Published November 8, 2024
From the Headmaster’s Study
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends
John 15:13
It is wonderful to see the children back at school, with lessons filled with learning and opportunities being presented outside of the classroom through sports, dance, music, WIN Sessions and the Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE) to name only a few. The assemblies this week have educated our children about sacrifice and the importance of remembering those who have fallen to protect our country. Remembrance Sunday is an essential part of our Fundamental British Values, and I hope that we all take the time to reflect on what we have, those we have lost, and the freedom that was given to us through the personal sacrifices of previous generations for the greater good.
Have a lovely weekend and may the love of Jesus Christ be with you always.
Year 11 WIN Sessions and Perks
The WIN (What I Need) sessions have started well with Year 11 – great feedback from both pupils and staff. They are a good opportunity to refresh key knowledge and get in some valuable exam practise! A huge thank you to all teachers for their efforts and to all pupils for their engagement and enthusiasm!
The Year 11 Common Room and Study Room at lunchtimes has also been well received and used by Year 11. Thank you, once again, to Mr Ford and all the teachers for giving up their time to enable the pupils to have this space in school at lunch time.
There is a Year 11 Parent’s Evening coming up on Thursday 21st November – a separate correspondence has been sent via Class Charts with details on how to book your appointments. The link to select your appointment slots is here. Pastoral, SENCO and our Careers Lead will also be present at the evening
Year 10 Duke of Edinburgh
On Tuesday we launched the Duke of Edinburgh Award with Year 10. If your child would like to be considered for a place on our Bronze Award programme then please encourage them to submit one of the following, outlining the reasons why you should be chosen for the opportunity:
- A letter of no more than 1,000 words
- A vlog of no longer than 3 minutes
- A collage depicting your achievements inside and outside of school
Deadline for submissions is 5pm on Wednesday 13th November 2024 and they should be sent to pca@sjcs.org.uk or kth@sjcs.org.uk
If you would like more information about what is involved in the DofE then please visit here or come and speak to one of the team.
Remembrance Day Commemorations
On Monday morning at 11am, we will be commemorating Remembrance Day and observing a two-minute silence. We will be hosting a Teams reflection where we will broadcast into each classroom for a reflection, prayers and poems led by Miss Ingham (Head of History) one of our Year 11 pupils and Mr Rooney.
Pupils who are cadets are also encouraged to wear their uniform to school for the day
ClassCharts
The move to ClassCharts continues apace. All achievement points, behaviour points and homework will be set via Class Charts. If you are having issues logging in, please contact kmc@sjcs.org.uk.
Road Safety
As the night’s draw in, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind all our pupils to travel safely to school. The darker afternoons bring an increased risk for our young people, and we urge them all to take due care and attention when crossing roads. We will be mentioning this to the pupils in assembly next week.
Tesco Stronger Starts Programme
The Anti-Bullying Ambassadors are delighted to announce that they have been accepted on the Tesco Stronger Starts programme. We would like the funds to go towards a wellbeing seating area. We intend for the space to be a calm area where pupils can spend time outdoors during their break and lunch time.
Voting with the blue tokens, officially began this month and will run until the 12th January. If you go to any of the following Tesco stores, please do add to the St Joseph’s collection:
- Fordingbridge Tesco
- Salisbury, Wilton Road Tesco
- Salisbury, Town Centre Tesco
- Salisbury, Southampton Road Tesco
The first-place prize is £1500, second place is £1000, and third place is £500. The more money we raise, the more we will be able to achieve for our school community.
Thank you for your support in our wellbeing campaign.
Reminder: Working Parties
We will be setting up the following four working groups: Academic, Pastoral, Extra-Curricular, and Marketing/Communication. If you wish to join them, please email headmaster@sjcs.org.uk.
Key dates for the Autumn 2 Term:
Tuesday 5th November: Duke of Edinburgh Launch for Year 10
Monday 11th November: Remembrance Day Commemorations
Thursday 21st November: Year 11 Parents’ Evening (4:30pm – 7:00pm)
Thursday 28th November: Certificate Evening for Last Year’s Year 11
Have a lovely weekend!
Mr Richard Rooney
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