Issue 11 January 2019 Junior School Newsletter · Issue 11 January 2019 029 2077 8936 @SJCCardiff Christmas week in the Junior School The Junior School had a festive, fun-packed final

St John’s College Cardiff

Newsletter

Junior School

Issue 11 January 2019

029 2077 8936 www.stjohnscollegecardiff.com @SJCCardiff

Dear Parents Although our Lent term is well underway, I would like to send a very warm welcome back to school. This newsletter celebrates the many co-curricular activities which supplement and enrich the learning of our Junior pupils, as well as providing an insight into what is in store this term. Last term we continued to reinforce pupils’ Geography skills with an R8 trip to the Brecon Beacons to see ‘National Parks and Tourism’ in real life. R10 read Michael Morpurgo’s ‘Kensuke Kingdom’ and experienced a day being shipwrecked on an island – luckily they were all rescued! R11 covered the curriculum topics of Literacy, Mathematics, DT, Art and PSE through their Enterprise Week. Our last few days of the Advent term involved our Juniors coming together in their Houses to compete in a Drama recitation of the Grinch and a delightful trip to the Sherman to see a creative and enjoyable adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. It was an opportunity to compare productions and we definitely came up trumps. Thank you to R8 for their wonderful assembly about Christmas Around the World. They performed with so much confidence and we were very proud of them all. Lent term continues with two more popular competitions involving our pupils competing in their Houses - Aqua Games and the Eisteddfod. And this year, the Senior school hold their production, ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Our Book Clubs continue to be very popular and the pupils will have the opportunity to dress up as their favourite character from a book on World Book Day. We will complete the term with Techniquest delivering Science workshops to all our pupils and the Junior School Disco. Thank you for your feedback on the Junior Parents’ Weekly Update, I am very glad it is proving helpful and the Junior staff appreciate all your continued support. I would also like to thank the staff for providing many co-curricular clubs during the week. Not only do we have sports, music and LAMDA opportunities, our pupils are also enjoying Art, Urdd, Knit and Knatter, Digital Leaders, Puzzle and Mathletics Clubs. Our Digital Leaders have been undergoing training to support various age group Computing Clubs which will commence shortly. With best wishes. Mrs R Thompson Head of Junior School


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Junior School



R11 Enterprise R11 launched into December with a busy week of production, costing, marketing and advertising of their fantastic products. All teams were festive themed: Santa Banter; Secret Santa Surprises; Christmas Craze; Secret Santas; Enterprising Elves; Santa’s Elves and 6 Crafting Elves). All teams made lovely products, perfect for Christmas presents. On Friday, the teams set up their stalls ready for an afternoon of selling to pupils, family and friends. A cake sale also took place with lots of yummy treats available. R11 will be donating a percentage of their profits to ‘Crisis’. R11 would like to say a special thank you to Mrs Rees, Mrs Holland and Mrs Blyth for making their enterprise week so successful and enjoyable. R10 Parents’ Assembly On Wednesday 21st November R10 had their Parents’ Assembly to showcase their hard work in Literacy. The assembly was based on being ‘Inspired by Writers.’ As part of the assembly the pupils read out examples of their wonderful writing from the viewpoint of a shark; they really got into the mindset and character of a shark. The pupils then performed a very entertaining song and dance linked to the shark theme. As part of R10’s studies this term they have been reading the story of Kensuke’s Kingdom. The pupils read further pieces of writing about being lost on a beach linked to their emotions and using lots of descriptive vocabulary. To reinforce their learning of Kensuke’s Kingdom the pupils took part in survival skills training whilst on a school trip to Oxwich Bay, which was highlighted in a slideshow within the assembly. This was a fun, entertaining and light-hearted assembly including parent participation in a very competitive parent versus pupil quiz. This assembly demonstrated the extensive talent that we have in the whole of R10. Miss Nirenberg


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Junior School



Christmas week in the Junior School

The Junior School had a festive, fun-packed final week. We started with our R8 Parents’ Assembly which was performed again in the whole-school assembly on the last day. R8 told us about Christmas traditions across the world. They sang beautifully too. We had a Christmas Jumper Day with our annual House drama competition. The Houses performed a verse from ‘When the Grinch Stole Christmas’. The House captains choreographed their performances exceedingly well. St David’s won again – congratulations. Giulio won the Quality Street Christmas tree raffle, kindly donated by the PA. We also have a picture of our handwriting competition winners – well done all!

On Thursday we visited the Sherman Theatre to see a super version of Alice in Wonderland, followed by Christmas parties. Mrs Thompson R8 Trip to the Roman Baths Today, R8 visited the amazing Roman Baths in Bath. We all looked splendid in our togas and tunics! We enjoyed our mosaic workshop and also handling different Roman artefacts. Did you know that the Romans had special tools to scrape oil from their skin? The tour of the baths was fascinating and we learnt so many interesting facts about Roman life. We all tried the special spring water – it was warm and had a strange taste and smell. We’re looking forward to going back to school and sharing our new knowledge! The teachers were delighted that R8 children were well-disciplined like Roman soldiers and showed lovely manners. Well done, R8! Mrs Burleton


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Junior School



R10/R11 Premier League Stars Cup Congratulations to the R10/11 pupils who participated in the Premier League Stars Cup Competition. The pupils won three games, drew two and lost three. They only narrowly missed out on qualification for the playoffs. Well done to all involved. Mr Tertois R10 Trip to the Royal Mint, Llantrisant On Thursday 17th January, the pupils of R10 went on a trip to the Royal Mint at Llantrisant. We started off the day with a tour of the factory where we witnessed the process of forging a coin. We were even lucky enough to see plenty of action in the main part of the factory, with enormous buckets of coins being poured into machines for validation and spotting loose pound coins on the factory floor! Before lunch, we had a chance to visit the exhibition of the history of the Royal Mint. A favourite exhibit was trying to lift up a £400,000 gold bar. After a quick lunch, we attended a workshop based on ‘Fake and Forgeries’. Here we learned about counterfeiting and we trained up as coin inspectors ready to detect fake £1 and £2 coins. Using mathematical skills, we were able to spot the fakes! The children struck their own 50p coin to take home as a memento. The staff at the Royal Mint complimented the children on their excellent behaviour and superb questions. Thank you to Mrs Thompson, Mrs Denman and Miss Sheehy for accompanying us. Mrs Taylor


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Junior School



Junior Book Club: A Boy called Christmas Junior Book Club members were captivated by Matt Haig’s snowy adventure of elves, kidnapping and flying reindeer. Just like Nicolas (the boy called Christmas), members were not afraid to believe in magic. There was only a sprinkling of pixie dust between the teams at the Book Club quiz, congratulations to team St David’s 2 for narrowly coming out on top. Mrs J Cooney Junior Book Club: The Velveteen Rabbit Junior Book Club members were thrilled by our Christmas selection, Margery Williams The Velveteen Rabbit, the charming tale of how toys become real which has been delighting children with its warmth and generosity for almost a century. All impressed, however Christmas crackers this year were St Davids, coming in at a convincing festive first! Mr R Dennis Chess Success

Ashika P has successfully maintained her title as Welsh Girls’ Chess Champion for the 4th year running. Congratulations, Ashika!


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Junior School



Our pupils are excited to share with you their recent achievements: Musical achievements: Charles S-A-L was passed his Grade 6 Music theory; Emma K passed her Piano Prep test; Manu passed his Grade 1 Violin; Arvin S passed his Cello Prep test; Lilia C has passed Grade 4 Drums; Lara O has achieved Grade 4 in Flute and Violin and Grade 5 in Piano; Rithvika B passed her singing practical; Darcey J passed Grade 2 Violin; Gala S passed her Grade 4 Guitar; Joanne S passed Grade 3 Singing and theory; Mahathi passed her Grade 1 Theory; Sanwi D passed his Grade 1 Violin; Jolinaa passed her Grade 3 singing; George S passed his Grade 3 Trumpet; Nia G passed her Grade 2 Piano; Abigail T passed her Grade 2 Piano; Max passed Grade 3 Drums; Alfie J is performing with the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera Sporting achievements Henry J won a certificate for mastering butterfly in swimming; Lowri J got a certificate and moved up a level in gymnastics; Natasha K has been awarded her red belt in Karate; Sophia moved up to level 9 in swimming; Iwan M had a trophy for scoring the most tries in a rugby match; Nia S got a certificate for backstroke and tumbleturns in swimming; William H moved up a level in swimming; Johnny S has moved up a level in tennis; Emma K moved to Orange 3 in Tennis; Aimee R passed Grade 2 Horse Riding; Michael O’F participated in a swimming medley; Noah D came 2nd in a Karate tournament; Sharanya M has moved up to level 6 in swimming; Kofi W was man of the match in rugby; Lara O came 2nd in a cyclocross competition; Annabelle G received a medal and certificate for swimming; Joshua H passed wave 4 swimming; Benjamin J has got his Blue belt in Taekwando; Selina L came 3rd place in a badminton competition; Joe M won the Spirit of the Game in Ice Hockey; Reece M was awarded Rugby player of the week; Joshua O moved up to Blue belt in Taekwando; Mahathi passed her dance theory and practical exam ,came 3rd place in a dance competition and passed wave 5 swimming; Jolinaa passed her dance theory and practical exam; Lilah’s dance group has won 7 competitions; Katie O’F is now training with U13s Penarth Hockey; Finlay B passed his stage 9 in swimming; Isabel H passed Wave 7 in swimming; Kundi M in ranked 17th in Wales at Tennis; Hana N has moved up to level 7 in swimming; Aoife P passed her level 8 in swimming and gymnastics; Harri P was a finalist in Welsh Table Tennis Nationals; Kritthik B took part in the Welsh Table Tennis Nationals and has been chosen for county cricket; Aryan M has been chosen for county cricket and has gone up to green 2 in tennis. Other achievements Lewis E got a certificate for an air rifle shooting course; Kyran H is now a proud big brother; Ben H was invested into beavers; Maya H won a certificate for the summer reading challenge; Lilia C passed Grade 2 ballet; Leila J has been asked to take part in a dance competition; Robert S came 2nd in a chess competition; Annabella D took part in a Hip Hop dance performance; Rithvika B passed her dance practical and theory; Matilda D was awarded an alter serving medal; Ashmit has got through to the Bonus round of the Primary Maths Challenge; Kushi has got through to the Bonus round of the Primary Maths Challenge; Anya S passed her Grade 2 chess theory; Ashika P came 1st in a Chess competition;


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Junior School



Well done to all Junior pupils who have been awarded certificates in Mathletics; Lily F has been in a dance advert and competition; Abigail T passed her Grade 3 Dance and was 3rd in a competition; Anchitha K passed her Grade 3 Dance and was 3rd in a competition Please remember that Form Tutors are always your first point of contact for any query. They are happy to resolve any questions you may have about your child’s learning and well-being. Future Dates: February Fri 1st Feb Peer to Peer Reading Fri 1st Feb R8/R9 Netball Tues 5th Feb Internet Safety Day Wed 6th Feb Table tennis (R9) Wed 6th Feb Primary Maths Challenge Final Thu 7th Feb R8 Parents’ Evening (4.00-6.30pm) Fri 8th Feb House Meeting Thu 14th Feb Junior School Parents’ Open Afternoon Mon 18th Feb R11 Swimming finishes (boys only) Tue 19th Feb R11 Reading Group (The Other side of truth, Beverley Naidoo) Wed & Thu Beauty and the Beast (Senior School) 20th & 21st Feb Mon 25th Feb – Fri 1st Mar Half term March: Wed 6th Mar Eisteddfod Thu 7th Mar World Book Day Thu 7th Mar Book Club (Graveyard Book, The Fox and the Ghost King) Tue 12th Mar R10 Tredegar House Wed 13th Mar Tag Rugby (R10 and R11 – girls) Wed 13th Mar Achievers lunch with Head Tues 19th Mar R9 Hockey Mon 25th Mar Prefect Meeting Tue 26th Mar R9 Parents’ Assembly (9.15am) Tues 26th Mar Parents Meeting for R10 Residential Trip (4 to 4.30pm) Wed 27th Mar Parents Meeting for R11 Residential Trip (4 to 4.30pm)


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Junior School



April: Mon 1st Apr Junior Council Meeting Tues 2nd Apr R9 Llancaiach Fawr Thu 4th Apr Techniquest visit school (Materials Magic) Thu 4th Apr Disco Fri 5th Apr End of Term

Issue 11 January 2019 Junior School Newsletter · Issue 11 January 2019 029 2077 8936 @SJCCardiff Christmas week in the Junior School The Junior School had a festive, fun-packed final

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