Latest News

Careers and Aspirations Enrichment Days

Fri 14 Jul 2023

On Thursday 13th and Friday 14th July, the whole school took part in Curriculum Enrichment days. The theme of these days was ‘Careers and Aspirations’. Activities included interviewing ex-St John’s pupils to learn about what they are up to now and what their learning journey had been to reach where they were now as well as learning about the careers of the staff in the school. They found out that one staff member used to work in McDonalds! On Friday, the children were able to visit our careers fair and take part in lots of activities provided by the visiting professionals and companies.

Thanks all the organisations that supported our fair:

Hampshire Police
Hampshire Fire and Rescue
Solent Therapy (NHS)
Red Kit Carpentry Ltd
The LEGO group
Physiotherapist (NHS)
AECOM
Basingstoke Gazette
Enterprise Rent a Car
Hampshire Vets
Archeology students

Yr 5/6 Amazing production

Wed 12 Jul 2023

Over the last couple of weeks, the Year 5 and 6 children have been busy rehearsing their annual show which this year was Ali Baba and The Bongo Bandits. Last week, it was finally show time! They entertained the other children in school on Monday in their dress rehearsal and two audiences of visitors on Tuesday and Wednesday. All the children worked so hard. The show was excellent with so many children showing amazing talents for singing and dancing. A brilliant last show of the academic year 2022/23.

Summer Musical Showcase

Tue 04 Jul 2023

On 4^th July, 75 children performed as part of our inaugural Summer Musical Showcase event. The aim of this event was to celebrate the children’s achievements in their class music lessons, their individual music lessons and in their enrichment clubs including choir, orchestra and recorder club, as well as give them an opportunity to perform to a live audience. Children from years 1 to 6 treated a packed hall to a range of duets, solos and group performances. The whole evening was rounded off with all the children performing ‘Thank you for the music’ – a fabulous way to finish a fabulous event.

Thank you to the FOSJ who supported this event by selling refreshments.

Year 6 residential visit to PGL

Tue 21 Mar 2023

On Monday 13th March, Year 6 children set off to enjoy a week's residential at Liddington PGL activity Centre near Swindon. The children had an excellent week trying out lots of new activities, facing challenges and learning to work together as a team.

Year 5 First Aid lessons

Tue 14 Mar 2023

Last week, while year 6 were at PGL, year 5 received basic First Aid lesson. These were delivered by Vicky Foster from First Aid Angels. Each class spent 2 hours learning how to call for help, how to assess the casualty including the meaning of DR ABC and how to perform hands only CPR. They also learnt how to care for someone who is unconscious but breathing, how to help some who is chocking, who has been burnt or is bleeding. The children really enjoyed the sessions and have acquired valuable skills.

Safer Internet Day 2023

Tue 07 Feb 2023

Today is Safer Internet Day, a day that is marked across the world to celebrate all the wonderful things technology can do for us but also a chance to think about any worries we might have.

This year's theme is - Let's Talk About It and at St John's we started the day with an assembly all about who we can talk to if we find something we don't like online. Throughout the week children will also be completing activities linked to this and staying safe online.

To accompany the theme the UK Safer Internet council have put together five tips for parents and carers to help you when talking with your children about things online.

Be positive and open minded about the internet

It’s important to recognise the exciting opportunities that going online can offer children and young people. Although your children may use the internet differently to you, their experiences are still significant. If your child mentions something you haven’t heard of, ask them to show you, or explain in more detail, or you may need to do your own research. Try to keep conversations broad, and value their opinions when they’re talking about what they enjoy doing, to show that you are interested in all aspects of their online world.

Talk early and often

The most effective way to deal with any online issue is to make conversations about the internet a part of your everyday routine. Talking openly about life online from an early age, can be a helpful bridge to sharing safety messages and addressing more difficult conversations at a later date; it also shows your child that you are someone who knows about the internet and can help them.

Create a safe space for conversations

Look for opportunities to talk together. Sometimes, talking face-to-face can feel difficult, so talking alongside each other when out for a walk, or travelling in the car for example, are options that might make it easier. The environment needs to be right; free from distractions, so that your child has your undivided attention. Remind them often that they can talk to you about anything, no matter how difficult, and that they will not be judged or blamed. Your child might not be ready to talk about something straight away, so show them that you are there to listen whenever they are ready.

Keep it relevant

As they get older, your children will use technology differently from when they first went online. Their knowledge and understanding will grow too, as will the challenges they may face on the internet. To get a sense of how much they know and what support they still need, ask open-ended questions to let your child lead the conversations you have.
There are appropriate ways to approach all online safety topics with different ages. For example, with a teenager, nude images can be spoken about in wider conversations around consent and healthy relationships. For younger children, you could discuss what types of images are okay to share online, and what areas of our bodies are private.

Be proactive

Working together to create an agreement, outlining how the internet and technology will be used within the family, is a useful way to set clear expectations and boundaries for your children. You might include time spent online; who your children can communicate with; appropriate apps and games; and why safety tools are helpful to block and report inappropriate content. Ask your child what they would do if something went wrong online and they needed help, and reinforce the importance of telling an adult as soon as anything happens that makes them feel upset, worried, or uncomfortable in any way.

Individual Table Tennis - County Finals

Thu 02 Feb 2023

On Tuesday, four children travelled to the Solent University in Southampton to take part in the Hampshire Individual Table Tennis competition.

In the girl’s competition, Grace was pitted against three other girls from two different schools. She played some excellent table tennis throughout the competition and won all three of her matches, meaning she won the competition and was crowned girls Hampshire table tennis champion!

In the boy’s competition, there was a total of seven boys from two schools that were split across two groups. In group one, Ollie and Owen first had to play each other, with Ollie finally winning a five set thriller. Both boys then won their other two group matches against children from Pilgrim’s school, meaning Ollie topped the group and Owen went through in second place. In the other group, Brooklyn won both his matches meaning he won the group and had to face Owen in the semi-final. Both children played really well, with Owen eventually winning and reaching the final to set up a rematch with Ollie, who won the other semi-final. Before the final, Brooklyn managed to win the 3rd/4th place play-off and clinch a bronze medal. Then in an excellent final, with an incredibly high standard of table tennis being played, Ollie eventually won through to claim the gold medal and the title of boys Hampshire table tennis champion!

Grace and Ollie will now travel to Wolverhampton in March to represent Hampshire at the national finals. We wish them the best of luck and are incredibly proud of all the children for the way they competed.

Sports Hall Athletics

Fri 27 Jan 2023

On Thursday, twelve children from across Year 5 and 6 travelled to Brighton Hill to compete in the qualifying event for the Basingstoke sports hall athletics.

The children had to compete in a range of running activities alongside six specialist events such as javelin throw. Each child’s time or best score was then recorded and they were compared against the other nine schools that were also at the event. The children were then given points for where they finished. At the end of the event all of the points were totalled and the top 3 school qualified for the finals, to be held at QMC in March.

St John’s put in an amazing performance across all disciplines and finished top in many of the categories. When the points were totalled at the end of the event, St John’s had scored 440, which was an amazing score and meant we won the event and were 19 points clear of Sherborne St John, who were in second place.

Well done to all the children and we wish them luck in the finals in March!

Table Tennis

Wed 25 Jan 2023

On Tuesday six boys and six girls travelled to Aldworth to compete in the Individual Basingstoke Table Tennis Competition.

Competing against Winklebury and St Marys the children were divided into groups of 4. In the girls competition Grace, Aoife and Chloe all made it through their groups into the knock-out phase of the draw. In the quarter finals Grace knocked out Aoife and Chloe also won to make the semi-finals. Both girls were pitted against a girl from St Mary’s. Grace manged to win her match and Chloe played really well but after a close match finally lost. That means she finished 3rd overall. In the final Grace managed to put in another amazing performance, winning the match and the title. In the plate half of the draw, for those that finished 3rd and 4th in their groups, the final was an all St John’s affair with Coral eventually beating Matilda to win.

In the boys half of the draw all 6 St John’s players made it through the group stage and into the knock-outs. In the quarter finals, three of the matches were all St John’s children. With Brooklyn, Ollie and Owen progressing after victories. In the Semi-final Ollie overcame a boy from St Mary’s and in the other semi-final Owen and Brooklyn contested a three set thriller, with Owen finally progressing to the final and Brooklyn picking up a bronze medal. In a very entertaining final, with excellent table tennis played by both, Ollie managed to pick up the win and the title.

We are so proud of all the children, who all played such amazing table tennis. Ollie, Owen and Grace will now go on to represent Basingstoke at the county finals next week. We wish them the best of luck.

Year 5 Christmas Service

Thu 15 Dec 2022

Although the icy conditions stopped us walking to church on Wednesday we all still got to enjoy Year 5's excellent Christmas service.

We were treated to jokes, poems, learning about children's favourite parts of Christmas and a retelling of the Christmas story. All of this was interspersed with some fantastic singing from the whole school of our favourite Christmas songs. We also got to enjoy performances from the school orchestra and Year R shared one of the songs from their nativity. It concluded with some words from Revd John Hudson about the true meaning of Christmas.

It was a truly excellent service that was enjoyed by all and made sure everyone was fully in the Christmas spirit as we head towards the end of term.

St. John’s C of E Primary School