St John The Baptist
Newsletter

21.03.25

Dear Parents and Carers, It has once again been a jam-packed week here at St John the Baptist School, with so much to celebrate! Firstly, a very Happy St Patrick’s Day for Monday to all those who celebrated. We hope you...

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has once again been a jam-packed week here at St John the Baptist School, with so much to celebrate!

Firstly, a very Happy St Patrick’s Day for Monday to all those who celebrated. We hope you had a wonderful time marking the occasion.

This week, we also recognised Neurodiversity Celebration Week—something very close to our hearts as a school. Through in-class assemblies, children learned about why this week was established and the importance of understanding and embracing differences. However, this isn’t just something we focus on for one week; we are committed to ensuring our pupils grow into well-rounded, kind individuals who celebrate the uniqueness of everyone around them.

Today, we ended the week with a fantastic celebration of Comic Relief Red Nose Day! The school was a sea of red and full of good spirit as we took part in a variety of fun activities. A particular highlight was our first-ever Red Nose Day Joke Competition, which brought plenty of laughter across the school. A huge well done to our winners—please see below for their fantastic jokes! Thank you for all of your donations, we have made over £400 for comic relief.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Warm regards,

Ms Toni Mason

Easter Bonnet Making Workshop

Next week on Wednesday 26th March the PTA are hosting an Easter Bonnet Making Workshop from 3:30-5:00pm in the school hall. To make your Easter Bonnet (Hat) we will be selling £3 and £5 decorating kits. All parents and children are welcome to attend to make their Easter Bonnet (Hat) for the Parade that we are hosting in school on Friday 4th April at 9:00am. Parents and carers are invited to attend the parade on the morning of the 4th April.

Comic Relief Joke Competition – And the Winners Are…!

Laughter filled the halls of St John the Baptist School as we celebrated Comic Relief Red Nose Day with our very first Joke Competition! Both children and staff put forward their best (and silliest) jokes, hoping to impress our ruthlessly strict judging panel—the School Council and prefect panel. They blindly voted for the votes they liked best without knowing who had submitted them!

After much deliberation, the winners were finally chosen!

Children’s Winners

🥇 1st Place: Lacie (Palm) – Why is the computer always cold? Because he forgot to close his windows!

🥈 2nd Place: Jezrie (Elm) – What do you call a deer with no eyes? No idea!

🥉 3rd Place: Desdina (Chestnut) – What did the left eye say to the right eye? Between you and me, something smells!

Staff Winners

🥇 1st Place: Bonnie (Plum) – How did the barber win the race? By a short cut!

🥈 2nd Place: Yvonne (Office) – What’s orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot!

A huge congratulations to our winners and a big thank you to everyone who took part. It was fantastic to see so much creativity and humor across the school! Comic Relief is all about spreading joy while making a difference, and we certainly did both today.

Same time next year? Start thinking of your best jokes now!

Checkmate! Chess Lessons at St John the Baptist School

At St John the Baptist School, we are proud to offer full-class chess lessons to children in class – currently in Years 3, 4, and 5. Chess is a fantastic way to develop critical thinking, patience, and strategic planning—skills that benefit children far beyond the chessboard. It encourages resilience, problem-solving, and even improves mathematical and literacy abilities.

We chose to introduce these lessons because we believe every child should have the opportunity to experience the benefits of chess. Not only is it an enjoyable and engaging game, but it also helps children build confidence and perseverance—key qualities for lifelong learning.

Excitingly, in the coming weeks, 50 of our finest chess players will be taking part in a school competition to showcase their skills. The competition is being run as a non-eliminating tournament where children engage in up to 7 rounds, playing children of different abilities and ages without the risk of being quickly knocked out of the tournament. The overall winner will be determined by being the player with the most points after all the rounds have been played. Thank you to Mr Lancaster for hosting this exciting, inaugural event. We can’t wait to see them in action and will be sure to share the results soon!

See below for some pictures of the competition that is already well underway…

Easter Holiday Vouchers

We have had news this week that Hackney Council will be funding the issue of FSM (Free School Meal) vouchers during the Easter 2025 Holiday. The value of the FSM voucher for the Easter 2025 Holiday is £20 per child, which covers the whole Easter 2025 holiday. The FSM voucher is only for those children who are eligible for benefit-related free school meals and children in nursery classes who are either in receipt of the two-year-old funding or eligible for the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP).

If you have not already please apply for Free School Meals here to be eligible to receive a voucher. Click this link