Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to the Spring term 2019. It is going to be a term filled with exciting adventures for our pupils, embedding resourcefulness and resilience whilst reflecting on problems such as those created by whales living in garden ponds and naughty seagulls stealing the lighthouse keeper’s lunch. As always the Spring term will be action packed.

I am so pleased to inform you that attendance has remained above 95%. Thank you for working with school to continue this excellent improvement. Golden time for the final week of term was won by Year 2, they will have Golden time play on Friday 18th. The Attendance Lottery will take place tomorrow 10th January. Every child who has attended a full week will be entered into the draw. I will share the names of the lucky winners tomorrow, each Year group will have one winner who on this occasion will receive a scooter.

Following the Feast of the Epiphany, we have our own visitors arriving on Monday 14th January. We look forward to Estyn Inspection team, led by Andrew Thorne arriving. As an integral part of our school life, and as part of our home-school partnership, we would be grateful if you could attend the Inspection meeting on Monday 14th at 3:30pm. Film Club will held in the main school, we hope that this might help with child care.

A warm welcome is extended to all who are free to join us on Sunday 13th for Family Mass on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and school on Wednesday 16th.

We are a Learning to Learn school.

We encourage our children to develop learning dispositions that will help them become more independent in their learning and helping them to become better learners, both in school and out. Through a range of approaches including developing a ‘Growth Minset’ – apositive approach to learning and Building Learning Power ( BLP )we are creating a culture in classrooms – and in the school more widely – that systematically cultivates habits and attitudes that enable young people to become better learners; face difficulty and uncertainty calmly, confidently and creatively.

What is Learning Power?

BLP is an approach to learning that we have begun to implement at St Joseph’s Infant School. This approach was created by Professor Guy Claxton. It is based on the idea that we are all capable of becoming better learners. BLP applies this idea directly to the work of teachers in the classrooms, to provide a practical framework for fostering lifelong learning in all young people.
At St Joseph’s Infant School, our school ethos is one of striving to be the best we can be, recognising that we all have different strengths and interests.
BLP and Growth Mindset allows us to nurture this ethos and build the children’s learning
power through a variety of strategies and techniques.

A Guide for Parents
‘Term on term, year on year, a BLP school breeds young people who are
more curious, more willing to take a risk and give it a go, more
imaginative, more creative, more thoughtful, more ready, willing and
able to learn with and through others. It’s developing this adventurous
spirit that counts’.
Professor Guy Claxton, originator of BLP

Autumn Term focus has been on developing strategies to be resilient. Our pupils have developed some BLP Monsters. Meet Rocky Resilient.

We are very proud of the progress made by children in our school. Teaching and learning that develops both the spiritual and academic progress of every child,  is at the centre of all that we do.

Exciting news. We will be welcoming a team from ESTYN week beginning January 14th 2019. This will be a great opportunity to share your views with the Team. Please go on line https://vir.estyn.gov.uk/questionnaires/pages/ParentLogin.aspx?lang=en-GB

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