Dear Parents/Carers,
Masses and Assemblies
Class 5L will be presenting their assembly on “St Andrew” next Thursday 28th November at 2:30pm. The dates for the remaining Masses and assemblies this term are at the end of this newsletter.
November
The month of November is a time to remember those who have died or have been affected by wars and conflicts. We have sent all the money collected recently in school through the lunchtime poppy sales in school to the British Legion and they will let us know how much was raised. If you have someone in your family who you would like us to remember, please send their names to me and we will offer prayers during November.
Uniform/PE Kits
Uniform will next be on sale on Wednesday 27th November from 8:50-9:30am and then every second Wednesday during the term. With winter now very much here, please make sure your child is coming to school with a suitable coat.
Friends’ Association
- Sunday 8th December – Christmas Bazaar 1:00-4:00pm
- Friday 13th December – Christmas Coffee Morning 9:00am
- Friday 13th December – Family Film Night 7:00pm
We will be holding more non-uniform days this half term in preparation for the Christmas Bazaar on 8th December. I have listed the dates below and what the children need to bring on each day. They are all on Fridays except Wednesday 4th December. Please note we now want the children to bring particular items which we can sell on the day. We would prefer them to bring these items but if they are unable to and still want to be in non-uniform, they should bring £2 which will enable us to buy extra items to sell. I know asking for £2 can be difficult for some families but we want to encourage you to send in the items asked for which you can buy for less than that. So next week ideally we would like everyone to bring a bottle. If you can sell additional raffle books at work or to family or friends, please ask at the school office.
- Friday 29th November – bring a bottle (or £2)
- Wednesday 4th December – bring something for the Christmas Stall (or £2)
- Friday 6th December – return of sold raffle tickets (or £2)
The next meeting of the Friends’ Association is next Tuesday 26th November at 6:00pm. This will be to make the final arrangements for the ChristmasBazaar.
The Sun/Collins Big Cat Books for Schools
As part of our on-going aim to get new books for the school library, I have registered the school with a campaign being run jointly by The Sun Newspaper and Collins Big Cat Book Company to provide up to £600 worth of free books for schools. We need to collect 3,500 tokens printed daily in The Sun between 23rd November 2019 and 18th January 2020. I know The Sun my not be your regular newspaper but it would be good to buy copies during this period to get the tokens and directly benefit all the pupils. By registering, we also get access to other free resources to support reading in the school.
After School Activities
The gymnastics club and the clubs run by Dance Stables still have places so you can book through them directly.
All the clubs finish at 4:15pm except the Cooking Club which finishes at 5:00pm on a Wednesday.
Attendance and Punctuality
Double congratulations to Class 5L who achieved the highest attendance this week with 99% and also had the best punctuality with 100 %. Very well done to 5L for achieving both awards.
Class of the Week
This week I am awarding a “Group of the Week” award to all the year 6 pupils who were wonderful guides and ambassadors for the school at the recent Year 2 open mornings in school. They were a credit to the school and impressed all the parents who came to visit the school with the Year 2 children.
Book Week
We have had our Book Week in school and this included a visit from the author and illustrator Simon Murray who came on Wednesday. Simon had a great day in school and he helped the children to produce some wonderful art work.
Book Swap Day
We held our Book Swap today and well done to the children who brought in books from home that they no longer wanted to swap. Hopefully most of the children were able to go home today with at least one “new” book.
Table Top Sale
The parish Christmas table top sale takes place tomorrow 23rd November from 11:00am to 2:00pm. Pop in for lunch (vegetarian available), both eat in and take away. Lots of Christmas items on sale at competitive prices. For children; toy tombola, lucky dips, face painting, nails and lots more.
Sonlight Concert
There is an evening of praise and worship with the band Sonlight at St Joseph’s Church on Saturday 30th November from 7:00pm. Entry is free with refreshments after the concert. There will be a collection at the end of the evening for the band’s expenses.
Parental Consultation Meetings
I have moved the planned end of term parental consultation meetings from Monday 2nd December to a week later on Monday 9th December (same times). This is because there is going to be a re-scheduled Governor’s Meeting on the evening of 2nd December. I will be sending out appointment letters next week.
Sport
Good luck to our Year 6 girl’s football team who will be taking part in their first competition next Thursday morning at the Score Centre organised by the Leyton Orient Football Trust.
Easyfundraising
Do you ever shop online? Would you like to raise money for your child’s school at no extra cost to you? St Joseph’s Junior School has registered their cause on easyfundraising, which is a super initiative that raises money for hundreds of charities and good causes including schools. You can easily and quickly raise money for new equipment and resources for our children with the things you are already buying online. Over 3,000 shops and shopping sites including Amazon, Argos, Sainsbury’s, John Lewis and M&S all give donations through the easyfundraising organisation. You can also give donations when you travel, switch energy or telephone providers or when booking days out. You may also receive special discounts or promotions when you sign up as a supporter.
With Christmas coming, there has never been a better time to sign up as a supporter. Simply go to www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/stjosephsjuniorsleyton and register using your e-mail address (it takes about 5 minutes). Alternatively members of the Friends’ Association will be on hand to help people sign up and answer questions during the parent’s evenings on 9th December. It is a very easy thing to do, even I have managed to register online and have already raised some money for the school when I shop online.
Yours sincerely,
J Alexander (Head teacher)
Future Dates for your Diary
- Tuesday 26th November – Friends’’ Association Meeting 6:00pm
- Thursday 28th November – Year 6 girls football tournament at Score Centre am
- Thursday 28th November – Class 5L Assembly on “St Andrew” 2:30pm
- Friday 29th November – Non-uniform day for Christmas Bazaar (bottle or £2)
- Friday 29th November – National Trust Workshops for Year 5 classes am
- Monday 2nd December – Maths Assessment Week in Years 3, 4 and 5
- Wednesday 4th December – Non-uniform day for Bazaar (Christmas Stall or £2)
- Wednesday 4th December – Class 5O Assembly on “Hope” 2:30pm
- Thursday 5th December – Pantomime of “Aladdin” in school 10:30am
- Thursday 5th December – Fire Safety Talk for Year 5 pm
- Friday 6th December – Non-uniform day for Christmas Bazaar (sold raffle tickets)
- Friday 6th December – Interim RE review in school
- Sunday 8th December – Christmas Bazaar 1:00-4:00pm
- Monday 9th December – Mock SATs Week in Year 6
- Monday 9th December – Reading Assessment Week in Years 3, 4 and 5
- Monday 9th December – Parents meetings (1:00-3:00pm and 4:00-6:00pm)
- Tuesday 10th December – Carol Concert led by Y3 in church 10:30am
- Wednesday 11th December – Non-uniform day for the “Heat or Eat” food bank
- Wednesday 11th December – Carol Concert led by Y3 in church 7:00pm
- Thursday 12th December – Amnesty International Workshops for Years 5 and 6 pm
- Friday 13th December – “Christmas Jumper Day” for Save the Children”
- Friday 13th December – Family Film Night 7:00pm
- Saturday 14th December – St Joseph’s Infant School Christmas Bazaar pm
- Monday 16th December – Writing assessments today
- Tuesday 17th December – Y4 Shakespeare Concert of “Macbeth” 11:00am
- Wednesday 18th December – Christmas lunch
- Wednesday 18th December – Y4 Shakespeare Concert of “Macbeth” 7:00pm
- Thursday 19th December – Whole School Mass led by Year 5 11:00am
- Friday 20th December – Last day of term (finish at 2:00pm today)
- Monday 6th January 2020 – Staff inset day
- Tuesday 7th January 2020 – Staff inset day
- Wednesday 8th January 2020 – First day of spring term for pupils
- Saturday 25th January 2020 – School hosting Waltham Forest Music Festival pm
