Dear Parents/Carers,
We are moving ever closer to the end of term and have a busy couple of weeks with trips, sports events etc. plus of course our Summer Fayre which is now just over a week away on Sunday 14th July.
Masses and Assemblies
Well done to both Class 3V and Class 5OS who presented the final class assemblies of this term and indeed the school year. I have been very impressed with the high standard of assemblies from all the classes throughout the school year. Our Year 6 pupils will be holding their special Leavers’ Mass next Friday 12th July at 11:00am in the school hall. Traditionally we also invite the Year 5 pupils to this Mass. All parents and families are invited to join us for the Mass next Friday.
Friends’ Association/Summer Fayre (Sunday 14th July 1:00-4:00pm)
Thank you to everyone who came to the meeting last night to finalise the details for the Summer Fayre which is just over a week away on Sunday 14th July from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. As always we will need lots of help on the day both to set up in the morning and to help run stalls in the afternoon. We need to try and sell as many raffle tickets as possible before the day. If you can sell additional books at work or among friends and family, please come to the school office and ask for more books. We are also holding a final non-uniform day to support the Fayre. We are aiming to raise at least £2,000 from the day to go towards the cost of refurbishing the school library e.g. new books and furniture and the cost of re-painting.
Thursday 11th July – return of sold raffle tickets or £1.
Other things I want to mention about next Sunday:
• As well as the raffle prizes advertised on the tickets, we have an additional nice prize of a £160 voucher for a Family Portrait Experience from a photography company.
• As well as the bouncy castle, this year we will also have an inflatable penalty shooting game to keep everyone occupied.
• If you have any old crockery or china you want to get rid of, please donate and it will be used next Sunday
Extra-Curricular Activities
Monday – Gymnastics Club 3:15-4:15pm
Tuesday – Dance Club 3:15-4:15pm
Wednesday – Leyton Orient Football Club 3:15-4:15pm
Thursday – Girls Sports Club 3:15-4:15pm
Please note that the choir is now ended for this term.
Transition Morning
We held our transition morning on Wednesday and welcomed the Year 2 pupils who will be joining the school in September. It was also an opportunity for the other pupils to visit their new classes. As I walked around school I was so impressed at how well all the children adapted quickly to their new rooms and engaged with their teachers.
Parental Survey
Thank you to all the parents in Years 3, 4 and 5 who have returned their completed surveys regarding our plans for extended schools activiites in September. These will include our existing activiites such as Breakfast Club, After School Club and Holiday Play Schemes but is also about our plans to run a series of enrichment clubs after school from September in areas such as sport, art and craft, computers, dance etc. We have already received some very useful feedback which will enable me to plan activities for September but we need as many surveys back as possible so please try and give us your views. We would like the completed surveys back by Monday 15th July.
Parental Consultation Meetings (15th July)
The summer term parental consultation meetings will be held on Monday 15th July from 3:30-6:30pm. I will be sending out letters next week so you can book an appointment.
Reports/Assessments
Your child’s school report and the assessment results for pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5 will be sent home on Monday. We are waiting to receive the Year 6 SATs results which come out next Tuesday.
Trips
There are several trips taking place between now and the end of term. If your child is going on one of these trips, please make sure you have gone online to give permission and make any payments. Recently we have had several children unable to go on trips because we had not received permission and this can be upsetting for the pupils who have to stay in school and go to another class.
Thursday 11th July – Year 5 trip to Ive Farm
Friday 12th July – Year 3 and 4 pupils to Frinton-on-Sea
Year 6 Trips
Our Year 6 pupils are going on their Harry Potter trip to Hertfordshire today and then next week they will be making their residential visit to Gilwell Park from Tuesday 9th July to Wednesday 10th July. I will be going with the pupils to Gilwell next week so will not be in school from Tuesday morning to Wednesday evening. We pray they have nice weather and an enjoyable trip next week.
Uniform
Uniform will next be on sale on Wednesday 10th July at 8:50am and then every Wednesday till the end of term. This will give Year 3, 4 and 5 parents an opportunity to buy uniform for the next school year and also for our new parents to get ready for September. We seem to have accumulated a lot of lost uniform in the last couple of weeks, mainly coats and blue jumpers that the children take off in the playground and then leave and our lost uniform trolley is now full to overflowing. If your child is missing an item of uniform, please come in to try and reclaim it.
Class of the Week
Well done to Class 3V and Class 5OS who were both Class of the week for their excellent assemblies this week
Attendance and Punctuality
I will be continuing to award the classes who achieve the best weekly attendance and punctuality during this half term. This week Class 4P achieved 100% attendance and Class 5l achieved 98.5% punctuality. Well done to both classes.
Fitness Classes
The school is now hosting adult fitness classes in the main hall from 4:15-5:15pm. They are for all abilities and will help with cardio fitness, all body workouts, toning and strengthening exercises. Sessions are £5 each and you need to bring water to hydrate. If you would be interested in this and want more details you can ring Leah on 07939342990 or come along on Thursday evening to meet her in person.
First Communion Masses
Congratulations to all the children who have now made their First Holy Communion over the last two weekends.
Book Fair
We held our summer term book fair this week and we sold over £600 worth of books which means we have been able to get over £200 worth of free books for the school library which is currently being refurbished ready for September.
Year 12 Community Action Day
We hosted 20 Year 12 pupils from Holy Family School (including some former pupils) on Tuesday as part of their community action project. The students took part in a range of activities, working in class and doing some work around school in our outdoor areas including painting our prayer garden. We are also hosting several work experience students and trainee classroom assistants over the next two weeks and again many of these are former pupils so it is lovely to see them coming back to their old school in a different role.
Summer Play Scheme
I am pleased to say we will be running our own summer play scheme for 5-11 year olds from Wednesday 24th July to Friday 2nd August from 8:30am to 4:30pm each day (it starts on the Wednesday as we have 2 staff inset days on the Monday and Tuesday). This week I have secured funding from the local authority so am able to offer places at subsidised rates. We will be charging £18 per day or £120 if you book for the full 8 days. We will also do special rates for siblings of £30 per day or £200 if you book for the full 8 days. The scheme will be run by the After School Club staff and will involve a range of activities for the children and a day out on the final Friday 2nd August to Adventure Island in Southend. You will be able to book a place for your child/children from next week. We can offer places to children who do not attend St Joseph’s so if you know of anyone with children aged 5-11 who might want a place on the scheme please ask them to get in touch with the school. Application packs are now available from the web-site or the Office.
Yours sincerely,
J Alexander (Head teacher)
Dates for this Term
- Sunday 7th July – Going Forth Mass (10:00am) followed by party in the school
- Monday 8th July – Cricket Festival at Hackney Marshes (Years 3,4 and 5)
- Tuesday 9th July – Year 6 pupils leave for their residential trip to Gilwell Park
- Wednesday 10th July – Year 6 pupils return from Gilwell Park
- Thursday 11th July – Non-uniform day for Summer Fayre (sold raffle tickets)
- Thursday 11th July – Year 5 trip to Ive Farm
- Friday 12th July – Year 3 and 4 trip to Frinton-on-Sea
- Friday 12th July – Year 6 Leavers’ Mass (with Year 5) 11:00am
- Sunday 14th July – Summer Fayre 1:00-4:00pm
- Monday 15th July – Summer term parental consultation meetings 3:30-6:30pm
- Tuesday 16th July – Year 6 Production 11:00am
- Wednesday 17th July – Year 6 Production 7:00pm
- Thursday 18th July – Sports Day at Leyton Cricket Ground (to be confirmed)
- Thursday 18th July – Year 6 Leavers’ Disco and BBQ 7:00pm
- Friday 19th July – Last day of term for pupils (school ends at 2:00pm)
- Monday 22nd July – Staff Inset Day
- Tuesday 23rd July – Staff Inset Day
- Wednesday 24th July to 2nd August – Summer Play Scheme 8:30am-4:30pm
- Monday 2nd September- Staff Inset Day
- Tuesday 3rd September – First day for pupils
