Friday 31st January 2020

This Sunday marks the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord which is forty days after Jesus' birth.  In Sunday's Gospel, Simeon joyfully recognises Jesus as the 'Light of the World' - the one who fills our lives with hope.  Hope is a virtue which can strengthen and sustain us through life's greatest difficulties.  Putting our hope in God is trying to live and do our best in the present moment, and then trust the future to God.  Simeon is a great example of someone who placed his hope in God and was blessed by encountering Jesus.  We too can be blessed and enlightened when we do the same.

The school has been made aware of parents who are idling in their cars while waiting in the car park or on the roadside for up to 30 minutes before pick-up at the end of the school day. An estimated 29,000 people every year in the UK die from air pollution.  However, children growing up around severe air pollution are 5 times more likely to have poor lung development.  The British Lung Foundation campaign '#DropOffSwitchOff' is asking parents to switch off their engines when they drop their child off at school or are waiting to pick them up. For further information about this topic, please go to the British Lung Foundation website www.blf.org.uk.  Thank you for your cooperation with this matter.

A huge thank you to Fr. Des, school staff, sponsors, parents and parishioners who have helped and supported the Year 6 children in preparation to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation last Sunday.  The work which goes on behind the scenes to prepare for this occasion and the children is extensive.  We also thank Bishop David for celebrating Mass, especially as this will be his last time before his retirement later on this year.  Please continue to pray for our Year 6 children.

Congratulations to the team of six girls and six boys who took part in the Sportshall athletics competition at Oldswinford Hospital School on Thursday.  It was a very competitive event and the standard of competitors was high too.  Our pupils were excellent ambassadors of the school both in terms of their behaviour and competitive spirit.  They were ranked as runners-up overall but unfortunatley will not proceed onto the next round of the event.  Thank you also to Mrs McCole and Mrs Bradley for supporting the children too.

On Wednesday 5th February, our two teams of eight boys and eight girls will be competing in Round 1 of the Stourbridge Learning Partnership Cross Country Competition which will be held on the playing fields adjacent to the school.  The event will include other local schools and should bring together over 100 competitors in both races.  We still require marshals to support this event - any parents are most welcome to help.  If you are able to, then please leave your name with the school office and please meet on the Key Stage 2 playground after the children have been dismissed. Round 2 will be held at Brindley Heath School on Wednesday 12th February and the final round will be held at Ridgewood High School on Tuesday 3rd March.  We wish our competitors every success.

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for the hope and light you bring to our lives.  Please help us to bring light and hope to others too. Amen.

Pupils at St. Joseph's are growing to be: compassionate towards others, near and far, especially the less fortunate; and loving by their actions and forgiving words.

Promotion of World Peace: We pray that Christians, followers of other religions, and all people of goodwill may promote peace and justice in the world.