17 December 2021

On behalf of all the staff, thank you for your support, prayers, cards and gifts. Your kindness and prayers mean a lot to us and sees us through difficult times.

It has been a busy term and we have managed to fit in trips, clubs, sporting competitions, class assemblies, nativity plays and a wonderful KS2 Advent service.

The week began with our EYFS nativity and followed on from the Infant plays last week. Our KS2 Advent service in Virgo Fidelis Church was so spiritual and beautiful with all children reminding us of the real message of Christmas. All videos will be uploaded onto Google Classroom for you to enjoy at your leisure. Sadly, we were not able to welcome you into school this year as result of safety restrictions, but we look forward to the Spring and summer term when hopefully we can return to attendance at school events.

I would like to thank the staff for their hard work and resilience to help the children enjoy the festivities at the end of term. They have worked hard since returning to school in September and placed the children at the heart of all they do.

We wish Mrs Flegg and Ms Johnson all the best for the future and thank them for their commitment and support.

 

PTA gifts

A big thank you to the PTA for funding Christmas presents for all the children this year and to everyone who donated a £1 for own clothes day last week. All bottles donated will be used at our spring/summer fair next year. Thank you to everyone for your generous donations. Nursery and Reception received draw-your-own mugs while the rest of the school will receive recorders – we have unfortunately had delivery problems with the music supplier, so these will instead be given to the children in January 2022.

 

Support available

The holiday break can be a difficult time so please remember there are lots of people who can help and support you with food resources or other things you may need. Should you need any help do email me on [email protected] .

Pupils in receipt of free school meals have been emailed a supermarket voucher worth £30 this week and have also been invited into school next week for a free Christmas camp (the HAF Programme). Unfortunately, registrations have now closed for the camp but we have been informed that funding for the HAF Programme will continue until 2025. We hope, with your support, that it becomes a regular feature of St Joseph’s provision going forward.

Click here for details of outside support for children and young families

 

St Joseph’s wellbeing photograph competition

The nation’s biggest youth-led photography programme for mental wellbeing is currently underway. It is set for secondary schools, so we thought it would be good if we had our own St Joseph’s wellbeing photograph competition!

Teachers have set this competition on Google Classroom as part of your child’s Christmas homework and given them examples of photos they could take. It is about the children acknowledging and accepting how they are feeling at any given time (and understanding that all feelings are acceptable #itsoknottobe ok)

What we want the children to do is represent their feeling in 3 steps-
1. SAY IT- say how they are feeling at any point in time
2. SHOOT IT- take a picture of something that reflects their mood at that time
3. SHARE IT- Save their picture with their name, class, their feeling and email to their year group email.

This photo competition is open until 4 January 2022 and the winners will be announced during the first week of term.

 

Below-cost Chromebooks

Through our partnership with the charity, London Grid for Learning (LGFL), we are pleased to be able to offer you details of a new offer, for Chromebooks at a below-cost price of £99.99 each. These are the Lenovo Chromebook 100e’s which feature a 11.6″ non-touch display, 4GB memory, 32GB of storage, a front-facing camera and sound, making them ideal for students and suitable for remote learning.

A payment item is on Parentpay if you would like to buy it. We have set a deadline of 7 January 2022 to receive payment; once all payments have been received, we will place one consolidated school order and delivery should be the second week of January 2022.

 

Clubs and other school events this term

As you know, clubs have been suspended for the remainder of this term. Fees paid can be carried forward to next term’s clubs and sessions missed will be made up next term. Other events such as the movie night and disco events have been moved to the Spring Term 2022.

Click here for Mr Navarro’s letter regarding refunds for Autumn activities

 

Healthy-start: support for young families

If you are pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be able to get financial support from the Government’s Healthy Start scheme to help you buy basic foods like milk or fruit.

If you qualify for the scheme, you will be sent up to 2 vouchers per week worth £4.25 each, which you can use in over 30,000 shops in the UK. You can also get coupons to swap for free pregnancy vitamins, breastfeeding vitamins and vitamins for children from birth to 4 years old.

Click here for details, eligibility criteria and to apply

You may have read about the latest initiative from Marcus Rashford (MBE) where he asked chef and restauranteur, Tom Kerridge to create a menu for £10 that would feed six people, based on these vouchers, and still have enough leftover for hash on Boxing Day. You can find the menu (and an instructional video) here.

 

New swimming school at St Joseph’s College

We are pleased to announce a partnership with former Team GB Olympian Zara Long, who runs Take The Plunge, an independent swim school, based at St Joseph’s College SE19 3HL.

She is offering discounted rates for our families and is helping to support our PTA.

Click here for further details

 

4th Sunday in Advent

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

Colossians 3:15 

The fourth and final Sunday of Advent in 2021 will be on Sunday, December 19th. Advent is the season in which believers eagerly anticipate the celebration of Christ’s birth. Reading, prayer, and reflection are ways we can cultivate a sense of holy anticipation this Advent. The fourth Sunday of Advent we meditate on the peace that Jesus brings our hearts and our world. Scripture is the place we can find the promises of God.

Let us meditate on these truths and allow them to comfort our hearts this Advent season!

 

Mrs L Fernandes
Headteacher

 

Click here for this term’s montage of pictures

 

Key dates for next year

START OF SPRING TERM
Wednesday, 5th January 2021

 

Photo by Eva Elijas from Pexels