Facts about January

January regularly produces frost, ice and snow and is the chilliest month of the year in Britain.

January was established as the first month of the year by the Roman Calendar. It was named after the god Janus (Latin word for door). Janus has two faces which allowed him to look both backwards into the old year and forwards into the new one at the same time. He was the 'spirit of the opening'.

In the very earliest Roman calendars there were no months of January or February at all. The ancient Roman calendar had only ten months and the new year started the year on 1 March. To the Romans, ten was a very important number. Even when January (or Januarius as the Romans called it) was added, the New Year continued to start in March. It remained so in England and her colonies until about 200 years ago.

The Anglo-Saxons called the first month Wolf monath because wolves came into the villages in winter in search of food.

We are open!

Hi,

Just to let you know that we are open as usual.

We are open today.

We are open today, but it is very icy so please take care on your journey to school.

Parents, please make sure your child is wearing a coat today.

Thank you.

We are open!

Despite the snow, we are open today as usual.

Please ensure that your child has a coat today, as it is still very cold.

Thank you.

Weather update!

We will be closing today at 1pm.

We will keep you updated over the next few days of any school closures.

I'm sure you can appreciate the uncertainty that this extreme weather is causing.

Thank You.

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.