Month: February 2016

Science expert speaks to students about measurement of colors

St. John's International School

Dr. Andrew Hanson is coming to lecture to St. John’s 10th and 11th graders on Thursday March 3rd at 10:40 on the topic of “Colour is Fun – the measurement of colour”. His lecture, in English and about one hour long, will be a “backpack” version of that given on several occasions to the prestigious London International Youth Science Forum, where it was highly rated by the attending students, aged 17 and upwards. The Royal Society of Chemistry has invited Dr. Hanson to do this talk at St. John’s. He summarises his lecture as follows: “Colour informs, influences consumer choices, warns us and comforts … Continue reading Science expert speaks to students about measurement of colors

Register now for the St. John’s Golf Tournament on May 18

St. John's International School

The St. John’s Golf Tournament will take place on Wednesday, May 18 at the beautiful Hulencourt golf course. Registration and warm-up start at 12:30, with a shotgun start at 13:30. The format is Chapman style with teams of 2 players. Hulencourt is the home course of the St. John’s golf team, coached by Jérôme Theunis. Retiring as a playing pro in 2008, Jérôme became coach to Belgian Ryder Cup star Nicolas Colsaerts. Our golf team plays competitively against other international school in Europe. The St. John’s golf team has been invited to participate in the tournament. To register for the tournament, please … Continue reading Register now for the St. John’s Golf Tournament on May 18

Come share your favorite music at “In the Groove”!

St. John's International School

Here at St. John’s, the teachers have a passion for education and this translates into our extra-curricular life too. No more so than  ‘In the Groove’, St. John’s vinyl and cassette music appreciation group. We are looking for parents to come and share their passion for their favorite music artist and play seven to eight songs to the students on  a Thursday lunchtime. For example, we have had our Head of School, Mr. Holliday-Bersegeay, come and share his passion for Bob Dylan. Ray played his best-loved Dylan tracks from the 1960’s, we hope to have him come back and do … Continue reading Come share your favorite music at “In the Groove”!

Donations requested for the book and cd sale on March 9

St. John's International School

On Wednesday March 9, during the Parent Teacher Conferences, there will be a used book and cd sale in the sports foyer. The sale of the books and cd’s will go to groups such as varsity darts and “In the groove”, where vinyl records of a certain artist are played in Mr. Macdonald’s room during the lunch break. We would appreciate any donations of old items of this description that you do not need, as well as your attendance and purchase of the products. We are sure that you will love something that we have. As a wise individual once … Continue reading Donations requested for the book and cd sale on March 9

Timbertops students explore the ES Library

St. John's International School

February 18 was a special day at the Elementary School Library for our youngest patrons from Timbertops. Parents and children received a special invitation to visit the ES Library and explore the 27,000 volume collection together.  It was a great success as over 30 children with their parents searched for books in English or from the extensive Mother Tongue book collection. Making a surprise appearance was our own Lucky the Lion who many know from sporting events, but who is also an author in his own right with his book, Lucky the Lion Moves to Belgium. The children were delighted and Lucky was … Continue reading Timbertops students explore the ES Library

Grade 5 engages in inspirational discussion with CNN reporter

St. John's International School

Our 5th graders had an inspirational discussion with award-winning veteran CNN reporter and anchor Michael Holmes yesterday. Mr. Holmes has been at CNN since 1996 and has reported extensively around the world, including multiple deployments to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as well as the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the 2011 uprising in Libya. In 2004, he was on a CNN assignment in Iraq when the car he was traveling in got attacked, which cost the lives of two staff members. Mr. Holmes explained to the students (via Skype call) what inspired him to become a journalist and how reporting from conflict zones … Continue reading Grade 5 engages in inspirational discussion with CNN reporter

An exponentially excellent math experience!

St. John's International School

Elementary students and faculty had the privilege of working with visiting mathematics expert Dr. Monica Neagoy on Monday and Tuesday of this week.  Formerly a professor at Georgetown University and currently a consultant for international schools and popular keynote speaker, Dr. Neagoy shared with us her passion for mathematics and mathematics education. Homeroom teachers worked with Dr. Neagoy for a full-day mathematics in-service on Monday, while on Tuesday she both observed and taught lessons in classrooms from Kindergarten to Grade five. An exponentially excellent experience for all involved! By Chris Savva, PYP Coordinator Continue reading An exponentially excellent math experience!

St. John’s basketball teams visit Israel

St. John's International School

The St. John’s High School boys and girls basketball teams visited Israel last week. A total of 34 St. John’s students, parents and staff participated in the trip. The teams played against the American School of Israel and local club teams,  winning all their games. The group went on several cultural excursions, including trips to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Golan Heights, the River Jordan, Tiberius and Jaffa. The students agreed it was a great trip that they will remember for the rest of their lives. Continue reading St. John’s basketball teams visit Israel

Bright Sparks!

St. John's International School

On Wednesday 3rd February, the Grade 3 students went to the Middle School science laboratory to experiment with electricity. We have already been learning a lot about electricity in our own class as part of our Unit of Inquiry. We learned how to create static electricity with random objects! The teacher had two puppets and she let Alice and Lauren hold them. The puppets were named Arthur the parrot and Gaston the naughty bat. Alice held Arthur and Lauren held Gaston. In the first experiment, we saw the teacher made a piece of paper follow a plastic rod. James tried … Continue reading Bright Sparks!

St. John’s art students visit Groeninge museum in Bruges

St. John's International School

The High School art trip to Bruges included a visit to the Groeninge Museum to see the permanent collection, especially of early Flemish oil painting, including the world famous work of Jan Van Eyck and Hans Memling, as well as the temporary exhibition ‘Making Connections’ with the contemporary oil paintings of Robert Devriendt. Students examined how the extraordinary material of oil paint developed in relation to the other arts, crafts and media of the Middle Ages up to the modern era in Belgium as well as how it continues to relate to our own visual experience and contemporary media like film and … Continue reading St. John’s art students visit Groeninge museum in Bruges

Spanish author is this month’s Speaker of the House

St. John's International School

Our guest speaker for this week’s Speaker of the House lecture was Spanish writer María Escalona. The title of her Lecture was: The adventure of writing. My own adventure.  Born in Madrid in 1971, Ms. Escalona grew up reading stories, novels and plays. er favorite classes were always language, English and literature. She moved to Belgium after her studies and published her first book “Dying Sunday”. She dealt with these points during her lecture to High School students and teachers: – My view, my approach: What writing means to me. Requirements to write. – Getting started I: The chicken or the egg – … Continue reading Spanish author is this month’s Speaker of the House

St. John’s students participate in THIMUN conference

St. John's International School

St. John’s Model United Nations Team participated in the THIMUN (The Hague International Model United Nations) conference last week, representing the Czech Delegation. THIMUN is a five-day simulation of the United Nations for secondary school students, which takes place at the end of January each year in the World Forum Convention Center in The Hague. The THIMUN conference is one of the largest in the world with all countries represented. The week was international and multi-cultural with over 3000 students and schools from more than 80 countries, all debating in English, regardless of their national and mother tongue. The students undertook a week of … Continue reading St. John’s students participate in THIMUN conference

“Sugar” exhibition on view on Greene Gallery

St. John's International School

Last Friday’s vernissage for the “Sugar” exhibition in the Greene Gallery was a sweet success! During the next 3 weeks, the visual arts department invites the St. John’s community to continue viewing the “Sugar” exhibition.  Artwork in the form of paintings, drawings, photographs, installations, cakes, and confections make up this dynamic show.  Please stop by the exhibition, the work will undoubtedly inspire discussion on topics such as sensory experience, sugar consumption, and family baking traditions. The exhibition is available for view during and after school hours until 17:00. Continue reading “Sugar” exhibition on view on Greene Gallery