6 May 2022

It has been a short but very busy week.

Year 6 SATS

Year 6 have been working hard to prepare for their SATS and came in on polling day to revise with their teachers. We have every faith that they will do their best and make us proud. I ask that you keep them in your prayers next week during SATS week.

Click here for information about Year 6 SATS

News to celebrate

Congratulations to Bella in Year 3 for winning the Mayor of London Fourth Plinth Schools Award 2022. Her outstanding piece of artwork was based on a fashion design to reflect her African culture. She was awarded first place for Croydon and her design will be on display. Bella attended a prize-giving ceremony at County Hall, London.

“My grandma and I went to London for the prize-giving ceremony. London was busy and I loved seeing people in coffee shops sipping tea and coffee. I saw a bear with a bowtie in a shop window. It was so much fun.

At the exhibition there were hundreds of people and the presenter was really nice to everyone. When it came to my turn, she called my name and I felt I had goosebumps and my hair rose up with a tingling sensation. I was so proud to see my work and know that my picture was like a legacy that would grow bigger and bigger.”

– Bella, Year 3

Year 2 meeting

We will be holding a meeting in Class 2J on Tuesday (10 May 2022) at 8:15 a.m. and Thursday (12 May 2022) at 3:00 p.m. to go over expectations for KS1 SATS. Whilst they are important, they are administered in a different way and not under strict conditions. The KS1 tests inform teacher assessments and teachers will award a level of attainment based on work completed in class.

Please do attend the meeting as key information will be shared with you.

Click here for the Year 2 SATS letter

Portuguese Language Day

To celebrate Portuguese Language day, St. Joseph’s were invited to a reception organised by the Ambassador of Portugal to the United Kingdom, Manuel Lobo Antunes. Ms DeMelo attended the event, representing St Joseph’s school and enjoyed celebrating the Portuguese language and culture. The event was organised by the Embassy of Brazil in collaboration with the Embassy of Portugal.

We are very grateful to the Institute of Camoes for all their support in delivering Portuguese lessons at St Joseph’s School. Since 2020, they have provided the children with many cultural activities and audiences with authors and helped to enrich our curriculum.

“As Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) leader, I was proud to represent the school at the event. There was a range of musical and poetic performances, by actors and musicians from all Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), followed by a cocktail reception. Ms Teresa Rodrigues, who teaches at our school, accompanied me. She is from The Institute of Camoes.

Also attending was Mr Rodrigo Chaveiro, cultural director of the Portuguese Embassy. Joao Menezes, a Portuguese singer and guitarist performed. I had the pleasure of meeting Regina Dos Santos Duarte, Director of Institute of Camoes and Catia Verguete, Deputy Head of Institute of Camoes.

On behalf of St. Joseph’s, it was a pleasure to be part of such an astonishing event and have the opportunity to network with the support of our Portuguese Embassy partners.

– Ms DeMelo

Year 3 & 4 trip to Brighton

Please ensure you complete the form sent via our School App. The cost for the trip is £25 and if we do not have a good response to the questionnaire, we will not go ahead with the trip. I appreciate that the cost is high but we need to guarantee payment before booking the coaches. Do contact the office if you are not able to access the questionnaire.

English National Opera (ENO)

Members of the ENO production team visited our school on Friday afternoon to work with children from years 4-6 who attended workshops in April. The team rehearsed a variety of songs and recorded their performance. They are hoping to televise the Sky Arts project ‘Abracadopera’ in early June. I will share information once the date and time has been confirmed.

Marian procession – Thursday, 26th May 2:00 p.m.

This is always one of the highlights of our calendar when we pay homage to Our Lady – Mother Mary. Children and staff come together for a short assembly and then process through the school carrying flowers to lay at the statue of Mary. You have always been incredibly generous with your donation of flowers which we then distribute to residential homes and to people who are unwell. I will publish a reminder to send flowers in, nearer the date.

Remote learning

I hope your child managed to complete the work set on Google Classrooms on the Polling day on Thursday. We are delighted to be a school where remote learning works effectively to support teaching and learning. Thank you for your support.

Staff training

Despite the children not being in school (with the exception of year 6 who came in to revise) staff were on-site to engage in CPD around health and safety, making the most of our new school app and GDPR. I’m proud to say our team are always committed to continual professional development.

Mr Defty, Mrs Steen-Plommer, Ms Chrusciak and Mr Abrahams also led training courses for 15 teachers in the early stages of their teaching careers. The morning session focused on outdoor learning and the afternoon was on promoting high-quality PE teaching. Our staff were brilliant, motivating their colleagues and inspiring them to be creative and have fun.

Science Week

Only 2 weeks to go to our Science week. Staff have planned a variety of trips and school-based activities. If you are free to help, do see your child’s class teacher, they’d be delighted to have you join them.

Click here for the letter for Year 4’s trip to Chistlehurst Caves
Click here for the letter for Year 3’s trip to the Science Museum

Parking and cameras

A reminder that, as we said on the app before the Summer Term started, the School Street cameras on Woodend are again operational and have been since 25 April 2022. If you do not want to receive a £130 PCN fine from Croydon Council, please do not drive down between 0800 hours and 0930 hours, and between 1400 hours and 1600 hours.

We are also receiving complaints (again) about cars parking on the kerb and mounting the footpath on Crown Dale. Residents are well within their rights to call Croydon Council and report you, whereupon you will get an instant fine. Aside from the inconvenience, it is also a health and safety issue. We very nearly had an accident this morning where a large truck was coming down at some speed down Crown Dale, towards a parent who had parked on the footpath. They opened their door without looking, had a child in their hands, and both almost got hit by the truck. The cones are there for a reason – please do not move them, and do not park on Crown Dale.

Class Photographs – Monday, 16th May 2022

Please ensure that your child comes into school wearing full school uniform on that day. If your child has PE, they will need to bring their PE kit in and get changed once photographs have been taken. Do note that this is the same day as the ‘Birds of Prey’ visit.

Mental Health awareness week – 9th to 13th May 2022

Supporting mental health for children and adults is important to us as a school community. Life can bring many joys with challenges and our faith is a big part of helping us through difficult times. We help our children to understand that feeling sad is an emotion everyone experiences and we don’t always know the cause of our sadness. We encourage them to talk or find a way to express their feelings, perhaps through art, talk or writing down their thoughts.

Please remember we are always here to support you; see below a couple of good links/documents on the topic

Guide to mental health for parents and carers
How to be ‘star’ for your emotions

The warmth and love our children display is a credit to you as parent and carers. Thank you for your support and all you do to help your child/children to be amazing young people.

The School Creed

All the children went home today with a postcard with our school creed on it and you will soon see new billboards around the school halls and walls for the same. We really want to celebrate the powerful yet simple messages in our creed so do please take a look at the postcard with your child.

Closing prayer

Dear Lord

We thank you that all the gifts you give us.

We know we can always trust you.

Please guide each child as they complete their SATS and be with them every step they take.

Bless them with the gift of knowledge and help them to do their best. May they discover their unique talents and gifts.

St Joseph the worker pray for us as we place our trust, hope and dreams in you.

Click here for this week’s photo montage

Mrs L Fernandes
Headteacher

Future Dates for your diary

1st half of Summer Term
09.05.22 – 13.05.22 – KS2 SATS WEEK
10.5.22 – Y2 SATS meeting – 8.15 a.m. in class J (same content covered in both meetings)
12.5.22 – Y2 SATS meeting – 3.00 p.m. in class J (same content covered in both meetings)
14.05.22 – Catholic Schools Netball & Football tournament – Margaret Roper
16.05.22 – 20.05.22 – SCIENCE WEEK
18.05.22 – Catholic Swimming Gala – St Joseph’s College
18.05.22 – Y2 visit to Brockwell park
19.05.22 – Y3 trip to the Science Museum
19.05.22 – Y4 visit to Chislehurst Caves
23.05.22 – 27.05.22 – KEEPING HEALTHY WEEK
23.05.22 – Young Voices concert – O2 arena
24.05.22 – Young KS2 faith leaders meeting (Apostles of Mercy to attend)
26.05.22 – Marian procession
27.05.22 – School Games week followed by a ‘Jubilee Celebration’ Picnic
22.07.22 – End of term