What an incredible week it has been at St Joseph's! As we move through the third week of Lent, our school community has been united in prayer for peace in our world and in our hearts. Year 2 and Year 5 attended Mass on Tuesday morning, and it was wonderful to see our children participating so reverently in worship, demonstrating our school's strong Catholic ethos.

We continue to hold in our prayers all those who are sick in our school community and remember with love those who have passed away recently, especially The Sey and Bonsu family. May we all find moments of peace and reflection during this holy season.

This week was Assessment Week across the school. These assessments help us to monitor each child's progress, identify their next steps in learning, and ensure we're providing the right support and challenge for every pupil. Thank you for your continued support in helping your children prepare for these important checkpoints in their learning journey.

On Monday, I had the privilege of attending the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, where my son Jaidan was selected as a flagbearer. It was a beautiful service celebrating unity and diversity, bringing together so many schools in accordance with His Majesty the King's wishes as well as leaders and the Royal family. As I was on the second row, I saw The Royal family, our Prime Minster Keir Stammer and the Leader of the opposition Kemi and many distinguished guests quiet closely. The event was a powerful reminder of how we are all connected as part of a global community and it was an honour to have been in attendance.

Reception and Year 1 also had their dental checks on Monday, so thank you to all parents and carers for ensuring children were ready for these important health screenings.

I'm particularly proud of our Senior Pupil Leadership Team's work on our new house system this week. Following pupil voice surveys, they have finalised the names of our four new houses: St Augustine (Blue), St Kateri (Red), St Josephine (Green), and St Martin (Yellow). This is a fantastic example of pupil voice in action – our children identifying an issue, gathering feedback from their peers, and working with staff to implement positive change. The Senior Pupil Leadership Team have asked us to review the house allocations to ensure they are fair and equal for all pupils, and over the next few weeks they will be working with Mrs Winters and Mr Abrahams to make sure every child is placed in a house that supports balance and fairness across the school. Families will be in the same house as their siblings.

Our girls' football team played brilliantly in a tournament this week, showing excellent teamwork, determination and sportswomanship throughout. Well done to all the players – you represented St Joseph's wonderfully and I loved when you all updated me about your progress! Netball team practice is also going from strength to strength, with the lunchtime club being well-attended and the girls showing real passion for the sport. It's fantastic to see such enthusiasm and commitment.

On Monday, the chicks have arrived in Reception! It has been absolutely magical watching new life emerge as the chicks broke through their eggs. The children have been fascinated and have learned so much about life cycles and caring for living things. Don't miss out – check our Instagram for live videos of the hatching!

On Tuesday, we had our phonics review day with a specialist consultant who observed teaching and learning in early reading across the school. The feedback was outstanding – the consultant confirmed a high level of teaching and learning in early reading, and 97% of Reception children already know all the sounds they should know at this stage! The consultant told us that none of the other schools he visits are at this point – what an incredible achievement! He has provided us with coaching and clear next steps, with our focus now on ensuring all children are confidently blending sounds to read words. This is a testament to the hard work of our staff and the dedication of our Reception children and parents.

Children took part in the Great Athletes programme in school today and absolutely loved completing a training workout delivered by a real athlete! Next week, an athlete will be visiting school to deliver assemblies with the children, sharing their experiences and inspiring our pupils to stay active and healthy.

This week we have had a poetry focus across the schools. The children have been exploring different types of poetry, learning performance techniques, and creating their own performance poems. Next week, children will be performing their poems, and you are invited to join us – more details about times and year groups has been sent via letter. We can't wait to showcase the children's creativity and confidence!

This week, why not ask your child: "What was your favourite part of Poetry Week? Can you perform some of your poem for me?" or "What did you learn from the athlete who visited our school?" or "Which new house are you hoping to be in, and why?" These conversations help bridge what's happening at school with home life and show your child that you're interested in their learning.

Thank you for your continued support of St Joseph's Federation! Please remember to follow our instagram page for updates throughout the week.

I pray all our mum's and mother figures have the most wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday.

God bless,

Mrs Ashley and the Team

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him." – Psalm 28:7

Student Leadership Team

This week, we have been working incredibly hard.

In Ks2 Year 3 have been doing some challenging arithmetic tests for assessment week and learning about the new English topic ‘I don’t like poetry!’ Year 4 have been learning about trading from one country to another during the amazing geography lesson they have had.Year 5 have been using guitars in music and cannot wait for the exciting trip they will have tomorrow! Year 6 have been creating their own magnificent poems for World Poetry Week, writing about important world issues.

Infants have been busy. Nursery children have created incredible pasta bracelets and love to play with trains! Reception have been growing some lovely daffodils and watching the chicks in their class hatch! (SOOOOO CUTE!) Year 1 have creating beautiful pictures of pets in science and have been comparing new and old toys for history! Year 2 have been making outstanding Ferris wheels for DT only using cardboard and paper! They have also made money for mathematics. During their English lesson they have been making story maps for the poem dandelion.

Representing St Joseph’s

This week, the girls football team have been at a tournament and at the time of writing they have not come back yet so good luck to them! I am sure the year 5 class will be incredible role models and show the public how impressive St Joseph’s is.

We are looking forward to another exciting week of learning next week,

Hallee and Luna

SJF Deputy Head girls

Inclusion

Early Years

Now that the weather is getting warmer, the nursery have been doing some gardening, we have planted mint, rosemary and forget me not flowers. The bulbs have grown into daffodils and crocuses, they look lovely! Watering the plants will help them grow.

Key Stage 1

This week in Year 1, the children have been busy learning about subtraction. We have been exploring what it means to take away and find out how many are left.

The children have been practising taking away small numbers and explaining their thinking to their friends and teachers. It has been wonderful to see their confidence growing as they solve subtraction problems together.

Well done, Year 1, for working so hard and showing great enthusiasm in maths this week!

Lower Key Stage 2

Year 4 have had a super busy half term so far. We had a fantastic time at PGL, where the children excelled, were praised for their wonderful manners and attitude and challenged themselves every day. This was followed by a fabulous Book Week where we had lots of fun reading in different places and got to embrace our dramatic talents. We also started a new game called 'Spot Klaus' - can you find him in the photo? We continue to attend swimming lessons on Fridays, and are also lucky enough to be having cricket coaching for this half term as well.

Upper Key Stage 2

Year 6, along with the rest of the school, had the exciting opportunity to take part in a fitness circuit led by Saffron Severn. The pupils showed great energy and enthusiasm during the session, challenging themselves through a range of activities. Saffron also delivered a wonderful and inspiring assembly, sharing messages about perseverance, confidence and staying active, which the children thoroughly enjoyed.

PE

It was a busy and exciting week for our football teams, with both the boys’ and girls’ teams taking part in tournaments. The girls played their first games together as a team and performed brilliantly, showing great teamwork and enthusiasm as they begin to build towards their upcoming league fixtures. Meanwhile, the boys competed in a Croydon Schools tournament against 27 other teams and delivered an outstanding performance to win the entire competition. A fantastic achievement for everyone involved!

RE

We had a lovely Epiphany liturgy to start our term and are now looking forwards and making plans for the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday is on the 18th February this year, which is during the half term holidays, and we will begin a variety of activities when the children return to school. We will send out further information nearer the time but this will include mass on 19th March (which is St Joseph's Day) and the annual Y3 Easter production. During this period we hope to raise money to support CAFOD and the Catholic Children's Society.