St Joseph’s
Catholic Primary School
25 November 2015
Hillcrest Road, Dudley,
West Midlands DY2 7PW
Principal:
Mr M Hinton, B.Ed. Hons, NPQH
Telephone:
Dear Parents
01384 818925
Fax:
01384 818930
Website:
We are fast approaching the end of term and there are lots of wonderful
www.st-jo-dud.dudley.sch.uk
things happening in school this Advent. This newsletter contains all of the
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Email:
dates you need and somethuseful information about what’s happening at St
Christmas Fair – Friday 4 December after school
We are sending home raffle tickets today for our Christmas Fair. Please return them to school as soon as
possible. If you would like to buy/sell more tickets, please ask at the office where we have plenty of tickets
left. Please return the tickets to school with the money you have collected and we will make sure they are
entered in the draw on Friday. There will be more raffle tickets for more prizes on sale as normal at the fair
together with Santa’s Grotto, Bottle Stall, Chocolate Tombola, Children’s book stall, cuddly toy tombola, café
and cake stall, gift tombola and a toys and games stall. Everything will be at pocket money prices and a visit
to Father Christmas in his grotto will cost £2 including a present. The money we raise will go into the school
fund that pays for the many extras we provide for the children throughout the year – such as subsidising trips
to make them more affordable and providing every child with a Christmas present. We will also donate some
of the money we raise to the Church refurbishment fund.
Santa’s Grotto – early visits to the grotto to save time!
Santa will be here for the Christmas Fair but his grotto will be open and ready during Friday afternoon. If you
would like to avoid the queues we offer the opportunity for children who are in the school on Friday afternoon
to come along and see Father Christmas before the fair starts! Simply send your £2 payment in an envelope
with your child’s name on it anytime between now and Friday morning and we will make sure they get to see
Santa before the fair starts on Friday. That way you can avoid the queue for the grotto and we can also
reduce the chances of a long queue for those that want to see Father Christmas together as a family or those
who have pre-schoolers. Please note if you choose this option we regret it is not possible for us to admit
parents or pre-schoolers into the school during the afternoon. If you want to go to the grotto as a family
there will be plenty of time at the fair. This option simply enables your child to go to the grotto during school
time.
Kind hands, kind words…like Jesus
Part of St John Bosco Catholic Academy Company
Registered in England and Wales No. 08608177
Registered office:
Burton Road, Dudley DY1 3BY
Thursday 10th December: Morning Nursery and Reception Christmas Play at 10.45am (please do not arrive
before 10.35am).
Thursday 10th December: Afternoon Nursery and Reception Christmas Play at 2.20pm (please do not arrive
before 2.10pm).
Friday 11th December: 2.30pm Year 3 Assembly.
Monday 14th December: 2.20pm Key Stage 1 Christmas Play (please do not arrive before 2.10pm).
Monday 14th December: 5.30pm Key Stage 1 Christmas Play (children back and hall open to parents from
5.15pm – please do not arrive before 5.15pm).
Wednesday 16th December: OWN CLOTHES DAY FOR THE CHILDREN, Parties and Discos. Please donate £1
towards the cost of the disco if you can. All discos will take place during school hours (please collect all
children at usual time of 3.15pm at the end of the school day). The teachers will let you know about party
food and drinks. Please donate a tin of food if you can for the homeless at The Good Shepherd shelter.
Thursday 17th December: Carol Concert in Church at 6pm (children in Church at 5.45pm).
Friday 18th December: Merit Assembly at 11am, Carols by the Christmas tree at 2pm, break up for Christmas
Holidays at 3.15pm.
Tuesday 5th January: School opens to children at 8.45am.
Thursday 7th January: School Nurse available to see parents – drop in.
School Nurse Drop in Sessions
Our lovely School Nurse, Mel Dowling, will be available in school from 9.15am on Thursday 3rd December and
Thursday 7th January. Mel is an excellent and caring School Nurse and is available to help you with ANY child
health related matter. She can provide advice and support about eating, bedwetting, sleeping, puberty, anxiety,
behaviour, colds, earaches, vision and hearing and indeed any child health matter you wish to discuss. Just pop
into the office and you will be able to see Mel in a private setting in school.
Mrs Davies – Our School Administrator
We are very sad to let you know that Mrs Davies will be leaving St. Josephs on Friday 4 December 2015. We
are happy for her because she has gained a promotion to an office in a much bigger school. We will miss her
terribly and thank her for her years of dedicated and caring service. Mrs Davies will be an asset to her new
school and they are lucky to have her. Over the years she has helped thousands of children and their families
and has always gone above and beyond to be kind and helpful. On Thursday 3 December, after Year 5’s
assembly, we will be saying goodbye and making a presentation to Mrs Davies, please join us if you can.
Keep in touch
Your child’s happiness, safety and progress are our highest priority and it is essential that you let us know if
you or your child are unhappy for any reason. As soon as you let us know about any matter – however small –
we will do our very best to sort it out straight away. We really mean this and it is this culture that has helped
make the school one of the best anywhere in the country. You can normally see your child’s teacher after
school or you can ask them to call you. Mrs Chapman (Deputy Head) and I will always try to see you
immediately if you need our help and you can also see our senior teachers Mr Seex, our Head of Inclusion and
Support or Mrs Hancox our Head of Early Years. There is ALWAYS a senior member of staff in school and we
will ALWAYS try our best to see you immediately or we will phone you straight back.
Yours sincerely
M Hinton
Principal