SJCS Eaglet 2023 by St John's College School

The Eaglet 2023

Amira Srouji (aged 12)

May Guttridge (aged 12)

The Eaglet 2023 Headmaster’s Introduction Emotions for Learning (E4L) Play-based Learning Child-Led Learning Mindfulness & My Mind Mindsets for Learning Challenge by Choice English Classics Modern Foreign Languages History Geography Religious Studies Philosophy Charities & Community Links Science & STEM Design Technology Computing

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Digitally Enhanced Learning Maths Enrichment Afternoons Extra-Curricular Clubs Parents’ Association Pupil Forum & Pupil Responsibilities Boarders Choristers Music Art Arts Award Inspiration Drama Sport Activity Week New Faces Leavers In Memory

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Celebrations for King Charles III’s Coronation (May 2023)

Headmaster’s Introduction It is my great pleasure to share with you the 2023 edition of the St John’s College School Eaglet magazine. As many of you will already know, the Eaglet is written by the children and celebrates some of their many highlights and achievements from the past academic year. Our children continue to amaze and delight and the following pages will provide a glimpse into the range of accomplishments that took place within our classrooms and beyond. Our aim in this publication is to convey the broad curriculum the children cover and the real sense of purpose, drive, creativity and joy that an education at St John’s involves. We pride ourselves on being a close and supportive community where the children are cared for, nurtured and are all encouraged to thrive. Intellectual enquiry, academic curiosity and a love of learning lies at the heart of every child’s education here. After the historic announcement of girl Choristers joining St John’s College Choir in 2022, the 2022 – 2023 academic year was full of change for our professional singers. Andrew Nethsingha left in December 2022 to take up the role of Organist of Westminster Abbey (where we enjoyed watching him direct the music for the King’s Coronation) and was replaced by Dr Stephen Darlington for a term as interim Director of College Music before Christopher Gray moved from Truro Cathedral to take up the permanent position. Particular mention should be made of Form 6 Chorister, Kieran McGurran, who won a Music and Academic Scholarship to Winchester College, highlighting what is possible from a St John’s education even if you are a busy Chorister.

In amongst the highs does come sorrow. The St John’s community was deeply saddened to hear of the sudden passing last June of our Director of Sport, Mr Gareth McComb, and Dr Igglesden’s moving tribute to Gareth can be found at the start of the ‘In Memory’ section. Soon after Gareth’s death, we also heard of the passing of Mr Alan Mould at the age of 93 who had been the Headmaster of St John’s from 1971 to 1990. He was not only a great leader of schools but made his mark as Chair of the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) and the Choir Schools’ Association. A tribute to him can also be found in the pages that follow. Moving forward, our focus remains on enhancing our exceptional pastoral care and maintaining high standards of teaching and learning. We are absolutely committed to furthering our work on equality, diversity, and inclusion- recognising the importance of these aspects within our school community. Additionally, we will promote sustainability by implementing energy-efficient practices and resource management, while also establishing an endowment for bursaries through fundraising initiatives. In an ever-changing world, we endeavour to remain adaptable while staying rooted to our core values. We are certain that our unwavering dedication to prioritising the well-being and development of our children will equip them to keep thriving and become their best selves. Neil Chippington

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Headmaster’s Introduction

Emotions for Learning (E4L)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Emotions for Learning (E4L)

I like how stilling makes me feel calm because then it makes me chilled all day. I really like the action stories because my favourite part is the ‘hearts’ stroke. I like how my partner does it because she uses her fingers instead of her palms. Poppy Doodson (aged 7) I like action stories, especially when we do the ‘sweeping off the snow’ method. I like it when we lie down after lunch because it makes me feel calmer. We relaxed with teddy bears on our belly and the teddy moved with my breath. We make our classroom happy by being kind and getting ideas from everyone like the ‘Collaborative Crab’ mindset. Aubrey Elliott (aged 6)

“E4L encourages us to talk about our feelings which I really like. My favourite part of the action story is the ‘hearts’ because it reminds me of love and makes me think of my family.” Hamish Pearson (aged 7)

“I like being calm in the stilling and showing our parents how to help. My favourite part of the action stories is the ‘bear walk’.” James Jeremiah (aged 7)

“In stilling we lie down and listen to music or listen to a special story and it feels good.” Archie Morbey (aged 5)

“I like it when my back is getting stroked in an action story. I feel relaxed.” Robert Gomersall (aged 5)

“E4L is all about understanding your ‘big’ feelings and knowing what to do about them.” Beatrix Cleevely (aged 7) Stilling and action stories make me happy and calm. I really liked demonstrating them to our parents in the E4L Morning and showing them how we can problem solve using the steps we have learnt and use. The presentation to the parents was really fun. My favourite part of the action stories is when we do the ‘cat grip’, it feels nice. Nancy Reed Herbert (aged 6)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Emotions for Learning (E4L)

Play-Based Learning In the Pre-prep at St John’s, a play-based approach to learning is used to provide an educational environment that reflects and supports the way children of this age learn. We aim to foster skills of independence, collaboration, problem-solving, creativity and communication, create high levels of engagement and improve learning attainment. This approach has been underpinned by the latest research on learning for young children, which demonstrates that children learning through play show improvements in their attainment, well-being and learning dispositions such as creativity. It offers a risk-free environment in which children can explore ideas and deepen their learning through application and collaboration. It gives children a range of experiences that build connections in the brain, helping them develop physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally. Importantly, this involves a balance between child-led discovery time, adult-initiated activities and adult-led activities. An important element of play-based learning is ‘sharing’. Sharing time is an opportunity for children to be inspired by what others in their class have chosen to do. In a typical sharing time, a child will confidently talk in front of the class about what they have done, how they did it, what was challenging or problematic about it and what their ‘next step’ would be to improve it. Others have been heard to respond, ‘That’s my next step too!’, or, ‘I was inspired to make a kite by my friend.’ Though seemingly simple, this ability to reflect on learning in our youngest children is a key skill for learning, with children developing their meta-cognitive thinking skills of reflection, evaluation of learning and goal-setting.

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Play-Based Learning

We found out about Chinese New Year and how it is celebrated. The colour red is a lucky colour. It is also called the Spring Festival and the story is about a monster called Nian who attacked villagers at the start of the New Year. The monster didn’t like loud noises, lights, and red so they use these to chase him away. Alexander Shivareddy & Frank Millward (both aged 5)

“We read the book ‘Leaf Man’ and we used lots of things we had found in nature like fallen leaves and twigs which were all different colours to make our own leaf man.” Emilie Trinidad (aged 6)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Play-Based Learning

“We went on a colour hunt and thought about many ways to describe colours. We wondered if colours change if you let light though.”

“We researched all about the constellations and, at the end, we took them apart and catapulted them into space!”

Antoine Khoury-Machool & Lanark Hamilton (both aged 7)

Isabella Santry & Poppy Doodson (both aged 7)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Play-based Learning

We talked about how David Attenborough and Charles Darwin have inspired us to protect nature. We did our own research to find out more about naturalists and explorers and their work. We studied the books, maps and QR links in the discovery area, as well as our research box to discover more about their lives. We recorded on the ChatterPix app and used sound buttons. We also thought about how the explorer might have felt as they made their discoveries. Crispin Sinclair & Henry Watson (both aged 7)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Play-Based Learning

Child-Led Learning

I enjoyed our space topic and particularly liked the rockets we created in Art. One of my favourite parts was our trip to the National Space Centre and seeing the dog on the moon! Lucy Bennington (aged 8)

“We had a choice of what we could study. Working with people who have similar interests to you is good because you share ideas and give your opinion.” Arindam Roshan (aged 10)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Child-led Learning

“I loved when we created a wave machine for our oceans topics with gummy sweets because we got to eat them afterwards!” Magnus Moore (aged 9)

“My highlight was the Cambridge City Tours bus, seeing some really nice buildings and being on an open-top bus on a sunny day.” Isabella Graham (aged 9)

“At the start we each presented the topic we had chosen and then voted, which was a fair way to decide.” Jasmine Francis (aged 9) My class’ topic was researching cities of the world. We first drew famous buildings in London and found out about other cities, such as Rio de Janeiro, Sydney and Athens. My highlight was when we all brought in food from the different cities that we were studying, such as from Singapore, which is what a friend of mine was studying. We also all made our own cookbooks with recipes for the different food from our city of choice. Alexander Mosher (aged 7) A fact that I learnt was that there weren’t just fish in the oceans but also dinosaurs millennia ago. The most dangerous predator was a megalodon. As a class, we made a huge Dickensonia, which was probably the first animal in the ocean. With a friend, I made a great white shark model. Theo Taylor (aged 8)

“Our class collectively chose Oceans, and I researched Israel’s two seas – the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. I also made a huge penguin model.” Tilly Manning (aged 8)

“I researched Australia for my project and discovered that I love drawing turtles! I discovered that they eat seagrass, which I didn’t know before!” Cassidy Murray (aged 8)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Child-led Learning

Mindfulness & Tai Chi Tai Chi means ‘supreme ultimate system’ which is when you are trying to achieve the best you can for both your mind and your body. Each move links to a different element, sound, metal, colour and both positive and negative emotions. Arya Wajid (aged 9) & Imogen Fairley (aged 8)

“Tai Chi relaxes me, especially when I have had a bad day, as it helps me to calm myself down ready for the next part of the day.” Marley Fernandez-Piras (aged 10)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Mindfulness & Tai Chi

“Finger breathing and petal breathing help you to relax and feel so calm again and you can feel your heartbeat slowing down if you have been racing around the playground.” Noa Martinez Forbes & Emily Da Costa (both aged 5) On Thursday afternoons we do mindfulness for an hour. We use a special course called ‘dot breathe’ which is targeted at children to help relax our minds and give us tips and ways on how to cope with stress and worries that we might have. ‘Dot breathe’ has really helped me as, if something isn’t going right or there is a problem, I can count on my mindfulness techniques to help me. Isobel Morbey (aged 13)

“House swimming was very exciting because we had a big reputation to keep as we had won three years in a row. We used mindfulness to keep calm. As a result, our team was very good at keeping focused and not stressing out. It really worked.” Olivia Inglis (aged 13)

“In our mindfulness sessions we have been discussing the uses of mindfulness and how it can be used effectively in different situations in life, not just in school.” Finn Maclennan (aged 13)

“Our mindfulness sessions really help me to relax and to focus on the positives in life.” Alice Allpress (aged 11)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Mindfulness & Tai Chi

“I love collaborating with other people and using a persevering mindset.” Martha Gritten (aged 10)

Mindsets for Learning When we did the slide foam project it was a little bit challenging because if you went too close to one of the edges or you were too hard on the foam it would snap. When you were about to cut the piece of foam, you had to be in a calm and gentle mindset at the time. In the end I was proud of doing something that I had never done before and proud of my achievement and that I did not give up. Una Churchward (aged 12)

“I use the executive function, sustained attention, to focus solely on the teacher and not what was happening around me.” Penelope Tandy (aged 10)

“Executive functions help you concentrate in lessons and learn to be more flexible and more organised.” Mura Micu (aged 10)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Mindsets for Learning

Challenge by Choice It makes so much sense to allow children to be in charge of what level they select for each stage of their learning, where appropriate. This gives you a feeling of ownership and you feel like you are in charge of your own learning.

“In some subjects it is helpful to separate the different ability levels and to be able to choose the level that is suitable for you.”

“Challenge by choice was useful for me in Maths as I started at an easier level to warm myself up and then moved up to something harder when I felt ready.”

Alexander Brezina (aged 12)

Zain Sheikh (aged 11)

Amira Srouji (aged 12)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Challenge by Choice

English

Julian Sedgwick & Justin Coe Poetry Workshops We just loved our visit from the poet Justin Coe to celebrate National Poetry Day. He had such a lot of energy, he never stopped reciting poems, telling us jokes and making us laugh. One of the funniest things was when Mrs Fallon and Mrs Muñoz had to do a dance wearing big pants! Justin Coe is a great poet and he really inspired us. He made us laugh and told us funny poems that he had written but he also told us about how he is dyslexic and that this hasn’t stopped him writing poems. One of the poems that Justin told us was about Jaws his pet goldfish. Another of his poems was made up by his four year old son when he was in the car, with his head out of the window and he said he wanted to eat the sky! Form 2

The Eaglet 2023 ~ English

“Justin Coe came to give us a poetry workshop and he was hilarious and really energetic. It made us all feel like we wanted to go away and write our own poems. It was a great experience.” Cassidy Murray (aged 7)

Sixth Form Poetry Evening “My poem was about losing someone and dearly missing them in grief. It is heavily dedicated to Mr McComb who recently passed away and to lift a hole in all our hearts.” Anne Vinokurov (aged 13)

“I was inspired to write my poem from a flight we had on a recent school trip to Naples as it was incredibly stormy underneath the clouds but sunny above.”

“Taking part in our Poetry Evening enabled me to learn to improve my public speaking skills and to be stronger when speaking in front of an audience.” Tighe Westfall (aged 14)

Teddy Rigby (aged 13)

The The Eaglet Eaglet 2023 2023 ~ ~ English English

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Book Week I liked it when we made our own murder mystery train story with MG Leonard because I loved the opportunity to make a story as a team – it was a real life scenario but with some comedy.

Book Week was very unique because all the authors had a different ideas for their books. I enjoyed being Captain Underpants for the day! I liked the fact that I got a book at the book swap – it made me want to swap books again and again!

Maxwell Mansfield (aged 11)

I really liked the book swap because it was really fun and it’s a really good way to help the environment by swapping books rather than always buying them new.

“I enjoyed Book Week because of Friday we got to dress up and you became your favourite book character.” Laila Khaled (aged 8)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ English

Woosung Lee (aged 10)

Nicholas Garcia (aged 11)

“Matty Long was my favourite author. I like the way he makes his drawings come to life.”

“Christopher Edge let us come into his Escape Room and it was really fun and I really enjoyed his book.”

Clara Blyth (aged 7)

Walter Mackenzie (aged 10)

Extreme Reading Competition top (left & right) and bottom; middle right: authors Matty Long and M.G. Leonard; top middle: author Hannah Gold

The Eaglet 2023 ~ English

Winners of the SJCS 500 Words Short Story Competition I stare down from my gilded cage at the wide eyed, open-mouthed people. Don’t they know it’s rude to stare? A man to my left pulls out his phone. Raising it, he sends a flash into my eyes. Nerve! There are black spots dancing in my vision, and I feel the beginnings of a migraine. These people think they can just stomp in here, stare at us, shoot white flashes at us and then leave! Don’t they know who I am? I’m internationally famous! Anyone who’s anyone knows me. I’m Mona Lisa. The way these tourists treat me, you’d think I was some child’s finger painting, stuck on a fridge. Huh. Just because I’m a painting, doesn’t mean that I lack feelings. Extract from ‘Moaner’ by Vita Rainey (aged 13) The lifeless stream lay frozen on a carpet of icy pebbles, the cold, morning sunlight shimmering down through the scattered cloudy sky. I sat there, on the rock ledge, weeping. We received the news yesterday: my brother, my kind, loving brother, was dead. When I first heard the announcement, I froze, I didn’t believe it, I didn’t want to believe it. I ran, sobbing to my room, locked the door, and screamed. I screamed, and screamed, and screamed, eventually muffling my shrieks in my pillow. Extract from ‘Goodbye’ by Peregrine Brice (aged 10)

I’m Gary Garcia, your typical office worker. I spend my days at a call centre for plumbing parts. A call centre with such bad coffee it has the consistency of toothpaste - almost a record achievement really. All in all, my life is pretty boring, but here I am. April 16th. Another insignificant day. I sit down on my spinning, creaky chair and for a minute I stare at the blank holographic computer screen. On my desk, pictures of family and old friends grin back at me, their smiles like slices of orange. They’re much happier than me, I think with a kind of sad resignation. I turn on my computer. It really does look more like a cardboard box than a piece of modern technology. Cheap. I started to type up the data from yesterday and soon a call came in. Extract from ‘Coffee’ by May Guttridge (aged 11) Bob crawls out of the plane, the searing heat blinding him. He looks around for any survivors before he realises he is the only one! Carefully he creeps into the menacing jungle ahead to find something quite unexpected. A nest, but not a normal one. A dinosaur nest! Extract from ‘Prehistoric Discovery’ by Rafic Chebli (aged 9)

“I was really happy to hear that I was the overall winner, it made me feel confident about my creative writing. I was really pleased with my story because I enjoyed writing it and it was completely different to anything I have ever written before.” Vita Rainey (aged 13)

Debating I have really enjoyed the independent feel of debating as we go and plan our speeches on our own. I also love how I made friends very quickly as you have to work together against your opposition. I loved the debating party we had on the final day where we ate donuts as well as carried out debates! Riley Neville (aged 12)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ English

“Debating improves your speaking and general English skills and builds your confidence levels. It is also really fun and enjoyable debating diverse topics.” Alicia Quirke (aged 12)

Young Shakespeare Company’s Workshop “The most interesting part of their performance was just how fun and full of adventure they made the play, which I really loved. It inspired me for when we do our productions.” Charlotte Bowes (aged 10)

“Watching this production was one of the best things we have done this year. I am so interested in Shakespeare’s plays.”

“I loved watching the Young Shakespeare Company; they made it look so easy to go from one character to another. I love Drama and want to be an actor.” Betty Barnes (aged 10)

Sam Tagger (aged 11)

“It was exciting watching the play and also having the chance to be an active part of the performance. The actors made the play come alive.” Alice Allpress (aged 11)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ English

Classics

Classics Trip to the Bay of Naples “On the first day we went to Mount Vesuvius. It was very windy and Reda lost his hat! Then we went to Pompeii. It was interesting because we learnt not only about the disaster but also about the lives of the people before and after it. Finally, we went to the lemon orchard where we ate lemon chocolate.” George Gibbes (aged 13)

“I was so glad I went on the Naples trip as it was an amazing experience to be a part of. We learnt a range of new things and saw so many famous sights. My favourite part of the trip was going to Pompeii. It was incredible walking round the old streets and looking round the big forum, just below Mount Vesuvius.” Isobel Morbey (aged 13)

‘Ludi Scaenici’ Latin Play

Greek

The Latin play was a really interesting experience as I had done nothing quite like it. We started with two sessions brainstorming possible plots and it was interesting to hear everyone’s ideas; then we starting the writing. This was challenging as we were limited to only using CLC Book1 vocab. After we had finished the scripts we had to learn all the lines! It sounds obvious but it was actually quite difficult as we needed to understand what we were saying so we were not flat and monotonous. We used sticks as props which gave our performance another dimension. It was a great experience and I am so proud and glad that we could bring the cup home.

Greek has been so fun and rewarding and I have learnt so much. My favourite aspect is the variety of the lessons of the vast topic of Ancient Greece. We learnt about the history of places in Greece and the relationship of art, the grammar and how to use the language including learning a whole new alphabet! I loved learning Greek, it will be really helpful at my next school. Zoe Loose (aged 13)

Imogen Youngman (aged 13)

One of the most enjoyable parts of learning Greek has been finding out about the history of Ancient Greece and how the world used to function all those years ago. I really like reading Greek as well since it is in a different alphabet; it is like a code! Emre Tunc (aged 13)

“The language itself was interesting and unique and “The best part was the brainstorming yet still similar to other ancient languages, such as before we knew what it would be about Latin.” and bouncing ideas and forming the plot.” Melissa French (aged 13)

Kangqi Gong (aged 13)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Classics

Modern Foreign Languages

French Plays I liked performing the French plays because it was a chance to combine Drama and French. It was also a good opportunity to learn some new vocabulary and some French plays to perform. I performed The Three Little Pigs went to School. My role was the History teacher who was the first to eat one of the pigs. The performance went well as we had masks and costumes and real wine, (well...Robinsons grape juice!) Amir Jambor-Sadeghian (aged 11) I enjoyed the French plays a lot because they enabled you to learn French in a fun way of performing. I really enjoyed the topics where there were fun animals and special human characteristics. I thought taking part in the French play is a good way to improve both French and Drama skills. I highly recommend the project to Form 4 because it is a great way of learning. Eniya Zhang (aged 11) I did ‘Le Chat Botte’ (Puss in Boots) and I think it went pretty well. I don’t remember anyone forgetting their lines in any of the performances and I think we all worked well together. I also think that the audience found it funny and also I hope they understood it. It definitely improved my French. Tom Bennington (aged 10)

“I learnt that cockerels ‘speak’ different languages in different countries, which is quite cool. In French they say ‘cocorico’, in English it is ‘cockadoodle do’ and in Dutch they say ‘kukeleku’.” Finnbar Macswiney (aged 11)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Modern Foreign Languages

Queen’s College, Oxford, Anthea Bell Translation Prize In French we all participated in the competition and were given a French poem to translate into English. I enjoyed doing it as the poem was really beautiful. One of the best things about the translation was that you didn’t have to just translate it word for word, you could play with it and make it your own. This was also hard as I didn’t want to completely lose sight of the original meaning. I was really pleased when I was told that I was the Area Winner and I was so surprised that I didn’t believe it at first. I am glad I took part and hope to do something similar in the future. Vita Rainey (aged 13)

German We spent part of the time in our last year at St John’s learning German in preparation for our future schools. I personally have found it very helpful and, at the same time, loads of fun to delve into a new language. Mattia Nicholson (aged 13) It was fun translating German songs and my favourite was Anton aus Tirol which is often sung at Bavarian festivals. It really enabled us to pick up this new language quickly. George Gibbes (aged 13)

French Recipes I loved the cooking challenge; I made the îles flottantes recipe which has some meringue, vanilla sauce and some very sticky caramel. It helped me with my French as it was fun listening to a French person explaining the method. At that moment, you really felt like a French person in a cafe! Una Churchward (aged 12)

“I made a chocolate cake and it helped my French because I was learning ingredients and looking up the French words so I was expanding my vocabulary. The best part was eating it!” Alexander Brezina (aged 12)

“This cooking challenge really helped me learn my French cooking phrases. I had lots of fun making my food and, at the end, it tasted amazing! It was a bit more fun than learning French past participles!” Elias Brown (aged 12)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Modern Foreign Languages

History

Romans & Celts We were making things that people made ages ago. It was really nice to know what they did and believed in compared to what we do. I thought it was extra special because we were in non-school uniform. I liked learning all the history and I think I actually learnt it better because we were not in our classroom. The secret password changed each time we left the hall so it was really difficult to remember them all. Pluto is both a Greek and Roman god of agriculture, wealth, and the underworld. He is also referred to as Hades. I’m not sure if I would have liked to have been a Roman child but I would have enjoyed it more if I was from a wealthy family because then I wouldn’t have as many chores and my days would not have been as repetitive. George Hood (aged 8)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ History

Victorians At Stibbington I enjoyed the detective work with artefacts because we went round to all the tables and discovered what they used for toys, to wash, clean and cook. The Victorian playground was fun because I just played tag with my friends. The Victorian school room was not fun at all because the desk behind me was so close to mine I could not move my chair back that far and my legs were squashed under the desk and the teacher was strict! Henry Bessemer Clark (aged 10) I loved Stibbington because we really felt as though we were Victorians. We even got to find our gravestones with our new identities! Alice Manning (aged 10)

Bletchley Park “It was great seeing the old computers. There was a real working Enigma machine and we found out how it operated.” Hattie Milton (aged 12)

“I really loved seeing the Enigma machine. We learnt a lot about how it helped win the War through encrypting messages.” Charlie Lipscomb (aged 12)

“Outside there was a massive rock with Winston Churchill’s hand print on it. My favourite part was putting my hand into that print.” Billy Malyon (aged 12)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ History

1940s Wartime Day “I liked finding out what our new identities were, I was quite surprised to find out I was staying with the Headmaster and Headmistress!” Florence Reed Herbert (aged 9)

Stibbington was great fun and I enjoyed using the dipping pens and ink to write with. The spam at lunch wasn’t so great! We made ID cards for our new guardian and mine was called Mrs Crane and my siblings were Shirley and Ian and we all stayed at the School House. Going into the Anderson shelter felt quite realistic and it was good to sit at the old-fashioned desks in the school room as the lesson was so different and the teacher so strict! During the war, cows were painted black so they would not be seen in the blackouts but then the cows ran away! Phoebe Hearn (aged 9)

“I enjoyed going into the wartime classroom as it was so realistic as we got to use ink instead of pens and we also went down into an air raid shelter too. It was really big and dark and would have been quite terrifying.” Aliyah Auty (aged 9)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ History

Mountfitchet Castle “There was a big cage and if people tried to steal, their hands would be cut off! It was so exciting because a peacock fanned its feathers in front of me.” Noa Martinez Forbes (aged 5)

“It was great fun spending the day training as warriors. There were goats and peacocks which we sketched. During a break, we trapped Angus and strapped him to a wall, but then he escaped!” Lily Brereton (aged 6)

Tudors We learnt about how Tudors celebrated the twelve days of Christmas on our Tudor Day. It was so fun! We got to act in plays like ‘St George and the Dragon’ and there were songs, juggling and dancing while we had the feast (bread and ‘wine’.) I loved doing the activities and my favourite was creating soup balls, I ended up making four, and a leather bookmark. Rufus Bowsher (aged 10)

“My favourite activity on Tudor Day was making soap. I liked the fact my hands smelt really nice after making it.” Amber Oates (aged 10)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ History

Geography “I enjoy Geography lessons because there is a lot of visual learning which makes the information easier to consume and retain.” Amira Srouji (aged 12)

“We are learning about tectonic plates and volcanoes which is explosively fun! For prep, we made our own volcanoes based on famous volcanoes around the world.” Harriet Elend-Warner (aged 11)

“Geography is a really fun and educational subject that teaches you about the world around you. Our work is always fun but the way it is taught is so effective for our learning.” Hector Douglas (aged 12)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Geography

Shimpling Park Farm I loved visiting Shimpling Park Farm because it is so lovely being able to do field studies at this school. Field studies meaning getting out of the classroom and exploring the organic outdoors! There were so many things that I enjoyed at the farm, but the one thing that I really enjoyed was that it was a mixed farm so that one part was arable and the other was filled with sheep so there were so many things to see! Isabella MacLean (aged 10) My favourite part was the boiling room because the room smelt of marshmallows. The boiling room is where they burn the wood chips from cutting down trees, and the heat from the burning wood heats the water for the farm; a good example of sustainable farming. Morgan Jeremiah (aged 10)

“There were a lot of animals such as sheep, pigs, goats and horses. I watched the animals playing. I had fun with my friends. Lily was my buddy for the day.” Albert Gibbeson (aged 10)

“I love how Shimpling Park Farm works as it is completely organic! We saw big machines that were cool and even the heater that would burn the wood chips.”

“I learnt a great deal about organic farms and conventional farms.”

Magnus Xin (aged 10)

Bradley Kushman (aged 10)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Geography

Wandlebury Country Park “Wandlebury was really fun. The best part was when we made our own bread and cooked it over the fire.” Lena Knowles (aged 11)

“We ground the wheat on the quern stones and made our own mini wattle wall.” Dileep Kainth (aged 11)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Geography

FSC Epping Forest It was really helpful to go down into the river and get the data yourselves and that data felt very reliable. The teachers did a really good job at explaining everything so we were not confused and we went to three sites along the river to gather different information which we could use when we started our case studies back at school. Ugo Ibeanusi (aged 13) I really enjoyed the Epping Forest trip as it was very fun and interactive which I love as I love to be in nature and doing my work in person. The instructors made the day as great as possible and told us many interesting geographical facts about the river. When we got back I loved doing the case study as it was enjoyable recapping what we had learnt. We were given clear instructions and were helped when needed. Our work was independent which I found relaxing. I also loved that we could redo our work to improve it and get the best possible mark. Mattia Nicholson (aged 13)

“I learnt so much more by seeing the actual locations. I enjoyed seeing the differences between upstream and downstream.” Georgie Formston (aged 13)

“The write-up taught me a lot about how a Geography project would be carried out in Secondary school and that every detail matters.” Milan Patel (aged 13)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Geography

Religious Studies Mosque In the Mosque we needed to take our shoes off to keep it holy and clean. I could see the male washing room and a large prayer room. In school, we learnt about the five pillars of Islam and that Muslims are called to prayer five times each day. Benedict Xin (aged 10)

Buddhist Centre We learnt about the story of the Buddha and how he reached enlightenment and taught pupils. Another thing we saw was the people there were praying in an old Indian language called Sanskrit. One of the people lit incense which smelled super good. A fun fact that the Buddhist Centre was a theatre but it shut down and then became the Buddhist Centre. Davi Saibrosa (aged 11)

Gurdwara We found out that a Gurdwara is a doorway to the Guru. Outside every Gurdwara is a Nishan Sahib. It is the holy flag which can be seen either near the entrance or on the top of every Gurdwara. Great respect is shown to the flag as it has the symbol of Sikhism, representing their beliefs in God. It also is a welcome banner for visitors. Betty Barnes (aged 11)

Top: Cambridge Mosque; middle: Hinduism talk & bottom: St Giles’ church

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Religious Studies

Left: Cambridge Gurdwara; top right: Cambridge Buddhist Centre & bottom right: Cambridge Mosque

Religious & Philosophical Debates Many of our Religious Studies lessons are very philosophical in the way that our lessons and projects encourage debate and discussion between peers and teachers. Our most recent project relating to utilitarianism in fact was an essay hence we had to include arguments as well as counter-arguments in our work. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes. It is a form of consequentialism. Utilitarianism holds the belief that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. Utilitarianism is based on the idea that one should choose such an action in order to create the greatest amount of happiness for the largest amount of people. When we researched and debated further, we also discussed rule and act utilitarianism. Kangqi Gong (aged 13) I enjoyed debating the abortion case study as it gave us an insight into the other side’s arguments and thinking. As the sides are random it means you have to think harder, especially if you don’t believe that and means you can now understand and discuss with people once you have done the research and argued for it. Imogen Youngman (aged 13) It has been fascinating debating and learning about the death penalty and seeing different peoples’ opinions, reactions and suggestions. It has been interesting learning about the statistics around the world, as well and how many countries still use the death penalty. Hattie Milton (aged 12) We have been learning how to put our thoughts and opinions into essays. These lessons are a chance to share my opinions without worrying what others will say or think. Religious Studies gives people the opportunity to think on the logical and ethical side. I love this subject because everyone’s opinions are really valid and interesting. Mei Mei Noble (aged 12) I found out through research of the Alan Turing project that the computer scientist, logician and cryptanalyst had the opportunity to save a conveyor from some U-boats but chose not to because the Nazis would be aware of him cracking the code so did not. Finn Maclennan (aged 13)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Religious Studies

“We thought about what would make an ‘impossible’ Philosophy question which was harder than it sounds!”

Philosophy

Race Wong (aged 10)

Philosophical Children’s Books For my Philosophical children’s book, myself and my partner wrote a book called Frog Friends, about a young frog with a mushroom for a hat who talks to his mum about how he can be fair to all his friends about playing different playground games. He tackles act utilitarianism and deontology and settles on moral particularism, which finally makes all of his frog friends happy. Melissa French (aged 13)

“Philosophy has been very fun as I have been writing my children’s book about a Queen bee. It is very enjoyable to write about and I am doing it with friends which makes it more fun and there is a moral message to think about.” Beatrice Moshtagh-Kahnamoui (aged 13)

“I have enjoyed Philosophy because we have created picture books to share with the younger children based on philosophical aspects and messages.” Amelie Kirk (aged 12)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Philosophy

‘What is thinking?’ “One Philosophy lesson was based on thinking about thinking! We thought about what thinking might actually look like and we worked in pairs to create a model of our brains in action. Everyone had various ideas.” Poppy Nichols (aged 9)

“I enjoyed our session in Philosophy where we discussed the question ‘What is art?’. We all had very different opinions on what art meant to each of us which was interesting. I believe it is important to listen to others because they might change or question your opinion.” Millie Singh (aged 11)

“Philosophy encourages you to think in different ways and explore possibilities.” Thomas Kokelaar (aged 12)

“Philosophy has taught me so much about supposed reality. I loved the ‘brain in a vat’ debate which questioned reality, knowledge and truth.” Charlie Lipscomb (aged 11)

“I really like it when we have big discussions about some often puzzling questions.” Kasra Mohaddes (aged 11)

“The ethics topics have been the most useful as you have to decide independently and make your own opinions.” Sam Tagger (aged 11)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Philosophy

Charities & Community Links Harvest & Eco Competition I am in Charities Committee and I feel it is important to think of others and not just yourself. I feel empathy for all the people who do not have enough food to eat or do not know where their next meal is coming from. Being part of the Committee means that we get to help organise and run each event which enables you get to know lots about different charities, such as Foodbank at Harvest. Aline Halban-Taylor (aged 10)

“I was really excited to enter my Harvest watering can into the competition. It was made entirely from Lego and I had lots of fun deciding how to build it.” Freddie Bennett (aged 9)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Charities & Community Links

“I brought in tins and pasta. Tins are cheap so I can get lots and they don’t expire for a long time.” George Hood (aged 8)

Odd Socks Day for Anti-Bullying Week It is really important for our school to think about others and not just those within St John’s. Helping others is so important by raising money for anti-bullying week as you can have fun at the same time as doing something for others too. Clarissa Pilato (aged 10) I wore a pair of odd socks for anti-bullying week because I believe that not one child should be bullied for their clothes, hair style or their skin colour because it is wrong. The more we can do to stop this the better. Frankie Benstead (aged 12)

“I wanted to take part because there are people who are having a tough time and it is so important to try and stop bullying.” Harry Brown (aged 12)

Love in a Box “I always try and get involved with all the school’s charity events as it is important to help people who are less fortunate than us.” Hattie Milton (aged 12)

“It is nice to know that you are hopefully making someone happy.” Isabelle Lazarus (aged 12)

“It is important to remember those around you. We are very lucky at St John’s.” Philippa Bishop (aged 10)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Charities & Community Links

Senior Citizens’ Christmas Parties This year I have been part of the Charities Committee and have been able to help arrange the different events throughout the year. This is one of the best ones. I think it is so important to help others as we are so lucky at St John’s. Arthur Griffiths (aged 11)

“Miss Orange has been running the Senior House Charities Committee for a few years and I am incredibly proud to be a member and to help out with events such as the Senior Citizens’ festive party.” Toby Fairley (aged 11)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Charities & Community Links

Byron House Summer Fair “Everyone in Form 2 ran their own stall and got it organised before the Summer Fair. I think the ‘Pig’ Pong stall was epic as you had to throw the ball into a cup to win a prize!”

“We did a parachute display for our parents and some of the big boys and girls came to help us because they did it in KG too. It was really fun and we got to be opera singers in the middle!”

Theo Singh (aged 8)

William Kilsby & Hugo Santry (both aged 5)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Charities & Community Links

Senior Citizens’ Summer Party The Summer Party for the Senior Citizens was so much fun to help organise and run because I was with my friends and we got to talk to the guests from the different care homes and hear their stories. It was very interesting to find out what they enjoy doing in their care homes and they asked us lots of questions too. We served them drinks and afternoon tea and there was also music too. They all seemed to love the afternoon. Isabella Bishop (aged 12)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Charities & Community Links

Form 6’s Charities Fair All of Form 6 had the chance to organise setting up and running a stall for the Charities Fair and we had everything from face paints, soak the teacher, waffles, pillow fights and the tortilla game. We raised money for the Wooden Spoon charity in memory of Mr McComb and, on this day, all the staff and children throughout the school wore green to honour him. Will Dely (aged 12)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Charities & Community Links

Science & STEM Cambridge University Botanic Garden On our Science trip we were measuring the humidity in the different glasshouses and we compared the readings and also compared it to the outside temperature too. Some of the glasshouses were very humid! James Hankey & Wulfstan Aeberhard (both aged 8)

Wandlebury Minibeasts “I was very surprised that I caught a tadpole!” Marlowe Treger (aged 5)

“I loved finding spiders in the woodland.” Rowan Whaley (aged 5)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Science & STEM

Kings Dyke Nature Reserve On our Science trip we had to be quiet in the hide as we were trying to spot and identify as many different birds as possible and we used binoculars to see them better. We also went on a nature trail to find different wildlife habitats and saw some butterflies. Charlotte Egerton (aged 8)

“We went pond dipping which was really good fun. We put underwater minibeasts we had scooped up in the nets in the water trays and tried to identify them.” Maria Ferrari (aged 8)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Science & STEM

“The heart dissection was interesting to do because we not only learnt but saw in detail one of the most important organs in our bodies.” Harry Cross (aged 12)

“The exploding can experiment was the best! Science is so important as it helps me to understand how things work in the world.” Martha Gritten (aged 10)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Science & STEM

“I really liked testing the foods for different levels of protein, glucose, starch and carbohydrate by burning them. This helps you to know what is in the food you eat.” Arthur Manning (aged 12)

We learnt about the different properties of the element carbon as well as the different reactions and consequences of reactions relating to the element of carbon aided by the different practical experiments. We found out that lime reacts readily with water to produce slaked lime, which is the chemical compound calcium hydroxide. Calcium carbonate is heated strongly until it undergoes thermal decomposition to form calcium oxide and carbon dioxide. Kangqi Gong (aged 13) I really enjoyed doing the eye dissection as we got to see what is truly behind the seeing ball. We also got to see how the eye almost talked to the brain (the optic nerve) and that was really cool! We also got to make our own spectrums (rainbows) and by reflecting light onto a glass prism you got the spectrum. And last but not least we got to draw a refraction that we made from a glass block and a mirror and obviously light. Una Churchward (aged 12) We investigated selective breeding and GMOs, the difference between them, and the various moral decisions associated. For me, the most exiting part of this project was the investigation and discussion of the benefits and potential downsides of GMOs versus the traditional but slower method of selective breeding. I think that, despite the potential long-term risks and unintended consequences, the possibility of GMO crops might revolutionise the agriculture industry, bringing higher yielding, more nutritious, more resistant crops that are better suited to thrive in harsher environments would be game-changing to humanity. Angus Crichton-Stuart (aged 13) I have really enjoyed learning about evolution and natural selection. What I found the most interesting was how all life on Earth originated from organisms living in the oceans, and it is believed that there is a single common ancestor that is the starting point of all life! There were slight changes in some specific organisms which happened again and again forming things like our arms and legs, and even our mouths. Emre Tunc (aged 13)

“I learnt a lot about the eye and I also enjoyed dissecting it. It was really interesting how parts of the eye were rainbow coloured and the lens felt hard, which I didn’t expect.” Alyse Baines (aged 12)

“I enjoyed finding out what salts sea shells had in them. We got to burn different salts which emitted different colours and we burned the crushed sea shells and found out it contained calcium carbonate.” Antigone Axon (aged 13)

“We used ray boxes to measure the incident angles.” Mei Mei Noble (aged 12)

“I enjoyed being inside the Space Dome as you could see the night sky without using a telescope.” Eniya Zhang (aged 11)

National Science Quiz I was in team three in the Science Quiz and I really enjoyed learning interesting scientific facts and sharing our knowledge to work well as a team. We qualified for the Semi-Finals but we didn’t qualify for the Finals. Imogen O’Reilly (aged 10) It was an amazing experience taking part in the Science Quiz. We worked brilliantly as a team as we all took the time to listen to each other. When there was a tricky question, we made sure that everyone’s answer was represented. Millie Singh (aged 11)

“I loved the feeling of adrenaline when the scores are about to be displayed.” Nicholas Garcia (aged 11)

“It went well because we were the only team 3 ever to make it to the Semi-Finals.” Leo Barron Humphry (aged 10)

“One of my favourite reasons to look forward to school in the mornings was the Science Quiz as it is perhaps the most fun and educational challenge ever!” Peregrine Brice (aged 11)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Science & STEM

STEM Investigations I enjoyed STEM and particularly liked having lessons at Senior House and using the equipment there. I think these classes will definitely help me as I grow up. I found the orientation really fun and I have found how much I love precision. James Marshall (aged 9)

“I particularly liked building the tallest tower and that it was a fun competition. I had lots of fun measuring things and I know now that a sturdy structure needs a strong base.” Ranvir Tammineni (aged 9)

“I liked the bridge project as we made our own bridges and learnt what makes a bridge strong. We tested them on the snap circuits and mine came third in Form 2!” Freddie Bennett (aged 9)

“I really enjoyed all of our STEM projects, especially the lighthouse project as we had so much independence and had to design it, make it, and add the circuit by ourselves. I enjoyed sticking on the paper mache!” Maria Watson (aged 9)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Science & STEM

I enjoyed making the lighthouse because connecting the wires to the right place was hard because they all looked similar! The bridge project was fun because we had tokens to buy different materials and our target was to make a strong and stable bridge (with only ten tokens!). Peony Piotrowski (aged 8)

“Bridges was the best project as we designed them on Chromebooks before we made them.” Antony Aldred (aged 9)

The Eaglet 2023 ~ Science & STEM

Design Technology

Astromech Droids I really enjoyed making our robot droids. We started with a plastic tube then trimmed it down until the lid would fit on. We got LEDs and wired them up and drilled holes in the face and stuck LEDs through, before screwing legs and arms on. We then tested to see if the LEDs worked by attaching a USB wire and plugging it in. Billy Malyon (aged 12)

“My favourite DT project was designing and constructing our droid lamps. The best part was assembling them and seeing them come together and work.” Charlie Lipscomb (aged 11)

“When each of our droids came to life and turned on it felt so satisfying.” Safiyya Ahmad (aged 11)

“We got to try welding and learnt about heating plastic into shapes and wiring too.” Harriet Elend-Warner (aged 11)