SEE BELOW FOR ST JOHN'S LATEST NEWS...

• Year 6 complete their fundraising challange

  Fri 20 Dec 2024

  Congratulations to the Year 6 class who have completed their incredible cycling challenge. They have cycled from school to every capital city in the UK, and back to school in time for Christmas - 2225KM over the last 6 weeks! Throughout the challenge they have learnt about the areas visited, applied maths skills to work out percentage and distance and computer skills with QR codes and sharing the event online. They also had a visit from BBC news and 2Wish.The whole school is very proud of every single one of them for their efforts and kindness in completing this challenge and raising money for 2wish, a charity who continue to support to Harry and Rebecca Foster.

   

  They have currently raised £1454, a huge amount which smashed the original target of £500.

   

  

• Netball

  Fri 13 Dec 2024

  A huge well done to our St John’s Netball Team who took part in a friendly match against Rockwell Green. Both teams put in a great performance, demonstrated good sportsmanship and the scoreline was very close! A 4-4 draw in the last      quarter added to the suspense and the St John’s team were pleased with a super final shot through the hoop just as the whistle blew! A fantastic win! Well done everyone

   

  

• Year 6 fundraising bike ride for 2wish

  Fri 13 Dec 2024

  Year 6 students in Rashford Class at St John’s C of E Primary school, Wellington, had a very surprising visit.

  Over the last 5 weeks, every student in Year 6 has been helping to complete a huge cycling challenge in the classroom on an exercise bike. They are aiming to cycle 2225km! This is the distance which equates to: leaving our school in Wellington, Somerset and cycling (virtually, using an exercise bike) to London then Edinburgh, over to Belfast, down to Cardiff and then finally arriving back at school (hopefully in time for Christmas!). These capital cities link to our 4 school houses: St George, St Andrew, St Patrick and St David. This is proving to be an incredibly tough challenge, but the Year 6 children are going to attempt to complete it throughout November and December. Along the way, they have been discussing some Geography work, using maps and discussing landmarks; some Maths work, considering distances and our fundraising total; and some Computing work to organise our fundraising webpage understand QR codes and sharing our story online.

   

  The charity they are raising awareness of and money for is 2wish; this charity gave huge support to Year 6 Class Teacher, Mr Foster, when his daughter, Olivia, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly, aged 15 months old in October 2023.

   

  So far, the class have made it Wales, cycling approximately 1800km and have already raised £900 which has almost doubled their target of £500.

   

  Today, their hard work has been filmed by BBC West, and children were interviewed while cycling and talked about how much they are enjoying the challenge, seeing the progress they are making and reading all the donation messages every morning.

   

  When interviewed Harry Foster said:

  “This is a charity very close to my heart. When Olivia died very suddenly and unexpectedly back in October 2023, aged 15 months, there wasn't any support available to my wife and I. In January 2024, 2Wish charity expanded into England; it was previously just a Welsh charity. At the time we felt as though we were stuck in a deep, dark well, with no support until they opened the lid and  let in some light.  They have provided us with the professional support and the kind and caring nurture we were so desperately searching for and as a result we aim to raise awareness and money for this incredible charity.

  The school council decided that they wanted to make 2Wish their charity of the year and myself and Mr Priestley decided that we would set the children a physical challenge.

  The pupils' effort and enthusiasm towards this challenge has been extremely heart-warming. They have all worked extremely hard, been 100% dedicated and their passion and kindness towards this challenge is infectious.

  The school’s response to supporting the charity has been absolutely fantastic. It feels like a very supportive family rather than a working environment. This fundraising idea, and potentially more in the future, just goes to show how the school truly live by their ethos of sharing joy and hope in the community.”

  Although the children and Mr Foster were aware that the charity work was going to be filmed today by news reporters, they were completely surprised when representatives from 2wish also arrived. Little did they know but school staff had arranged for Naomi and mascot Gorgeous George to visit Rashford class, as they wanted to thank the children in person for the effort they were making with sharing the charity and the fundraising. They presented the class with a framed certificate from Rhian, the Founder of 2wish, along with an individual certificate which will be presented to the children once the challenge has been completed.

  The children were absolutely thrilled, as was Mr Foster, to see 2wish, and loved meeting Gorgeous George. Many had their photo with George and cannot wait to see the whole event shared on the news.

  The children have worked so hard, and they definitely deserve to have their efforts shared far and wide. They really are a credit to the school, and fantastic ambassadors for sharing joy and hope in our community and even further. We really hope their efforts are shared, and possibly a few more donations made as they cycle the last 400km!

  https://2wish.enthuse.com/pf/schoolcyclingchallenge

  

• Christmas Lights Switch On

  Thu 05 Dec 2024

  Our head boy and head girl were given the privilege of switching the lights on in Wellington.  They were wonderful ambassadors for our school and for the whole community. 

  

• Wellington Christmas Switch On

  Thu 05 Dec 2024

  There was fantastic singing from our school choir as they performed in Wellington Town Centre for the Christmas Lights Switch On.  Well done to them all for getting up on stage in front of a big crowd and performing so beautifully.  A special mention to our soloists who sang so confidently, you have certainly made us all proud. 

  

• Pupil Chaplain visit to Taunton Minster

  Wed 27 Nov 2024

  Eleven pupil chaplains in Year 5 visited Taunton Minster Church,  St Mary Magdalene on Tuesday 12th November.

  Joining pupil chaplains from other local schools, the children gathered for a day of reflection, prayers and discovering new things. 

  The day started with a quiz to get to know each other by finding someone with common interests, likes and dislikes, this included sharing similar names, eye colour and favourite sports. This was a great way for all the children to meet each other. 

  The children then took part in separate activities. While walking around the church they completed a seek and find factsheet, looking at all the carvings in the stone, taking turns on the lectern and trying their best to count all the 200 angels.

  The chaplains were then able to get creative by thinking of the different responsibilities their new role as pupil chaplain creates and created their own prayers. St John's students thought about the importance of their school values (respect, service, compassion, friendship, and endurance), the school parable and vision of sharing joy and hope with their community. All these elements were then added to their prayers, which was shared later in the day during a collective worship. All schools gathered for this service, so they could share new prayers and join in song. Everyone then made a heart cross with pipe cleaners and beads, with each colour bead representing God, family, those important in our lives, ourselves, and a prayer.

  The service gave the children a wonderful way to reflect on everything they had experienced that day and reflect on how they may use it back at school while completing their chaplains’ roles.

  Children and staff had a wonderful day at Mary Magdalene and the experience will be remembered by all for a very long time.

  "The children, as always, made us extremely proud with their positive attitude to meeting new people and experiencing new things, and by overcoming fears by reading out their prayers in front of others. This is the largest cohort of pupil chaplains our school has had, and once again they have proved to be brilliant ambassadors of our school. We are really looking forward to seeing how this role will shape the year ahead for them all” said Mrs Cook (TA) who attended the day along with Helena Power (St Johns school chaplain).

  

• Raising Money for 2Wish

  Wed 27 Nov 2024

  St John's C of E School like to celebrate Children in Need but a little differently to most.

  Each year the school chooses a charity that they would like to support, and all fundraising goes to that charity over an academic year.

  This year the school council decided the school's charity would be 2Wish, a charity that supports families after a sudden loss of a child. This charity is a very personal one to the school as they continue to support the Year 6 class teacher, Harry Foster, who suddenly lost his daughter Olivia aged 15 months. 

  Therefore, the whole celebrated by wearing anything with stars and sparkles as the 2Wish logo is a star! So many amazing outfits were seen throughout the day including 2 actual stars!

  The children also created a huge piece of star artwork using copper coins that had been donated. 

  The day was a huge success and has approximately raised around £250! 

  

• Pupil Chaplains

  Thu 24 Oct 2024

  A very special commissioning took place at St John’s Church, Wellington on Thursday 17^th October.

  Following the success from previous years, St John’s Church of England Primary School celebrated their Pupil Chaplains during their Harvest Festival service. Before the new chaplains could be commissioned, the school celebrated those that have just completed their year of chaplaincy. They were thanked for all their efforts and presented with a certificate.

  Then twelve children from the Year 5 classes at St John’s School were commissioned as the new pupil chaplains for 2024-25 in a special ceremony. The children, who had volunteered for the role and were carefully chosen by staff and peers, made their promises in front of the whole School, as well as their families and friends. These promises were created during their training with Helena Power (the school’s chaplain).

  Each chaplain was then presented with a small wooden cross, a badge and certificates. The previous pupil chaplains then ceremonially handed over their tabards. Reverend Colin, St John’s Vicar, led the celebration with blessings, praying for the new chaplains and thanking the retiring ones for their dedication. The Harvest collection for local food banks was also blessed by Reverend Colin and the pupils.

  Pupil chaplains have a special responsibility to care for the school and live by the school values showing respect, service, compassion, endurance and friendship, while having a lot of fun serving the local community and presenting Bible stories in assemblies. Pupil chaplains have now supported our school for a number of years, and it is a very special and important role for our school. They strive to help all students and staff and share joy and hope in our community.

  With thanks to the School’s dedication to Christian values, all staff and pupils, especially the chaplains, have ensured that the school was such a success in a recent inspection by SIAMS, and their comment was that the school is living up to its foundation as a Church School, and is enabling pupils and adults to flourish while providing a joyful and family orientated environment.

  

• Y5 Visit to Rendy Farm

  Thu 03 Oct 2024

  Year 5 pupils enjoyed a fascinating visit to Rendy Solar Farm, learning about how green energy is produced, and how it gets from the site to our homes.   It was interesting to see how the land is still used for farming as many sheep were grazing under and around the solar panels.

  

• Award Winning Choir

  Mon 22 Jul 2024 Jenna Cook

  The choir at St John’s C of E Primary school, Wellington, have worked tirelessly over the last months and all of their hard work and dedication has been noticed by many.

  The choir which has 50+ members, have learnt many songs recently and had a wonderful time presenting these songs at the Wellington Song Festival held at Court Fields school. They joined many other choirs from local school and performed on stage, collectively singing as a choir of 200. It was a wonderful evening and was enjoyed by many staff, children and families.

  The children also recently entered a choir competition, along with 33 other schools which included secondary school children. They performed their two favourite songs ‘Blinded by Your Grace’ and ‘Rule the World/Viva la Vida’. The feedback the choir received was brilliant. The judges were impressed by the level of songs chosen as both contained parts that were performed confidently with good stage presence. The songs were ambitious and gave the opportunity for a variety of soloists to take part. It was encouraging to hear the rap so carefully executed. Both songs were enthusiastically performed and Makaton signing was used rather than just actions.

  St John’s choir was one of very few that performed a rap part in their song, and where the only choir to sing and sign their song which is very impressive.

  “It is with great pride, that we can announce that St John’s school choir received the Silver Award for this competition, which is an outstanding achievement!” announced Miss Wordley (from Somerset Music) who leads the school choir as well as organises the singing festivals.

  “We are so proud of the choir and the way they dedicate their time in school and at home as it takes great commitment to learn all of the songs, harmonies and added sign language. To watch the children, perform with such enthusiasm and confidence is a real joy!” commented Jenna Cook who works alongside the choir at St John’s school.

  We cannot wait to learn more songs in the new academic year, and hopefully watch our choir grow in confidence and possibly bigger as more children will hopefully join this award winning choir.