St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School
October 2017 Autumn Term Newsletter
Dear Parents,
We have been blown into the half term holiday. We are very much in autumn now; the days will be getting much
shorter and the evenings longer. In school we have had a very busy half term and the children are all settled into their
new classes and embraced school routines. It has been so lovely watching the school burst into life and the displays
creeping along the empty corridor boards so it is vibrant and bursting with the children’s learning. The year 6 children
have already established themselves as ambassadors for the school, welcoming visitors, giving tours and representing
the school in many ways. They have grown into their responsibilities in this short time and are such a credit to our
school.
I hope that you all have a restful half-term before the big push towards Advent and Christmas. The children have all
been working so hard that they really do need some down time to re-charge those batteries. They will then be ready to
return to school equipped for all the new challenges in the second half of term.
Faith Life
Thank you to all the parents that came to the harvest Mass on 10th October
at 9.30am. The children were surrounded by the produce they had brought
in over the course of the week. During Mass Father Brett asked us to
remember all those people who did not have enough to eat and that we
should all remember to say thank you to God before and after we eat. All
the children in school say Grace before they eat; ‘Bless us oh God as we sit
together, bless the food we eat today, bless the hands that make the food.
Bless us, oh God. Amen.’ It would be good if you and your child could say
it together as a family at home before Sunday lunch or at a family dinner.
Charity Events
The House captains; Darcy and Prudence: Constable; Eva and Ella:
Gainsborough; Katie and Tyler: Turner; and Isabella and Olive: Blake; all did
a fantastic job in rallying their house through an assembly they organised and
daily collections of goods. This resulted in a really large collection of dried
food. We also had a kind donation from Ms Duchsene’s partner of potatoes
and onions and these were taken to a soup kitchen in Ipswich. So our harvest
collection has provided hundreds of meals for people in our local
communities. Well done to everyone for their efforts.
Mini Vinnie’s Group
The Mini Vinnie’s group has been meeting regularly on Monday lunchtimes.
We meet together to listen to the word of God and to discuss the week’s
readings and to decide what good deeds we are going to do that coming
week. The children are really responding positively and they are making the
school an even more caring environment. The children all helped to separate
the collected food and to bag it up for ease of collection after the harvest
Mass; there were 5 large bags and 4 smaller bags. The group also helped to
count and bag up the Cafod money and they will be planning their own
fundraiser in the coming weeks so they can buy homeless packs that can be
distributed to rough sleepers in the area.
Cafod Fast day 6th
October
The children all came into school brightly dressed to raise funds for El Salvador. The children have been learning
about the work of Oscar Romero, which tied neatly into to our fund raising venture. Cafod have work tirelessly over
many years to set up small businesses, school, hospitals and safe place for children and to ensure that the ventures
gave stability and independence to the people they helped. Our fun event raised £88. 30; £38 gives a family grains,
vegetables, organic manure and livestock to start a farm so the money you all generously donated will help at least 2
families. Thank you
School Visits
Year 2 & 3 Elijah’s Meadows Trip
Elijah Class have visited the Meadows and were given a guided tour by Adrian a Meadows Ranger. Two children
from Elijah have provided us with a trip report.
By Brea and Ben
We went to the meadows and we learnt there was once a house on the meadows that has now fallen down. We
looked at cows on the meadow and there were lots of cows’ poo everywhere. We saw the river and heard that it
sometimes floods. We walked up to the Mill Hotel and saw the water wheel, but it wasn’t working because
there wasn’t enough water to turn it. We saw a dead cat that had been squashed between two walls. We didn’t
see any bugs; which was sad, but we did see a worm on the path. We would like to go back again and see bugs
and do some pond dipping.
Year 3 & 4 Abraham’s visit to Gainsborough House.
Abraham Class went to visit Gainsborough House this week as part of their art topic this term. A report has been
provided by Lucy R and George B.
When we entered we saw lots of paintings. There is a really spooky painting that follows you around the room.
We then got into groups to do two activities. The first one was drawing a picture using the pictures in the
gallery to make us think. The second was about texture. We had to look for different ways texture had been
drawn in the pictures. The staff were really nice and we will both be visiting again. We would both recommend
it 100%, we thought it was going to be really boring but it turned out to be fun!
Year 6 Material Recycling Facility
Reporters Isabella, Ella and Lillie
When we arrived we were taken upstairs for a safety
presentation. We were then separated into three groups of
8 children. Each group had a tour of the facility outside
and inside. We also took part in a sorting game, separating
recyclables and we had a compost activity, discussion and a
quiz. The site was really smelly, but we found it so
educational. It has made us re-think rubbish and we will
be encouraging our parents to properly recycle and to buy
compost bins. We really need to help to protect our planet.
Sporting News
Rugby festival. - Twelve eager rugby players attended the annual rugby festival at OSA on Wednesday. All the
children enjoyed taking part in different coaching activities connected to rugby. They played one game against Pot
Kiln and were overwhelming victors. We hope that later in the term some fixtures can be arranged so they can have
more practice as a team.
PTA News
Sunday 19th
November family Treasure Hunt, up to 6 members in a team £5 entry. Prizes for all and
refreshments available to purchase at the end.
24th
November non-uniform day- bring a donation for the Advent Market
The Advent Market will be held this year on Friday 1st December starting at 3.15pm.
The PTA will be organising some Christmas treats for the children, more details to follow later in the term.
Diary Dates
Half Term week beginning 23rd
October- 27th October
Monday 30th October 3.20-4.30pm Science Club with Dr. Rawlins in Solomon Class
31st October- Mass in Church All Souls/ All Saints Day for children who have made their First Holy
Communion
December
1st December Advent service for year 4 at St Benedict’s High School
5th December Advent Mass in school 9.30am- refreshments after Mass.
12th December 9.30 Mass in church followed by confessions.
12th 2.00pm Christmas Nativity by EYFS and KS1
13th 6.00pm Christmas Nativity by EYFS and KS1
14th Christmas dinner in school
15th Carol Service 2.00pm KS2 in school hall
19th Break up for Christmas holidays
School Uniform
We are very proud of our school uniform and how smart our children look. AS we change to winter uniform after half
term, please work with us to maintain our high standards. It is so easy to let these drop and the children then look
untidy. School white shirts should be worn with our school tie. Children should be in school logo jumpers and
cardigans. The grey trousers and skirts can be purchased elsewhere. I will be sending home letters with children who
are not wearing our school uniform.
The children will need to bring coats into school every day after half-term as we live in a country where it can be
bright sunshine in the morning and pouring the afternoon. It is important the children go outside and have fresh air
during their break times as it aids their learning. Children’s shoes need to be sturdy black school shoes, not trainers or
black plimsolls.
There have been a number of coats going ‘missing’ in school. We think that some children just pick up any coat that
vaguely looks like theirs, and ends up taking it home so please check and make sure your child has the right coat and
return any coats or any other items of clothing that are not theirs to the school.
Please remember that we can only return uniform if it has a name on it. Labels often wear out or fall off so please
check regularly to make sure they are still labelled.
If parents have any good quality old uniform or underwear they would like to donate for our’ accident’ box, we would
be most grateful.
Lunch Boxes
We want the children to have a healthy, nutritious lunch so can I please remind parents that children should have a
sandwich/ roll/ wrap, a piece of fruit, a yogurt or cheese, either some fruit or vegetables and a biscuit in their packed
lunch. The children should not have large chocolate bars and processed foods. These are full of sugar and salt and do
not contribute to your child’s well-being or help them be ready for learning in the afternoons. We will be sending
home reminders in any lunches not complying with the suggested contents.
Social Media
I would like to remind parents that we encourage all parents to be mindful about what they post on social networking
sites and to be aware of the impact such comments could have on the schools community. It is much better to come
and talk to the class teacher, myself or Mrs Kemble if you have a concern or unhappy about something in school.
Inaccurate, unpleasant and hurtful comments should not be posted online as they may potentially be considered a
criminal offence. We also need to be aware of the importance of role modelling appropriate behaviour for our children
online. This is part of our teaching and learning relating to cyber-bullying which the children are introduced to during
their computing lessons and is becoming an increasing problem which young people are experiencing more and more.
As a school we also take the safety of the children very seriously and posting comments which identify specific
children, their school or posting photographs of them in uniform can make them vulnerable to unwanted attention both
in the digital and real world. If you see anything posted which you think if inappropriate about the school, staff or
children in our community I would ask you to bring it my attention.
Half Term Holiday Competitions
We have sent information home so the children can draw their entry for the Mayor Christmas card competition. There
are good prizes so please complete a picture and bring it to the school office after half term.
Rules: All entries must be drawn on A4 paper
Designs should be quite bold – this is for printing purposes, too faint may affect he reproduction during printing.
Closing date: Wednesday 1st November so please return all the cards to the school office by Monday 31
st October at
the latest.
Winners: First, Second, Third and Highly Commended.
Award Ceremony: Tuesday 14th November 2017 – 4pm at the Town hall Sudbury – All winders will receive a
certificate and prize.
The second competition is to write a joke. All jokes will be collected and the best six chosen for an assembly and then
the children will vote for the best one to go forward to enter a national competition; run by Voice Box- Giving Voice,
a speech and language organisation. The prize for the eventual winner is a trip to the House of Parliament. In school
the winning six will get a small prize.
As Black History month comes to and I think we all need to reflect on how insidious racism can be online, in the
media and newspapers and always strive to counter it. I will finish with this quote from an American author Roger
Egbert,
‘Parents and schools should place great emphasis on the idea that it is all right to be different. Racism and all other
‘isms grow from primitive tribalism, the instinctive hostility against those of another tribe, race, religion, nationality,
class or whatever. You are a lucky child if your parents taught you to accept diversity.’
As a school we are proud to welcome and include those from many different countries and ethnicities. Our school is
made richer by the many languages spoken and we all learn by sharing our varied cultures.
Have a lovely holiday and I look forward welcoming you back on Monday 30th October
Kindest regards,
Mrs AM Price