Listening to Christ

We marked the start of the Lenten season this week in Celebration of the Word. Looking back over the half term break (including Ash Wednesday) it was a joy to share with the children the opportunity I had on Saturday 14th February to attend the installation of Archbishop Richard Moth at Westminster Cathedral in London. I explained how we heard the new Archbishop's voice, encouraging us to embrace our Catholic identity this Lent.

In a similar way, the disciples hear God's voice during the Gospel account of the Transfiguration. They are told, "This is my son, listen to him." Learning to discern God's word in our world, and willingly obey his call to love and serve others can be summarised in the Gospel Value of piety. We have been thinking this week about how we can use this Tool of St Joseph's to build God's Kingdom.

A - 2nd Lent

Welly Waddle

Reception's fundraising Welly Waddle was a great success this week! Typically, after a long few weeks of daily rain, the sun shone brightly for the day and there was not a puddle in sight! We improvised, made our own, and the children loved splashing and dancing to 'Singing in the Rain'. It was a fun, lively day that everyone enjoyed. All funds raised will go towards new waterproof wear so we can enjoy our environment, whatever the weather!

Great Athlete Day!

The school enjoyed our fabulous Great Athlete Day on Monday to raise money for new sports equipment. As part of this exciting day, the children got to meet the multi-talented athlete: Nerys Pearce. Nerys led each class through a fun, thrilling and fast-paced circuit and, to end the day, she presented a motivational assembly to us all that left us feeling truly inspired. She spoke about the accident that led to her disability and how she continued to push through every challenge and barrier that she faced along the way to achieving international success as a British athlete. What a remarkable woman!

MRS GREN Masterpieces!

Our Year 5 children dived into the seven life processes in this week's Science lesson (using the acronym MRS GREN to help them) and transformed their learning into vibrant, eye‑catching posters. We explored how living things stay alive and move, then showcased our understanding through bold colours, creative layouts and thoughtful explanations. The work of our superstar students shows not just what they learned, but how confidently they can communicate big scientific ideas. Well done year 5!

KS2 CAFOD Assembly

Our KS2 pupils had an inspiring assembly with a special visitor (Esmeralda) from CAFOD, who came to talk to us about this year’s Big Lent Walk. She shared real‑life stories about children and families around the world who face challenges such as finding clean water, growing enough food and accessing education. The children learned how CAFOD works alongside communities to create long‑lasting change.

The session encouraged our pupils to think about stewardship and common good which are two principles of Catholic Social Teaching. The children were able to deepen their understanding of the importance of compassion, global citizenship and how even simple actions like walking together can make a meaningful difference.

We hope families will join us in cheering on the pupils as they take steps to make the world a fairer and kinder place this Lent. Thank you to CAFOD for such an inspiring and engaging presentation.

Changes in Year 4

This week in our PSHE session, the children explored the important topic of life cycles and how we grow and change throughout our lives. They thought carefully about the different stages of life, from being a baby to becoming an adult, and discussed the many ways we change over time. We considered big and small changes, expected and unexpected changes, as well as changes we might want and those we may not choose. It was particularly touching to hear about a child who had been very nervous about joining St Joseph's this year who has now decided that it was definitely a good change for him!

Using the beautiful words of Ecclesiastes, we reflected on the idea that there is a time for everything in our lives. This helped us to understand that change is a natural and important part of our journey, remembering that God is beside us for all of these changes. The children also showed great empathy as they discussed how people can feel differently about the same event. We spoke gently about the sensitive subjects of death and grief, and thought about what might happen after our lives on earth end. The children impressed us with their maturity, kindness and respect. They shared some truly beautiful and thoughtful ideas about heaven, reminding us all of the power of hope and faith.

Feeding of the 5,000

This week in RE, Year 3 have been studying the scripture of the Feeding of the Five Thousand. It's the second miracle that we have looked at in Year 3 and includes Jesus breaking bread and sharing it with those around Him. Later in this unit, we will link these actions to the Mass itself. Here are our retellings of the scripture...

Dentist Do's & Dont's

Year 1 had a visit from the dentist this week who taught us all about how to keep our teeth healthy. They reminded us that we should brush our teeth twice a day for two minutes and visit the dentist twice a year. The children then put their learning about teeth brushing into practice, remembering small circles and to brush the tongue, too!

Lunar New Year

The children have been learning about Lunar New Year through a variety of hands-on activities. They listened to the story of the animals racing to have a year named after them and confidently retold the story using animal masks, showing good recall and developing language skills. The children made Chinese lanterns and dragons, practising their cutting, joining and creative skills. They worked together to perform dragon dances, supporting cooperation and physical development. In maths activities, they formed numbers using playdough, developing number recognition and fine motor control.

Sensory play with dried rice and coloured sand encouraged exploration and use of language such as “full” and “empty.” During food tasting, the children tried noodles, prawn crackers and rice, describing textures and flavours. They also learned about traditions such as cleaning to sweep away bad luck, wearing red for good luck and giving lucky money envelopes, showing understanding through discussion and role play.

Mastering Sentences

In Year 2, we are really focusing on our writing at the moment. We have started some additional sentence writing tasks in the afternoon to encourage independent and creative writing. The children can come up with some fantastic ideas for their sentences so we really enjoy these sessions. Have a look at some of our examples...

A Spine‑Tingling Start: Year 6 Begin Aveline Jones

This week, our Year 6 pupils embarked on an exciting new guided reading journey with Aveline Jones by Phil Hickes. From the very first page, the classes have been captivated by the suspenseful atmosphere and mysterious tone of the story. It’s a genre that really sparks their imagination and it has been wonderful to see how quickly they’ve become invested in the unfolding plot.

After reading the opening chapter together, the children explored the chapter titles that lie ahead and used them as clues to predict what might happen later in the book. This activity not only encouraged thoughtful discussion but also showcased their growing confidence in making inferences and justifying their ideas with evidence.

It’s always a pleasure to see our pupils so engaged in their reading and we look forward to following their insights as the story develops over the coming weeks.

From our Diocesan Choral Direct - Fraser Ellson

As most of you know, I am walking the entire Camino Frances in April of this year. This is in aide of helping your schools with their music budgets! This is the link to my fundraising page: https://gofund.me/00549fe33

I will be splitting the pot equally between my nine Diocesan schools and ALL the money raised will be going to this cause (ie: I am funding the trip and travel personally). Let's get fundraising for music in your schools!

Donate to Primary School Music Fundraiser, organized by Fraser EllsonHello! Myself and my good friend and colleague Asher Oliver are going to be embarking on… Fraser Ellson needs your support for Primary School Music Fundraiser

Listening to 3W

Congratulations to St William's Class for a beautiful class worship this morning, focused on the message of listening. The children explained how there are many different types of listening: with our ears, with our eyes, with our hearts. They went on to retell the famous account of Samuel hearing God's call and needing the support of Eli to discern this and respond accordingly. Through prayer and praise the children helped us to understand and appreciate the value of listening to God and responding to his message. Thank you 3W !

Witness Awards!

Our Tool of St Joseph this week has been piety: the ability to hear and respond to God's word through our devotion to building his Kingdom by what we say and do. This host of witnesses have been celebrated for their remarkable commitment to listening to God's word and living it out in their daily lives - God bless you children. What an inspiration you are!

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