Dear Parents/Carers,
A monster newsletter this week! We have lots of activities planned for the
next few weeks, so please read the newsletter for information.
Incident
in Chatsworth Road
As many of you already know, there was an unpleasant
confrontation in Chatsworth Road at the end of the school day on Tuesday, which
involved several adults. The police have dealt with the situation and are
currently providing a presence at the start and end of the school day. This is
to reassure parents and children who may be concerned and also to ensure people
do not park on the Zig Zag lines.
Attendance
We
had OUTSTANDING attendance last week
which was the best so far this academic year.
·
Reception
and Y2 with 100%
·
Year
4 with 99%
·
Year 3, Y5
and Y6 with 98%
Reception,
Y2, Y4 will have a special non-uniform day on Friday 21st March.
Sports Relief 2014
(supporting World Down Syndrome Day 2014)
All children
will be joining in special sporting events in the week, culminating in Sports
Relief Day on Thursday 20th March. As World Down Syndrome Day is on the following day (Friday 21st
March) we will be raising funds for Sports Relief and Down Syndrome awareness.
World Down Syndrome Day is a
global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations
since 2012. Down Syndrome International encourages friends all over the world
to choose activities and events to help raise awareness of what Down syndrome
is, what it means to have Down syndrome, and how people with Down syndrome play
a vital role in our lives and communities.
Sports Relief raises
money to help people living incredibly tough lives, both at home in the UK and
across the world's poorest countries.
Children will be participating in a SPONSORED
CRICKET event on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Parents and friends can
sponsor children for:
·
A set amount for the whole day
·
An amount for the catches made during their time slot
(e.g. 50p per catch)
·
Sponsor the number of runs during their innings (e.g. if
5p per run was sponsored, this would equal £1 for 20 runs)
Children can also pay to play activities such as Run a Mile, Penalty
Shootout, Blind Fold Obstacle Course and Loop a Hoop during their lunchtime.
Activities will cost 10p each and we suggest children bring in no more than 50p
for these activities. A sponsor form
will be sent home with this newsletter.
The
Big Pedal Family Bike Ride
(cancelled)
Over the last 2 weeks we have we have totalled 196
bike and scooter rides to school. Well done to all who have ridden during The
Big Pedal.
We had planned a special family cycle day on
Saturday 22nd March. Regrettably, this in now cancelled.
Easter
Competition
We would like as many children as possible to draw
and colour their own A4 picture with an Easter theme. Children can enter as
many times as they like. Each entry will
cost 50p. The money raised will go to
CAFOD.
The overall winning picture will be framed and the artist
will receive an Easter egg. There is also a prize of an Easter egg for the best
picture in each year group. The closing
date will be Friday 28th March.
School
Dinner Money
Please
can I remind parents that if you wish your child to have a school dinner, this
must be paid for in advance by sending in cash or a cheque made
payable to Bristol City Council in a clearly marked envelope. If a parent
believes that their child may qualify for entitlement to Free School Meals, the
school office should be contacted for further details. It is a requirement
of the school’s Dinner Money Policy that all payments are up to date and no
debts are outstanding. If debts are incurred, then the school budget has
to pay for them. This means that money which should be spent on your
child’s education is used to pay for debts incurred by parents. Every
parent will agree that this is unacceptable. Thank you for your co-operation.
Past
Pupil Successes
We have received news of former pupil, Ben Smye-Rumsby, who
attended St Joseph’s in the 1980’s. Ben then
continued his education at St Thomas More Secondary School and St Brendan’s
Sixth Form College. Ben is the Sports News Correspondent for the Daily
Telegraph, writing under the name of Ben Rumsby. His column can be read at www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/ben-rumsby/
Sebastian Smaka left St Joseph’s much more recently and has been
accepted for a gliding scholarship for a year or until he flies solo. Bristol
and Gloucestershire Gliding Club offer only 4 places for the scholarship each
year. He has always wanted to become a pilot and this is the first step on the
ladder. Sebastian is also doing really well at St Bede’s Catholic College and
is currently in year 10.
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
Cake Sales
We would like to restart our fundraising PTFA cake
sales. Previously these have been an easy and popular way of bringing parents
together, raising some funds for the school and buying some delicious cakes.
All the school needs is parents who are willing to
come in for half an hour once a term to help run the sale. If you can help,
please see Mr Condon or contact the school office.
Jewellery
Children should not wear jewellery to
school. This is increasingly becoming a problem when getting ready for PE
lessons as teachers have been spending a lot of PE time removing jewellery from
children so they do not injure themselves or others.
Please note: Children with pierced ears whose parents wish them to wear
earrings must, for safety reasons, wear simple round studs with a very small
stone (allowing flexibility to change the colour of the stone) rather than
other types of earrings. Children who wear earrings must remove (or tape) them
for all PE and sporting activities on health and safety grounds.
Bikes and Scooters
Children are
asked to not ride bikes and scooters in the school playground between 8.45 and 8.55 in the morning,
when the playground is at its busiest. Younger children can still ride bikes
and scooters after school (when the playground is less busy) as long as they
are sensible.
Celebration of Achievements
There will be a
celebration assembly on Monday 10th March at 9.10am where the following
children will receive their Headteachers Award: Areeba (Y3), Josh M (Y3), Jakub (Y2), Taya
(Y2), Bogdan (R) and Darrell (Y1). Oliwia (R).
Super Start
Sports Award: Cerys (Y2)
Super Star Art
Award: Jessica (Y1),
Energy Club
Award: Bogdan (R), Lisandra (Y2), Olivia
(Y4), Helene (Y3)
Dates for Diaries
Wednesday 19th
March - St Joseph’s Day mass in school
Thursday 20th March - Sports Relief Day
Thursday 20th March - E-safety day at St Bernadette (Year
5)
Friday 21st March - Good attendance non uniform
Saturday 22nd
March - St Joseph’s family cycle day
(cancelled)
Wednesday
26th March - Year 2 topic presentation
Wednesday
26th March - Year 3 topic presentation
Wednesday 2nd
April - Year
5 Topic Presentation
Thursday 3rd April – E-safety
day at St Bernadette (Year 6)
Thursday 3rd April at 2.45pm - Parent Tea/Coffee afternoon
Friday 4th April - Holy
Week Mass in Church
Friday 4th April - End
of Term 4
Tuesday 22nd April - Start
of Term 5
Monday
12th May 2014 - Year 6 SATs week
Friday 23rd
May - End
of Term 5
Saturday 28th
June - Summer
Fair
Sunday 29th
June - First
Holy Communion
Yours sincerely,
Matt Condon
Headteacher
