Welcome to
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Ysgol Gatholig Joseff Sant.
We grow together in God’s love as we pray, learn and play
Dyn ni’n tyfu gyda ‘n gilyddd mewn cariad Duw wrth i ni weddio, dysgu a chwarae
Our School
Year Six Rights of the Child Project The children in Mrs Houston’s class are participating in a Rights of the child Unicef Project. Here is an example of some of the work produced as the first part of the project.
Year Six children performing the battle scene in Shajespeare's macbeth
Poetry Writing Macbeth. The children in year six have used the style of writing used by Shakespeare to create their own version of the Witches Brew. The children presented their final edited copy within a cauldron in their context for learning books as part of our project 'What a performance!" The children then prepared a performance of their poem in the woods and created their own costumes to perform their final performance.
First Holy Communion Mass
St Joseph’s Parish had a wonderful celebration on Saturday with the Mass where our pupils made their First Holy Communion.
Congratulations to them all as we as a community support them in their faith journey. Massive thanks to Mrs Houston for her dedication and tireless work with the children preparing them for this special day and ensuring it was a day to remember. Mrs Houston was assisted by Mrs Klommite and Mrs Murry George, who also gave up their time to support our children.
Thanks also to our teachers and governors who gave up their time to attend on Saturday showing their support to our faith community.
Mrs A. Riordan (Headteacher)
Congratulations for all the children in Saint Joseph's Primary School who made the Sacrament of First Holy Communion on May 22nd at Saint Joseph's Parish Church.
A very talented pianist in Year 6
Urdd Goodwill Service
Urdd Goodwill Performance
PC Cadwallader Workshop
A Visit by PC Cadwallader. Dangers of Using Drugs. Impact of Cyber Bullying Today the children had a visit from PC Cadwallader. As children go to new secondary schools and as part of the Curriculum for Wales, the children are guided about the dangers’ drugs present to them and to society. Children were shown a series of illegal drugs so they know what they look like and the differences between legal and illegal substances. The children discussed the impact on peer pressure and to learn the importance of simply saying “NO!” The second workshop focused on the impact of cyber bullying and the impact it has on the victim. The children watched a video and discussed the emotional and legal ramifications of cyber bullying.
Sacramental Classes. Well done to all those children who made their second sacrament of Reconciliation this weekend. The staff at Saint Joseph's and all catechists wish you a meaningful First Holy Communion this coming Saturday. We have attached some of the photographs taken at the Reconciliation Service.
Posters Advertising the Saint Joseph's RC Fun Day
Altars: Collective Worship Focuses - Summer Term Topic One
Links with our School Parish, Saint Joseph’s Saint Joseph’s Fun Day Today a member of the Saint Joseph’s Parish Council, Mr Roy Jefferies, came to school to speak to the children about the Saint Joseph’s Church Fun Day. The children have had an opportunity to create a poster to advertise the event and for those children who had already entered, they have been rewarded with a bar of chocolate. (Photographs attached) Additional information on the Saint Joseph’s Fun Day is to be forwarded to parents soon on the website. However, the event will take place at the Maindy Velodrome on Saturday 7th May commencing at 2.00pm and parish and neighbours of the church are invited to attend this free event. Children are encouraged to bring and ride scooters and bikes and participate on an obstacle course, whilst an area for trikes and scooters for the younger children will be provided. (You will not be permitted on the track without a safety helmet.) The green area of the Maindy Velodrome will be used as a picnic area for families to be at the centre of the ‘action’ on the day. We look forward to seeing you at this event, The Parish and School Communities of Saint Joseph’s.
Easter Bonnet Competition
Year Six: Computation and Technology Project The children in Mrs Houston’s class have created a robot that they can control using their coding / programming skills. Please enjoy the photographs and videos of the children’ slearning.
Computation and Technology Video Year Six
Year Six Computation and Technology Videos
Micro Mini Computation and Technology Videos. Children constructing their robots to be programmed for use in a football game.
Designing and making a computer game.
Year six have applied their computational thinking and programming skills to design and make their own computer games. I have attached an example of one of the videos of a child's work and others are available for the parents to look at on the year six class pafe on the 'My Week' section. The children have worked incredibly hard on the project and I am delighted with the games the children have created. Well done!
Computational Thinking Project - Design and make your own computer game. The children in year six have conducted a computational project. The challenge they were set was to design, make and evaluate their own computer game using their computational and programming skills. I have attached videos of the coding skills that the children applied in their games. Each game is different. The children have then gone on to provide a report / explanation / evaluative piece of writing to explain their learning and to identify the computing skills that they need to develop. The writing explains their use of algorithms, patterns, logical reasoning, abstraction, sequencing, testing debugging and delaying skills and how successfully they applied them. The children were so delighted with their work they asked that the deputy headteacher came to the class to look at their games. Mrs wheeler, saw all the games the children had made and the children were able to describe and explain the computational and programme skills that they had utilised to create their game. Mrs Wheeler was so impressed as was Mrs Houston.
Outdoor Pursuits Residential Trip to Llangrannog Perhaps one of year six’s most enduring memories of Saint Joseph’s School will be our residential visit to Llangrannog. It was the first time most of us went away from home without our families. It would be remiss of us not to say a huge THANK YOU to Ms Chinnick and Mr Cobb for volunteering to take us and making this learning experience so special.
Year Four Welsh Artist Project. The Sunsets of Kyffin Williams Lesson One: The children in year four have been studying the sunsets of the Welsh artist Kyffin Williams. The children have used line and mark, colour mixing and tone to create their own sunset in the style of Kyffin Williams. The children have used a range of mediums to create their pictures including felts, chalks and paints. They have worked very hard on the project and their final work will be photographed and placed on the gallery in the next few days. In the meanwhile, I have attached pictures of children creating their sunset in the style of Kyffin Williams.
Expressive Arts: Sunsets in the style of Kyffin Williams.
Science Investigation. The children in KS2 have been learning about solubility. They have applied the following science investigation skills: Selecting equipment, making an hypothesis for each substance tested in hot and cold water, working collaboratively to create and share learning group ideas on how to set up a fair test, describing the method to be used in the investigation and how to present the results that they gather independently and finally to draw conclusions about what they have discovered identifying trends and patterns in data.
Expressive Arts Project As part of a whole class competition for Saint David’s Day the children will focus on an Expressive Arts task producing work in the style of the Welsh artist Ruth Jens Evans and a series of paintings she produced entitled Menywod Cymru / Welsh Women. The skills being developed are line and mark, colour, pattern and shape.
World Book Day
Saint David’s Day Eisteddfod 2022. Here are examples of some of the Year Six entries submitted.
Key Stage Two Context for Learning Project - War Story - Refugees past and present. The children have used a pop art style of painting to create a picture of Anne Frank and used current modern artists' work to depict how they illustrate the plight of refugees who are subject to the consequences of conflicts around the world. We have read and responded to crrie's War and Goodnight Mr TomCa
Welsh as a second Language. Examples of reading and writing conducted this year in the upper juniors.
Literacy: As part of authentic learning linked to issues in the news the children in year six have investigated the causes and consequences of 9 / 11 as part of the 25th anniversary of this event in their context for learning project 'World Conflict.'
Examples of literacy comparative Writing on the lives of people living in Syrian refugee camps and our lives in Wales.
Year Six Empathy Writing - The Refugee Crisis and The Rights of the Child.
As part of Children’s Mental Health Week Reception danced to uplifting music. We talked about how the song made us feel and what else we do that makes up happy and how to keep our minds healthy as well as our bodies
Computational Thinking Project
Computational Thinking. As part of our learning in Science and Technology, the children have used their coding skills to create a door alarm and rock, paper scissors games.
Health and Well - Being Project
Spectrum Workshops:
The children have engaged in three health and well- being workshops. We have focused on what constitutes healthy and unhealthy relationships. Children conducted practical activities and identified what objects felt safe and those that felt unsafe and to determine what is a need and what is a want in our lives. Pupils focused upon their rights, but also conducted collaborative learning activities on our responsibilities as a consequence of being privileged enough to enjoy these rights. We investigated parenting using baby dolls, identifying needs and linking to the appropriate roles of parents in meeting the needs of their children. Finally, children focused on abuse and that it can take the form of physical or psychological nature. Children explored the difference between the two and what they should do and the agencies they can turn to if they are afraid or need support or protection.
Ruben: I thought the workshops were grown up in contact and I found them very interesting.
Imogen: It was interesting to learn what abuse was.
Izzak: I didn’t know there were that many types of abuse.
Ava: I liked making the key change because each bead we used had a different meaning that was related to our learning on the project.
Ethan: I found the workshops interesting as we learnt about people who had suffered abuse and how they managed to escape it.
The children have engaged in three health and well- being workshops. We have focused on what constitutes healthy and unhealthy relationships. Children conducted practical activities and identified what objects felt safe and those that felt unsafe and to determine what is a need and what is a want in our lives. Pupils focused upon their rights, but also conducted collaborative learning activities on our responsibilities as a consequence of being privileged enough to enjoy these rights. We investigated parenting using baby dolls, identifying needs and linking to the appropriate roles of parents in meeting the needs of their children. Finally, children focused on abuse and that it can take the form of physical or psychological nature. Children explored the difference between the two and what they should do and the agencies they can turn to if they are afraid or need support or protection.
Ruben: I thought the workshops were grown up in contact and I found them very interesting.
Imogen: It was interesting to learn what abuse was.
Izzak: I didn’t know there were that many types of abuse.
Ava: I liked making the key change because each bead we used had a different meaning that was related to our learning on the project.
Ethan: I found the workshops interesting as we learnt about people who had suffered abuse and how they managed to escape it.
Spectrum Workshop
9.2.22: Super Ambassadors - To continue to raise awareness of the 'rights of the child', we're organising a half term 'rights respecting' competition. These will be given out next week!
3.2.22 - Literacy Workshop – Year 5 and 6
25th Anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
J.K Rowling took six years to write Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first book in the Harry Potter series. It was published on 26 June, 1997. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the writing of the book.
Many children in year five and six love the Harry Potter books. Consequently, Ms Beynon, our literacy leader, booked a Cardiff schools workshop on ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’
The workshop commenced with a storyteller reading an extract from ‘The Philosopher’s Stone’ The children were required to listen carefully as they had to participate in a quiz at the conclusion of the reading. Safe to say, year five and six achieved full marks at the conclusion of the quiz.
Children then listened to another storyteller who read another extract from the text and this was followed by an art and craft activity to make a floating candle just like the ones that feature in the Harry Potter series.
Evaluation of the workshop:
Emilia: I thought the presentation was really good because it was fun and interactive and because I love the Harry Potter books.
Harry Potter Workshop
Year Six Poetry Writing Project This week the children in class eight have participated in a poetry project. As you are aware we are reading Michael Morgurgo’s book, ‘The Wreck of the Zanaibar’. We analysed a poem entitled ‘Storm at Sea’ written by Alexander Rakic. We consolidated out understanding of how, similes, alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, metaphors and the use of adjectives, verbs, adverbs and the use of repetition are utilised by poet to convey meaning. The children then used their drafting and editing skills to compose their own storm poem. They have produced excellent work and applied themselves for a sustained period to the task. All poems have been attached so parents can look at their children’s work.
How do welsh artists present water in their paintings? Comparing the work of local Welsh artist Gayle Rogers and the world famous Welsh artist Kyffin Williams
Art and Design - The Work of the Welsh Artist Gayle Rogers
In class eight our context project is 'Water, water everywhere! How can we use it sustainably?' As part of our learning we have compared how Welsh artists have depicted water in different ways. We have compared the work of a local artist Gayle Rogers with the world famous Welsh artist Kyffin Williams. I hope you find the work produced as inspiring as I do.
Mrs Houston
The children in year six have conducted a science investigation on the absorbency of teatowels in different locations in the school environement. The children applied the following science skills:
- deciding upon a success criteria
- Designing and applying a fair test
- Identifying the variable of the test
- Describing method
- Using measuring skills using imperial and metric units of measure.
- Converting measures and applying their knowledge of rounding and applying the four rules of number to calculate the range, mean, median and mode of data.
- presenting the data gathered independently to present in a scatter grph. Using their investigation to draw conclusions and to identify trends and patterns found within the data
- deciding whether the success criteria of the investigation had been achieved.
Absorbency Science Investigation
Year Six Chromatography Experiment
