It’s that time of year to say goodbye to our Year 6 children.
We wish them luck in their new secondary schools and want them to know that we are all proud of their achievements and that they will always be part of our St Joseph’s family.
On Tuesday 18th July, John Paul and Peter classes travelled by coach to London Zoo in Regents Park.
They started the day by looking in Tiger Territory, Gorilla Kingdom and Into Africa. The children looked at the animals, especially the patterns on the animals skin.
Then after lunch, the children took part in a workshop where they studied animal skins including; Kangaroo, Crocodile and Tortoise.
The children then got to meet a rat that was born at the zoo and also see the penguins and watch them being fed.
This week, every class in Key stage 2 has visited Horton Kirby based in Dartford.
This was a visit to do with the topic they have been studying this term, living things and habitats.
As you can see from the photos, the children paddled in a stream, looking for pond life and also the surroundings they live in.
On Monday 17th July, Years 5/6 travelled to the Olympic Park in Stratford to watch The World Para Athletics Championships.
The children were very excited to travel to this world class sporting venue and watch Team GB amongst other Para Olympians from around the world, competing in the World championships.
Well we have waited 5 years but at last St Joseph’s School Football has won the annual Centenary Shield!
They played fantastic against Boutcher, St James’ and St Joseph’s Gomm Road.
The Team did not con-seed one goal, and Mr Dines was so proud at the effort and achievement of the school team.
It was a glorious day on Saturday 8th July, for our annual Summer Fete. The sun was shining bright for our celebration in saying goodbye to Mr Macauley and Miss Alford.
Trampolines, bouncy Castle, Penalty Shoot Out to name a few activities that were available for the children to do.
A wonderful day was had by all and everyone had such a fantastic time.
On Friday 30th June, Years 1 & 2 travelled to the Tower of London to participate in a workshop on castles, knights and kings.
They started the day by taking a nice walk to the Tower along the River Thames. Once they arrived at the Tower, each class took part in a workshop where the children were taught how to become a knight. This involved the children learning how to serve, be humble and lastly how to fight.
After they explored the rest of the Tower, looking at the Crown Jewels especially.
The children had a marvellous day.
Its been an amazing year of football for the fantastic team we have here at St Josephs Primary School. Below are the final tables for the season. Didn’t we do well!!
Good Evening and welcome to the SJSJb- Day 4- Dragons and Disco Edition!
Another fun-packed day here at Little Canada on the Isle of Wight, the children woke this morning to an unfamiliar sight- clouds. An overcast day here soon turned into another absolute belter, our last full day of activities blessed with more sunshine, laughter and memories.
Each group was straight away into its first activity, with groups 1 + 2 working on orienteering for the very first time in many cases. The children were instructed in how to orient a map, recognise different parts of the key and then their challenge was to find as many ‘stations’ as possible in the time provided. Among the standouts in this challenge were David, Declan, Sonny and Justin in Mr Coffey’s group, with Mr Hoyes impressed particularly with Beulah, Ashlyn, and Rebecca! The children worked incredibly well in their groups, taking turns with each job within the group and hitting a huge number of stations across the entire site. Not long after this was the one they had all been waiting for however. The creek was prepped for the arrival of the entire St Joseph’s contingent. It was time to race.
Across the word there are many storied rivalries. England- Wales in rugby. Liverpool-Everton in football. USA-Europe in the Ryder Cup. However all of these pale in comparison to the annual Dempsey-Fisher Dragon Boat Regatta in Little Canada Creek. Both crews and their captains had been training for this event for months, with special diets and regimes aimed at getting everyone in peak condition, no-one wanting to leave anything on the lake in this legendary competition. The children were prepared and ready. At the call “Dragon Boats are you ready?!” The reply rang out from all on the water “We were born ready!!!” The Fisher boat blew Dempsey out of the water in the first run, going in to a 1-0 lead by half a length. In the second run however they were faced with a serious reality check, the Dempsey boat fighting back to take it by a nose to level the scores at 1-1. It all came down to a straight shoot-out. It was then that Fisher showed their true 5-in-a-row pedigree, channelling the Mrs Byrne spirit and knuckling down under pressure to take the last leg in a thrilling competition. An incredible competition saw Fisher retain a trophy that has not seen Dempsey class in many a year. In the end of course, the real winner was Dragon Boat Racing, with both sides shaking hands and sharing congratulations (and commiserations of course) in a true display of sporting spirit.
There was no time to rest on laurels however, as it was then to lunch, another innings in the ongoing cricket before we were off to our next round of activities. With groups working on Climbing, Fencing, Abseiling and the infamous Sensory trail, there was plenty of challenge to be had. Dylan has had no fear whatsoever on the ropes work, scaling heights with a single hesitation, while Katie has been keeping her entire group cheered with her positive energy, Mr McInroy reports, with Sophia and Daniel S also proving to be naturals at Archery! Mrs Kingman was delighted with Laura P and Mariana on the climbing wall, overcoming their fears to show everyone how it was done. Both Jayden and Raphael, PGL veterans, have also impressed with their willingness to help those who may be a little unfamiliar with the goings on here on the Isle of Wight, prepared at all times to drop in a little hint or expertise to help their team-mates. Well done boys! James, Daniel A and Oge have all impressed her with their work throughout the week! Mrs Kingman also noted how helpful Charleigh had been all week, doing everything she could for those around her be it in the cabins, in the dining hall or on activities, truly showcasing the St Joseph’s values to everyone who has come into contact with her. Mr Coffey was pleased to be able to note some brilliant work in a completely new discipline for his children, with David and Tolu in particular catching the eye with their reactions and instinct in the sport of Fencing- future Olympians perhaps?
With such a busy afternoon it was back to the cabins after dinner to get ready for the hotly anticipated final-night Disco! It was a whirlwind scene of excitement of outfit changes, fragrance testing and hair styling, and that was just the boys’ cabins! SJSJb is pleased to announce that as ever, St Joseph’s are dominating the dancefloor, continuing the legacy handed down by many a year six cohort from our school. As SJSJb is writing this blog the beat of Ed Sheeran, Cotton Eyed Joe and someone called Bieber is shaking the table, and it is reported from the frontline of the action that Justin is throwing moves like they are going out of fashion (Mr Hoyes apparently commenting he “taught him all he knows about the Macarena”). Please see the accompanying photos to see the children looking sharp and ready for the night while also enjoying the many activities they’ve been admirably accomplishing all day.
Tomorrow holds the last two activities for the children, before our journey home from the Isle of Wight and from a week that the children will never forget. The sun is just beginning to drop down here on Little Canada, so it is time for the SJSJb to see if there are any moves left to be dropped on the dancefloor in the main hall.
Wishing all at home a pleasant evening,
Good Evening and welcome to the SJSJb- Day 3!
It has been another glorious day on the Isle of Wight, with sunshine in abundance and a very welcome breeze helping to sail through another fun-packed day!
The children woke up after an absolutely spectacular evening on the beach, our PGL Leader creating an amazing bonfire right at the water’s edge as dusk began to fall, with songs and spooky stories ending a memorable evening which the children and adults will remember for a long time to come.
Once more, the children were up, bright eyed and bushy tailed (mostly) at 6.30, the flurry of organised chaos as each cabin strove to improve their scores, with Chief Inspector McInroy and the clipboard of destiny edging closer and closer as the minutes went by. Mr McInroy was pleased to report to the SJSJb that a great deal of progress had been made, though each day the bar gets higher. Today’s highlights included one cabin singing a welcome song to the inspection team, another greeting with “Good Morning” in a reported five different languages. Rumours of cabins working on a greeting dance are as yet unconfirmed- the SJSJb will follow this story closely. Again, however, the children have been working hard to help each other, with countless examples of teamwork and organisation smoothing helping to make the process easier for everyone.
Before long it was on to activities, with today’s timetable including zip wire, archery, trapeze, and “All aboard”. With three of the four activities previously mentioned all involving heights and ropes, the children of St. Joseph’s are rapidly becoming expert in harnessing, helping each other brilliantly to adjust and tighten straps as needed when getting both in and out of the required safety gear. The children have also worked to assist the PGL instructors, backing up their work by belaying the climbers, being a backup belayer or simply ensuring that all ropes are looked after carefully. Several groups attempted the “All aboard” activity, with three children each separately climbing the same pole to a small platform above, where they engage in a trust exercise of holding each other and leaning back to support each other at the top before each making their way down safely. The trapeze has often been labelled the most difficult of the rope activities, as once a similar pole has been scaled, the children must leap into the air with the goal of catching the trapeze, and so many children today impressed with their bravery- even if some did not make the leap, to make the platform itself is an amazing achievement. Laura L says “It was fun, when you get up there it takes a while to think if you are going to make it- a good tip is to count down from a number, close your eyes and do it!”
Various groups worked on archery today, with all of the children making rapid progress at this deceptively difficult discipline. Regular followers of the blog may remember a certain game of monkey football in which Fadriss overcame the mighty Mr Hoyes in a close fought contest before reporting the win to the SJSJb. Once again challenging Mr Hoyes to an archery contest, Mr Hoyes reported a win for his side with a score of 24-15. Fadriss was unavailable for comment at the time of writing, though surely a deciding event is on the cards? Meanwhile in Aeroball, Ewere and Gibson triumphed in this game of skill, bounciness and sheer aerobic fitness- Well done boys!
The highly unusual localised weather around the sensory trail continues according to Special Reporter Wayne, who explained that once more, as his group was working its way solidly through the tea-working exercise in apparent sunshine, the participants found water creeping down their necks and over their heads at various points. The Met office is investigating.
As the children were working on their 3 session of the day a familiar figure broke the sunshine. Was it a bird? A plane? No! It was Mr Macauley! The children were delighted to see their headteaacher, who had travelled down to share in their school journey and check in on all of the latest activities and hear their news and stories. Mr Macauley visited each group and saw them overcoming some of the many challenges they have faced this week, though was sadly unable to take on Mr Coffey’s group’s offer of joining the activity due to not having the appropriate clothing for the task. (The SJSJb will be writing a strongly worded letter to PGL management arguing the case that participating in a full suit and tie on a zip wire would be, if nothing else, extremely cool.)
The children have continued to show excellent character, determination and fellowship as they continue their adventure here on the Isle of Wight, with some free time to relax in the shade finding simultaneous rugby drills, cricket and football matches, hair braiding classes, skipping and gymnastics- all contributing to a lovely atmosphere moving in to Thursday.
Many questions remain to be answered as the children move now into the latter stages of their journey. What new challenge will they overcome? Will the children remember that colour co-ordinating towels is a sure fire way to score highly in the fiercely contested room inspection awards? Can Fadriss get a comeback win? Just what is dabbing? Who will win the annual Fisher-Dempsey Dragon Boat race on the lake? Stay tuned to the SJSJb to find out more tomorrow!
This is the SJSJb signing off on day three, wishing all back in London a pleasant evening.
SJSJb, Little Canada, Isle of Wight.