Newsletters

Friday 14th February 2025

Each year on 14 February we celebrate St Valentine's Day by giving our loved one's cards or gifts, such as flowers or chocolates. But who was Valentine, and what do we know of him?

It is believed Valentine was a priest living in the 3rd Century at the time of the Roman Empire. The Roman Emperor - Claudius Gothicus - banned his soldiers from getting married, because he felt marriage was a distraction from fighting. But Valentine continued to marry Roman soldiers in secret.

When Gothicus found out, Valentine was thrown in jail. The story continues that the jailer had a daughter who was blind, but Valentine was able to restore her sight by praying to his Christian God. The jailer released Valentine, but when Gothicus found out, both Valentine and the jailer were sentenced to death.

On 14 February, Valentine wrote a farewell letter to the jailer's daughter - the very first Valentine's Day letter.

Thank you to all the people that are important to us.
Help us to show them what they mean to us.
And help everyone to feel cared for.
Amen.

 

Please remember Harvey and his family in your prayers during the coming days.

Harvey was a student at St Joseph's for 8 years of his very short life. He is remembered with much fondness as being a lovely child with a real sense of fun. Many of us also remember how much he loved football and especially his favourite team !

 Harvey's funeral will be at Sheffield Cathedral on Friday the 21st of February at 2:30pm. Father Mark will be in attendance and will also lead the private committal service following the funeral.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he  rest in peace. 

Amen.

Wow, wow, wow ..... Our incredible Y5 class really did us proud, with their Oliver performance.

They showcased outstanding talent, excellent singing, dancing and acting. They were all amazing.

This afternoon, they performed for their parents, a fabulous way to end a half-term.

A huge thank you to the very talented Mr White and Mrs Shepherd, for all of their work in pulling this together ...it was simply incredible !

 

Number Day was a great success last Friday, and we raised  £138.85 for the NSPCC. Thank you all for your support with number outfits and for your kind donations. The whole day was filled with maths activities, with every year group enjoy working on a variety of maths skills. Activities included playing number games in PE, making multiplication flowers and finding ratios with Smarties! The children were all encouraged to use maths across the curriculum. The TTRockstars competition, NSPCC Rocks, was also completed. Year 4 was our winning class, followed by year 5 in second place and year 2 in third place. Well done to everyone who took part.

 

 

Year 2 have been enjoying their India topic this week. They had so much fun on Tuesday morning learning to play the Tabla drums with the musican Ford Collier, composing their own rhythms and words. In the afternoon Desi Dance from The University of Sheffield visited us and led a Bollywood dance workshop. The children were great at following their instructions and copying their moves to create a whole class Bollywood dance routine. 

 We would like to say a huge thank you to M.S.Shirt's Box Co Ltd for their very kind and generous donation of £200 towards our Forest School.

This will have such a huge impact and will allow us to develop this space further, with a permanent fire pit and new mud kitchen.

Yesterday  Mrs Trewick and Miss Grey held their second "Book and Bake Sale," and raised a staggering £190 for our Forest School. Thank you to everyone for your donations. Thank you also to Zoe, our incredible cook, for providing the delicious treats !

 

Whole School Attendance 95%

Reception 94.5%

Year 1 94.5%

Year 2 95%

Year 3 98%

Year 4 93%

Year 5 96%

Year 6 96%

 NHS statistics indicate that the need for mental health support for children and young people in the UK is higher than ever, with 1 in 6 children (16%) reported as being in need of such help. Unchecked worry and anxiety in under-18s is a key contributor to this figure, with roughly 4 in 10 children (37.4%) saying they don’t receive regular support from their school.

While everyone feels a touch of concern over the future now and then, chronic worry and anxiety can feel unending. This can cause significant damage to young people’s wellbeing – such as losing sleep, feeling emotionally drained, and having their school grades impacted. It's vital that children and young people suffering from worry and anxiety have effective tools to manage their fears and regain control, and know when to seek further help.

  • Monday 24th February - Return to school
  • Thursday 6th March - World Book Day
  • Friday 7th March - International Women's Day 
  •  Tuesday 18th March - Fransiscan Sisters of the Renewal 
  • Tuesday 18th March - Parents Evening - More Information to Follow
  • Wednesday 19th March - St Joseph's Day
  • Friday 21st March - World Poetry Day 
  • Wednesday 26th March - Parents Coffee Morning
  • Thursday 27th March - Parents Evening - More Information to Follow
  • Friday 28th March - Last Day of the Spring Term 

 

This week we heard the very sad news that Mrs Jean Colligan had passed away.

This special lady had a real bond with St Josephs School.  She worked as the school secretary when Peter Dolan was Head Teacher, moving on to being a much loved TA who made a real impact supporting children in school.

In more recent years, Mrs Colligan supported St Joseph's, by regularly coming in to hear the children read. A wonderful lady and we thank her for everything that she did for the school. 

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May she rest in peace. 

Amen.

 Dear Jesus,

Help us to love You in the same selfless way in which Saint Valentine did, and by our example may others know that You love them. 

Amen.