Stuff@SJB - Autumn Edition 2022

DearEveryone,

On behalf of everyone at SJB, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very warm welcome to our Christmas edition of the school magazine Stuff@SJB.

We have all had a great term together but boy are your children tired particularly the Year 11s as they finish their mocks! I think everyone is ready for the break and a few lie-ins especially after all the recent bugs going around.

In September, we welcomed 240 Year 7 students and 31 external students to our Sixth Form. It’s extremely encouraging to see them integrate so well and feel part of our school community.

We also welcomed 25 new members of staff, this was across the board and included Teachers, Support Staff and Trainees. I am delighted to report that they have settled in well and are fast becoming part of the SJB family.

We have some new little arrivals, Mrs Fedorniak had a beautiful little girl called Imogen and Mr Jewell welcomed a gorgeous little boy called Finley.

Sadly, we are saying goodbye to two members of staff: Our lovely Chaplain, Mrs Harrison, who is moving on to become National Director for The Ascent. We would like to thank her for all the support she has

shown to so many families – her kindness knows no bounds. We would also like to thank her for leading the Spiritual Life of the school so well. In addition, we are saying goodbye to Mr Campbell, Teacher of Science. He began his journey with us just over three years ago as an newly qualified teacher and is now ready for the next step in his career as he takes on a Head of Science position at another school. We wish them both the very best for the future.

Our existing Year 11 students are preparing for their summer exams and are currently busy completing their mocks. If you have a child in Year 11, please ensure that they have properly rested over the Christmas break so that they come back feeling refreshed and ready for the last push before their final exams in the summer. The same also applies to the Year 13 students who will begin their mocks in the new year.

Finally, I should like to thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement. We are very much looking forward to seeing the students well rested and raring to go on Monday 9th January 2023.

We wish you all a peaceful and festive Christmas and send good wishes to you and your family for 2023.

God bless,

Mr Granville Hamshar

YEAR GROUP ROUNDUP Year 7

As we reflect on what has been a very busy 15 weeks, it is clear to see that Year 7 have shown a tremendous level of resilience, diligence and momentum! They continue to earn wave after wave of nominations and star badges; can be seen focused in lessons and despite the dark evenings continue to attend a wide variety of clubs after school! I am immensely proud of how they have embraced the ethos of our year group. Courage, honesty and kindness has very much been in abundance. Never has this been more evident than in the Year 7 Charity Shoe Box Appeal; here the children united to sort the gifts, label hampers and write cards offering their well wishes and prayers to the children and their families who are spending Christmas in hospital. I would like to thank all of the parents for your support with our charity work.

From apple crumbles and chocolate cakes in design technology; to sharks and particle theory in Science; to negative numbers in mathematics and weather systems in Geography the children have shown tenacity in their learning. They have earned a staggering 28,825

positive behavior points since September. This will make our House Assemblies in January a great deal more exciting as the competition heats up! A special mention to Noah and Michael who were highly commended with their effort this term in the House SJB Great British Bake off! And also to Letisha G who has read a staggering 10 books as part of the “Reading for Pleasure Challenge”. I am pleased to report that more than 20 of the students already participating will receive their bronze award in the final week of term! I strongly encourage each and every Year 7 to get reading this holidays, remembering they can always borrow a hard copy of a book from one from the English classroom libraries. Lastly we have just a handful of spaces left on our Summer residential to Mount Cook. Please see the school calendar for dates, if you wish to secure a place it is important you email your child’s tutor or myself in the first week back. Wishing the whole year group and their families a restful holiday and all the best for 2023 when it arrives.

By Mrs Bates

Year 8

This term has seen Year 8 step up their roles in the School as SJB Ambassadors. Students have been taking visitors on tours around School throughout the term and a huge number of Year 8’s were involved in the Open Evening for current Year 6’s. Despite a lot of nervous faces before their first tour the students were fantastic and parents were quick to comment on how polite, confident and knowledgeable their tour guides were. The students were a real credit to themselves and to SJB.

This term also saw Year 8 head to St Dunstan’s Church on their reflection day. During the day lots of games

were played and fun was had. Activities were designed to improve teamwork and strengthen friendships between tutor groups. Students learnt the values of being part of a team and that everyone has a role to play in order to be successful. Once again Year 8 students were a credit to the School, presenting and representing themselves excellently whilst at Church.

Year 8 - you have worked extremely hard this term and it has not gone unnoticed. I would like to wish you a restful and prayerful Christmas break and a Happy New Year!

By Mr Hacker

Year 9

The Year 9s have made a fantastic start to their year with a brilliant autumn term. Touring their lessons, it has been wonderful to see how engaged and committed they are to their studies. Miss Hockin and I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the year group settle into the year. Our Year 9 boys smashed the other schools in the Chobham RFC Schools Rugby Festival with strong performances from Max Watt, Sean Cavenham and Scott Vuurboom, captained by Joseph Callow. Some of our students were even able to take part in

the production of A Midsommer Night’s Dream, with standout performances from Carolina Gamlin, Alicia Ballesteros and Vivienne Townend. This is a good opportunity to say a big well done to all students on a brilliant set of monitoring, as well as a thank you to all parents for your continued support. I am incredibly impressed and proud of all of Year 9 and look forward to everything the new year will bring.

By Mr Young

Year 10

What a term it has been! I think the only word worthy of the Year 10s and their start to their GCSE courses is: outstanding. The Year 10s have been incredibly busy this term and have stepped up to the new challenges of their GCSE courses. At the time of writing, they have been nominated a whopping 19,195 times this term which is testament to their hard work and dedication. I want to say a big ‘well done’ to every single one of the Year 10s but especially the BTEC Media students who already have conducted their first external exam with enthusiasm and commitment. A special shout out to all of the nominated Year 10 G.O.A.Ts who have been recognized by their form

tutors and subject teachers as students who have truly gone above and beyond, as well as 10GR/VE for collecting and donating the most to the Christmas Hamper Appeal. Every single Year 10 should be incredibly proud of themselves for this amazing start and for conducting themselves in such a mature manner.

On behalf of the Year 10 tutor team and Mr. Birch, our Assistant Head of Year, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. Year 10s, we look forward to welcoming you back in the new year and seeing what 2023 has in store for you!

By Miss Paling

Year 11

Well this term has certainly been a busy one. The Year 11s have been working at 100% this entire term in preparation for their mock exams. The exams have gone incredibly well and all of the students have given a really good account of themselves so far. It is a tough ask especially with the exams being so close to Christmas but the students have risen to the challenge and did it all with a smile on their face... Sort of.

The Year 11s were incredibly well represented in the school show this year, with many of the year group taking up lead roles in SJB’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights Dream. It is challenging enough to stand up and deliver a performance in front of a vast audience, but to learn and deliver huge quantities of dialogue using Shakespearean dialect was something to behold. A masterful performance from all involved!

In sport, both the girls and the boys football team have seen their share of success this term. The girls

football team managed to beat local rivals Salesian in a dominant 3-1 victory on their way to taking a 3rd place finish in the local schools 6-A-side tournament. They were incredibly unlucky not to be holding the trophy! The boys football team are through to the 5th round of the Under 16’s National Cup with some fantastic displays against really good opposition, including holding their nerve in a penalty shoot out to take the win in the 4th round.

The Year 11s have made all of us incredibly proud with their hard work and determination this year. A busy half term lies ahead when we return from Christmas but not before a well eared and deserved rest.

Well done Year 11.

By Mr Ali

Year 12

Our Year 12 students have made a brilliant start to Sixth Form life this term. All of the SJB staff have been blown away by how well they have made the transition onto their A-level courses, and they have quickly become an invaluable part of the Sixth Form community. In particular, a massive well done to our new students who have settled in so well.

There have been so many highlights of this term. As role models to the main school students, it has been amazing to see so many of the Year 12 students contributing to the wider life of the school in so many ways. From Year 7 and 8 Reflection days, to mentoring in English and Science and supporting at other school events, it has been a jam-packed term. A special mention to those Year 12 students who were involved in the school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which was superb.

My personal highlight of this term was the Interform dodgeball competition (photographed below), won convincingly by 12KAH/EF after some motivational team talks by Miss Atherton! This was a great opportunity for the students to get to know the other members of their form group and we look forward to interform bench ball next term!

Finally, as we look forward to next term, we have some students sitting their first external BTEC exams in January; they have all worked really hard to prepare for these and we wish them the best of luck!

Year 12 are an absolute pleasure to work with every day and I wish all the students and their families a restful Christmas break.

By Miss Clark

Year 13

It has been a hectic half term for all of our Year 13s providing numerous opportunities for them to continue their growth into the wonderful young adults they are becoming. Our students have been working tirelessly in lessons to make sure that they are prepared and ready for their mocks starting at the beginning of the New Year. In form times and during Key Skills, students have been doing their utmost to prepare for their next steps into the real world once they have finished their journey with us here at SJB. With our mock interview evenings, students had an opportunity to interact with employers and experts in their desired field. Both evenings were a huge success

and students came out feeling inspired and ready for the challenges that lie ahead.

Our Year 13s have had to work extremely hard for the whole half term with all of the extra things they need to juggle alongside their A-Levels they have been absolutely brilliant and a credit to themselves. I hope that all of our Year 13s and their families have a wonderful Christmas and we look forward to welcoming them back in the New Year.

By Mr Witts

YEAR 7 REFLECTION DAY

In October, Year 7 went on a reflection day to St Dunstan’s Church. The main focus of this trip was reflection and friendship. After a long walk, we made it to the church and had lots of fun playing icebreakers. The Year 7s beat the Sixth Form on both days as we hid the ball. Year 7 after a few games had an assembly led by Mrs Harrison. She taught us a lot about good friendships and being nice to one another. We were also joined by Mrs Davies and we had hymn practice. After we had finished our assembly it was break! Year 7 then had a great time outside and had Kit Kats. We enjoyed playing around as the weather was good in the garden. After break we had some activities on honesty, being a good Samaritan and playground whispers. In the video you can see some of our portraits too. We also got to

know one another better. Then it was lunch and we had a great time! After we went back into the main part of the church and said our good byes. We then walked back to school. It is difficult to remember the whole day as so much happened, and so much has happened since! A big thank you to our tutors, the Sixth Form helpers and Mrs Harrison our Chaplain. We are also grateful for St Dunstan’s Church for hosting.

By Emilia Scott, Alba Pellitteri and Jude Chamberlain-Demmers.

A Midsummer Nights Dream t

This year’s school production is William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights Dream and it was like nothing you’ve seen before. We brought this classic play into the 21st century through the likes of Stormzy, Madness, Backstreet Boys and glow-sticks! This show has seen the union and collaboration of multiple departments across the school community including Drama, Art, English and DT. Whilst the rehearsal process has been demanding it has been such a privilege and utterly rewarding bringing this modern adaptation to life.

We have spoken to some of our cast and crew about there thoughts and feelings of this year’s production. Playing Hermia this year was Izzy Marzolini. Here is what the play has been like this year for her: “It’s been a great opportunity to develop my own acting skills and meeting new people that I would never have spoken to otherwise. It’s opened my eyes to how much work has truly gone into putting on a production like this, and how it all comes together in the end. I absolutely loved doing it and hope to be a part of next year’s production”.

One of our directors of this year’s show was Mrs Harper, Head of Drama. Here are her thoughts on the production: “It’s been an absolute privilege to work with such a talented cast and crew. They have worked so hard, and we are so excited to bring you our modern version of this much-loved classic. Creativity is such a vital part of education and the students involved are gaining lifelong skills being a part of this production. Thank you to everyone involved”

By Sophie Beardmore (Helena)

ChristmasHampers 2022

During these past few weeks, students and staff have been diligently working to provide gifts for our Christmas Hampers that will be sent out to those who are in need. Many of us within the SJB Community are very fortunate and can wake up on Christmas Day knowing that we will spend the day with our loved ones and will probably find a present awaiting us under the Christmas tree. However, with the costof-living crisis really taking hold, this year has been particularly difficult for those in need. Our SJB community has really come together and gone the extra mile in order to deliver Christmas Hampers

that will enable people to have a more joyful Christmas.

Our Year 7s, this year were tasked with providing gifts to the children’s ward at St Peter’s Hospital. These children will be spending their Christmas in a hospital bed with little family being allowed to visit them due to COVID restrictions. The Year 7 Forms created generous Christmas Hampers filled to the brim with blankets, toys and books. On Monday 19th December, the Charity Committee delivered these hampers to the hospital, and they were greeted by two incredibly grateful paediatric nurses.

The Year 8s were tasked with providing gifts to the Kingsleigh Nursing Home as many of the elderly people in care homes are extremely lonely and may only get a couple of visitors every year. These Christmas Hampers will brighten up the accommodation making it more festive and reminding them of happy memories and giving them something to look forward to this Christmas.

The Year 9s were tasked with providing gifts to the SVP in Woking who support vulnerable families who need help through food banks. These Christmas Hampers that we have compiled will help 60 families in Woking, some of which have children at our own school. Many parents are struggling to afford the bare essentials to feed their families this year, and with the added strain of the cost-of-living crisis, it has put some families in even harder situations than previously. The generous gifts given by the Year 9s will not only feed a family but also add a sprinkling of positivity and happiness over the Christmas period.

The Year 10s were tasked with providing gifts to the Lighthouse and collected Winter Warming gifts and new toys for families who have been identified as needing help by Women’s Refuge, Surrey County Council, Social workers and the local foodbank in Woking. The people who received this gift cannot afford to stay warm in winter and in order to provide some small assistance we have put together winter warming packages. We also donated brand

new toys that wouldn’t have been available to these families beforehand. The monies that was raised on Christmas jumper day will also be donated and go some way to helping these families further.

The Year 11s were tasked with providing gifts to the charity, Catch 22. Most of these people supported by this charity are sadly homeless, most of them have no one and are housed in temporary accommodation. The gifts that they received from our school are often the only gifts that they will get.

Finally, The Year 12s and Year 13s were tasked with providing luxury hampers to the Pound House for young people at risk of homelessness. The young people staying at Pound House are people who were in foster care and when they reached 18, came out of the care system and were then expected to fend for themselves. Pound House provides these people temporary accommodation for up to 2 years giving them a safe home and teaching them life skills that they need to live independently. The staff at Pound House were absolutely delighted when they received the Christmas hampers and were very impressed with the amount of gifts we had collected!

Though this year has been very challenging for many people within both our community and our country, SJB has once again shown their immense love by fulfilling the school’s core catholic values and giving support to those in need. As a result of this incredible generosity of spirit, so many people have been given a sense of hope, something to brighten up their Christmas, and the realisation that they are not alone.

So, a huge thank you to every single person who donated! Merry Christmas to you all!

By Isabella Monteregge, Year 12

YEAR 13 MOCK INTERVIEWS

On the evenings of Wednesday 2nd November and Tuesday 6th December, SJB welcomed employers with expertise in industry to make up a panel of three employers to provide Year 13 Students with a mock interview experience. The first evening in November saw 51 students attending, some of whom were applying for medicine or Oxbridge, so needed to have an early university application. We had a total of 39 employers attending the evening. The second event, on the 6th December saw greater numbers of both students and employers. We had 85 students throughout the evening and 60 employers.

Many of our panel members were made up of current and past parents of SJB students, and we had a few SJB Alumni, as well as Employers who were invited into the school to give students an interview based on their professional experience and the interests of the students. We were delighted to have employers with expertise ranging from engineering, business, health,

science, art and design, theatre, STEM, and law as well as many other industries who kindly gave the students an experience of an interview , and provided them with valuable and constructive feedback for when they go for university or job interviews.

Prior to their interview, students were asked to send in a copy of their personal statements, predicted grades and GCSE results so that they could be matched as closely as possible to an interview panel. They were then given a list of suggested questions to help them prepare for their interview.

Students arriving for their interview on the night were undoubtedly nervous. The anxiety of talking to people they had never met and the anticipation of being asked questions about their career or university choices, weigh heavily on their minds. However, once they had completed their interview , the exhilaration and selfbelief they felt was immense. For many students, this was the first time they had experienced a professional

interview, let alone in front of a panel of three employers they had never met. Each student left their interview feeling more confident about themselves and future interviews. Some of their reflections on the evening include “I felt quite nervous but also excited beforehand. It gave me an insight into what an actual interview was like, I feel as though I know exactly how to prepare myself for the next interview. It was so helpful, and my feedback was very helpful. The panel was so lovely and made me feel comfortable during the interview. Thank you for your time. It gave me confidence for the future – lovely panel members, made it a lot easier”

All the students received constructive feedback from the employers which highlighted their strengths as well as providing advice for future interviews. Feedback from both students and employers was hugely positive. Comments from employers included how well prepared the students were, how confident they seemed and how much knowledge they had in their chosen area of interest. Some of their comments we received are as follows

“I am very happy to know that the students we interviewed found this experience useful. We were extremely impressed with them. It was heart-warming to see them so confident and able to land on their own

feet even when the questions were not picked from the list. The school have prepared them well. You should be proud of them and of the of the teaching staff for getting them there! I have no doubt they will do well in the future. They are intelligent individuals and they all seem to have a great work ethic”

This evening was supported by several Year 12 students who kindly gave up their time to help things run smoothly. They were given the task of setting up the rooms, allocating parking spaces as well as having the responsibility of showing them to the buffet and introducing them to their fellow panel members. Each Year 12 facilitator was then allocated to a panel and was responsible for accompanying the nervous students to their interview, ensuring the panels kept to time and ensuring the smooth running of the event. Without the Year 12 volunteers, the evening would not have been as successful as it was; thank you. A huge thank you also goes to all the employers who volunteered their time to provide our Year 13 students with a very valuable and informative experience.

By Mr Petri

The Art Department took two groups of Year 10 GCSE Art and Design students on Wednesday 5th and 12th October on a trip to Watts Gallery and Artists Village in Compton, near Guildford, Surrey. The staff there were so welcoming to SJB.

Founded in 1904 as the only gallery in the UK devoted to a single artist, Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village offered

and artist Mary Watts. Both George Watts and Mary Watts had the belief that, ‘Art is for everybody’. They truly lived out this ethos particularly Mary Watts who taught the locals living in the village of Compton to make the decorative clay tiles that are on the façade of Watts Chapel. This visit was an excellent opportunity to broaden student’s classroom study and experience the beauty of Watts Chapel.

travelled all around the world, it was clear to see how inspiration was taken from different cultures and fused together in their artwork, their home Limmerlease and the chapel. During the trip the students took part in a practical hands-on workshop led by a practising artist where they made a Gesso tile. Using tin foil to create a relief design and then using plaster cast over it to fix it in place and continue to build up the relief. The technique was very similar to the process Mary watts used for the inside of the Chapel although she used Felt, rather than tin foil. Back at school students completed their Gesso tiles by painting them.

In the Historic Gallery there was an exhibition where Simon Frederick is currently exhibiting a selection of photographs from his portrait series ‘Black is the New Black’ alongside paintings from G F Watts’s Hall of Fame. Today, the portraits of ‘greats’ as represented by

G F Watts’ Hall of Fame – nearly all of which depict white male writers, politicians, and social reformers –raise significant questions about those who Victorian art and society celebrated. Simon Frederick’s Black is the New Black uses the portrait series format to present an assembly of celebrated contemporary Black Britons.

Above the gift shop was a smaller exhibition displaying artwork produced by local artists who all have responded to and explored the same theme, ‘Into the Woods’. However, using different materials and techniques from printmaking to sculpture to produce individual and varied outcomes.

At the time of the visit the Sculpture Gallery was shut to the public however, the curator gave SJB access. This was another interesting addition to the trip to see the other side of George Watts’ artwork, his sculpture not just for the scale of some pieces but to also learn how casts of human parts such as hands and feet were used to help inform his paintings as this was cheaper than paying for a model.

Since visiting Watts Gallery and Artists Village students have documented their trip in their sketchbooks.

The staff and volunteers were all so knowledgeable and informative, they really looked after us all well. The bonus to the trip was how staff were also enthusiastic

to talk about their different roles and develop students career awareness of being an art curator and art conservator. Watts Chapel is a hidden gem in Surrey, and I would encourage you to visit if you haven’t discovered it.

By Mrs Setterfield

The trip to Watts Gallery was a unique opportunity unlike other trips available at our school, it provided an experience like no other, blending art and history which created an atmosphere of both enjoyment and learning. The information was introduced in an engaging way and provided much needed context on the lives of George and Mary Watts. The scenery was beautiful and intriguing, especially around the chapel. It was awe inspiring to see these works of art, produced over several years, in completion or artistically unfinished almost adopting the motto that “Art is never finished, it simply stops in interesting places.” This most certainly rings true in the context of the trip. The gallery also provided a hands on workshop experience with Gesso tiles and allowed us to experience new mediums and experiment with designs in the context of a 19th century artists technique.

By Iggy DeCruz Year 10.

Sketchbook by Kylie Cheyne Year 10

Sketchbook by Ella Dai Year 10

COUNTRYFILE CalendarCompetition

Zac Wellings Year 8 took this stunning photograph of a Kingfisher. “I saw the kingfisher at Arundel WWT. We were on a mini boat trip when I spotted a kingfisher in a tree. The lady kindly stopped the boat and I stood up, steadied my camera and took a photograph. Luckily as we were on a boat the kingfisher stayed still for a few seconds before it flew off. I have been a keen photographer for several years and have watched the Countryfile calendar competition each year with interest. This year they had a junior section, so I entered.” (Zac Wellings Year 8).

Every year, Countryfile opens its calendar competition to budding photographers across the UK to submit their best wildlife, landscape and nature shots. Each year has a different theme, and this year was ‘Wild and Free’

and this theme applies to every setting, whether rural, urban, farmland or around water. Zac was able to enter the competition this year as they decided to give future generations of photographers the chance to participate by adding two new age groups; 8-12 years and 13-17 years old.

The final 12 photographs for the calendar will include six from the adult category and three from each of the younger age groups. John Craven chaired the judging panel, joined by wildlife photographer and filmmaker, Hamza Yassin, plus Alison Steadman. I am delighted to be able to say that Zac’s photograph was shortlisted and will appear in the 2023 Countryfile calendar, well done Zac! Money raised from sales of the calendar will go to BBC Children in Need.

By Mrs Setterfield

Over the years the PTA have financially supported all departments. Curriculum Leaders have been able to bid for additional equipment and resources to benefit and impact upon students learning and outcomes. This year’s generosity of the PTA has been no exception. The Art department and the students would like to thank the PTA for funding the fixtures and fittings of the classrooms in the new Art block. They funded all the furniture, including tables and stools and the worktops around the edges of the rooms with storage drawers and cupboards underneath. Here are some comments from the students about the new Art classrooms.

“Everything in the Art department is easily accessible. There is space for all my work and equipment. I can find everything as it has a place. The stools are extremely comfortable, and the tables are the perfect height to do work at. The Art department is a safe place for me and having space and good furniture makes it 100% better.’” Poppy Tilbury, Year 11

“I love the white tables; my artwork looks so much better when I take photographs of it. The stools are so much more comfortable, they have a support on the back to make sitting for longer periods less painful and there is also a hook for blazers or bags.” Laura Panthier, Year 12

Arts Award

The Art and Design department have launched the opportunity for Year 8 students to achieve a Bronze Arts Award qualification. Arts Award is run by Trinity College London, with the aim to inspire students to grow their arts and leadership talents whilst contributing to the school community. This term the students who participated created the set design for the school production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. The art they have produced was inspired by Art Nouveau. The natural and organic style fits the context of the play.

Creative skills learnt have included embroidery on bunting to display the title of the production, sculpting wire flowers with tissue paper petals, origami cranes and star garlands suspended from wires and frames.

Each week the students have been documenting their journey and have built a portfolio which will be marked and then externally moderated by Trinity College in the new year. The Arts Award has connected Year 8 with the arts world – as the learner and teacher, learning from creative professions such as set designers and researching Art in addition to their Art lessons. You can follow their progress on instagram via @sjbartdept

By Miss Kitching

House Update Autumn Term

Our new House system is into its second year of establishment across the school, and we have had many more competitions and chances for students to win House Points this term. We have had an odd socks competition in aid of antibullying, chess tournaments against opposing schools, an RE biblical top trumps competition, a poetry competition, an MFL Christmas Card competition and of course the legendary SJB Bake Off! Below are a few reviews from students about the House competition they have won…

I wanted to participate in competitions and school activities as I have recently joined the school in Year 7. The offer to earn House Points was also a

tempting persuasion! The odd socks competition was a competition to wear odd socks to school to raise awareness for what makes us unique, in aid of antibullying. I did not think wearing store bought silly socks was enough so I had to customise them and make my own. They did not look as good as I wanted them to, but I was learning how to sew. It is very hard to sew chocolates onto socks as the socks kept closing tightly.

I feel so happy to have won and to help my house (Kolbe) win more points. Next year my socks will be even better!

By Pheobe Daly 7CMR

Odd Socks House Competion

SJB BAKE OFF

Idecided to enter the bake off as I really enjoy baking and haven’t had the chance to do so recently. The autumn theme reminded me of my grandmother’s mushroom biscuits which is what I decided to bake for the first round. It consists of a simple recipe for the dough, however it takes time to assemble each biscuit as it gets quite fiddly.

The final round was more challenging as I wanted to attempt to make a log cake in about an hour, therefore the recipe had to be very quick. Autumn is usually associated with colourful leaves, which is something

I wanted to replicate as a decoration for the cake. The leaves turned out to be the most difficult task, as they were made from white chocolate and required enough time to set. The lack of time for this resulted in them melting as soon as they were handled, which is why I had my friend make several in hopes of a few of them succeeding, while I worked on the cake sponge. Overall, we managed to complete the cake within the time limit and I was impressed with how the presentation turned out.

By Zina Stamenova 12VS

CurricularExtra

Our extra curricular clubs have kick started this term with high attendance and regular commitment every week. We have had a number of new clubs start this term which have been extremely popular including Martial Arts, British Sign Language, Dungeons and Dragons and Yoga. Here are a few reviews from our students about why they love attending their club…

British Sign Language

In BSL club, which happens after school on a Monday, we have been learning the basics of how to communicate to our teacher who has impaired hearing. First, we learnt the alphabet and directions and then we learnt about families. This week we started learning how to sign a Christmas Story and all the different characters. I enjoy BSL because it is a way to communicate to those who can’t hear us, we can understand a way of words without speaking, like a communication of silence. The teachers we have are very patient with all of us trying to help us all individually learn, they encourage us to use BSL outside of school and continue praising us for our effort!

By Harriet Lawlor 8RCC

Martial Arts

At martial arts you learn new things like defence tactics. We learn front kicks, sidekicks and front jabs. I get to meet new people that join and I like helping people that find it difficult. I do martial arts outside of school as well and so I like to help lead the warm up and support others. We do fun activities such as cone games and man hunt. I like the instructors because they are funny and engaging.

By Archie McManus 8KS

Chess Club

At Chess Club we learn new tactics, get better at chess and learn how to beat our opponents. We have learnt different ways to check mate a king with limited pieces. We like meeting new people and playing against different opponents. This term we played a chess competition against Gordon’s school which was challenging and exciting. We won by half a point!

By Lincoln Hill 7LPE & Daniel Uzcategui 7CWY

JUNIPER HALL RiverTillingbourne GCSE GEOGRAPHY FIELDWORK

As fundamental towards our GCSE’s next year, Geography Topic 6: Fieldwork requires students to carry out an investigation following visits to two sites of a river where students will conduct various measurements and tasks to answer their fieldwork enquiry question . This contributes to the Geography Paper 2 exam where the findings of the trip will be needed to answer questions of a certain section.

During our lessons, we ran through some information on what we were to measure and how to carry out our investigation prior to commencing the physical fieldwork. On the 18th November, we met up at Woking Leisure Centre and began the journey to Dorking. Amongst two coaches, our class departed and arrived for an early start at Field Studies Council (FSC) Juniper Hall. There we recalled what we learnt and consolidated what risks to avoid and how to

obtain the most accurate results. Our aim was to investigate whether discharge increased as we headed downstream.

After gaining the equipment we need such as borrowing waterproofs and knee-high wellies, we headed off to our first chosen site Crossways Farm, which was very muddy. We all had wellies on to manage to get through to see the river. Firstly, we took a field sketch of the river annotating it to represent our qualitative data then split up into groups to obtain quantitative data. This comprised of us using various pieces of equipment such as a tape measure to measure the width of the river, a metre rule to measure the depth of the river at different intervals, a stopwatch and piece of cork to measure the velocity. Our results seemed varied as our class was situated lower down the river which meant for our second site

we could gain the advantage of heading upstream of all the other groups.

As we went back on the bus, we travelled to our second chosen site of Abinger Hammer, where we carried out the same procedures after changing back into our wellies even though it was less muddy than Crossways Farm. We found out that one of us could fit three times across the bridge and that the hydroprop which we tested out was able to spin along the river’s flow. We completed our field sketches and booklets and headed back to Juniper Hall to confirm our findings. At around 5pm we concluded the day and went back on the coach to Woking Leisure Centre without anyone falling in the river.

By Yzabella Laguisma Year 11

This year the Environment Committee have made the decision to focus on 3 main areas; waste, energy and outside environment

The Form Reps have been meeting every 2 weeks and the Sixth Form Committee members have been busy creating the Thinking Green Resources used during form time, as well as leading assemblies and planning the campaigns.

The Year 12 students have been working on energy and have had several meetings with Rohan and other members of staff and can report that the school has saved nearly £4,000 already this year by implementing a number of changes including:

-Timing of heating and hotwater systems

-Turned heating thermostats down -Changing to LED lights in lots of the classrooms

Thank you to Rohan for his work on this.

We have also launched an energy saving competition to help us cut our CO2 emmissions across the school Most of the solutions are simple:

-Turning lights off when possible

-Turning projectors off when not used -Turning computers off when not used -Shutting windows if heating is on -Keeping doors closed

If we save £30,000 on our energy bill this year Mr GH has promised us a whole school trip. This means we can all go to places like Thorpe Park, paintballing, Wisely Gardens etc, instead of coming to school for the day.

Based on current prices to meet our overall goal, in December we need to save: 9,951Kwh = £2,687

The Year 13s have been leading on the outside environmentandhavestartedworkonanewvegetable garden as well as plans to create a wildflower meadow link from the field to the Sixth Form building. T o prepare the garden which is on the back of the Art Block we needed to increase the depth of the soil to enable the plants to grow properly! A ‘Big Dig’ was organised and around 40 of our environmental reps came out with their wellies and wheelbarrows to get stuck into a tough afternoons work; we even hired a little digger to help!

Look out for Gardening Club which is going to start every Tuesday after school from January. If there are any parents who would like to help with running this please email environmentcommittee@sjb.surrey.sch. uk.

By Mr Newman

YEAR 11 HISTORY YORKTRIP

After waking up at 4:30 on November 11th, we travelled for five hours to take a history trip to York, to look at the Norman impact and how they controlled the city.

We visited St. Mary’s Abbey, York Minster, Clifford Tower, and the Walls surrounding York. These buildings were constructed when the Normans first seized control of the city and these were used to remind the citizens of York of the constant control by their new leaders and the successful invasion. The walls around York protected the Normans from

the Vikings who were constantly trying to invade from the north, and helped secure York’s role as a key town in the north. The Minster and Abbey at York were key religious places in Norman England. York Minster housed one of only two Archbishops in the country. St. Mary’s Abbey became the most powerful and wealthiest Benedictine monasteries in the country. Both of these being in York secured it as being a religiously significant city and a perfect base for controlling the local populace and crushing rebellions. Clifford Tower is a motte and bailey castle built after the Norman conquest, this was the most

likely method used to prevent further rebellions to the Norman authority. We had the pleasure of walking along the York city walls ourself which really showed us how intimidating they must’ve been in the 1070s.

In the middle of the day, we had an hour of free time to explore the city and enjoy the nearby cafes. I visited a small café nearby the Minster and had a cheese scone. It was fresh and warm and very delicious. I walked through a narrow alley way, called The Shambles, with plenty of shops. Many were small business selling hand made goods like Christmas ornaments or jewellery. It was nice to see them, they had such a cozy and welcoming feel. While we visited in November, the other classes visited in December so they enjoyed a Christmas market as well. Walking around the streets of York close by the Minster really showed me

how historical and beautiful the city is. I thoroughly enjoyed browsing in some of the small shops.

In my opinion, York is a lively, warm and welcoming city, full of interesting little alley ways, quaint little shops and is absolutely full of history, and is particularly closely linked to the Normans and the conquest.

By Camila DeCruz 11ACK

SJBReading at

SJB Library Appeal

We can’t thank our amazing SJB community enough for their overwhelming support for our ongoing library book appeal. Since sharing our Amazon wish list, we have received countless deliveries which are now on shelves in English classrooms ready for students to borrow.

A diverse range of amazing books have been donated including You Are A Champion by Marcus Rashford; the Heartstopper graphic novel series by Alice Oseman; They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera, and too many others to list here

Our library appeal is still going strong and our wish list can be found here if you would like to donate..

Thank you all so much for giving the students the gift of reading.

Book Fair

WehadanamazingweekwithourScholasticbookfair in November and it was brilliant to see the students coming to browse the incredible selection on offer.

It was our most successful book fair since 2013 and students spent a phenomenal £812.43 which means we now have over £400 to spend on brand new books for the school classroom libraries.

Extreme Reading

Ahead of our book fair, we challenged the students to enter our Extreme Reading competition and submit pictures of themselves reading in the craziest places for the chance to win. We received so many incredible submissions that choosing was incredibly difficult but our five winners were:

• Wiktoria Mazurek (7LSH)

• Evie Grant (7SFY)

• Charlotte Vivash (7LSH)

• Alessandro Genco (7CMR)

• Ella Hammond (8DFR)

They each received a £5 Scholastic book voucher to spend at our book fair.

Reading Champions

This term we have challenged the students to get reading and have launched our reading champion rewards: bronze, silver and gold. So far this term, we have given out 25 bronze badges and, of those students, 5 have gone on to earn their silver badges. Among just these 25 students alone, an incredible 194 books have been read and logged so far this academic year. The student with the most books logged so far this year is Rosie Bryden (8VBY/IT) who has read 17 books!

More badges will be given out in the new year and we hope the students take the opportunity over the holidays to get reading. They can share their reading choices on the English Book Tracker.

By Miss Hammond

A Level Language Conference Friends House, Euston

Once we arrived at “Friend’s House”, all the A Level English Language students milled around waiting for lectures to begin. The morning started with talks covering mobile conversations and busting language myths. After a break, snacks, and coffee we returned to the lecture hall to hear linguistics professor, Rob Drummond give us an insight into his Manchester Voices project and how he managed to convince people to get into “The Accent Van” during COVID so that he could record and analyse the multitude of accents in the North West of England.

For lunch, we mooched around Euston Station and fuelled up ready for the final two lectures.

Dr. Amanda Cole gave us an insight into the Cockney accent and how the Cockney diaspora continues to influence our current Essex accent. This was followed by Dr. Chloe Marshall highlighting the difficulties of acquiring language in challenging circumstances.

It was a thoroughly delightful day which gave us much to mull over in our study of the English Language. Thanks to our teachers for organising and taking us.`

By Daniel Alestrand 12 HHD