Dear Parents/Carers,
We are now just one week away from the end of term and the school year. The final week is going to be a particularly special one for our Year 6 pupils as they come towards the end of their time at St Joseph’s and many of the events next week are for them or presented by them. They have their Year 6 Leavers’ Mass today where they are joined by our Year 5 pupils.
Summer Fayre (Sunday 14th July 1:00-4:00pm)
We have our Summer Fayre on Sunday, one of our two main fundraising events during the year. 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 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. Hopefully we will get nice weather on Sunday and lots of you will be able to come along to support your child’s school.
Year 6 SATs Results
Our Year 6 pupils received their SATs results this week though because of their trip to Gilwell they had to wait a couple of days to receive them, but they were worth waiting for. Individually they did extremely well and collectively even better.
Reading – 94% achieved the expected standard or better (69% in 2018 and 73% nationally). The average scaled score was 107 (104 nationally).
Maths – 96% achieved the expected standard or better (72% in 2018 and 79% nationally). The average scaled score was 106 (105 nationally).
SPAG – 88% achieved the expected standard or better (85% in 2018 and 78% nationally). The average scaled score was 108 (106 nationally).
Writing (teacher assessment) – 75% achieved the expected standard or better (76% in 2018 and 78% nationally).
Combined (R, M and W) – 75% achieved the expected standard or better (54% in 2018 and 65% nationally).
These are some of the best results we have achieved at St Joseph’s, particularly in Reading and Maths and it is especially pleasing to see so many children doing well in every subject and being good all-rounders. They should all be very proud of these achievements and it is a wonderful send-off for the year group and sets them up to do really well in secondary school and indeed beyond into their adult life. Well done to all the Year 6 staff who have supported the children so well throughout the year.
Parental Consultation Meetings (15th July)
The summer parental consultation meetings will be held next Monday 15th July from 3:30-6:30pm. If you haven’t yet made an appointment, please do so by Monday.
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. I hope to be able to send out a provisional timetable next week with the range of activiites on offer in September.
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
Year 6
As I mentioned above, next week is going to be a very important week for all of our Year 6 pupils as they come towards the end of their time at St Joseph’s. To mark their final few days, they will be presenting their Leaver’s Production of “Matilda” on Tuesday 16th July at 10:30am and Wednesday 17th July at 7:00pm. They will also have their Leavers’ Disco and BBQ on Thursday 18th July at 7:00pm. I sent a separate newsletter to the Year 6 parents yesterday with more details of these.
Uniform
Uniform will next be on sale on Wednesday 17th July at 8:50am. This will be the final opportunity this term to buy uniform for next year and including our new parents. We are also putting the lost uniform outside by the gate every morning to try and get it reclaimed before the end of term. Any uniform that is unclaimed by the end of term will either be washed and used as spare uniform for next year or will be put in our clothes recycling box. We cannot have so much uniform etc. left over for the summer and we need to start afresh in September. I have to say not much has been reclaimed and if anything it is growing bigger each day!
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.
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). 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. Places are filling up quickly including children from other schools as we move towards the end of term so I would recommend booking your child/children in as soon as possible.
Den Kits for Kids
I am enclosing a letter from someone called Emma Wakeham who has set up an initiative called “Den Kits for Kids”. I am advertising this partly because the school will receive a 40% commission on free books which will help with the current refurbishment of our school library. I have ordered one for my grandchildren so if you would like to do the same, please see the link below.
“Dear Parents,
I wanted to contact you about our Den Kits which we are selling as a new initiative to help schools with funding for books. As a parent, I am hugely concerned about school underfunding and wanted to do something to help.
For every kit sold the school will receive 40% commission in books – which is at least £18 worth of books from our collection, per kit. Den Kit Kids has been designed to excite children’s imaginations and entice them into the natural world, away from computer screens. It’s a great present and is also ideal for a family day out too – especially if it’s raining!
Each kit contains a rucksack, one large either camouflage or red tarpaulin, a ground sheet, 15ft of rope, 50ftof jute cord, 8 strong pegs, a peg extractor, a mallet, camouflage face paint, 2 small flags and lots of ideas factsheets. In addition to this there is a free gift worth £12 of 2 Bear Grylls Survival Skills books. The Dent Kit cost is from £45. You simply place your order and pay via our website and the kits will be delivered directly to you. The website address is www.freebooks4schools.co.uk.
Warm regards,
Emma Wakeham”
First Holy Communion 2020
Application forms are now available from the back of the church for First Holy Communion in 2020 for pupils who will be in Year 3 or above. Completed forms must be returned to the parish office by 12 noon on Friday 6th September and must be accompanied by a copy of your child’s Baptism Certificate. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline or without accompanying certificates. Parental support is crucial for the preparation of this sacrament. Children should be attending Mass together with their families on a regular basis.
Class Awards
I am not giving out any class awards this week for Class of the Week or good attendance and punctuality because we have no Friday assembly with all the trips that are going on, including the Year 3 and 4 trip to Frinton-On-Sea today. Next week I will be awarding class of the term and year certificates at our end of term assembly along with many individual pupil awards. These will all be announced in the final newsletter next Friday before we break up for the summer.
Staffing News
I announced a couple of weeks ago that some members of staff will be leaving St Joseph’s at the end of this term. These include Mrs Visser and Mrs O’Sullivan and I can now also let everyone know that Mrs O’Regan will be leaving us as well and her final day will be next Friday. I am going to speak more about all our departures and arrivals in next week’s newsletter.
End of Term
Please note that the pupils finish for the summer term next Friday 19th July at the earlier time of 2:00pm.
Yours sincerely,
J Alexander (Head teacher)
Dates for this Term
- 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 10:30am
- Wednesday 17th July – Year 6 Production 7:00pm
- 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
