Sunday marked the beginning of Advent, we hope that our families are able to attend Church to mark the special period in our liturgical calendar. During Advent we prepare for the birth of Jesus knowing that God loves us so much He sent Jesus into the world to save us. Last year we began the tradition of each class celebrating morning Mass at Virgo Fidelis during Advent. On Tuesday Y2 and Y6 worshipped Mass and I was pleased to be able to accompany 2O. The children showed remarkable reverence, listening intently to the prayers and Fr James homily. After Mass, the children spent time in front of the beautifully decorated alter, looking at the manger, three kings and advent wreath. Next week Year 5 will be going, remember all parents/carers/grandparents welcome to join us.

The first candle of advent represents hope. As we enter this period of readiness and preparation, I wonder what we are all hopeful for and what actions we’re taking to make our hopes a reality. I hope for peace in the community and world and I pray that we all remain safe and well. Here is a link to activities you could do as a family during Advent if time allows.

The Nursery and Reception Nativity brought the Christmas spirit into the school this week! They have truly set a high bar for the performances to come. To ensure we all understood the Christmas story, the children all acted out their parts superbly and sang like angels. It is clear to see why you are so proud of your child and we feel the same way too. Thank you to the whole EYFS team for their hard work in putting the Nativity together. We were overwhelmed by the high turn out of parents and family members and are grateful to you for your support, partnership and for trusting us with your children.

Today our Y4 children took part in the Southwark Diocese Advent Service and our prayer leaders, senior pupil leadership team and some members of the school council went to support them and partake in the service. The children performed wonderfully and we couldn't have been more proud of them. A child remarked 'I was excited and scared at the same time! There was a lot of people.' Yet they did it and represented St. Joseph's so well. Thank you to Mrs Phillips, Mrs Steen-Plomer, Mrs Marshal and Mrs Madine for helping to get the children performance ready and Mrs Daniels, Ms Luri all the staff and parents who helped. We appreciate your generosity and time.

We hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend,

From Mrs Ashley and the Team

Early Years

The Reception children have been busy learning and performing the Nativity play, discovering the story of the three kings who followed a star to Bethlehem to bring gifts to baby Jesus. As part of their creative work, the children have made their own pictures of the three kings using junk modeling materials, exploring new ways to create art while reinforcing their understanding of the story. This hands-on activity ties into their learning about different materials and recycling, which they have been exploring throughout the term.

Key Stage 1

Year 1 had a fantastic time making windmills.

They enjoyed learning about the importance of windmills and the associated vocabulary eg rotor blades, structure and rotate.

They also learnt how to make their design unique and evaluate their work.

Well done year 1, you could be amazing engineers in the future!

Lower Key Stage 2

Year 4 have had a fabulously busy week, full of excitement rehearsals and a fantastic performance at St George's Cathedral.

We spent a lot of time this week rehearsing for our part in the Diocesan advent Service - we were reading, acting and singing about the journey to Bethlehem. We have also been visited by some very naughty Christmas elves this week, who are creating mayhem in the junior school at the moment!

The children finished our current maths unit about multiplication and division - please do keep practicing their times tables as we will be visiting them again after Christmas. We also managed to have 2 sessions using the school's new 'Active Walls' that are in the hall - please ask the children about them, they are great fun and a good way to encourage exercise.

We completed this week with a spectacular performance at St George's Cathedral. The pianist at the Advent service even commented on how wonderful our children were. We are incredibly proud of them and are grateful to the children, staff and parents who came to support us and watch the Service.

Upper Key Stage 2

This week in Year 6 the children have been drawing on their learning in RE (Injustice) and Geography (Oceans) to begin writing their own persuasive speeches on topics such as gender inequality and climate change. Children have completed research into their chosen topic and have began to turn their facts and statistics into powerfully formed discourse by using literary devices such as repetition, rhetorical questions and hyperbole. We cannot wait to hear them deliver their finished speeches next week!

In Maths, we have continued to explore fractions- with a focus on children applying their knowledge to different contexts, as well as answering worded and multi-step questions. Children had more time to practise how to convert mixed numbers into improper fractions and vice versa. They were then able to use different strategies to add mixed numbers with different denominators.

Alongside all of the hard work, we have began to mark advent by rehearsing our Christmas songs (which are sounding beautiful), attending mass at Virgo Fidelis and welcoming a naughty little elf into our classroom!

Information

Happy Birthday!

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

Year 6: Zac, Faith, Nyah Rose, Neah Rose

Year 5: Finnan, Ella, Gracia, Imani Sarai and Andrew Year 4: Bethel, Ezekiel,

Year 3: Aarush, Arshika and Ibrahim Year 2: Emnet, Hailey,Avon and Robert Year 1: Jazmine Reception: Ariyah, Aleyah Nursery: Amir and Lyron

Staff: Mrs Mitchell

Key Dates

09/12/24 Father Luke Advent Visit & Assembly

10/12/24 Morning Mass 9.00am Virgo Fidelis Y2 & Y5

11/12/24 KS2 Christmas Concert 9.00am & 2.30pm

12/12/24 KS1 Christmas Concert 9.00am & 2.30pm

13/12/24 Christmas Fair 2.00pm – 5pm Junior Hall All welcome

16/12/24 Junior Christmas Orienteering Day 9.00am - 3.00pm

16/12/24 Infants West End in Schools Experience 9.00am – 3.pm

17/12/24 Morning Mass 9.00am Virgo Fidelis Y3 & Y4

18/12/24 Christmas Dinner Day & Christmas Jumper Day

18/12/24 Pantomime

20/12/24 Break up, 2pm

We hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend

The St. Joseph's Team

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