Form 3 visited St Giles’ Church in Cambridge as part of their Religious Studies focus on Christianity this term. The main aim of the visit was to witness the different aspects that make up an Anglican church, such as the font, nave, pew, lectern, chancel and pulpit amongst others and learn why they are important to Christian worship. In school, Form 3 have discussed the different forms worship can take and identified that it is an external expression of Christians' faith, demonstrates their respect and brings a sense of togetherness as a community, making