Newsletter SENIOR March2020 - stjohnscollegecardiff.com€¦ · create a presentation on their...

Newsletter

SeniorSchool

Issue18March2020

02920778936www.stjohnscollegecardiff.com@SJCCardiff

Dear Parents, Even though we find ourselves in extremely worrying times, I would like to lift your spirits by sharing some of the exciting activities and successes that took place before the school closed. Easter will be very different for us all this year and I’m sure we will all be praying that our loved ones remain healthy. Our prayers also go out to those in the wider community, especially NHS staff who are doing such an extraordinary job in very challenging circumstances.*‘At the start of Lent, few of us could have imagined that life would take such a dramatic turn and that the sacrifices we were asked to make would move from giving up chocolate or cake,’ to giving up the close contact with our family and friends as well as our school community. However, giving up social contact and abiding by the restrictions to our freedom of movement are small but important sacrifices we can all make this Easter. I am so looking forward to coming together as a community again but until then I wish you and your families a very Happy Easter. Keep safe and well. Shaun Moody Headmaster *Dr Maureen Glackin General Secretary, CISC (Catholic Independent Schools' Council) Holy Week message At a time when many of us are isolated it is interesting to note that The Gospels recall many memorable incidents of face-to-face encounters with Jesus. One of their most striking features is the way in which Jesus is able to turn the tables and take control. The people come to him with questions, desiring to interrogate this mysterious figure. And yet, all these dialogues conclude with these very same individuals questioning themselves. Even at his weakest and most vulnerable, when asked by Pontius Pilate if he were a king, Jesus replied, that He was, but that His Kingdom was “not of this world”. This mysterious reply left Pilate wondering about Jesus, no longer as a potential rival and political threat, but as an even more radical challenge to his very sense of self, inflated as it was by his power as a Roman governor. After all, what did the transient human power that he had devoted his entire life to attaining, actually amount to? Had he spent his entire life in the pursuit of accolades not worth a stack of beans? All these encounters have been interpreted by the great spiritual writers as archetypes of religious experience insofar as what happened ‘out there and back then’ can happen ‘in here and right now.’ But do we really want our worldview and values to be challenged so radically, like Pilate’s was? After all, to put Christ at the centre of our lives means having to conquer our own little egos first in order to make space for Christ to be king.

Newsletter

SeniorSchool

Issue18March2020


The Easter message is that, like Christ, we must die in order to live. But it takes great faith to believe in such promises when personal experience has so often led to betrayal and disappointment in the past. It was for this reason that Jesus said we must become like ‘little children’. He didn’t mean that we ought to be childish, but childlike. We all need to rediscover that openness that came naturally to us as children, but which faded into scepticism and cynicism as we grew older. We must never forget that it is a very different matter to be asked to put one’s faith in a perfect, loving God who died for you, as opposed to a fallen human being. One is entirely reasonable, the other is not. To this end the period of Lent has traditionally been a call to self-denial through fasting, prayer and almsgiving. These disciplines are not ends in themselves but necessary conditions for the cultivation of our true selves, so that our hearts may be receptive to the Good News of Easter. So much has been different this year and these very changed circumstances have made it more difficult - sometimes impossible - to keep our traditional religious observances, given that faith is a relational, communal activity. Nonetheless, the invitation at Easter remains the same. In whatever circumstances Christians have found themselves throughout history - and they have been considerably worse! - they have always kept this memorial and celebrated with joy the feast that promises eternal life to all who live in love. Therefore, I hope that each and everyone of us will devote some of the time we have to a deep reading of the Easter story and allow it to speak to us in the depths of our hearts. May I wish everyone a happy and holy Easter. We will be spending more time with our immediate families than we would normally and, no doubt, this presents its own challenges, but also great opportunities to deepen and savour our most important relationships. Let us choose to use the time wisely to spread the love that our world needs. John Morgan Head of RS Charity Donation St John's College donated 14 boxes of books to Books 2 Africa. We will continue to support this worthy charity once the school has reopened.

Newsletter

SeniorSchool

Issue18March2020


Achievers and Good Eggs

It was such a pleasure to chat to all our pupils who achieved this term and congratulate them on their hard work and the kindness that they have shown others. They are a real credit to their families and to the school. Well done! Mr Moody. English News World Book Day In celebration of World Book Day, R13 were given the task of filling a shoe-box full of items that represented their chosen book. Some popular contemporary favourites were chosen such as Anthony Horowitz, 'Wonder' and 'The Hunger Games'. Here are Valentina G, Alexander H, Lucy C, Isma'il S and Becky B showing off their hard work with their well-chosen titles.

Newsletter

SeniorSchool

Issue18March2020


Key Stage 3 pupils celebrated World Book Day and were given a homework task to present their favourite books or literary characters to the rest of the class during their English lessons. R12 pupils were asked to create a presentation on their favourite literary characters; R13 brought in a box of objects representing a favourite book and R14 created posters describing their top 5 books to read before the age of 14. Pupils responded enthusiastically to the challenge and their English teachers were impressed with their efforts. Readathon Pupils in R12 - R14 were encouraged to participate in Readathon over the half term break. Pupils were asked to set themselves a reading challenge and to collect sponsors to raise money for ‘Read for Good’, a charity which encourages young people to develop a love for reading. The money raised will provide new books and storytellers for children in hospitals nationwide. As a school we were able to raise £587 and would like to thank the generous pupils who took part. We would also like to congratulate Gareth T for individually raising the most money. What a fantastic amount raised for such a worthy cause. Well done to you all! Mathematics News The College and the Mathematics Department wish to extend their gratitude to Ms Zeb Friedman who has been an integral part of the department for the past 3 years. Ms Friedman will be hugely missed by both her colleagues and pupils. She is leaving us to join the Mathematics Department at Roedean, Brighton. Best of luck for the future! St John’s also wishes a warm welcome to Dr James Evans who will be replacing Ms Friedman. Dr Evans joins us from Caerleon Comprehensive and we are very excited and fortunate to have him join the team. Matrix Challenge 2020 At the start of February all R12 and R13 pupils underwent the Matrix Challenge 2020. A national competition organised by Yorkshire and Humber Regional Cyber Crime Unit, it is aimed at developing skills and understanding around the world of cyber security. There were 5 elements tested: The Computer Misuse Act 1990; staying safe online; steganography; python coding and a cipher. The challenge is designed to test digital skills and encourage the development of abilities that would enable a career in the cyber security landscape. Jude P of R12 performed excellently and has been invited to the regional finals held at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday, March 28th, where he will take on other competitors from South Wales in the hope to be one of the top performers to be invited to the national finals in Newbury. Pob lwc Jude!

Newsletter

SeniorSchool

Issue18March2020


iDEA Award - Teacher of ICT and Computer Science Every pupil in R12 and R13 has been enrolled on to the iDEA Award scheme. The award bills itself as the digital equivalent to the Duke of Edinburgh Award. In the award participants are put through a series of badges that fall under different categories. To achieve the Bronze certificate, pupils must gain 250 points from the various categories (Citizen, Worker, Maker, Entrepreneur and Gamer) where they learn about different aspects and then complete challenges. Once Bronze is achieved, students are then promoted to the Silver Award, Amita B in R12 has become the first person at St John’s College to complete the 400 point task and has been awarded her certificate. This is an outstanding achievement for someone in R12 as the tasks she has completed are aimed at pupils much older. Well done Amita, we now wait patiently for the Gold Award to come live, hopefully this year! Science News British Biology Olympiad All U6 pupils entered the British Biology Olympiad and the following were successful: Nikita W: Silver Mehak: Highly commended Gwennan, Henry, Creed, Shyon and Bella: Commended Learning leaders James B spends his Friday lunchtimes helping two R15 pupils. Science Week (day 9th March) Pupils carried out a range of activities, which contributed towards a Crest Award. Using the theme “fuels for the future”, pupils began their day learning about fuels and watching teacher demonstrations, including making methane bubbles and hydrogen rockets. They then carried out their own investigations, using different fuels and observing temperature change. In the afternoon, they completed research tasks and produced posters. Finally, presentations were made, and awards given for the best work. Some of the fantastic work produced has been put up in the Science corridor display cases.

Newsletter

SeniorSchool

Issue18March2020


Methane bubble demonstration (Biology Crest Award leader and laboratory technician)

Pupils covering their ears whilst the hydrogen rocket was released!

Newsletter

SeniorSchool

Issue18March2020


R12 pupils investigating which fuel source is the best

R12 in the David Neville Hall presenting their research.

Newsletter

SeniorSchool

Issue18March2020


Life Sciences Challenge Our St John's R15 team Matt, Houram, Zak and Tim have qualified for the quarter finals of the Life Sciences Challenge 2020. In addition to our qualifying team, three other teams were highly commended and managed to achieve over 60% in the round, narrowly missing out on a quarter final place. Well done,to you all - what a great achievement!

CHESS The 2020 Welsh Primary schools championships took place in Bishop Hedley school on Saturday the 29th of February. There were a total of 33 teams taking from different schools in South Wales. St John's College was represented by 3 teams. They were among the youngest teams in the tournament and did extremely well. St John’s teams will be the next generation of great Chess players and the future looks really bright for them. Once again St John's A team came 1st and became the Welsh primary school champions for the 4th year in a row. No other Welsh school has ever achieved this feat.

The A team was represented by Benjamin J, Robert S, Ayush S, Jessica S.

Newsletter

SeniorSchool

Issue18March2020


Geography R13 undertook an environmental impact survey to assess whether Ryers Down, Gower was an appropriate location for a wind farm. The pupils braved the wind and collected a range of data from biodiversity in the pond to measuring wind speeds. The pupils will now be writing up their data collection into a report and deciding whether a wind farm should be built”.

Newsletter

SeniorSchool

Issue18March2020


Cancer Research Art Competition St John’s College had many entries of artwork exhibited at the Cancer Research UK Art Competition. This was held at the Llandaff campus of Cardiff Metropolitan University. The awards evening was well supported by both students and parents. Thank you so much to those of you who attended. Your support is much appreciated. Congratulations to all who took part, the students whose pieces were exhibited and to our entries achieving prizes. St John’s College is very lucky and proud to have such talented pupils. Sophia B 1st Place Babilia A-H - 2nd Place

Ethan Z 3rd Place

Newsletter

SeniorSchool

Issue18March2020


Sports News R12 & R13 girls who reached the sports Cardiff netball finals Well done to all who took part!

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