Dear Parents/Carers,
I am sending out this newsletter a day earlier than normal to remind everyone of all the things happening tomorrow and of course for the final week of term.
Christmas Bazaar
Thank you to everyone who helped in any way to prepare for and then run a successful Bazaar last Sunday in school. A particular thanks to the Chair of the Friends’ Marion and to the staff and parents who have worked tirelessly over the last few weeks to ensure everything ran smoothly on the day. Also thanks to the parents and staff who came on Sunday morning to help set everything up and then run stalls and tidy up afterwards. It made my job a lot easier though I do confess to being very tired when I finally got home on Sunday evening. All the main raffle prizes (we had 15 prizes this year!) have now been claimed. It was certainly a very busy afternoon and it was lovely to see lots of parents, ex-parents and a lot of ex-pupils coming along to support their old school pus the Dance Stables performers. We raised around £2,500 both from Sunday itself plus donations, the boards from Your Move Estate Agents and the non-uniform days and cake sales beforehand. This is almost £500 more than we raised last year which is great for the school and the pupils.
“Christmas Jumper Day” for Save the Children
Friday 13th December is going to be “Christmas Jumper Day” in aid of Save the Children. If your child wants to come to school tomorrow wearing a Christmas jumper (or anything seasonal and colourful) they can bring minimum £1 or £2 if they can and we will send the money to the charity. There will be prizes for the best jumpers. We will not now be holding the Coffee Morning due to staff being off but there will be a special Christmas cake sale tomorrow at lunchtime. We raised just under £300 last year and I am confident we will beat that total this year.
Family Film Night (13th December)
We will be holding the Family Film Night on 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. There is no direct charge for the film (we ask everyone to buy a raffle ticket for £1) and we will be selling refreshments on the evening, holding the 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. We do not want children coming to and from the school on their own, on a cold and dark Friday night.
Masses and Assemblies
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.
Whole School Carol Concert
Well done to all our pupils who presented two wonderful Carol Concerts this week for both the school community and their family and friends. A particular well done to the Year 3 pupils who led the concerts. They showed themselves to be talented and confident performers and this was a fitting climax to what has been an excellent first term in school. My thanks to Ms Hoy, Ms Kamara and all the Year 3 staff who have worked so hard over the last few weeks to prepare the children.
Year 4 Shakespeare Production
Our very talented Year 4 pupils will be presenting their version of “Macbeth” next week to end their term long project with the Young Shakespeare Project. They will perform the play on Tuesday 17th December at 10:45am and Wednesday 18th December at 7:00pm. They have been working very hard over the last few weeks to prepare for this and I am sure the productions will be of a high standard. Parents and families are welcome on both days and again if you have very young children you may prefer to come to the morning performance on Tuesday.
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. Unfortunately we cannot now take any more orders for this lunch.
Uniform/PE Kits
Uniform will next be on sale on Wednesday 18th December from 8:50-9:30am. This will be the final opportunity to buy uniform before the Christmas break.
Class of the Week
Well done to our Year 3 classes who were both Class of the Week for leading the whole school in the Carol Concerts in church this week. You are all stars.
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 or Mrs Hyde will be in the playground every morning 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
Thank you to everyone who brought items in on Wednesday for the Christmas Food Bank Appeal. Again your generosity, particularly at this time of the year, is wonderful to see and is a great credit to our school community.
After School Clubs/Activities
Please note that all the clubs have now ended for this term and will re-start in January. We will send out letters in the first week back so that you can book places for the spring term clubs.
Yours sincerely,
J Alexander (Head teacher)
Future Dates for your Diary
- Friday 13th December – “Christmas Jumper Day” for Save the Children (£1/£2)
- 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” 10:45am
- 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
