You would have recoieved a letter about us reviewing the saints of our Houses. This came about by pupil voice and is a huge undertaking. Every child’s homework was to research the different Saints listed and then vote for the saints of their choice. Your votes can be completed by following this link.

Exciting News: We've Been Selected for the PINS Project!

I'm absolutely delighted to share some wonderful news with you. Ms Lodge and I put together a proposal last year, and our school has been selected to be part of the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) project – a national initiative led by the Department for Education (DfE), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and the NHS, and delivered locally by South West London Integrated Care Board.

This is a a fantastic opportunity for us and being selected demonstrates our commitment to creating an inclusive environment where every child can thrive, and it will provide us with additional resources, training, and support to enhance our provision for neurodivergent children.

On Monday, our children had a special assembly focused on supporting neurodivergent children in our school community. The assembly was designed to help all our pupils understand that everyone's brain works differently, and that these differences are something to be celebrated and supported.

The children learned about what neurodiversity means, how we can all be kind and understanding friends, and practical ways to help create an inclusive classroom and playground environment. The response from the children was absolutely wonderful – they asked thoughtful questions, shared kind ideas, and demonstrated the compassion that makes St Joseph's such a special place. We will keep you updated about how the project progresses and impacts our schools.

Cinema Reward Trips – Well Done, Everyone!

What a treat it's been this week! Our children have been enjoying their well-deserved cinema reward trips for their excellent behaviour throughout the term. I'm so glad the children had such a wonderful time – they absolutely loved it!

A huge thank you to all our teachers for organising these trips and ensuring everything ran smoothly. Your dedication to rewarding and celebrating our children's positive behaviour is truly appreciated. Thank you also to all the parent helpers who gave up their time to accompany us – we couldn't have done it without you!

These reward trips are an important part of recognising and celebrating the children's hard work, kindness, and excellent behaviour. It's wonderful to see them enjoying themselves and having fun together as a school community.

Christmas Has Arrived at St Joseph's!

The magic of Christmas has officially arrived at St Joseph's! Our school is looking absolutely beautiful with festive decorations, and there's a wonderful buzz of excitement in the air. The children are busy preparing for all our Christmas celebrations, and the joy and anticipation is infectious!

Next week Tuesday and Thursday, we have our EYFS nativity performances, and I'm really looking forward to them! You have received a letter with he details.

As always, if you have any concerns or questions about your child, please speak to your child's class teacher in the first instance. They know your child well and are best placed to address any queries about their learning, behaviour, or wellbeing. Teachers are available at the end of the school day, or you can arrange a meeting by contacting the school office. This approach ensures that concerns are addressed quickly and effectively, and allows us to work together as a team to support your child.

What an incredible term it has been so far at St Joseph's. From being selected for the PINS project to celebrating our children's excellent behaviour with cinema trips, and Olympian visits, now preparing for our Christmas celebrations – there is so much to be grateful for and proud of.

We hope you have a great weekend,

Mrs Ashley and the Team

Early Years

Reception have been learning that triangles and circles are shapes that we can find all around us in our environment. We saw triangles on our shed rooftops, road signs and the the bunting in our classroom. These shapes have three sides and three corners, which make them special and easy to spot. We also saw lots of circles, we spotted clocks, our water bottles and tyres in our playground. We drew circles and triangles outside with chalk and drew pizza, doughnuts, smiley faces, the sun, flags and lots more. By noticing these shapes, we can learn how they help make our surroundings more interesting and functional. Exploring triangles and circles helps us understand the world better and notice patterns in nature and design.

Key Stage 1

There’s a wonderful buzz around the Infant school as our Christmas preparations get underway. Festive songs can already be heard drifting through the corridors as children prepare for our upcoming Christmas performances.

The unmistakable sparkle of glitter on the floors tells us that decoration-making is in full swing! Each class has been busy creating Nativity scenes to be displayed in our hall, year 1 were very busy creating Angels this week, and the excitement is growing day by day. We can’t wait to share the children’s hard work with you all in the weeks ahead.

Lower Key Stage 2

Year 3 have had a busy week this week. We have been planning our narrative writing, consolidating our knowledge of place value using concrete materials and learning about how Mary felt when God called her to be the Mother of Jesus. We have also been learning about fiction and non fiction books in reading and in Geography about volcanos and where in the world we can find active, dormant and extinct ones.

To finish the week we were excited to be invited to watch the dress rehearsal for the Early Years Nativity which was fantastic!

Upper Key Stage 2

In Year 6 children have been exploring the question “Should children under 16 be banned from using social media?” After researching the topic, they wrote clear arguments for or against the idea, supporting their views with explanations and evidence.

In English, we are continuing to read Boy in the Tower, focusing on retrieval and inference skills. The children are eager to see whether their predictions are correct—especially as they try to uncover the mystery of the Blutchers!

In Maths, we have been working on division, multiplication and fractions, showing our understanding in different ways and explaining our methods. We also continue to practise multiplication facts weekly to improve recall.

Maths

Across the school, we continue to use concrete resources and pictorial representations—such as cubes, place value counters, number lines, ten frames and bar models—to strengthen understanding before moving to informal and formal written methods. Children are encouraged to build fluency and apply their knowledge in different ways when solving a range of problems, including word problems.

Maths learning also continues through practical, cross-curricular activities. Recent examples include measuring and making in Design Technology and using atlases in Geography to explore coordinates.

Happy Birthday!

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

Nursery: Josiah Year 4: Maggie

Staff: Mrs Phillips

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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