Peace in Christ

We heard about Jesus sending out the 72 disciples in pairs this week, as we looked ahead to the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. He explained to them that he was in a hurry to spread his message of Good News and he wanted them to start straight away, visiting the local towns and villages to speak to everyone who was willing to hear his teaching.

He described in detail how he wanted the disciples to focus on sharing the Good News with people who were open to it - to people of peace and goodwill. He stressed that they should aim to work and live in peace with the people they live alongside. We encouraged the children this week to be peacemakers by taking a breath, thinking about the words they use and walking away if an argument cannot be avoided.

C - 14th Ordinary

If you were an engineer...

Nikita in Year 4 entered this national competition for pupils aged 3-19, which engages children in engineering by inviting them to interview an engineer and design their own invention. Over 75,000 pupils participated across 25 UK regions this year. From each year group in each region, only two pupils are selected as "Winners" and two as "Highly Commended". Nikita’s idea (an ant-powered vehicle) has been selected for one of these awards - a remarkable achievement we’re very proud of!

You can enter next year's competition here.

FREE STEM resources for teachers & parents - Leaders AwardLeaders Award competition 'If you were an engineer, what would you do?' creates future engineers with FREE STEM resources for teachers & parents

Biscuit Break

In DT, Year 3 were set the task to create a box to protect, preserve and contain biscuits - after all, nobody wants to eat broken biscuits! After looking at a selection of food packaging, the children explored different nets and considered which shape they would choose for their biscuit container. The next step was to design the packaging, making it attractive and appealing to customers. The following lessons involved the skills of measuring, cutting, folding and assembling until a final biscuit container was produced. Finally it was testing time with real biscuits! Did the biscuit container meet the design criteria? Children discussed what had gone well and how they would improve their product before completing a written evaluation. A busy and enjoyable couple of days!

Safari Holiday

On Monday, Ladybird Class were very lucky to fly, St. Joseph's Nursery Airline! The day began with Mrs Martin packing her suitcase with things she would need to go to a beach (hot country) holiday. This included; flip flops, sun cream, snorkel and goggles, beach ball, shorts, t-shirt and a swimming costume. The children told us that to go to a very hot place we needed to travel by aeroplane.

In the afternoon, Ladybird Class flew from Guildford to Kenya on St. Joseph's Nursery Airline. All of the children had their own boarding pass and passport, which was stamped before they could enter the plane. They all sat on the plane and watched a child friendly safety video about putting their seatbelts on and where the emergency exits were.

Once we had landed, the children learnt about life in Kenya and we were very lucky to go on a safari and look out for different animals. After a quick stop in Kenya, we boarded the plane ready for our return journey back to Nursery. Great fun was had by all!

Brilliant Bridges and Triangular Triumphs!

What an exciting and inspiring DT Day our Year 6 pupils had, exploring the world of strong structures through a hands-on bridge-building challenge! With a focus on identifying strong shapes, particularly triangles, the children began by investigating how these shapes add strength and stability to structures. Using matchsticks, they created simple triangular forms before researching truss bridges - learning how engineers use these clever designs to span great distances. Pupils then worked collaboratively to design and build their own prototype truss bridges, testing and adapting their ideas as they went. It was fantastic to see them applying problem-solving skills, learning from their prototypes, and refining their designs before constructing final versions strong enough to support model cars. Along the way, they learned about the role of engineers and the importance of creativity, resilience, and teamwork. A brilliant day of learning, discovery and engineering in action!

Pilgrims of Hope

Some of our Year 5s attended the Diocesan 60th anniversary Good Shepherd celebration at Arundel Cathedral recently. We took our jubilee pledge to showcase to the schools and were joined by Bishop Richard who led us in a beautiful liturgy reminding us of this important jubilee year. We are all pilgrims of hope in our school communities across the Diocese!

Alice Holt Adventure

What a fun day Year 1 had at Alice Holt on Thursday! We spent all day outside, exploring the woods, looking for minibeasts, learning about camouflage and, of course, the famous Gruffalo Trail, complete with wooden marble runs and lots of natural play areas.

The children told us they had the best day and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We walked a lot of steps and there were some sleepy children on the coach coming home!

Growing Up!

In Year 2, the children enjoyed a fabulous Science Day based on their focus of their next unit: Plants. They started the day off with a nice walk in the sunshine to Rydes Hill Common and once they had arrived, they split off into groups to observe the minibeasts, plant seeds and identify common summer plants. It was a beautiful morning. For the rest of the day, they completed more fun filled Science activities: drawing and making their own Plant Life Cycles and creating a drama about seed dispersal.

Three Days of Adventure:

Year 6 Conquers Grosvenor Hall

This week, our Year 6 pupils enjoyed an unforgettable three-day residential trip to Grosvenor Hall in Kent, staying in fantastic adventure lodges nestled in the beautiful countryside. The children threw themselves into a wide range of exciting and challenging outdoor activities. They tackled Jacob’s Ladder - a high ropes challenge that required trust and teamwork to climb a series of suspended wooden rungs, and tested their nerve and balance on the giant see-saw, which could only be levelled with perfect cooperation. They scaled high-up platforms, bravely abseiled from a heart-racing height, and stacked crates higher and higher while standing on top - balancing with growing wobble and determination. The thrilling zip wire gave everyone a chance to soar through the air, while the Night Line, a blindfolded obstacle course, challenged their communication and trust in one another. An absolute highlight was the 3G-swing which pulled screams and huge smiles from every child. Evenings were spent enjoying the warmth of the campfire, singing songs and reflecting on their adventures. Throughout the trip, the children showed amazing resilience, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, often stepping far outside their comfort zones. We are incredibly proud of how they supported one another and embraced every challenge with enthusiasm and courage. A huge thank you to all the wonderful staff for giving their time and energy to make this trip possible and an even bigger thank you to Miss Blake for organising the trip. For more photos, take a look at google classroom.

First Holy Communion

We celebrated this year's cohort of children who have received the sacrament of Holy Communion for the first time recently. Fr Eddie led a beautiful Mass to mark this special moment in our young people's faith journey. They dressed again in their finest clothes to mark this important occasion - showing the whole community how proud they were to have completed this stage in their spiritual formation.

Jurassic St Joe's!

Reception enjoyed a ROAR-some visit from a dinosaur expert earlier this week. We learned lots of new words—paleontologist, extinct, herbivore, and carnivore. We even uncovered lots of fossils! It was a day enjoyed by all.

Caring for our shared home

On a beautifully sunny Thursday morning, 4S took the short walk up to Chitty's Pond as part of their Science Unit this term. Having previously looked at how animals are classified on paper, the children were eager to find some real life pond creatures to identify! Much squealing ensued when several frogs were seen and more excitement followed when Mrs Lewis caught a fish! (We were slightly disappointed when we discovered it was actually a leaf, but thankfully a real fish was caught later on.)

The children spent some time looking at the surrounding areas in preparation for their next lessons, when they will be thinking of ways to improve Chitty's Pond and Common, considering the needs of local residents and how best to conserve the habitats of the animals which call it home. 4N and 4R are very excited for their visits on Friday! Being near water and busy roads, we always need plenty of adult helpers for this trip and we would like to extend our thanks to everyone from the school community who gave up their time to make these trips possible.

Literally Brilliant!

Congratulations to those who attended the Literally Brilliant Book Awards hosted by Guildford High School! Congratulations to: Year 6-Joe and Elizabeth, Year 5 Amber, Lordes and Olivia and in Year 3 Eliana, Evie and Rebeka all of whom completed the mighty challenge presented during World Book Day of reading all five specified books over several months! They were awarded with a trip to Guildford High School where they met an array of authors who discussed how to write a story and what inspired them to become an author. They were also given plot points and ideas in order to extend themselves and use the advice given to write their own stories!

Peace in 2P

Our thanks to St Patrick's Class for leading a whole school worship on the theme of peace. The children explained the different ways that we can promote and maintain peace in our home and school families, including with siblings! We heard about the importance of listening to each other, making fair decisions and smiling at those around us. The children sang, danced and acted their message with such confidence and clarity - it was a joy to behold. The whole school participated with peaceful respect. Well done 2P for leading such a powerful worship time.