Newsletter
17th May 2024
Attendance
National: 94.3%. Our Target: 95%
Our whole school attendance this week:
Infant School: 94.3% Junior School: 95.6%
Our School Winners are 2O(96%) and 3S(96%)!
Well done to the children and parents in these classes!
Dear Parents/Carers,
This week has been another productive and successful week at St. Joseph's. On Monday our Y6 children began their SATs and they were calm, ready and focused. We had a wonderful breakfast together each day and when they asked me to add cereal and fruit to their offering of pastries of course I had to oblige! We had a Monitoring Visit from Croydon LA on Tuesday, to ensure we were following all processes and administering the tests correctly. Whilst you do not get a grading the word 'immaculate/ was used to describe our processes and the invigilators commented on how great our children and team were. We are really proud of our children and ourselves.
The Y6 children frequently commented that they were ready and found the tests ok. As a year group they have shown resilience and excellence throughout the week, they showcased why they are a credit to their families and our school. I would like to extend a special thanks to all the parents for getting the children in on time and to the whole Y6 Teaching Team, especially Mrs Winters, Mrs Phillips and Ms Julie. I hope you all enjoyed your treat of den making in our refurbished forest school today.
Today Y4 went on a trip to Chislehurst Caves to enhance their learning and understanding of the world. The children enjoyed the sense of adventure and exploring somewhere different. Thanks to all the parents who gave up their time so freely to help on the trip.
1E did the most fabulous class assembly this morning. They have been focusing on the them of 'friendship' and what it means to be a good friend and follow Jesus' example of loving your neighbour. It was a delight to see their development and the confidence they showed in addressing a very large audience. They were very conscientious and gave us the key ingredients of being a loving friend.
Please see the key dates at the bottom of this newsletter. They are also on our Abor App. Note that the PTA Colour Run is happening on Saturday 6th July! Please let the PTA know if you are able to help. More information will be shared next week.
Tomorrow our Netball and Football teams will be representing the School at the Umbrella Trust Sports Competition. Please keep them in your prayers and wish them the best of luck.
Please remember that school starts for our reception - Year 6 children at 8.50am sharp and the gate closes at 9am. If your child arrives after 9am, we are refining our system of registering lates from Monday. Junior children must report to the junior hall to ensure that they get a late slip and infant children must enter via the school entrance off the KS1 playground to get their late slip. Teachers will not admit any children to their classes without a late slip as this means that they are not registered and they will be asked to go to back to these points to register. This will ensure your child is safe and accounted for. We thank you in advance for your support with this.
I hope you and your families have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the sun,
Mrs Ashley and The St. Joseph's Team
Safeguarding
At St Joseph's RC Federation, we are teaching the children that there are lots of things that they can do to stay safe online. Please support us and remind you child/ren:
Think before you post
Don’t upload or share anything you wouldn’t want your parents, carers, teachers or future employers seeing. Once you post something, you lose control of it, especially if someone else screenshots or shares it.Don’t share personal details
Keep things like your address, phone number, full name, school and date of birth private, and check what people can see in your privacy settings. Remember that people can use small clues like a school logo in a photo to find out a lot about you.
Watch out for phishing and scams
Phishing is when someone tries to trick you into giving them information, like your password. Someone might also try to trick you by saying they can make you famous or that they’re from a talent agency. Never click links from emails or messages that ask you to log in or share your details, even if you think they might be genuine. If you’re asked to log into a website, go to the app or site directly instead.
Think about who you’re talking to
There are lots of ways that people try to trick you into trusting them online. Even if you like and trust someone you’ve met online, never share personal information with them like your address, full name, or where you go to school. Find out more about grooming.
Keep your device secure
Make sure that you’re keeping your information and device secure.
Never give out your password
You should never give out your password or log-in information. Make sure you pick strong, easy to remember passwords.
Cover your webcam
Some viruses will let someone access your webcam without you knowing, so make sure you cover your webcam whenever you’re not using it.
Early Years
Maths in the EYFS stage: Reception have been learning about numbers to 20. We used numicon, counters and real objects to count up to 20. Outside we challenged ourselves to order our numbers and we practiced our number formation with chalk.
Key Stage 1
This week, Class 1E delighted us with a heartwarming assembly on the theme of friendship, inspired by their PSHE lessons. The children shared insightful reflections on the qualities that make a good friend, drawing on the teachings of Jesus, who has shown us the way to be kind, compassionate, and supportive friends to one another.
The assembly featured a creative "Recipe for a Good Friend," where our little chefs combined all the essential ingredients for friendship into a big bowl of love and understanding. Their enthusiastic presentation reminded us all of the importance of kindness, honesty, and loyalty.
We concluded this special gathering with a beautiful prayer, asking for guidance in being better friends, and a joyful performance of "You've Got a Friend in Me," accompanied by a touching video montage. It was a memorable celebration of friendship and faith, leaving everyone with smiles and a renewed sense of community spirit.
Key Stage 2
A rather eventful week for Key Stage 2!
Year 4 had a great trip to Chiselhurt Caves on Friday. Year 5 took part in the AfroBeats dance class, while Year 3 continued to enjoy their swimming lessons.
A big thank you to the whole of Key Stage 2 for being fantastic while Year 6 took their SATs. We are so proud of 6P and 6H for the hard work they have put in since September. They started and ended the week with such maturity, they have really done us proud.
A huge thank you to their parents and carers for their continued support and for the wonderful and generous contributions to the Year 6 party we had this afternoon. Well done, everyone!
Curriculum Focus
Early Reading
All parents of children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are invited to join us for an Early Reading Parent Workshop on Monday 1st June at 9.15 - 9.45am in the Infant Hall. This is an opportunity for us to support you with your child’s reading and share information on the upcoming Year 1 Phonics Screening Check in June.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind you about the wonderful resource that is our Phonics Google Classroom. We are fortunate as a school to have access to online teaching videos allowing parents to participate and support the teaching of phonics at home. The sounds your child has learnt in school are uploaded each week.
Mrs Tope
Early Reading Lead
Key Dates
Thursday 16th May - Year 6 SATS: Monday 13th May
Monday 13th May- Year 2 Library Trip
Friday 17th May- Year 4 Trip to Chislehurst Caves
Saturday 18th May - Umbrella Trust Netball and Football Tournament
Wednesday 22nd May - Catholic Umbrella Trust Swimming Gala @Trinity (Y5/6)
Friday 24th May - Marian Procession on the field. Parents/Carers welcome (Crowning Mary with flowers)
End of Term- 24th May
Monday 3rd June - Early Reading Parent Workshop YR, Y1 & Y2 (9.15 - 9.45am)
Wednesday 5th June - PGL/RSE meetings for Y6 parents (9.15am and 5.30pm)
Monday 10th June- Friday 14th June- Phonics Screening Check & Y4 Multiplication Test
Monday 17th- Friday 21st June- KS1 SATs
Wednesday, 19th June -Reception visit to Virgo (afternoon)
Friday 5th July Sports Day
Saturday 6th July- Colour Run
Monday 8th - Wednesday 10th July - PGL for Y6
Friday 12th July- Reception Trip to Norwood Park
Friday 12th July - Y6 Thames River Cruise
Wednesday 17th July - End of year leavers mass at Virgo (2pm)
Thursday 18th July - Y6 performance for parents (9.30am 6pm)
Friday 19th July- Y6 Leavers Celebration
Monday 22nd July - Y6 Mass in the Junior Hall
Tuesday 23rd July End of Term 2pm
We hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend
Mrs Ashley & The St. Joseph's Team