A - 6th Ordinary

The Law of Christ

We looked ahead to this weekend’s Gospel (6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A) for our Celebration of the Word this week. Jesus tells the people, “I have not come to abolish the law but to complete it.” We have been reflecting with children this week on the Fundamental British Value - The Rule of Law. We have come to understand that all communities must have rules and laws to operate harmoniously, like our own school rules, “I am ready, respectful and safe.” But at the heart of all these rules and laws is the love we have for one another, modelled to us through Christ Jesus. We choose to follow the rules because we care about the impact of our words and actions on the wider community.

King's College Collaboration

This week, Year 5 had the privilege of attending a Maths competition at King's College with other schools across Guildford. We took 3 teams and they all did fabulously. In fact one of our teams came third! They had a great time and really enjoyed the challenge.

Evie Shines!

Congratulations to Evie this week! - Since Year 2, Evie has been using Numbots relentlessly, honing her addition and subtraction skills, alongside her regular practice in TTRS. Her mental maths skills have gone from strength to strength because of her committed practice.

Evie has now completed all Numbots levels(!), showing courage, resilience, determination and perseverance. Not all levels were easy to pass and Evie had to keep trying and improving her skills in order to finally be successful.

We are all so proud of you Evie! - Thank you for your shining example of personal commitment in action. Well done!

The work of our hands...

This week has been Art week in Year 1, and the focus has been sculpture. After learning that sculptures are fat, not flat, we explored the different materials that sculptures can be made from and the children were particularly amazed by sand sculptures - we can see some masterpieces taking place at the beach on their next visit! We then focused in on one material - clay. We explored how to shape and add patterns before making our very own tealight holders. Well done, Year 1! Fabulous sculpting this week.

My Nursery

To mark Children’s Mental Health Week, our class has been exploring this year’s theme, “This is My Place.” We talked about what this means and why it’s important for children to feel that they belong — whether that’s as part of our class, a club, or a wider community. Feeling included, safe, and valued plays a big role in children’s wellbeing.

We also discussed what mental health means, learning that just like our bodies, our minds need looking after too. Together, we shared simple ways we can care for our mental health, such as eating healthy food, getting regular exercise, spending time outdoors, and enjoying calming activities like colouring or yoga.

To bring the theme to life, the children worked together to decorate our classroom door to show that this is “My Place.” The activity encouraged teamwork, creativity, and pride in our classroom community.

Colour & Scale

Year 3 has been getting very dotty this week in art! The children have been learning about Georges Seurat, who created the art style ‘Pointillism.’ In our lessons, we explored his painting style, learned about colour mixing and created a dotty scale with shade and tone evident. Finally, everyone created a beautiful picture using cotton buds or the ends of a paintbrush, blending primary colours and using the pointillism technique. We definitely have some budding artists in Year 3!

Fresh Bread

Year 4 have had a fantastic time taking part in our exciting Bread Making Week! Each class spent a full day exploring how bread is made and learning about the key ingredients needed to make it. We discovered the important roles of flour, yeast, water and salt, and even learned about which part of the grain is used to make each of the breads we see in the supermarket! As part of the day, we also discussed how bread can be included in a healthy, balanced diet. The children explored the different food groups and thought carefully about how to create a nutritious meal.

The children then designed their own bread recipes before carefully mixing, kneading and shaping their dough. Their teamwork skills were excellent, with each pair supporting one another brilliantly throughout the process. After baking, the classroom was filled with the delicious smell of fresh bread! A huge thank you should go to the kitchen staff who baked all of the bread for us! Finally, the children evaluated their finished products, thinking about the taste, texture and appearance, and considering what they might improve next time.

The week was a huge success – the children had lots of fun, learned new skills and produced some truly impressive (and very tasty!) bread. Well done, Year 4!

Fractions, Decimals and Percentages

This week in Year 6, our mathematicians have been diving deep into fractions, decimals and percentages. It’s been wonderful to see the children not only strengthening their understanding but also applying it confidently to a range of word problems.

To help visualise these challenges, the class has been using bar models - an excellent tool for breaking down tricky questions and making connections between different representations. The children are becoming increasingly secure in finding percentages of numbers and recognising the equivalent forms between fractions, decimals and percentages.

A special mention goes to Sam and Amber, who showed fantastic determination while working on a matching puzzle. Their task was to pair up a series of fraction, decimal and percentage equivalents. It wasn’t easy and there were moments where the challenge really tested them, but they persevered brilliantly and completed the puzzle with pride. A great example of resilience in action.

In the net...

This week, our Year 6 netball team went to Surrey Sports Park to take part in an exciting indoor netball tournament, and what a fantastic afternoon it was! From the very first game, the team played amazingly well together, showing excellent teamwork, determination and outstanding sportsmanship throughout.

After a strong set of matches, St Joseph’s came top of their pool, earning a well-deserved place in the semi-finals. The team continued to impress, playing with confidence and skill to win the semi-final and secure a spot in the final against Holy Trinity.

The final was a real nail-biter. Although St Joseph’s got off to a losing start, the team worked hard to pull the score back during the second half. Sadly, it was just a little too late, and Holy Trinity took the win.

The whole team should be incredibly proud of themselves – finishing second is an amazing achievement. Well done, Year 6 netballers!

Texture

In Year 2 we have been having a focus on Art this week. We have been studying different artists such as Van Gogh, Matisse and Carvagio. The children have been learning different techniques to use to help with shading, and texture. We particularly studied Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' and the children created their own versions of it using a variety of different mediums such as water colours, charcoal, crayons, oil pastels and colouring pencils. At the end of the week the children will draw their own still life pictures.

Teeth Talk

Reception have been learning all about teeth this week. We have had 2 visitors that have helped us to learn, Sugarplum (chief tooth fairy), and some nurses who taught us how to look after out teeth properly.

The Law of St David's

A word of thanks to 3D for their beautiful and inspiring school worship this morning, focusing on the Fundamental British Value - The Rule of Law. The children explained through song, drama and poetry that rules help us to learn, play safely and live happily. They showed how Jesus' golden rule - to love one another as I have loved you - is at the heart of how we build God's Kingdom when we follow the rules of our school and the laws of our land. Thank you St David's Class for motivating us to be law-abiding citizens.

Lawful Witnesses

Our thanks to this host of wonderful witnesses, all of whom have shown in their words and actions this week that they are upholding the rules of our school and the laws of our land. In the positive example they have set, God's Kingdom is being built. Congratulations and well done to you all!