Dear Parents/Carers,
We have reached the end of the first week back in school and it has been a fantastic start to the new school year, very orderly and calm. All the children have been excellent but a particular well done to the Year 3 pupils who have settled instantly into our routines. My thanks to all the staff who have worked so hard this week to help all the children settle into their new classes and a special thanks to our 4 new teachers who have gone the extra mile this week to ensure their children have the best possible start to the school year while getting used to life in St Joseph’s themselves. Friday will now be the normal day for the weekly newsletter so that everyone knows what is going on the following week and beyond.
Masses and Assemblies
There is a list of all the Masses and assemblies for this term in the list of dates at the end of the newsletter. Class/Year group Masses are normally on Tuesdays at 9:00am in the school hall and assemblies are normally on Thursdays at 2:30pm also in the school hall but please check the weekly newsletters for dates and times. Parents and families are always welcome to join us for any of the Masses or assemblies that are held in school this term. We are due to have our first Whole School Mass next Thursday 12th September but I am waiting for confirmation from the parish so will let you know as soon as I hear.
After School Club
We are currently taking bookings for our After School Club which runs from 3:05 to 6:30pm each school day. Application forms are available from the school office or can be downloaded from the school website. Our prices remain unchanged for this year so the current cost is £14 per day or £50 for a full week. We also offer an occasional ad hoc service which costs £7 up till 4:30pm and £14 up till 6:30pm. If you have booked your child into one of the free taster sessions next week, they will go the club straight after the end of school and will stay until you collect them at a convenient time up till 6:30pm when the club ends. You can still book a free place up till Monday morning.
Breakfast Club
Our Breakfast Club runs from 7:45 to 8:40am each school day, last entry being 8:25am. The cost is £3.00 per day (same as last year) and there is no need to book in advance. Please note there should be no children in our playground before 8:25am as they cannot be supervised. I have noticed quite a few children arriving in the playground as early as 8:00am this week which is too early. I always aim to be outside around 8:25am to meet the children and ensure everyone is safe and well.
Uniform/PE Kits
Uniform will next be on sale on Wednesday 11th September from 8:50-9:30am and then every second Wednesday during the term. Please make sure all items of uniform are clearly named, this helps us return lost uniform to the correct child. All pupils should make sure they have a full PE kit in school, again clearly marked with their name and kept in a suitable bag. Can I remind parents that children should now be in full school uniform including white shirts with ties. The summer uniform does not apply from September even if we have warm weather. I would also encourage parents to buy the blue school bags as they are a better alternative to the large rucksacks that take up a lot of space, especially in Year 6.
Medicines/Inhalers
The school does not administer any medication except in special cases involving Epipens or pupils who are diabetic. Any medicines in school are kept securely in our medical room. Pupils who use inhalers need to always have sufficient quantities in school that are in date and clearly marked. If your child is taken ill or has an accident in school we will always endeavour to contact you or a named relative/family friend so it is vital that we hold up to date contact information for every child in school. We will have care plans in school for any child who has a medical condition and these are updated annually to reflect any changes.
Piano Lessons
We offer piano lessons at school run by Tracy Swart. Lessons are offered from Beginners up to Grade 5. Tracy has re-started with her existing pupils this week and if you would like your child to have lessons please contact her on 07894580286 and she will give you all the details about cost etc.
Year Group Parent Meetings
We will be holding an information evening for parents of each year group during September. I will speak on general school matters and the class teachers will go over the curriculum and other classroom issues. The meeting for Year 6 parents is on Wednesday 11th September at 7:00pm in the school hall and then a meeting for Year 3, 4 and 5 parents on Wednesday 25th September at 3pm also in the school hall. Please note that these are general year group meetings. An individual consultation evening will be held later in the term.
School Photographs
All the pupils had both their individual photographs and any with siblings taken in school this week. This year the company who take the pictures are using a different system for ordering photos. Your child should have brought home a sheet yesterday with the website where you can log on, view your child’s picture and then order it directly from the company. We no longer accept orders and cash at school.
Attendance and Punctuality
As parents one of your main responsibilities is to ensure that your child is attending school and is on time in the morning. We are very keen in school to ensure that both attendance and punctuality are the best we can achieve at St Joseph’s. We have had a very encouraging start to the new school year and I am particularly impressed with the fact that our new Year 3 pupils have all in school on time this week and have had the best figures for attendance and punctuality this week. From next week I will be publishing our attendance and punctuality numbers and each Friday we will award the class or classes who achieve the highest figures with a special award for 100% attendance and punctuality. We have banners up near the school gate as a daily reminder of why both are so important.
Lateness
Following on from above, it is equally important that children are picked up on time after school. Also can I ask that you ensure your child knows what the arrangements are at the end of the day e.g. who is picking them up or if they are making their own way home (which should really only be pupils in Year 6).
Lettings
The school is available to hire for events such as birthday parties, family events etc. We can offer facilities such as the hall, dining room and the playground at very competitive prices. I have hired the facilities myself on several occasions for family events and we already have some bookings for this term. If you would like to make enquiries or a booking, please come to the school office for a form.
Library
We have been busy with the refurbishment of our library over part of the summer break and a big thank you to the staff and parents who came in to help when the summer play scheme was running. Most of the library has been painted and decorated and we have bought new books and beanbags for the pupils to use when it is up and running which hopefully will be in a couple of weeks’ time. If anyone can help next week getting the books back on the shelves, doing a bit of cleaning and dusting, labelling etc. that would be great.
Non-Uniform Days
During the school year we will hold non-uniform days when children can come to school in their own clothes in return for bringing in £1 or another item. We will be holding 3 of these days on Fridays in September when children can bring £1 in return for wearing their own clothes. All the money raised on Friday will be for school funds. The dates for non-uniform days this half term will be: Friday 13th September, Friday 20th September and Friday 27th September. We will keep you up to date on future non-uniform days as we go through the term.
After School Activities
We are sending out forms today so that you can start to book your child/children onto one of our after school activities. We are aiming to start them next week so the sooner you book a place the better. Sorry for the short time but I have been waiting for some of the sports coaches to confirm they are ready to go next week. You can book and pay for a block of 6 weeks up till half term and then we will offer another block after half term to give as many pupils as possible the opportunity to take part. Again please note that the Monday Gymnastics Club and the Tuesday Dance Club both have to be booked through the teachers/coaches running them, not through the school. The Wednesday Cooking Club will also begin next week but Ms Le is organising the bookings for this and she wants to offer it to a particular year group each half term, starting with Year 5. Pupils in the other year groups will get an opportunity to join the club later in the year.
If you want your child to go into the After School Club after they have finished their activity, you can arrange an ad hoc booking for that night of £5 up till 5:30pm and £10 up till 6:30pm.
Fitness Class
The fitness class which was running in school last term on a Thursday evening is starting again next week but has moved to Tuesdays at the later time of 6:30pm. For more information contact Leah on 07939 342990 or come along on Tuesday.
Yours sincerely,
J Alexander (Head teacher)
Future Dates for your Diary
This is a list of important dates for this term; it will be updated and amended each week. Please keep it in a safe place to refer to.
- Wednesday 11th September – Year 6 Curriculum Meeting 7:00pm
- Thursday 12th September – Whole School Mass led by Year 4 9:00am (TBC)
- Friday 13th September – Non-uniform day for school funds (bring £1)
- Friday 13th September – “Roald Dahl” Day in school
- Thursday 19th September – Class 6C Assembly on “Loving” 2:30pm
- Friday 20th September – Non-uniform day for school funds (bring £1)
- Wednesday 25th to Friday 27th September – Autumn Term Book Fair 8:10-8:50am
- Wednesday 25th September – Year 3, 4 and 5 Curriculum Meeting 3:30pm
- Thursday 26th September – Class 4P Assembly on “People” 2:30pm
- Friday 27th September – McMillan Coffee Morning 9:00am
- Friday 27th September – Non-uniform day for McMillan Cancer Support (bring £1)
- Saturday 28th September – Parish International Event in school 1:00pm
- Monday 30th September – Start of “Judaism Week” in school
- Tuesday 1st October – Friends’ Association AGM 7:00pm
- Friday 4th October – Judaism Assembly 1:15pm
- Monday 7th October – Class 6C leave for their residential retreat at Buckden Towers
- Tuesday 8th October – Class 6P leave for Buckden Towers am, Class 6C return
- Wednesday 9th October – Class 6P return from Buckden Towers pm
- Thursday 10th October – Year 4 Shakespeare Workshops on “Macbeth”
- Friday 11th October – CAFOD Harvest Day in school
- Friday 11th October – Non-uniform day for CAFOD (bring an item of foodstuff)
- Monday 14th October – “Writing Day” in school
- Tuesday 15th October – Class 4RB Assembly on “Called” 2:30pm
- Thursday 17th October – Class 3K Assembly on “Promises” 2:30pm
- Friday 18th October – Last day of 1st half term (finish at normal time of 3:05pm)
- Friday 18th October – Non-uniform day for Harvest Food Collection (bring foodstuff)
- Monday 21st to Friday 25th October – Autumn half term break
- Thursday 31st October – Friends’ Association Meeting 7:00pm
- Friday 1st November – Whole School Mass for All Saints Day led by Year 3 9:00am
- Thursday 7th November – Year 4 visit Millfield Theatre to watch “Macbeth” am
- Thursday 7th November – Class 6P Assembly on “Remembrance” 2:30pm
- Friday 8th November – Non-uniform day for Christmas Bazaar
- Thursday 14th November – Class 3H Assembly on “Visitors” 2:30pm
- Friday 15th November – Non-uniform day for Christmas Bazaar
- Friday 22nd November – Non-uniform day for Christmas Bazaar
- Thursday 28th November – Class 5L Assembly on “St Andrew” 2:30pm
- Friday 29th November – Non-uniform day for Christmas Bazaar
- Monday 2nd December – Maths Assessment Week in Years 3, 4 and 5
- Monday 2nd December – Parent Meetings 1:00-3:00pm and 4:00-6:00pm
- 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
- Sunday 8th December – Christmas Bazaar 1:00-4:00pm (TBC)
- Monday 9th December – Mock SATs Week in Year 6
- Monday 9th December – Reading Assessment Week in Years 3, 4 and 5
- Tuesday 10th December – Carol Concert led by Y3 in church 10:30am (TBC)
- Wednesday 11th December – Carol Concert led by Y3 in church 7:00pm (TBC)
- Friday 13th December – “Christmas Jumper Day” for Save the Children”
- Friday 13th December – Family Film Night 7:00pm (TBC)
- Monday 16th December – Writing Assessment Week for all year groups
- Tuesday 17th December – Y4 Shakespeare Concert of “Macbeth” 11:00am
- Wednesday 18th December – Y4 Shakespeare Concert of “Macbeth” 7:00pm
- Thursday 19th December – Whole School Mass led by Year 5 9:00am
- Friday 20th December – Last day of term (finish at 2:00pm today)
