Published September 22, 2023
On Wednesday, we were filled with enormous pride as we opened up the school to prospective families during our Open Morning and Open Evening. It’s always lovely to hear the positive affirmations that come from visitors to the school and that’s testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff and also the amazing efforts of our pupils.
Over 70 pupils volunteered to be tour guides on Wednesday and they all received glowing praise from the families who they showed around. They were fantastic ambassadors for the school and rose to the challenge exceptionally well! We were also blown away by the Head Student speeches on the opening night too; they delivered their speeches with professionalism but also heart and it was a real source of pride hearing the wonderful things they had to say about school!
Year 11 – well done! What next?
Today, Year 11 finished their mock exams in the hall (bar the exception of Spanish speaking exams on Monday). They’ve coped admirably with the full two-week window of mocks and I’m sure it has given them some very valuable lessons for the next set of mocks and the real deal in the summer.
I know many will be very eager to find out their results – this will happen on the evening of Thursday 12th October.
The mock examinations are being marked and we are going to replicate the experience of an Exam Results day where parents and pupils receive the results at the same time. In light of this Year 11 will be invited to come to school at 6pm on Thursday 12th October, where we will:
- present the results to pupils and parents
- outline the programme of interventions for the year ahead
- outline important dates and events for year 11 this year
Should Year 11 parents not be able to attend on Thursday, we will also have a session on Friday afternoon after school at 3:45.
Year 9 Options Evening
On Thursday evening, Year 9 families were guided through the Options Process by Mr McGuiness. It’s a very exciting time for Year 9 as they begin to think about the subjects they would like to choose for GCSEs! He outlined how the process works, and the different deadlines and dates to be aware of. All of the information required can be found on our website here.
A recording of the session will also be available on this webpage shortly.
International Day
Next Friday we’ll be holding our 9th annual International Day as part of The European Day for Languages! This is a day where we celebrate the wide diversity of our school community. The events that are happening are:
House competition: Spanish music and dance fiesta – Points will be awarded to liveliest/most unique performances!
Non School uniform day: Come in colours or outfits representing your heritage (or House colours if you can’t find anything related to your heritage!). £1 donations will go to supporting the emergency appeals for Morrocco and the link donate will be up on school gateway shortly.
Form Activities: There will be a quiz on languages happening throughout form rooms next week!
International Food in Canteen: Our fabulous canteen staff will be cooking up many international dishes on the day.
French Market Break Time: Croissants, crepes, pain au chocolat on sale in the reception on Friday break. Orders must be taken in French only. Again, all proceeds to Morrocco.
Homework Timetables & HW Club
We are in the process of finalising Homework Timetables for each Year group, and these will be published on our website next week and also shared with the children. The timetables are put together to help ensure an even spread of homework throughout the week and also to ensure that pupils do not feel overwhelmed with homework. Please do get in touch with us if this is the case.
We have also started running Homework club this week. It’s always in Room 26 (next to the library) and is open at the following times:
- Tuesday & Wednesday before school from 8:30am until 8:50am
- Tuesday & Wednesday after school from 3:35pm until 4:30pm
There is no need to reserve a space, children just need to turn up to Room 26 for the session they would like to attend.
Aiming for Excellence Evenings
Next week we will be hosting Aiming for Excellence and Information evenings for Year 7, 8 & 10 parents. These evenings will be an excellent opportunity for you to know all about the programme for the year for your child and also important dates and events to be aware of as well as support and help on offer. They will be led by your child’s Director of Larning and a member of SLT. The online meetings will last for approximately 30 minutes.
Meeting times are as follows:
- Monday 25th September at 6pm – Year 8
- Tuesday 26th September at 6pm – Year 7
- Wednesday 27th September at 6pm – Year 10
Coming up next week:
Assemblies: International Day & Celebrating Diversity
Monday 25th Sept
- Year 8 Aiming for Excellence and Information Evening
Tuesday 26th Sept
- After School Yr7 & 8 Football Club
- Star Rugby Yr8&9 12pm-1pm selected pupils
- After school: Yr10 & 11 Rugby club
- HW Club – before & after school in Rm26
- Year 7 Aiming for Excellence & Information Evening
- Dance Live Rehearsals begin at 3:45 in the hall!
Wednesday 27th Sept
- After School: KS3 & 4 Girls Rugby, KS4 Boys Rugby (Yr10&11)
- Year 10 Aiming for Excellence & Information Evening
- HW Club – before & after school in Rm26
Thursday 28th Sept
- After School: YR9 Football Club
- Yr10 Football Fixture vs Wellington (Away)
Friday 29th Sept
- S6C to talk to Year 11 in Hall during AM reg
- International Day – Non-uniform Day – wear the colours of your heritage! All donations to be made bia school gateway and will go to emergency aid for Morrocco.
- After School: Yr9, 10 & 11 Basketball Club & After School: PE Revision Club Yr10 & 11 Rm28
Coming up this half-term:
- Year 7 Form Tutor Evening: Weds 4th Oct
A chance to catch-up with your child’s form tutor to discuss how they are settling into life at St Joseph’s
- Year 7 House Party!: Fri 6th Oct
An after school event for all year 7 – a chance for the year group to bond and also take part in lots of team building and house competitions!
- Year 11 Mock Exam Results Reveal and Year 11 Information Evening: Thurs 12th Oct
House Points Race
- 1st place: Teresa with 1,333 points
- 2nd place: Vincent with 1,305 points
- 3rd place: Margaret with 1,241 points
- 4th place: Francis with 1,203 points
Have a lovely weekend.
Mr Rooney