The students have been learning to classify rocks by the main types of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. They have to look at the composition and texture of the rocks very carefully to decide the sub-types within each of these groups and then to identify those rocks by name. We have rock guides to help them do that, but they need to apply all of the vocabulary that they are learning about the texture and composition as each type of rock has a different vocabulary for those concepts. They have to break the rocks with hammers in order to see an … Continue reading Middle School Science’s “Rock Collection”

For her PYP Exhibition project, grade 5 student Maddie chose to support children’s literacy by collecting books to send to children in Monrovia, Liberia.  “Did you know that over 750 million people in the world can’t read? Having books at home can bring that number down” Maddie. As part of the research for her PYP project, Maddie interviewed Aletha Wallace who works with the “Give a book for Liberia” scheme, which collects books and sends them to the National Library, and to primary, middle and high schools within and around Monrovia. When Aletha explained to Maddie that the education system … Continue reading Grade 5 student Maddie collects books for children in Liberia

The Middle High School hosted its first-ever ‘Multilingual  Middle School Spelling Bee’ during MS Assembly today. Representatives from Grades 6-8 competed in English, French, Spanish, German and Dutch for the winning titles. All students involved demonstrated a high-level of linguistic competence, and engaged in a very friendly, and fun, competition. The words were read by Grade 10 student-volunteers, who were able to share their language as a part of the competition. The winners were John (Grade 6), Jonathan (Grade 7) and Luis (Grade 8). Continue reading “Multilingual Middle School Spelling Bee” a big success

A group of grade 4 – 6 students attended the ISTA Primary Schools Festival at Wiesbaden on 19-22 May. They were welcomed by host families and followed a full program of drama and music workshops, as well as visits to local cultural and educational sites. The theme for the week was “Castles, Knights, and Magical Tales”, exploring the legends of long ago and what they can tell us about ourselves today. By exploring the past, the students were encouraged to bring the stories to life and make dramatic theatre. The workshops led up to presentations in small ensembles and a … Continue reading Students participate in Theater Festival in Germany

The seventh grade class has been reading the young adult book The Other Side of Truth by Beverly Naidoo in order to study realistic fiction. While studying this genre, we were fortunate to have an author of historical fiction to come to our school to explain the importance and relevance of realistic and historical fiction in today’s world. Paula de Fougerolles has written two historical fiction novels, The Chronicles of Iona: Prophet  and Exile, both of which are in our school library for advanced and high school readers. She took the time to explain to the students the ways in which writers, such as herself and … Continue reading Author shares importance of historical fiction

Grade 4 student Tommy, who is aged 9,  has competed in the “Merci Maestro” International Competition for Young Pianists in Brussels. It was a competition for over 100 young pianists from all over Europe and it was quite an achievement … Continue reading Grade 4 student competes in International Piano Competition

Students from grades 6 & 7 have been researching and creating healthy recipes using seasonal vegetables for their latest food technology assignment. They have adapted recipes to include the required ingredients and written up their revised  recipe and instructions. Working in groups, they have prepared and cooked each recipe and learned the art of tasting as you go, adding seasoning and herbs to  improve the final taste. Everything they have made will be presented as a buffet for themselves to taste each other’s recipes, and also invited guests. Judging by the aromas drifting down the corridor, some lucky people are … Continue reading Seasonal recipes in Food Science and Technology

We want to say a huge thank you to everyone for helping to make our first Relay Recess such an amazing event. “If a picture is worth a thousand words” the photographs and video clips on the St. John’s Facebook page tell all. The morning was a time for learning, with teachers presenting workshops delivering the ‘wellness/health’ material. When we came by, students looked engaged, excited and focused on what was being delivered in the most creative way. The presentation from the Foundation against Cancer/Relay for Life in the PAC theater was very age and stage appropriate, and the Grade … Continue reading Relay Recess: a wonderful day to remember

The St. John’s Golf Tournament took place yesterday the beautiful Hulencourt golf course. A full field of golfers spent the afternoon on the perfectly prepared course in dry conditions. The participants included members of the St. John’s golf team, elite players from the Jérôme Theunis Golf Academy and adults from a wide variety of professional backgrounds. Excellent prizes were on offer, including Callaway putters, golf bags and umbrellas, restaurant vouchers at several great restaurants in Waterloo and Brussels, and many other attractive items. All proceeds will support the athletic program at St. John’s to further enhance the student experience in the … Continue reading St. John’s Golf Tournament a swinging success!

Grade 1 welcomed a special visitor: Lucky The Lion!  He heard about our Unit of Inquiry “How The World Works” and he came with a special task for the Grade 1 students. Lucky heard we were learning about Materials, their uses and properties and  he thought we would be the perfect people to ask for some help.  He wants us to make him a shelter that will protect him from wind and rain.  Children who want an extra challenge will make a shelter that not only protects from wind and rain but can float Lucky out of the storm.  This … Continue reading Grade 1 create shelter for Lucky the Lion

Recently, the Grade 4 students organised a bake sale business experience as the first stage of their Unit of Inquiry “Work Systems That Work”, and raised over €1600 for the ES charity event “Relay Recess” which takes place on Friday this week. Following on from this huge success, mixed groups from the three classes worked together to come up with a new business plan for a fund raiser to involve High School students.  The nine groups then presented their plans to the whole grade and each student voted to choose the best three. The three winning plans were presented today … Continue reading Grade 4 present business plans to 10th graders

On Monday 9 May, Mr. Macdonald’s Extended Essay students went to the British Library and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London for a research trip. Students had previously ordered 10 books via the Internet and the books … Continue reading Students visit British Library in London

The Kindergarten students celebrated Mother’s day by creating a wonderful afternoon tea. Each student made a present and invited their mother to come along and enjoy a ‘Spring Tea’ in the grounds of Timbertops. “We made the cakes and I cut the fruit. We made the tables look pretty” – Kaya “It’s a secret, my present is a box with painted inside to put jewellery in” – Julian “There is fruit and cakes, and some tea with fruit. We made it all for the mothers.“ Louka “We made lots of things to eat. You can have some cream with the … Continue reading Kindergarten celebrates Mother’s Day with afternoon tea

On Wednesday 4th May, the Grade 10 Modern History classes visited the European Union’s Parlimentarium. This is an interactive/role play activity which enables the students to become a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for a few hours. The students were all assigned a political party and a task to complete with cooperation from the other political parties. The two issues debated and passed were a European Water Pipe, to transfer water to the South of Europe and European citizens having a chip implanted which contained the person’s ID and medical background. By Mr. Macdonald, HS History teacher Continue reading Grade 10 Modern History visits European Union’s Parlimentarium.

Students in the grade 6 music class have just finished their class project on Rhythm. They began by researching web resources including YouTube for performances such as Latin Groove kids, Leon & Joshua, Lunch, Cups, and White Winter Hymnal.  Using what they had found as inspiration they were asked to create and compose their own small group “body percussion”. Every group did very well, but the whole class agreed that  Frédéric, Minsung and Thomas (‘in action’ here) were amazing! Our next subject is ‘The Instruments of the Orchestra’. The first task is to discover the different sections of an orchestra … Continue reading Grade 6 students find their rhythm

In Grade 1, we like things to be hands-on and authentic.  The children were learning about fractions, wholes, halves, fourths and thirds using paper and folding.  To add some value to this, we brought in donuts and the children were … Continue reading Investigating Fractions in Grade 1

Recently, eight Grade 11 St. John’s students embarked on their “Adventurous Journey” in order to achieve the Gold level of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. They hiked 80 kilometers in the footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ and ‘Treasure Island’, who himself hiked 252 km with a donkey in the French Cevennes. During these four days of adventure, they enjoyed the beauty of the landscape and were self-sufficient throughout the whole experience. They endured rainy weather and steep hills together, which made the whole experience one of the best team-building exercises of their … Continue reading Eight students achieve Gold level in International Award