Dear Parents/Carers,
We are now well into the season of Advent and there is a lot going on in school over the next couple of weeks. Our theme for the first week of Advent has been “Hope” and I have been working with lots of the children to write Advent poems and Class 5O presented a lovely assembly yesterday reflecting on “Hope”.
Christmas Bazaar (Sunday 8th December)
The Christmas Bazaar is now just a couple of days away now on Sunday 8th December from 1:00-4:00pm. This is one of our two main fundraising events during the year and please remember that all the money raised goes directly to your child and this is one of the best ways of supporting the school. Our aim is to raise around £2,500 so that we can continue to develop the school particularly outdoors for the benefit of our pupils both now and in the future. Thank you to all the parents who agreed to have the Your Move Board outside their house to raise money.
In particular we need help with the following:
• Setting up on Sunday morning. School will be open from 10:00am onwards on the day to set up the stalls etc. We will also need help in clearing away afterwards. We cannot set anything up on Saturday as the school is booked for a party in the afternoon as well as the lettings in the morning, so we need to do everything on Sunday.
• Helping to run a stall. It is always better to have several people running stalls. If any parents or family friends can do things like face painting or nail painting please let us know. Last year we weren’t able to do everything we had planned as we didn’t have enough helpers on the day.
• Donations of food or baking on the day for the refreshments stall.
• Hire a table top for £10 (no inappropriate games please).
• Advertise the Bazaar to family and friends.
• Most importantly we want a big turnout on the day so bring family and friends and lots of money to spend! A group of staff and parents are working incredibly hard to prepare for the day and they would appreciate some extra help. I would also like the Bazaar to be a good social event for the school and community by bringing people together and it would be a good way to mark the Second Sunday in Advent.
Dance Stables Group
The Tuesday Dance Club who work with the Dance Stable Group in school, will be performing at the Christmas Bazaar on Sunday from 2:30 to 3:00pm in the main hall. Hopefully most or all of the pupils who attend the Tuesday club will be able to come on Sunday and they will be a great addition to the Bazaar.
Friends’ Events
As well as the Christmas Bazaar, the Friends’ are also organizing some other fundraising events between now and the end of term. Friday 13th December is going to be a particularly busy day as we raise money for both Save the Children with our Christmas Jumper Day and for the school with the Coffee Morning and Film Night.
Friday 13th December – Christmas Coffee Morning 9:00am
Friday 13th December – “Christmas Jumper Day” for Save the Children
Friday 13th December – Family Film Night 7:00pm
“Christmas Jumper Day” for Save the Children
You may have seen on television that Friday 13th December is going to be “Christmas Jumper Day” in aid of Save the Children. We will be taking part in this so if your child wants to come to school on that day wearing a Christmas jumper they can bring a minimum of £1 (£2 would be even better for this great cause) and we will send the money to the charity. As an extra incentive there will be prizes for the best jumpers (best boy and girl in each class and the best boy and girl in the school). There will also be a special Christmas Coffee Morning at 9:00am and Christmas cake sale at lunchtime on the day.
Family Film Night (13th December)
We will be holding the Family Film Night next Friday 13th December in the school hall. This is the 7th year we have run this and it has proved very popular in previous years. Your child will bring home a flyer soon and as you will see there is no direct charge for the film but we will be selling refreshments on the evening, holding a raffle and asking for donations on the door. The children will have the opportunity to vote for the film we will show on the night. We would also like some help on the evening to sell refreshments etc. and help tidy up afterwards. Doors open at 6:30pm and we aim to start the film around 7:15pm. Please note all children must be accompanied by an adult.
Christmas Cards
If the children are giving Christmas cards to each other or to members of staff over the next few weeks, there is a special post box outside my room where they can “post” their cards. They need to put the name and class clearly on the envelope so that they can be delivered. Children should not give each other cards in the playground or in the classroom as this causes unnecessary litter outside and disruption inside the school.
Christmas Lunch
The children will be having their Christmas Lunch this year on Wednesday 18th December. If your child normally has a packed lunch in school, you can order a lunch for them but this needs to be done by Monday 9th December.
Uniform/PE Kits
Uniform will next be on sale on Wednesday 18th December from 8:50-9:30am. With winter now very much here, please make sure your child is coming to school with a suitable coat.
Parental Consultation Meetings (Monday 9th December)
I have sent out letters this week so you can make an appointment to see your child’s teacher on 9th December. If you haven’t made an appointment as yet, please do so by Monday morning.
Attendance and Punctuality
Congratulations to both Class 4P who achieved 99% attendance this week and Class 5L who achieved 99% punctuality.
Class of the Week
Well done to Class 5O who were Class of the Week for their lovely assembly on “Hope” this week. Once again I have been very impressed with the quality of all the class assemblies this term and the fact that significantly more parents have been coming to watch this term which is great for the children.
Pantomime
To get everyone in the Christmas spirit early this year, the West End in Schools Theatre Group performed “Aladdin” in school yesterday morning in the main hall.
End of Term Concerts
Our Year 3 and 4 pupils are busy rehearsing for their carol concerts and the Macbeth production respectively. The will perform in school and also in the evenings (dates and times below). If for any reason you know that your child will not be able to attend the evening performances then please let the teachers know in advance in case they need to re-allocate parts etc. The Carol Concerts are whole school events and one of the most important parts of our Advent journey in school. Although they are led by our Year 3 classes, I expect as many of the other pupils and parents as possible to be in church on the evening of Wednesday 11th December at 7:00pm as each year group has a part to play. For the last couple of years it has been held in school but I wanted to return to the church this Advent so that again it becomes a truly whole school and parish event.
Poppies
As part of our ongoing fundraising for charity in school, we supported the British Legion Annual Poppy Appeal in November. I am delighted to announce that we raised £387.15 this year which is the most we have ever raised for this great cause.
Well done everyone in our school community for this great effort.
End of Term Assessments
Over the last few weeks of term we are assessing all the pupils to measure their progress since the end of last year and to set targets for the spring term. This week I have assessed the pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5 in numeracy and next week I will be doing the same for reading. Also next week the Year 6 pupils will be sitting a full set of Mock SATs and then in the last week of term I will be assessing all the pupils in writing and spelling/grammar and punctuation.
Advent Box for BCCS
In previous years we have given every child an “Advent Box” where they can put any coins they have (even those annoying 1p and 2p coins!) or give up some things during Advent and put the money in the box. The money raised is for the Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society (BCCS) who do some wonderful work for young people in our diocese, particularly at this time of year. We have raised over £2,500 during the last 8 years. This year we are going to do it a little differently. Instead of giving every child a box, there will be one box in school and the children (and adults!) can bring their coins into school and put them in the box. I will be in the playground every morning and evening until the end of term to collect coins, plus the first week back in January. So check around the house etc. for loose coins and send them in to school for this worthy cause.
Christmas Food Bank
As you will remember we had a fantastic response to our Harvest Food Bank Appeal in October and we were able to support three different food banks in Walthamstow, Leytonstone and Stratford. One of the food banks has asked the school if they could support their Christmas Appeal which we are happy to do. We will hold an additional non-uniform day next Wednesday 11th December when the children can bring an item that we can donate e.g. non-perishable foodstuffs, toiletries plus gloves and hats for the cold weather.
Amnesty International Workshops
Our Year 5 and 6 pupils will be taking part in Amnesty International Workshops in school next Thursday 12th December in the afternoon.
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. 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).
Masses and Assemblies
All the class assemblies have now been completed for this term with the excellent Class 5O assembly on Thursday. We will have our end of term Whole School Mass on Thursday 19th December at 11:00am led by Year 5. It would be lovely to see lots of parents joining us for this Mass to mark both the end of term and the season of Advent before we break up for the Christmas holidays.
After School Clubs/Activities
Please note that all the Dance Stables Clubs (apart from the Drama Club which missed a session) have now ended for this term and will re-start in January. The other clubs run by our own staff or sports coaches will finish next week.
Yours sincerely,
J Alexander (Head teacher)
Future Dates for your Diary
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 (1:15-2:45pm 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
