Newsletter December

Merry Christmas from The Principal
It seems unbelievable that we are drawing to the end of my first term as Executive Principal of
the Federation of St John’s and King Richard Schools. It has been a fantastic term for both
schools with a vast range of activities and excitement. Only last week we had an RAF
Helicopter land on the sports field at KRS as part of the ASDAN course and the week before
we had a visit from the cast of ‘The Inbetweeners’ who met with Y11 and VI Form students at
SJS. Events such as these bring an element of fun to daily life at school, but it is the excellent
quality of the Teaching and Learning that takes place in our schools every day that has
impressed me this term. The most enjoyable part of my role is seeing lessons being taught
each week that show the engagement of our students and the passion that our teachers have
for their subjects.
Recently, I wrote to all parents to explain that although Ofsted has rated KRS as ‘Outstanding’ and St John’s as ‘Good with
outstanding features’, we are driven to further improve our schools. I have asked parents to comment on how they view
us by completing an online survey. There is still time to fill in this survey by going to the following link http://
www.sogosurvey.com/k/SsRYPQXsRsPsPsP. Alternatively go to the school website home page and click on the
Parent Survey link. I welcome all comments as they will help us celebrate what we are doing well and reflect on areas in
which we can further improve.
Lastly, you will see that this latest edition uses the new school logo. We are at the start of a major project to improve all
school communication. New branding, stationery, websites, signage and social media will all be improved over the coming
12 months. We will also be working on developing and embedding the core values that underpin our work in the
Federation. I have set out our mission, aims and core values inside this issue.
I would like to wish all readers and their families a safe and happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Best wishes
Dan Browning
Executive Principal
Art and Technology
Year 9 Technology
In Y9 Design and Technology students are
rotating through 3 different GCSE subject
areas. Catering, Engineering and Product
Design are all offered at GCSE in St John's and
it is important that students understand what
the subject they may be opting for entails.
In the Product Design rotation, students have been
designing and making their own jewellery accompanied
by a high quality teak presentation box.
Abigail Sergeant, whose father will be posted away from
Cyprus for Christmas, has made pewter cuff links for him
with the correct wedding anniversary stone embedded
into them and has engraved (in the lid of the box) an RAF
motif. A special personalised gift that will mean so much
to him when he receives it. All the students were desperate to take this high quality work home when it was finished. The photographs of the work are testament to the
outstanding levels of work achieved in Design and Technology.
Art @ St John's is under new management!
Phil Bougeard, who has worked for SCE for some time, moved into the position of the Head of Art in
September this year. He has brought with him a great enthusiasm for the subject and lots of experience.
The Art rooms are open during second break for students to extend their learning in Art and for them to
put more time and effort into their work should they choose to do so. On Thursday afternoons, all are
welcome to get on with their work and the Art department is often full of students from all ages enjoying
their work.
Two notable achievements have been Rosie Favis in Y9, who
produced an outstanding piece of homework based on a whale
design and Lewis Pratt in Y9 who has worked tremendously hard on
his first term painting with excellent results. Both of these students
are reflecting well the values of the school and are always striving to
be the best that they can be. There is lots of work that could be
showcased in this newsletter and CBF has requested that an
exhibition of Art work from the school be mounted in his home.
Homework Piece by
Rosie Favis, Year 9
Lewis Pratt, year 9
Year 8 trip to Limassol Zoo with Year 2
When we went to the zoo we got given a
sheet of paper with all of the fun things we
were going to do at the zoo with the Year 2's.
After about thirty minutes on the bus we
stopped outside in front of the Year 2's bus.
Episkopi Primary School pupils were learning
all about the tropical rainforest whilst we were
learning about ecosystems and the adaptations made by different animals. Before entering we were organised into small groups with
a mixture of students so we could assist the
learning of the Year 2 students and whilst
completing the tasks ourselves. The theory
being that if you have to teach the information
you must first understand it yourself.
Winner of the best sloth
fact sheet—Lily Munday
When it was the end of the trip we said
goodbye to the Year 2's as the rain did
not ease until we were half way back to
school. However, it did not spoil our enjoyment of the day. We continued our
learning in school using the I-pads to
research Sid some more for our own
posters about the three toed sloth.
As we entered the zoo we were excited as we
could already see some of the animals such
as the ostriches and hippos and even some
fish swimming around under a bridge that we
later walked over. The Year 2's were over the
moon when we saw some monkeys but were
interested in the work we were doing which
was looking for the right animal in a picture on
a sheet they had. We had I-pads to help us
record the information and to learn how to use
the sketching app.
Humanities
The sky had been ominous all morning
and once it started raining we had a
snack in the cover of the cafe in the hope
it would pass over. Some of the teams
used this as an opportunity to visit the
reptile house because it was heated.
Then as the rain persisted under the
shelter we completed some work sheets
whilst the Year 2's went to watch sloth
city. Later we watched the presentation
in the education room at the zoo. It provided us with a wealth of information on
sloth's and after this we were given a
quiz about their habitat and other useful
information. We were then given the opportunity to use this information to enter
the competition to win a sibling of Sid the
Sloth.
The trip was a lot of fun thanks to Ms
Jackson and Mrs Dixon for organising it.
Best sloth fact sheet runner up—Jade Small
By Alex Houghton, Y8
Year 8 Geography Field Trip
On Thursday 23rd October, Year 8 went to Limassol zoo with the Year 2 pupils from Episkopi Primary School. We arrived at the zoo and were put into several groups of five/six. After wandering around the zoo, searching for the objects
in the images on our worksheets, it poured with rain. Unfortunately, we were all eating lunch on the grass at the time,
so we all rushed to the spare tables, with the little ones, to get there before they were all taken. Sadly, our group wasn’t quick enough, and had to sit on the floor!
When the rain had stopped, we (Year8, as the Year 2 pupils had gone back to school) all headed to the presentation
room where, Kaitlyn Campbell, Archie McVicar, Amber Lewis and Benjamin Glencross had a slide show ready for us,
all about sloths. There were lots of slides with lots of information on them. They then gave us an answer sheet to write
our answers on, for a quiz. Most of us got all the answers correct.
When we came out of the presentation room it was raining again, so we had to cut our trip short and go back to
school.
At school, Mrs Dixon mentioned to us, about a sloth competition and that we had to produce a poster that told us all
about what we learnt about sloths. So she let us start those in the time that we had left before home time. The winner
was Lily Munday, and she won her very own “Sid the sloth”.
I think it is safe to say we all had a fantastic (and wet!) time at Limassol Zoo, and hopefully we can go on many other,
similar trips in the future.
By Sophie Campbell, Y8
Year 9 Visit to the Cyprus Geological Survey Department
On Tuesday 9th December all of Year 9 were given the amazing
opportunity of visiting the Geological Survey Department of the
Republic of Cyprus.
Over the past few weeks we have been learning about plate tectonics
and earthquakes. On our visit in Nicosia we were told about the
earthquakes in Cyprus and facts such as, there are actually two
earthquakes a day in Cyprus but they are of a low magnitude so we
can’t really feel them.
We were also shown how they measure and record earthquakes. Using
seismometers plotted around the island, the geologists are able to see
24 hour feeds from the satellites and record the seismicity from around
Cyprus and tell when we are having an earthquake. The screens
showing the readings were amazing as the baseline
readings varied depending upon the location of the
seismometer. We are excited as we found out that we
have a seismometer is school that Mrs Dixon and Ms
Jackson are hoping to get set up so we can monitor the
movements around SJS.
Using their results they were able to create a seismicity
map that builders around Cyprus must abide by when
building houses. Since 2004, the building regulations
have ensured they are made of the right material and
‘earthquake proof’.
We were also told about the Cyprus arc which dips just below Cyprus and is one of the main faults amongst
many others on island. Furthermore, we were shown the underwater mountain range which follows the line
of the arc. If you go onto Google Earth you can see it on the aerial
view.
In addition to learning about seismicity we were also shown different
rocks that were produced over the millions of years in Cyprus and the
creation of Troodos, as a result from plate movement. We left the
centre armed with six leaflets and the website details so we can
continue to learn and monitor the seismic activity on the island.
Overall, despite the dreadful weather that led to the streets of Nicosia
flooding we had a fantastic time learning about the earthquakes,
seismicity and the geology in Cyprus.
By Chelsea Christoforou Y9
Out in the Field
By Tia Rudman, Year 7
On Friday 29th of October, Year 7 went on a trip into the past at the Choirokoitia ruins, before leaping back into the rush of a
more modern settlement, Limassol marina.
We started the day with a 40 minute drive across to the Neolithic settlement at Choirokoitia, and made it there in time for the
sun to start baking us alive. We got into our tutor groups, and were told the plan for the day. We would do History first for
half an hour, before moving on to Geography. 7IM and 7SLD (the other two
tutor groups) would do it in reverse order, meaning they got the Ipads first.
After a quick stop to answer the call of nature, the groups split up, and the
geographers started to brave the climb up the hill while we took the more
gentle way. We soon stopped off at the reconstruction of the settlement.
About ten circular huts made of mud and straw were clustered together.
Their entrances were blocked, but you could see inside were someone had
laid out a museum of old tools and storage compartments.
“These huts look almost exactly how the real ones would have looked,” Mr
Strang informed us, “even that skeleton.”
We clustered around and he told us how people would bury the dead under
the floor, putting a large stone on the body to keep the spirit down if they were
“dodgy”. He let us have a proper look around for a while and we found out that the
houses actually had stone foundations, and the houses were made in the circular
way to prevent weathering, and we make early men sound stupid! A short hike
away, though was the real village. Only the stone foundations had survived, but
we could still make out their circular pattern and the way the climb we had just
made would keep a lot of visitors out.
At the top of the hill, the geography group was waiting to switch over. They
handed us the Ipads and trudged back down.
After linking the scenery to the learning in the class we were sketching away using
Adobe Ideas and Skitch to show the advantage of settling in the area whilst Ms Jackson and Mrs Dixon questioned us:
“Why is the river good?”
“For fish?”
“And…”
“Stone,”
“And something to do with crops…”
We racked our brains as more and more questions were fired at us to engage us in learning. It turns out, it is a defensive
sight, the tree line was an old river, and it generated flood plains to grow crops.
Another tedious drive later, we arrived in the marina. We were told we were detectives and we could go anywhere within
certain boundaries. We needed to take pictures to illustrate what was good about living in the marina, and what was bad. We
got into our groups and started snapping away with the Ipads, sketching away and annotating the drawings. Once we had
completed the tasks as a reward we were allowed to buy an ice cream if we had time from one of the many shoreline coffee
shops.
Before we knew it, it was time to file into the buses once more to journey back to school. We all thought it was a great day,
but I am still annoyed I didn’t have time to get an ice cream.
CLUB
@
SJS
Do you like a
challenge and a breath
of fresh air?
The Geography Department have the perfect settings for a
high-tech treasure hunt.
What is Geocaching?
Geocaching is an exciting outdoor adventure. It’s a treasure hunt for the digital
generation, where you can enjoy the freedom of being outside and discovering new
places. You will learn all you will need to know using a GPS whilst having lots of fun.
Be the first to take part in the Brand New Geocaching Club @ SJS.
Starts Tuesday 6th January 2014 for 5 weeks.
Places are limited so register your interest with Mrs Dixon, Ms Jackson
Or at [email protected]
Mince pies and sausage rolls!
On Friday 28th November a ‘gang’ of teachers met in Ms.Small’s Food Tech department and in 2
½ hours they made 500 mince pies and 200 sausage rolls! Phew!
By now they will all have been eaten at Café Noel, along with all your wonderful contributions.
Spirited Arts 2014
The following students received their Spirited Arts Certificates from Mr. Browning. They had entered the
competition with group or individual entries under topics like “Heaven: Life after life?”, “Worship”, “Spiritual
Journey”, “God: who are you?”, and “The Golden Rule”.
Leah Smales 11MOS
Christiana Innes 11JE
Joe Ball 11JE
Elise Longden 11JE
Emily Hughes 10AS
Owen Larwood 10AS
Sam Barber 10LW
Tom Glencross 10EP
Jakob Bennett 10AS
Khadija Begum 10EP
Well done for lovely entries and here’s to summer 2015 and our new entries!
All-island RE Leaders Group Meeting
On the 1st December the leaders of RE in all the schools
on island met here at St.John’s. Although the group has
met regularly over the last few years this was their first
meeting as a NATRE (National Association of Teachers of
Religious Education) local group, their first group outside
England and Wales.
As an auspicious start we were visited by an HMI Danny
Towl and the Roman Catholic Bishop to the Armed Forces
Richard Moth who happened to be on the island.
After our visitors left we discussed new ways of assessing
in RE and working together across the island.
In January some of us will be attending the first national NATRE conference in London entitled “Strictly
RE”. I am sure the benefits will be felt in all our schools.
Margaret O’Sullivan, Head of RE, SJS
Sam ‘Tweats’ Al Murray
In recent weeks, the RE year 10 students have
been working very hard on the topic of Al Murray.
This resulted in one very lucky student who won a
copy of Al Murray’s book. This is how he did it:
Step One:
RE Today has an interview with Al Murray “The
Pub Landlord”
Step Two:
Year 10 RE students do some work on the
question “Is it right to shake hands with a Nazi?
And the Golden Rule which Al Murray thinks is
common-sense.
Step Three
Ms. O’S sends a few entries.
Step Four
RE Today say Sam Tweats has won a copy of Al’s
book.
Step Five
Mr. Browning congratulates Sam and tweets Al
Murray.
A2 Business in the Community
Sam Henry, Lewis Milligan and Callie Campbell
Business
The Business Studies group is currently studying Unit 8 –
Business Planning. This unit is our synoptic portfolio unit
for our A2 Applied Business course. We are tasked with
writing a comprehensive Business Plan for a new business
idea or developing an existing one in our local community.
This year we decided that we wanted to base our project
on a real business rather than a theoretical one. We
wanted more out of the project than just a written piece of
work and hoped we could do something that would
develop our skills as well as our knowledge. We
understood from the beginning that this meant more work
but we thought the benefits would be worth it. We were
eager to look at local business events to see if we could
identify a suitable project and one which would benefit the
community. We felt it was time to give something back.
After initial discussions during lessons, it became evident that the Party in the Park event could be a
good project for us to embark on. Our personal experiences from attending this community event in
the last 2 years allowed us to identify its successes and weaknesses; however our business
knowledge allowed us to take this a step further in identifying the opportunities that could be
developed. The Party in the Park event was an ideal subject for our studies and at the same time
would allow us to become fully involved in our own community.
We then worked on putting together a formal business proposal of suggested developments for Party
in the Park. This involved carrying out research in the community and meeting with people who had
been involved in previous years. Once this was in place we then made contact with Sqn Ldr Rob
Jones, Stn 2I/C to see if this proposal could go further. This was a very positive and encouraging
meeting which led to us being invited by Major J Kerr, QM Episkopi, to attend a PIP (Party in the
Park) committee meeting. We presented our proposal at the meeting which was quite an experience.
Presenting our ideas in such a formal setting was challenging and certainly made us appreciate the
importance of good communication skills. Luckily, we all performed well and we are now part of the
MoD PIP planning committee to look at the development of this event for 2015.
We have worked this term with the A2 ICT students to develop a new image/
logo for the Event and we hope that other sixth formers will also be involved
with the project later in the year. We wish to provide the local community with
an improved sociable, fun, 1-day event for the whole family, to celebrate
Armed Forces Day. We would like to add more activities especially for
children and teenagers and aim to improve the musical entertainment by inviting
international artists to perform. We will also be organising our own activities on the day
where all profits will be donated to our selected charities: Scotties Little Soldiers and Little Acorns in
Limassol. We know that some of our ideas are rather ambitious; however we are determined to try.
We will keep you updated with our developments and hope we can rely on your support for our
ambitious venture.
A2 Business Team – Samantha Henry, Callie Campbell, Lewis Milligan
St John’s School Students On Work Experience
Work Experience
Congratulations to four students Leba Droka,
Timaima Valegatu, Kyle Storr and Alex
Ravoka on achieving their level 2 Food
Handling Certificate. The students and a
number of St John’s staff successfully
completed a two day training programme
organised by Paul Martin of Sodexo who
made available the new training facilities in
the Sodexo Episkopi Site Office.
This term has also seen a number of St
John’s School students achieving success in
their work experience placements. Timaima
Valegatu (Year 12) has received high praise
from her supervisors at Episkopi Early Years
for her positive attitude. Leba Droka also of
Year 12, has successfully managed the
difficult task of holding down three separate
posts: working in the Tuck Shop with Scott;
helping at the Episkopi Early Years and
learning about Hospitality first hand at the
Sergeants’ Mess.
Ms Small, Alex Ravoka, Mr Browning, Paul Martin, Leba Droka and
Timaima Valegatu
From Year 11, Lakeeta Carrick, has made the most of her time at the Episkopi Early Years where she has
impressed everyone with her maturity, cheerfulness and unfailing enthusiasm. Brandon Small and Corey
Mansfield have also worked diligently in their roles as trainee chefs. This demanding role has required them
to work in the afternoons and during the school holidays which is to be commended.
Working with the search and rescue unit in Akrotiri, Jay Humphries has fine-tuned his engineering skills by
ensuring the Unit’s safety equipment is in good order. Jay is nearing the completion of his course which is
testament to his enthusiasm and commitment.
Hoping to follow a career in sport, Filimoni Valegatu has been working with the PE Dept in school. Every
other week he can be found out and about with the QM’s Dept or in the Episkopi Gym where he benefits
from the encouragement and advice of his supervisors.
Kyle Storr and Alex Ravoka of Year 10, are relative newcomers to work experience. Looking relaxed and
assured in the Snug and Officers’ Mess, they are clearly growing in confidence in the work place and
gaining much from their respective placements.
None of this would have been possible without the hard work and support of all those people in the various
organisations who have given of their time so generously.
I would like to join all the students in saying a huge thank you to everyone who has hosted St John’s School
students so far this year.
Mrs Ros Kelly, 14—19 Advisor
Model United Nations
On Saturday 15th November, 10 students from years 11, 12 and 13 travelled to The English School in Nicosia to
complete a training day for the
Mediterranean Model United Nations.
We arrived at 0800, accompanied by Mrs
Dixon and Mr McKenzie, feeling slightly
under-dressed against the monochromatic
black suits and ties of the other delegates.
The day was designed to prepare the
students, referred to as delegates, for a 3
day conference in February which runs as a
simulation of the United Nations.
Around 200 hundred students from schools
around the country, including KRS, were
there to represent dozens of nations from
the USA to the Democratic Republic of
Korea. Students from St John’s were
representing the Netherlands, Afghanistan
and Libya whilst KRS students represented
Azerbaijan and North Korea. Upon arrival
we were split into three groups depending on what topics we’d chosen to discuss: disarmament and international
security, environmental, financial and economic development or social, humanitarian and cultural. We had little
idea of what to expect, especially when surrounded by so many experienced and intelligent students.
We started off with ice breakers, getting to know our fellow delegates and also getting more comfortable with
speaking in front of people, a skill that we were assured would be essential at the conference come February. In
amongst the aspiring diplomats and politicians there were eager mathematicians, novelists, scientists, linguists and
a number of Game of Thrones fans to be found. It helped to realise that despite the somewhat formidable
appearance of the suits that clad the other delegates, we were all quite similar, and it made it much easier to relax
and to enjoy the day.
Then we got onto the training, covering everything from how to research our chosen topics effectively to the
semantics involved in writing an official resolution to be presented. Discussing all the protocols that we’d be
expected to follow seemed overwhelming at first, it seemed as though every little thing had a set of rules that
governed it, but having the training day helped to dispel any misconceptions we had and ease our minds about the
whole process.
During the final part of the day, we tried our hand at lobbying. In this context, lobbying is the name given to the
process by which you meet other delegates and you talk informally to them in order to build relations and to try and
influence them to cooperate with you and your country in the writing of your resolutions. This really tested the
knowledge that we’d been gathering during our weekly MUN meetings as we had to try and remember who we had
alliances and trade partnerships with, who we had history with and what effect that history may have on our
relations. It was difficult with 75 students moving around in a small classroom, but by the end of it, we all had an
idea of who we could potentially be allying ourselves with come February. Despite nerves at the beginning of the
day, it was a great experience and a wonderful opportunity to meet our fellow delegates, to learn about how the
United Nations functioned practically and to prepare us for the Mediterranean Model United Nations Conference
2015.
For more information about the Mediterranean Model United Nations, visit: www.medimun.net
By Megan Houston and Ellie Macdonald (Y12)
Extra Curricular
YEAR 7 & 8 CROSS COUNTRY v KRS
Everybody
ran
extremely
well,
especially as the
weather was very
warm!
On the 20th November we had a Year 7 & 8 Cross
Country event with King Richard School in Happy
Valley. The runners ran two laps of a 1.3km course
over mixed terrain, including a gruelling section on the
beach.
Both teams had a squad of 12 runners and points
were awarded based on the position each person was
in the race.
Above: Girls winner Anna
Yarwood and SJS leading
runner, Max Henderson.
Left: SJS cross country runners.
Duke of Edinburgh Training week 2
The Duke of Edinburgh training is
progressing well with students familiarising
themselves with the solid fuel stoves that
they will be using on their expedition.
Students cooked a range of food including
packet pasta, eggy bread with syrup,
noodles, bacon and ration packs. They
learned the importance of trying to prevent
the food sticking to the pans, it is hard work
cleaning them!
The previous week they practised putting up
their tents and they are working towards a
practice overnight walk and camp.
The scoring was very
close but St John’s
just pipped KRS to
win the event – well
done to all the
runners who took
part.
A special
mention to
Anna
Yarwood for winning
the girls’ race and
Max Henderson, who
was St John’s leading
runner.
National Theatre Connections
This week saw the start of rehearsals for Hacktivists
by Ben Okrent. The play is a new play written for the
National Theatre Connections project. This year 250
companies across the UK will take part in the project
which is a competition to find the best version of the
11 plays that were available.
There has been an overwhelming interest in the
project by the students and over 25 students showed
an interest in the 13 parts. Alongside this, there are 30
students who are eager to take on the various
technical roles necessary to complete this project. The
play will be performed for two nights in March; dates
are yet to be confirmed.
Careers Advice from Kevin Green, Multi Millionaire and Entrepreneur
Year 9 students were
fortunate enough to be given
a motivational talk by Kevin
Green. Kevin, who has
appeared on Channel 4's
Secret Millionaire is one of the
countries largest private
landlords owning over 700
properties.
He was able to describe to the
students how he overcame
dyslexia and was at one point
even homeless. From that
humble start point he became
the man he is today. He
stressed the importance of
hard work and never giving
up, always seeing something
through until it is finished. He also stressed the importance of learning Maths, which was great because all
the Maths teachers were present at the talk.
This talk tied in really well with the 3 Core Values that St John's and King Richard schools hold,
Excellence, Learning and Leadership.
Kevin wrote on his blog http://www.kevingreenwealth.blogspot.co.uk/
‘All the age groups of pupils were extremely keen as I was
bombarded with constructive questions and innovative ideas. My
feeling is these children are more worldly wise than ‘non-force
kids’ as many have been multi-sited in many different countries
during their upbringing. This seems to instill self-confidence; and
the ‘will to win’ was
extremely evident’.
Year 9 students will be
making their first career
choices this year when they
decide on their GCSE
Options. The Careers
Advisor, Form Tutors and
Subject Teachers will all be
there to guide students into
choices that will help them
to achieve their goals and
ambitions in the future.
Kevin's advice was to
'chose to do something that
you love doing'.
JJ Mansfield wearing Kevin's
£18,000 solid gold Rolex Watch
Kristyna Myles sings at St John’s
Visitors
Once again, students at St John’s and King Richard School were
pleased to welcome UK Singer/Songwriter Kristyna Myles to the Music
Department, along with her musicians Ben Williams and Pete Williams.
The musicians spent two days working with the students in workshops,
preparing some of Kristyna’s own compositions along with some chart
songs – these were then performed in a concert at the end of Day 2
which was well attended by parents and the local community.
We always look forward to Kristyna’s visit as we feel that we have
developed a close bond with her and the guys. This is the fourth year
they have been into St John’s, sharing their expertise and musicianship
with the students, and inviting them to perform alongside them on the
stage.
During the concert, the students performed
three of Kristyna’s own songs with her and then some of our students gave
solo performances. Kristyna was able to give feedback to the soloists on
things such as voice production and performance skills, which the students
found extremely helpful.
This annual visit is such a great opportunity for our Music students to learn
from musicians who are working in the Music Industry and to understand that ‘making it’ in this profession
requires real commitment and focus. We have some extremely talented students here at St Johns this
year, and their outlook was very positive and their confidence soared following their sessions with
Kristyna, Ben and Pete.
We look forward to welcoming them back next year to create some more fantastic performances and to
inspire our musicians.
‘The Inbetweeners’ visit SJS
Staff and students from year 10, 11, 12 and 13 meeting the Inbetweeners
On Tuesday the 18th of November, St. John’s School was lucky enough to welcome three quarters of the
Inbetweeners; Simon Bird, Joe Thomas and James Buckley, whose
characters are well known to most of us. Over the course of a week,
the cast travelled to both Episkopi and Akrotiri, meeting various
people and entertaining the masses. In Episkopi, they visited both
the school and the youth club, providing people with a very
entertaining Q&A session, perfect for anyone aspiring to become an
actor or to become part of the film industry. This opportunity to learn
from the three was helped by them talking about working on a film
set, becoming an actor, and what they enjoyed most about being in a
film. After completing everyone’s photo opportunity in school, the
three went off to the youth club to answer more questions and
partake in some games with the lucky participants, all of which
resulted in a fantastic afternoon for everyone. Meeting the
Mr Browning and the cast of the InbeInbetweeners was clearly an enjoyable experience, and useful for
tweeners
many.
By Frans Schapendonk Y12
Right: Charlotte Ball, Callie
Campbell, Daisy Bowater and Lewis
Milligan meeting.
Middle; Jack Manghan
Left: Leba Droka and Timaima
Valegatu
Children In Need
Another successful Children in Need day at St
John's.
Students from 9FB and 9JS held a cake sale during
both break times. Students and staff brought in
unwanted small change from home and students
paid €1 for non-uniform. Some students did a
sponsored silence and in total St John's School
raised €568.15. Well done everyone!
Charity
Dabaso News
Madam Esther Kutto (Head Teacher) has recently received donations
specifically to purchase books and she very much looked forward to
beginning this process during the Christmas School holiday.
Not only has Dabaso school had brand new classrooms constructed but
they also have had computers donated.
Dabaso School is one of 72 government primary schools in Malindi
district, of which 9 were selected to each receive 24 computers funded
by Camera, an international organization. This company will provide
computer tables and seats and facilitate access to the internet.
Dabaso School has continued to deal with other developments. The school
compound is large and a new kindergarten is being constructed. This will facilitate
the Government’s educational policy of integrating kindergarten with primary
school education with children moving from one to other with minimal difficulty.
Esther also now has a computer in her office and the dried plant on her desk
was a present which friends of ours sent to her last January.
Two days after term ended, Esther resumed her studies at Pwani University
where she will be until 29th December. She has exams for approximately three
weeks including an exam on Christmas day.
Everyone at Dabaso School wishes you a ‘Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year’
Our First Term in Year 7
by Tia Rudman and Georgette Dyer
Hi there, let us introduce ourselves. We are Tia Rudman and
Georgette Dyer, two budding journalists in Y7. We were excited
when Mrs Kerr said that we could contribute to the St John’s
School Newsletter. We are both avid writers and readers and are
members of Mrs Clark’s book club.
Christmas is Coming
By Georgette Dyer
Christmas is coming
The snow slowly falls
It covers the ground like a blanket
Christmas is coming
The lights are on in houses
They brighten up the dark, gloomy
streets
Christmas is coming
In a still, silent world
Carol singers sound out happy notes
Christmas is coming
On this dark gloomy night
The light of life is being born
Christmas is coming
The three wise men
Lost their way on the journey to find
The saviour of the world
5 Ways to Fail-Safe Your Homework
Read the Brief when you’re planning,
writing and checking
This page is a snap shot of things that we have been involved in
this half term as well as some tips for success in Y7 and beyond.
Cross Country
The brutal race of the cross country took place this half term Congratulations to all the runners, as St John’s won again. The race
took place across several terrains, including beach, a forest and
road. The race was a total of 3km and ran in laps, each one 1km
long.
Youth Parliament
I recently put myself forward in an election to enter the youth
parliament campaign, and it proved just how much the motto “be
prepared for anything,” can help. Although I had a speech ready,
the message which contained the date of the assembly somehow
didn’t get through to me. I arrived in the morning with no speech
and in my panic I was in no fit state to write one. The only thing
that saved me form utter mortification was the help of the St
John’s office staff. Mrs. Kerr, in particular, helped me write the
speech just in time. The four of us campaigning took turns giving
our speeches. I have to admit I was not as proud of mine as I
would have liked to have been, listening to all the others, but then
again, they were mostly year 9+, so I had an obvious
disadvantage being the only Y7. I somehow managed to pull it off,
though, and I am now the representative, so win, win, win.
Tia Rudman (Y7)
Tia’s Tips on Speech Writing
Election speeches should follow a certain structure
Compare it with a friend to see how
much they have done
Introduction- Your name and why you are giving the speech.
Who you are.
Get your parents to check it meets the
standard and look for spelling errors.
Main-Why should they listen? What could you do to represent
voters? What skills do you have?
Proofread your own work. Can you do
better?
Conclusion- A summary of your manifesto and then your name
again so it is what they remember when they vote.
Finally, ask your teacher if you are unsure about anything.
(Remember to keep it as concise as possible)
DATE
EVENT
DETAILS
7 JAN
Meet the Principal meeting
Held in Akrotiri Primary School 2.15 – 3.15 All welcome and refreshments provided
8 JAN
ICT OCR NATIONALS
UNIT 1 EXAM
This will affect new Y11’s who arrived after the exam last summer and
those re-sitting.
8 JAN
Y12 and 13 Parent Teacher
Meetings
10 minute meetings to be held in teachers classrooms
13 JAN
Year 10 learning review day
Year 10 parents meet with the form tutors to discuss reports etc.
Mixed Hockey vs KRS
At Happy Valley
15 JAN
Year 11 Parents Teacher meetings 2-4pm
23 JAN
Year 7-9 Trampolining vs KRS
Yr 11 Art GCSE Coursework
submission
Football/Netball vs KRS
Students to make 5 minute appointments with subject teachers. The
afternoon will be held in the conference room, exams room and KS4
Common room.
At SJS – Students involved will be informed by PE staff or Tutors
This will be the final day for all students to submit their coursework and
sketchbooks.
At KRS Students involved will be informed by the PE staff prior to the
event.
Students to bring in a euro to support the selected school charity.
30 JAN
12 FEB
13 FEB
27 FEB
2 MAR
10 MAR
11 MAR
Last day of the half term – Civvies day
Year 7-9 reports sent home
Year 11 BTEC Science and year
13 Biology trip
YR’s 10,11,12,13 Progress reports sent home
Yr 7 Learning Review Day
7.30 am – 5.00 pm
Table Tennis and girls football
vs KRS
Yr 8 Learning Review Day
7.30 am – 5.00 pm
12 MAR
Yr 9 Learning Review Day
13 MAR
Comic Relief
18 MAR
Y11 Progress / Learning Review
Day
21 MAR
7.30 – 5.00pm
Yr 12 Residential Trip
27 MAR
Evening Charity Concert –
School hall Timings TBC
Last day of term
10 – 14
APRIL
30 APRIL
Civvies Day
Proposed week for
Yr11 10hr Art GCSE Exam
Musical Evening in the school
hall
Invite to learning review day will be issued to parents.
During the school day. Details TBC
Parents and form tutors meet for 30 minutes to discuss the record of
achievement, progress and targets.
Held at SJS.
Parents of students involved in either the girl’s football or the table tennis will be asked to make learning review day appointments before 9.30
or after 12.00 so that students can attend the learning review day meetParents and form tutors meet for 30 minutes to discuss the record of
achievement, progress and targets.
Students pay 1 euro for non-school uniform / fancy dress. Other activities will also be running on the day and students will be able to purParent tutor meetings following the Y11 progress check. Parents and
students will have the chance to discuss how well students are preparing for their GCSE’s and offer support.
Visit to North Wales where students gain experience of collecting primary data and writing a Geography report in preparation for their AS examGrand Charity Concert featuring Akrotiri Voluntary Band, Akrotiri Military Wives Choir & Episkopi Military Wives Choir.
Students wear non uniform and donate a euro to charity. Any specific
theme will be announced nearer the date.
Students will be given a timetable of sessions in which to complete their
exam.
“Music From The Shows”
7PM