Waving goodbye to 2009

The beginning of the new year and the time to make New Year resolutions.

At the start of the new term, may we extend our warmest best wishes for 2010, along with our gratitude for your continuing interest and support for your children's school.


May we also wish you a very happy and prosperous new year!

Best wishes from all the staff, and pupils, at John Perry Primary School.

Dream over for Stacey

The X Factor dream is over for Stacey Solomon.

She Made it through to the final but was voted off in last nights show.


She should be very proud that she came third because she was amazing.

I'm sure she will still have a successful singing career.

We all wish her well!

Fascinating festive facts to make you go "wow!"

Here are some 'fascinating festive facts' (a little alliteration there for Yr 6)

The three wise men were called Bathazar, Caspar (not Casper the friendly ghost) and Melchior.

Christmas carols were introduced into church services by St Francis of Assisi in the 13th century.

The word "carol" comes from the Greek choraulein, which was a dance accompanied by flute music, and the French caroller, meaning "to dance round in a circle".

The names of Santa's reindeer are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and of course we can't forget Rudolph!

Reindeer are the only type of deer where both sexes grow antlers.

Did you know that there is a little farming village in Carmarthenshire, Wales called Bethlehem?

Christmas Day was officially fixed as 25th December by Pope Julius 1 in the 4th century AD. Before that it was celebrated on various dates throughout the year.

The royal Christmas Day message was broadcast on television for the first time in 1957.

William the Conqueror was crowned King of England on December 25th, 1066. The year of The Battle of Hastings.

The first commercially printed Christmas cards were designed by London artist John Calcott Horsley, in 1843.

The largest ever advent calendar, which was over 1100 sq.m, was created to mark the refurbishment of St Pancras station, London in 2007.

Stacey Solomon

We were digging through the archives....and here she is Stacey in year six busy making her umbrella in Mrs Johnson's class. Mrs J wonders if she kept it?!! She is also hoping to meet Mr Cowell! When are you popping in to John Perry, Stacey?

Mr Bowen also remembers teaching Stacey in 1997 in his Yr 2 class. Also Mrs Lane, who is now our Nursery teacher, was Stacey's teacher in Yr 3 in 1998.

Do you recognise any of the other pupils in the class photos? Send us a message if you do.

We hope everyone has done well, even if they haven't achieved national stardom on X-factor.

Good luck, Stacey, from all the staff and pupils at John Perry.

December is nearly here.

Here are some interesting facts about December.

December used to be the tenth month of the Roman year, and it gets its name from the word 'Decem', which means ten.

The Anglo-Saxons called it 'Winter monath', or 'Yule monath' because of the custom of burning the yule log around this time. After many Anglo-Saxons became Christians they called it 'Heligh monath' or holy month, because Christmas, the birth of Jesus, is celebrated in December.

At the beginning of December, the season of Advent starts. The word advent means 'coming', and as its name suggests it is a time of preparation for the coming feast of Christmas.

Most chidren, in Britain, begin December by opening the first door of their Advent calendar. This will continue daily until the 24th December, Christmas Eve.

Can you answer the 10 questions correctly?

All children in KS1 can enter the quiz, the first pupil to answer all the questions correctly will win a prize.

Good luck!

1. How many little pigs were there?

2. What was Charlotte, in the Charlotte's Web story?

3. What is the capital of England?

4. Who lived under the bridge in the three billy goats gruff story?

5. Complete the sentence, 'run, run as fast as you can you can't ----- me i'm
the gingerbread man'.

6. Old King Cole called for his pipe his bowl and his fiddlers -----?

7. What is a shape with four equal sides?

8. Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet eating her curds and ----?

9. In the rhyme 'Hey diddle diddle', what did the cow jump over?

10. What is the name of the teacher in 1SC, Mrs -----?

The Quantum Theatre Group

John Perry Primary were very lucky to have a visit from The Quantum Theatre Group.

All the children thoroughly enjoyed the science production of 'Octopushy'.

It was a fun way to learn about forces, pushes and pulls, twists and turns, magnetic forces for KS1 and onto gravity and friction for KS2.

Thank you Quantum Theatre.

Pumpkin Soup

Class 2CJ made some lovely pumpkin soup last week.

In Yr1 they planted some pumpkin seeds and last week the pumpkin was ready for eating!

They had great fun preparing, chopping and cooking the pumpkin. After all the hard work, they all got to eat it with bread and pumpkin seeds! Yum!

What a great way to celebrate Halloween or Thanksgiving.
Perhaps you could even put it on your Christmas menu, so lovely and warming.

November Quiz

Can you answer the 15 questions correctly?

All pupils, at John Perry Primary, can enter. The first child with all the correct answers, will win a prize!

Bonus
If you answer all of the questions correctly, and you solve the anagram too, then there is a special prize to be won.
The first letter of each answer will give you the letters that you need to form the mystery words!
Good luck!

1. What is the capital of Wales?

2. What is the capital of Greece?

3. What is the schools postcode?

4. Where does Mr Beukes come from?

5. Name the most famous disney character.

6. Which country has the capital, New Delhi?

7. Name the river that flows through London?

8. In which country were fireworks invented?

9. Where are the 2012 olympics being held?

10. What is used by children to count down the days until Christmas?

11. Which company are the makers of Ipod?

12. Name the red nose reindeer.

13. What is half of a Sphere?

14. Which Charles Dickens character said, "Please Sir, I want some more"?

15. What is the most prominent feature in our Solar System?

Remembrance Day in Britain

November is the time of year when we wear a red poppy in memory of those who sacrificed their lives for us during wars.

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the sign of Armistice, on 11th November 1918, to signal the end of World War One.

At 11am on 11th November 1918 the guns of the western front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare.

What is remembrance Day?

Remembrance Day is on 11 November. It is a special day set aside to remember all those men and women who were killed during the two World Wars and other conflicts. At one time the day was known as Armistice Day and was renamed Remembrance Day after the Second World War.

Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November, which is usually the Sunday nearest to 11 November. Special services are held at war memorials and churches all over Britain.

A national ceremony takes place at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London. The Queen lays the first wreath at the Cenotaph.

Wreaths are layed beside war memorials by companies, clubs and societies. People also leave small wooden crosses by the memorials in remembrance of a family member who died in wars.

Poppy Day

Remembrance Day is also known as Poppy Day, because it is traditional to wear an artificial poppy. They are sold by the Royal British Legion, a charity dedicated to helping war veterans.

We will remember all .....

Sadly, due to the current intensive operations, the names of many young men and women are now being added to war memorials throughout the land.

We give thought also to the many who are injured but, due to the miracles of modern medicine, are increasingly surviving with horrific injuries.

So, on Remembrance Day, we remember these people as well as those from the two great wars.

Wear your poppy with pride!

'Bonfire night' 5th November

FireWork Safety

Fireworks can be great fun. Unfortunately, every year, people get hurt because they fool around with fireworks. Last year over 900 people required hospital treatment from accidents involving fireworks.
Make sure you’re not one of them by following these few simple rules.

Never play with fireworks - They are explosives and can hurt you.

Only adults should light or hold fireworks.

When you are watching fireworks stand well back.

Never go near a firework that has been lit. Even if it hasn’t gone off, it could still explode.

Fireworks will frighten your pets, so keep your pet safely indoors.

If you are given a sparkler:

Always wear gloves. Hold it at arm’s length. When your sparkler goes out, DON’T TOUCH IT. It could still burn you, so put it in a bucket of water.

A little rhyme

Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason, why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!

Please stay safe!

from JP

Anti-Bullying

Hello,

I want to talk to you about bullying. Bullying is an anti-social behaviour, it can ruin children's lives to the point where they are afraid to come to school. Let's stamp out bullying now! Please design a poster or write a poem against bullying and it can be published on our John Perry Blog.

We all know that bullying goes on in every school but it's the way it's dealt with which makes the difference between life being tolerable or a misery.

The thing most bullied pupils have in common is that they are perfectly ordinary, nice people who have the misfortune to come up against a very nasty person.

Here at John Perry Primary we do take seriously all reports of bullying.

Make a difference now, help us to stamp out bullying.

From JP

Anti-Bullying Poster Creator Instructions for Schools

Anti-Bullying Poster Creator Instructions for Schools

Stacey Solomon

Hi,

I'm sure you have been watching The X Factor? If you have then you would have seen Stacey Solomon from Dagenham on the show each week.


Stacey is an ex John Perry pupil and she is fondly remembered by many of our staff!
It's lovely to see her on The X Factor, especially with that wonderful voice of hers.

We all wish her the best of luck!

Respect

Hi Everyone,

Respect is one of our major goals throughout the whole school. We should show respect to everyone around us. We should also have respect for all the equipment and furniture in the school. There have been some lovely improvements made during the holiday, that help make the school a pleasant and enjoyable environment for us to learn.

Remember people have feelings,
Everyone is equal,
Support each other,
Proud of what we have achieved,
Everyone is special in their own way,
Consideration for other people,
Treat others as you would like to be treated.

From JP

Welcome back everyone!

Hi everyone,
the holidays are over, so it's back to school for us all on Monday.
Hope you have all enjoyed your break and have lots to tell us.
Don't forget to go to bed early on Sunday, so you are up on time Monday morning!
Enjoy the weekend.

From JP.

Summer holidays

Hi Everyone,

I hope that you are all enjoying the holidays so far and have lots to tell us in september. Mr Watkins has asked his new class to write a book or film review during the holiday, ready to share with us in September. What a good idea for other year groups to do too!

I hope that you enjoy the next few weeks, but please stay safe and come back to us in one piece!

Let me know what you have been doing so far.
From
JP

Year 6 Fun Lunch

Year six raised lots of money for John Perry School today with our annual 'fun lunch'.
There were lots of stalls with various activities for Yrs 2 to 6 to enjoy! There were football 'shoot out' contests, assorted gunge bowls with prizes to be found inside, which were very popular.There were also many water activities. We are very proud of all the children that took part in this event, it was fantastic!
Well done to you all!
We will let you know, as soon as we can, how much money has been raised for our school today.

Science Museum

Year 6 had a fantastic day at the Science Museum in South Kensington.
They watched a 3D movie at the Imax Theatre about Man's first steps on the moon. The cinema was a fantastic experience for them. Also, They had some 'hands on' experience in some of the brilliant exhibitions at the museum.

Year 5 Trip to The Natural History Museum

On Friday 22nd May, Year 5 went to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London. They had a fantastic time looking at different exhibitions of events from our past. They learnt about dinosaurs, how they lived and why they became extinct. They were able to witness and feel for themselves how it felt to be in the Japanese earthquake.

They also had an opportunity to stand beside some of the largest animals on our planet! The Blue Whale was many of the children's favourite as it was huge! It can grow to more than 30 metres and can weigh as much as 100 to 150 tonnes. Bigger than any dinosaur.

Photos of the trip will be published soon!

Welcome Back!

Hello,

Welcome back to you all! I do hope that you enjoyed the half-term break and that you were able to get out and about, especially as the weather was beautiful.

Let me know what adventures you had!

From JP

Free Events in London

Hi All,

I've been lucky enough to get around London this week! I visited the Saatchi Gallery, The Tate Modern and The National gallery. They were all free to enter and we had an amazing time! There are still a few more days before we return to school so try to persuade your parents to take you into London and visit some of the many free Galleries and Museums.

Good luck and have fun!

Half term Holidays

Hi All,

Only a few more days at school then you're off for the half term holidays.
All the SATs will be finished and you can all enjoy a well earned rest!

Enjoy the break and try to get out in the fresh air, weather permitting, why not drag your parents around some of the many great sights in London like the museums or even just around a local park or country park.

Have lots of fun and stay safe!

From jP

SATs Year 6

Well done to everyone in Year 6! Keep up the good work. Only the Maths tests to do on Thursday and Friday then you're all finished.

Good Luck!

SATs

Well done Yr 6 for a fantastic start to the week! You were all on time and ready to sit your science SAT's. We are all very proud of you!

Keep this up all week and you will achieve fantastic results. Don't forget to go to bed early, at least 8pm, and read a book or magazine.

Finally, please don't stress over the tests we just ask you to try your best and we will be very happy with that!

Good luck everyone!

May Day

The first day of the month of May is known as May Day. It is the time of year when warmer weather begins and flowers and trees start to blossom. It is said to be the time of love and romance. It is when people celebrate the coming of summer with lots of different customs that are expressions of joy and hope after a long winter.

Traditional English May Day celebrations include Morris Dancing, crowning a May Queen and dancing around a Maypole.

Although summer does not officially begin until June, May Day marks it's beginning.

May day celebrations have their origins in the Roman Festivals of Flora, Goddess of fruit and flowers, which marked the beginning of summer. It was held annually from April 28th to May 3rd.

Enjoy the long weekend everyone!

Year 6 Revision

Hi Yr 6,

You have five school days left until the SATs. I hope that you are all revising and practising your times tables. Remember, all the work that you put in now will pay off in your results! If there is anything that you are not sure of please ask Mr Beukes, Miss Fouche or Mrs Langridge and I am sure that they will be pleased to help you!

Good luck everybody!

From JP

'JP' Preparing for St Georges Day

Our very own 'JP' preparing for St Georges Day

Year 5 music Concert

Year 5 music Concert

Year 5 music Concert

Year 5 music Concert

Year 5 music Concert

Year 5 music Concert

Year 5 music Concert

Year 5 music Concert

Year 5 music Concert

Year 5 music Concert

Year 5 music Concert

St George's Day

St George's day is on the 23rd April. It is England's national day.

St George is the patron saint of England. His emblem, a red cross on a white background, is the flag of England,and part of the British flag. St George's flag was adopted by Richard The Lion Heart and brought to England in the 12th century.

Like England, every country in the UK has it's own patron saint who in times of great peril is called upon to help save the country from it's enemies.

St George was a brave Roman soldier who protested against the Roman's torture of Christians and died for his beliefs. Saint George is popularly identified with England and English ideals of honour, bravery and gallantry, but actually he wasn't English at all. Very little is known about the man who became St George.

St George is patron saint not only of England but also of Aragon, Catalonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Palestine and Portugal amongst others although celebrated on different days. He is also patron saint of scouts, soldiers, archers, cavalry and chivalry, farmers and field workers, riders and saddlers.

One of the best known stories about St George is his fight with a dragon. but it is highly unlikely that he ever fought a dragon, and even more unlikely that he ever actually visited England. Despite this, St George is known throughout the world as the dragon-slaying patron saint of England!

Interesting fact!
Shakespeare was born on 23rd April 1564 and also died on the same day in 1616.

St George's Day 23rd April

Our very own 'JP' flying his St George's day flag.

Revision

Year 6, try some of these activities at home to revise for your SATs. There are three activities, one for Maths, English and Science.

Maths revision

http://johnperryprimary.blogspot.com/2009/04/revision_4579.html

Science revision

English revision

The answer is 3

Well done to everyone who entered our '3' competition. There were some fantastic questions submitted! Mr Watkins has had the difficult task of reading through and checking the questions.

The winners will be announced in the assembly on Friday 3rd April.

Well done again and good luck!

April Fool's Day

The Origin of April Fool's Day.

Unlike most of the other nonfoolish holidays, the history of April Fool's Day, sometimes called All Fool's Day, is not totally clear. There really wasn't a "first April Fool's Day" that can be pinpointed on the calendar. Some believe it sort of evolved simultaneously in several cultures at the same time, from celebrations involving the first day of spring.

The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the new year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to January 1.

However, communications being what they were in the days when news travelled by foot, many people did not receive the news for several years. Others, the more obstinate crowd, refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the new year on April 1. These backward folk were labeled as "fools" by the general public. They were subject to some ridicule, and were often sent on "fools errands" or were made the butt of other practical jokes.

Year 2 at the Ragged School Museum

Year two visited the Ragged School museum in London.
It features Victorian education, history and culture of the East End of London, Which included a recreation of a Victorian classroom.The children had great fun dressing in Victorian clothes and learning through roleplay how poor children lived a century ago in the East End of London.

The British Museum

Year 3 went to the British Museum on Thursday 19th March.
They had lot's of fun whilst learning about Tutankhamen and other Egyptian artefacts.

What is the question if the answer is 3?

We have had lot's of questions entered for our Answer '3' competition! Keep them coming in and Mr Watkins will be making his final decision on Tuesday 31st March at 3pm. Good luck everyone!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you special mums.
What makes a mum special?
What makes your mum special?

Red Nose Day 09

Wow,What a fantastic day we all had at John Perry on 13th March 2009!
We raised loads of money through selling cakes, biscuits and drinks all week. We also had a pyjama day and all pupils paid £1.00 to wear non-uniform.We raised £900 fantastic!

Easter Chicks

3Ml have been welcoming some new arrivals to their class this week.
They have seen four chicks hatch in the classroom and it has been very exciting!
Two hatched on the 17th March so of course they were named 'Paddy' and 'Murphy' in mark of St Patrick's Day. Two hatched today and one of them has been named 'Brenda' so at the moment one is still awaiting a name!
Any suggestions for us?

St Patricks Day

March 17th is St. Patrick's Day. St Patrick is the Patron saint of Ireland. He is one of Christianities most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat a mystery! Many of the stories associated with St Patrick, including the famous account of him banishing snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years exaggerated storytelling.
He is believed to have died on March 17th 460AD.

What is the question if the answer is 3?

Think of a brilliant question that has the answer three.
Mr Watkins has generously donated prizes for the best questions.

First prize is a luxury Thorntons Easter Egg.
Second prize is a pack of four Cream Eggs.
Third and fourth prizes are a bag of mini Eggs.

Good Luck!

key stage 1 activities

bbc bitesize link

Parents, click on the link above and help your child with their literacy and maths from home. Have fun!

St Davids Day

Well, we are now into March and spring is nearly here!

We're beginning to have lighter mornings and evenings, and it all helps us to feel happier!

I couldn’t help but smile at the school entrance this morning. Lots of daffodils have bloomed and they look beautiful!

Take a look the next time you come in, it’s lovely!

We started off the month with St Davids Day. The 1st March is the feast day of St David, the Patron Saint of Wales. The date was declared a national day of celebration (within Wales) in the 18th century.

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between the two is sometimes as great as a month but no matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow!

Pancakes

Have you had your pancakes?
What is your favourite filling or topping for your pancake?

Do you know why we have 'Pancake Day'?
The Tuesday before Lent is known as Pancake Day (shrove Tuesday). On that day it is traditional to eat pancakes.

The origin of pancakes arose from Christians who observed Lent and wanted to use up all the rich foods in their cupboards before lent. During Lent eggs, sugar and butter were not allowed so these ingredients were used to make pancakes.

Today everyone celebrates 'Pancake Day' regardless of their religion.

Interesting fact!
The worlds biggest pancake was cooked in Rochdale in 1994, it was an amazing 15 metres in diameter, weighed three tonnes and had an estimated two million calories!

In other parts of the world, Shrove Tuesday is marked by quite different celebrations. In New Orleans, for example, it's celebrated with the Mardi Gras, and in Rio de Janeiro with the equally raucous carnival.

Oh well, at least we have pancakes! Enjoy!

The half-term break is here at last! Let me know what exciting things you are doing in the holiday. Try getting out and about if you can, we have some lovely parks and country parks in our area. Ask your parents for permission first and stay safe.

We are very pleased to inform you that the school will be open today as usual. It may be a little slippery under-foot so take it steady and arrive to us safely!

A Blog is essentially an online diary, however, unlike a traditional diary that is generally written for the soul readership of the author, a blog is written to be shared with the wider community, indeed the whole world. A Blog is a tool for people all over the world to share information with one another. It is important that your grammar is appropriate when you publish your comments. Remember to use capital letters and good punctuation then we can publish it for everyone to see!

Welcome to the John Perry Blog.
My name is JP, I am the John Perry mascot for this Blog.

What a start to February. Has everyone been enjoying the snow?
Let me know what fun you've been having!

JP asks,

Are you reading every day?

Go along to your local library and join, it's FREE! How cool!

My favourite books are adventure books.

Perhaps someone can write an adventure book about me!

The amazing adventures of JP!

Give it a go and let me know.