A - 14th Ordinary

Compassion in Christ

Jesus tells the crowds in this weekend’s Gospel reading, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” I think it’s helpful to notice what he doesn’t say…He doesn’t say, “I don’t have a yoke or any burdens.” We spoke to the children this week about challenges and hardships, that these are a normal part of life and we must all face difficult days. However, Jesus encourages us to yoke ourselves to him, to let him shoulder the burden with us. Our faith can be a great source of strength and insight, even during the darkest times.

Our Tool of St Joseph this week was compassion - the Gospel value that encourages us to show sympathy and concern for others in need; to help shoulder another person’s burden. Through prayers of intercession, we practised recognising those in need in our lives and our world, and showing compassion for them.

Creative Day of Prayer

We were thrilled this week to launch our first cross-school Creative Day of Prayer. Assisted by the Chaplaincy Ambassadors at St Peter's (our ex-St Joseph's students) children enjoyed the opportunity to work in mixed-phase groups, encountering Christ through a range of creative prayer experiences: practical, contemplative and active. From Nursery to Year 6, classes paired up and spent time together, with God. The range of creative outcomes was astonishing and helped to demonstrate how prodoundly children were able to lift their hearts and minds to God over the course of the day.

Holy Communion Celebration

It was such a joy this week to celebrate, with the whole school community, in marking the occasion of so many children's recent First Holy Communion. Fr Eddie led our Mass, speaking powerfully about the closer relationship that comes through regular and reverent engagement in the Eucharist. The beauty of the Liturgy was palpable through the prayers, hymns and silence led so confidently by the children in Juniors. A prayer book and communion pin were gifted to each of the children, as a reminder of our sharing in their spiritual journey at this important stage in their religious lives. God bless you all!

Guildford in Bloom Gold!

We are delighted to announce another stunning result for the St Joseph's School Allotment - winning a Guildford in Bloom GOLD AWARD for another year! A huge thanks to all the children who have contributed to the tremendous hard work that goes into this outcome: Holiday Camp, After School Club, Team Green and many others who just got roped in because they were in the right place at the right time! We were blessed that Josiah was able to attend the ceremony in July, representing our school and brining home the Gold Award 2026 on our behalf. Thank you Josiah!

Besty Bee-lieves!

Betsy wanted me to share these photos from a charity netball tournament she took part in yesterday morning. She bravely stepped up so as they did not have enough year 6 players and played up a year and helped raised money for this amazing charity, Beelive Foundation who are a mental wellbeing charity.

It would be great if this could be celebrated in either the weekly celebration slides or newsletter. The link to donate is able to share is https://www.justgiving.com/page/cardinalsnetball?utm_source=WA&utm_medium=DT

Well done Betsy, you should be proud of your positive, can do attitude and amazing team work - playing all positions throughout the day!

Ben means Business

At the beginning of this year, Ben wrote a business plan for his grandfather for his investment into helping him buy a 3D printer.

On the back of the business plan, was that Ben would gift to a charity a proceed of his sales takings (this was Ben’s idea and not imposed on him).

Well, 6 months later, and after numerous sales days at the local church, cafe, gym and care home - Ben managed to raise over £100 for Challengers Charity.

When Challengers found out what Ben had been doing, they invited him to their Guildford branch to show him around and for him to make his donation so we met them yesterday.

Brilliant Bridges and Triangular Triumphs!

What an exciting and inspiring DT Day Year 6 had as they explored the fascinating world of engineering through a hands-on bridge-building challenge!

The day began with the children investigating what makes structures strong and stable. They discovered that triangles are one of the strongest shapes used in construction and tested this theory by creating simple triangular structures using matchsticks. Through discussion and experimentation, they learned how these shapes help distribute weight and provide support in buildings and bridges.

Next, the pupils researched truss bridges, exploring how engineers use interconnected triangles to create structures capable of spanning great distances while remaining incredibly strong. They were fascinated to learn how these designs are used in real-life bridges around the world.

Armed with their new knowledge, the children worked collaboratively to design, plan and construct their bridges. The ultimate challenge was to create a structure strong enough to support model cars and the results were impressive! Many teams successfully built sturdy bridges, applying everything they had learned about strong shapes and effective design.

The project gave pupils a valuable insight into the work of engineers and highlighted the importance of creativity, resilience and perseverance when solving real-world problems. It was wonderful to see the children embracing challenges, learning from mistakes and celebrating their successes together.

A fantastic day of learning, discovery and engineering in action - well done, Year 6!