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Year 5 Class Celebration of the Word 05.05.26 

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Year 5 Class Celebration of the Word 05.05.26 

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Year 5 led a thoughtful and prayerful collective worship on the theme “Blessed Are the Peacemakers.” Through the Gospel of John, the children reflected on Jesus’ words, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you,” and considered how we can bring calm, kindness and reconciliation into our school, our homes and the wider world.

The children explored what it means to be peacemakers in troubling times, linking this to Catholic Social Teaching, the call of the Holy Father, and the example of Jesus calming the storm. They reminded us that peace begins in our own hearts and is shown through kind words, forgiveness, listening and standing beside those who need support.

Well done to all of the children for leading us so reverently and confidently.

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As part of our CST and SMSC collective worship, Mr. Stephens spoke to the children of St. Joseph's about World Mental Health Day. Children learned about why discussing mental health is important, about strategies to improve their own mental health, and how to spot signs that someone may be struggling with their mental health. CAFOD CST animals were linked to this collective worship.

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GIFT Team - Advent Prayer Service 03.12.25

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GIFT Team - Advent Prayer Service 03.12.25

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Our GIFT Team led two Advent Prayer Services. Parents and parishioners were invited to begin Advent with us in school.

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As we returned in September we re-engaged with our Jubilee year, and reminded each other that we are all Pilgrims of Hope.

Year 5, led by Mr. Lovell and Mrs. Mulligan created this wonderful hall display to illustrate this theme.

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EYFS shared their Celebration of the Word with their families. Each child sang beautifully and took an active role in the liturgy. Children added hearts that had drawings of their family on to their class prayer table.

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Fr. Anthony Cho plays a vital role in supporting our school with our liturgical calendar and events. Fr. Anthony meets with Mrs. McBrown and Mr. Stephens to plan attendance at weekly mass, masses for Holy Days of Obligation and Sacramental events such as the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

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Harvest Collection & Paraliturgy 21.10.25

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Harvest Collection & Paraliturgy 21.10.25

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We supported Thurrock Food Bank with a fantastic Harvest Collection. Fr. Anthony blessed our collection at a fun paraliturgy at Our Lady and St. Joseph's.

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This year we have 12 children ranging from Year 3 to Year 6 who will be working towards making their First Holy Communion in our local parish.

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Our GIFT (Growing In Faith Together) team plays a vital role in our school. Children from Years 3-6 lead us in prayer, take an active role in the leadership of Prayer and Liturgy within our school and represent our school at Trust events.

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Together with the other schools that form the Christus Catholic Trust, we celebrated a mass at Brentwood Cathedral. Staff and children from each school attended to begin our school year together.

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Together with schools in the Christus Catholic Trust, our GIFT Team went on a 'Pilgrimage of Hope' to Southend.

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Inspired by Christ, Working Together, Achieving Our Best

Our Aims

Develop an ethos where each adult and child is seen as a valued individual, and where personal relationships are a reflection of God’s love and forgiveness.

Help our children to know and understand the beliefs, values, attitudes and practice of Catholics, by helping them to develop their own relationship with God, through prayer, in a worshipping community, and also to give them an understanding and acceptance of other denominations and faiths.

Provide every child with their entitlement to Religious Education and the National Curriculum in order to develop their gifts and talents intellectually, creatively and physically.

Provide an education for all, acknowledging that the society within which we live is enriched by the ethnic diversity, culture and faith of all its citizens.

Foster an awareness of personal responsibility for the environment and all God’s creation.

Promote social justice and equality, by showing concern for all members of society through understanding, sharing, tolerance, self-esteem and respect.

Enhance links between home, school and parish and encourage closer relationships with the wider community.

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Our EYFS and KS1 children retold and reminded us of the true significance of the birth of Jesus.

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We celebrated the Epiphany of our Lord in our parish church, joined by our families, friends and local parishioners. Children wore crowns or tiaras to mass at the request of our parish priest, Fr. Anthony Cho.

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Year 5 & 6 Readings and Carol Concert 16.12.25

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Year 5 & 6 Readings and Carol Concert 16.12.25

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Our Year 5 and Year 6 children learned and performed a wonderful carol concert. Children read the Christmas story beautifully and each song or was linked to a different phase of the Christmas story.

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St. Joseph's came together to remember. To remember those whose struggle is now passing from living memory. To remember that no matter how hard it is - we should always stand up to evil with our Catholic values of tolerance, acceptance, love and charity.

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Saint Joseph, husband of Mary and earthly father of Jesus, was a man from Nazareth, a carpenter, and a model of faith, known as the "Just Man" for his obedience to God's will, protecting the Holy Family by fleeing to Egypt and returning to raise Jesus, and is venerated as the patron saint of the universal Church, workers, families, and the dying, with feast days on March 19th (Husband of Mary) and May 1st (Worker).

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As you enter our school you will have the opportunity to find out about what makes us a special place to love, learn and grow in Christ.

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Each Monday Mrs. McBrown shares the Gospel with us and discusses the meaning of what we heard in church at the weekend.

These moments together are special and give us a reflective, purposeful start to each school week.

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Each Tuesday we celebrate the Word in class, with liturgies prepared by children or through excellent resources such as the Mark 10 Mission.

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St. Augustine said that 'singing is praying twice'! In these special times together we raise the roof and praise God with our beautiful singing voices.

These times together are inclusive and prepare us for when we join our parish community at masses at our local church, Our Lady and St. Joseph's.

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At least once per term, every class at St. Joseph's will go to mass at Our Lady and St. Joseph's as part of a normal weekday mass. This is a fantastic way to share in God's love with our brothers and sisters within our parish.

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When a Holy Day of Obligation falls within term time, our school attends our parish church to celebrate with our local community.

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Select children from Year 4 attended a collaborative Nativity performance at De La Salle Catholic Secondary School.

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St. Joseph's has a proud tradition of having many altar servers train and serve our local parish church of Our Lady and St. Joseph.

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Each class regularly takes part in class liturgies. Some are planned alongside the teacher, while others are planned by the children. This is a skill that develops towards having less teacher led-liturgy as children progress through St. Joseph's.

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When children feel passionately about a topic or event they can lead a liturgy for the whole school. We encourage children to lead us in reflection and prayer as often as possible.

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EYFS shared their Celebration of the Word

with their families. Each child sang beautifully and took an active role in the liturgy. Children added hearts that had drawings of their family on to their class prayer table.

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Each class was tasked with creating a fantastic class Saint display after learning about them.

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We have worked closely with our Trust, outside agencies and our Trust SENCO to develop a prayerful space at the center of our school.

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At the heart of Catholic Education is the mission to provide the best education for all children regardless of their starting points or background. Mrs. Stephens met with parents of SEND children to hear their views, show what SEND will look like moving forward and to open channels of communication between parents and our school.

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CST Collective Worship - Martin Luther King Day - 21.01.26

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CST Collective Worship - Martin Luther King Day - 21.01.26

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Mr. Stephens discussed the significance of the life, words and actions of Martin Luther King. Children learned about his life, his political activism and the progress that has been made with regards to the Civil Rights movement since MLK took action. We linked these to three of our CST principles.

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Catholic Social Teaching Collective Worship

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Catholic Social Teaching Collective Worship

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Each Wednesday, Mr. Stephens leads us in prayer and focuses our minds on our Catholic Social Teaching principles. We learn about topical events through a Catholic lens and learn what it is to be a Catholic in today's world. Linked scripture is shared with the children and we make use of CAFOD's CST animals to make each topic approachable for children.

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Year 1 - Celebration of the Word 27.01.26

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Year 1 - Celebration of the Word 27.01.26

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Year 1's Liturgy reminded us that Jesus is the Light of the World. We gathered together by singing, 'This Little Light of Mine'.

We heard about Simeon in the Gospel of Luke (2:25-35) who, guided by the Holy Spirit, recognised the infant Jesus as the Messiah in the Temple. He proclaimed Jesus as "a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel," fulfilling God's promise that he would see the Saviour before dying.

Children retold a section of the Luke's Gospel, shared how they are the light in people's lives and then all placed a tealight candle on the class prayer table. The class sang 'Shine Jesus Shine' as we went forth.

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Black History Month and Cultural Diversity Day

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Black History Month and Cultural Diversity Day

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As part of celebrating the diversity of our pupils, the children and staff at St Joseph's took part in celebrating Black History Month which was then rounded off with a Cultural Diversity Day. The children were encouraged to dress in their own clothes and speak openly about their heritage. These activities were linked to human dignity and solidarity.

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Year 5 Celebration of the Word - 23.09.25

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Year 5 Celebration of the Word - 23.09.25

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Year 5 delivered a Celebration of the Word based around the theme of New Promises and New Beginnings. The children spoke through the Gospel and its message before calling upon the intercessions of the Saints to bless their new year at school.

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Year 2 Class Celebration of the Word 10.02.26

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Year 2 Class Celebration of the Word 10.02.26

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Year 2 designed their Celebration of the Word based on the theme of ?. They confidently shared their learning and sang 'I the Lord of Sea and Sky'. Parent attendance was fantastic.

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Year 2 designed their Celebration of the Word based on the theme of ####. They confidently shared their learning and sang 'I the Lord of Sea and Sky'. Parent attendance was fantastic.

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In response to Pope Leo’s announcement of the Franciscan Jubilee Year, St Joseph’s came together as one school community to mark this special moment in the life of the Church.

Every class contributed to this collaborative piece, reflecting on the life and example of St Francis — his love for creation, his humility and his deep faith. Through prayer, creativity and shared reflection, our pupils helped to create a vibrant display that symbolises unity, joy and our commitment to living out the Gospel values at the heart of the Franciscan tradition.

As we journey through this Jubilee year, we look forward to growing in faith together and continuing to follow the example of St Francis in caring for one another and for God’s creation.

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Lenten Prayer Service - The Second Week of Lent

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Lenten Prayer Service - The Second Week of Lent

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Our GIFT Team prepared a Lenten prayer service to share with families and parishoners.

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On the 16th March 2026, we celebrated the Feast Day of the Patron Saint of our school, St Joseph. We reflected on his mission as a carpenter, worker and earthly father to Our Lord, Jesus Christ. We celebrated Mass at Our Lady and St Joseph's Catholic Church before returning to school to enjoy a day filled with STEM lessons centred around our DT topics for this half term. The children thoroughly enjoyed learning more about St Joseph and getting to experience a day filled with fun activities.

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Year 4's Celebration of the Word, entitled 'Walking through the desert' focused on the Transfiguration of our Lord.

The children created a desert and placed stones in it to show that on our travels there are challenges. A candle was placed to represent the Transfigured Christ and a plant was placed to show that even in challenging circumstances it is possible for beauty to grow within all of us.

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St. Joseph's fundraised for CAFOD as part of the Big Lent Walk 2026. Our whole school walked laps of our local community park raising money and awareness for the vital work CAFOD does around the world.

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The 110th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme - 06/07/26

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The 110th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme - 06/07/26

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As a school, we celebrated the 110th Anniversary of the Beginning of the Battle of the Somme. We reflected on how core British Values are Gospel Values and how we can be peacemakers to others and how the light we shine, however small, can guide others to better choices.

A massive well done to all the children who participated so wonderfully in creating their jars of hope and peace to add to our Peace Dove on the floor of the hall. The work the children produced in class was also wonderfully carried out.

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On 14 July 2027, we gathered together to celebrate our End of Year and Leavers’ Mass and to say a fond farewell to our current Year 6 pupils.

During the Mass, members of Year 6 took on important roles within the order of service, reading with confidence and reverence. They were then invited to collect copies of the Books of the Gospels, colour-coded to represent the houses within our school community.

Father Anthony was extremely impressed by the children’s beautiful singing, as were the parishioners who joined us for this special celebration.

We extend our sincere thanks to Mr Lovell for preparing the Mass and liaising with Father Anthony to ensure that the children were fully prepared. We are also incredibly grateful to Mrs McBrown for her continued guidance and support throughout the academic year.

Finally, we wish all of our Year 6 pupils every happiness and success as they begin the next chapter of their journey at their new schools. They leave with our prayers, love and very best wishes.