News from November 2014
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R11 Victorian Day
27 November 2014
On Thursday 13th November, R11 enjoyed stepping back in time to the Victorian era, as they visited Maestir School in St Fagans. Pupils started their day in true Victorian fashion, wearing clothes typical of the historical period. Pupils were accompanied by Mr Taylor, the school master, and Miss McManus, the pupil-teacher as they made their way to the school where they took part in a drill, and a number of Victorian school activities, such as handwriting, arithmetic, reading and singing.…
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Senior Team Maths Challenge
27 November 2014
Our team of 4 Further Maths students (Joyce-U6, Sian-U6, Linsey–L6 and Prafulla-L6) represented our college in this year’s Senior Team Maths Challenge on the 20th November 2014 at Cardiff University. They were all very enthusiastic, worked hard and performed their best to prove their mathematical talent and team work skills. The competition was tough and they earned a respectable 4th place amongst 18 schools in this regional finals.…
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Cathedral Choir Christmas Concert at St David’s Hall
25 November 2014
The Cathedral Choir performed a sublime selection of music for Advent and Christmas today to a very large audience at St David’s Hall. The boy and girl choristers and gentlemen of the choir can be very proud of their exquisite performances of carols such as Silent Night and Away in Manger, as well as music by composers such as Poulenc, Grieg and Howells. …
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Double Victory at Cambridge Union Debating Competition
25 November 2014
Many congratulations to our two winning teams of Sixth Form Debaters who competed in last night’s Cambridge Union Debating Competition against schools from across South Wales, hosted at Howell’s School, Llandaff. Our two teams of Abhinaba Guha & Matthew Barbato and Dominie Patel & Ross Lisney-Wilson now progress to the prestigious South West Regional Final early next year. …
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National Schools Chess Tournament Semi-Final
23 November 2014
On Sunday St John’s pupils took part in the National Schools Chess Tournament Semi-Final at the Grange in Monmouth. Our players included Soraya W, Zara R, Akshara N, Ayush S, and Ethan C. Our pupils performed amazingly well, against very tough opposition, and finished forth ahead of five schools including Cathedral and Rougemont schools. …
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Top School in Wales in The Sunday Times ‘Parent Power’
23 November 2014
St John’s College is again delighted to be ranked top school in Wales in The Sunday Times ‘Parent Power’ based on combined GCSE and A Level performance: Parent Power 2014…
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L6th Speak at Parliament Week, Westminster
18 November 2014
On Monday a team of seven L6th students travelled to The Houses of Parliament to deliver a presentation on their idea for an App to address the problem of youth disengagement in politics. Upon arrival we had a short walk around Westminster Abbey and The Houses of Parliament before commencing the day’s proceedings in The Attlee Suite, Portcullis House. …
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Operation Christmas Child
18 November 2014
We were again overwhelmed by our St John’s College families’ generosity and response to our Operation Christmas Child appeal. The foyer has been filled with brightly-wrapped boxes of goodies destined to travel the world. Thank you to everyone involved. We hope to raise a smile from children less fortunate than us and let them know they are in our thoughts this Christmas.…
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Children in Need 2014
14 November 2014
Children in Need was celebrated at St John’s College with our usual enthusiasm. Many events were organised in the Infant & Junior departments, ‘pennies for pudsey’ being a particular success – Mr Johnson will be spending hours counting the small change in buckets in his office! Our tradition of a first break and lunchtime cake sale saw the Sixth Formers turn out in droves to help, and their enthusiasm should be commended – thank you.…
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National Schools Tennis Finals
14 November 2014
St John’s Boys’ Senior Tennis Team played in the National Schools Tennis Finals this afternoon finishing 9th overall. This is an outstanding achievement. Huge congratulations to Joe W, Callum F, Saif A and Kai B. Mr Tertois.…
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Sixth Form DNA Workshop at Techniquest
13 November 2014
Lower Sixth Biology students attended a half day workshop in the laboratories at Techniquest on DNA. They had to extract their own DNA from cheek cells (not painful at all!). These samples were then subjected to amplification on a PCR machine and analysed by the students using electrophoresis. This was an immensely informative experience for our students and offered an opportunity to work in a professional laboratory.…
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Junior department – Children in Need
12 November 2014
On Wednesday 12th November the whole Junior department took part in creating a Pudsey Bear face in the school hall, all made out of the coins the pupils had brought in. These generous contributions led to all the juniors creating lots of other Pudsey-related shapes. We also had a cake sale in which all the children thoroughly enjoyed purchasing cakes for the good cause.…
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R9 Waste Savers
11 November 2014
This term R9 have been studying ways we can look after our environment. A big part of this topic was to learn about recycling. On 11th November R9 were lucky enough to put this theory into practice by visiting Waste Savers, a working recycling plant. The pupils were able to participate in activities to teach us about the journey of a recycled product, Poppy Morris said the trip was ‘very fun’ and ‘liked the activities’.…
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Remembrance Service 2014
11 November 2014
On Tuesday 11th November the pupils and staff of St John’s College gathered in the school hall for our annual Remembrance Service. Our commemorations featured performances by the Concert Orchestra of William Walton’s Spitfire Prelude and Eric Coates’ Dambusters March, as well as readings and prayers from pupils. A particular thanks goes to our Middle School cadets Thomas Taunton and Harini Somasekar who helped to make this such a memorable occasion.…
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R12 Netball Victory
10 November 2014
Congratulations to R12 Netball Squad who played tremendously well against Kings Monkton Yr7 & Yr8 mixed team tonight. The score each quarter was 5-1, 6-1, 7-1: final score – 10-2. The players’ player of the match was Jasmin S. Kings Monkton played with enthusiasm and really defended well in the second quarter. …
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R12 Educational Visit to Llangrannog
9 November 2014
R12 have thoroughly enjoyed an action packed few days at Llangrannog despite the adverse weather conditions. Communication, problem solving, teamwork, Cwricilwm Cymreig and thinking skills were developed and the group displayed excellent standards in behaviour throughout our stay. Some of the activities included skiing, high ropes, tobogganing, orienteering and a disco which they all thoroughly enjoyed and participated in with great enthusiasm and determination.…
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Harvest Festival
9 November 2014
On Monday 3 November, Nursery to R13 gathered to celebrate our Harvest Festival. We were treated to music from the Concert Orchestra, the R14 music ensemble and the Junior Girls’ Choir. All year groups were involved and worked hard to ensure its success – the Infants sang about the farmer scattering his seeds (complete with actions) to ensure we had a harvest to collect, while the Juniors explained what happened when the farmers collect the crops and why we celebrate. …
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R14 Success at Engineering Challenge 2014
6 November 2014
On Thursday 6th November, twenty-one R14 students went to Cardiff University’s School of Engineering to learn about Engineering as a vocation and the many different avenues within the profession. Pupils heard from local businesses working in civil engineering, with the opportunity to ask questions and expand their knowledge on the subject.…
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Senior Maths Challenge
6 November 2014
On Thursday 6th November, 62 of our sixth form maths students participated in this year’s SMC. This challenge is run by UKMT; it is difficult and is a real challenge. This involves answering 25 multiple choice questions in 90 minutes. The questions are of graded difficulty and marks are deducted for incorrect answers.…
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St John’s Vs. North Cardiff Chess Club
5 November 2014
Both St John’s chess teams, Neutrinos and Positrons in division 4, competed in a very difficult chess match on Tuesday 4th November against North Cardiff Chess Club. An amazing performance was given by Callum M-J who drew with a very highly rated adult player! Very good performances were also given by the rest of the team against much more experienced opposition; Aron C, Hiya R, Daniel J, Ethan C, Ed X, Amin G, Thurin V and Leon C.…
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R11 Enterprise Week
3 November 2014
The R11 enterprise week took place at the beginning of November. On the first day pupils were put into mixed groups and were given a team-building task to make a spaghetti tower. In the afternoon they decided on roles for each team member. They then decided what they were going to produce as a business and gave themselves a company name.…