Thursday 24 October 2013

Dear Parents/Carers,

Tomorrow’s Good Attendance and Punctuality Presentation

Tomorrow we have a 100% attendance presentation when each class will have a special draw where children can win a £10 voucher. Because punctuality this term has been disappointing, when entering children into the draws, we will be entering all children with 100% attendance and no more than 2 late arrivals to school.

Today children will be given 2 tickets; one to take home so that parents know they have a non-uniform day tomorrow and one to be kept in school for the draw. All parents and carers are invited to this assembly which will also include singing.

Message from ex-pupil Kurtis Henry about his fundraising project in Kenya

I am an ex-pupil of St Joseph’s primary school and I left 10 years ago in 2003 at the age of 11.  I am now 21 and I work as an apprentice telecoms engineer for BT Openreach. Through BT, I have been given an amazing opportunity to go to Kenya in February of next year to help build a primary school in slums of Nairobi. In order to go I need to raise £3500 to go towards building materials for the new school, a lunch programme for the children for a year and help towards paying the teachers’ wages for a year. To help support this, the school is holding a special non-uniform day on Friday 8th November. I would like to thank any of you who are able to take part in this and help me reach my goal to do something amazing for others.

New School Clubs

The following clubs will be starting the first week back after the holiday:

·         On Monday and Friday Mrs Petela will be leading Energy Club which is a fun, physical activity club which encourages children to be fit and healthy. Two clubs will run with Years R, 1 and 2 running after school on a Monday and Years 3-6 running after school on a Friday. All sessions are free, will finish at 4.30pm and are offered on a first come, first served basis.

·         Kodu Club is a new computer club  which is being led by Mr Condon. It  will focus on programming and game design using the Kodu programme. The club is open to pupils in Year 5 and 6 and will finish at 4.30pm every Monday. There is no cost for this club.

We no longer require written permission but places will be allocated on a first-come basis. Please send payment into the school office in an envelope with details of the child and chosen club. If no payment is required please send in a brief note requesting a place for your child.

Past Pupil Success

Well done to Prya Kaur who achieved 4 A*s and 5As in her GCSE’s and a B in Additional Maths (which is equivalent to an A Level).

Please let us know about other St. Joseph’s ex pupil success stories – there are lots out there and we would love to publish them in the newsletter

Attendance

Well done to the following classes for their good attendance last week:

  • Year 5 with a fabulous 100% attendance.
  • Year 3 with a great 98% attendance.
  • Year 5 will have special non uniform day on Thursday 7th November (previously published date incorrect).
Overall attendance this term has been an impressive 96.6%. Thank you all for your support. Let’s keep it up in Term 2!

Supporting learning at home

During the recent Parent’s Evenings, many parents enquired about what resources might be available to support learning further at home. Here are some ideas of materials available online:

·         Visit Mathletics through our school website. Mathletics gives children an excellent opportunity to practice and improve their maths skills. All children in Year 1-6 have been given their own login which is available at school. Mathletics can be accessed online on a personal computer or an IPad app, which is now available.

·         Also on the website, is our own Number Crunch website. This includes materials to show how we teach calculation in simple steps (multiplication and division are currently being updated), as well as all the number clubs, which help children learn their tables. All materials can be downloaded to be used at home. A new Number Crunch website is currently under construction.

·         Again on our website, the Challenge website includes a range of materials to support learning in Maths, English, Science and other areas.

·         The BBC Bitesize website includes a great range of activities for children of all ages to learn, practice and improve their key skills. These interactive materials work on personal computers but not on Apple products such as IPads.
If you would like to buy books to support learning at home, many are available at shops such as Waterstones or WHSmiths. The school can recommend CGP who publish a wide range of books to support learning in English and Maths. They produce study guides as well as practice and revision books and their website can be found at:  www.cgpbooks.co.uk/Parent/homeParents

Please let us know if there are other useful materials, which we can add to this list.

Dates for Diaries

Monday 4th November                                     -           Start of Term 2
Tuesday 5th November at 2pm                       -           Tour for prospective parents
Wednesday 6th November                               -           Mass for All Saints in church (Year 5 reading)
Thursday 7th November                                    -           Attendance non-uniform for Year 5
Friday 8th November                                        -           Non-uniform day for Africa school building (£1)
Friday 8th November                                        -           Year 6 Remembrance Assembly
Friday 8th November                                        -           Year 1 visit to Playspace

Friday 15th November                                      -           Year 6 Topic Presentation
Friday 29th November                                      -           Advent Mass in school hall (Year 4 reading)
Monday 2nd December                                   -           Book Fair Week
Monday 16th December - pm                          -           Infant Nativity Performance
Tuesday 17th December - am                           -           Infant Nativity Performance
Friday 20th December                                      -           Christmas Mass in Church (Year 3 reading)

Have a great week holiday

 
Matt Condon
Headteacher

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