Dear Parents/Carers,

A reminder that the school is closed tomorrow for a staff training day.

Parish Christmas Fair – Saturday November 28th

St Joseph’s will be holding our Parish Christmas Fair on Saturday 28th November. The school will running its usual stall, so next Friday (November 20th) we will have a non-uniform day and ask children go brink in a packet/box of sweets/chocolate for the stall.

We also encourage families to attend - not only are there lots of great things to do and win, but Father Christmas will also be there!

St Luke - Team Point Winners

St Luke’s Team won last term’s team points competition and Y6 will be planning a special event for Friday 20^th November.

Book Fair

The book fair will be in school from Monday 30^th November until Friday 4^th December.  This is an opportunity to buy great Christmas presents. The commission we receive from sales goes straight back into the school, providing books for our newly refurbished school library.

To help make it an even greater success, we would really appreciate any parents who are available to run the Book Fair for 20 minutes after school.

Super Science £10,000 Giveaway

St Joseph's has registered with the Super Science giveaway with the Bristol Post and Renishaw. Our school is in with a chance of winning £10,000 towards science equipment. Please start collecting the tokens in the Bristol Post between Wednesday 4th November and Tuesday 8th December. Remember to tell friends and family to save their tokens too!

Extended School Club – School Gateway Improvements

Parents using the Extended School Club will be able to see their child(ren)’s bookings for the current term on the School Gateway from Monday (16^th November).  Please remember to let us know if you no longer want a pre-booked space - you won’t be charged and we can then offer it to another child which is particularly helpful on days when the sessions are full

Cash/Cheques in School

In order to improve school efficiency and avoid possible confusion, please could any cash or cheques coming into school be sent in with your child in a sealed envelope marked with your child's name, class, amount and reason for the payment and put into the school box situated in the porch.  Could I also ask that all payments, including dinner money payments, be sent into school on Monday morning of each week. We will only accept money on this day in a marked envelope. Thank you for your co-operation.

Payment Envelopes

We have payment envelopes for sale from the school office - £1.50 for 50 or £2.50 for 100.

Admission Policy 2017 Consultation

This policy is available on the school website or from the school office for consultation until 31^st January 2016. Can any feedback be put in writing addressed to the School Governing Body via the school office.

Attendance

Well done to Y3 with 100% attendance last week, as well as Y4, Y5 and Y6 with 98%. Year 3 will have a special non-uniform day on Thursday 19^th November.

Celebration Assembly

There will be no Celebration Assembly next week.

Dates for Diaries

Friday 13th November                                -                       INSET (school closed)

Friday 20^th November                                 -                       Non-uniform for Parish Fair

Friday 20^th November                                 -                       Team point winners event – St Luke

Saturday 28^th November                            -                       Parish Christmas Fair

Wednesday 2nd December                      -                       Choir to Cabot Circus

Tuesday 8^th December                               -                       Y5 trip to St Fagan’s

Wednesday 9^th December                                    -                       Christmas Lunch

Thursday 10^th December am                     -                       Infant Nativity Performance

Thursday 10^th December pm                     -                       PTFA Disco (details soon)

Friday 11^th December am                          -                       Infant Nativity Performance

Wednesday 16th December                     -                       Carol Concert in church at 2pm

Thursday 17^th December                            -                       Christmas Infant Party

Friday 18th December                                -                      Christmas Mass in Church

Friday 18th December                                -                       End of Term 2

Thursday 26th May 2016                              -                       INSET (school closed)

Yours sincerely,

Matt Condon

Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers,

A reminder that the school is closed next Friday for a staff training day.

Attendance

Well done to Y2, Y3 and Y6 with 99% attendance before half-term, as well as Y1 and Y5 with 98%.

Super Science £10,000 Giveaway

St Joseph's has registered with the Super Science giveaway with the Bristol Post and Renishaw. Our school is in with a chance of winning £10,000 towards science equipment. Please start collecting the tokens in the Bristol Post between Wednesday 4th November and Tuesday 8th December. Remember to tell friends and family to save their tokens too!

Two of our Y1 parents will be organising a Christmas disco again this year. Due to limited resources, this is currently planned for infants only, but if any parents would like to collaborate to extend it to the juniors please contact Laura Bradshaw Price (07792 282650) or Catherine Ruffles (07876 143832).

Cash/Cheques in School

In order to improve school efficiency and avoid possible confusion, please could any cash or cheques coming into school be sent in with your child in a sealed envelope marked with your child's name, class, amount and reason for the payment and put into the school box situated in the porch.  Could I also ask that all payments, including dinner money payments, be sent into school on Monday morning of each week. We will only accept money on this day in a marked envelope. Thank you for your co-operation.

Payment Envelopes

We have payment envelopes for sale from the school office - £1.50 for 50 or £2.50 for 100.

Admission Policy 2017 Consultation

This policy is available on the school website or from the school office for consultation until 31^st January 2016. Can any feedback be put in writing addressed to the School Governing Body via the school office.

Celebration Assembly

There will be a celebration assembly on Monday 9^th November, where the following children will receive their headteachers award:- Liam (Y4), Ruby (Y4), Michal (Y6), Charlie (Y2), Harry (Y2), Vanessa (Y5), Julana (Y1), Harison (Y6), Louise (R) and Jesselyn (Y3).

Dates for Diaries

Wednesday 11th November            -                       Year 6 Assembly (10.40am)
 Thursday 12th November                  -                       Reception and Y1 trip to @-Bristol  

Friday 13th November                       -                       INSET (school closed)

Saturday 28^th November                         -                          Parish Christmas Fair

Wednesday 2nd December             -                       Choir to Cabot Circus

Tuesday 8^th December                      -                          Y5 trip to St Fagan’s

Wednesday 16th December             -                       Carol Concert in church at 2pm

Friday 18th December                        -                        Christmas Mass in Church

Friday 18th December                        -                       End of Term 2

Thursday 26th May 2016                     -                       INSET (school closed)

Yours sincerely,

Matt Condon

Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers,

This Friday’s 'Be Safe Day'

‘Bling Your Bike’ Competition – for all children

As we are focusing on safety this Friday, we are also holding a competition where we are encouraging as many children as possible to dress up their bicycles in bright and shiny materials and ride them into school. There will be a parade at the start of the school day and Maya from Sustrans will pick a winner later on.

Cycle Skills Lessons for Year 1-4

This Friday, as part of our ‘Be Safe Day’ we will be giving all children in Year’s 1-4 the opportunity to bring their bikes in and be involved in a cycle skill lesson led by Maya from Sustrans. This lesson will take place in the school playground.

This activity is open to your child if they have a bicycle that they are able to ride without stabablisers. They will also need a cycle helmet as well as a well maintained bicycle.

Please complete the slip below if your child would like to be involved in the lessons.

Yours sincerely,

Matt Condon

Headteacher

For children in Year 1-4 only

I would like my child to take part in a Cycle Skill lesson this Friday. I understand that my child needs to wear a bike helmet if they are to participate and bring a well maintained bicycle.

Name of child _______________________ Class __________________________

Signed by parent _______________________

Dear Parents/Carers,

Shelagh Williams retiring as Chair of Governors

Shelagh Williams, the school’s Chair of Governors, has stepped down as Chair after many wonderful years in this crucial role, supporting and guiding the school and our community with her wisdom and care. Shelagh remains as part of the governing body as Vice Chair and will be supporting our new Chair of Governors, Bob Edwards.

We thank Shelagh for everything she has contributed to the school.

Christmas Disco

Two of the Y1 parents will be organising a Christmas disco again this year. Due to limited resources this is currently planned for infants only, but if any parents would like to collaborate to extend it to the juniors please contact Laura Bradshaw Price (07792 282650) or Catherine Ruffles (07876 143832).

Admission Policy 2017 Consultation

This policy is available on the school website or from the school office. Can any feedback be put in writing addressed to the School Governing Body via the school office.

Attendance

Well done to Y2, Y3 and Y6 with 99% attendance last week.  Also Y1 and Y5 had good attendance with 98%.

Super Science £10,000 Giveaway

St Joseph's has registered with the Super Science giveaway with the Bristol Post and Renishaw. Our school is in with a chance of winning £10,000 towards science equipment. Please start collecting the tokens in the Bristol Post between Wednesday 4th November and Tuesday 8th December. Remember to tell friends and family to save their tokens too!

Two of our Y1 parents will be organising a Christmas disco again this year. Due to limited resources, this is currently planned for infants only, but if any parents would like to collaborate to extend it to the juniors please contact Laura Bradshaw Price (07792 282650) or Catherine Ruffles (07876 143832).

The school choir’s adventure with ‘The Divine Paradox’

“The Divine Paradox of Human Beings in Paradise”, a new piece written by Andy Sheppard, acclaimed international jazz saxophonist, was performed last week at St George’s concert hall.

For St Joseph’s choir this was an exciting night as we were the chosen children’s choir to take part in the premiere of this work.  Our adventure started last summer when Andy Sheppard came to school to do a workshop with the then Y6s. Together they wrote the main melody and the lyrics to, what eventually became, Part 7 of the whole piece.  The choir were then invited to sing alongside the 180 members of Gurt Lush adult choir led by Sam Burns, jazz vocalist Celestine Walcott Gordan, international percussionist Michel Rabbia and bass player Will Harris. What an honour!

The school choir began learning their music at the start of the academic year, they attended a Saturday morning rehearsal with the rest of the musicians and before we knew it, the concert was upon us.  The concert hall was almost full to capacity and the atmosphere was expectant and electric.  The music was toe-tapping and unusual. To illustrate this mesmerizing and compelling piece there were huge projections cast onto the back of the stage, produced by Sara da Costa, as the tale of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Paradise unfolded.  In particular, the children enjoyed watching the amazing antics of the percussionist and were mesmerized by the projections.  When it was their turn to perform they did so “professionally”, with energy and enthusiasm despite the late hour.  Special mention must be made of our two “Butterflies”, Elle and Tash, who sang a solo bravely and confidently in front of an audience of 500!

Photos of this event, the rehearsals, reviews and also the lunchtime concert at St Mary Redcliffe in the same week, can all be found on the school blog.  I finish by saying how proud I am of all the members of the school choir, for their dedication to learning the music, turning up to rehearsals, beautiful behaviour and attitude and for staying awake so late on the actual night.  Without them there would be no choir!  A huge thank you also goes to Mrs Joseph, and the parents who helped us, again without you, it could not have happened.

And so, we look forward to our next event: Carol singing in Cabot Circus on 3^rd December to raise money for the choir charity, ‘Ronald McDonald House’.   But first a rest, so happy Half Term to all the choir.

Mrs C Marsh

Admission Policy 2017 Consultation

This policy is available on the school website or from the school office for consultation until 31^st January 2016. Can any feedback be put in writing addressed to the School Governing Body via the school office.

Parents E-Safety Training

A big thank you to all the parents who attended last Wednesday's training. We had some really interesting discussions and some important issues were raised. 

In particular we discussed social media and how children still often fail to understand that when they post information or video online:

·         That this content is often available to anybody in the world (e.g when using YouTube) and, once online, it's online forever!

·         That when children communicate with others on line, they cannot always be sure who they are texting or talking to. Sometimes people pretend to be people they are not.

If parents would like to complete the online E-Safety Training online, you can do so by using the following link:

https://www.e-safetysupport.com/onlinetraining?course=BAagdCGUTcRv&school=639

This link is live on the newsletter blog.

Please discuss your child's use of technology at home and let us know if there are any issues or questions we can help with. We are discussing these issues again in class. 

Technology is great, but we want to educate children so that they can be safe living in the digital world. 

St Joseph's 'Be Safe Day' 2015

Recently I discussed safety with our Year 6 pupils. We had a great discussion and I was really impressed with their knowledge and understanding and they also had some great questions and ideas. One great suggestion (from Irene) was to have a whole school day where we focus on safety so we are having a 'Be Safe Day' on 6th November. The day will include:

·         A visit from our Police Community Support Officers talking about how children can look after themselves.

·         A visit from Avon Fire and Rescue talking about fire safety at home.

·         A visit from the RNLI talking about their work and being safe at the seaside.

·         A visit from Sustrans talking to children about being seen whilst cycling in the winter months. Sustrans will also be running some short cycle skills training sessions for children of all ages.

·         We will have a ‘Bling Your Bike’ competition and a ‘be safe, be seen’ non uniform day raising money for this year’s Bishop’s charity ‘Missio’, supporting missionary work around the world.

·         Year 5 and 6 will be visited by the NSPCC talking to them about personal safety.

Celebration Assembly

There will be no celebration assembly on Monday 2^nd November as we are having a Mass for All Saints in the school hall at 9.30am. You are all welcome to join us for this Mass.

Dates for Diaries

Monday 2^nd November                                                -           Start of Term 2

Monday 2^nd November 9.30am                                   -           Mass for All Saints in school hall

Tuesday 3^rd November                                                 -                       Y1 Playspace trip

Friday 6^th November                                                    -           School ‘Be Safe Day’

Friday 6^th November                                                    -           Y2 Playspace trip

Thursday 12^th November                                              -                       Reception and Y1 trip to @-Bristol  

Friday 13^th November                                                  -                       INSET (school closed)

Wednesday 2^nd December                                          -                       Choir to Cabot Circus

Wednesday 16^th December                                         -           Carol Concert in church at 2pm

Friday 18^th December                                                  -          Christmas Mass in Church

Friday 18^th December                                                  -                       End of Term 2

Thursday 26^th May 2016                                                -                       INSET (school closed)

Have a great holiday.

Yours sincerely,

Matt Condon

Headteacher

A link to parent's E-Safety online training.

https://www.e-safetysupport.com/onlinetraining?course=BAagdCGUTcRv&school=639

This link is valid for one month.

Dear Parents/Carers,

Christmas Disco

Two of the Y1 parents will be organising a Christmas disco again this year. Due to limited resources this is currently planned for infants only, but if any parents would like to collaborate to extend it to the juniors please contact Laura Bradshaw Price (07792 282650) or Catherine Ruffles (07876 143832).

Newsletters by email

We are spending over £500 a year printing out Newletters.  We also find lots of Newsletters never find their way home as they end up on the playground or pavement.  In order to save money and the environment we would like to encourage parents to receive their weekly newsletter by email.  We will be able to spend the money saved on extra resources for your children to use in school (e.g. an extra 100 books for our library)!  If we have your email address we have therefore emailed you this week’s newsletter.  If you haven’t received a copy then it may be that we don’t have a correct email address for you, if this is the case the please fill in your details below. 

We will continue to print a few copies of the newsletter and will leave them in reception each week or if you still want to request a paper copy then please let us know by filling in the slip below and returning it to the school office.   Thank you.

Admission Policy 2017 Consultation

This policy is available on the school website or from the school office. Can any feedback be put in writing addressed to the School Governing Body via the school office.

Attendance

Well done to Reception with 100% last week, as well as Y2, Y3 and Y6 with 99% and Y5 with 98%. Well done to Reception who will have a special non-uniform day on Wednesday 21st October.

Celebration Assembly

There will be a celebration assembly on Monday 19^th October, where the following children will receive their headteachers award: Piotr (Y3), Olivia (Y6), Charlie (Y5), Nelson (Y2), George (Y1) and Lorenzo (Y4).

Super Stars: Olivia (Y6), Marlen (Y5), Aaron (Y4), Ruby (Y3), Evelyn (Y2), Jayden (Y1), Esme (Y1), Julia (R), Eloisa (Y1), Amelia (Y1), Dominic (R), Godwin (Y4), Adedire (Y5), Michal (Y3), Charlie (Y2) and Leona (Y2).

Booking a place at Extended School Club

An increasing number of our Extended School Club sessions are now full.  Therefore we want to remind you that we cannot accept a child to an Extended School Club session if they have not booked in advance.  Booking forms can be collected from the office and should be returned as soon as possible. 

We are sometimes able to accept short notice bookings by phone but this will depend on spaces available and cannot be guaranteed.  For late bookings of morning sessions you must have confirmed if a space is available with Mrs Martin by the end of the previous day at the very latest.  For afternoon sessions please ring before 2pm on the day to see if there are any spaces available.  The more notice we have the more likely we will be able to find a space for your child.

If you know in advance that your child won’t be able to attend a pre-booked session then please let us know as soon as possible as this may free a space up for someone else’s child.  We will not charge you for sessions that are cancelled in advance but if your child doesn’t attend a pre-booked session and we are not informed then you will still be charged.

Reception 2016

The Additional Form for Reception 2016 will be available from the office on Monday 28th September. The closing date for applications is January 15th 2016. It is very important that if you apply online, you wait for online confirmation of your application.

Dates for Diaries

Wednesday 21^st October                                             -           End of Term 1

Monday 2^nd November                                               -                       Start of Term 2

Monday 2^nd November                                               -           Mass for All Saints in school hall

Tuesday 3^rd November                                                 -                       Y1 Playspace trip

Friday 6^th November                                                    -                       Y2 Playspace trip

Thursday 12^th November                                              -           Reception and Y1 trip to @-Bristol  

Friday 13^th November                                                  -                       INSET (school closed)

Wednesday 2^nd December                                          -                       Choir to Cabot Circus

Wednesday 16^th December                                         -           Carol Concert in church at 2pm

Friday 18^th December                                                  -          Christmas Mass in Church

Friday 18^th December                                                  -                       End of Term 2

Thursday 26^th May 2016                                                -                       INSET (school closed)

Yours sincerely,

Matt Condon

Headteacher

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

If you want to help the school save money and the environment by receiving the newsletter by email and we don’t have the correct contact details for you then please complete this form:

1^st Child’s name___________________________________________________________

2^nd Child’s name___________________________________________________________

3^rd Child’s name___________________________________________________________

My email address is:________________________________________________________

My mobile phone number is: _______________________________________________

And/Or

Please tick box to order a paper version of the weekly school newsletter

Please return slip to the school office