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2016
St. John’s C of E Middle School
SUMMER ISSUE
The
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The termly
Newsletter from
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St. John’s School
Contents
Updates from the Year groups
News from the Church
Events & Trips
Educational Achievements
Sports
Headteacher’s letter
Dear Parents,
It does not seem a year since I was writing my first introduction to the
Red Sweater Newsletter and here we are in the last few weeks of the
Summer term!
There has been success in a range of areas reflecting the diverse and
extensive opportunities provided for the pupils at St. John’s. Pupils in
Year 6 took part in a Maths Challenge held at Bromsgrove School
where our teams came 2nd, 6th and 7th place, a fantastic
achievement as we beat the hosts! In Athletics we won the Key Stage
3 Super Six competition and the District Athletics. In Dance we
achieved success at many festivals and finally I must mention our
school production Joseph, it was a fantastic performance and really
demonstrated the range of talent that we have at St. John’s.
May I take this opportunity
to wish you all a restful and
enjoyable Summer. We
look forward to welcoming
the pupils back on
Wednesday 7th September
2016.
g
y
g
I again would like to thank parents and staff for their support in
making St. John’s such a special place to learn.
Mr. G. L. Roberts
Headteacher
Team Maths
Challenge Winners
On Tuesday 5th July a team of 4 Year 6 pupils maintained the title of
‘1st Place’ in the UKMT Team Maths Challenge at Alcester Grammar
School. This consisted of 6 back-to-back rounds of puzzles, problem
solving and lateral thinking. We are so proud to bring home the
trophy for the second year running and it’s all thanks to Danny
O’Donnell, Leo Cadman, Kiko Wadhams and Maggie Aveyard!
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Update from the
Year groups
Year 5
With just a matter of weeks and days left of
the academic year, it won’t be long now
before year 5 can say they have completed
their first year as St. John’s pupils. With
Transition Day looming closer, many are
now starting to look forward to next year
and the change and exciting new beginning
it brings. This time last year was possibly a
little more nerve-wracking for our current year 5, with the big change
up to middle school which will hopefully be less daunting this year
moving up to year 6.
Since our last Red Sweater Letter, many exciting events have taken
place for year 5. Firstly the two Malvern weekends, which included a
total of 104 pupils went very well, with all those that went taking part
fully and challenging themselves with new activities. The weather
was also reasonable so hopefully the washing that returned wasn’t
too mud-ridden and soggy!
We have also recently had our year 5 Challenge Day, where pupils
competed in their classes in a variety of activities, both mental and
physical. See the included section for more details and limericks.
Many year 5 pupils are now more aware of road and bike safety, with
many having taken advantage of the ‘Bikeability’ scheme offered this
term. The school playground has been the arena for learning
signalling, checking over your shoulder and emergency stops. Lucy
Weston was one pupil who took part and said; ‘It was fun and helped
me realise how dangerous it could be on the roads’.
As well as looking forward to next year (and possibly the Summer
Holiday) we also have our year 5 trip to the West Midland Safari Park
on the 13th July, with so far the vast majority of year 5 returning their
permission slips to attend. Fingers crossed the weather will be kind
and will we have a fun end of year day out to celebrate a wonderful
first year at St. John’s.
Year 6
It is that time of year where your child could
be forgiven for counting down the days till the
summer break and after such a challenging
year for our Year 6 pupils, one can hardly
blame them. The last year has been one of
the most difficult years in your child’s
educational journey, not only dealing with the
changes as they head towards being teenagers, but also tackling the
most difficult end of key stage two tests children have ever faced.
Not only the most difficult test ever faced but the Government also
raised the pass mark up 10%, so please no matter your child’s results I
know they all put in a massive effort and all deserve praise for their
effort and determination.
After the National Curriculum test we managed some well-deserved
time away from school, with pupils attending either the Paris trip or a
very enjoyable day out to Drayton Mannor. May I pass on my thanks
to Mrs Hirons and all the staff involved in the Paris trip. Organising
residential trips and especially those in another country takes hours
and hours of organising and planning, but the pupil’s behaviour on
the trip was exemplary and made the trip that bit extra special.
The current class with the most Housepoints are 6MC with an
impressive 6908, working out as an average of 238 per pupil. 6CH
have over taken 6SP and now have the highest number of stamps as a
class with a pupil average of 787 stamps per pupil. 6CH also top our
class attendance charts with an average attendance of 97.60%, but
less than 1.5% separates all the classes. The whole of Year 6
attendance is 96.80% just short of the schools target of 97%, this is a
very good effort and I would like to thank all those pupils who have
helped get so close to that target. While there is not much time left,
the scores are tight in all three sections and anyone can still take the
top prizes.
Finally I would like to pass on a huge thanks to all members of the
Year 6, pupils, parents, teaching assistants and especially the teaching
staff. I couldn’t wish for a harder working team that has allowed
every pupil in their care to have such a wonderful and successful year.
I hope you all have a well-deserved summer break and here’s hoping
for some sunshine!
Mr. K. Hirst - Head of Year 6
Finally we would like to wish year 5 good luck for next year and keep
up the hard work.
Mr. D. Owen - Head of Year 5
Year 7
Here we are again, almost the end of another
school year and what a year it’s been. We
have had very enjoyable trips to both PGL
and Drayton Manor this term where once
again our fantastic pupils did themselves and
the school proud. A big thank you to all the
staff and pupils for making the trips a
success.
With Year 8 on the horizon, we are on the lookout for our next Head
boy and Head girl, along with prefects and mentors. The year 7 class
teachers and I are already watching for those pupils who make that
extra effort and Mrs Bourne will be inviting applications in early in
September.
The Year 7 class league tables are extremely close going into the final
half term, less than 1% in it in some cases. The winners for March to
May are as follows,
House Points – 7CS with 1416
Stamps – 7KC with 5335 (96.4%)
Attendance – 7LS with 96.9%
Congratulations to the winning classes and the prize for the winning
class in each category at the end of the year will be a Movie
afternoon with popcorn!
Finally I would like to wish all the year 7 teachers, pupils and their
parents an enjoyable and relaxing summer.
Mr. R. Upwood - Head of Year 7
Year 8
Well it's been a busy summer term so far in
year 8 and we can't believe that the end is
so near. How this year has flown!
Careers Day was a resounding success and
our pupils loved listening to volunteer
speakers from the fire service, nursing
sector, music and automotive industries and
of course to hear about working with animals from the Blue Cross.
Alton Towers seems so long ago but we were very proud of our
pupils' conduct and their beaming faces (most of them soaked from
the rain or water rides) were testament to a great day out, thoroughly
well deserved.
Transition to High School is now our key focus and we are doing
everything we can to ensure our pupils are ready for that next step.
The high schools have been assessing year 8s and working closely
with us to prepare for September.
With that next stage in mind, our year 8 leavers' ball is fast
approaching this term and is on the very last day in school so it really
is the final chance our pupils get together as a cohort. The theme this
year is 'Roses are Red' and pupils are invited to wear a red accessory
if they so wish. This is always a fantastic night, with good food and
impressive dance moves (yes the staff strut their funky stuff too!) but
is tinged with sadness as we bid a fond farewell to our year group.
Mrs R. Bourne - Head of Year 8
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From the Vicar
As we approach the end of another school year, we will be saying
goodbye to the year 8’s praying that they will be prepared for the joys
and challenges of High School. They will be sorely missed in our school
family.
One of the qualities that I hope they will have is the capacity to carry on
and to face the challenges of life with determination and hope.
Hope is an amazing gift to have. It
appears in times of disappointment,
confusion and darkness, it enables us to
pick ourselves up, wipe the dust off and
carry on.
Hope is a gift and it is one that we can
give to all those around us. In a
competitive environment like
education it is easy to feel the sharp
sting of failure as something
permanent and enduring. It is so easy
to crush the spark that we see in the
hearts and lives of others. So how can we nurture that hope?
Here are some tips.
Remember: Remember the good things. Past achievements and
victories won.
Church
Encourage: Never underestimate the power of love. When we feel
abandoned or feel a failure we must remember that we are loved and
that we are not alone. Surround yourself with people who care.
Be real: We cannot be good at everything, but we do have unique gifts
and strengths. Recall those gifts. Remember that disappointments are
only temporary, they help us to become stronger and to be those who
can overcome.
Timing: The qualities that matter are eternal. Character, loyalty,
honesty, kindness, forgiveness, love, endurance and many more will
never feature in an exam, but they are the qualities that truly matter in
the world.
It is so easy to be fixed on what is not important or one the things that
have a short life span, to assume that these
things are permanent. But they are not!
They help us to develop character, to
discover love and to carry on.
Martin Luther King reminds us that we
must accept finite disappointment, but we
must never lose infinite hope.
Rev. Ray Khan
Vicar St. John’s Church
RE Enrichment Day
Pentecost Church Service.
In our worship we celebrated the coming of God’s Holy Spirit into
the world. Pupils gave thanks for the enabling power of the Spirit
and delivered a reflective account of the story through drama and
music.
Battle of the Somme
Remembrance
Aaliyah Harris 6SP got up at 6.30am and in full school uniform went
to the service in Bromsgrove at the remembrance memorial for the
Battle of The Somme remembrance.
Rev Ray Khan was there as both the school vicar and as the
Bromsgrove Royal British Legion vicar/Chaplin he played the silver
bugle that was played at the Somme and he chatted to Aaliyah about
the event.
Something to remember in the years to come where Aaliyah can say ‘I
was at the 100 anniversary remembrance parade in Bromsgrove for
the battle of the Somme’
Rev Ray Khan,
Aaliyah Harris
and
Mr Patrick
Smith chairman
of the
Bromsgrove
branch of the
Royal British
Legion
On Wednesday
8th June, the
whole school
participated in
a full day of
focused
activities about
refugees and
their lives.
Pupils had to
empathise with refugees, making collages and
diary entries outlining the struggles of being a refugee travelling to the
UK as well as think about ways we could welcome refugees into our
own town and school. There were lots of creative activities to get
involved in too, like creating photo frames and welcome packs for
young refugees and designing a fundraising initiative that could be
used to raise money for local refugee group Bromsgrove Welcomes
Refugees. Pupils in Year 5 and 6 were treated to a presentation and
activities from Bromsgrove Welcomes Refugees. Year 7 and 8 met
someone who works with refugees in the Refugee Centre in Coventry,
which gave them a real insight into the struggles faced by refugees in
Britain every day – from not understanding letters and forms to trying
to get travel documents to visit friends and family or for them to come
and visit them in Britain. Year 7 also had the opportunity to be involved
in a piece of drama with Reverend Ray Khan from St. John’s Church,
which they performed to all year groups in an assembly at the end of
the day. A really successful first RE Enrichment Day at St. John’s!
The pupils really enjoyed their day and felt like they learned a lot about
refugees and how we can welcome refugees to Bromsgrove:
“I really liked being able to make and pitch our own ideas for
fundraising for Bromsgrove Welcomes Refugees.” – Liv Turbutt
“I respect the man that came in and talked about the refugees and why
it is important to help them.” – Dara Costello
“I really enjoyed learning about the dangers and challenges that
refugees face and how we can help them in their time of need.” –
Michael Bray
“I really enjoyed the RE day because I learnt lots of new things about
refugees. There are lots of things we can do to help them such as the
Refugee Centre in Coventry where I would like to volunteer when I’m
older.” – Lucy Power
“I really enjoyed the RE Enrichment Day because we got to be creative.
I learned a lot about refugees and listening to the man speak about
refugees inspired me to help.” – Shannon Lodge
“I really liked all the creative activities.” – Devan Braumanis
“What I enjoyed most about the day was meeting the man who
worked with refugees.” – Millie Birch
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Fundraising
Isabel Childs in year 7, at
the end of May she
trekked up Snowdon in
Wales for charity. The
weather was fantastic
and Isable joined her
brother Alex and his
friends, some of which
were ex pupils of St.
John’s, now at South
Bromsgrove. It took
them about 5 hours to
go up and down
(apparently much
quicker than the adults!)
and between them they
raised a fantastic
£1,270.00 for the
Teenage Cancer Trust. Just to make it more of a challenge the boys
carried a stretcher with someone on it all the way to the top! Isabel
was their official photographer and was raising money for the same
cause. Ray Sawyer in Year 8 also joined the climb with her family
London Marathon
Two of our very
brave teachers ran in
this year’s London
Marathon. Mrs C.
Hirons and Mr. N.
Price.
Christian Aid
A Big thank you to all the pupils, staff and parents who helped
support the raising of funds for Christian Aid Week this year. We
raised £383! The money from cake sales and loose change will help
the people of Bangladesh who often struggle to grow enough food
and whose homes are at risk from dangerous flooding.
Mrs Hirons, running
for the Charity, CLIC
Sargent, a teenage
cancer charity, finished
in 4:21:24. and the
pupils in 5 and 6
managed to raise £2000
through the school
disco and bag packing.
Congratulations to
Amelia Bourne 6CH for
winning the Christian Aid
cake decorating
competition and 6SY
who raised the most
from loose change.
Mr. Price ran 3:56:57 and
the school raised just
over £2000 for Leukaemia
Care through sponsored
sports events and staff
donations.
Well done both, looking
forward to next year’s
times!!
Year 8 Prom
This year's year 8 leavers' ball will take place on Thursday 21st July at
The Hilton Hotel. Every year our pupils amaze us, turning up in all their
finery and in some very interesting modes of transport too! One year we
even had a 'prom princess' jump off a tractor! This year's theme is 'Roses
are Red' and we are sure that the evening will be a fitting end to our
pupils' years with us. Expect tears upon pickup parents!
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Poetry Slam
Dance Showcase
On Tuesday 26th April, a group of Year 8 pupils represented St John’s
at the Poetry Slam Middle Schools Final which took place at the
Palace Theatre, Redditch. On this evening the pupils performed a
poem they had written during the Poetry Slam day at school. The
standard of performances at the final was extremely high, (with the
judges commenting that is was the best year yet!) so I am delighted
to be able to tell you that the St John’s team ‘The Lyrical Limericks’
did exceptionally well and came in second place! Very well done to
Harriet Vicary, Ciara Lane, Georgina Bereen-Worrall, Micheal Jones,
Dan Read, Sean Ricketts and Kira Brookes.
St John's Middle School students formed an
advanced dance group for the showcase.
YOUNGSTERS from St John's Middle School were showing off their
dance skills recently as part of a festival to showcase the work of the
Epic Dance Academy.
The academy works within schools across north Worcestershire,
offering coaching sessions to pupils, and for the showcase held at
Bromsgrove School, a group of year five pupils showed off a dance
they had learnt in lesson time, while an advanced dance group from
years five to eight, performed a piece they had been learning during
their lunchbreaks.
Careers Day 2016
On Thursday 26th May 5 volunteers kindly gave up their time to speak
to year 8s about their chosen careers. Ben Stancombe (music
producer and artist), Steve Williams (firefighter), Geraldine Guest
(Blue Cross), Kate Cross (nurse) and Dave Johnson (DNA Automotive
Solutions) delivered talks to the Bromsgrove teenagers all morning.
Head of Year 8, Rachel Bourne said: ‘Today is vital for our pupils as it
gives them real insight into a range of different career options.
Hopefully they will go away inspired and determined to pursue their
chosen pathway. I can’t thank our volunteers enough for giving up
their valuable time.’
Pictured: Geraldine Guest, Eden Andrews, Kate Cross, Georgina
Berreen-Worrall, Steve Williams, Michael Jones, Ben Stancombe, Faye
Wells, Dave Johnson, Dan Mapother and (front row) Morgan Williams
and Jack Doxford.
Year 6 Paris
On Tuesday 24th May 2016,
40 year 6 pupils set off for
the annual trip to Paris.
After a 12 hour journey we
arrived at the fantastic
Explorers Hotel and spent
time unpacking and relaxing.
The first evening we had a
great meal and went
swimming in the hotel pool.
On Wednesday we spent the
whole day in Paris,
experiencing many of the
famous tourist areas including
the Eiffel Tour, Notre Dam and
Sacre Coeur. On Thursday we
visited Disneyland Paris for the
entire day and enjoyed a meal
in the resort. Friday morning
we visited Disney Studios, as our usual trip to the National Stadium
was cancelled because of Euro 2016. We returned back to school
after an amazing trip ready for a well deserved rest!
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Bikeability
Civil War Experience Day
Across four separate weeks, nearly 80 Year 5
pupils have taken part in Bikeability training,
to help them to be safe on the roads when
they are riding their bikes. The first session
for each group was held on the playground,
where they completed a refresher on the
level 1 training they received at first school. They then
spent a total of 5 1/2 hours out on the road, across two days, where
they learnt amongst other things, how to signal to traffic and road
safety and awareness.
The day when the colonel came to our school was all about life during
the civil war. He stayed in character all day and gave you an insight
into what life was really like. Everyone got involved and was engaged
with the talks throughout the day.
The day was extremely enjoyable and gave every student another
way of looking at the Civil War. Everyone heard how loud and
effective the cannon was and how long and hard it was to load. I
enjoyed this the most.
I learnt so much from the experience and found it was more effective
than text books. I learnt more about the Civil War in that day than
normal lessons. It really helped us all engage with what happened
back then and I feel everyone learnt at least one thing.
Georgina Berreen – Worrall – 8RB
The Colonel’s visit was about the history of the Civil War: how they
fought, what weapons were used, what was worn and the different
sides of the war. It gave us an insight to what the war would have
been like if we were around at the time and what we would
experience.
Paddle Power as Upton Warren
Throughout the summer term a group of Year5 and 6 pupils have
been going to Upton Warren Outdoor Activity Centre on a Tuesday
afternoon.
The Pupils have been taking part in a ‘Paddle Power’ program which
is affiliated by British Canoeing. This includes water safety and the use
of various boat sizes, from whole group boats to doubles and single
pupil boats.
The children have been challenged over the summer term with basic
boat skills to more complex manoeuvres i.e show two ways of
recovering from losing your balance, the correct capsize drill and
many more.
St John’s pupils turned out in all weather and completed the course
with great enthusiasm. Every child received a certificate indicating
their level of achievement from level 1 up to level 5.
Year 5 Challenge Day
On the 26th May, Year 5 took part in a Challenge Day with a Safari
theme. The morning was a variety of team based tasks which including
Dragon’s Den – where pupils had to design a new product to take on
Safari, A Safari Puzzle Trail – with maths problems to find and solve
giving a coded answer, the a Safari Poetry challenge – which required
pupils to write a safari based Limerick. One of these was written by
Lauren Holt in 5MAR:
Bob was an angry bear, Who liked to give people a scare,
He tried to rule, By being cruel,
Bob was really unfair!
After the morning of tasks, Year 5 spent the afternoon on the field
competing in rounders and long ball, with 5MM putting in an excellent
team performance, which even after points for the morning’s tasks had
been added, saw them as the Challenge Day Champions!
I found it fun when the Colonel fired the cannon outside. It really
brought to life how the war would have sounded and made me
realise how deafening the sound of hundreds of canons would be.
I learnt more about how it would feel living in that time period and
how scary experiencing war would have been. I learnt more about
what they wore and the weapons used, also. I would not like to have
lived in this time period as I believe going into battle would be
significantly frightening.
Amelie Shorrock - 8NP
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PGL 2016
Year 5 Malvern
On the 16th May Mr Upwood along with 7 other members of staff
took 84 year 7 pupils to PGL Boreatton Park, located in the heart of
the Shropshire countryside.
The pupils got to experience the death defying heights of the High
ropes, Climbing wall and the Abseiling tower as well as the adrenaline
rush of the Giant swing. As a cohort, they excelled in the team
building exercises such as Raft building and the sensory trail. The St
John’s pupils did themselves and the school proud in what proved
once again to be thoroughly enjoyable residential trip.
Throughout the week the staff as well as the PGL instructors look for
individuals who stand out, either for team work and encouragement
or because they gave 100% to all the challenges and conquered their
fears. As in previous years, 2 boys and 2 girls were chosen to receive
special prizes at the end of the week. This year’s winners were Katie
Lacey, Megan Crook, Luke Schofield and Sam Carter – well done to
them and indeed all the pupils who participated.
The provisional booking for next year’s trip has been made so if you
are in year 6 now, keep an eye out for more information coming soon.
The Great Grange Code Off
This year saw the first running of the Great Grange Code Off, a
competition run by RGS the Grange for Year 5 pupils. Mr Upwood was
invited to bring along a team of four year 5’s to take part in a series of
coding based challenges against other schools form the
Worcestershire area. Luka De Waal, Adam Ogden, Callum Holland and
Draven Fullelove were nominated by their respective Computing
teachers to form the St John’s team.
Upon arrival the pupils were tasked with deciding on a team name
before beginning the first of 3 challenges. The ‘Coding Kings’ first task
was to code an animated whale to do a number of different things,
this was a warm up task to ensure the pupils knew how to use the
iPad based coding application called Tickle.
The second challenge was to complete a ‘driving test’, the pupils
would need to show they could produce lines of code that would
drive a robot called an Ollie. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed testing
the capabilities of this mini remote controlled robot, all done
wirelessly from the iPad.
The final task was a tough one, could the Coding Kings successfully
produce a code that would see their Ollie navigate a maze …?
The pupils did very well and worked brilliantly together, they
managed to get their Ollie halfway round and it was decided that all 4
schools that took part were all worthy winners on the day – well done
boys!
104 Year 5 pupils have recently attended our Malvern outdoor activity
weekends in May and June. I am pleased to say the weather was
reasonably kind and the pupils were extremely well behaved and yet
again good ambassadors for St. John’s. For another year, the Malvern
Outdoor Centre was excellent, with fantastic activities, food and
instructors which made for two fun-packed action weekends.
The pupils took part in a wide range of activities including climbing,
canoeing, zip wire, high ropes, giant swing, orienteering, among
others. All pupils participated the maximum of their ability with some
really pushing themselves to attempt things they may never have
done before and were sometimes a little outside their comfort zones,
whether this was climbing, quad tower or even staying away from
home for the first time.
I am sure it was an experience most will remember for many years to
come and may even have given them a taste for something new or
confidence for similar events in the future.
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Music
On 17th June members of Advanced choir performed at the Three
Counties Show in the Diocese of Worcester Tent and received a great
reception from their audience, singing a varied programme including
a song in Hebrew and an a-cappella spiritual in five part harmony!
Maths
Team Maths Challenge
We are extremely proud to
announce that on Thursday 9th
June, 12 Year 6 pupils attended
the Team Maths Challenge at
Bromsgrove School. 15 teams took
part and our 3 teams finished as
follows:
2nd place: Leo Cadman, Danny
O'Donnell, Maggie Aveyard, Kiko
Wadhams
6th place: Polly Ellis, Lucy
Blundell, Corban Allen, Max
Murdoch
7th place: Isabella Lawrance,
Charlotte Blundell, George Roke,
Matthew Macpherson
On Saturday 21st May members of the School Worship band travelled
down to Soul Survivor Watford for their Saturday Celebration where
we had a great time singing and worshipping together with other
young people from all over the country. We heard a great talk on how
we are more than our grades and exam results, appearance or social
media image and came back with some great ideas of new songs for
our services at the church.
History
Year 8
Our Visit to Worcester Commandery 14th, 15th and 16th of June
Year 6 – 2nd
place
Year 6 – 6th place
Huge congratulations to all
involved in this fantastic
achievement!
The other schools were mostly
private so we felt extra proud of
the achievement (and we beat
the hosts themselves)!
6 – 7th place
Year
All pupils in the school are now
using our new online resource 'Mathletics' and the following pupils
have been in the number one spot this term for the highest score in
school: Tom Sanders (Year 7), Miles Thompson (Year 6),
Jack Wright (Year 5). Keep up the good work and let's see some new
names next term!
A sample question from the challenge:
“Fred is planning to run a marathon and has included some uphill
runs in his training. He can run 10km per hour on the flat, 8km per
hour on gentle slopes and only 5km per hour on steep slopes. His
training run has 4km on the flat, 2km on gentle slopes and 1km on a
steep slope. How long does Fred take on his training run?”
Also All pupils in the school are now using our new online resource
'Mathletics' and the following pupils have been in the number one
spot this term for the highest score in school: Tom Sanders (Year 7),
Miles Thompson (Year 6), Jack Wright (Year 5). Keep up the good
work and let's see some new names next term!
Science – STEM Club
Year 8 travelled to Worcester Commandery to find out about all sorts
of things linked to the Civil War. We learnt things like, how it started,
normal family life before and after, different food and clothes for
different classes, battle strategies and more.
The Commandery is an old Tudor house and during the last part of
the Civil War it was the Headquarters for Charles 2nd . We all had a
really good time and were able to get involved a lot; We dressed up,
had pretend surgery, handled a variety of weapons and learnt a lot
from our audio guide. The guide made us feel like we were really
there when it all happened.
Adi Powell (8AME)
At STEM we do a variety of practical's and activities from making
ice-cream to dissecting owl pellets. As well as enjoying ourselves we
also learn interesting things. One of the first things we did was make
ice cream, in one bag there was salt and ice, in another bag was milk
and sugar, we shook them together and the result was a delicious
ice cream. Here we learnt that salt in ice make it colder whilst
melting. We also made boomerangs and tested them to see which
design (2, 3 or 4 arms) worked best, unfortunately most of them
ended up on the lab or corridor roof. When we dissected owl pellets,
we saw many types of skulls. Eloise was disgusted!
Recently we did flame test and lava lamps, both were caused by
chemical reactions.
To learn more about the Civil War of 1642, year 8 visited the
Worcester Commandery. We learnt about the foods at the time for
both rich and poor, we also learnt about the weapons and how
barbaric they were.
It was very interesting to see the view of the battle scene from a
nearby hill and we also got to see our classmates dress in clothes
from the period. Surprisingly these clothes were bigger than the
originals because people living in the Stuart period were about six
inches shorter!
Adelina Powell 8AME and Eve Collins 8AME
Summer_2016_12pp_Layout 1 08/07/2016 16:23 Page 10
Super 6 Athletics team
Girls District Football u13 Tournament
Super 6 Team representing North Worcestershire in the
Worcestershire Summer. (photo attached)
St John’s Middle School hosted the girl’s district under 13 Football
tournament. A great afternoon of football was enjoyed by over 50
girls from several Bromsgrove schools. Assisting in the running of the
competition were 2 young leaders from St John’s School who refereed
and helped coordinate the event. In a closely fought contest Parkside
narrowly missed out on 2nd place which was taken by Aston Fields
with St John’s winning the competition on goal difference.
Pictured: back row L-R : Chelsea Storey-Jones, Nicole Hargreaves,
Chloe Holder, Naeve Foy, Ava Freer, Charlotte Lightfoot.
The Summer Games was a huge event with thousands of students
competing in a variety of activities.
The athletics team put in a fantastic performance truly demonstrating
the values of the school games self belief, determination, honesty,
teamwork, passion and respect.
They came away with Silver medals, a very close second to a strong
team from The Chase High School who beat them by just 2 points.
Front row L-R: Joe Goode, Shandell Samuels, Grace Daly, Niamh
Woodbine, Liam Webber.
County Championships Success
Several St. John’s pupils were selected to represent the district at the Herefordshire and Worcestershire County Championships. The school
provided 11 of the 40 children chosen:
Eloise Gayle, Ava Freer, Amelie Shorrock, Faye Wells, Sam Carter, James Johnson, Jon Troth, Sam Hatton, Dan Djurovic, Tom Cairns, Joe Clayton,
Michael Jones
Young Leaders
Fantastic Summer of Athletics at St. John’s
6 YEAR 8 STUDENTS HAVE THROUGH HARD WORK ACHIEVED THEIR
PLATIMUM BADGE. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME EVER THIS HAS
HAPPENED- WELL DONE.
It has been a really busy time for the school’s year 7 and 8 athletics’
teams with over 60 pupils attending
regular practises.
The recently held District Track and
Field Championships (involving the 7
Middle Schools from Bromsgrove and
Droitwich and 2 high schools) saw
many individual and team successes
for the St. John’s pupils.
And finally…….
Well done to everyone who attended practises or represented the
various teams this summer. To win so many individual medals as
well as several team events is a superb effort as is 12 pupils being
selected for the County Championships.
The combined Girls’ and Boys’ team
became district champions for the
third consecutive year.
Summer_2016_12pp_Layout 1 08/07/2016 16:23 Page 11
Year 7 Boys team
100 metres: Devante Adams Gold
Hurdles: Sam Carter Silver
800 metres: Finton Hutt Silver
1500 metres: Tolly Bignell Bronze
Long Jump: Devante Adams Gold
Triple Jump: Joe Clayton Gold, Kaiden Rann-Smith Bronze
Shot: Josh Leonisio Silver
High Jump: Sam Carter Silver
Relay: Sam Carter, Oli Holder, Joe Clayton, Devante Adams Gold
The following boys also represented the school and contributed
points to the team performance:
Henry Collard, Stephen McCallum, Toby Payne, George Dale, Oli
Beyene, Harry Thomas-Rich, Bobby Atkinson, Tom Sanders
Year 7 Girls
100 metres: Ava Freer Gold, Naeve Foy Bronze
200 metres: Devan Braumaris Gold, Shannon Lodge Silver
Hurdles: Mia Scarlett Silver
Long Jump: Devan Braumaris Gold
Javelin: Naeve Foy Silver
Shot Putt: Verity Clarke Bronze
Discus: Shannon Lodge Gold
Relay: Devan Braumaris, Shannon Lodge, Ava Freer, Naeve Foy Gold
The following girls also represented the school and contributed points
to the team performance:
Emily Wright, Alice Stevens Pinfield, Izzy Baird
Year 8 Boy
100 metres: James Johnson Silver
200 metres: Jon Troth Silver
300 metres: Sam Hatton Gold
Hurdles: Tom Cairns Gold
800 metres: Dan Djurovic Silver
1500 metres: Luke Henning Silver
Javelin: James Johnson Gold
Shot: Mehmet Babir Bronze
Discus: James Topping Bronze
Relay: Sam Hatton, Jon Troth, Michael Jones, James Johnson Gold
The following boys also represented the school and contributed
points to the team performance:
Sam Drew, Ben Roadknight
Year 8 Girls
100 metres: Faye Wells Silver
Hurdles: Eloise Gayle Gold
800 metres: Hannah Dodd Bronze
Long Jump: Chloe Holder Bronze
High Jump: Amelie Shorrock Gold, Eloise Gayle Silver
Discus: Faye Wells Silver, Eden Andrews Bronze
Relay: Eden Andrews, Chloe Holder, Annie- May Marshall, Faye Wells
Silver
The following girls also represented the school and contributed points
to the winning team performance:
Niamh Woodbine, Suzie Dunster, Katie Stewart
A big thank-you and well done to Charlotte Nock, Georgina BereemWorrall, Daniella Bagnall and Ellie Newbold who all helped to run
the District Championships.
Hockey
Boys’ Hockey
Over the last four years we have tried to develop boys’ hockey at the
school. The school teams have won all of the district tournaments
held over the past four years. In addition the teams have enjoyed
many successes at county (Worcestershire) and Midlands level
(Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire,
Shropshire, Nottinghamshire, West Midlands, Northamptonshire).
In the past three seasons every St. John’s team entered from year 6, 7
and 8 has either been winners or runners-up at the County Finals
(held at Bromsgrove School in December). They have therefore
qualified for the Midlands Finals held at Cannock in March or April.
Winners and runners up from the 8 counties mentioned above meet
up. Generally the school team finishes between 9th and 12th.
Boys’ Hockey
Over the last four years we have tried to develop boys’ hockey at the
school. The school teams have won all of the district tournaments
held over the past four years. In addition the teams have enjoyed
many successes at county (Worcestershire) and Midlands level
(Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire,
Shropshire, Nottinghamshire, West Midlands, Northamptonshire).
In the past three seasons every St. John’s team entered from year 6, 7
and 8 has either been winners or runners-up at the County Finals
(held at Bromsgrove School in December). They have therefore
qualified for the Midlands Finals held at Cannock in March or April.
Winners and runners up from the 8 counties mentioned above meet
up. Generally the school team finishes between 9th and 12th.
This year’s teams:
Year 8
This team was joint county champion as year 6s, outright champion in
year 7 and this year reached the final before losing to St. Egwins from
Evesham. The team performed well at the Midlands Finals but
unfortunately did not progress to the knock-out phase.
It has been an excellent effort over the past three years for the
following squad:
Alastair Clarke, James, Johnson, Will Lawrie, Mason Preece, Jon Troth,
Liam Webber, Dan Mapother, Joe Goode, James Topping.
Year 7
As year 6 this squad was runner up at the County Finals last year. It
was the same this season with a narrow defeat to a strong St. Bede’s
team alongside 3 victories securing second place and qualification to
the Midlands Finals.
The Midlands Finals did not start well as we were 3-0 down to Bilton
Grange School (Warks) after 4 minutes. We then beat St. Edwards
Grammar School (Staffs) and drew with Meole Brace (Shrops). Our
final group game was against Loughborough Grammar School. We
were winning with one minute left but a fine Loughborough goal
meant the game ended in a draw. We missed a place in the Midlands
semi- finals on goal difference. We then defeated Ratcliffe College
(Leics) in a play off and ended the day as the 5th best school team in
the Midlands.
This was an excellent end to the season culminating in the best ever
performance by a St. John’ s team:
Connor McCann, Toby Payne, Stephen McCallum, Joe Clayton, Jack
Price, James Hulme, Devante Adams, Zak Bennett, Sam Carter
Rugby
It has been a
hard year for
rugby at St
John’s with
amazing
performances
put in by all
pupils from Year
5 to year 8. Our
KS3 team have
played very well
with impressive
improvement and putting in great individual and team performances
against worthy opponents. Our KS2 team played well in the TAG
tournaments that they entered getting to the semi-final of the
Bromsgrove district competition and winning a number of games at
the West Mercia Police festival in Kidderminster. The first year of girls
rugby has worked very well and even though we did not get desired
results in tournaments played we improved dramatically and the
school ethos give of your best was applied consistently. The talent at
St John’s has been incredible this year and we have had 2 players
(Josh Leonisio 7AT and Toby Payne 7JD) picked for the Worcester
Warriors development programme. They were chosen out of the 6
players that were selected from our Year 7 squad to attend
Worcestershire county trials at Malvern College.
Summer_2016_12pp_Layout 1 08/07/2016 16:23 Page 12
Sports Awards Evening
Young Sports Media Leaders
In July we hosted our first Sports Awards Evening. Many students
were awarded for all of their fantastic Sporting Achievements. Well
done to all those involved and a special well done to the Year 7 Boys
Hockey team who were awarded Team of the Year.
Four of our students
recently went to
Bromsgrove School for
Media leader training.
During the day they learnt
all about different types
of reporting and
interviewing. They also
learnt how to use
specialist equipment and
editing techniques such
as “Vox poppin”. They are
now looking forward to
the Worcestershire
Summer Games where
they will act as TV
presenters, film crew and
will be interviewing the
guest champion athlete.
Year 7 boys Hockey team of the year
Year 5 Netball Player of the year
Year 6 Netball Player of the year
Year 6 Most Improved
Year 7 Netball Player of the year
Year 8 Netball Player of the year
Girls Rugby Player of the year
Boys Rugby Player of the year (KS2)
Boys Rugby Player of the year (KS3)
Boys Most Improved Rugby Player
County Cross Country Runners
Netball Representative Honours
Sports Leaders awards
Year 7 Hockey player of the year
Year 8 Hockey player of the year
KS2 Cricket
KS3 Cricket
County and Midlands Hockey teams
Martial Arts Student of the year
Gymnastics Student of the year
KS2 Football Player of year (boys)
KS3 Football Player of year (boys)
KS2 Football Player of year (Girls)
KS3 Football Player of year (Girls)
County Year 8 Netball team
Super 6 Athletics Team
Dancers
Year 5 Netball Team
Year 7 Indoor Football winners (Boys)
Year 7 Indoor football winners (Girls)
Ruby Willock Pickering
Katie Griffiths
Lauren Moss
Molly Costello
Amelie Shorrock
Emily Hawthorn
Kian Kinstella
Robert Atkinson
Harry Thomas Rich
Finton Hutt, Issac Bridge, Kyle Shaw, Louis Chapman Hart
Ava Freer
James Topping, Hannah Dodd, Charlotte Nock, Eden Andrews, Joe Goode, Liam Webber
Stephen McCallum
James Topping
Andrew Clarke
Robert Atkinson
Alistair Clarke, Dan Mapother, Liam Webber, James Topping, Joe Goode, Jon Troth, James Johnson,
Mason Preece, Will Lawrie.
Connor McCann, Devante Adams, James Hulme, Stephen McCallum, Joe Clayton, Sam Carter,
Toby Payne, Zak Bennett, Jack Price.
Fran Bignall
Esme Elwell Thomas
Year 5 Issac Bridge
Year 6 Alfie Bateson
Year 7 Zack Bennett
Year 8 Jon Troth
Year 5 Charlie Atkinson
Year 6 Asha Padda
Year 7 Neave Foy, Rosie Swann
Year 8 Chloe Kazur
Eden Andrews, Georgina B-W, Hannah Dodd, Charlotte Nock, Katie Medlicott, Amy Reeves, Amelie
Shorrock, Aimee Waters.
Ava Freer, Devon Braumavis, Chloe Kazur, Eden Andrews, Neave Foy, Shannon Lodge, Michael Jones,
Devante Adams, Stephen McCallum, James Johnson, Will Lawrie.
Bethany Smith, Isabella Lawrance, Charlotte Nock, Eden Andrews, Reece Jefferys, Charlotte Wilkes,
Esme Elwell Thomas, Olivia Turbutt, Daniella Bagnall, Ellie Newbold, Lucy Rowlands.
Charlie Atkinson, Amy Driver, Megan Lindsey, Freya Bennett, Ruby Willock-Pickering, Josie Ward,
Poppy Thomas-Rich, Isabelle Keavney, Lily Hall.
Jack Price, Joe Clayton, Zack Bennett, Connor McCann, James Hulme, Sam Carter and Devante Adams.
Grace Daly, Eloise Parry, Rosie Swann, Megan Lindsay, Charlie Atkinson, Neave Foy, Ava Freer
and Selina Prossor
Summer_2016_12pp_Layout 1 08/07/2016 16:22 Page 1
Staff News
Thursday 21st July
Term Ends for Pupils
Monday 5th September
Staff Professional
Development/Pupil Holiday
Tuesday 6th September
Staff Professional
Development/Pupil Holiday
Wednesday 7th September Restart of Autumn Term
8:50 am for all pupils
Thursday 29th September
St. John’s Open Evening
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Friday 14th October
Whole school photographs
Half Term
Monday 24th – Friday 28th
October 2016
Internet Safety - useful contacts and links for parents:
www.childnet-int.org
leaflet for parents on how to use socialnetworking sites safely
www.myguide.gov.net
on line safety training for parents www.thinkuknow.co.uk
We have a number of staffing changes:
• Mrs Rhonda Bozward will be leaving us after 15 of service and
joining Ipsley Academy in Redditch
• Mrs Danielle Hickey leaves us to take up a new teaching role in
Worcester
• Mr Nick Price is retiring but will be coming back to help with
maths intervention in October
• Mr Lee Luijk will be retiring from his role as Head of Science
after 23 service at St John’s but will join us in September as a
Learning Mentor in Science
• Mr Meehan will now concentrate on his role as Head of Design
and Technology
• Mrs Davenport will now concentrate on her role as Head of Art
• Mr Monaghan has a new role in supporting Mrs Elwell in
developing teaching and learning across the school
In the support staff:
• Mr Burrows, Miss Brighton and Miss Taylor are leaving to begin
their teacher training programme in September.
• They will be replaced by Miss Waters and Miss Brittle who will
be joining us in September.
I am sure the parents will join us in thanking them for the service
they have given to St John’s during their time here and in wishing
them every success in the future.
...And joining
• Mr Field will be joining as Head of Science and we are sure will
make a valuable contribution in ensuring science provision at
St John’s
• Miss Nolan has been appointed as a KS2 teacher with an
English specialism
• Mr. McEvilly has been appointed as Head of History
• Miss Rosie Sedgwick has been appointed as an English teacher
• Miss Pemberton has been appointed as Head of English and
Miss Devey appointed a second in English
• We have appointed Mr Upwood as an Associate Assistant Head
teacher.
• Mrs McNally has joined us on a Monday afternoon to
support Miss Russell in developing extra-curricular music
• Mrs Clarke is changing her role within the PE department and
will focus more on a developmental role providing support and
advice in all areas of PE. Therefore from September Miss
Birmingham will become Head of PE.
ParentMail
Attention all parents! Communicating
with you is an important part of what we
do, making sure you get the correct
information about activities, events and
school news that really matters is
something we care about.
As you know, the school uses ParentMail, a service used by over
6,000 schools, nurseries and children’s clubs to communicate to
parents.
We’d like to encourage all parents to download the APP as there
are a number of benefits both to you and the school:
• You don’t need to login to pick up messages or attachments
when you use the App.
• The App stores all the messages we send you in one place.
• Every message sent arrives as an instant alert on your mobile.
• You help save us money!
• You can download the App for free from Apple Store or
Google Play Store.
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