We are incredibly proud of our Year 6 football and netball teams who performed brilliantly at the Catholic Umbrella Trust Football and Netball Tournament on Saturday. The children demonstrated exceptional teamwork and dedication throughout the competition. It was a joy to see them working together and supporting one another. Thanks to all the parents who came to cheer them on and a huge thank you to Mr Abrahams and Ms Burgess for their support and hard work in preparing the teams and accompanying them to the tournament. Their commitment to our children's sporting development is truly appreciated.

On Monday, we held a beautiful Marian procession to celebrate Mary, the Mother of Jesus. It was a wonderful occasion that brought our school community together in faith and prayer. Special thanks to our prayer leaders who led the service with reverence and confidence, Mrs Phillips for organising such a meaningful event, and all the parents who joined us in celebrating and honouring Mary. Your presence made the occasion even more special for our children. Thank you for joining in the parade as well.

Following a review of behaviour across the schools, I have refined the way we support children to maintain high standards of behaviour. We trialed the adapted approach this week and it has proven very successful. By clarifying expectations and praising those children making the right choices, we have seen a positive impact across the school. A letter will come out with more details about how the system works and how you can support your child at home. I am so proud of my Senior Pupil Leadership Team who have helped refine my thinking and supported with the creation of this approach. Thank you to all the staff for ensuring it is being implemented well.

Remember of you have a concern or issue to contact your child's class teacher in the first instance or the office to arrange a meeting to discuss. We are keen to work with all our parents/carers to ensure each child has the best possible education.

As we say goodbye to Ms Luri after 14 years of dedicated service to St Joseph's, we are so gratefult o her for all the love and hard work she poured into the school, Mrs Allery also. Ms Ingam, who has had such a positive impact since joining the BASC team, will be joining us after the half term as a Apprentice Teaching Assistant. Please join us in welcoming her to this new role. We are delighted to develop someone who has added to the school community.

What a lovely way to end the term today - the sunshine made our final day even more enjoyable! The children have worked incredibly hard this half term and deserve a well-earned rest.

We hope you all have a wonderful half term break. Enjoy the time with your families, and we look forward to welcoming the children back refreshed and ready for the final push towards the summer.

We hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs Ashley and the Team

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." - John 14:27

Safeguarding

Top tips for talking to children about staying safe online

1. Start with the positives
Being online can be a great way for children to learn, be creative, and stay connected with friends and family. Recognising these benefits helps keep conversations balanced and encourages confident, safe use of technology.

2. Find the right time and place
Choose a calm moment to talk, such as during a walk, car journey, or shared activity. Avoid starting the conversation when emotions are high or during a disagreement.

3. Use child-facing resources and advice
Support your conversation with age-appropriate tools, videos, or guides. These can help children understand key messages and make the discussion more engaging and relevant to their stage of development.

4. Ask about their experiences
Use open questions like:

‘Have you seen anything online that made you uncomfortable?’
‘Who do you chat with online?’
‘Are they people you know offline?’
‘How do you feel when using certain apps or games?’

5. Make it part of everyday life
These chats don’t need to be formal or one-off. Regular, relaxed conversations help children feel supported and more likely to speak up if something worries them.

For any safeguarding concerns over the May Half Term break, please contact: The Croydon LADO or email

dsl@st-josephs-jun.croydon.sch.uk

On the Google classrooms, we have put links to activities for the children to do over the May Half Term holidays.

Below are links to wellbeing ideas for over the May Half Term holidays for adults.

Tips for your well being over May Half Term - https://www.northernhealthcare.org.uk/news-resources/6-mental-health-tips-to-take-care-of-yourself-during-the-easter-weekend/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z2crs82#zx49vj6

https://www.stillhuman.co.uk/blog/how-to-actually-relax-this-easter-without-the-guilt

Early Years

Reception have had a second visit to West Norwood library. We returned our books and got new ones out. We are looking forward to sharing them at home with our grown ups. We had a wonderful story read to us and enjoyed our time there sharing books with our friends.

Key Stage 1

🎉 Year 2's library adventure came to an epic finale this week! We've absolutely loved exploring West Norwood Library and diving into incredible stories together. This time, we played an awesome game of headbands – guessing tricky words all about libraries and the magical tales hiding on the shelves. We can't wait to get stuck into these stories and let our imaginations run wild with even more amazing ideas! 📚✨

Lower Key Stage 2

This week, Year 4 have been busy exploring the fascinating world of the Ancient Maya as part of our history topic. The children became investigators, discovering how the Maya lived in the rainforest, the challenges they faced, and the clever solutions they created to survive. Using their inference skills, they explored Ancient Maya landmarks and uncovered clues about life in this ancient civilisation. They also enjoyed learning about the different gods and goddesses the Maya believed in and why religion was such an important part of their daily lives. We are very proud of the children’s curiosity, teamwork, and enthusiasm throughout their learning this week!

Upper Key Stage 2

Our Year 6 pupils visited the local care home to donate the flowers from the Marian Procession, bringing joy to the residents and showing kindness and community spirit.

English Review

This term, pupils across the schools have shown great enthusiasm and enjoyment in their writing. Pupils have approached writing with creativity and confidence, demonstrating pride in their ideas and a willingness to experiment with language. It is clear that they have enjoyed exploring a range of genres, including narrative and poetry, and have responded positively to opportunities for imaginative and expressive writing.

Presentation throughout their work is very pleasing. Many pupils are taking increasing care with handwriting, layout and overall organisation of their work, showing pride in the finished outcome. Published pieces in particular reflect our pupils’ commitment to producing work of a high standard and celebrating their achievements as writers.

The range of genres covered this term has supported pupils in their development as creative writers. Narrative writing demonstrates their ability to build characters, settings and suspense, while the poetry shows increasing confidence with imagery, rhythm and expressive language. Through these varied experiences, pupils are developing a broader understanding of audience and purpose, as well as a richer appreciation of language and creativity in writing.

Happy Birthday!

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

Year 6: Sebastian and Sulyana Year 5: Micaela Year 4: Klaus Year 2: Kimya

Year 1: Silvia Maria and Jordan Reception: Haris Nursery: Zion

Staff: Mrs Sclafani

Key Dates

01.06.25 - 05.06.25

Year 4 Multiplication Check

20.06.26

Catholic Schools Swimming Gala

10.06 - 12.06.26

Yr6 PGL

22.06.25 - 25.06.26

Science Week

26.06.2026

Year 3 trip to Battersea Park School

TBC.06.26

Yr5 BTG Netball Tournament

TBC.06.26

Yr5 BTG Football Tournament

TBC.06.26

Croydon Schools Athletics - Girls

TBC.06.26

Croydon Schools Athletics - Boys

TBC.06.26

Croydon Schools Athletics - FINALS

TBC.06.26

Catholic Athletics @ St James the Great

TBC.06.26

Dulwich College Boys Visit

TBC.06.26

Partnership Visit to Dulwich College

30.06.25 - 02.07.26

Year 6 PGL Residential

TBC.06.26

Infants Catholic Sports Day @ St Thomas Becket

10.07.26

Year 6 Production (tbc)

9.07.26

Reception Trip to Norwood Park

17.07.26

End of Year Mass-parents/carers welcome

Yr 6 End of Year Celebration Party

18.07.26

Last Day of the Year

Information

We hope you have a wonderful weekend!

From all the team at St. Joseph's!

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