News
Autumn Term 2010 Events Calendar
Monday 12th July 2010
The Autumn Term Events Calendar has now been published in the parents' section of this website. A hard copy of the calendar will be sent home with your child's report. If you have misplaced the user name and password for the parents' section please contact cleach@stjamesjunior.org and she will be happy to let you have them!
Sanskrit Competition Covered by New Delhi TV
Tuesday 29th June 2010
We are delighted that NDTV choose to send a team down to cover the Sanskrit Competion this year. Do click on the link to see the braodcast!
http://www.tubaah.com/details.php?video_id=149422
Tanya Alerts us to Climate Change
Friday 25th June 2010
Tanya Kovatchka, Y5 gave the most inspiring talk in Friday’s Assembly about her passion, climate change and global warming. She spoke eloquently about the challenges facing our global community and urged children to save energy this summer by switching off their TVs and travelling by foot or bicycle instead of by car.
Next term we look forward to exploring other ways in which we can help the European Voluntary Corps and Commissioner Mrs Georgieva.
The Annual Sanskrit Speech Competition 2010
Friday 25th June 2010
This competition, perhaps unique in the Western world, again saw very high standards of Sanskrit recitation from all children. Two Vedic hymns featured, namely five verses from the Purusha Sukta, speaking of how spirit appears in creation, and the first hymn of the Rg Veda to Agni. Agni is normally translated as ‘Fire’, though the new translation used was ‘Divine Energy’. There were some beautiful passages recited from the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads, and, for the first time, five verses from the ‘Crest Jewel of Discrimination’, a text speaking of the teaching of Non-Duality, with the refrain ‘There is no duality here whatsoever’.
The judge this year was Dr Whitney Cox, lecturer in Sanskrit at the School of Oriental and African Studies. As ever, fun prizes were awarded, and widely acclaimed as ‘cool’. In view of the date of the event (22nd June) inevitably many of the prizes were world cup orientated, and included (much to the disgust of many) English vuvuzelas!
Very Welcome Visitors...
Monday 21st June 2010
We have been delighted to welcome six visiting teachers from South Africa, they are an enthusiastic and responsive group and have really enjoyed life inside and outside St James. Unfortunately they think it is winter and are still adjusting to the vagaries of English weather.
Their assembly last Monday was a beautiful manifestation of the spirit of Africa with song, drums and information. The school received a lesson on the symbolism of the South Africa flag and the many and varied languages of the ‘rainbow nation’.
The St James teachers and children provide rich inspiration. Midsummer is a good time to visit the school as there is a wide range of interesting events to enjoy. Our visitors met Father Rob the School Chaplin and enjoyed a breadth of topics in assemblies including plays, such as, ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ and ‘The Pied Piper of Hamlin’.
This week they will experience the Sanskrit Speech Competition and Agincourt an abridge version of Shakespeare’s Henry V performed by the boys of Years 5 & 6. And every day there is music in the school; the children sing and play instruments.
The only disappointment has been the soccer, the teachers of St James provided a World cup party for them but victories have still proved elusive.
Best wishes
Paul Moss - Principal