As we come to the end of another exceptionally busy and successful week, there is much to celebrate across our school community.
We began by saying a fond farewell to our Year 11 pupils at their Leavers’ Breakfast and Assembly, reflecting on their many achievements and contributions to school life. The week also saw the traditional Staff versus Year 11 Netball Match, played in great spirit and providing a fitting opportunity to create lasting memories together. This evening, our Year 11 Prom will mark another special milestone, and we wish all our leavers a wonderful evening of celebration.
Our Year 10 pupils have spent the week on work experience placements, gaining valuable insights into the world of work and developing important skills that will serve them well in the future.
We were delighted to welcome over 200 children for our Year 5 Taster Day, while our Induction Day provided an opportunity for our new Year 7 pupils joining us in September to experience life at the school and begin building new friendships.
Further highlights included a memorable trip to Wimbledon and an inspiring Young Enterprise Day, showcasing creativity, teamwork and entrepreneurial thinking.
As one chapter closes and another begins, we are reminded of the words from Jeremiah 29:11:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Have a wonderful weekend.
Building Our Tree of Values and Serving Our Community
It has been another wonderful week for our Chaplaincy Team and wider St Joseph’s community, and I would like to share a few highlights with you.
Firstly, I would like to say a huge thank you to our fantastic Year 9 pupils who generously volunteered their time to help create the colourful signs for our Tree of Values. They have worked with great care and enthusiasm to paint our key values and building blocks of St Joseph’s, including Love, Humility, Truthfulness and many others, ensuring they are bright, bold and visible from a distance. These will become an important feature of our assemblies from the beginning of the new academic year, reminding us all of the values that shape who we are as a Catholic school. Their creativity, teamwork and willingness to serve have been truly inspiring, and we are incredibly proud of them.
I also had the pleasure of visiting several of our Year 10 pupils during their work experience placements at St Osmund’s Catholic Primary School. It was a joy to see them flourishing in their roles and representing St Joseph’s so positively. They have been excellent ambassadors for our school, demonstrating kindness, maturity and professionalism throughout the week. It is wonderful to see the strong partnership between St Joseph’s and St Osmund’s continuing to grow—not only through our Chaplaincy links but also through opportunities such as work experience. These experiences strengthen our wider Catholic community and encourage our young people to serve others with generosity and confidence.
I am also delighted to let you know that our visit to Salisbury Foodbank has now been successfully rearranged for next Friday. Unfortunately, our previous visit had to be cancelled because of the school closure and rather challenging weather, but we are so pleased that we have been able to reschedule before the end of the summer term. Our chaplains are looking forward to helping pack food parcels and supporting the wonderful volunteers who serve our local community with such dedication.
As part of this, we are also excited to see the Foodbank House Competition, organised by Mr Reynolds in partnership with the Chaplaincy Team, gathering momentum across the school. We hope to see many generous donations brought into tutor groups over the coming week so that, together, we can make a real difference to families who need our support. Thank you in advance to all pupils, parents and staff for your continued generosity and encouragement.
As we approach the final few weeks of this busy and successful summer term, I would like to thank everyone for the tremendous support you continue to give to our chaplaincy initiatives and to the wider life of our school.
Wishing you all a restful weekend and God’s richest blessings. May He continue to guide and strengthen each of us as we finish the school year with joy, hope and gratitude.
Otto Blaho-Schlogl
School Chaplain
Parent Notices – New Format
Please check ClassCharts or your email to ensure that you have the weekly letters and key information. We are committed to streamlining our communication to make it more effective for parents and carers. Parent Notices will be sent out every Thursday afternoon.
