Firstly, I would just like to thank you all for supporting our efforts to improve attendance and punctuality across the schools! We know we have had a lot of sickness in school lately, but to see that both schools' attendance is above national average this week just confirms what we know. Our children know that they'll be more successful as an adult if they are in school, everyday, on time and our parents help to ensure that they are.

We have loved celebrating Mental Health last week and show racism the Red Card this week. To hear the children approaching challenging concepts with such love and awareness, reminds us of why we work so hard and gives us all hope for a better future. Your children will be the gatekeepers for generations to come so it is important that we instill in them to have self respect, pride and self love then they will be able to showcase those attributes to others. Thank you for sending your children in in red.

The tickets to our infamous Annual Musical Fireworks are on sale! The children have mentioned that they are looking forward to seeing me dancing again and it is the one occasion of the year where I just cannot contain my inner child!

The PTA have been working so hard since last year to make it a success. Before joining the schools 2 years ago I always went to one of the Merton Firework shows near my house, but I am truly a convert to St. Joseph's now and my family loves to attend. The link is here... early bird ends soon!

Happy Diwali to everyone who will be celebrating on Monday. I pray that light continues to triumph over darkness and goodness will always prevail.

Mrs Ashley and the Team

Wellbeing

As you know, last Friday was World Mental Health Day. At St Joseph's, the children wore yellow in support the charity Young Minds and we had a very successful coffee morning - thank you for all of your kind donations.

I was also raising money for the Mental Health Foundation on Friday by taking part in a 'firewalk' - yes, I walked over burning coal and ashes. If you couldn't attend our coffee morning and would like to make a donation, here is my JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/page/catriona-phillips-10 any donations to this wonderful cause are gratefully appreciated.

Early Years

This week, Reception children have been busy developing their fine motor skills in the Funky Fingers area. Lucca impressed everyone with a colourful car made from mosaic tiles. Other children explored their creativity by building imaginative structures with Mobilo. Rion built a tall robot, while Melody crafted an aeroplane that soared through the skies. We look forward to more models and structure over the coming year.

Key Stage 1

This week in science, we have continued learning all about the four seasons. Our focus has been on autumn. The children explored the changes we see during this season and used wastercolours to create beautiful paintings of autumn trees, showing how the deciduous trees lose their leaves as the weather becomes cooler.

Lower Key Stage 2

Year 4 has enjoyed another tremendously busy week. They started off with a fantastic trip to the Natural History Museum where they were captivated by the exhibits, bringing their science and history topics to life. In English, the children successfully completed the final stage of the writing process by publishing their brilliant narratives, and they have now moved on to a brand new unit. This week they started an exciting new research project focused on a given author and developing their information gathering skills.

Upper Key Stage 2

In Science this week we learned about the four main types of plants – flowering plants, conifers, ferns and mosses – and explored what makes each group unique. After creating our own classification keys we headed to Forest School to put our learning into action. Using our keys we carefully observed and classified the different plants we found and became real-life botanists for the afternoon!

English Updates

This term, we have placed a major emphasis on promoting reading fluency across all the year groups. We know that reading smoothly, accurately, and with expression is key to deep comprehension, and all the children have benefitted from daily sessions where adults model fluent reading. In class, we have actively practised effective techniques like whole-class reading and echo reading, helping the children find the right pace and rhythm. Furthermore, we’ve focused heavily on prosody (reading with feeling and expression) and have even encouraged pupils to act out what they’ve read, which brings the text to life and deepens their understanding of character and plot. This concerted effort is ensuring that every child is building confidence and stamina as a reader.

Another highlight of this term's English work was our school-wide participation in the Young Writers National Poetry Day competition. It was inspiring to see the creativity and passion our pupils brought to the task! The children worked hard drafting, editing, and polishing their poems, resulting in some truly lovely and imaginative pieces that were submitted for the national contest. Taking part in external events like this is a fantastic way to celebrate the children’s individual writing talents and encourage a lifelong love of language. We are incredibly proud of the effort and quality of the poems they produced.

Happy Birthday!

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

Year 5: Nathaneal and Anthony Year 4: Nana Aba Year 2: Trystan Year 1: Daniyal Nursery: Liz

Key Dates

22.10.25

Junior Bollywood Dance Experience Day

24.10.25

Infant Bollywood Dance Experience Day

October

Black History Month begins

06.11.24

PTA Musical Fireworks

07.11.25

Catholic Schools Cross Country Competition

12.11.25

Catholic Schools General Knowledge Quiz

17.11.25

Yr5 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

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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