WE visited RAF Cosford as we have been studying The Blitz in History.

World Book Day – what a great day we had with an assembly to launch it followed by; listening to authors, Y6 reading to prayer partners, writing poetry and responding in different ways to stories.

Lego Robot League National Finals Harrogate Convention Centre Saturday 26^th February

We came 15^th out of 64 schools most of which were secondary schools!

Quotes from the team;

“It was very enjoyable and very inspiring at the same time, the best bit was the teamwork and the activities.” Oscar.

“There was a variety of engineering challenges and it was a life-changing, awe-inspiring experience.”

“An amazing experience. One of the best things I’ve ever done. I highly recommend it.”

“ It was funny but tense, there were around 64 teams and more than 1000 people. We talked to a famous CBBC presenter and got to go on live. It was amazing as there were little challenges to do while waiting.” Olivia J.

“A tense action packed day with loads of extra competitions to keep us entertained throughout the day.”

“ I enjoyed it, there were so many people and although we lost, I can’t believe how well we did. In the end, I’m glad I could meet a mascot, adapt my coding and could create cakes for everyone, including me to enjoy, I learnt a lot.” Marley.

CONGRATULATIONS TEAM ROBOTSTEIN!

After winning the county championships in the First Lego League (an engineering competition for 10-18 year olds) they then qualified for the national finals where they had to compete against 41 other county winners from across the UK and Ireland. 

Despite such odds, they absolutely smashed it and were deservedly awarded the 'Judges Award: Rising All-stars Award'. What an amazing achievement - we couldn't be more proud. Click HERE to watch the awards ceremony - skip to 1 hour 38 minutes to see their utter joy!

The Painsley Catholic Academy has raised £120,000 for the global school feeding charity, Mary’s Meals, an amount that beats any other single donation from an academy.  The impressive donation is enough to feed almost 8,000 children for a whole school year through Mary’s Meals. 

Back at the start of the academic year in September 2019, the 15 schools within The Painsley Catholic Academy, pledged to raise £100,000 for their chosen charity, Mary’s Meals, in a campaign they called 20:20 for Mary.   

The aim was originally to meet this target by the end of the school year in July 2020.  Pupils and staff undertook a massive range of events including cake sales, sponsored silences, sponsored head-shaves, sky dives, mountain climbs, bike rides, car washes and porridge breakfasts.  

Since then, Covid has pretty much changed everything over the past 12 months.  Plans have had to be cancelled and put on hold and schools had to change how they operate completely.  Despite all the challenges that the schools have faced, the students, staff and parents have continued in their support of this charity, finding ever more inventive ways of raising the cash resulting in a fantastic outcome. 

Mr Steve Bell, Chief Executive Officer of The Painsley Catholic Academy commented, “Mary’s Meals is a very popular charity with our pupils.  It is a simple charity and that is what we like.   It costs just £15.90 to feed a child with Mary’s Meals for an entire school year. Research shows that children who eat Mary’s Meals: have more energy, feel healthier and happier, find it easier to concentrate and do better in school.  The school that we were raising funds for is Kafumphe Primary School, Dowa, Malawi; one of the world’s poorest countries where many families live through farming, but struggle to grow enough food.” 

Mr Bell continued, “Our pupils loved the thought that by raising just £15.90, they would enable a child to eat a nutritious meal every day and attend school for a whole year. However, then the pandemic began.  We realised that asking for sponsored events was not feasible, and on March 23^rd 2020, our schools closed their doors to most pupils.  However, the children and staff were adamant that they wanted to continue their fundraising efforts.  The deadline for the target was extended until December 2020 with a view to raising as much as we could.  This determination was underlined by the fact that the Kafumphe Primary School also had to close and the pupils would potentially not receive any food.”    

During the pandemic, Mary’s Meals is providing children with food at home, until it is safe for them to return to the classroom. Parents and guardians collect the food from a central distribution point – observing all necessary hygiene and social distancing measures. Soap is distributed along with handwashing guidance to help support communities’ resilience to the virus.  

Gillian McMahon, Director of Supporter Engagement and Income at Mary’s Meals, said: “We never cease to be amazed by the creative and committed fundraising efforts of the pupils and schools who support our work. The amount raised by Painsley Catholic Academy is so impressive.  We are immensely grateful to everyone involved for their extraordinary fundraising efforts. This will help to transform the lives of children in Malawi so they receive nutritious meals, supporting them to feel healthier and happier and making it easier for them to concentrate in school. It’s clear that raising these funds have also proved life-changing in a different way for the pupils who took part, really demonstrating that so many little acts of kindness can make such a big difference.  One of the core values of Mary’s Meals is that the charity believes in the innate goodness of people.  There is no doubt that the pupils of The Painsley Catholic Academy have demonstrated this goodness.” 

Mr Bell adds, “More important than the value of the fundraising, are the values that the pupils have learned along this difficult journey at this seemingly impossible time.  We must look after each other regardless of where we live, our gender, our background, our colour, our faith.  We are one human race in this battle together.  The pupils, through their individual acts of kindness, will collectively be providing 7862 children with meals for a whole year.” 

The celebrations of this achievement have had to be low key due to the current restrictions.  However, the students who attend the schools within the academy, and the wider communities who have all played a part in the fundraising were delighted to receive a video thank you message from Founder and Global Chief Executive of Mary’s Meals, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow. 

In this video, Magnus says, “I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done, your incredible 20:20 for Mary campaign.  You’ve ensured that the children at Kafumphe Primary School can carry on eating, so on their behalf, I thank you with all my heart.” 

Painsley selected to provide high-quality professional development to teachers and leaders.

Painsley Catholic College has been selected to become a teaching school hub.

Teachers across the country will benefit from vital developmental support and expert advice, allowing them to improve a broad range of vital teaching skills, under plans announced by the Department for Education today.

The teaching workforce will get best-practice and expert advice on how best to engage with pupils, lesson planning, and classroom management, as the teaching school hubs programme is rolled out across the country.

Painsley is one of the 81 schools in England selected to be designated as a new teaching school hub.

Mrs Rachel Waugh, Principal at Painsley Catholic College commented, ““We are delighted to have been successfully designated as a teaching school hub. It is an important development for the continued professional development of teachers and leaders in education. We are thrilled to be at the forefront of training to ensure the highest quality of teaching and leadership in schools for the benefit of the staff and young people we serve.”

The teaching school programme was announced in 2019 and was followed by a procurement to successfully appoint six test and learn hubs.

The 81 new hubs will be rolled out in addition to those six existing test & learn TSH, meaning there will be nationwide coverage for the first time, and that every school in England will now have access to a local centre of excellence for teacher training.

81 hubs will be added in all corners of the country to provide high-quality professional development to teachers and leaders at all stages of their career and play a key role in helping to build up trainee teachers as they enter the workforce. This will further level up the quality of teaching, allowing every child to receive a world-class start in life no matter where they are born.

Each hub, all of which will be operational and helping schools from this September, will have its own defined geographical patch and will be expected to be accessible to all schools within that area, serving on average around 250 schools each.

We are delighted to have been able to take part in this event, and with our parents' and students' fundraising efforts, we have contributed around £1000 to this fantastic event.  Thank you so much!  Well done as well to our very own cyclist, Mrs Davis!

Representatives from seven schools within The Painsley Catholic Academy (North) cycled 35 miles on Friday 9^th October to raise money for the global charity, ‘Mary’s Meals’. The two groups of five cyclists began their journey at St Mary’s Catholic Academy in Leek and then stopped off at each member school on the route to the final destination, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary school in Uttoxeter.  Funds are still coming in, but the total raised so far for the event is just over £6,000. 

The Painsley Catholic Academy has undertaken the ambitious task of fundraising £100,000 for Mary’s Meals throughout 2020. A donation of this size will enable the charity to feed the children of Kafumphe Primary School, Dowa, Malawi for the next seven years, ensuring that every child currently at the school will complete their primary education. 

“The concept of Mary’s Meals is so very simple and yet effective, it really appeals to our students,” commented Mr. Steve Bell, CEO of The Painsley Catholic Academy. “Mary’s Meals is about providing children with a daily meal at a place of education; something that our students of all ages can really relate to.” 

The two teams of five cyclists, at least one adult representing each school as a staff member, local governor or parent,  included:  Mr Stephen Briggs (parent) and Mr Krzysztof Chrachol (parent) representing St Mary’s Academy Leek; Mrs Lucy Ball (parent and local governor) and Mr Peter Lucas (local governor) representing St Giles Catholic Primary School in Cheadle;  Mrs Anna Howard, Primary Schools’ Lay Chaplain and representative of The Faber Catholic Academy in Cotton;  Mr David Reed, a teacher from Painsley Catholic College;  Mr Jack Huson a teacher from St Filumena’s Catholic Primary School in Caverswall;  Mr Matthew Jones a teacher and from St Thomas’s Catholic Primary School in Tean. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Uttoxeter, was represented also by a teacher, Mrs Rachel Davis and cycle group leadership and assistance was provided by Mr Mark Swinnerton.  Bike maintenance and back-up support for the riders was kindly donated by Velorunner in Stone.

Passing and pausing at each school, the cyclists were encouraged by staff and pupils as they rode throughout the school day. Some were seasoned riders, but for others this was a new and daunting challenge as they peddled the steep hills and quiet lanes to Cotton; and then on to Cheadle, Caverswall, Tean and Uttoxeter.

Mrs Anna Howard, Lay Chaplain of the Painsley (North) Primary Schools commented, “Children and staff have already been incredibly creative and resourceful in raising money, drawing on their skills, gifts, talents and passion to help others in need. Bake sales, fashion shows, raffles, Christmas gifts and craft sales, art shows and sponsored sports events have all helped to build towards the grand total. The ‘Miles for Mary’ cycle challenge has brought us together in solidarity with one another. Our school communities have come together to create the teams of riders. Children and staff at each school were united in welcoming us as we arrived and cheering us off again on our next stage of the route. Thanks also to Velorunner in Stone, who gave their professional skills, time and support to the riders throughout the cycle challenge.” 

Donations are welcomed to help towards the grand £100,000 target and can be made through The Painsley Catholic Adacemy’s JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/p-c-a

8-year-old St Joseph's student, Toby, has been running weekly exercise sessions in his street in Uttoxeter to help keep the neighbours fit and motivated during lockdown!  Toby is joined in the sessions by around 15 neighbours every Thursday at 7pm.  He was even interviewed on Radio Derby about it!

East Staff's police also heard that Tony's favourite Police Officer was PC Rich Lymer after he had seen him on Cops UK:Bodycam Squad so arranged for Rich to pay him a visit.

He had a great workout courtesy of Toby and in return gave him a small gift to say thanks.

Keep up the great work Toby and thanks for keeping people active and spirits raised!

Pope Francis has called all Christians to join him in praying the Lord's Prayer (Our Father) at 11am on Wednesday 25th March. He asks that we join together to uphold the universality of prayer, compassion and tenderness through this difficult time encouraging us to “remain united and make our closeness felt – especially with healthcare professionals and those who serve.”

Click here to see the live stream and for further details.

Families may like to gather at this time, light a candle safely together and Pray the Our Father.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

19^th March 2020

Dear Parent/Carer,

I am very proud of our Catholic community and the fact that we have continued to operate despite these extraordinary times.  I am sure that you are aware that we have now been instructed to close the school to almost all children after this Friday (20^th March, 2020) until further notice.  As you know, we have been planning for this eventuality and staff and pupils have responded brilliantly to the initiatives proposed.

As advised by the government, we will do all we can to stay open for the children of key workers (e.g. NHS staff, police, others in frontline services) and children with certain needs.

We are waiting for the government to publish more information on what this means but it would help us in the meantime if you could let us know if you think your child may fall into one of these categories.  Please email office@st-josephs-uttoxeter.staffs.sch.uk   today to inform us that your child will need to continue to attend school due to meeting the criteria.  Please do not be offended if we ask for proof of profession etc.  We will also be contacting you if your child meets the criteria for attending due to having certain needs.  The government has made it clear that these children must attend school and the usual rules will apply.  Thank you, in advance, for your patience whilst we work on the logistics of these issues. 

All other children will need to stay at home, so we ask that you do not send your child into school from Monday onwards.

Over the next 2 days, we will be training your child how to access work remotely using a variety of platforms that can all be accessed through the school website under ‘pupils’, ‘class pages’.  As explained in previous letters, children must participate in online learning.  The following applies:

Pupils’ lessons per day:

Year 5 and Year 6 – 9.30-10.30 and 11.00-12 there will be live lessons through the platform 

EYFS to Year 4 will have work allocated daily via the school website by 9.30am 

We will send out instructions to help you understand how your child can log on to the necessary software within the next few days.

If you have not contacted school regarding difficulties with IT provision, please do so today by emailing office@st-josephs-uttoxeter.staffs.sch.uk  If you have been in touch, we will contact you within the next few days to discuss how we can help you.  Again, thank you for your patience.

It is important to stress that pupils and teachers will communicate via school software and emails only.

All policies, including the Rewards and Sanctions Policy, applies throughout this period of closure.  I look forward to seeing many achievement points being awarded to your child!  I also thank your child, in advance, for appreciating the difficulties that their teachers are experiencing at this time.  The use of google classroom must be respected at all times.  This is a time to show great maturity beyond their years and I am sure they will all do this.

In order to help with our planning, we will be having an extraordinary INSET day on Monday 23^rd March.  This means that no work will be set or live teaching will begin until Tuesday 24^th March.  School will be closed to all pupils on this day.

The school office will be open as normal throughout the closure and some members of the teaching and non-teaching staff will be in school.  Please use the normal channels of communication throughout the closure.  The Wellbeing Policy (available on the school website) applies throughout this period and includes reasonable expectations in terms of response time etc.

If your child is not well, please telephone the school office on the first day of illness in the normal way so we know that they cannot participate in live teaching or complete online work.

If your child usually receives free school meals, we will continue to provide them with a meal.  More details will follow regarding this.

Sadly, I also confirm that we will not be running breakfast or after-school clubs until further notice.

With regards to exams, as you will know, SATs will not take place in May.  The government has not yet announced if or when alternative arrangements will be implemented.  I want to assure young people that the government has clearly committed to not disadvantaging any child.  Therefore, it is important for your child to continue to work hard as alternative arrangements are developed.  I will update you as soon as I can with additional information.  We will talk to all affected children today in order to reassure them about their future.

We appreciate your continued patience as we deal with this ever-changing situation. We understand that this latest news will have an impact on you and your family and it is far from ideal.

Remember: if you or your child feels ill and you want to know what to do next, please use the NHS 111 online.

Thank you again for your continued support.  We will be in touch with more information tomorrow. Please continue to remember the vulnerable in our society, all coronavirus sufferers and their families, the staff here at school and the work of all frontline services in your thoughts and prayers.

Yours sincerely

Mrs L Sassi

Principal