Newsletter 8/3/2019

Mrs Lawlor Writes … Dear Parents/Guardians I hope you all enjoyed the unusually sunny few weeks in February and had a restful half term break. This half term is again quite short in terms of weeks and we therefore end up packing a lot in! We would like to thank you again for your patience and understanding while the front office works are completed. We have now implemented our new one way system which in the main is working well, thank you for your support as it is making it easier for buggies. The work is on schedule and we are hopeful for a completion by the end of May 2019. Aladdin Last half term ended with the wonderful production of ‘Aladdin’. It truly was an amazing show and we were immensely proud of all the childrens’ performances. There was such a variety of talent and skills on stage from: singing, acting, comedy and timing, staging and props, front of house management as well as the wonderful team spirit, enjoyment and enthusiasm. The children truly appreciated the experience they had performing to such a high standard, and it was wonderful to see their appreciation of the staff who had encouraged and supported them since September. Thank you again to the entire Aladdin Company! A special thank you to Mrs Jowett, Mr Wood and Mrs Gordon.

Living Learning and Laughing together in the Light of God’s Love

A Whole New World…

Living Learning and Laughing together in the Light of God’s Love Cont’d from page 1 …. Sports News The half term started well with sporting victory and we would like to congratulate Roisin (4DA) who came first in her race at the Priory Park Cross-Country competition in Priory Park on Tuesday 26th February. Congratulations also to Rory (5H) for coming fourth in his race, and to the whole team from St Joseph’s for coming 5th overall. The staff said the children represented the school impeccably and cheered their team mates on. Thank you to Mrs Biard and Miss Roy for their training and organisation of the team, and to Mr Biggerstaff for ensuring the team looked the part in their new running T-shirt.

Netball On the 23rd February, Miss Dogansoy’s Netball club got the opportunity to go and watch a match at Sports Park in . The teams that were playing were Surrey Storm and Loughborough Lightning. Surrey Storm started off strong and the children couldn’t believe how quick a game of netball actually was. It was lovely to hear how much the children understood the game and were fully engaged from the first whistle. At quarter time, two children (Grace and Florence), got chosen to take part in the shooting game. They loved it even if the post was double the size of them! After three quarters, Surrey Storm were trailing behind however were still not ready to give up the fight. It was also down to Leigh and Thomas D to help the crowd take part in a Mexican wave. They had to run across the court and get the crowd engaged! At the end of the game, the children were star struck when they were able to get autographs and take photographs of the players; the team were so welcoming towards the children who were asking some insightful questions, especially the one about how tall the GK was on the opposing team. The answer… 6’4! WOW! It was a thoroughly entertaining, fast-paced match, despite Surrey Storm losing and the children were all impeccably behaved. They can now use what they have learnt in the upcoming school netball fixtures!.

Living Learning and Laughing together in the Light of God’s Love Cont’d .. Netball Matches Fantastic Footwork against Furzefield On the 28th February, the Netball A Team Squad had their first home game on the new refurbished court. With the home advantage, the netball team was ready to go! From the first centre pass to the last whistle, they all played exceptionally well, with some great match play down the court. They won 4-1 and it made Miss Dogansoy an extremely happy coach. Netball, Netball, Netball! The Netball Squad played a match on the 6th March against Wray Common School. The weather wasn’t looking promising but we didn’t let that phase us! St Joseph’s was able to field two teams so lots of netball was happening. They all showed brilliant game awareness and worked hard as a team. Unfortunately, the A team lost however the B team won an outstanding 7-1! Well done to all who played and thank you, as always, to our fabulous fan base! And There’s More! We played Meath Green on Wednesday this week. Both of the teams played fantastically; The A’s won 2-0 and the B’s won an astonishing 12-0! I am incredibly proud of all the children of Netball Club. They work so hard during training and it is really amazing to see the skills flourish. It makes Mrs Dogansoy a very happy woman! We will be having netball training on the 13th March, 20th March, the last training session being on Tuesday 26th March.

Pancake Day The children celebrated Shrove Tuesday with a Pancake Race. Children were required to complete an obstacle course, all while holding their pancake in a pan. Bonus points were awarded for children who could flip their pancakes and catch it too! It was a great success, with lots of ideas ready for next year. The children thoroughly enjoyed it and showed great teamwork among their house teams. A big thank you to the Sports Crew for helping out and supporting Miss Dogansoy, she wouldn't have been able to do it without you!

Living Learning and Laughing together in the Light of God’s Love

Cont’d ..

Book week got off to a great start with assembly on Monday morning. Thank you to Charlie (5E) who had the best seat in the hall as he sat and read ‘Charlie Cooks Favourite Book’. Each character in the book was brought to life by familiar faces in the school!

Living Learning and Laughing together in the Light of God’s Love Viking Day ‘History off the Page’ visited Year 4 for a fun-filled ‘Viking Day’. Throughout the day, children learnt about what life was like living in the Year 878 AD. They took part in a range of activities, using different skills to make souvenirs to take home at the end of the day. Before lunch, the children went into battle where they all charged and attacked Miss Dogansoy; they thoroughly enjoyed this part! In the afternoon, they became Archaeologists and delved deep in the soil to find Viking Artefacts. A big thank you to all the parents that helped. It was a very successful day!

Living Learning and Laughing together in the Light of God’s Love Music Lessons at St Josephs We are very lucky at St Joseph’s to be able to offer a variety of musical instrument lessons during the school day.

Strings: Miss Karen Hoy teaches Violin and Viola through the Surrey Arts Music Lessons Scheme on Tuesday & Wednesday mornings. If you would like to find out more and book lessons for your child, please contact Surrey Arts at 01483 519303, or email [email protected] or to apply online go to www.surreycc.gov.uk

Mrs Yvette Maddon teaches Cello through the Surrey Arts Music Lessons Scheme on Mondays at St Joseph’s. Mrs Maddon also heads the Reigate Strings Orchestra which rehearses on Thursdays after school, and is a fantastic opportunity to join an orchestra. Children are encouraged to join soon after starting to learn their instrument, and it is a fantastically fun way to help develop their musical skills. All string players are welcome. If you would like to find out more and book lessons for your child or enquire about RSO ensembles, please contact Surrey Arts at 01483 519303, or email [email protected] or to apply online go to www.surreycc.gov.uk

Mr Mann has taught Guitar at St Joseph’s for many years. He teaches guitar lessons on Tuesday afternoons. If you would like to find out more and book lessons for your child please contact him at 07810 277149 or email him at [email protected]

Woodwind: Mrs Katy Martyn-Coles teaches Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute and Recorder after school on Thursdays, through the Surrey Arts Music Lessons Scheme. Mrs Martyn Coles has been with us for many years, and teaches in several other schools in the area. If you would like to find out more and book lessons for your child, please contact Surrey Arts at 01483 519303, or email [email protected] or to apply online go to www.surreycc.gov.uk

Mrs Jane Patrick offers individual lessons on the Clarinet, Saxophone and Recorder during the afternoon on Wednesdays. Jane is a very experienced teacher and has been teaching in several other schools in the Reigate and Redhill area for a number of years. If you would like to find out more and / or book some lessons for your child, please get in touch with Jane by email: [email protected].

Piano: Mrs Sonia Dembinska teaches piano at St Joseph’s on Fridays. She is a very accomplished pianist, and also runs the Reigate Grammar School Saturday Music College, which is open to all enthusiastic musicians aged 7-18. This is a wonderful opportunity to take part in musicianship lessons, chamber music, music theory classes or composition workshops. There are regular concert opportunities and visiting masterclass experts. If you would like to contact Mrs Dembinska for lessons at St Joseph’s you can contact her on 07515 474408 or to enquire about the RGS Saturday College, you can email [email protected] for details.

Voice: Mrs Diana Barnsley will be known to many of you previously as a class teacher at St Joseph’s, and now offers individual or group singing lessons at St Joseph’s on Thursdays. If you are interested in finding out more or would like to book your child in for singing lessons, please contact Mrs Barnsley on 07949 604015.

If you have any other enquiries about music lessons at St Joseph’s, please contact the school office.

Living Learning and Laughing together in the Light of God’s Love Reminders Can we please remind parents who have not yet been able to make an appointment with their class teacher for Parent’s Evening on Tuesday 12th or Thursday 14th March, to please do so as soon as possible. If you are experiencing any problems booking your 10 minute appointment on ParentMail, please contact Mrs Sawyer on 01737 765373 and she will be able to make a booking for you.

Warm Regards Tamsyn Lawlor and Staff

Date Event Where and Who 12th March 2019 Parent’s Evening 3.30pm – 7.00pm at St Joseph’s School 14th March 2019 Parent’s Evening 3.30pm – 7.00pm at St Joseph’s School 13th March 2019 Year 5 Visit to Mass St Joseph’s Church for 10.00am Mass 15th March 2019 Year 5 Trip to Bough Leaving St Joseph’s promptly at 9.00am 15th March 2019 Year 3 Visit to Mass St Joseph’s Church for 10.00am Mass 19th March 2019 St Joseph’s Day

20th March 2019 Year 4 Isle of Wight Parent 6.30pm at St Joseph’s School Meeting 22nd March 2019 Year 6 Trip to Harry Potter Children need to be at school for World 8.30am 27th March 2019 Online Safety Parent Workshop 6.30pm at St Joseph’s School

29th March 2019 Year 4 Visit to Mass St Joseph’s Church for 10.00am Mass

Living Learning and Laughing together in the Light of God’s Love