St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery

On Friday 22nd September we were treated to a day of Irish Dancing Workshops from the Ruddock Academy.  Each class had a session learning the basics steps.

Rebecca and Oscar told us “ The Irish Dancing was a fun experience.  We listened to many Irish songs and learned a few moves.  The moves were hard but fun.  The moves were called hop, skip, 23, jump and step behind.

At the end we got to see Joshua do one of his routines.”

We would like to thank Joshua Ruddock for coming in to teach the children.

Yoga helps children to nurture a positive image of themselves and others and teaches children that yoga is  science of both the body and the mind. The classes aim to maintain a child's natural flexibility. There are over 170 yoga postures that the child can explore, all of which increase a child's physical and mental strength, stamina and poise. The classes also aim to increase the level of oxygen within the blood through breathing techniques, which will offer optimum brain function and support children's learning.

This morning the school was lucky enough to be visited by  an Olympic high jump athlete, Robert Mitchell!

It was a really inspiring for the children to hear Rob’s story about his youth and realising his talent at only 7 years old!

All years were put through their paces in a special athlete circuit consisting of spotty dogs, press ups, start jumps and leg drives! The children really earned their sponsor money today, and we look forward to sharing our earnings as a school with you next week.

Awards were given out to those children who hit the bronze, silver and gold targets set out.

Special mention given to Aaditya (Y3) who managed to raise a staggering £366!!! Rob was so impressed he donated his signed hat to Aaditya!

Thank you also to all the staff who joined in to help the children—Mrs Maggs your plank was incredible and Mrs Tucker you really know how to dig deep!

WELL DONE everyone! Great work, we will now be able to invest in some much needed sports equipment for the school!

On Wednesday 18^th Sep 2019,the year 5s and the year 6s went to a football tournament hosted by Trinity school in Newbury. The results weren’t what we expected but we tried our best and it was pretty fun but in reward of our respect to the referee we won the friendliest team in the tournament trophy.

The teams in the tournament were Falkland, cold ash, Hungerford, Springfield and St Josephs. The winners were Falkland, who were unbeaten.

From our School Jack, Patryk, Ryan, Ollie, Yuki and Jerry joined in to make our team better. Yuki was captain and he really improved our team by giving us tactics and picking our formation. Patryk and Ryan did phenomenal in goal with Yuki, Ollie and Jerry being a solid outfield and altogether we did amazingly well.

Wow! The year 5 & 6 girl’s football team blew us all away last Friday with their amazing team work and determination in our first match of the tournament against Chievely, here at St Joseph’s School. At first, the Chievely players appeared to be the more confident side, with the ball staying in St Josephs’ half and many opportunities missed. However, it was during this time we realised what a huge asset we had in our goalkeeper, Favour! The opposing side threw attack after attack, and Favour remained in position, commanding her area and often running out to break down an attack. Once our girls had warmed up, they broke away and nothing could stop them! Their passing was on point and Melissa took ownership as the first goal was scored 1-0 to St Josephs! Jessica C’s passes were impeccable, with Frankie and Jessica S's positioning and timing excellent. Isabelle and Gabriella's defending was full proof as they tackled the opposing team, breaking down any chances. Chievely managed to sneak the ball into our goal at the last minute 1-1. This meant the game went into extra time which did not deter the girls, even with a player down due to injury. They ploughed on scoring the winning goal and avoiding those dreaded penalties! The brave young lady who was injured in the game had the courage to re-join her team mates for the last 5 minutes, and I do believe this helped tremendously with the end result. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say how proud we are of the girls, having not had a lot of time to train, we didn’t expect such an outstanding performance in the first game! Truly inspiring. We’re looking forward to the next match against Robert Sandilands this coming Monday!

KS1 Bowling Compe77on On Wednesday evening, 5 KS1 children visited Lakeside Bowling to take part in a bowling compe77on. There were around 20 schools there and each school played as a team. Some children hadn’t bowled before but everyone on the team tried their best and did really well! We also had a chance to play in the So Play Area which was really fun! We did really well and came 4th and so we got a silver medal. Well done to all the children for their amazing bowling skills and great team work!

On Thursday 17th October, a group of year 1 & 2’s attended a multiskills tournament at Park House! The organiser likened it to a ‘MASSIVE BIRTHDAY PARTY’ and It did not disappoint! We were one of 18 teams who attended this event! The children moved around the sports hall competing in a range of activities including archery, beanbag throwing, curling and Frisbee! They all worked really well as a team and represented our school very well demonstrating determination, passion, respect and self belief. Thank you also to all the parents who attended the event; without your help with transport, we would not be able to compete in these events—it was lovely to have your support!

Girls football update by Melissa (Y5) This week, me, Jess (y5), Gabby, Favour, Isabelle, Frankie, Jess (y6) and Sophie M had a match against Robert Sandilands. Sadly, we lost 3-0 but we tried our best! We’re all extremely proud of the girls’ efforts this half term and are excited to build on this achievement after the break!

Yesterday a group of year 5 & 6 pupils from St Joseph’s took part in a bowling tournament at lakeside Super Bowl! It was a lot of fun and our pupils Isabella, Fadel, Muhammad, Emily, Bartosz and Archie worked really well as a team to win three out of the four games played! There were many strikes and spares and it was a joy to watch them have such a good time at this sporting event! Sadly, we did not earn enough points for a medal, but this didn’t really matter in the end as it was a great experience and the children thoroughly enjoyed it!! Thank you to the parents and carers who transported the pupils, we could not have made this happen without your help!

On Friday 6th March, the year 5's and 6's attended their first netball tournament! They were all very excited to play against other schools. We played extremely well and scored plenty of goals.

On Wednesday 11th March Y5 & Y6 took part in a hockey tournament. Considering a couple of them had never played hockey before, they did really well and had lots of fun!

Monday was a great team performance from the year 3/4 team, they all played amazingly with great spirit! We may not have got the results we hoped for, but the boys never gave up right up until the last whistle! Special mention to Caius for fantastic goal keeping throughout with some stunning saves!

Lots of great skills shown and definitely looking forward to seeing these boys progress! - Miss Shepherd.

The y5/6 boys football team kicked off their season in style on Wednesday, finishing second overall at a tournament held at Trinity.

After 4 games we were top of the table, dominating the other teams and looking very much the team to beat. Bobby’s lone goals vs

Hungerford and Shaw Cum Donnington was enough to secure 1-0 wins; before adding to his tally with two penalties against Parsons Down. Franklin’s relentless shoong from distance paid  off to make it 3-0 when his shot rocketed into the boHom le) corner, and Henry could have made it 4 had it not been for his shot coming back off the post! Our clean sheet was jinxed before our 4th game (against Thatcham Park) by Yuk

The Y5/6 Boys teams’ weeks got busier last Thursday as we hosted a fun tournament with several other schools. Dozens of parents from each school turned out to support as well as several Y4 children (and Mrs Berry!) coming out to start some terrace chants as the boys played in the sunshine. Our first match was against John Rankin, who we had faced earlier in the week, and  our ‘First Game Curse’ returned as we succumbed to a 1-0 loss. The pace of the ball from the striker’s shot beat Sam at his le: side. However there was a stark improvement once the boys had warmed up and we held Springfield to a 0-0 draw, with more heroic saves from Sam and relentless defending from Yuki keeping us in it. Archie and Oscar in midfield (as well as Bobby and Mada upfront) all had shots veer off target as they desperately tried to score. This valuable point li:ed us off the boEom of the table and into conten2on for the silver medal. It wasn’t until our final match against Burghfield St Mary’s that the parents and Mr  Strickland could celebrate a goal with the boys. We were frustratingly down by 1-0 within the first 30 seconds but the boys showed great character and patience to put pressure on a then-complacent team. It paid off when Bobby crossed the ball into Archie, who curled it round the keeper into the top right corner. With the clock 2cking down and the teams looking set to be locked in stalemate, Bobby made a daring run into the box and whipped it home from a near-impossible angle. Benji and Franklin consistently tracked back and denied any further chances to ensure we came off the pitch with 3 points. The boys finished second place behind John Rankin and a great afternoon of football was enjoyed by everyone.

The girls Y5/6 team started their season at a 5-a-side tournament against 6 schools held at Trinity school on a Wednesday. For Janisha and Favour it was their debut and for all the girls it was their first time being refereed by a daunting league official! A scrappy start while they found their feet ended in defeat to Birch Copse and favourites St Nicolas. Meenakshi was also working hard at the back alongside Janisha to tackle the ever-confident St Nicolas players. Rebecca had grown into the tackling game by the 3^rd game me we faced Meadow Park and had three shots on target, but was denied by the keeper. At the other end, Favour (stepping in for the injured Lily), made brave save after save and inspired the tournament with some powerful goal kicks - one of which nearly went in the opposition goal! Beth put in a serious show in midfield and set up Rebecca against Speenhamland who finally got on the scoresheet with a well placed goal; a game that we were set to win until a late brace from their star player snatched the 3pts. Without any subs and with very  tired legs, the girls bravely drew out another draw against  Hermitage to finish 5th on the day. A special well done to Favour for winning Referee’s Player of the Tournament  while playing out of position (he didn’t even wait until the end of the tournament before handing her the medal!) and Janisha for stepping in at late notice for Olivia! We’re all excited to see what the whole team can go on to achieve later this season!

Having got through the round of 16 by default after our opponents pulled  out, the Y5/6 Boys put on a dominant display against Robert Sandilands in the quarter-finals of the Bill McIlvride cup. Playing on a muddy pitch, the boys dug deep to take the lead twice and progress into the semi-finals of the tournament. Mada set the tone within the first 10 seconds, careering off the ball into the box before regaining possession and tucking the ball into the bo,om right corner. Cheers from the travelling fans spurred the boys on to stay in control for much of the first half, with lovely linkup play between Henry, Bobby and Franklin to frustrate the home defenders. Our opponents had some quality players but their attacks were stifled by Benji and Yuki’s tackles until a mishit clearance bounded back to the feet of their striker. He fired high above Sam’s head into the roof of the huge goals to equalise. However the boys still went into the break looking very much the better team. The second half started at a speedy pace, with Bobby immediately attacking the left flank and curlng into the box to curl the ball around the keeper and make it 2-1. Oscar looked likely to make it three as the ball was threaded through to him in front of an open goal, but he failed to get his knee over the ball and ended up pushng it over. “It was a disaster!” he later said, although he made up for it with a devilish shot seconds later that was on target but saved by the keeper. George helped dig in defensively as Robert Sandilands pushed to equalise and Yuki, growing in confidence, enjoyed a lot of 9me on the ball down the left wing. He was unlucky not to release Micah, in plenty of space in the middle, to try and wrap up the game; but thanks to two excellent saves from Sam in the second half, the score remained 2-1. We await details of who we will face in the semi-finals. Thank you to the parents who helped with transport and supported the boys in a great performance!