Friday 28th January 2022

God’s love is without limits. In this Sunday’s Gospel, we are reminded that God’s chosen people were not chosen just to enjoy God’s love for themselves. They were called to be the starting point from which God’s love would spread to all people. But when Jesus told people about God’s love, he did not always receive a warm welcome.

God loves each one of us equally and unconditionally. His love for us is unlimited and God is forever searching out people to whom he can show his love. If we are willing to turn to God, to accept and experience his love, the happier we become.

Important reminder to all parents. There will be an INSET Day on Wednesday 2nd February.

There will be no children in school on this day.

Last Thursday the poet James Carter (author of  ‘Zim Zm Zoom’, ‘ Weird, Wild and Wonderful’ and ‘Once Upon a Raindrop’) visited St Joseph’s… and what an amazing time we had!

The day began with James entertaining us all with his fabulous poems, his melodica (called Steve) and his ‘banana phone’ in two assemblies. The fun continued as James then led a series of workshops across the school in which he inspired the children to write a range of poems of their own- kennings, cinquains and list poems of impossible gifts. All this incredible work was then showcased in a celebration assembly that saw children enthusiastically performing their work and sharing all that they had achieved.  

The day was filled with fun, laughter and creativity and no one – staff or children – wanted it to end. The standard of writing was incredible and has definitely inspired us to continue to develop our work on poetry. James commented,  ‘What an incredible day – and what an unbelievably warm, positive, welcoming and creative school you are’.

Starting from Monday 24^th January 2022 all school dinners must be pre ordered and paid via ParentPay.com.

Children in Reception, Year 1 & Year 2 are entitled to universal free school meals, however you are still required to pre order your child's meal. This also applies if you child is entitled to free school meals.

On your child's ParentPay account go to Make or view bookings, then choose which meal option you require from the selection listed.

Confirm your booking.

To top up your child's school lunch account, click on school lunch where you will be able to add credit to your child's account. Each day your child has a school dinner their account will be debited £2.40.

You can start pre ordering for next week's dinners on your ParentPay account.

All orders must be placed by 8am at the latest each morning.

It is very important that all meals are pre ordered.

Congratulations to the following children for being chosen for Good Work or for displaying the Catholic virtues (Curious and Active) this week.  Well done to St. Luke's house for gaining the most points too.

The school has well-established the Walk Once a Week (WOW) programme in association with Living Streets for a number of years.  This helps to support our parents and the school in enabling  the children of St. Joseph's to be physically active on a daily basis.  The current Chief Medical Officer guidance is that children should be physically active for 60 minutes, with 30 minutes of this school and 30 minutes outside.  Last year, St. Joseph's was in the top 20 schools across the West Midlands for the number of active travels which is a fantastic achievement for a small school such as St. Joseph's.  For completing at least one active travel per week, the children can achieve the monthly reward badge.  We are also hoping that the WOW mascot, Strider, will be visiting the school along with another special guest in the near future.  In the meantime, for further information about the reward badges for this year, please click on the following link

https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/get-involved/wow-badge-facts-2021-22 

JANUARY 2022
OTTER

DESIGNED BY: JAMES, 11
MOSSNEUK PRIMARY, EAST KILBRIDE

FACTS:

• There are 13 different species of otter in existence around the world, usually found in river or coastal habitats.
• The European otter is the only species native to the UK. It is also found in other countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.
• Climate change is expected to affect the food supply in protected habitats, putting otters at risk as they move to new environments.

Children's Mental Health Week is taking place on 7-13th February 2022. This year's theme is Growing Together.

We will be encouraging children (and adults) to consider how they have grown, and how they can help others to grow.

On Friday 11th February, we will be celebrating 'Happy Hair Day' at school in support of the fundraising for Year 5's Pyramid Concert the week before half term.  We ask that a £1 donation is brought into school for children who wish to take part Thank you for your ongoing support.

Safer Internet Day 2022 will be celebrated on 8th February with the theme ‘All fun and games? Exploring respect and relationships online’.

I am sure that you are aware of the Government's plan to reduce Covid restrictions further within education settings from Thursday 27th January, including the removal of wearing face coverings in communal areas.

However, further guidance from Dudley MBC has been published in association with the Local Public Health Protection Team, as follows:

The number of cases of Covid-19 remain high across the borough, with the largest number of cases in the 5-19 age group. This is leading to a number of outbreaks in education settings.

When necessary, local authorities can introduce local measures to reduce transmission in settings and help keep students and staff safe.

Therefore, in response to an outbreak in an education setting, Dudley Public Health advise that the following measures are maintained:

1. Facemasks are worn in communal areas where social distancing cannot be maintained (this only applies to staff and visitors in primary schools).

2. Any child identified as a close contact by NHS Test & Trace or Dudley Public Health (either within their education* setting or household), should undertake 7 days of Lateral Flow Device tests (LFD). If the result is positive, they should isolate for 10 full days, in line with the guidance.  A child can end their isolation period before the end of 10 days  by taking an LFD from 5 days after the day symptoms started (or the day the test was taken if the child did not have symptoms), and another LFD test on the following day. If both these test results are negative, and the child does not have a high temperature, the child may end your self-isolation after the second negative test result. *only applicable to those 5 years of age or over

Due to the increasing number of cases and outbreaks in certain classes, we will continue to advise parents on site to wear face coverings and for staff members to continue to do so in communal areas within school.  Any visitors will also be asked to wear a face covering in communal areas too.  Thank you for your continued cooperation with this matter.

The latest isolation guidance which came into force on Monday 17th January, is as follows:

Further information on self-isolation for those with COVID-19 is available.

We have all experienced challenges and difficulties during this pandemic, but sometimes we may need support from someone else or know of someone who may need additional help.  Dudley MBC have created a 'Support for Families' leaflet which signposts local services to parents. We have also included an updated list of support for parents via a range of local and national agencies.  These documents can be found within the Covid 19 tab on the school website home page.

The Wednesday Word can be accessed via following link: The Wednesday Word Primary School Resource | Catholic Church.  Please go through this with leaflet with your child so that they become more familiar and understand the focus of the Gospel each week.

Dear Lord Jesus, please help our family to grow in your love and to share your love with others through the way we live our lives. Amen.

Children at St. Joseph's are growing to be curious about everything; and active in
their engagement with the world, changing what they can for the better.

For true human fraternity:

We pray for all those suffering from religious discrimination and persecution; may their own rights and dignity be recognized, which originate from being brothers and sisters in the human family.

For more information on the Holy Father's Monthly Intention, please click on the following link: Pope's prayer intentions for 2022 - Vatican News