Newsletter

4th July 2025

Attendance

National: 94.8% Our Target: 95%

Our whole school attendance this week: 93%

Infant School: 94%

Junior School: 95%

Our School Winners are: Nursery - 93% & 3T - 91%

Well done to the children and parents in these classes!

Attendance

Our whole school attendance this week: 93%

Infant School: 94%

Junior School: 95%

Our School Winners are: Nursery - 93% & 3T - 91%

Senior Pupil Leadership Team

Inclusion

Eating Well for Less Workshop

Everyone at St. Joseph's wishes you the happiest of birthdays

Key Dates

Check our Instagram page for updates throughout the week!

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope all the men in our community had a wonderful Father's Day thank you to all of you who joined us this morning for our Father's Day Breakfast. It was heartwarming that so many of you came and seeing the children's faces that you had given of your time was truly amazing. Our Deputy Head girl, Jael cried tears of joy because her dad could make it and was in her school. At St. Joseph's we are truly blessed that we have males in varying forms, present and working with us for the betterment of their child's development. Thank you all for all you do and I pray that God continues to uplift, reinforce and strengthen you all as you teach life lessons and are role models to the next generation of children. A huge thank you to Father James for attending too.

We always have so many enriching educational experiences going on. This week and last we celebrated Science week and Mrs Steen-Plomer organised for The Bird Man to come in! I almost forgot I had a poorly foot when an eagle unexpected came towards me. The children(and staff) burst into laughter as I grabbed my stomach in surprise! Fun and memorable learning experiences are what we are all about! In addition some years groups took part in Sky's Art week too, more information is below.

As you all know, I suffered a serious injury to my leg. I have been at school increasingly more (much to the leadership team's relief). I am gradually building up to full time so I am working at school and home so that I can make a full recovery. 3 months down, 9 more left. Kimya and Ruben Y1 took the time to remind me that they have been praying for my leg. Their sweetness made my day. Thanks to all the children for their prayers and cards they made.

In the Easter holidays, I had the pleasure of meeting The Honourable Mark Brantley, Primer of Nevis, whilst I was in Toronto, Canada. He gave an inspirational speech about the importance of heritage and progression. It made me reflect on how I cultivated a culture of belonging for all at St. Joseph's and question how we continue to ensure that all stakeholders can show up as their full selves. On a personal note, it made me reflect on how I ensure my son knows and has a thorough understanding of his cultural background. We will be having discussion about this in the new year as we enhance our curricula offering.

Thanks for all of you who sent in messages for all the team in Thank a Teacher Day on Wednesday. Messages are still coming in and I know it has uplifted us in a challenging week of staff sickness. Thank you all so much!

There are several bugs going around which has seriously impacted our staff this week. if your child is vomiting you must keep them home for 48hours after the last time they vomited. They should be able to tolerate food and be recovered. I would like to thank our support staff for their flexibility this week. Without them St. Joseph's wouldn't be able to achieve the excellence we do.

Lastly, as you know SEMH (Wellness) is very important to us at St. Joseph's hence I brough in service to promote, develop and support our children's and staff's emotional and social needs such as Relaxation Therapist, Bereavement Support, Play therapists and now Off the Record Mental Health service. If you want to discuss your child's wellness with us please contact your child's class teacher in the first instance in person or via the office.

I am an advocate for mental health and wellness and as such I put myself forward to be the Mental Health Service Cluster Leader for a collective of 16 primary and secondary schools across Croydon. I am delighted to let you know that I was successful and now the Cluster lead for this group. This is great news for our Federation as it has secured us much needed funding and also promotes our excellent practice. We will as share expertise and practice with our schools in Croydon and beyond!

I hope you and your family have a lovely weekend in the sunshine,

Mrs Ashley and the Team

Senior Pupil Leadership Team

My name is Jael and I am the Deputy Head Girl.

On Friday, 20th June, we had a special Father's Day brunch. The chefs prepared a lovely English breakfast for the dads and their children. It was a very smart idea because it was a great time to spend together. It was a very memorable morning.

Thank you to the team, especially Miss Johnson, Chef Mo and Mr Teles for making this such a special event.

Jael.

Inclusion

Eating Well for Less Workshop

Trying to eat well and make healthy choices when shopping on a budget can seem very daunting. However, healthy choices don’t need to be expensive choices. Come along to one of our free Eat Well for less workshops running over the Summer for top tips to help keep to a budget and help the whole family eat more healthily. Monday 22nd July 10am-12pm - Woodlands Family Hub Tuesday 20th August 10am-12pm - Online If you are a Croydon family with children under 12, please book your place by clicking here.

Please note, places are limited and need to be booked in advance.

Early Years

On Friday the reception classes had a fantastic trip to Norwood Park. The children had a fabulous time hunting for mini beasts and spotting different types of birds, trees and flowers. They have truly developed their skills in observation. Armed with magnifying glasses and tweezers, the children delved into the natural world- these tools were a real hit! They even drew the glorious London skyline from one of the park's most elevated points! Through out the day, we could see their confidence and learning bloom! It is clear to see that our reception children are more than ready for year 1! The day ended with a joyful picnic and lots of playground fun. Everyone returned to school safely. Although the children were awfully tired by the end of the day, they all said it was the best day ever!

Key Stage 1

This week has been another busy week in KS1. We were lucky enough to be invited to the year 1 assembly on Tuesday, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The children presented well and were very confident. They have set the bar very high and we've taken note as our assembly is next Wednesday!

We took part in the sports experience day last Wednesday and in between the rain, we enjoyed events such as the bean bag toss, hurdles, javelin (Nerf ball) throwing and even tug of war! We would like to thank Mr Abrahams for organising such an amazing event.

Lower Key Stage 2

What a week it has been. Year 4 have been working hard, learning about the properties of shape in maths and non chronological reports. Along with this we took part in a Sports Experience Day on Tuesday, where we had to complete 5 different sporting activities, the tug-of war was particularly epic! We also got to perform our Year 4 Assembly on Thursday - the children were fantastic and a huge thank you to all the parents that attended. Finally, today we are heading up to Tower Bridge, to walk across the glass walkways and see the River Thames from above.

Upper Key Stage 2

Year 6 had a fantastic week visiting the Isle of Wight for PGL. The children loved travelling on the ferry and immediately got stuck in to the activities on offer once they arrived.

During their stay they had sessions of abseiling, archery, laser tag and dragonboat racing! Along with this, the children were able to develop their teamwork, resilience and independence.

MFL

Celebrating Portugal Day at the Consulate

On Wednesday 11th June, Mrs Ashley and I had the pleasure of being invited to the Portuguese Consulate to celebrate Portugal Day. We had the opportunity to reconnect with Consul-General Manuel Grainha do Vale, Deputy Consul-General Luís Moitinho de Almeida, and Cátia Verguete, who coordinates Portuguese education across the UK and the Channel Islands. A highlight of the evening was meeting Councillor Carla Barreto, who made history in May 2025 by becoming the first female Portuguese Mayor in the UK. It was a wonderful evening filled with inspiring conversations about language, culture, and education and as MFL Lead, it is always inspiring to see how languages and cultures bring communities together.