Join us for Mass and community walk, sandcastle competition
Please join us on Sunday 14th for School Mass at St Joseph’s (10:00 am)followed be a parish- school community walk along Aberavon sea front(11:15am). The walk will end our Strava challenge walking over 5000 miles to Peru. Moneys raised will be shared equally with missions in Peru and school fund.
Religious Education
Come and See
Yearly Overview
| Autumn Term | Spring Term | Summer Term |
| Nursery/ Reception | Nursery/ Reception | Nursery/ Reception |
| Myself Welcome Birthday | Celebrating Gathering Growing | Good News Friends Our World |
| Year 1 | Year 1 | Year 1 |
| Year 1 Families Belonging Waiting | Special People Meals Change | Holidays and Holy Days Being Sorry Neighbours |
| Year 2 | Year 2 | Year 2 |
| Beginnings Signs and Symbols Preparing | Books Thanksgiving Opportunities | Spread the word Rules Treasures |
Missio World- Reducing, Reusing, Recycling
Year 2 Pupils living out our Mission Statement to ‘Make Christ and his values known to all and be of service to society’. Children we have reflected on Pope Francis’ call in Laudato Si to look after our God given world walking in the footsteps of Jesus to help others.
Year 2 Missio World
Date: 12th Jan 2023
Present: 22 year 2 pupils
Agenda:
- Reusing and Recycling
- Reducing
We talked about how we have been reflecting on the Catholic Virtues of attentive and Discerning, through our actions in school and in our deeds through encouraging others to reflect on how we can live out, put into action being attentive to Jesus’ word and to be discerning, to make right choices.
Starting with us, children discussed how we can make a difference in school.
Action:
Monitors were selected to switch of light and switch off light switches.
| Ethically informed- Looking after our world Pope Francis’ message- Laudato Si | ||
| Reducing waste- water | Switching off lights | Recycling- Coats Uniform shoes |
| Action Monitors until Feb 23 | Action Monitors until Feb 23 | Action: Ms B to write to parents to ask for good quality, clean coats, uniform and shoes. |
We also thought about how this fits in with our right to say what we think should happen (Article 12) and with recycling coats, uniform and shoes, we would be able to grow up to be healthy (Article 6).
School Council: Rights of the Child
| Autumn: | Spring | Summer |
| Article 29: Your right to become the best that you can be. | Article 12: Your right to say what you think should happen and be listened to. | Article 15: Your right to meet with friends and join groups and clubs. |
| Article 6: You have the right to life and to grow up to be healthy. | Article 28: Your right to learn and to go to school. | Article 19: You should not be harmed and should be looked after and kept safe. |
Fresh eyes – looking again at our Mission Statement
Missio Prayer Meeting
Date: 9.1.2023
Present: Joseph, Ophelia, Sophia, Tommy, Nori, Skyler, Ms Beaumont
Agenda: Year 2 Missio Prayer Ambassadors met with Ms Beaumont to think about our mission statement.
We discussed how we could show these in action. Pupils thought about the first 2 child friendly aims:
- To love God and be the very best that we can be.
- Celebrate through prayer and worship our love of God.
Missio prayer pupils decided to take photographs in school to drop into Pic-collage and share with all classes. These can shared and be discussed and displayed in all classes.
Next step:
Take photos
Drop into app
Discuss next 3 Mission Statement aims:
Love another
Walk in the footsteps of Jesus to help others
Work together to make our school the best school it can be.
Date of Next Meeting:
12.01.2023
St Joseph’s Infants Collective Worship- Ten Ten
January 2023
With the arrival of the new year, we start to put away signs of our Christmas celebrations: we finish off festive food, box up decorations, maybe recycling Christmas cards (and Christmas trees!) and perhaps generally breathe a sigh of relief about the return to normality. As we busy ourselves discarding all things of the festive season and look ahead to what 2023 might have in store, it’s good to pause and remember that we are still in the season of Christmastide, which officially ends at Candlemas on 2nd February. We can leave many things behind, but hopefully the image of Jesus, God’s gift of joy, hope and peace for the world remains.
This newsletter shares some of the content children will experience in school throughout January and suggests ways for you to engage with them about it. We hope and pray that the new year brings peace and blessings for you and your family.
Mary, Mother of God
At the start of the new year, our focus is on Mary, the Mother of God. During the assembly of the first week of term, children were reminded of the events of Christmas and invited to reflect on Mary’s ‘yes’ to God at the Annunciation; the response which made the whole Christmas story possible.
Through a connecting game, children saw that Mary is the special connector who leads us to Jesus and brings us closer to God through her prayers and intercession.
Looking back at the amazing events of the Christmas story gave an opportunity for older children to reflect on the meaning of the ‘Incarnation’. This revelation led into the assembly for the week beginning 9th January, where Jesus is revealed at His baptism as God incarnate!
Why not…
- Take time to say a Hail Mary with your child/ren this week, or show them how you like to pray the Rosary.
- In talking about the Incarnation, you might want to talk to your older child/ren about these important articles of faith:
- God became man in Jesus.
- Jesus is both fully human and fully divine.
- ‘Emmanuel’ means ‘God is with us’.
- Read the Gospel of the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) with your child/ren, and discuss ways in which you can say ‘yes’ to God this month.
A Riverside Revelation
In the assembly for the week commencing 9th January, children explored the meaning of the word ‘revelation’ through examples of dramatic reveals in fairytales, history and everyday life, before hearing the most important revelation of all: at Jesus’ baptism, God revealed Jesus as His Beloved Son. Pupils experienced this life-changing revelation in the form of a news report drama.
Perhaps you’d like to read the full Gospel text of this amazing event with your child/ren:
| Matthew 3: 13 – 17 Full Text (from the Jerusalem Bible) Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. John tried to dissuade Him. “It is I who need baptism from you,” he said, “and yet you come to me!” But Jesus replied, “Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that righteousness demands.” At this, John gave in to Him. As soon as Jesus was baptised He came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And a voice spoke from heaven, “This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on Him.” |
In this Gospel, the Holy Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – is clearly revealed. God the Father’s voice is heard from heaven, God the Son is Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit came down like a dove.
God calls Jesus His beloved child, and He welcomes each of us to be part of His family and be called His beloved child too – we just need to say ‘yes’, like Mary said ‘yes’ to God!
Children were challenged to repeat the revelation “I am God’s beloved child!” to themselves throughout the week, e.g. when they wake up, go to bed, and at times when they might feel angry/sad/alone and need a reminder of how loved they are.
You might like to do this as a family and invite your child/ren to notice how it makes them feel to be reminded of this truth, and how it changes their interactions with others, for example, do they find that they have more patience, are kinder, more generous or loving?
Why not…
- Challenge your child/ren to write/draw their own news report about this incredible Gospel story.
- Write “I am God’s beloved child!” on a sticky note and place them on each mirror in your house, so that the whole family are reminded of this truth whenever they catch a glimpse of themselves!
