27 May 2022

We have made it to the end of term, smiling and celebrating our children’s achievements and hard work.

Looking back over this term, I cannot believe how much we have packed into the first half of the summer term:

KS1 & KS2 SATS;
Science week trips;
Workshops with the English National Opera;
Performing at the O2 (Young Voices);
Audiences with authors;
Sporting competitions;
General knowledge and Science quizzes;
Primary Careers week;
Opening of our apiary (beehives) onsite and delivery of our first jars of St Joseph’s honey;
St Joseph’s ‘In-bloom’ project;
School Games Day;
Opening of the new forest school; and
Archbishop John’s visit to commemorate the 150th anniversary since the school was founded.

Well done everyone!

School Games Day – Friday, 27th May

A big thank you to everyone for supporting the children on Friday; it was just fabulous!

The children participated enthusiastically, and to those of you who attended, you made the day perfect for us all. Thank you to all the adults for joining in the races and cheering the staff on with the three-legged event. The spirit of the games really came through and our values of respect, honesty, passion, self-belief and determination were evident.

Our jubilee picnic was a chance not only to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum anniversary as sovereign but to celebrate our school community coming together for the first school games day in three years. The atmosphere was festive and a pleasure to see the children enjoying the sunshine and being with family and friends.

Special thanks have to go to Mrs Mangan and Mr Abrahams for organising the event and to all the staff for their support. It takes considerable preparation and time out of school hours and their work is much appreciated.

Congratulations to all the teams, great competitive spirit with wonderful teamwork. The results were as follows:

1st Place – St Catherine (red team) with 1,185 points
2nd Place – St Cecilia (yellow team) with 1,137 points
3rd Place – St Francis (green team) with 1,101 points
4th Place – St Sebastian (blue team) with 1,070 points

My thanks to the PTA for organising ice lollies for all the children to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee. We have given each child a bookmark as a keepsake to remember this special day.

Young Voices – Monday, 23rd May

Our choir performed at the O2 and it was possibly one of the most memorable moments this year.

We took up a group of children from years 2-6 and spent most part of the day there. The children were outstanding, they were perfect role models and sang their hearts out. There were over 100 schools taking part and the arena was full to capacity.

They performed a repertoire of modern-day classics from the Lion King, Beatles songs and some classical pieces. The atmosphere was electrifying with performances from professional singers, dancers and beatbox celebrities. MC Grammar put in an appearance and entertained the crowd with his rap rendition of ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’.

Thank you to Mrs Madine and Ms Young who helped out on the trip but a special thanks to Mrs Gallagher for rehearsing the children and organising the trip. It takes considerable time and effort to ensure everything is in place and Mrs Gallagher has done an excellent job. This is just one of many music trips to come and we will definitely be back at the O2 with more children next year. So, do encourage your child to join the Choir.

Click here for the video link

The sweet taste of St Joseph’s honey

We still have a few jars of honey left on the Infant School Parentpay, so do purchase them if you are interested. Thanks to Ms Parminter’s hard work, we have our first ever St Joseph’s honey produced by our local bees. Jars are on sale for £10.

Our next batch is likely to be in late July.

St Joseph’s Jubilee Bake-off – Wednesday 26 May

Thank you for your donations of cakes and biscuits and to Mrs De Jesus and Mrs Parry for running the cake sale. Our cake sale raised £203 and the funds will go towards purchasing more books for our school library. The children will be involved in choosing the titles.

The bake-off was truly amazing, and the cakes were of a high standard making it very difficult to choose a winner. Mrs Bailey, Mrs De Jesus and I were lucky to be on the judging panel and have the pleasure of tasting all the cakes.

Thank you to everyone who entered and I am delighted to announce the following winning entries:

1st Place – Maria (Y1) , Rafael (Y4) and Evangelina (Y1)
2nd Place – Noor (Y4)
3rd Place – Tiago (Y1) and Raphael (Y4)

Marian procession – Thursday, 26th May 2.00 p.m.

The children led our Marian procession around the school field and placed flowers at Our Lady’s statue. Thank you for your generosity, we had a range of so many beautiful flowers which Mrs Swain delivered to the British Home. They were grateful for the donations and we look forward to further links with the home, with our children singing there.

Young entrepreneur – Bailey (Y4)

Y4 participated in two hands-on workshops led by Bailey and his mum Angelie Yeboah. They worked with clay, compost and wildflower seeds to create seed bombs which were dispersed on Friday. It gave them the opportunity to talk about pollination, seed dispersal and learn about nature. Bailey and Ms Yeboah delivered a fabulous presentation.

Click here to access the presentation

Competition time

Bailey and Ms Yeboah are running a competition for children across the school. All you need to do is create a drawing or painting of a ‘Happy Habitat for VIPB’s- Very Important Pollinators.

The most original and colourful design wins a Humble Bumble Seedbomb and slingshot kit (for junior entrants) and a paint-your-own bug hotel with a packet of wildflower seeds and/or sunflower seeds for infants.

All entries should be returned to Mrs Fernandes with your name and class on clearly written on the back. It’s a fantastic opportunity and I look forward to seeing many entries.

St Joseph’s Art Exhibition – July 2022

I am pleased to share that we will be hosting an Art event in early July (the date will be confirmed after half-term). We will be having our first Gallery exhibition featuring artwork from every child in the school.

The topic will be ‘Our future’ to present children’s vision of our planet and sustainability. You will have the opportunity to purchase your child’s art masterpiece and attend a session at our exhibition.

Learning opportunities beyond the classroom

Lions! Elephants! A cheeky duck!

London Mozart Players bring the musical animals in Peter & The Wolf and Carnival of the Animals to life at Fairfield in a concert for all the family. Illustrator James Mayhew will paint along to the music, animating the roaring lions and braying donkeys and children’s TV presenter and national treasure Floella Benjamin will narrate the accompanying poems.

Bring the family to Fairfield to see Croydon’s resident orchestra animate these fictional furry friends.

Name: Peter & the Wolf and Carnival of the Animals
Date: 4pm on 11 June 2022
Location: Fairfield halls, Croydon
Ticket prices: £8 (under 18s) and £15 (standard)

Click here to book tickets

An event not to be missed – Family fun day/colour run 2nd July

The school and the PTA will be holding a family fun day on the 2nd of July from 1.00 – 4.00 p.m. on the school field. Activities will include a Colour Run. More details will be shared shortly.

Ideas for half-term

We have shared many holiday and sports camp opportunities on the school app newsfeed for sports including cricket with Surrey Cricket, football at Whitgift School, triathlon at Trinity School, basketball at Coombe Wood School, at venues such as Crystal Palace, as well as useful advice from the Youth Sports Trust.

The full list of the current options can be found on the school website under Discover St Joseph’s > Schools > Wrap around care or by clicking here.

We also remind you about the free keyboard / piano lessons from Shabach Ministry, who are a Pentecostal Church that rents our premises during weekends and weekdays. Their pastor, Mr Reid, can teach up to 25 pupils for one session a week, from 7pm to 8pm in the Junior Hall, on the first two Wednesdays of each month. To get in touch with Mr Reid, please call on ph: 07534 449432 or email [email protected]

Summer Camp at St Joseph’s

Registration for our own Holiday and Activities Food (HAF) programme is now open. Our programme will run from 25 July 2022 until 19 August 2022, between 09:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Mondays to Fridays. All children will be provided a healthy and nutritious hot lunch. This is the second year we have run a holiday programme this year as part of our overall COVID community support programme.

Click here for further details of our Summer 2002 HAF programme

Please note: to register, please download the registration form (from the link above), and submit it to Mrs Odewale (by email or in person via the school office). Do not email your forms to the school.

Have a safe half-term break

It’s been a busy term, and I can’t think of a better way to end it than to come together for our school’s games day and Jubilee picnic. I hope you have a restful half term, keep reading over the break and do check our School App regularly for information.

This week’s photo montage – Part 1

This week’s photo montage – Part 2

Mrs L Fernandes
Headteacher

Future Dates for your diary

2nd Half of Summer term
Term begins – TUESDAY, 7TH JUNE 2022
7.6.22 – Year 3 and 4 football competition 08:30 – 11:00
8.6.22 – Y6 parents meeting – Residential trip (8.7.22 – 10.7.22)
9.6.22 – KS2 Maths competition (2 teams) at St Thomas Becket Primary School
10.6.22 – Y2 Transition Meeting in the Junior Hall 8.15 a.m. start
13.6.22 – Group of Y5 pupils to attend a Science on stage workshop
14.6.22 – 5E Assembly 9:15 a.m. start (parents/carers welcome to attend)
15.6.22 – New Reception parents meeting – 9:30 a.m. (Infant Hall)
16.6.22 – New Nursery parents meeting – 9.30 a.m. (Infant Hall)
17.6.22 – Fathers’ Day Breakfast 7:45 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. (Junior Hall) tickets will be available from 10.6.22
20.6.22 – Croydon Sports Heats (Boys) 4.00 p.m.-6.00 p.m. Croydon Sports Arena
22.6.22 – Croydon Sports Heats (Girls) 4.00 p.m. – 6.00 p.m. Croydon Sports Arena
23.6.22 – KS2 General Knowledge Quiz Final – Central London (School Team)
23.6.22 – Celebration Mass at Aylesford Priory (Y5 pupils)
24.6.22 – Croydon Sports Finals Croydon Sports Arena
27.6.22 – 01.7.22 – MATHS WEEK
30.6.22 – Catholic sports competition – St James the Great (parents welcome to attend)
4.7.22 – 15.7.22 ART EXHIBITION
5.7.22 – KS2 SATS results published
6.7.22 – School Mass for all children making their 1st Holy Communion (Junior Hall)
7.7.22 – Catholic Infant sports competition – Thomas Beckett school
8.7.22 – 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 – Y6 Production 5.30 p.m; Parent contact meetings (if you wish to meet with your class teacher)
15.7.22 –Y6 Leavers BBQ
18.7.22 – Y6 Leavers/End of year Mass – 5.30 p.m.