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St John’s School Weekly Newsletter
Issue 47
New year, new faces
From the
Headmaster
Welcome back to The Lamb! First of all I
would like to extend a warm welcome to our
two new members of staff, Mr Horrocks and
Mrs Green. I am very pleased they are here
and I know they will both have a positive
impact on St John's. I would also like to
congratulate Miss Gillen on the safe arrival of
a baby girl on 10th January.
Well done to Rahul and Adam for their
success in the Merchant Taylors' Photography
Competition and a special mention to all the
boys whose work was displayed at the
exhibition at Merchant Taylors’ Hall. The next
few weeks sees the launch of our House
Music Festival with the qualifying rounds
taking place. I hope all of our musicians will
gain a house point by entering.
As many of the Year 8 parents will confirm it
has been a challenging time for their sons
in the build up to their entrance exams.
Some of the boys have already
completed the papers. They have all
the
staff wish
them every
worked
extremely
hardsuccess.
and all
In sport the hockey fixtures started well with
both U13 and U12 teams enjoying the
Aldenham match. The highlight, however,
has to be our cross country success at York
House. Matthew Crow and Alex Bickerstaff
both finished in the top five of the U11 race
and Sam Bickerstaff retained his title as U13
champion with an outstanding run. To top it
all the U9 A and B squads won their team
event with Rohan Mangat winning the A race.
I hope all the boys will prepare for their exams
by getting some rest this weekend and eating
well.
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We welcome Mrs Green and Mr Horrocks as they join St John’s this term.
Mrs Green will be teaching Art whilst Miss Gillen is on maternity leave and Mr
Horrocks has replaced Mr Wenzel in the History, R.S. and Games departments. He
has also taken over as form tutor of 5G. Below are a few words from each of them
by way of an introduction.
‘I have very much enjoyed my first few
days at St. John’s. Staff, pupils and parents
have made me feel extremely welcome
here. The teachers and support staff have
been especially kind and patient in putting
up with the many questions I have had
and in helping me to adjust to the
procedures of the School. One particular
highlight has been being greeted very
politely by so many of the boys in the
playground and around the School, many
of whom I don’t teach! It has been great
to have made the acquaintance of Miss
Gillen’s form, 5G, and I look forward to
getting to know them better and working
with them as their form tutor. I will also be teaching classes in Games, History and
R.S.’ Mr Horrocks
‘My son Daniel left St. John’s seven years ago,
therefore I am very fortunate to have
experienced first-hand the fantastic
opportunities this School has to offer.
The art department is a very colourful and
vibrant environment in which to work and I
have had the pleasure of teaching many
wonderfully polite and artistic boys in the past
few days. All the staff have made me feel
incredibly welcome and I already feel like I
belong to the St. John’s family.
The boys have got stuck into their art
projects so you should be expecting to see some Roman shields, dragon masks and
Matisse collages (to name but a few) around the School in the next few weeks. I will
also be taking the Junior Art Club and the After School Art Clubs which will allow
the boys to show off their creativity and talent!’ Mrs Green
January 16 2015
Thought-provoking assemblies
Each week the Prep School has an assembly theme and this
week we have been looking at loneliness. The Pre-Prep have
also been thinking about friendship and the importance of
befriending people who are perhaps different from us. On
Wednesday Mrs Selwood gave a presentation to Year 5 and 6
about including everyone in our groups and playground games
with the help of some Year 6 boys. Then yesterday, in the Year
7 and 8 assembly, she read the amazing hostage story of Terry
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Waite and described the incredible loneliness he felt whilst a
prisoner. There was not a sound in the Norman Hall as boys
heard about his resilience and faith over 1760 days in captivity.
Mr Robinson went on to recount the time when he heard Terry
Waite speak at a dinner. He was struck by his calm
determination and sense of forgiveness. It has certainly been a
thought–provoking week.
January 16 2015
Success in Merchant Taylors’ Competition
Last term boys were asked to take photos on the theme of ‘The natural world’ for the House Photography Competition and
we were able to see some of the brilliant work produced during an assembly. All 41 photographs were then submitted to the
Merchant Taylors’ Company where they were judged alongside entries from all the Merchant Taylors’ family of schools. The
judges, including the Master of the Company, Mr Watkins and Mr Armstrong, Chair of St John’s Governors, insisted on studying
the photos without any reference to the school from which they came. Mr Robinson was delighted to announce in assembly last
Friday that ‘Toadstools’ by Adam Knowles in 5G was one of four photographs to be awarded highly commended whilst ‘Tiger
drinking water’ by Rahul Patel in 6V was the outright winner of the Junior section of the competition. He wins a camera and
£100. Very many congratulations to both boys.
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January 16 2015
Old boy pays us a visit
There was a nice surprise in store for the
Senior boys on Tuesday. Alex Everett, who
took time off from his studies at MTS, to
come and help with their Science lessons with
Mr Lawrence. Alex also proved very useful as
he worked with Mr Newman to prepare the
labs for the experiments and tidy up
afterwards. In the afternoon Alex joined Mrs
Stewart Paul in her Latin lessons. It was great
fun to have an ex-pupil come and work with
his friends and his old teachers. My thanks to
Alex for taking time to come and see us.
Symmetry work in Year 5 maths
During the last two weeks Mrs Cook’s Year 5 maths group has been studying line and rotational symmetry. They have
designed symmetrical butterflies and constructed shapes with rotational symmetry.
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January 16 2015
The Lambs flex their muscles in the sunshine
Taking exercise and eating healthy food is always on the bright sunshine - it was great fun. Keep an eye out for these
agenda at St John’s and it all starts in the Lambs. During our young boys. You never know, you may be looking at future
P.E. lesson this week Mr Brown took us all the way down to England players!
the Astroturf where we threw balls and kicked them in the
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January 16 2015
New friends in the Owls
Last week the Owls were very excited to welcome two new very caring and supportive and have enjoyed playing with them
friends into their class. The boys settled quickly and happily and at playtimes and helping them to get used to the daily school
have already made lots of new friends. The Owls have been
routines.
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January 16 2015
What was life like in Roman times?
The boys in Year 4 know all about it! They learnt all about
life in Roman times by researching and presenting their findings
on a variety of aspects of Roman life. We learnt about baths,
schools, clothing, craftsmen, food and entertainment. It was a
great way to find out about Roman city and country life and
many interesting facts were uncovered. Favourite topics were
the gladiators and chariot racing which sounded very exciting.
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Each boy presented his learning in his own way so we had
PowerPoint presentations, orations and even some animation!
Some boys tested their peers through quizzes at the end of their
presentations which was great fun. Some boys dressed up, some
made props and posters and some encouraged group
participation. It was a wonderful way to start the new term.
January 16 2015
York House Senior Cross Country success
The York House annual cross country
meeting is always a large event with over 250
pupils taking part. It is spread over two days
and on Monday our U11 and U13 teams went
along and competed against ten other schools.
In the under 11 race all the boys ran well but it
was Matthew Crow (4th), Alex Bickerstaff
(5th) and Daniel Barnett (31st) who were our
top finishers. In the under 13 race Sam
Bickerstaff (last year’s winner) won the whole
event again with a super time of just under 9
minutes for 2 miles. This was a tremendous
effort and we congratulate Sam on his superb
achievement. Well done to all the boys listed
who took part.
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U11 runners
Matthew Crow
U13 runners
Sam Bickerstaff
Alex Bickerstaff
Kieran Spellward
Daniel Barnett
Joseph Rich
Louis Rich
Luke Kenny
Danial Sayani
Zain Anwar
Max Davies
Adi Varshey
Devan Patel
William Crane
James Coop
Jamie Graham
January 16 2015
York House Junior Cross Country champions
We had an Under 9 ‘A’ and ‘B’ team running with 8 runners in each team. The ‘B’ race was first and we had some excellent
results with Yuri Zykov 3rd, Oliver Atkins 7th, Jamie Wood 9th, Daniel Reid 23rd , Rohan Pankhania 28th and Oliver Southon in
32nd and the overall team score was 102 which meant that we came third overall.
In the under 9’s ‘A’ race we had some excellent positions with Rohan Mangat coming in 1st place, James Curtler 12th , Josh
Fletcher 13th, Mason Harding 16th and Nathan Hedges in 20th position. The overall team score was 77 points which meant that
we came first and when both competitions were added together St. John’s were the overall winners - an excellent achievement by
everyone who took part in this event.
U9 A runners
Rohan Mangat
U9 B runners
Yuri Zykov
James Curtler
Daniel Reid
Nathan Hedges
Oliver Southon
Reece Jones
Rohan Pankhania
Alex Leitch
Ashok Rodrigo
Josh Fletcher
Jamie Wood
Mason Harding
Oliver Atkins
James Collins
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January 16 2015
Hockey
v Aldenham 14th January
1st VII won 13-1
Goals: Jamie Graham 2, Haydon Carr 1,
Sam Bickerstaff 5, Adam Chatoo 3, Thelan Palasuntheram 2.
MOM: Whole team
The St. John’s team played with great skill and the stick work and control
of the ball was impressive throughout the match. We managed to score a
number of goals when we entered the opposition ‘D’ area and got a 7
second penalty shot. Kieran Chauhan in goal had a very quiet match as
almost all the play was at the other end. In defence, Jolan Baxter, Jamie
Graham and Niam Patel all had solid games. On the flanks, Sam
Bickerstaff and Jamie Graham showed great skill and created and scored a
number of goals. Haydon Carr again showed his class and played very well
in the middle and created many scoring passes for others. Up front Adam
Chatoo and Thelan Palasuntheram scored a number of important goals for
the side. We now need to move the ball wider and change the attacking
point by moving the ball to the right more often. However, we scored
some excellent goals and Thelan Palasuntheram worked a clever pass to
Sam Bickerstaff who flicked the ball with a reverse stick over the keeper. A
good start to the season.
v Aldenham 14th January
U12 won 10-5
Goals: Shore Ojutiku 5, Krish Patwal 1, Luke Kenny 1, Alex
Shaikh 1, Shiv Parmar 1, own goal 1.
MOM: Whole team
The St John’s U12 team made an excellent start to the hockey season with
a comfortable win over an Aldenham team that were a year older.
Although the score line suggests it was an easy win we did, however, have
to work hard to create chances to score. In the first half we struggled to
keep the ball for any length of time and the Aldenham team were able to
dispossess us with ease. It was a very close first half with each team scoring
goals but not dominating, although Aldenham probably had the majority
of possession. Once we moved the ball wider we started to find gaps and
superior fitness in the end made a difference. In defence Alex Shaikh was
very solid again and was supported by Temide Johnson, William Crane and
Luke Kenny. The midfield had to work hard all game and track back to
support the defence but the second half saw them begin to dictate play
with Shiv Parmar and Andrew Holt being dangerous on the ball. Rohan
Patel and Krish Patwal also played well and moved the ball quickly
from the wing into the D. Up front our goal machine Shore
Ojutiku didn’t disappoint and was deadly in front of goal.
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January 16 2015
Year 5 hockey training begins at MTS
This term we have set up a new initiative to develop
hockey at St John’s. Every Friday the whole of Year 5 travel
to Merchant Taylors’ to use their two all weather pitches and
benefit from specialist coaching there. Last Friday the boys all
enjoyed the training session and learnt some basic hockey skills
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from Richard Anderson, a GB Olympic hockey player and the
new Head of hockey at MTS. This will continue until the Easter
holidays and we hope the boys will profit from this excellent
opportunity to become better hockey players.
January 16 2015
House Music Festival is round the corner
All boys in Years 3-8 who learn an instrument are invited to
take part in the annual House Music Festival. Each participant
will need to choose a piece with their teacher’s guidance and
make an entry via Mrs Selwood. Boys who learn in school have
had their entries submitted already. The entry level will be the
level of the piece that is played. When all the entries are in, the
timetable can be worked out and boys will be given an
individual slip telling them when to come to the Music Room
to play for their House.
Rounds start with Beginners on 3rd February, Grade 1 is the
same week and roughly speaking the next grade is the
following week and so on. Boys who learn a single line
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instrument should supply an accompanist’s part for their
performance.
Some boys are selected to play to the School in assembly. In the
afternoon of 28th March each House is represented by a
performer at every level from beginners to the top grade in a
Grand Final. Every boy who enters gains a House Point and,
more importantly, a Music Point towards the final total. In the
last two years the winning Houses have achieved this by only
one point so all performances count!
In the past we have had over two hundred entries so make sure
you write your name on the list outside the Music Room.
January 16 2015
Year 3 boys are learning all about the
Egyptians. They have begun to create their
own version of an Egyptian necklace using
similar colours and patterns found on
original jewellery.
Year 4 boys are making Roman shields
which link to their current History topic.
They will produce their own individual
design using the patterns and colours
which were found on original shields used
in battle. The boys have begun to draw
out their ideas which are looking very
promising.
Year 5 has been learning all about the
Chinese New Year and have been making
fantastic dragon masks.
Year 6 boys are studying the artist Matisse
who produced wonderful designs using
paper cut outs. They have been learning
about composition and colour and will be
creating a cut out collage of their own.
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January 16 2015
Pre-Prep Art
The Otters and Owls have been
looking at the artist Piet Mondrian. We
have been discussing and experimenting
with primary colours. The Squirrels
have been learning about silhouettes and
have created both painted and stained
glass tree silhouettes during art lessons.
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January 16 2015
Calendar and important dates
Updates: please continue to visit
www.st-johns.org.uk for all the latest
information on sports fixtures and results.
The website will have
announcements in case of
emergency. You can also
follow us on twitter
@stjsnorthwood.
19th January: Berkhamsted Entrance Examinations
20th January: U9A, U9B, U9C, U9D Rugby v
St Columba’s (h) (2.15pm)
21st January: School Examinations (Years 6-7)
22nd January: School Examinations (Years 6-7)
Merchant Taylors’ Entrance Examinations
23rd January: School Examinations (Years 6-7)
Merchant Taylors’ Entrance Examinations
Happy Puzzle Company (Pre-Prep)
U11A & B Hockey v Berkhamsted (h) (3.00pm)
24th January: Merchant Taylors’ Entrance
Examinations
Contact details
Very many congratulations to
Miss Gillen who gave birth to a
baby daughter on Saturday 10th
January. Both mum and beautiful
baby are doing very well.
Mailings: if you have received The Lamb
from someone else and would like to be
sent your own copy direct each week,
please email: Lamb Editor. Let us know
your contact details and you will be added
to the list.
Photographs: Do please continue to send
in any photographs which could be
included in The Lamb.
Notices and Reminders
Mr Vince’s videos. Make sure that you watch Mr Vince’s latest
video celebrating all the artwork which is created at St John’s.
Click on the first link below. To view his other videos you can
click on the following links:
IMPORTANT contact details update. If you have not yet
done so, please complete the form you received at the end of
last term and return to your Form Teacher/School Office as
soon as possible.
Au revoir, Miss Gillen
Wind Band goes West
Year 6 trip to Northumberland St John’s YouTube channel
Guitar group video
Yr 5 Chinese New Year video
Yr 8 Bikeability video
St John’s Sevens video
Sam Katz interview
Year of 2008 at Knapp House
Year of 2014 at Knapp House Chicks are for kids!
After School Activities. All after school activities will run as
normal next week.
Last-minute revision tips. Exams start next week for Years 6,
7 and most of Year 8 and whilst the bulk of the revision has
hopefully been completed, here are some last minute tips for
boys: read the questions carefully, plan your time accordingly,
Merchant Taylors’ Choral Society. This is made up of
parents and friends of Merchant Taylors’ School. It meets on a make sure your pencil case is complete, bring in a bottle of
water, have a decent breakfast and get some early nights. As
Tuesday evening from 8.00-9.15pm and is about to start
parents, our job is feed and water, get the boys to bed on time,
preparing for a performance on 23rd March at Merchant
Taylors’ School. The Director of Music at MTS, Mr Huw Jones, keep them away from electronic gadgets, make sure they have
all the right gear and keep them CALM! Just think—it will all
invites anyone who is interested in singing Parry’s Blest Pair of
be over next weekend and life can return to normal!
Sirens (sung famously, of course, at the 2011 royal
wedding) and Rutter’s Gloria, both with orchestra, to
contact him via TWinward@mtsn.org.uk for further details.
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Hope you have an enjoyable weekend.
January 16 2015