They have been doing their best in assessments to show how much they know and have learned. They were extremely calm and focused and know not to worry as teachers use this information to help them progress in their learning from whatever point they are at. Over the next few weeks leaders and teachers will be analysing the data and creating next steps for each class and all children. This will help us to refine our interventions and you will be notified if your child is receiving additional support to help them progress.

Throughout the week, the children have been doing Anti-bullying week lessons, geared at supporting them to understand and notice if bullying is happening. As you all know at St. Joseph's we have a zero tolerance approach to bullying and the children really help us to enforce it. The children know what to do if they feel that bullying is happening and they were able to express that whilst behaviour incidents may occur from time to time no one bullies others, they have been unkind.

This week served as a reminder of how loving and kind our children are and how exemplary the behaviour at St. Joseph's is. In response to a few name calling incidents before the half term in the Junior school, we held an assembly last week. As this behaviour goes against our values of love, kindness and respect, the children have asked me to ensure that if a child calls another child a name they must go on reflection and they want their parents to be notified. They do not want their friends hearts hurt and want everyone to be happy at school. I will be following up with the children's request and ask that if you get a notification you speak with your child so that they do not repeat the behaviour.

I am delighted to let you know that Foma, Elijah, Luna, Michael, Amalia, Roman, Nathanael and Marie represented the school at the Croydon Catholic Schools Quiz Competition on Wednesday! There was a mix up with the teams and instead of having 2 teams of 4 from Y5 and 6 (like with the Maths and Science contests), there should have been 2 teams of 4 with one child from Y3-6 in it. Nevertheless, we do well under pressure and arranged the teams into 2s or 1 so all children could compete! You would never guess what happened next... everyone is talking about it from all the schools in attendance! The team of 1 consistently of Foma in Y6 came 2nd overall! And he was only 10 points behind the winning team that had 4 children in it! A huge congratulations to all the children and especially Foma, who flew the St. Joseph's flag so brilliantly! Impressive indeed! We all gave him a huge clap in Friday's assembly and all the children selected to go too. Foma is through to the next round, we will make sure he is not alone and has a team, but something tells me he'll be the team leader and final decision maker for all answers submitted!

We have had even more success with our Cross country team, who competed in the Croydon Catholic Schools. Milena is champion of the Year 5 and 6 Girls and Gabriel S became champion for the 3rd year in a row in the Y5 and Y6 race! Jacob D earned a bronze medal, finishing 3rd.

Well done to all the children who represented the Federation, whilst we may not have won this year, stand out individual performances make all the training you do worth while. I hope you feel inspired and motivated. I can't wait to see how you all do in the Mini Marathon.

Please keep Mrs Kelly in your prayers, she has had an operation recently and is recovering well. She should be back with us the week after next. Also Ms Lodge and Mrs Phillips who have unwell loved ones. We pray God strengthens and heals Kerry and Sean and that they get better very soon.

We hope you have a great weekend,

Mrs Ashley and the Team

Admissions

Whilst our school numbers are stable we have approximately 100 spaces in our schools and we want to do something about it so future proof our fabulous schools.

Over the next year we will be doing a huge marketing campaign to promote the schools and there are in fact spaces.

Since my arrival, I have been researching why we have so many spaces given the high quality of education we provide and the two answers we get time and time again are as follows:

'We didn't know you were here.'
'We didn't think we would get in as we're are not Catholic.'

Our schools are 58% Catholic, which means non- Catholic children can get in and moreover they are very welcome.

Over the year, we will be drawing on your help and support to help us attract more families to our schools. Children have been given flyers to give out to neighbours and local shops, I have heard from parents the pride the children have had in speaking about the schools and it was great to hear.

If any of you are in marketing and would like to support our marketing efforts, we'd be very grateful for your advice and time.

Please note that the numbers coming through the infant school are growing, so if you are in our nursery and your child starts reception in 2026, you need to apply for a space by 15th January, many have already done this.

The same for if you are in Y2 and you will be going to Y3 in 2026, you need to complete your application. You will get preference over children who have not attended our infant school.

We will be sending letters to Nursery and Y2 parents to support. Below is the link to our admissions page on our website that explained everything.

Admissions - St. Joseph’s Federation

Early Years

Did you know that Reception have had cricket with Coach Mo, a Surrey cricket coach.

They enjoyed practicing their throwing, catching and bowling skills. The children showed fantastic listening and co-ordination and it was lovely to see their confidence grow. Well done reception, we might have some future cricket stars among us!

Key Stage 1

This week year 1 had a fabulous time at West Norwood Library. They were very excited!

It was a great opportunity for them to continue to engage with reading and to enjoy the vast display of resources available to them. The children are very keen to go again and will do in the spring term.

The children also put on an Anti- Bullying Assembly where they performed so well. They created a beautiful friendship wreath about being kind.

Lower Key Stage 2

Year 3 pupils have had another busy week! The children demonstrated fantastic determination, focus, and resilience as they tackled their assessments. In addition to their academic work, a significant portion of the week was dedicated to Anti-Bullying Week.

The afternoons were spent learning about what bullying is and, crucially, what to do when they notice someone being bullied. The children actively engaged in the topic, enjoying acting out different scenarios and learning key vocabulary related to anti-bullying, promoting a supportive and understanding classroom environment.

Upper Key Stage 2

Year 5 started their week with a wonderful trip the cinema to see IF. They've been busy researching their inspiring people in English for their biographies and are really enjoying their double swimming lessons. Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered for all of the trips.

Sporting Update

Last Friday, our Cross Country team represented St Joseph’s at the Catholic Schools Cross Country competition and achieved 4th place overall!

We also had some outstanding individual performances:

🥇 Milena ran brilliantly to win the Year 5/6 Girls race.
🥇 Gabriel S made it an amazing three wins in three years by taking 1st place in the Year 5/6 Boys race once again!
🥉 Jacob D earned a bronze medal, finishing 3rd in the Year 5/6 Boys race.

A huge thank you to Daniel F’s mum, Daniel M’s mum and dad, and JJ’s mum for their support on the day. Finally, a massive thank you to Mrs Burgess for all her hard work during training sessions and for her support throughout the event.

Well done to everyone involved — a fantastic team effort!

Mr Abrahams

P.E. Leader

Happy Birthday!

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

Nursery: Ailsa Reception: Arazaya Year 4: Esey Year 5: Laila Year 6: George

Staff: Mr Teles

Key Dates

17.11.25

Y5 Cinema trip

18.11.25

Y3 & Y4 trip to the Cinema - Streatham Odeon

25.11.25

Y1 and Y2 Trip to Cinema - Croydon Grants

26.11.25

Y6 Cinema Trip - The Ritzy

02.12.25

Reception Nativity 9:30am

04.12.25

Reception Nativity 2pm

KS1 Christmas Concert

16.12.25 9.15am and 2.15pm

KS2 Christmas Concert

17.12.25 9.15am and 2.15pm

Christmas Class Party (pm)

18.12.25

TBC.12.25

Infant Christmas Orienteering Day

TBC.12.25

Junior Christmas Experience Day - West End in Schools

We hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend.

The St. Joseph's Team

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