Dear Parents/Carers,

What a wonderful week it has been at St. Joseph's.

 On Monday, we started the week with Remembrance Day assemblies, remembering our loved ones lost and all those who sacrified their lives for us in was. We did a minute silence in their memory and thanked God for their service. As you enter the Junior Office Reception, you will see a stone plaque on the left. Did you know that it lists all the pupils of St. Joseph's who served and died in WWI and WWII?

This week I took a moment to visit the plaque, reading out the names of past St. Joseph's pupils who died. I offered up some prayers for them and thanked God for their sacrifice. Please let us know if you have a family member who served in the war or remembers it who would be willing to talk to the children about their memories in person or via zoom. This would be an enriching experience to enhance the children's understanding of service, sacrifice and others before self.

It was great to see so many of you at Parents Evening! The teachers have been working hard to ensure that every child progresses from their starting point and I am sure you’d agree that since September the progress for your child is evident both socially and academically. The children were excited for you to see their hard work and their classroom environment which we have been working on too. Thank you all for the support you give, it really does make a difference.  The feedback received is both heart-warming and motivating. Remember if you have any concerns or issues, please do let us know via the office or your child's class teacher in the first instance. We know that you are trusting us with your child/children and we take this responsibility very seriously. We love working in partnership with our parents so that each child has the best educational journey possible.

The Senior Pupil Leadership and I had our first meeting this week. We discussed their roles and responsibilities as well as our foci for the year. Aylene was an excellent note taker and Emmanuel debriefed EJ superbly.

On Friday our new Governors Mr Ball, Mrs Wete and Mr Webb visited every class. They met with school leaders then had a meeting with Senior Pupil Leaders Aaron and Jael. Aaron and Jael represented the pupil leadership team brilliantly, explaining what it is like to be a pupil of St. Joseph's and what makes St. Joseph's so special. We are excited to have new governors and are looking forward to their support and leadership.

We ended the week with our reward trip to the Ballet. Last year 4O, raised the most money in the Memory Mile with Bethal raising an impressive £500 with her family. As part of our Catholic Social teaching supporting others less fortunate than ourselves is an important aspect of living our faith. The intrinsic reward far outweighs the tangible, but when an opportunity to attend a Ballet show to see Cinderella in Hollywood came up Miss Bickmore and I felt this would be a fitting reward for the children. 4O were joined by the Head Boy, Emmanuel and Head Girl, Naomi as well as all the children who achieved 100% attendance last year. Not only was seeing a ballet show new for most of our our children, it was my first time as well and it was a joy to share in this enriching experience with the children. Thank you to the parents who helped and Mrs Phillips and Mrs Madine for giving so freely of your time to make this possible for the children.

We hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful weekend,

Mrs Ashley and the Team

03/12/24 Morning Mass 9.00am Virgo Fidelis Y6

04/12/24 EYFS Nativity 9.00am Infant Hall

05/12/24 EYFS Nativity 2.30pm Infant Hall

06/12/24 Advent Service 2.00pm St George’s Cathedral, Southwark

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