Friday 19th December 2014 Jesus said, ‘I have come so that they can have life and have it to the full.’ (John 10:10) A personal note from Mrs Fleming As the term draws to a close I would like to thank you all for your very warm welcome to the St. Joseph’s community. When I was approached to be the school’s interim Head teacher I was told about the special ethos that permeated throughout the school and now that I have been here for a term I can say that the school’s reputation is truly deserved. It has been a delight to meet all the children, who are always so keen to help one another, learn and share their talents. I have also really enjoyed meeting all of our children’s parents. Seeing you all and greeting the children in the morning is one of my favourite parts of the day. Our school would be a very different place without all of your support and we are very grateful to you all for your generosity of time, fundraising and skills. Social occasions such as the Nursery Harvest evening, the Oscar’s Night and the Auction of Promises are crucial to building a community such as ours and it is an honour to share in them and a joy to see all our children’s parents having the opportunity to enjoy one another’s company. Over the last fifteen weeks I have met wonderful people who always put the children first and give very generously of their time and skills. The school staff and governors work tirelessly to provide the children in their care with exciting activities so that they cannot avoid learning. We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated staff team who are so keen to ensure that your children realise their potential and develop a love of learning so that they can achieve whatever they set their mind to. I wish you all a very happy and relaxing Christmas break. If you are travelling I wish you a safe journey and I am already looking forward to seeing everyone in the New Year. Merry Christmas! Year 6 Article re the House Captain elections On Monday 15th of December, St. Joseph’s held their polling day to determine who would be the captains and vice captains for each house. The event was held at the Sharp Suite and we even had little booths to record our private votes! A representative of each house was gathered to sign pupils in and to make sure all voting ran smoothly. After making a cross in the appropriate box next to the name of the captain that we wanted to choose on our voting slips we placed them into the voting boxes for the corresponding house. It was then up the Year 4 students to tally up the votes for each house. Later, all of the children Key Stages 1 and 2 gathered in the hall for an assembly to announce the new captains and vice captains of each house. It was very exciting and tense; you could almost hear the beating of hearts around you as the results were called out! www.stjosephsschool.org.uk [email protected] Well done to the house captains and vice captains! We wish them every success in their role this coming year. Reported by Sophia and Emily in Year 6 Congratulations to all our new House Captains and Vice Captains! St. Theresa of Lisieux Captain: Finn Douglas Vice Captain: Maika Lucia Brealey St. Francis of Assisi Captain: Emily Cornfoot Vice Captain: James Alford St. Cecilia Captain: Sophia Brown Vice Captain:Valentina Cervesi St. Vincent de Paul Captain: Diti Ranawat Vice Captain: Daniel Shenas Year 1 Sleepover On Tuesday, Year 1 had a sleepover to celebrate the end of our Dark, Dark Night topic! We watched a film about owls which are nocturnal animals. We were wearing pyjamas and some people brought toys that they sleep with. We got under our blankets and sleeping bags. We had hot chocolate and orange juice and it was very exciting! The film was interesting and a little funny and we all had a wonderful time! By Vincent Davies Year 1 Farewell Mrs Meadway Today is Mrs Meadway’s last day. We wish her luck as she embarks on her new challenge and ask that you keep her in your prayers as she takes on different responsibilities with her new school. Christmas Festivities It has been wonderful to see so many parents, family members and friends at all of our Advent services in the last few weeks. We hope that the services have helped you prepare spiritually for Christmas and to get into the festive mood. This what some of the children in our school have said that their highlights have been this term. River (year 5): Bikeability in the rain! Anton (year 2): Learning all about division. Lorenzo (Year 1): being a good goal keeper. Jayda (Year 5): doing sprinting in athletics. www.stjosephsschool.org.uk [email protected] Gabriel (Year 4): shush ball Riley (Year 2): studying RE. Giovanni (Year 6): tag rugby Cosmo (year 3): Secret Santa was great fun! Carys (Year 3): I loved writing my Greek myth. Information gathered by Roderick and James (Year 5) Birthdays One child is celebrating his birthday today: Cosimo We hope you have a wonderful day Cosimo. Other children will be celebrating their birthdays during the holiday and in the first week of next term: Louis, Anastasia, Eva, Alix, Olivia, Vincent, Alexia, Sonia, Michael, Thomas, Ruby, Floriane, Edgar, Antonio, Francesco, Geraud, David and Elena. We hope that you all have a wonderful day and look forward to hearing about all your celebrations. Sacred Heart High School, Hammersmith Admissions Procedures Consultation The Governors of Sacred Heart High School are currently reviewing the school’s Admissions Criteria. The changes will affect girls applying or places in the academic year of 2016-17 onwards. If you would like to see the revised criteria and even comment on their suggestions please log onto their school website: www.sacredhearthighschoolhammersmith.org.uk www.stjosephsschool.org.uk [email protected] Prayer of the Month: The Light of the Candles Come Lord of us all, Stir up the darkness. We light just one candle To keep us awake. Come Lord of nature, Wise and just ruler. The light of two candles Shows us how to live. Come Lord of our life. Deserts are greening. The light of three candles shows that you are near. Come Son of David, He who was promised. By four candles' brightness the true king will come. www.stjosephsschool.org.uk [email protected]