Newsletter

10th January 2025

Attendance

National: 94.8% Our Target: 95%

Our whole school attendance this week: 94.93%

Infant School: 93.04%

Junior School: 94.18%

Our School Winners are: 2O - 97.24% & 4J - 96.83%

Well done to the children and parents in these classes!

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

Key Dates

Dear Parents/Carers,

On behalf of the whole team, I would like to wish you and your families a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year and pray that 2025 is a great year for you all.

We have had a positive start to the year and the children have come back safe and happy, ready to learn. It was great seeing them on Monday safe, well and rested. They had so much to tell us about how they spent their holidays.

In Monday's assembly, we explored the faith and belief of the three Kings who knew and believed that Jesus was special and travelled far, following a star, to meet Him. We talked about gifts that we have given and received and the impact of that on our feelings. We highlighted the positive difference that acts of kindness can have and often the best gifts are free. We explored the concept of newness and starting the year afresh, establishing our mission for the year.

I am delighted to let you know that we had the Health and Safety Audit before the end of last term. As you know we have been working hard to improve all aspects of the school and Health and safety has been a huge focus. Due the vast amount of progress we have made and the rigorous and robust systems we now have in place, we achieved the highly sought after and rarely given Health and Safety Award! We are very pleased with the out come, it has taken a gargantuan effort to achieve excellence in this area and I am grateful to the whole team, especially Ms Johnson and Mr Teles who supported me with the process and workload.

The children have enjoyed taking part in an African dance workshop- a fantastic way to start the term and the senior pupil leadership team thanked Mr Abrahams on behalf of the student body. They said it was fun and engaging.

Clubs letters will be going out next week and starting the week beginning 20th January. Please ensure that you have cleared any arrears as the new system will not allow you to book if you have amounts outstanding.

Sadly, some of our team members or their loved ones have become very unwell over the holidays and this week. Please keep Mrs Mullhern, Mrs Phillips, Mrs Power and Mrs Kelly in your prayers. Please pray that God strengthens them and their loved ones and brings them back to full health soon.

Lastly, it was great to see Mr McCovey back in school this week, healthy and well. Doing gate duty with him on Monday brought me joy and it was great to the positive welcome he received from parents and children alike. I know it made him have a wonderful return.

Wishing you and your families a wonderful weekend. Please be careful and wrap up warm as more snow and frost are pending.

Prayers and best wishes,

Mrs Ashley and the Team

Early Years

In reception, the children planted daffodil bulbs in October. We have been watching them grow over the past few months. We made sure to water the bulbs regularly and we have seen the first signs of growth. We are looking forward to seeing them grow more and signal the beginning of spring. This experience provides a valuable lesson in responsibility and the wonders of nature, while also allowing the children to connect with the world around them and thank God for the beautiful world around us.

Key Stage 1

This week, Year 2 visited Forest School as part of their microhabitats topic. The children explored why scientists ask and answer questions. They created wormeries to investigate what worms do underground and how they contribute to their environment. A minibeast hunt helped them discover how different creatures are suited to their habitats. This hands-on experience deepened their understanding of the relationships between living things and their environments.

Lower Key Stage 2

Year 3 have returned from the holidays refreshed and ready to embrace the rest of the term with enthusiasm! They have settled back into school life seamlessly and are already demonstrating excellent focus and engagement in their learning. A highlight of this term has undoubtedly been our African Dance workshop. The children were captivated by the vibrant rhythms and energetic movements, quickly mastering various steps and compositions. Their performance at the end of the workshop was a joyous celebration of their newfound skills, showcasing their talent and confidence with infectious energy.

Upper Key Stage 2

Happy new year! This week we have been researching the life of Ernest Shackleton and how he ensured his team of men survived their treacherous trip to the South Pole. We used articles and watched documentaries, while we learned about the features of a newspaper report. In Maths, we continued our learning on decimals, rounding numbers to the nearest tenth, hundredth and thousandth.

In Science, we started our learning on Evolution and Inheritance, where we will study the work of Darwin, and why we look like our ancestors. In History we learned about the Vikings and why they started travelling around the world.

Thursday was a lovely treat with African Dancing, which all the pupils enjoyed.

Information

Happy Birthday!

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

Year 6: Morris Year 5: Andrew and Veronica Year 3: Arshika

Year 1: Rodrigo and Jayvonn Nursery: Bailey

Staff: Ms Myrie, Miss Hayter and Mrs Mitchell

Key Dates

06.01.25- Epiphany

09.01.25- African Dance Experience Day

10.01.25- African Dance Experience Day

14.01.25- Year 6 Junior Citizenship Scheme

21.01.25- Choir - Young Voices @ The O2

28.01.25- Y3 Trip to Science Museum

31.01.25- Croydon Schools Swimming Gala @ Trinity

11.02.25- Year 5 Trip to Science Museum

12.02.25- Year 2 Trip to Science Museum

24.02.25 - Year 2 and RH Library Trip

27.02.25 -Year 4 and RP Library Trip

03.03.25-07.04.25 - Whole Federation Book Week

03.03.25- Year 3 and Year 6 Library Trip

04.03.25- Year 5 Library Trip

04.03-25- 05.03.25- West End in Schools Dance and Drama workshops.

06.03.25- World Book Day

05.03.24 - ASH WEDNESDAY (beginning of Lent)

12 - 14.03.25 - Y4 Residential at PGL Hindhead

14.03.25- Y6 Girls Catholic Football Tournament

19.03.25- Year 2 Trip to Brockwell Community Gardens.

27.03.25- Year 3 Trip to the Bank of England Museum (tbc)

We hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend.

The St. Joseph's Team

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