Catholic Life of St Joseph's
Living out our School Mission Statement
Our School’s Mission Statement of ‘Inspired by joy, we grow together as members of a unique family who respect, love and forgive each other’, is not just something that is displayed around the school, but it is a statement that is brought to life within our close-knit family.
The children have spent time unpicking this statement and thinking about what it means to them. Each class has produced work about this and reflected on how we can live out our mission each day.
Catholic Life Big Books
Our year group Big Books are quickly filling up! These giant books contain photographs, drawings and writing by our children in relation to activities or celebrations outside of RE lessons which are part of the Catholic life of our school. Reflections from assemblies, photographs of special masses, work around our class saints and year group charities and celebrations throughout the Liturgical Year, are all displayed proudly in these beautiful books. Here are some examples of the front of our books and work from the EYFS Big Books below.
Caritas
As part of our Caritas work, which means living out our Faith, we have a special learning focus each half term. Last half term we had a special day focusing on Stewardship. This involves teaching the children about caring for the gifts that God has given to us, including the environment, our own personal talents and other resources. We talked about our interdependence with all living creatures and how we should use God's gifts responsibly to meet the needs of everyone, now and in the future.
The Nursery children were learning about friendship and made each other bracelets. Reception focused on love in their family.
Year 1 talked about how we can look after our environment by walking to school, picking up rubbish and growing plants. Some children also visited the Parish garden to see how the plants have grown.
Year 3 discussed the different ways we show community at St Joseph's. While Year 5 wrote about the gifts they have and Year 6 researched how people matter more than possessions.
Class Saints
This year, each year group has been assigned a Saint to study. The children must find out about their Saint, particularly in relation to what it is that made them so special. They will consider what we can learn from each Saint in our mission to live out God’s Word. Year groups will deliver assemblies about their Saint and celebrate their Saints’ feast days.
Class Charity
Each year group has been given a charity to research and fundraise for throughout the year. In November, Nursery collected for 'Mary's Meals' by giving out mince pies and asking for a donation when parents came in for craft morning. Mary's Meals is a fantastic charity who raise money to ensure deprived children receive a healthy school meal each day.
In December it was Year 1’s turn to carry out their very important work supporting the first of their two year group charities, CAFOD. CAFOD is the official aid charity of England and Wales who work internationally to support people living in poverty. On Craft day, the children made some CAFOD posters with the help of their parents.
We asked the children to wear their Christmas jumpers and bring in £1 to give to CAFOD. All the money raised will go towards helping to fund essentials such as food, clean water, clothes, books and housing for those in need. 3HH found out all about the work of CAFOD for their class assembly which can be seen below. Thanks to all who donated!
You can also see below the 'Caritas in Action' certificate which we received last year for collecting books and toys for local charities. This Autumn, the Laudato Si team have also done a fantastic job of gathering food items, toys and books to support deprived families in our community.
