Newsletters

15th February 2019

It really has been an action packed half term. The children have as always worked extremely hard and taken advantage of the many opportunities that have been available to them.

Next half term, already appears to be very busy and exciting , with lots of special projects planned, including science week, Fair trade Fortnight and Book week. Please keep checking our twitter feed, to see what the children have been up to.

 We hope that you all have a lovely half term holiday and we  look forward to seeing the children back in school on Tuesday the 26th of February.

 

 

The Be Nice Bus

The #BeNiceBus tour  visited St Joseph's this half term.

Y4/5 and 6, took part in  walk-on workshops  to explore the impact of bullying and cyberbullying. These interactive workshops  encouraged our  young people to think about their actions and also the actions of others.

 

Online Safety

On Monday the 4th of March, our Online Safety Adviser, Sue Finnegan will be visiting school. She will be working with our older KS2 children and will also deliver a presentation to parents.

This really is an important topic, please do make every effort to attend the event after school.

Creche facilities will be available .

School Uniform :

Please make sure that your child is wearing the correct school uniform - details of which can be found on our school website.

Please also make sure that they have appropriate kit, for outdoor PE. The weather is hopefully improving, so we shall be making the most of our outdoor track.

Creative Writing Club:

We have another fantastic opportunity for our KS2 children (Y4/Y5/Y6) Sheffield Hallam University - Creative writing students, are going to work with our children to develop a story based on the children’s interests. The students will write a piece responding to themes, characters, settings and concepts, that our children would like to read.

Fair Trade Fortnight - 25/02/19 -10/03/19

During the two weeks children will be learning about Fair Trade through assemblies and activities in class.

This year there shall also be a class competition, to find out which class can collect the most Fair Trade packaging.

NO NUT PACKAGING please, due to allergies.

Image result for fair trade

Science Week - 8th - 17th March

This year the focus at St Joseph's, is "Women in Science."

There will be lots of exciting activities and inspiring visitors throughout the week.

 There will also be a class challenge- but this is top secret !

We are sure the children will share the details of this with you very soon.

Please remember to check out our twitter feed, which is updated regularly.

As you know, World Book day is just around the corner on Thursday 7th March. We are asking your children to dress up as a story book character for the day (please no football kits or superhero costumes). Please bring a copy of the book or a picture that features your character. 

We will also be holding a competition for a 'Story in a Shoe box.' Children should make a scene, in a shoe box, from their favourite book. There will be book prizes for the winners!

Children will receive a £1 book token, on the day, which they can use towards a new book.

Image result for world book day

 

Parent Governors :

After half term , we shall be holding elections for two new parent governors. If this role appeals to you and you would like to know a little more about it, then please don't hesitate to come into school and ask.

Further details to follow soon.

Mothers Day Sale

The FRIENDS of St Joseph's, will be holding their annual Mothers Day sale, for the children on Friday the 29th of March .

Lenten Collection

This year our Lenten Collection will be donated to the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, to support the important work they are doing .

 

Will You Follow?

‘Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will be fishers of men.” Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.’ Luke 5:1-11

Image result for fishing boat on sea of galilee

 

This scripture passage is the result of three disciples’ very first encounter with Jesus. Simon follows a simple instruction from Jesus and brings about a miracle – catching a huge number of fish after a night of catching nothing. After witnessing this, there is no hesitation in Simon and his companions: they leave everything and follow Jesus. They sacrificed everything they had to pay for the incredible rewards of following Jesus.

 

In last weeks assembly, we reflected on this passage and helped children consider Jesus’ personal call to follow Him. In “The Best Thing Ever!”, three children are desperate to get hold of tickets to a Little Mix concert and discuss imaginative ways that they might be able to convince their families to buy them tickets. The story helps children realise that some things are more important than others, and sometimes rewards of great value are worth making sacrifices for.

The Best Thing Ever!

Here is a version of the story used in the assembly, which you may like to read with your children to spark discussions about what is most important to them.

It was Monday morning, and Kareena and Markus were on the playground waiting for the bell to ring. Kareena was telling Markus about her new high score on Minecraft, and Markus was telling Kareena all about the new sweet shop in town. At that moment, Frankie – who always overslept, so was late – ran up looking very excited.

“Guys, you’ll never guess what!” said Frankie, “Tickets for the new Little Mix tour go on sale this evening!”

Kareena and Markus gaped – Little Mix was their favourite band!

“I would do ANYTHING to see them live!” squealed Kareena.

“But aren’t the tickets really expensive?” asked Markus, “You’d have to convince your Mum to pay for them.”

But Frankie had a plan. She would promise to get up early and never make her Mum late for work! For a whole year!

“Good idea, but shouldn’t you just get up early anyway?” asked Kareena.

“Ok…” groaned Frankie, “how about if I promise to do the washing up every day too? Now that is a sacrifice!”

“I KNOW!” said Kareena, jumping up. “My grandparents are always going on at me about playing too much Minecraft, so they’ll definitely get me a ticket if I give it up for a whole year! Markus, what will you give up to persuade your Dad?”

“Well… I could give up sweets for a year? And chocolate? It’ll be difficult because I LOVE sweets and chocolate, but it’ll be worth it to see Little Mix. Do you think my Dad would get me a ticket if I promise that?”

“Markus, your Dad is a dentist,” said Frankie, “of course he will!”

The three children were very excited. They were prepared to give anything to go to that concert and knew it would be THE BEST THING EVER!

Questions for Discussion:

- What do each of them promise to do for a year in return?

- Why are they each prepared to make sacrifices?

- The disciples sacrificed everything to follow Jesus. What does this tell us?