Dear Parents/Carers, This week we have shown what a great community we are and really lived out our Mission ‘Together…
1 July 2022
Another packed week of sporting events, trips to the seaside, Y1 Assembly and maths workshops for parents and children.
Thank you to everyone who attended the parent workshops across the school, giving you the opportunity to work with the children.
I hope you enjoyed the sessions and we look forward to hosting more next year.
Maths Week – 28th June to 1st July 2022
Mrs Philipps has organised an exciting Maths week centred around the topic of ‘Maths in the real world’. Children participated in problem-solving activities where they had to find the solution by working through a series of word problems.
Pupil feedback indicated that the children enjoyed the challenges presented to them.
Y1 Class Assembly
Year 1 led a wonderful assembly focusing on mathematics. They shared lots of ideas about how they learn and posed questions for children and adults to answer. Thank you, all the parents, carers and friends, for attending, it was great to see so many of you supporting the children.
I’m sure you must be very proud of all the year 1 children; they were fabulous!
Croydon Primary Schools Athletics – 24 June 2022
I am delighted to share with you that our boys’ Athletics team came third overall out of all the primary schools in Croydon (Over 70 schools) and our relay team were amazing. Our girls came sixth overall, another major achievement for our school.
Again the children showed resilience and sportsmanship, supporting and encouraging each other. Excellent work St Joseph’s!
Overall results
| Place | Overall Boys | Overall Girls |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Minster Juniors | The Minster Juniors |
| 2 | Ecclesbourne | St James the Great |
| 3 | St Joseph's | Selsdon |
| 4 | Heaver's Farm | Royal Russell |
| 5 | Regina Coeli | Old Palace |
| 6 | Selsdon | St Joseph's |
| 7 | Royal Russell | Heaver's Farm & Winterbourne Girls (Equal) |
| 8 | St James the Great | - |
| 9 | Whitehorse Manor, Ridgeway and Robert Fitzroy Academy (Equal) | Ecclesbourne |
| 10 | - | - |
Relays
| Place | Overall Boys | Overall Girls |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heavers Farm | The Minster Juniors |
| 2 | Ecclesbourne | Selsdon |
| 3 | Selsdon | Heavers Farm |
| 4 | The Minster Juniors | Whitehorse Manor |
| 5 | St Joseph's | St James the Great |
Catholic sports day at St James the Great School
KS2 children participated in this event on Thursday, 30th June 2022 and yet again did us proud. Children competed in sprints, relay races and a range of field events requiring skill and determination. The children cheered each other on and showed outstanding sportsmanship.
Despite not having a full team, St Joseph’s came third out of ten schools with the difference between first, second and third places less than ten points.
My thanks to Mrs Mangan for organising the teams and to Mr Defty, Mr Abraham, Mrs Lopeman and Mrs Odewale for accompanying and coaching the children on the day.
Year 3 & 4 trip to Brighton
The children had an amazing trip to Brighton beach on Thursday, 30th June and were reluctant to come back to school. They pleaded with staff to stay the night and camp on the beach but sadly they had to return to school. It was a well-organised and memorable trip, which I am sure children will always remember. Enjoy some of the quotes which will bring a smile to your face.
Jake, ‘Can we go on this trip again, it’s the best trip ever’
Erin, ‘I’ve found a pear in the rocks……yummmm!’
Caleb, ‘This is the most amazing ice cream ever’
Gianluca, ‘Why is the sea so grey, is it dirty’ This then led to an interesting scientific discussion
Clarisse and Kimone ‘We’re going fossil hunting, I wonder what we’ll find’
The children did pebble paintings, played games, went fossil hunting and enjoyed a picnic on the beach. My thanks to all the staff and volunteers for helping to make the day so successful.
Diego Fauverelle – Entrepreneur
Diego came to speak to KS2 pupils about his experience in setting up and running his own business. He spoke fondly of his time as a pupil at the school and recalled many happy memories. The children listened with interest and asked questions. He showed empathy and a real love for the school. Pupils positively engaged with him asking for advice and perhaps thinking about following his path.
Thank you Diego for making time in your busy schedule. I think you had a real impact on our children and inspired future entrepreneurs. Diego continues to have family links with the school. My favourite quote from him has to be:
“This school holds a special place for me with many fond memories; it’s a great place to be.”
Family fun day and colour run – Saturday, 2nd July 2022, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
My thanks to the PTA for organising the family fun day tomorrow. Tickets for the ‘Colour Run’ are sold out, so it will not be possible for you to take part in the event if you have not purchased a ticket. However, you are welcome to attend and watch and join in the games after the run. Please do bring a picnic with you as food will not be available, but there will be a bar and an ice cream van on site. The Fire Brigade will be visiting and bringing along a fire engine for the children to enjoy.
Entrance will be via the Infant School playground on Crown Dale.
Full schedule of the events as well as the terms and conditions of the Colour Run can be found here
On the day, remember to post pictures using our hashtag #SJF150.
Dates for your diary
1st Holy Communion School Mass
Please note that the school Mass for all children making their 1st Holy Communion has been changed to Tuesday, 5th July at 9:30 a.m. in the Junior Hall. Parents are warmly invited to attend. Children should come into school wearing their Communion outfits but bring their uniform to change into after Mass.
Thanksgiving and farewell Mass for year 6
All parents, carers and friends are invited to our end-of-year Mass to be held at Virgo Fidelis Church on Monday, 18th July 2022 at 5.30 p.m. It is a chance to come together as a school community to celebrate our school and say goodbye to Year 6 and all those leaving this year.
We have invited past staff and Alumni to the Mass which will be followed by light refreshments in the Infant Hall. I do hope you will be able to attend.
Click here for the invitation and to RSVP your attendance
Mixed year group classes -September 2022
We will be holding a meeting for current Reception parents on Monday, 11th July at 8.15 a.m. and 2.15 p.m. in the Infant Hall.
A further meeting for current year 1 parents will be held on Tuesday, 12th July at 8.15 a.m. and again at 2.15 p.m. in the Infant Hall.
You will have the opportunity to meet the class teachers, leadership and Governors and hear about how the curriculum will be taught. I do hope you will be able to join us. A letter will be sent out next week with further information.
Staffing for September
Parental and Community Engagement
Parental engagement continues to be a priority for the school. As a reflective school, we continually review all aspects of school life and how we can engage parents / carers not only with teaching and learning, but also with the development of our school. To support this and develop and further improve parental engagement, we are recruiting a Parent and Community Engagement Lead.
Details on the vacancy are located here
The successful applicant will also be involved in organising school events and marketing the school to the wider community.
Mr Defty
Mr Defty (Assistant Headteacher) will be leaving us at the end of this term to take a career break to look after his daughter. Mr Defty joined us in 2021 to take up his first leadership role at St Joseph’s School. He initially worked with groups across the school and was responsible for interventions and the sports premium grant. More recently he has taught in Nursery.
I want to thank him for his hard work and commitment to the school and I hope he will be a regular visitor to the school with his lovely daughter Maggie. Whilst I know we are disappointed to have to see him leave the school, I am sure the time he will spend with his daughter will be invaluable and form many happy memories for years to come.
Mr Navarro
Sadly, next week is Mr Navarro’s last week with us before he takes up a new position at Trinity School. He has worked tirelessly to develop the premises, improve our technology and generate income for the school. In the three years, he has been at the school, Mr Navarro has significantly impacted the school and helped to create so many opportunities related to outdoor learning. He has also been instrumental in supporting families through free breakfasts, vouchers for reading books, discounted laptops and our holiday (HAF) programmes. Thank you for all you’ve done for our school community.
Ms Arthur and Ms Hayter
I am delighted to announce that we will be welcoming Ms Arthur and Ms Hayter in September, both of whom have taught in the school this year. We look forward to them joining us with lots of new innovative ideas. Many of you will already know them as they taught in year 1 and year 4 over the summer term.
Alumni – inspiring our pupils with your stories
Are you a past student, staff member, or Governor of St Joseph’s? Could you be a role model for our pupils?
We are putting together a new feature on our website – St Joseph’s Stories – where we include mini-profiles of alumni, where they can share their experiences at St Joseph’s and tell us about the journey they have been on, so that it may inspire our current students.
We know that one of the most powerful ways we can demonstrate that our pupils can achieve anything they put their minds to, is to show them examples of people who have done it before. If those people share something with our pupils (in terms of background, culture, upbringing or experiences), then even better. And if those people happen to be part of our community at St Joseph’s, then that is really worth celebrating.
We would love to hear your stories, so please consider this and pass this on to other alumni whom you know. We can always say, that “we knew you when”!
Click here for the invitation letter and questionnaire from Mr Navarro
Parking – visit from our councillors
On Inset day, we had a visit from our two local councillors, Ms Nina Degrads (Shadow Cabinet Member for Streets and Environment) and Ms Patsy Cummings, both representing Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood. They reviewed the traffic (i.e. speeding) and parking situation around our school and we talked about possible measures to reduce speed and illegal parking on Crown Dale, as well as ways of relieving congestion on Bradley Road.
As part of our follow-up, we would like to invite you to do an anonymous survey regarding the traffic situation so that they have data to influence change.
Click here for the survey link
In addition, they will be coming back to speak to the pupils and to share with us what being in Local Government means, how they serve our community and how they are influencing “positive changes, but from the inside”.
PTA – Second-hand uniform sale
The PTA are organising one last second-hand uniform sale before the end of the term, but really need more volunteers to make it happen.
If you would like to help, please email them on at [email protected]
See you tomorrow!
I look forward to seeing many of you at our fun day and inaugural colour run tomorrow
Click here for the photo montage
Mrs L Fernandes
Headteacher
Future Dates for your diary
2nd Half of Summer term
Term ends Friday, 22nd July at 1:15 p.m.
2.7.22 – Summer Fun Day and Colour Run (gates open at 1:00 p.m.)
4.7.22 to 15.7.22 ART EXHIBITION
4.7.22 – 4O assembly 9.15 a.m. start (parents/carers welcome to attend)
4.7.22 – Quiz Club National Finals (rescheduled due to train strikes)
5.7.22 – KS2 SATS results published
5.7.22 – Reception vision screening
6.7.22 – School Mass for all children making their 1st Holy Communion (Junior Hall)
7.7.22 – Catholic Infant sports competition – St. Thomas Becket school
8.7.22 to 10.7.22 – Y6 Residential Trip
11.7.22 – End of year reports sent out Nursery – Y5 parents
11.7.22 – Y6 parent/teacher meetings to collect SATS results & end of year report 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
12.7.22 – Parent contact meetings (Nursery toY5) (if you wish to meet with your class teacher)
12.7.22 – Y6 Production 5:30 p.m; Parent contact meetings (if you wish to meet with your class teacher)
13.7.22 – Transition day across the school. Children will visit their new classes
14.7.22 – Reception Assembly – 9.15 a.m. start (parents/carers welcome to attend)
15.7.22 – Year 2 leavers assembly 9.15 a.m. start (parents/carers welcome to attend)
15.7.22 –Y6 Leavers BBQ
18.7.22 – Y6 Leavers/End of year Mass – 5.30 p.m.
19.7.22 – Y6 trip to Chessington
