Lord of the Storm

In worship this week, we are looking ahead to the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B) and the famous account of Jesus calming the storm. One thing that stands out for me by the end of this account is how disappointed Jesus is in his disciples' reaction. He expects them to have greater faith that God is present in all things, at all times - even during our worst nightmares.

He challenges the disciples to understand that our fears and suffering are opportunities for growth and faith: indeed in this week's missal summary it describes Jesus as "The Lord of the Storm". It goes on to explain that, "With Christ the turbulence can become the birth pangs of a new creation."

Learning to see Christ's presence in our fears and suffering will help us grow closer to him.

Going places in Year 2

A fantastic effort from Year 2 last week, in their DT project focused on axels. It was remarkable to hear children talking about and experimenting with free moving and fixed axels before designing their own emergency vehicles.

Dreaming big in Year 6

All fun and games in Year 6, who have been putting their maths and business skills to best use by designing and running their own theme parks! They discovered that running a business is no laughing matter.

Speaking through the fear

In Witness Worship this week, Miss FitzGerald introduces us to a man who changed the world...but was afraid of public speaking! The work of Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian lawyer who used non-violent protest to achieve national independence, is well known. However, his internal fight with his fear of speaking is less well documented.

Miss FitzGerald teaches us that we all suffer from the experience of fear but that, with the right motivation, we can work through this feeling and find ourselves living a fuller, more confident life on the other side.

Dreaming of Art Club

Some very proud artist from our Year 3 club, having designed and made their own dreamcatchers over the last two weeks.

It has been a real blessing to see a host of free clubs back at St Joseph's over the last term: we believe that offering children the opportunity to explore their God-given gifts and talents is an important part of our mission in helping live life to the full.

St Ursula's Day

RU celebrated their Class Saint's Day recently (29th May), learning all about the remarkable life and legacy of this wonderful woman.

Saint Ursula is the patron saint of educators. She was the founder of the Ursuline order (which consists today of over 900 sisters in 14 countries across the world). The Ursulines commit their life to the education of the poor.

RU had quite a lot to say about teachers from their recent experiences!

Democracy in action

During our Global Goals week, children in Year 6 wrote impassioned letters about climate change to Guildford's MP Angela Richardson; we were delighted that she sent individual responses back to the children who decided to post their letters!

What an amazing way to stand up for our rights and the rights of others around the world and to show that we are global citizens!

Don't be afraid 2G

As we conclude our week's Gospel focus on fear, we are inspired by St George's Class (who are brave enough to tell us what scares them!)

2G help us to see that we all feel afraid sometimes; it's a perfectly normal emotion and it is helpful to recognise and name it. Best of all, if we can acknowledge our fears, we can start to see where Christ is present in them and overcome our worry.

Thanks so much 2G, I feel much better now!

Frilly knickers!

Miss Rycroft ends the week by telling us all about the kings' matching frilly knickers!

Dragons in the classroom?

Well I never! Recently, we had some excitement in the Year 5/6 corridor. Miss Basham had been preparing an English lesson during one breaktime and had left some dragon eggs out on the table. She turned around to something most spectacular... The eggs had hatched!

Luckily, Miss Basham managed to rush to the class iPad and got some video footage of the dragons in the classrooms before they flew off!

The children's imaginations were sparked and it led to some captivating descriptions in their writing.

I wonder where those dragons are now... We really must learn 'How to Train a Dragon'.