Year 6 participated in a “Shangtastic” history day! David, our expert teacher, centred the session on objects, artwork and archives from Durham University’s incredible collection. We used Shang symbols to write messages oracle bones before designing bronze pots with animal handles, taotie faces and patterns. The day concluded with an entertaining drama of the end of the Shang era. What a fabulous day of learning it was!

Big Lent Walk The children at St Joseph’s will be taking part in the Big Lent Walk for the next 40 days to help fight global poverty. We will be walking at different times during the school day. We will also be carrying out a sponsored walk.  Please support us during Lent. Perhaps you could challenge yourselves to do a Lent Walk at home. We would love for you to share this with us! We have a set up a GoFundMe Page and set up a goal to raise £200 or as much as we can! Thank you very much   St Joseph's RC Primary School Benwell is fundraising for CAFOD

Children in Year 2 have been learning about the religion of Islam. The children had the opportunity to develop their Knowledge and understanding of how and why Muslims pray (Salah). The key vocabulary they became familiar with were salah, Allah, wudu and Halal. We were very lucky, as we have Muslim children in year 2 who were eager to share their religious beliefs and explain their everyday actions and lives that arise as a consequence of their beliefs. The children even brought in Islamic artefacts from home to explain how this is used during prayer.

Year 2 enjoyed celebrating World Book Day. The children took part in various activities such as sharing their favourite book from the class library or from home.  The children took part in further activities such as making book markers, writing a book review and drawing then writing about the characters they came dressed up as. Year 2 really enjoyed the World Book Day!

Thankyou so much for supporting Year 5 Mini Vinnies with Canny Friday on Friday 7th February. This is us delivering the foods to Newcastle Foodbank (West End).

The children enjoyed learning about the digestive system. They worked in pairs to create a diagram and used scientific vocabulary as they discussed and recorded their ideas. They also enjoyed representing the digestive system in class using some leftover food and a pair of tights!

Year 4 wrote diary entries based on the book ‘Escape from Pompeii’ by Christina Balit. They used fronted adverbials and adventurous vocabulary to describe the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Well done.

If you like fire, explosions, loads of mess and mind-bending magic, you’ll love Professor Pumpernickel! His mission is to enthuse all ages and abilities about science in the hope of creating some of our future inventors, explorers and superheroes. Y6 experienced unfathomable physics phenomena, chaotic chemistry and a brain full of science learning. What a brilliant afternoon it was!

Last term, Year 3 took part in a Stone Age workshop where they had the opportunity to handle historical artefacts from the past. They were able to think and speak like historians through their enquiry questions which was fantastic to see.

Children in Year 2 have been inspired by Picasso to paint portraits using his style of cubism. They explored his abstract paintings and developed the knowledge of primary colours in order to mix and use the colours they made. They also drew and painted various shapes using different brush strokes seen in his paintings. The pupils were then inspired to draw a Picasso picture using an APP for painting. Application of skills •      Develop knowledge of the colour wheel •      Mix secondary colours using paint •      Paint a colour wheel with primary and secondary colours •      Explore abstract portraiture

Catholics celebrate the Year of Jubilee  as a special time of grace, renewal, and forgiveness. In Rome, the Holy Door  of St. Peter’s Basilica and other major basilicas are opened for the year. Walking through the Holy Door symbolises entering into God's mercy and grace. Launch day for schools was on Friday 24th January 2025 . The theme for this years’ Jubilee is Pilgrims of Hope. The children at St Joseph’s celebrated by watching a special launch for schools on the CAFOD website. They also carried out various activities, one being the decorating of the school's Holy Door, with ribbons by each child in the school.  The children were very lucky as Bishop Stephen visited the school and blessed the Holy Door.   The Jubilee Pledge We are pilgrims of hope. We walk in solidarity with our sisters and brothers worldwide, sharing challenges and celebrating joys. We promise to be agents of change, working together for justice, love and peace, locally and globally. We want to build a fairer world, where every person, and the earth, can flourish.

Children in Year 5 have been taking part in a VEX IQ Robotics Club. Funding was awarded to purchase a set of robotics building equipment which has offered children STEM  opportunities. The club has been fun and engaging and has allowed the children to design, code and build a robot from scratch. The children were able to test their engineering and programming skills both in the club and during various competitions they have entered. This has provided the children with valuable life  skills  such as teamwork, communication, and sportsmanship.