The children at St Joseph’s took part in a sponsored Lent Walk in order to raise money for CAFOD. EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2 had a wonderful time walking around our school grounds.  We took time to reflect and remember our journey through Lent.

Last week, our boys football team represented our school by playing multiple matches against St Mary’s, St Teresa’s and St Albans. They played brilliantly and they demonstrated excellent sportsmanship at all times. We are also very proud to say that we are through to the final of the Bishops Cup! St Joseph's surged into the final stages of the Bishop's Cup with a thrilling exhibition of attacking football on Wednesday 2 April at Benfield School. Having won three games out of three to qualify for this stage the standard of the opposition was ramped up and there were some pre match nerves among the team. However, clad in their brand new purple strips and inspired by Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Brown's pre match tactics talk as well as staunch support from parents, the boys quickly settled and raced into a 2-0 half time lead against St Mary's, North Shields. Two further goals followed in the second half as the team combined composed and solid defending with exhilarating attacking play. The final whistle sounded with the score line at 4-0 to give the boys a huge confidence boost to start the tournament. There was no respite as the boys made their way to the next pitch to take on St Teresa's. The team started like the proverbial house on fire and peppered the St Teresa's goal with shots as the forwards enjoyed great service through excellent passing from the defence and midfield. Eventually the pressure told as St Joseph's ran out 3-0 winners to secure qualification. Our final match saw us take on St Alban's. This was a very even game as our boys started to run out of energy. Two sharp finishes were the difference between the sides as we struggled to make the most of the chances that came our way. The game ended 0-2.  However, qualification was secured and the team represented themselves, their families and their school superbly.

The children at St Joseph’s took time in prayer to reflect on the Stations of the Cross . The journey started with an opening prayer.   Opening Prayer As we gather together today to pray the stations of the Cross, give us the grace to open our hearts and minds with friends today. May Jesus’ face shine upon us as we walk with him and give us strength as we face the challenges of life. We dedicate our time in prayer today to those in pain around the World as we stand together on our mission to share God’s love and give them peace.   The children travelled around to each station. Each class took a turn to pray and reflect on each station. We used the paintings of the Stations of the Cross to inspire us. 1.    Jesus is condemned to death 2.    Jesus takes up his Cross 3.    Jesus falls the first time 4.    Jesus meets his  Mother 5.    Simon of Cyrene  helps Jesus carry the Cross 6.    Veronica  wipes the face of Jesus 7.    Jesus falls for the second time 8.    Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem 9.    Jesus falls for the third time 10.  Jesus is stripped of his garments (sometimes called the "Division of Robes") 11.  Jesus is nailed to the Cross 12.  Jesus dies on the Cross 13.  Jesus is  taken down from the Cross 14.  Jesus is laid in the tomb   May all children   In the world Share Love Share Friendship and live In the peace Of God’s love Now and forever

St Joseph’s welcomed Father Mariadass for a whole school Mass. The children from Year’s 3 and 4 lead the readings.

Year 1 celebrated Science Week by taking part in a variety of investigations.

The children of St Joseph’s welcomed a CAFOD volunteer who told us all about the Big Lent Walk. He explained that the challenge was to walk 200km in 40 days. The reason for this is to raise money for people to help them overcome poverty. CAFOD’s Big Lent Walk makes it simple to put your faith into action this Lenten season by connecting with your local and global community in a meaningful way. The children have been carrying out daily walks for Lent in school and we have plans to do additional sponsored walk. Thank you to all those people who have donated so far. We have a target of £200 to reach! St Joseph's RC Primary School Benwell is fundraising for CAFOD

Year 2 children have been learning about measurement. They have looked at: ·        Money ·        Length and height ·        Mass ·        Capacity and volume Year 2 children carried out practical investigation before moving on to worksheets. They read measurement, compared and were able to problem solve.   This week the children have learned about capacity and volume.

Year 2 have been using the j2e pictogram software to learn and understand what the term data means and how data can be collected in the form pictograms. They collected data about favourite animals by asking their peers. They then used the data to put into a pictogram. The children were able to use the data presented to answer questions.   The key skills they learnt for this lesson were: ·        Enter data onto an iPad ·        Use an iPad to view data in a different format ·        Use pictograms to answer simple questions about objects

During science week, year 5 had the opportunity to write their own secret message in an invisible ink solution made up of lemon juice and water, learning about the process of oxidisation.

As part of science week, Year 5 made geodesic domes using cocktail sticks and gummy sweets. Their task was to evaluate how sturdy their dome was and explore how this simple shape can reinforce a structure, which provides strength and stability. They were all very successful!

Year 2 celebrated Science Week by taking part in a variety of investigations. The first investigation was all about Mini Beasts. The children started off by carrying out a survey to see what mini beasts they could find on the school grounds. Once they completed this they moved on to make a Bug Hotel to welcome the mini beasts. They used natural materials they found or brought in from home. The next investigation was called Magic Milk. The investigation was to see what would happen to food colouring when it was added to milk and then touched with washing up liquid. We found out that milk is made up of minerals, proteins, and fats. Proteins and fats are susceptible to changes. When dish soap is added to the milk, the soap molecules run around and try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk. This resulted in an explosion of food colouring in the milk which had a very pleasing and effective spread of different colours that made some wonderful patterns. The final investigation was a Glitter Tornado. The children used glitter, water, vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. This was all poured into a bottle.  When the children spun the bottle in a circular motion it created a water vortex that looked like a tornado. The water spins around the centre of the vortex because of centripetal force. Because there is glitter in the water you can see the spinning water more clearly. The glitter is similar to the dust and debris that are found spinning in an actual tornado.   Year 2 enjoyed all the practical activities for Science Week!

Jubilee year is focused on the year of Hope. The children of St Joseph’s have produced a display based around  The Journey of Hope within the different Catholic Social Teaching principles. ·         Dignity ·         Solidarity Y1 ·         The common good ·         The option for the poor ·         Peace ·         Creation and environment ·         The dignity of work and participation In the Old Testament every fifty years the People of God had a Jubilee Year. It was a year when debts were forgiven, land returned to the original owners, the poor were cared for even more. It was a year to be extra joyful for God’s love and a year to share that love with others even more than usual. It was a party year celebrating God’s love. These days, we celebrate the Jubilee Year every twenty-five years. 2025 is a Jubilee Year. It is a year to celebrate God’s love with others. It is a year to show mercy and forgiveness. It is a time to renew our relationship with God, with one another and with the whole of creation. It is a year of justice, freedom and celebration. Pope Francis has called this Jubilee Year, “Pilgrims of Hope,” and invites us to be people of hope. Hope comes from knowing that God loves each one of us and God has defeated sin and death. Hope knows that all ends well because all ends in God. God’s love wins, we know that. Therefore, we are confident that God’s love will see us all through all the difficulties in life. That is true hope.