Friday 13th March 2020

In this Sunday's Gospel we hear about Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well.  Just as water quenches our thirst, prayer satisfies a deep need for us to commune with the living God.  Except it is God who first seeks us and it is God who first asks us for a drink.  Jesus' thirst arises from the depths of God's desire for us.  Whether we realise it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst with ours.  God thirsts that we may thirst for him.  In the Scriptures water has a depper meaning as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, the One who quenches our thirst and renews our faith.

The school is following the guidance from the DFE and Public Health regarding the practices to ensure that any possible contamination is minimised.  The Directors of the MAC met this week advising that all staff and visitors to wash hands upon arrival into school and a no hand shaking policy in place.

If you were unable to meet with your child's class teacher this week then please arrange an alternative day and time with the school office.  For those who did attend, please ensure that you complete the questionnaire which is accessible via the landing page on the school website.  Your views on how we can improve what we do are valued.

Congratulations to the team of 12 boys and girls from Years 5 and 6 who took part in the Dudley Finals of the Tag Rugby Competition on Thursday.  In the first part of the competition, the team won four games and lost one - finishing as Group A winners overall.  In the second part of the event, the four teams would compete to represent Dudley at the Black Country Finals in June 2020.  St. Joseph's won one, drew one and lost one, qualifying as runners-up overall.  This is the first time that the school will represent Dudley in this sport at the Level 3 Black Country School Games on Friday 26th June at Wolverhampton University (Walsall Campus).  Well done on a great team effort!

Well done to our cross country teams who took part in the final round of the Stourbridge competition at Ridgewood High School on Tuesday.  Jonathan in Year 6 was the individual boys' winner and the St. Joseph's boys' team were ranked in first place overall.  The mixed High 5 Netball team took part in a pathway competition on Thursday.  Unfortunately, they narrowly missed out on progressing to the next round as they were placed third overall.  Congratulations to all our competitors this week.

Food shortages for the loacl food bank are as follows: SMALL JARS COFFEE, 1L CARTONS UHT MILK, RICE PUDDING / CUSTARD, FRUIT JUICE (1L cartons), TINNED POTATOES / INSTANT MASH, JAM / MARMALADE, VEG READY MEALS, TINNED SPAGHETTI. COOKING SAUCES (jars), TINNED MEAT & FISH. Non-food shortages: DEODORANT, TOILET ROLLS, SINGLE TOOTHBRUSHES, SHOWER GEL / SOAP, TOOTHPASTE, CAN OPENERS, WASHING-UP LIQUID. SHAMPOO / CONDITIONER, FLANNELS / SPONGES. Thank you for your continued support.

The PTA are holding a fundraiser football match on Saturday 21st March 1pm on the playing fields by school. Kick off 2pm. There will be a parents' football match, kids penalty shoot-out, games, food, drink and fun for all the family. Please come along and join in the fun. Donations for raffle prizes greatly appreciated. Please show your support for this fantastic event. All monies raised by the PTA goes directly to enriching the lives of all our children at St. Joseph's.

O God who so lovingly raised Blessed Dominic Barberi to the heights of holiness, learning and apostolic zeal and made him a powerful minister of your mercy, listen to our humble request.  We pray that you will in your goodness, grant a miracle through the intercession of Blsessed Dominic, so that the Church may further honour him on earth and that many more people will come to know and invoke the help of this faithful servant of the Church.  Mary, Mother of Hope, Pray for us.  Blessed Dominic Barberi, Pray for us.  Saint John Henry Newman, Pray for us.

Pupils at St. Joseph's are growing to be: faithf-filled in their beliefs and hopeful for the future.

Catholics in China: We pray that the Church in China may persevere in its faithfulness to the Gospel and grow in unity.