Friday 15th November 2019

A faithful person is a gift to the world.  When we grow in faithfulness, others will know that we are people who are reliable, supportive, trustworthy, who are loyal and have staying power through both good and bad times.  In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus encourages the disciples (and us too) to be faithful to him. Pope Francis also reminds us that, "God is faithful, always faithful and continues to be rich in goodness and mercy."  Everybody wants a faithful friend. Jesus offers to be our faithful friend and invites us to be his. Even though many things in the world may change, the faithful promises of Jesus will never pass away - God's love for us will last forever. We can be certain that our faithfulnes to God will be rewarded.

St. Joseph's received a letter from the Minister of State for School Standards (Nick Gibb) to congratulate the school on its achievement in the 2019 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check.  With 97% of children reaching the threshold, St. Joseph's was in the top 5% of schools nationally.  This shows the positive impact which the Read Write Inc. Phonics Programme has had upon raising school standards.  Thank you to Mrs Cangiano, Mrs Piercy, Mrs Riley and all other members of staff who have contributed to this great achievement.  The letter is on the school website under the 'Key Information' tab within the 'Letters' folder.

St. Joseph's has been accredited the Music Mark for Schools membership in recognition for its commitment to quality music education as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.  With support from the Dudley Performing Arts (DPA) and Mrs Cangiano (Music Coordinator), the quality of music education on offer to pupils continues to go from strength-to-strength. The award will be presented by Chris Jones, Head of the Service - DPA, at our Music and Mince Pies event on Tuesday 3rd December 2019.

The first parents' and sponsors' session for our Year 6 Confirmandi will take place on Thursday 21st November starting at 7pm.  The Mass of Enrolment for our Year 6 children and parents will also take place at Our Lady and All Saints on Saturday 23rd November at 5pm. 

Our Year 3 children will be helping our school community prepare for the season of Advent at their class assembly on Thursday 28th November starting at 9.10am.  Our Year 3 parents are very welcome to attend.

The PTA are producing 2020 calendars featuring a photograph of the children whose birthdays fall on each month. Perfect Christmas gifts for family members. Calendars are priced at £6.50 each or 2+ at £6 each. If you have not returned your order/consent form or require another one please contact office. To include your child's photograph on the calendar we require your consent.Payment by either cash or cheques made payable to St. Joseph's PTA. Please support your St. Joseph's PTA, all monies raised goes to enriching the school lives of our children. If you would be interested in joining the PTA or volunteering at future events please contact the school office. 

St. Joseph's has been highlighted as a school of best practice by the Black Country PE and SS Consortium in relation to promoting physcial activity to its children.  Consequently, the school has been selected to be part of a best practice case study on strategies to promote greater physical activity in relation to the CMO's recommendations of 60 minutes of physical activity per day.  This case study will focus on the implementation and impact of an Active Travel programme as a strategy to meet this recommendation for all pupils. 

Please bring any items into school outlined below so that we can pass on these essentials to our brothers and sisters in need.  Thank you.

FOOD SHORTAGES: FRUIT JUICE (1L cartons), TINNED FRUIT, COOKING SAUCES, 1L CARTONS UHT MILK, SMALL JARS COFFEE, TINNED POTATOES, INSTANT MASH, TINNED MEAT, BISCUITS, TINNED READY MEALS (e.g. MACARONI CHEESE, VEG CURRY), TINNED FISH, JAM/MARMALADE, RICE PUDDING.

NON-FOOD SHORTAGES: TOOTHPASTE, TOILET ROLLS, SINGLE TOOTHBRUSHES
SHAVING FOAM, SHOWER GEL, DEODORANT, SHAMPOO/CONDITIONER, WASHING UP LIQUID

The Raffle tickets for our Christmas Fayre will be available the weekend of 02/03 November.  If you can make a donation towards one of the cash prizes or donate another prize, please sign the sheet in the porch. A big thank you to those who very generosity donated raffle prizes last year.

If you are having a sort out over the coming half term, please think of donating items to the fayre. We are looking for good quality unwanted gifts, toiletries, candles, toys, games, bottles for the Tombola (anything from Squash to Whisky!) and Chocolate for our new Chocolate Tombola.  Please can we make a request – NO BOOKS, CD’s or DVD’s!! 

Boxes will be available at the back of our Church from the beginning of November.  

Thank you for anything you feel able to donate.

Nearer the day we welcome lots and lots of home-made cakes for the cake stall.   LOOK OUT FOR MORE DETAILS!

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for being our faithful friend.  Please help us to keep growing in faithfulness to you and to one another. Amen.

Pupils at St. Joseph’s are growing to be: Attentive to their experience and to their vocation; and discerning about the choices they make and the effects of those choices.

Dialogue and Reconciliation in the Near East: That a spirit of dialogue, encounter, and reconciliation emerge in the Near East, where diverse religious communities share their lives together.