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!

Junior Sports Day

This year's Junior Sports Day was one to remember! Although many local schools chose to cancel or postpone their events because of the exceptionally high temperatures, we were determined to go ahead so that our Year 6 pupils did not miss out on one of the highlights of their final year at St Joseph's.

While the temperatures were certainly soaring, the only thing higher was the children's enthusiasm! Throughout the day, pupils from across the school threw themselves into a range of exciting track and field events, demonstrating determination, resilience and fantastic team spirit. From sprints and relays to throwing and jumping events, every child gave their very best, cheering one another on and celebrating each other's achievements.

A very special thank you must go to our outstanding Year 6 Sports Captains, who played a huge part in making the day such a success. During the morning, they took on the responsibility of leading and organising the field events, encouraging younger pupils and ensuring everything ran smoothly. After a well-earned opportunity to cool down at lunchtime, they then stepped onto the track themselves to compete in their own events during the hottest part of the day. Their commitment, leadership and enthusiasm were truly inspiring, and they set a wonderful example for the rest of the school.

As always, we were incredibly proud of the way our pupils supported one another, showed excellent sportsmanship and embraced every challenge with smiles on their faces. Thank you to all of the staff and parent volunteers and families who helped make the day such a memorable occasion.

Well done to everyone who took part - you should all be incredibly proud of your efforts. It was a fantastic celebration of teamwork, perseverance and the sporting spirit that makes St Joseph's such a special place.

Celebrating Netball

Last week saw an exciting first for St Joseph's as we hosted our very first mixed Years 4, 5 and 6 Boys vs Girls Netball Match. There was a real buzz of anticipation before the first whistle, and the match certainly didn't disappoint!

Both teams played with fantastic determination, teamwork and sportsmanship throughout. It was a closely contested game from start to finish, with some excellent passing, skilful shooting and determined defending on display. Every player gave their all, making for a thrilling match that kept everyone watching on the edge of their seats.

After a tense final few minutes, the score finished 9–9, resulting in a well-deserved draw. It was the perfect outcome, with both teams able to celebrate a fantastic performance and prove that everyone was a winner.

We were also delighted to welcome back one of our former pupils, Molly, who kindly returned to umpire both of our netball matches this week. It was wonderful to see Molly back at school, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the sport while supporting our young players. We are very grateful for her time and expertise.

A huge well done to everyone who took part for demonstrating excellent teamwork, resilience and respect. We are already looking forward to making this exciting fixture a regular event!

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.

District Sports

This week, our athletics team proudly represented St Joseph's at the District Sports Competition. Although the event was originally postponed due to the extremely high temperatures earlier this term, the rescheduled competition proved to be just as hot! Despite the challenging conditions, our children rose to the occasion and gave their very best in every event.

We are thrilled to share that St Joseph's returned home with an incredible 50 medals across a range of track and field events. This is a fantastic achievement and reflects the hard work and commitment of all of our competitors.

However, while we are immensely proud of the medals, what made us proudest was the way our children conducted themselves throughout the day. Their behaviour was simply impeccable. They supported one another, encouraged competitors from other schools, listened carefully, showed respect to officials and represented St Joseph's with kindness, maturity and excellent sportsmanship. They were outstanding ambassadors for our school, and we couldn't have asked for more.

A very special thank you goes to Mr Gillies, one of our Year 4 parents and an athletics expert, and to his daughter, Alyssa, a former St Joseph's pupil. Together, they generously gave their time to support our athletics trials, lead training sessions and help throughout the competition day itself. Their knowledge, encouragement and dedication played a huge part in preparing our team, and we are incredibly grateful for all of their support.

Well done to every child who took part. Whether they came home with a medal or simply gave their all, they should be incredibly proud of their achievements. It was a wonderful day of athletics and a brilliant way to showcase the talent, determination and spirit of St Joseph's.

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!

Year 6 Vs 7 Netball

This week, we were delighted to host our second annual Year 6 vs Year 7 Netball Match, an event that has quickly become a much-loved tradition in our school calendar.

It was fantastic to welcome back so many of our former pupils and hear all about their first year at secondary school. We always enjoy catching up with them, and every year we are amazed at just how grown up they look! It is lovely for our current Year 6 pupils to see familiar faces returning with such confidence and enthusiasm.

The match itself was full of excitement, with both teams demonstrating excellent skill, determination and teamwork. Our Year 6 team, joined by a talented Year 5 player, rose to the challenge brilliantly and kept the game competitive throughout. There were some superb play, accurate shooting and determined defending from both sides, making it a nail-biting contest for everyone watching.

Despite a fantastic effort from our Year 6 team, the experienced Year 7 players just edged ahead in the closing stages to secure a 10–7 victory. Both teams should be incredibly proud of the positive attitude, resilience and sportsmanship they showed throughout the match.

A huge thank you to all of our Year 7 players for returning to take part and helping to make this event such a success once again. We are already looking forward to next year's fixture!

Tomatoes for FISCH!

Thank you toTeam Green, who have already raised an amazing £80 through the sale of their potted tomato seeds. Our target before the end of next week is to try and raise £360. Thank you to everyone who has supported this fantastic initiative so far.

Not only will this help us raise even more funds, but it will also give children the opportunity to learn about caring for living things and understanding how plants grow. We hope to choose seeds that reflect crops or flowers that could be grown by families in Iringa to support them in creating their own allotment, helping our children make a meaningful connection with the global community they are supporting.

Every £1 pot purchased will make a difference. Imagine watching your seed grow from a tiny shoot into a thriving plant, knowing that at the same time you are helping children and families through the work of FISCH.

Whether you buy one pot or several, your support will help Team Green continue to make a positive impact both locally and globally.

Together we can grow something special; one seed, one pot and one act of kindness at a time.

Celebrating Music

We celebrated another stunning House Music Day this week - with vocal and instrumental performances from children across the school, a showcase of talent from our Junior Choir and Year 3 Choral Singers, as well as a display of epic proportions from the Rock Steady bands. It was a joy to hear the corridors alive with composition and performance, as the children embraced the opportunity to enrich their musical lives with the popular movie theme "Sing". What a day to remember!

Faith in Action

Congratulations to our Year 6 Faith in Action team, who were all awarded the FIA Award at Arundel Cathedral this weekend for putting the values and virtues of the Catholic Church into action through their service and commitment to our local community this year. Supported and encouraged on their spiritual journeys by Miss Egan and Ellie (our parish Youth Worker), the children documented and celebrated their year in beautiful journals that explored how faith is lived out in the actions we choose to take each day. Well done children - may God bless you!