It was time for action, when our robotics engineers showcased their talents at a regional competition. The pupils from St Joseph’s Catholic Primary in Benwell were competing in the Vex IQ Robotics Competition North-East Regional at Sasmi College in Sunderland, where the robot they had created was put through its paces. “The event is part of an international competition run by Vex Robotics, with a variety of age categories, and the UK North-East division is supported by Nissan and the Reece Foundation,” explained Ms Bennaceur, who is Joint IT Lead with Mrs Noble at our school. “We had a grant from the Reece Foundation to buy the appropriate Vex IQ robotics kit, and then we had to build and code a robot to take part in the competition. “The robot had to be able to pick up plastic pegs and place them in the goals. We followed the robot design provided and then modified the design by adding an extra motor to make the lifting mechanism more powerful. “The robot had to be built by the students and needed to be able to score points by picking up plastic pegs, stacking them into towers, and then placing them in the goals. The robot remote control also had to be coded by the students to allow them to drive the robot.” It was the second time we had participated in the annual contest. “Within the Robotics Club, there were 16 members from Year 5 and 4, and four mentor members from Year 6 (who participated in the competition last year),” continued Ms Bennaceur, who runs the Club with Mrs Noble.  “Only nine students in Year 5, who chose the roles of builders, engineers, coders, and drivers, were taken to the competition. “The other students had decided to take on the role of note-bookers and learnt to use Canva to create a presentation documenting our progress to show all the classes in our school as part of Science Week.” “I liked building the robot and controlling it,” said a Year 5 student, while a teammate said: “The competition was the best bit – it was really exciting.” “I liked building the stacks with the robot at the competition,” agreed fellow Year 5 pupil. “Competitions like this give students a variety of opportunities to show their talents outside of academics,” added Ms Bennaceur.   “Hopefully this competition gave them a passion for robotics and computing that may one day inform their career choices.” Proudly a member of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust.

The children in Year 2 had a wonderful time celebrating World Book Day. They took part in a range of book‑themed activities and listened to lots of different stories throughout the day. Some children even came dressed as their favourite characters! Everyone enjoyed sharing their favourite books with the class, and the children also had the chance to relax and spend some quiet time reading in the classroom.

Year 2 had a fantastic time pond dipping at Scotswood Garden! Using nets, the children carefully collected plants and creatures from the pond before using identification charts to discover what they had found. They learnt a great deal about pond habitats through exciting, hands-on exploration. They also enjoyed a pond creature hunt  around the garden, giving them even more opportunities to observe wildlife up close. Overall, it was a fun and educational adventure for everyone involved!

Year Six Collective Worship 31 st March 2026 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 “

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!