St John’s School Weekly Newsletter Issue 42 St John’s remembers From the Headmaster Welcome to this special edition of the newsletter. This has been a very important week of remembrance. We have been able to reflect on the wars that have taken place and the sacrifices that our armed forces have made in the past and make now. St John's boys have represented the School with thoughtfulness and pride at the Northwood Service of Remembrance and while playing the Last Post. On 11th November Year 3 to 8 joined in with the National Assembly which highlighted the importance of Remembrance. I was fortunate to visit the Lambs once again when they were learning about food (funny that!) and also see the impressive mosaic tables that Year 8 have been putting the final touches to. The Year 8 boys have been working hard on final preparations for their mock examinations next week. They will sit relevant papers for the schools of their choice and this will help them to identify the areas to work on. I would like to wish them all the best. One of many solemn moments in the past week when the St John’s community has stepped back from the frenetic pace of school life to remember those who sacrificed everything so that we can be free. This last seven days has seen a busy schedule of sports fixtures with no less than 22 teams taking to the field for rugby matches. I saw the 2nd XV play with real determination and teamwork against Davenies and was called up to coach the U8s as they played in a tournament yesterday. It was lovely to see all of the boys and parents enjoying the experience. 01 01 November 14 2014 In school, all our assemblies in the last two weeks have had Remembrance as the theme. Mr Robinson spoke to the Pre-Prep about the importance of wearing a poppy and why we must remember soldiers from a hundred years ago. The Lambs even made their own poppies. Mr Russo shared family memories of his great uncle with us on Monday and on Tuesday (11th November) we joined in a National Assembly about Remembrance which was recorded at the Tower of London on 02 02 Monday afternoon. Our four best trumpeters led the whole School at the poignant moment of 11am when they played 'The Last Post'. All boys stood for the two minute silence in the school playground. This responsibility for our trumpeters is one that is eagerly sought after, and the aspiration of many boys. Well done to the lads this year; they performed it superbly and it was very moving. November 14 2014 The Northwood Cenotaph in pictures 03 03 November 14 2014 Ho, Ho, Ho! It’s the Christmas Bazaar Saturday 6th December is the date - put it in your diary at the same time as getting out your shopping list as the Bazaar won’t happen without those tombola bottles, raffle prizes, toys, games and books. The St John’s Association really needs your help in providing bottles of drink (there will a prize for the Year group which brings in the most and Mr Brown is judge), chocolates and lucky dip prizes. Check in cupboards for unwanted books and games which are in good condition. These can be placed in the containers found in the playground by the drop-off zone. Most importantly the Association are looking for raffle prizes such as restaurant or beauty vouchers, red letter days, small electronic devices, jewellery and other quality gifts. If you can help or have a friend or contact who may be willing to make a donation please get in touch with Mrs Whistler on [email protected] Boys, do you want to run a stall? If any boys have a fun idea for a game or activity and would like and allocate you a stall. Please can you contact Lorraine Ebanks to run a stall in the Christmas Bazaar with their friends and at [email protected] by Friday 21st November with parents to raise money for the school we'd love to hear from your ideas. you. As space is always at a premium we'll choose the best ideas 04 04 November 14 2014 Northwood 500 groundwork These Year 8s are getting ready for the Northwood 500, St John's very own action-packed obstacle course. They are performing safety checks on the equipment we use to ensure that all ropes and fittings are not being overloaded. The electrical gizmo in Kieran Spellward's charge is a fancy tensile load-transducer. The lads tensioned up a 3x3 block and tackle 05 05 and, with the unit in series, recorded how much tension was applied. There was a predictable sigh of relief when it was established that at max tension, the load was many times less than the strength of our zip-wire rope. Green light for go! Many thanks go to the St John’s Association who have made a significant contribution to the set-up costs. November 14 2014 Baking day in the Lambs The Lambs made bread rolls; we used flour, salt, sugar, oil, warm water and yeast to make a bread dough. Then we learnt how to knead the dough and we put it in a warm dark place and the dough grew bigger. It was then put in the oven to cook. The rolls changed colour, they were lighter in weight and not sticky anymore, they smelt and tasted delicious. 06 06 November 14 2014 Postcards from the Badgers and Eagles This week in their literacy lesson, the Badgers and Eagles wrote, addressed and stamped postcards to their parents. They then walked to the nearest post-box to post their cards. Some of them were lucky enough to bump into the postman, who kindly agreed to pose for a photo. We hope that all their cards have reached you by now. We did put a first class stamp on them! 07 07 November 14 2014 Keeping warm in Year 4! This week in Science we have been looking at our new topic, keeping warm. Year 4 boys have been investigating materials which are effective thermal insulators. Wooden, metal and plastic spoons were put into a beaker of very hot water and the boys had to test which spoon stayed coolest. This investigation was recorded in a strict scientific manner and included a prediction, method, diagram and a conclusion. 08 08 November 14 2014 Get on board with Calam Lalani (7J) I began skateboarding with an old skateboard that I inherited from my brother a few years ago. From the moment I felt myself balancing and riding the board, I knew this was going to be a part of my life and exercise routine. It is my passion, giving me peace of mind and a release when I need some time out; it is a way that I can express myself. It is a gift that keeps unwrapping itself. skateboarding is an art that is about skill, focus and motivation and which is steeped with urban history and architecture, for example the Southbank in London. What would you rather see children spend time doing? Sitting in front of a game console playing FIFA for hours on end or grabbing a board, being active and learning new skills?? Skateboarding is accessible and inclusive – with just a board you Over the years I have mastered many of the most challenging can practise with friends or individually at any time of day, skills, from flat ground tricks to ramps to stair sets and anywhere in the world. As I discovered in Lisbon last summer handrails. I am adamant that I will eventually qualify as a where there was an awesome free style skate park built by a skateboard instructor and will teach younger children and adults local council to promote skate sports in a safe, friendly space. alike in my spare time. It upsets me that some people associate New regulated indoor parks like XC in Hemel, (great for skateboarding with rebellious teenagers and drugs or as a youth beginners who don’t want to be on their own) are also subculture. Don’t many sports have negative associations? becoming increasingly popular, especially on rainy days! When you participate in a sport you make a choice to take the Watford Council is launching a ‘Get Active’ initiative offering positive for yourself and hopefully leave the negative. For me, free skateboard lessons to youths. So come on! Get on board! 09 09 November 14 2014 Two out of three ain’t bad against Davenies 1st XV vs Davenies Won 55 - 10 Scorers: Joshua Ogunnaike, 5 tries, Adam Hart 4 tries, Sam Bickerstaff 5 conversions Man of the Match: Sam Bickerstaff who was presented the award from the referee. Joshua Ogunnaike and Adam Hart were also outstanding. But this was a real team effort. We started very well and the forwards and backs combined convincingly in attack and defence. The forwards dominated the scrum and around the pitch they were able to win quick ball at the breakdown. Sam Bickerstaff was excellent at organising his back division and orchestrating the waves of attacks throughout the match. In the centres, Adam Hart and Joshua Ogunnaike were very impressive and their powerful running and try scoring throughout the game made life very difficult for the Davenies side. However, this was a real team performance with the forwards playing well and the backs finishing the tries with excellent passing and support play. Our exit strategies with our kicking game was also impressive and we played the match in the right areas of the pitch. 2nd XV vs Davenies Won 33-21 Scorers: Haydon Carr 2 tries, Fiyin Akin 2 tries, Kieran Spellward 1 try;,Jamie Graham 4 conversions Man of the Match: Haydon Carr & Anthony Stout In the second match this season against Davenies the 2nd XV managed to overcome a very spirited opposition and had to dig deep to secure the win. Straight from the kick off you could tell that the game could go either way as both teams moved the ball in an effort to score tries. Davenies made the breakthrough when some weak tackling by St John’s allowed them to score under the posts. This was what was needed to shake St John’s into action and tries by Fiyin Akin, Kieran Spellward and Haydon Carr saw us go in at half time 19-14 up; Jamie Graham converted two. In the second half we were able to use our superior fitness to grind Davenies down and further tries by Fiyin and Haydon secured the win. Again Jamie was successful with two conversions. There were some outstanding performances in the forwards; once again Anthony Stout was a thorn in the side of the opposition stealing a lot of ball and Jayme Patel, who was returning from a long term injury, acquitted himself well in the loose. Rishabh Goenka had another powerful game carrying the ball on many occasions to make a lot of ground and Jack Grimes did well in his first full outing for the 2nds. A good team performance all round and with one more game to go this season we should finish on a high. 01 10 June 6 2014 3rd XV find Davenies a bridge too far…. 3rd XV vs Davenies Score: Lost 60-0 Man of the Match: Harry Whistler Another difficult game for the 3rd XV against a fast running Davenies. In the first half we missed many tackles and didn’t get quickly enough to the breakdown of the ball. However in the second half we layed our best rugby. We were much more positive and aggressive and there were some promising runs from Harry Whistler and Adam Chatoo. Harry also made some excellent tackles and he was deservedly man of the match. Another tough match for the 3rd XI and if we are going to challenge our opposition and maintain possession of the ball we must continue to improve our tackling. Under 9’s impress at Caldicott tournament Under 9 C vs Caldicott Lost 20-30 Scorers: Joseph Pressinger 2 tries, Shaan Fisher 1 try, Zain Ahmed 1 try Man of the Match Joseph Pressinger. This was a match which we let run away from us, when it could have gone either way. We scored first with fantastic passing and offloading, which caught Caldicott completely unaware, leading to Joseph Pressinger running through five tackles to score the try. However, Caldicott came back strongly, scoring three successive tries before we got another. The team can take a lot away from this first contact rugby performance, giving themselves a big pat on the back. They could have taken more 02 11 from it, however I am positive they will go into their next few matches with the same vigour and go from strength to strength. Vs St Bernard’s ‘A’ Lost 15-25 Scorers: Joseph Pressinger 2 tries, Zain Ahmed 1 try Man of the Match: Aryan Patel We started this game poorly with missed tackles left, right and centre. However, we came back into it with some good running and passing, whilst our defensive line was more effective in its formation. This was a game we were always going to find difficult, although Aryan Patel at Scrum Half played well, making darting runs evading the opposition. It is clear to see these boys have potential, we just need to improve on our tackling to have a more all round game. June 6 2014 Under 9’s win Plate Final at St Columba’s Under 9 A Game 3 v Chesham Prep St. Columba's College Under 9 Rugby Lost 15 – 0 festival Chesham had Place in Tournament: Winners of the beaten other teams Plate Final against Caldicott by 6 tries and this was certainly going Man of the Tournament: Netanel to be a tough Lawrence-Ojo match. The St. Game 1 v Bedford Prep Drew 5 - 5 John’s side played very well and We dominated large parts of this game and Rohan Patel picked up the ball from Netanel Lawrencea ruck and sprinted from inside his own Ojo broke a number of tackles half to score an excellent try. Netanel and almost scored Lawrence-Ojo was outstanding and his tackling, running with the ball and work but lacked support to finish the move. moment on we dominated the match and at the breakdown was fantastic. In the last Mason Harding always looked dangerous Netanel Lawrence-Ojo powered his way play, Bedford Prep managed to score a try from scrum-half and his darting runs over to score another try. A good win. helped the side hugely. to draw the match. Game 6 Plate Competition Final Game 4 Plate Competition Quarter-Final Game 2 v Claire's Court Drew 5 - 5 Caldicott Won 15 - 10 Berkhamsted Drew 0 - 0 This was good match between two sides Andrew Strauss and Sir Matthew Pinsent A battle between our forwards and the and St. John’s defended very well. St. were watching their sons in the Caldicott Berkhamsted forwards and a very tight John’s scored a very good try when team but it was a St. John’s scrum five Netanel Lawrence-Ojo powered his way game. When we moved the ball we looked much more dangerous and created metres from the Caldicott try line and over the line. However, Claires Court excellent attacking opportunities. Netanel Mason Harding picked up the ball and managed to score a try but fantastic Lawrence-Ojo broke a number of tackles found the gap to score an excellent defence from Alex Leith, Reece Jones, James Curtler certainly helped the side in and looked as if he was to about to score opening try. Caldicott came back and they but ran over the dead ball line, therefore scored in the corner. The tackling was this match. fierce and Netanel Lawrence-Ojo, Reece no score. However, he went through on Jones and Matthew Hodes stopped numerous attacks. Out wide Yuri Zykov, count back. James Curtler, Josh Fletcher and Rohan Game 5 Plate Competition Mangat all played their part in the final. Semi-Final Alex Leitch ran a wide line and St Benedict’s Won 10 - 0 outflanked the Caldicott side to score in the left corner. The game was evenly Alex Leitch took the ball balanced at 10 – 10 when Netanel from the start from Mason Lawrence-Ojo made a superb break. He Harding and outflanked the managed to off-load the ball to Reece St. Benedict’s defence to score in the corner. From this Jones who showed magic feet to score and win the match. 03 12 Nov14th 2014 Tough going against Berkhamsted Under 10 A v Berkhamsted Draw 10-10 Scorers: Daniel Barnet 1 try and Ben Kleiner 1 try Man of the Match: Charlie Hannam We were outplayed in many departments by a very well organised Berkhamsted team. Unfortunately Harry Bridgewater, our captain and fly-half, was unable to play and we really struggled without his organisation and leadership. This was very obvious at the start of the The match was hard fought and ended at game, where our forwards were able to two tries a piece. The team tackled hard win the ball only to see it turned over very making the opposition struggle to move quickly in attack. We made a few errors the ball. On a small pitch the need for at the start of the match, particularly not strong physicality was always top of the fielding Berkhamsted’s long clearances list and Charlie Hannam used his downfield. Mr Russo was pleased that we physicality in the scrum and to great improved our rucking and fought effect. The team were disappointed not to strongly for the ball at times. Our best get the win having had four disallowed try period of play was at the beginning of the appeals but they continue to improve and second half. We kept the ball and Daniel, are now a good tight team. Michael and Jordan really ran onto the passes and made good inroads into Under 10 B vs Berkhamsted Berkhamsted’s defence. Jordan finished Lost 40 - 35 off a really pacey move to score an Scorers: Alexander Bainbridge 2 tries; excellent team try. We struggled to Ethan Nwanko 2 tries; maintain this level and lost a little Dare Amos-Oluwole 2 tries; Nicholas confidence as an attacking move down Lewis 1 try the wing went wrong and resulted in Man of the Match: Ethan Nwanko for Berkhamsted running the length of the field and scoring. It is important that, some good running on the wing. regardless of the score, we keep making A somewhat scrappy game with neither our tackles and competing for the ball. team dominating play. In the first half, after conceding two soft tries, Ethan Nwanko scored twice to get us back in the game. Second half we lost our way a bit but did really well to come back to nearly level the score. A good effort! Let us hope for an improved performance on Friday against St Columba’s. Colts B vs Berkhamsted Lost 31 - 0 Man of the Match: Thomas Lemon We started well and looked positive with the ball in hand. However, the St. John’s players took contact rather than moving the ball away from the opposition tackler. Berkhamsted moved the ball into space and were able to score tries much more easily. Our scrum was very good and we pushed Berkhamsted backwards. On our own ball we looked good but lack of support at the breakdown when we moved the ball wide meant we always struggled to win second phase ball. Thomas Lemon made some excellent tackles and battled away in defence. Danial Sayani ran very well and looked threatening with the ball in attack. We had a much better second half and on a number of occasions we almost scored but again we were held up in contact or the ball was lost. Colts A vs Berkhamsted Lost 40 - 5 Scorers: Jordan Hui Man of the Match: Daniel Odejinmi 04 13 June 6 2014 Under 8’s enjoy day out at St Columba’s Under 8A at the St Columba’s This was a great day Tournament with Davenies and Gayhurst out for all the boys who all contributed to Scores: Lost vs St Columba’s 6-9; Lost to an excellent festival of Davenies 4-10; Lost to Gayhurst 7-9 rugby. We passed the Man of the match: Whole team for the ball nicely but failed to best try of the tournament, making at run with confidence. least 4 passes and then Salman Muktar However, after we scored. This was the Under 8’s second settled into the match outing of the season and they were we did score some straight into it against St Columba’s after very good tries with arriving late. However they didn’t let that some excellent passing bother them and started well trying to and running onto the move the ball. The one thing we had ball. However, we talked about was passing the ball and we were not able to catch up with St started to get the hang of it as the Columba’s. Our second match was a very matches went on. Nathan Hedges was even game and could have gone either difficult to stop as he made some mazy way. We just needed to make our tags runs with the ball at great speed, as was and move forward in attack. Our last Krish Dixit. In our second game we match was against Gayhurst, which we played Davenies who had some very fast won. Arjun Shah scored 6 tries in this boys who were difficult to catch and we match and really was the difference struggled against them losing by 4 tries to between the two teams, he improved with 10. In our final game against Gayhurst we every match. Saam Hashemian also played really well in the first half and were scored a number of good tries and, as leading 6-3 at half time but we ran out of captain, led the team very well. Jadon Lee steam by the end eventually losing 7-9. also scored a few very good tries and We did however score the best try of the made some very important tags. All the tournament when we passed the ball through the hands at least 4 times for Salman Mukhtar to score. Other members of the team contributed with good running and passing including Zac Addison, Sebastian Ashman-Rodgers, Krish Mangat, Oliver Southon and Aaron Patel. A big thank you to all the parents who came to watch, I think we were the best supported school. boys tried their very best to pass the ball and use the space and on occasions we played some magnificent rugby. The squad consisted of Jadon Lee, Henry Carpmeal, Saam Hashemian, Keeyan Suleman, Ben Cook, Rohan Pankhania and Arjun Shah. You could tell by the excitement that all the boys really enjoyed the experience of playing against other schools and they will learn a lot from this tournament. Well done boys. Under 8B at the St Columba’s tournament with Davenies and Gayhurst . Scores: Lost vs St Columba’s 12-10; Lost vs Davenies 8-7; Won vs Gayhurst 13-11 05 14 June 6 2014 Under 8’s Festival of Rugby! Under 8 C Team. Rugby festival against St. Columba’s, Davenies and Gayhurst Man of the Tournament: Bradley Nwabudike Vs Davenies Drew 40 -40 A good first match outing for the side and we scored some excellent individual tries. Good tagging and a draw was a fair result against Davenies. Vs St. Columba’s Won 50 – 15 We were simply too strong for St. Columba’s and our powerful runners managed to score a number of tries when we ran at gaps. Impressive running from Bradley Nwabudike and Vikash Sumon enabled the side to score a number of tries. However there was some great tagging from Louis Rosenbaum and his support play was excellent. Vs Gayhurst Won 25 – 5 Another strong performance and the side defended really well. Again our strong runners powered their way through to score a few tries. But it was the excellent defence in terms of our tagging and not allowing the opposition to run that enabled us to win this game. 06 15 June 6 2014 Under 8 D, E and F teams also come out fighting What a fabulous afternoon of running rugby in a friendly competition which got all the boys involved. The afternoon in pictures. 07 16 June 6 2014 Years 5,6 and 7 display their wares Year 5 boys have finished their book ends now. They had to make a 90 degree wooden finger joint and then add an interesting idea to go each side of the book ends. With careful painting the end results were very nicely done. Year 6 has been looking into the properties of acrylic and boys have designed and made a clock with a working mechanism. Year 7 has been working on a Matisse inspired tray. The boys have made a tray and designed a collage that they have varnished to give it a hard wearing finish. 17 November 14 2014 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 18 1. This beautiful ink parrot has been drawn by Husain Tayeb (8W) during Portfolio Club. 2. Skye Pagnini (4W) now understands tinting and shading. 3. Year 7 is learning how to draw the perfect self-portrait. Shiv Parmar (7J) is concentrating on drawing his eyebrows in the correct place. 4. Niyam Shah and Ben Hellewell (5G) have finished their cat pieces in the style of Gustav Klimt. 5. Zack Hershman and Jamie Minkoff (8T) have been very busy tiling their tables. November 14 2014 Calendar and important dates 17th November: Year 8 Mock Exams (Norman Hall) Year 4 Parent Consultations (timed appointments) (4.30pm) 18th November: Year 8 Mock Exams (Norman Hall) Rugby v Davenies U9 A (a), U9 B (a), U9 C (h), U9 D (h) (2.30pm) Year 4 Parent Consultations (timed appointments) (4.30pm) 19th November: Year 8 Mock Examinations (Norman Hall) Rugby U11 Prep School Rugby Tournament at Whitgift School (10.00am) Year 5 Outing to Regents Park Mosque (9.00-1.00pm) Rugby v The Beacon 1st XV (h), 2nd XV (a), 3rd XV (a) (2.30pm) 5G Parents’ Evening (Norman Hall) (6.00pm) 20th November: Rugby v UCS: U8 A (h), U8 B (h), U8 C (h), U8 D (h) U8 E (h) (2.30pm) Arts Evening Drama Rehearsal & Tea (4.00-7.30pm) 23rd November: North & Midlands U9 Rugby Regional Festival at Warwick School (10.00am) Contact details Updates: please continue to visit www.st-johns.org.uk for all the latest information on sports fixtures and results. The website will have announcements in case of emergency. You can also follow us on twitter @stjsnorthwood. Rizwan Hameed (7H) is one of our keen photographers. He took this photo whilst visiting the Tower of London poppy display last week. Mailings: if you have received The Lamb from someone else and would like to be sent your own copy direct each week, please email: Lamb Editor. Let us know your contact details and you will be added to the list. Photographs: Do please continue to send in any photographs which could be included in The Lamb. Notices and Reminders Christmas Lights in Northwood Hills. All performers have been given their instructions on where to go this Saturday, 15th November, but if you also wish to come along and join in the singing you are really welcome! There are the following activities laid on: Santa’s Grotto outside Intoto Kitchens, Tombola Stall to the right hand side of the Namaste Lounge building from 2.00pm and Children’s Craft-making in the library from 2.00 – 3.00pm. Mulled cider and mince pies are available for the audience from 2.30pm. Singing starts at 4pm and the lights are switched on by the Mayor at 4.30pm. We hope you have a really good time. Please remember that the area will be extremely busy and parking spaces will be limited. Mr Vince’s videos. To view his videos you can click on the following links: Classical Fireworks Night Year 6 trip to Northumberland St John’s YouTube channel Guitar group video Yr 5 Chinese New Year video Yr 8 Bikeability video St John’s Sevens video Sam Katz interview Year of 2008 at Knapp House Year of 2014 at Knapp House Chicks are for kids! Year 8 mock exams. Hopefully boys are feeling confident and prepared for the exams next week. They are designed to be as much like the real thing as possible. They will be held in the Norman Hall and each boy will be assigned a desk for the three days. A few last minute tips; use the last two or three days sensibly, don’t overdo it and eat and sleep well over the Senior Drama. The Arts Evening production is on 27th November and you are all warmly invited to what promises to weekend. Make sure you have all the necessary equipment and, be a great evening. A reminder to boys in Senior Drama that the in the exam, read the paper carefully. This may sound obvious but it is surprising how many boys make careless mistakes rehearsal next Thursday ends at 7.30pm. There is also a because they have not taken sufficient time at the start of the rehearsal on Sunday 23rd November 9.30am-1.00pm. exam. Keep calm, do your best and try to enjoy the weekend! 19 November 14
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