Christ, given for us

In worship this week, we are exploring the themes of giving things up, giving things away and making sacrifices. Jesus tells Nicodemus in this week's Gospel (4th Sunday of Lent, Year B) that God gave the world his only son. We learn that sacrifice and selflessness makes the world a better place and we are called to enact these qualities in our own lives.

Simple, small kindnesses (like being prepared to share your stationery) are big steps towards a deeper understanding of God's love for us and the sacrifice he made by Jesus' death on the cross. We are asking children this week to open their eyes to the many little ways they can make sacrifices each day...

Welcome Back!

A very warm welcome back to all those children who have been working at home since January - it's so good to see you again! Your hard work and sacrifice are much appreciated by the whole community, thank you!

We hope, like Mason, you have had many happy, silly, engaging and memorable stories to share from your time at home. It's great to see that there is still so much to celebrate!

Lenten Calendar

The second half of the Spring Term is dedicated to the season of Lent: a precious time of prayer, fasting and giving in preparation for the celebration of Easter.

This year, following on from the success of our Advent Old Testament stories in December, the wonderful team at St Joseph's have prepared a Lenten calendar to take us through the next six weeks.

As you engage in the daily reflections and activities, you and your family will discover plenty of ways to pray, fast and give more this Lent. Do let us know how you get on and which activities speak clearest to you.

The gift of giving...

Mrs Johnson takes the lead in Witness Worship today, introducing us to a famous footballer who is blessed with a generous heart: giving his time, talents and financial support freely to improve the lives of communities across the world.

We pray that we too will have the generosity of spirit to see the many small ways we can be more giving this Lent and, in our own turn, make our world a better place.

Time for sandwiches?

Year 2 braved the elements this week to enjoy an impromptu picnic on the field. It was an introduction to their new English unit based on the book 'The Disgusting Sandwich' by Gareth Edwards which will be their focus now for a couple of weeks.

To give the children clues about the text before reading it, they made their own sandwiches and enjoyed eating them on the field... On the whole, feedback was that the sandwiches were extremely delicious, not at all disgusting!

RRS with little Ralph

In this week's installment, we have a special visitor - Ralph. He helps to teach us the "C" from the ABCDE of Children's Rights.

C stands for "cannot": a child's rights cannot be taken away, bought or sold - they are inalienable. So no matter who you are, where you live or what challenges you face, as a child your rights still remain and cannot be removed. Your family, Government and the wider world have a duty to ensure your rights are met.

Great lesson Ralph, thanks!

A Hippo Adventure

Dream big with this week's bedtime story! Miss Egan teaches us that, no matter how massive our dreams are, we should reach for the stars and keep going forwards....even if you're a hippo!