5 March 2021

We are excited to welcome you back on Monday, 8th March and I can’t tell you how delighted we are to come together again.

My letter of the 2nd March outlined details about entrances/exits to use, together with drop off and pick up times. Please do follow all safety guidelines and procedures in place, they are there for your safety and to protect everyone.

Click here for the 2 March letter

We request that you wear a mask while on the premises and please do not come to the school office unless it is an emergency. You can always contact staff via the year group emails or call the office and staff will return your call at a mutually convenient time.

It feels like the start of a new year, despite the fact that we’re moving towards Easter. I’m sure the children will have gone through a growing spurt, so please do check that their uniform still fits. May I please remind you that all children should wear a school coat and will need it over the next few weeks as the weather continues to be cooler. Your child will be expected to be in full uniform from Monday, 8th March. Class teachers will post information about PE days on Google Classrooms. These may vary each week, so do continue to refer to Google classrooms.

Thank you for your messages of support and for completing the remote learning questionnaire.

Click here for the questionnaire

Your views are important and inform future planning and practice.

Book week

My thanks to Mrs Tope and Ms Bickmore for organising book week. Despite being in lockdown, we had an amazing week. Children listened to live webinars presented by a story teller, the older children took part in a virtual tour of the Tower of London and poetry was a focus for many classes. World book day on the 4th March, was a big success. Children and staff enthusiastically engaged in the spirt of book week, by dressing up as book characters. Mrs Gallagher’s special guest was ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ and it certainly entertained both children and adults alike.

Bedtime stories was a hit with all children attending via zoom. We loved sharing stories with the children and their responses were brilliant. Thank you to staff who gave up time in the evening to host these sessions. It was so popular that we all agreed to keep this as a regular event through out the year. I think it would be wonderful if parents / carers and friends could take part in story sessions. All ideas are welcome and help to promote a love for reading.

Pupil voice continues to be popular, so in response to many requests, we have decided to hold a second book day, next Friday, 12th March 2021. Children are invited to come in dressed as a book character so we can enjoy seeing all the children in person.

All we ask is that your child brings in an outdoor plant, vegetables or bulbs to be planted in our school. Our gardening areas are taking off and children attending school have loved every moment of working outside. So, to celebrate the return of all our pupils, we thought it would be nice to run a second book day but ask you to donate plants for the gardens.

Time to Write competition

Do encourage your child to complete this task. We will be awarding prizes for the best entries. Please see the following information.

Task: Imagine though, if for a moment, we were able to transport ourselves to the greatest library in the world? Imagine if we could open books and be transported across oceans and mountains? Imagine if when you started reading you could smell, hear, touch, see and taste the story?

Design, create, draw, paint what you imagine to be the Greatest Library.
Write a descriptive setting to describe the library you have created.

Nurturing a love for reading is the essence of achievement. You are never too young or old to learn exciting new facts and information to develop new hobbies and interests. So be the role model children will look up to. Don’t just encourage them to read but let them see you reading and read together.

St Joseph’s new library

Thanks to Mr McEvoy’s hard work, our new library is taking shape. It should be completed in a few weeks and ready to be stocked with some of our new books. Thank you to parents who have kindly donated books. We are happy to accept donations at any time, so please do refer to the following links for suggested titles.

Click here for a suggested list from Croydon LA
Click here for a suggested list from the Literacy Trust

Moving forward we will be launching a fundraising drive through parentpay where you can donate money. In appreciation, we will put your family’s name on display in the library. Information will be shared with you when we are all back to school.

We will be involving the children when they return, as pupil voice is so important. Our aim is to raise over £5,000 to equip our library and develop reading areas around the school. How wonderful would it be to have your name on a Founders plaque as a result of your donation?

Special thanks to the Palace for Life Foundation for their generous donation of books this week. Mr Lutchman is our regular coach and works closely with the children across the school. He not only provides excellent sports coaching but works with children on developing confidence, self-belief and resilience. He is well known to the children and always ready to offer good advice.

“A child who reads, will be an adult who thinks! The easiest way to open your mind to new ideas and concepts is to open a book and read’”

Mr Lutchman

Premises

I am sure you will be delighted to see the changes in our school environment that have taken place since you were last in school. The area at the front of the school has been landscaped with new shrubs and other plants. The design was based on pupil ideas and helps to create a vibrant and inviting entrance to the school. I look forward to seeing this area develop over the weeks and come into bloom.

Another outdoor area has been created near the garden hall to give children an additional outdoor space to work in. The children have already used it and look forward to making full use of it over the term. We are proud of the work put into developing the outdoor areas and believe it has enormous potential to positively impact on learning and wellbeing.

My thanks to Mr Navarro, our School Business Manager who was instrumental in developing the areas and arranged for it to happen. Staff are keen to deliver outdoor sessions and I am confident the outcomes will be amazing. We could be the new ‘Kew Gardens’ of Croydon!

Together we can!

Home testing kits for families with schoolchildren

You can now order kits to test your household, childcare bubble or support bubble if at least one member is a school pupil or works in a school. This service is for people who cannot go to rapid lateral flow test sites, for example if you cannot drive or get someone to take you there.

Limited stock is available, so before using this service, find out other ways to get a twice-weekly rapid lateral flow test.

Click here for the Gov.uk webpage where you can order home testing kits

Final thoughts

I hope you all have a happy and restful weekend and are well prepared for the return to school on Monday. Staff have worked hard to prepare for next week and are looking forward to having everyone back. I know the children will be excited and some may be apprehensive, but please be assured we are here to help and support them. We would like children (apart from Nursery) to come in on their own in the morning. However, if children are upset, we will work with you to reassure them so that they have a positive start.

Click for this week’s picture gallery

Thank you for your support and we will see you on Monday. Please do not come too early as you will not be able to come into school before your allocated time.

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs L Fernandes
Headteacher