Last week, Year 5 had an unforgettable time at STEMFest, where they explored interactive exhibits, enjoyed captivating demonstrations, and took part in hands-on activities aimed at sparking curiosity and enthusiasm. STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and math, is a motivational program designed to introduce students to exciting career paths in these fields. Year 5 also participated in a Space competition with many other schools and impressively secured third place! We certainly have many budding scientists in our midst.

On Friday, we had the pleasure of welcoming Michael to our school for Year 5’s Mini Vinnies commissioning ceremony. Mini Vinnies transforms concern into action by: Making cards for those who are sick, isolated, or lonely Visiting local care homes to sing and share stories with residents Creating arts and crafts to share with others Organising food collections for a local food bank Supporting fellow students in their school or parish Fundraising for the SVP and other charities Baking for others Campaigning for various causes We also received an incredible donation of tins and cans from the children and parents of St. Joseph’s. Thank you all for your generosity!

This week, Year 4 had the opportunity to visit the Centre for Life in Newcastle. We took part in a fantastic workshop called ‘Electrifying Newcastle’ where they were able to experiment with circuits and switches which is what we are currently learning about within our science topic. The children also had the opportunity to explore other zones within the centre such as the ‘brain zone’, the space centre, the Planetarium where we were able to see a 360 degree view of Newcastle and travel into space, we also had the pleasure of watching a fantastic science experiment show. Overall, we had a brilliant day exploring various avenues of science and the children had lots of fun!

Sacrament of the Eucharist The children of St Joseph’s made their first Holy Communion on Saturday 22 nd June 2024, alongside children from St Bede’s School. Families and friends joined in the celebration at St Bede’s Church. The children continued their celebration on Monday, at school, during Celebration of the Word followed by a communion breakfast. Prior to making their First Holy Communion, the children completed a programme to learn about the Sacrament of the Eucharist and reinforce their knowledge through a variety of activities. Each session began during Sunday Mass and was followed up by a session led by the Catechist. The children and their families were encouraged to attend mass on a weekly basis to reinforce the Catholic and human values that form the foundation of a child’s understanding of the Eucharist.

The children had a fantastic visit to the Kirkley Hall where they got to use classification keys to group, identify and name a variety of living things found in the woods. They looked for insects and suggested why they might live in the habitat where they were found. They made sure to return the animals to their habitat once they had observed them using a magnifying glass. The children also collected a variety of leaves and they used them to crete a piece of art. Well done Year 4.

Staff from Durham University visited Year 4 to introduce our next history topic – The Romans. The enjoyed the workshop and they are looking forward to finding out more!

The pupils at St Joseph’s were introduced to Catholic Social Teaching through a CAFOD workshop, which took part from EYFS to Year 6. The workshops introduce pupils to Catholic Social Teaching and helped them to understand how the principles underpins the Catholic life and mission of   St Josephs. EYFS and KS met a variety of animal characters that will helped them learn in a fun and engaging way about the different principles, and how to put them into action. Years 5 and 6 will looked at principles in greater depth and explored how they can be applied in a variety of contexts. The Key Principles are: Dignity Solidarity The common good The option for the poor Peace Creation and Environment The dignity of work and participation

This term in Year 3, we have been doing some gymnastics looking at symmetrical and asymmetrical balances. The children have been able to explain the difference between the two balances and they have been trying some of their own both individually and working with a partner.

Last week, Year 3 took part in a Stone Age workshop. They had lots of fun looking at various artefacts from the past and discussing with their partner what they could be used for. Well done Year 3!

On Friday, Year 3 took part in first aid training. They had lots of fun and learnt many life saving, valuable lessons. They were taught how to do CPR, how to help somebody if they were choking and how to use bandages to treat broken bones and bleeding. Well done Year 3!

Year 3 have been learning about the properties of different rocks, particularly which rocks are permeable and which are impermeable. We carried out a simple investigation to test their strength where we dripped water onto a selection of rocks, using a pipette to see whether water soaked into the rock or ran off its surface. The children learnt which rocks would absorb water and were permeable and which rocks were  impermeable and would not allow water to be absorbed. We had lots of fun!

This week, year 3 have been looking at the work of Tony Cragg. We have been using materials in our classroom to assist us to draw and represent various shapes in our art lesson.