Dear Parents/Carers, It was wonderful to welcome you and the children back to school this week. The children settled back…
10 September 2021
Well done everyone for a great start to the term.
The children have been brilliant, coming into school happy, ready to learn and eager to do well. A warm welcome to all our new families and we look forward to getting to know you.
Children in Nursery and Reception have been amazing. They participated in whole school assemblies and were just fantastic. Well done to all our new pupils in all year groups for the positive start you have made.
Thank you for ensuring your child looks smart in their uniform; they are great ambassadors for our school. I am sure you will have seen some of the adverts on buses, at train stations and in the Primary Times, promoting our school, and raising our profile in the wider community. Please do let the office know if you are happy to help with distributing our new promotional flyers and postcards.
As you know we are celebrating the school’s 150th anniversary this year. We will be hosting a tea party for past staff on Friday 24th September at 2 p.m., followed by our first Alumni event on Friday, 24th September, at 6 p.m. Past students and their families will be invited to visit the school and will be taken on a walk down memory lane. This is the first of many events to come over the year, so do visit our school website for updates.
Click here for the calendar of events for our 150th-year celebrations
Library fundraiser – thank you
Last term we raised just over £500 (plus Gift Aid) from staff and parent donations which have been used to purchase a range of new books on science, politics, geography and maths. Our aim is to reach at least £5,000 this year. Donations can be made via your parent pay account. Let’s work together to try and exceed our goal.
Music fundraising and music room
Please support our PTA who will be launching a programme of events for the year. As you may know, they are currently raising funds to support the development of music across the school.
Click here for their JustGiving page
Over the summer break, Mr McEvoy has transformed our old library into a fantastic music room. Without his hard work and creative ideas, it would not have been possible to create this area. The refurbishment means we now have a dedicated room, with working instruments on display for children to access. Mrs Gallagher (Deputy Head / Music Lead) will be writing to you shortly with information about music tuition. I would urge you to consider paying for your child to learn a musical instrument in school. Lessons are held in the afternoon and can be after school as well.
Click here to view pictures of the new music room
Forest school
I am delighted to inform you that after consulting with our pupils, we have plans for a second forest school in the Junior School. As you know, we already have our forest area adjacent to the field. Our new site will be adjacent to the Junior playground, where we currently have the adventure trim trail, parts of which have sadly reached the end of their useful lives. We do need to clear the area out and cut a new path through the woods, as well to relocate some of the benches and buddy bench.
We will be organising a date in the next two weeks to start clearing this area. We really do need your help to start this project. If you can spare any time during the week before or after school, please let me know on [email protected]
P.E. days
Children in all years from Reception to Year 6 must come into school wearing their full P.E. kit on days when they have P.E. or after-school clubs and will not need to change into uniform.
This term we are fortunate to have coaches from Surrey Cricket and ACE delivering cricket sessions to children from Years1 to 5. Please refer to our website or your own copy of the school handbook for a full uniform list. P.E. days for the 1st Half of the autumn term can be found on the school website here.
Clubs
We will be offering a range of lunchtime and after-school clubs from the week starting from Monday 20th September 2021. The lunchtime clubs are free but the after-school clubs will cost £5 per session. The clubs will run until the last week of the half-term.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunchtime | KS1 Choir KS1 Cricket | KS1 Portuguese KS2 Chess | KS2 Gardening | KS2 Portuguese KS2 Table Tennis KS1 & KS2 Maths | #SJF150 : KS1 and KS2 celebrating 150 years of the school (Art and History focus) KS2 Debating |
| After-school clubs | KS2 Choir KS2 Cricket | Tag Rugby Y5 & 6 KS1 Portuguese (Camoes I.P.) | KS2 Steel pans SJF Newspaper Years 5 & 6 | KS2 Spanish KS2 Skipping KS2 Portuguese (Camoes I.P.) |
Please complete the google form link below to select a club for your child. As places are limited, we ask that you choose three (3) clubs in order of preference and we will ensure that your child gets at least one of their choices. If you do not get a place in a club you like this term, please do not worry, as there will be more clubs next half-term, including guitar, gymnastics and football.
Bookings will open on Sunday, 12 September 2021, at 5:00 p.m.
Click here to book a place for your child
Parent/Toddler group
I am delighted to inform you that we will be running a baby & toddler group at St Joseph’s, starting Tuesday on 14th September 2021. Ms Louise Fuentes (a former parent of the school) works for a charity ‘Home-start’. They train ‘Parent champions’ who then run activities and workshops for parents in the school and the wider community. It is an excellent way to bring parents together, provide peer support and spend time together. Please do come along. The session starts at 9.30 a.m. and will be held in our school library in the Garden Hall.
Year group curriculum meetings
Parent curriculum evenings for each year group will take place late September / early October, dates to be published shortly. I would encourage you to attend to familiarise yourself with expectations for the year and how you can support your child.
PTA
Thank you to the PTA for organising the goodie bags for all our new Nursery and Reception children. Please do actively support our PTA. They work tirelessly to raise funds for the school to benefit all children. They need more volunteers to help organise events and support with the preparation and on the day. They will be sharing a list of forthcoming events. In the meantime, please put Wednesday, 3rd November in your diary. We are organising a family Firework evening starting at 6.00 p.m as part of our 150th Anniversary celebrations. Tickets will go on sale at the start of October.
Finally…
Thank you for working with us and following safety measures in place. Please remember that staff are not on duty at the gate until 8.45 a.m. and children should not be left at the school gates before this time. In the mornings, Junior pupils may walk in through the infant playground entrance on Crown Dale and proceed straight to class.
Mrs Leonore Fernandes
Headteacher
Thank you for reading this far. Click below for this week’s pictures!
