The children of Saint Joseph’s celebrated with a special whole school Celebration of the Word . 19 th March is a very special and happy celebration of our school. We are thinking about our patron saint, St Joseph. Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary, is such an important saint that we think about him throughout the year. We remember that he was a carpenter who earned his money through the work of his hands. As Jesus grew up, he worked alongside Saint Joseph and learned to use his hands to build things as well. Saint Joseph is the patron saint of our school. He was a good man, a hard worker who loved his family and cared for them. We honour Saint Joseph today and ask him to look after our school, all the people who work here, and all the children who learn here. Saint Joseph, pray for us.

This week, the whole school came together to take part in the Stations of the Cross. Each class joined in prayer and reflection as we journeyed through the final moments of Jesus’ life. The children showed great reverence and maturity, taking time to think about Jesus’ love, His sacrifice, and what it means for us today. It was a thoughtful and meaningful experience for our entire school community as we continue our Lenten journey together.

Year 1 had a fantastic time exploring Scotswood Nature Garden, where they took part in exciting pond-dipping activities linked to our science curriculum. The children carefully used nets and trays to collect small pond creatures before sorting and identifying them using classification charts. They were amazed to discover tiny animals living in the habitat! This hands-on experience helped to deepen their understanding of living things and the importance of caring for our natural environment.

This week in Nursery, we have been busy learning all about Easter ! 🌈🐰 Our focus story was We’re Going on an Egg Hunt , which the children absolutely loved. 📖🥚 🌟 Here’s what we got up to: ·         🧮 Maths Fun:  We used our number skills to give the bunnies the correct amount of eggs . ·         🎨 Creative Time:  The children designed their very own Easter eggs —so colourful and imaginative! ·         🌷 Spring Explorers:  We enjoyed searching for signs of spring  outdoors. ·         ✝️ RE Learning:  We talked about Good Friday , why it is important, and what happened to Jesus. The children listened beautifully. 🔤 Phonics:  Our older children learned the sound ‘g’ this week— well done everyone!  👏🐥

Year 2 had a fantastic time investigating mini-beasts at Gibside. They explored a range of different habitats, carrying out fieldwork in the meadows and discovering creatures in the forest. After all their hard work, the children enjoyed some well-earned fun in the forest playground!

Our new computing topic of 3D modelling complements our maths shape unit. We looked at 3D shapes from different perspectives then resized them before combining shapes to create a model.

As part of STEM Week, our Year 2 children had great fun learning about different careers—such as doctors and engineers—to help inspire their scientific thinking. They also enjoyed taking part in a range of exciting investigations throughout the week.   Slime Investigation They mixed cornflour, water and food colouring to make some amazing slime.This slime is special because it doesn’t behave like normal liquids. When you poke it, squeeze it or press it, it suddenly becomes hard and thick. But when you let go, it turns runny again. They had great fun instigating the slime they made! Fizzy Colours We made a chemical reaction! They mixed vinegar  (an acid) with bicarbonate of soda  (an alkali) and they started to fizz . This happened because acids and alkalis are very different, so they change when they mix! Paper Towel Mixing They added food colouring to some water and placed paper towels into it. The water slowly travelled up the paper towel because the paper is absorbent – it soaks up the water like a sponge. As the water moved, it carried the colour with it, so the white paper towel changed to red or blue. When the colours met, they mixed!

Year 5 had an exciting Science Week all about curiosity and exploring how the world works. We carried out a series of amazing investigations that helped us think like real scientists. We began with Dancing Fruit , where we explored chemical reactions. Tiny carbon dioxide bubbles acted like little life jackets, sticking to the raisins and lifting them up through the water. Even though raisins have smooth skin, they still floated brilliantly! Next, we tried Mutating Milk . We discovered that milk contains blobs of fat, and when soap is added, it rushes around grabbing the fat. This movement creates swirling, colourful patterns as the food colouring is pushed around. After that, we explored Electrostatic Forces . By rubbing a balloon, we stole electrons and created an invisible “pulling zone.” The balloon became like a magnet and pulled Rice Krispies towards it! We also made our own Lava Lamps , watching colourful bubbles rise and fall as oil, water, and fizzing tablets reacted together. Throughout the week, we researched inspirational scientists who changed the world. We learned that Mae Jemison  was the first African‑American woman in space, Isaac Newton  helped us understand gravity, Charles Darwin  developed the theory of evolution, and Marie Curie  made groundbreaking discoveries about radiation. It’s been a brilliant week of questions, experiments, and new discoveries!

In their Geography lesson, Year 2 children named, located, and identified the key characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas, our Year 2 children took part in a collaborative research activity. Working in small teams, the children explored facts about each of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. They gathered information, created colourful and informative posters, and then proudly presented their work to the rest of the class. During the presentations, pupils confidently shared what they had learned and answered a range of questions from their peers.

In Year 2, the children have been learning about Living Things and Their Habitats . They explored the school grounds to investigate real-life habitats, carrying out observations and collecting data about the different plants and animals they found living there.

This week in Nursery, we continued exploring our topic of traditional tales , with a special focus on The Three Little Pigs . The children have absolutely loved this story — retelling it with their friends and getting into character. Our wolf faces were very  convincing and a little bit scary! 🐺😄 Using our Understanding of the World  knowledge and fantastic teamwork skills , we tested different materials and worked together to build a house using the strongest  one. 💪🏠 The keyword strong has become part of our daily vocabulary, and the children have been confidently using it throughout the week. We also enjoyed creating our very own pig models  🐖🎨, which the children were very proud of. Our older children learned the ‘d’ sound  in phonics this week and showed brilliant listening and blending skills. 🔤✨ Well done, boys and girls — what a wonderful week!  🌈👏

This week in nursery, as part of Science Week , we continued our learning based on our focus story “The Little Red Hen.”  📚🐔 In the story, the hen grows wheat, turns it into flour, and then uses it to bake a cake. Inspired by this, the children made their own biscuits using flour. 👩‍🍳👨‍🍳 While baking, we explored lots of important science concepts. We talked about measuring ingredients  and how recipes help us follow steps in the correct order. The children also learned about irreversible changes , noticing how the ingredients changed when mixed together and baked in the oven – once the mixture became a biscuit, we couldn’t turn it back! 🔬⚖️ After baking, the children had great fun decorating their biscuits before sharing them with their families during our parent workshop. It was a wonderful way to combine science, storytelling, and creativity . Delicious and fun for everyone! 🍪✨