Junior School
* Please see 'Latest News' for Junior School News updates
Welcome to the Junior School.
The Junior School, with pupils aged 7 to 11, is based in bright and spacious classrooms in the outstanding new block. The distinct family atmosphere of St John’s College is embodied in the particularly close-knit community of its Junior School. Each pupil is regarded as a unique individual with his or her own individual requirements.
The pupils are fortunate to share all the facilities of the senior school. As the children progress through KS2 they are taught by specialist teachers from the senior school who adapt their teaching styles to cater for the needs of younger pupils. As a result the transition to the senior school is seamless and effortless.
The Junior School aims to maintain a programme of improvement in the learning environment and to offer a vibrant, innovative and secure atmosphere in which to grow. We wish for pupils to have fun while learning.
Operation Christmas Child - Wed 25 November
The 'Shoebox Appeal' has been a great success this year. More than one hundred boxes were donated. Thank you for your generosity.
Children In Need Cake Sale - Fri 20 November
Our annual cake sale and raffle took place on Friday 20 November. Thank you to all parents for your generous gifts of home-made cakes, sweets and raffle prizes. This year we raised more than £1000 for Children In Need.
R11 Enterprise Week & Trade Fair - Mon 12 Oct to Fri 16 Oct
Congratulations to R11 who worked very hard during Enterprise Week. The goods for sale this year were very attractive and looked professional. Everybody produced a puppet sewn by hand as well as beautiful jewellery, handmade cards and other goods.
Thanks to everyone who supported the Trade Fair on Friday afternoon. R11L have raised about £600 for the Children's Hospital in Wales.
Book Week - Mon 28 Sep to Fri 3 Oct
Book Week was a great success. From the proceeds we shall be able to buy £300 worth of books for the library.
Mrs Middleton worked her magic on Friday afternoon and all were held spellbound with her story telling.
R8 Trip To National Museum of Wales - 16th September
R8 enjoyed an informative trip to the National Museum of Wales to look at rocks, volcanoes and how our earth has evolved. Pupils had the opportunity to touch a meteor, look at moon rock and watch fascinating screens showing volcanoes erupting. This provided a valuable extension to work they are looking at in their science lessons. The dinosaurs section proved to be very popular and gave the children a real insight into the Jurassic age. Finding a mammoth and estimating its height were also great fun.
We all enjoyed our lunch outside in the sunshine and the children were a credit to themselves and the school in their excellent behaviour throughout the trip.
After lunch there was also a chance to look at portraits of Welsh people and draw their favourite person. Some beautiful work was produced as the children took time to study the art up close and make their observations.
The last part of our trip was spent looking at artefacts from the Celtic and Roman era. The pupils again did themselves proud as they remembered lots of facts they had learnt in History about the Celts. They were very attentive to the museum’s staff. They also showed real enthusiasm for History and the Roman artefacts.
Well Done R8 for a great first trip in the Junior School and for the fantastic work sheets you have produced!
R7 Transition Week & Africa Assembly, 29 June - 3 July
Week beginning 29 June, R7 have joined R8 all week in lessons and activities to ease the transition into the Junior School. In particular, the infants and R8 have worked on the theme of Africa. This will culminate in an assembly in the hall together on Thursday, 2 July with the juniors and infants celebrating Africa in prayer, art, music, dance, and stories together.
Junior School Lego City, 3 July
Friday, 3 July - Mr Pilling, travelling all the way from Lancashire will help the juniors and R7 to build a whole city from Lego. The buildings will have electricity. The children will have to think of all the services and buildings that a city will need before embarking on their project. The children will work in teams. It is a very enjoyable day.
Junior School Open Hour (Q&A for parents), 8 July
Wednesday, 8 July - there is a power point presentation and question and answer session for R7 parents and other new parents of pupils coming into the junior school in the new building in 3.1 from 4.00 to 5.00pm.
R11 Parents' Assembly (the Dining Room), 9 July, 2pm
Thursday, 9 July - R11 Parents' Assembly in the Dining Room 2.00pm when we shall celebrate the achievements of R11 on their penultimate day in the junior school. The pupils will perform a play and display their musical talents.
R10 Cycling Proficiency 22-26 June 2009
In brilliant sunshine all week, R10 have been practising to become safe cyclists. They have had great fun and have been a great credit to the school with their behaviour and compliance with all instructions. They will be rewarded at the end of the week with their cycling proficiency certificate.
New Library Visit
This week R11 visited the new library in the centre of Cardiff - a welcome break from internal exams! They had a tour of the £13 million library which is the most energy efficient building of its kind. The pupils really enjoyed exploring the children's library and choosing their books. Many pupils became members of the library that day. New members of the library will be able to borrow up to 15 books as well as CDs and DVDs.
Robbie Griffith (R11) wrote the following about the trip:
'We all got off our bus, eager to see the new library. When we got in we all immediately looked up. It was so high! Five floors of books and silence. We split into our two classes and had a tour of the place. So many books! There were different floors for different types of books. There were also twenty to thirty computers. The they told us how much it cost to build the eco-friendly building. Our jaws dropped. £13 million! But it was definitely worth it, for it had no light switches because the lights turned on when they sensed movement and the windows tinted themselves when it got brighter. What amazed us the most was that they had laid grass on the roof, the size of three football pitches! The grass made it environmentally friendly and when it got cold in winter it kept the place warm.'
R11 Trip to Ty’r Morwydd
R11 pupils have recently returned from a three day visit to Abergavenny. The children’s enthusiasm was not dampened by the weather and, throughout the trip, they were a credit to the school.
Day one saw the pupils fully kitted out in wet weather gear as they climbed the Deri ‘mountain’. Various weather instruments were used to record changes in the micro climate as they made their ascent. Pupils proudly assembled at the top for a group photograph and they even managed a smile!
Team building activities followed a wholesome meal and much laughter was heard as the children tried to untangle themselves and solve the problem of how to get across the ‘acid lake’.
After a good night’s sleep the children’s map reading skills were tested at Bryn Bach orienteering course. Later the pupils studied river processes in the Ebbw Fawr, managing to record data onto rather soggy sheets. Their enjoyment of splashing around in the water was obvious for all to see.
The trip ended with a walk up to St Mary’s Vale where they studied mini beasts – pupils delighting in finding and identifying creepy-crawlies in the woods. After lunch there was the chance to use the fishing nets and pupils were amazed at the abundance of creatures they found in the river bed.
Finally it was time to go home. Although tired, all pupils said they had had a great time. The best thing about the trip? ‘Being with our friends’. It was an excellent learning experience too.
Readathon 2009
Reading well, hopefully with enjoyment, is the most important skill that children can acquire in their Junior School years. The Readathon, started on the 4th March, has been an outstanding success. Fired by the enthusiasm of Mrs Howell and Mrs Cooney, children have been reading with even greater gusto. In addition, a large amount of money has been raised for sick children and other worthy causes - CLIC Sargent and the Roald Dahl Foundation.
The children rose to the occasion and were quick to find books they wanted to try and read within the timescale, poems and jokes to share along with non-fiction books. We had the opportunity to create a joke book containing the children’s favourite jokes and this then supported Comic Relief, which also fell within our Readathon time.
With the books chosen, the next task for the children was to find sponsors, and their enthusiasm was infectious. Family and friends were very generous and gave the children a real sense of purpose and determination.
The weeks went by and the children’s reading continued. The money was collected and I am pleased to say that an incredible £1322.62 has been sent to the Readathon charities.
Thank you to all who took part and for the support from family, friends and teachers. I will be in touch with the official response from the charities. Keep reading as it’s great fun, as I am sure you will agree. THANK YOU
Mrs E.C. Loveland (Head of Junior School)
Junior School Eisteddfod 2009
The Eisteddfod on the 27th February was a very enjoyable day. It was an opportunity for outstanding artists, musicians, writers and reciters and hard workers to display their talents. The Bard this year was Jordan Ambler – an outstanding winner. Robbie Griffith and Ashleigh Patrick followed close behind.
Prospectus
f/Prospectus_2010.pdf
Junior School Handbook
f/JS_Handbook.pdf
Newsletters
• January 2010
f/JS_Newsletter_Jan_2010.pdf
• September 2009
f/JS_Newsletter_Sep_09.pdf
• March 2009
/f/JS_Newsletter_March_09.pdf
• September 2008
/f/JS_Newsletter_September_08.pdf
• April 2008
/f/JS_Newsletter_-_April_08.pdf
• January 2008
/f/JS_Newsletter_Jan_08.pdf
Reading
/f/JS_Reading_Notice.pdf
