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.

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 2^nd 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 9^th 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 9^th 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!

Advent- A time of getting ready!

Dear Parents/Carers,

As we move through the season of Advent, we remember the four candles on the Advent wreath. Please take a moment to talk about the first candle, when we focus on our Catholic Virtues of hope and faith. Sunday’s Gospel reminds us, ‘Be like Noah and his family, who were ready.’ As a whole school community we want our children to be faith-filled and hopeful at this time of waiting and preparation.

The Birth of Jesus– Please take some time to read the Nativity story with your child. Start with Mary’s good news and read the journey and the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

Also, please find time to pray.  For traditional prayers, maybe focus on one prayer at a time. Start with the sign of the cross, then the Hail Mary, Our Father and Glory Be.

 Prayers from the heart. At bedtime and first thing in the morning try to find some space to talk to Jesus with your child. In Advent, maybe think about a prayer of thanks, of love, of joy of peace.

Missio Group – Year 2 pupils. 

Most pupils have chosen to be part of 2 groups: Missio Prayer and Missio World. Missio Prayer are helping to lead different types of prayer within the school. Missio World are working at supporting our Catholic Life and Mission in the wider world. This term Missio World Update: Our charities for this term are Shelter Cymru, CAFOD and Mission in Peru. Please sign up to our Strava Challenge to walk 5929 miles to Peru.

Collective Worship Community Celebrations

It was fantastic to be able to return to celebrating Collective Worship in the Autumn Term with our community. All parents and friends were invited to share these acts of worship in which children joyfully led the Gathering, the Listening, the Reflecting and the Going Forth. Well done each and every pupil. Please see our school TWITTER account for photo feed.

Prayers and Hymns with Bampis and Grandmas

Well done to Year 2 who led a very informal Collective Worship celebration with invited Grandparents and Friends of St Joseph’s. This was the first of a new venture for our school and it was uplifting to have Grandparents and great grandparent join us on the day. Please look out for the invitation for our next gathering. Mrs Turner’s children will lead this celebration.

Christmas Nativity (Main School Reception to Year 2)

• Thanks to the support of Monsignor Joseph our whole school, Nativity will once again return to the St Joseph’s Church. To avoid clashes with St Joseph’s Juniors there will be TWO performances.
• Dress rehearsal will be on 12^th December in the morning followed by the first performance in the afternoon at 1:30pm.

Christmas Nativity (Main School Reception to Year 2)

• The second performance will on Tuesday 13^th at 1:30 pm.

Nursery Nativity

• Thursday 15^th at 9:30 in School Dining Hall

Christmas Raffle We are holding a big Christmas raffle this year in the hope of raising money for school funds.  Please send in RED, GREEN, GOLD and SILVER prizes, which will be made-up into hampers. If you know of a local business who could donate a prize, then please let us know.  We need volunteers to help with sale of tickets in the yard at end of day please let school know. Tickets are £2.00 per strip.  The Christmas raffle will take place on Friday 16^th December.

Christmas Meal and Jumper Day on Thursday 8^th December Children are invited to wear Christmas Jumpers and hats and bring £1. Missio World Group have decided money raised will go to our local charity Shelter Cymru.

Father Christmas and Christmas Film

Father Christmas will be visiting school on Monday 19^th December andon Wednesday 21^st December; children are invited to wear warm pyjamas for our film day with treats.

Heart shaped Christmas Greeting Message from School Council

Living out our Catholic Mission –School Council have asked could we help save our planet by sending in one Christmas heart wish, which Missio will hang on our Christmas tree for the whole school to see. Celebrating diversity, you are welcome to write wishes in your home language, Welsh or English. The more languages our pupil see, the richer the experience.

Working with our community- Pre School sessions Come along and bring your friend- all welcome.

	Activity	Time
Monday	Baby Sensory Music	1:15 – 2:30
Friday	Pre School Language and Play	1:15 – 2:30

It is looking like a very exciting end of term! Ms Beaumont