Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to begin by thanking everyone who contributed to the success of our Open Evening. It was wonderful to welcome so many prospective families to our school, and I was incredibly proud of our pupils, who served as outstanding ambassadors for St Joseph’s. Their confidence, warmth and enthusiasm reflected the very best of our school community.

This week, we also held our first Pupil Parliament meeting of the year. It was a valuable opportunity to listen to our pupils’ views and hear their feedback on the recent changes to the structure of the school day.

At St Joseph’s, we firmly believe that listening to our pupils and working together is essential to providing the best possible learning environment. We will therefore continue with the current timings next week while we review the feedback received from pupils and staff. Initial responses indicate that lunch after Period 3 has been well received, and that many pupils prefer a single 20-minute break rather than two 10-minute breaks. We are also mindful that some pupils arrive at school without having had breakfast, despite breakfast being available from 8.20am, while others may begin to feel hungry by mid-morning. As we continue to evaluate the structure of the school day, our aim is to find the right balance between maximising learning time and supporting pupils’ wellbeing through appropriate opportunities for rest and refreshment. Further updates will be shared next week following additional consultation with staff and pupils.

One of the greatest strengths of St Joseph’s is the positive partnership we share with our pupils and families. I am delighted that we are able to work together in this way, listening, reflecting and responding to feedback to ensure that we continue to provide the very best education and experience for every child.

Thank you for your continued support.

Have a lovely weekend.

Following on from last week’s newsletter, I would like to share a few updates from our school chaplaincy.

Firstly, the blessing of our chapel will be postponed until we have completed the canopy area. I will keep parents informed and let you know the new date for the blessing as soon as this has been confirmed. I look forward to this being a special occasion for our whole school community.

It has also been wonderful to see our daily prayer becoming an increasingly important part of school life. St Joseph’s Prayer is being said beautifully at the beginning of each lesson from Monday to Thursday, while on Fridays we focus on the Lord’s Prayer, bringing the whole school together in a more uniform way than we have done in previous years. It is encouraging to see prayer becoming such a consistent and meaningful part of our daily routine.

I have also been very pleased to see the quality of the assemblies taking place across the school. Our pupils are being given valuable opportunities for spiritual and moral development, reflection and personal growth. I would like to thank all our Heads of House, tutors and staff, from our Senior Leaders to everyone involved in planning and delivering these assemblies. The time, care and effort being invested in them are greatly appreciated, and our pupils are benefiting enormously from these experiences.

Finally, our new School Chaplains have been writing their letters as part of the process of becoming School Chaplains. I would be grateful if all completed forms could be returned by Friday evening, so that next week I can organise our first meeting together in the school chapel. We will then establish our regular meetings, which will take place during tutor time.

I am very much looking forward to working with our new School Chaplains and seeing how they contribute to the prayer and spiritual life of our school.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. I will keep you updated with further developments and details of our first meeting over the coming weeks.

Wishing all our parents, carers and families a lovely and restful weekend.

Otto Blaho-Schlogl

School Chaplain