Our Emmaus and Diocese Vision

Forming Christ-centred pilgrims of hope with kind hearts, questioning minds, a thirst for knowledge and a hunger for justice

Dear Parents

Thank you for your contributions to our Lenten charities and fundraising so far – the amounts raised and donations have been increasing throughout the last few weeks. This week, our two non-uniform days for Father Hudson’s Caritas have raised £396.49 and our Ups and Downs Day sale led by Mrs Smith and with the help of some of our wonderful Y6 children has raised an amazing £216.25! Our donations of Easter eggs continues to grow (one collection has already been taken to Stourbridge Foodbank), and our Easter gardens completed by the children with kind hearts are brightening up our entrance area and focusing our minds on our Lenten journey and our preparation to meet the risen Christ at Easter.

There is still time to donate to the children’s efforts for Cafod during the Big Lent Walk and a further fundraiser for Father Hudson’s Caritas will take place with the annual Year 2 cake sale. The children really are living out our mission of having a hunger for justice. Well done children, and thank you to everyone who has donated so far.

As a reminder, the Big Lent Walk will begin next Wednesday (children to have trainers in school) and children will bring home a sponsorship form this afternoon (one per family). There are also upcoming events to raise much needed funds for Father Hudson’s Caritas (pledge £1 donations now live on Arbor shop) and please do continue to bring in any extra Easter eggs to donate to Stourbridge Food Bank. The Easter garden competition is now up and running! Do remember to bring completed gardens into school when they are complete as they make a lovely display in our entrance foyer.

Finally, I hope that the parent consultations this week were beneficial and you feel updated on your child’s progress. 100% of parents attended which is a testament to the commitment and support of our school community – we truly value the strong partnership and sense of collaboration between school and home. We will shortly send out a short feedback form on your experience and how we can continue to improve parent consultations in the future. Thank you for your support.

Please see some below for some key items as well as some of the quite wonderful costumes on display yesterday for World Book Day 2026 – it was an incredibly exciting day and so pleasing to see such a strong culture of reading evident across school. Teachers too joined in with the costumes on show!

Kind Hearts – Stourbridge Theatre Company presents The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Thank you to Stourbridge Theatre company for their generosity offering discounted tickets for our families! Information will be sent home this afternoon. Do try and attend if you’re able to.

Kind Hearts

Thanks to the generous donation of two of our grandparents in school, we have been able to purchase new Liturgical prayer cloths, and the beautiful lectern covers below. Thank you so much for your generosity!

Kind Hearts – Stourbridge Theatre Company presents The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Thank you to Stourbridge Theatre Company for their generosity offering discounted tickets for our families! Information has been sent home. Do try and attend if you’re able to. Please note the £5 tickets are eligible for the Saturday matinee show.

Gospel Reflection: John 11:1–45

Jesus hears that his friend Lazarus who lives in Bethany is sick. By the time Jesus gets there, Lazarus has died and has been buried for four days. Jesus goes to the tomb and asks them to roll away the stone which was blocking the entrance. He tells Lazarus to come out of the tomb. Lazarus walks out, covered in the cloths that he was buried in.

Why do you think Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead? (So that the people believe that Jesus is the Son of God. To show that he brings life to those who believe in him.)

Unfortunately, sometimes, just like Lazarus in today’s gospel, people do get sick. When this happens, they go to the hospital where doctors and nurses work hard to care for them and try to make them better. It can be very sad and worrying when someone we love is sick or dies. Jesus knows how we feel. He cried for his friend Lazarus who he loved.

Not everyone gets to see a doctor when they need to. It can be a long way to go to the nearest hospital or they might not be able to pay for their medicine. Some people find it hard to stay healthy because they do not have enough food to eat or safe water to drink.

When Pope Francis died, he asked that his Popemobile be transformed into a mobile clinic for children in Gaza who are injured, malnourished or don’t have access to healthcare.

God gives life to us all. God created us and wants every single one of us to live a happy life, with all the things that we need to grow and be the best people we can be. And Jesus came to show us how to live, how to treat others. This Lent we can look at our own lives and think about the changes that we can make so that everyone can live their lives to the full. Just like Pope Francis, we can share what we have to help others who are in need. What will you do?

Amen.
Adapted from Cafod children’s liturgy

Journey to the Cross both in school and in our Parish Church

Forming Christ-centred pilgrims of hope with kind hearts, questioning minds, a thirst for knowledge and a hunger for justice

Gifts from God

The children who have been rewarded during the last two weeks

Attendance – Well done everyone, our whole school attendance is excellent!

Kind Hearts, A hunger for Justice

From time to time, there may be occasions that emerge when you need our support. Never hesitate to get in touch should you need our support. I am the DSL in school and Mrs Mitchell and Mrs Riley are the DDSLs. Mrs Mitchell is also our SENCo and Mental Health Leader. School safeguarding information and our Early Help offer can be found at this link on the school website St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Stourbridge - Safeguarding.

In school we are also very fortunate to have Mrs Dulson as our Emotional Literacy Support Assistant and Mental Health First Aider and can support your child in a whole manner of ways to support their wellbeing St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Stourbridge - Mental Health and ELSA. We’re here to help when you need us!

Questioning minds

Dates for your diary – please keep an eye on the link below while dates are added:

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Stourbridge - Calendar

Questioning minds – Term Dates

The 2026-27 term dates can be found below:

Autumn Term
Tuesday 1st September 2026
Half term Monday 26th Oct 2026 to Fri 30th Oct 2026
Friday 18th December 2025

Spring Term
Monday 4th January 2027
Half term Monday 15th Feb 2027 to Friday 19th Feb 2027
Thursday 25th March 2027

Summer Term
Monday 12th April 2027
Half term Monday 31st May 2027 to Friday 4th June 2027
Wednesday 21st July 2027

The following INSET Days agreed for 2026/27:

• Tuesday 1st September 2026
• Wednesday 2nd September 2026
• Friday 2nd October 2026
• Friday 12th February 2027
• Monday 28th June 2027

In addition to the five INSET Days listed above, a sixth INSET Day is also proposed to facilitate a MAC-wide INSET Day. The proposed date for this INSET Day will be confirmed in due course.

Inset Days

Please note a further inset day has been added. As a Multi-Academy Company, Emmaus are able to use a 6th inset day for staff development and formation.

The inset days for the rest of the academic year are as follows:

Friday 26th June
Friday 17th July – new date
Monday 20th July

As such, school will close for pupils for the summer break on Thursday 16th July at 3:15pm.

Have a great weekend

Mr A. Wilkes
Executive Principal

In school we are also very fortunate to have Mrs Dulson as our Emotional Literacy Support Assistant and Mental Health First Aider and can support your child in a whole manner of ways to support their wellbeing St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Stourbridge - Mental Health and ELSA . We’re here to help when you need us!

Questioning minds
Dates for your diary – please keep an eye on the link below while dates are added: St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Stourbridge - Calendar

Questioning minds – Term Dates
The 2026-27 term dates can be found below:

The following INSET Days agreed for 2026/27:
• Tuesday 1st September 2026
• Wednesday 2nd September 2026
• Friday 2nd October 2026
• Friday 12th February 2027
• Monday 28th June 2027

In addition to the five INSET Days listed above, a sixth INSET Day is also proposed to facilitate a MAC-wide INSET Day. The proposed date for this INSET Day will be confirmed in due course.

Inset Days
Please note a further inset day has been added. As a Multi-Academy Company, Emmaus are able to use a 6th inset day for staff development and formation.
The inset days for the rest of the academic year are as follows:
Friday 26th June
Friday 17th July – new date
Monday 20th July

As such, school will close for pupils for the summer break on Thursday 16th July at 3:15pm

Have a great weekend

Mr A. Wilkes
Executive Principal