St Joseph’s School Spring Term 2019...trout cooked on an open ﬁre in our outdoor school: top...

St Joseph’s School Spring Term 2019

St Joseph’s School Spring Term 2019 St Joseph’s School Spring Term 2019

FROM THE HEAD TEACHER 2

EVENTS

ISA Na�onal Drama 3

World Book Day 14

St Piran’s Day 15

Easter Eggstravaganza 17

Pre-School Sports Day 18

Easter Bingo 32

North Cornwall Dance Fes�val 34

Red Nose Day 49

Grandparents’ Tea Party 55

Sterts Aladdin 65

School Summer BBQ 66

IN THE CLASSROOM

IET Faraday Challenge 4

Intermediate Maths Challenge 8

Waste Week 10

Pancake Café 13

Cultural Awareness 16

Poetry of WW1 20

Microscopes 22

Year 11 Chemistry 23

Year 6 Dinosaur Homework 24

Cornwall Air Ambulance 27

Year 3 Rainforest Project 29

Science Project 500 30

Year 6 Gliders 36

Year 7 Tex�les 38

Author Visit 39

O>ers and Rivers 43

Taster Day 47

Science Workshop 50

Study Skills 51

PSHEE Day 53

Drawing Dragons 54

Innsbruck School Visit 56

Gale>e Des Rois 60

Big School Bird Watch 61

Easter Baking 62

Year 8 Art 63

Year 2—Namaste 64

MUSIC

Wadebridge Music Success 5

OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Pre-Pre Gymnas�cs 6

Princess Yachts 7

Junior Inter-house Netball 9

Blue Sky Club 11

Exeter Cathedral Visit 12

New Playground Equipment 19

Teddy Bears Picnic 21

ISA Na�onal Football 25

Pre-Prep Science Club 28

ISA Cross Country 31

ISA SW Football 33

Charlie Bear Visit 35

Senior Football 37

Truro Museum Visit 41

Food Prepara�on Trip 42

Tennis Update 48

Lawrence House Museum 58

PE Update 59

Farm Visit 69

SPOTLIGHT ON

Meet Former Pupil Zola 26

Meet Former Pupil Kate 40

Theo Marshall, Liam Brent & Thomas Greet 44

Hollie Shute 44

Phoebe Pascoe 45

Tabatha Thomas 45

Olivia Shute 46

Thomas Greet 46

Meet Former Pupil Niamh Keohane 52

Meet Former Pupil Katherine Flashman Kitson 57

Meet Former Pupil Celyn Ensell-Bowen 66

Meet Former Pupil Triffie Axworthy 68

St Joseph’s School, St Stephens Hill, Launceston, Cornwall, PL15 8HN

01566 772580 www.stjosephscornwall.co.uk

/StJosephsSchoolLaunceston @StJosephsSch

IN THIS ISSUE...


What a week we have just had to close our

Spring Term – even now, in my eighth year at St

Joseph’s and my fourth as Headteacher, I am

amazed both that we can fit quite so much in, and

just what your children can achieve. Returning to

school in January seems a long 0me ago now –

and as we see the arrival of Spring, the snow that

caused such difficul0es earlier in the term seems

but a distant memory.

It was, though, during that snow that we saw

many of the strengths of the St Joseph’s

community, as people reached out to help one

another, as many saw triumph against the odds,

and the resilience we have spoken of so many

0mes came to the fore. With all of this taking

place in an atmosphere of fellowship and mutual

support, coupled with a healthy helping of

laughter, I was very proud to be a part of such a

great team effort.

It is that sense of teamwork that has been in

evidence throughout the final weeks of term, and

par0cularly this last week. Parents and former

parents have helped make a magical experience

for Junior pupils as they prac0ced fly fishing,

toasted marshmallows and even tasted rainbow

trout cooked on an open fire in our outdoor

school: top marks to Mr Hills and returning

parents Mr and Mrs Tetley for making the day

such a magical experience for all concerned.

That teamwork and togetherness is seen every

day around the school, from lunch0mes when we

enjoy ea0ng together both as Juniors and as

Seniors (for my part I try and make it to both

si:ngs – though not on the same day!) to many

spor0ng events and our daily experiences in the

classroom.

The classroom experience is, of course,

fundamental to the success of the school. It is a

great pleasure to pop into classes, from Recep0on

to Year 11, and get a real sense of the pupils’

experience of St Joseph’s. There is never a dull

moment, and I learn something new every day.

We are now looking at GCSE op0ons for Year 8,

while at the same 0me preparing ourselves for

the departure of Year 11 for Study Leave next

2 HEADTEACHER

term, shortly before the GCSE season kicks in.

Speaking to Year 11 over the course of the last

term their nerves are increasingly evident, but so

too is their determina0on to make the most of

the opportuni0es that their studies provide.

When I speak of a St Joseph’s Journey, it is, to my

mind, about everything a child achieves

throughout their 0me in our care, from their first

day to their GCSE results. What they leave with on

their examina0on cer0ficates is of course

important, but what ma@ers more to me is the

nature of their broader accomplishments,

whether these be musical, spor0ng, academic or

in any other field. For some, these achievements

may be more evident, but for all children their

progress is significant, and about much more than

what can be graded simply by a 1-9 result.

The confidence of a Year 3 to engage in

conversa0on with the Head over lunch, success at

ISA Cross Country, a happy smile in the History

Masterchef, successfully using the target language

in a French lesson, a perfectly framed image in

Digital Photography, sharing ideas in Waste Week,

a well composed Big Write or the pride of a child

who has just performed for their parents in ballet

watching week all carry great weight.

I am excited to see all we have achieved as a

school, but more so to think of all we shall achieve

in the future. We have to maintain our standards,

to ensure good behaviour and that we cul0vate

an atmosphere of mutual respect. I will do all I can

to uphold the standards we all expect here at St

Joseph’s, and look forward very much to working

with you next term to do the same. Have a lovely

holiday.

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Sco@—

[email protected]


As a member of the Independent Schools

Associa�on, pupils at St Joseph’s, Launceston

have many opportuni�es to show their

talents on the na�onal stage in a wide range

of disciplines, from sports to the Arts.

In the most recent addi0on to the school’s

busy calendar of Extra Curricular

opportuni0es, pupils were given the

opportunity to take part in the Na0onal ISA

Shakespeare Monologue compe00on against

entrants from all 513 ISA member schools, and

we are delighted to announce that Year 7 pupil

Ben Hodgson was runner up with his drama0c

delivery of a monologue from Macbeth.

In what was an excep0onal performance, judges felt that Ben successfully got to grips with the

complexity of Macbeth's feelings of guilt in his speech, and showed himself to be the embodiment of

the troubled King. This was a huge success for Ben, and added to what has been a very successful

year for him on the ISA scene: in Autumn, he was announced as a winner at the ISA Na0onal Art

Compe00on 2018 in the Sketchbook KS2 and Under for his Year 6 work. A former Head Boy of the

Junior School, it seems the sky is the limit for this talented young man.

In total, 13 students worked for a period of 6 weeks to pull together a drama0c performance of a

Shakespeare monologue of their choice. Drama specialists Jo and Paul Diffey supported students and

led them from ini0al read through to the final filmed performance. Their rehearsals in the school hall

were quite something to behold, and really showcased the excep0onal drama0c talents the school if

fortunate to possess. In their reviews, judges also men0oned Jack Joshua in Year 7 for his

Midsummer Night’s Dream performance where he was celebrated as 'a fun Puck'. A huge well done

to everyone involved, and a big thank you to Mrs Kate Diffey for overseeing the whole process.

ISA NATIONAL DRAMA 3


4 IET FARADAY CHALLENGE

St Joseph’s school, Launceston, is fully commi>ed to

suppor�ng pupils of all abili�es and interests, including

stretching the most able across the curriculum.

To put this commitment into ac0on, as part of our Able,

GiNed and Talented programme within the Mathema0cs

department a group of Year 8 pupils are spending the day at

Plymouth University tes0ng their mathema0cal skills to the

maximum.

The boys and girls were a@ending the IET Faraday Challenge

Days, and exci0ng and challenging series of cross-curricular

ac0vity days covering Science, Design and Technology, Engineering and Mathema0cs (STEM). These

key skills are vital for future careers in a wide range of subjects, and the IET Faraday Challenge Days

are fantas0c for giving students the opportunity to research, design and make solu0ons to genuinely

tough engineering problems.

The event was set up and run by a team of STEM professionals, and those schools invited certainly

made the very most of the opportuni0es presented to them. As can be seen with the level of

engagement and excitement seen here, St Joseph’s engineers and scien0sts of the future had a

fantas0c day – and sent their thanks to all involved in making the day such a success.


WADEBRIDGE MUSIC SUCCESS 5

In a remarkable sign of the strength and vibrancy of the musical life of St Joseph’s school, pupils from

across the school par�cipated in the annual Wadebridge Fes�val of Music and Speech in March.

This pres0gious fes0val runs for five days and includes compe00on classes for speech, brass, choirs, in-

strumental and vocal. There were many successes for our pupils during the week, and we have celebrated

these in school: huge congratula0ons to every par0cipant, whether they were a winner or not.

Ruby Kirkwood (Year 4), Darcy Courtney-Bridgey, Isabelle Thorns and Chloe Smith (Year 10) not only won

their classes but also received shields for achieving the highest overall mark in their category.

A special men0on must go to two remarkable sets of siblings: Ben and Ella Hodgson (Years 7 and 6) who

won seven trophies between them, and Alice and Oscar Amankwah (Years 9 and 6) who went home with

five awards. In addi0on, Ben and Ella were both awarded the highest marks in the male and female vocal

classes, and Ben was named as the Wadebridge Fes0val Singer of the Year.

Well done to all of our pupils who took part this year, especially if it was your first 0me. A huge thank you

to all the music teachers involved and parents who supported the children.

Well done to all of you, we are very proud of you all.

Wadebridge Prize Winners:

Yr 4 Tilly Goodwin (Piano and Vocal)

Ruby Kirkwood (Piano)

Yr 6 Oscar Amankwah (Piano and Vocal)

Ella Hodgson (Vocal)

Yr 7 Ben Hodgson (Vocal)

Georgie Gilbert (Clarinet)

Yr 8 Oliver Goodwin (Piano)

Yr 9 Alice Amankwah (Piano and Vocal)

Yr 10 Darcy Courtney-Bridgey (Piano and Violin)

Lucas Drayton (Vocal)

Chloe Smith (Flute)

Isabelle Thorns (Flute, Piano and Vocal)

Yr 11 Lucy Rowe (Vocal)

Wadebridge par�cipants

Yr 11 Lucy Rowe,

Yr 10 Darcy Courtney-Bridgey, Lucas

Drayton, Chloe Smith and Isabelle Thorns

Yr 9 Alice Amankwah and Daisy Bailey

Yr 8 Oliver Goodwin, Isabel Ivell, Daisy Rae

and Brontë Stevens

Yr 7 Georgie Gilbert, Ben Hodgson, Kelly

Lam, Rosy Renfree and Louisa Smith

Yr 6 Oscar Amankwah, Phoebe Blatchford

Cooper, Ella Hodgson, Sophie Renfree, Hollie

Shute, Beth Sobey and Shannon Uglow

Yr 5 Erin Godwin and Millie Rose,

Yr 4 Tilly Goodwin, Ruby Kirkwood and

Cecily Whitbread

Yr 3 Jake Godwin


This term the Pre-Prep children have transformed into gymnasts with

Mr Cardoo and Miss Hemingway during PE.

They have been learning different jumping shapes and worked on

perfec0ng their landing posi0ons. Great work Recep0on, Years 1 and 2.

6 PRE-PREP GYMNASTICS


PRINCESS YACHTS 7

Educa�on does not exist in a vacuum, and

neither can it be restricted to a classroom, or

even a workshop seJng.

At St Joseph’s School, there is a real

commitment to ensuring students see the real-

world applica0ons of their studies, and as part

of this commitment to ensuring the best

outcome for all students, Design and Technology

students from Year 9 and 10 enjoyed a fantas0c

visit to Princess Yachts in Plymouth on Friday

22nd

March.

The pupils were met by two talented and

enthusias0c members of the team, who gave

them a tour of each factory. They experienced

first-hand the different stages of the produc0on

process, leading them from processes involved

in the specific challenges in designing smaller

yachts at 40N to larger yachts at 85N.

They were also in the fortunate posi0on of being

the first group of students to step inside a near

finished boat, where they could see the

precision made parts that had been designed

and made in the factory, finished and in place.

Vicky Clansey gave a talk on the details of the

appren0ce scheme the boatyard operates, and

excited pupils discovered the range of

appren0ceships and amazing opportuni0es

available with this established global company.

All involved had a truly fantas0c day: a big thank

you from staff and students of St Joseph’s

School, Launceston, to Princess Yachts: all

involved came away inspired and educated.


8 INTERMEDIATE MATHS CHALLENGE

In February, some of the students in Years 9, 10 and 11 took part in the

Intermediate Maths Challenge, organised by the University of Leeds.

Well done to everyone who took part.

Special congratula0ons to those students who were awarded

cer0ficates:

Year 9 Diesel Crossley – Bronze cer0ficate

Year 10 Ella Henry-Brock – Gold cer0ficate and the award for the best in

school.

Arlen Morrell-Davies – Bronze

William Stoppard – Bronze

Lucas Drayton – Bronze

Giles Stephenson – Bronze

Year 11 Morwenna Parkhouse – Silver cer0ficate

Alec MacDonald – Bronze cer0ficate.

Missing from photo Giles and Morwenna.


JUNIOR INTER-HOUSE NETBALL 9

This Term saw the annual Junior Inter-house Netball tournament

take place on the all-weather pitch.

The weather was kind and children from Years 3 to 6 enjoyed an aNernoon of

friendly matches. The PE department were very impressed with the effort

from all the teams involved. The winning team of the tournament were St

Michael’s House with an amazing 20 points. Well done to everyone involved.


10 WASTE WEEK

The Junior School took

part in Waste Week and

have been focusing on

waste and the impact it

has on our environment.

To support this and

promote the use of reusing

what others may call

rubbish we asked for the

Junior School to bring in

items such as plas0c

bo@les, plas0c bags and

cds. The Years 4, 5 & 6

worked collabora0vely to learn how to upcyle and reuse items we would have never thought of reusing

in this way.

Above is a picture of the ac0vity we did in the year 5 classroom; we turned plas0c bo@les into colourful

planters and we got some great inspira0on from the internet .

Year 1 also enjoyed taking part. Below Brendan is making colourful pa@erns with old things we would

usually throw away and Freddie is crea0ng a ‘build your own’ construc0on kit from cardboard boxes.

Great work Brendan and Freddie.


BLUE SKY CLUB 11

During the Autumn Term in Blue Sky Club, Junior pupils were in the

workshop with Mrs Houghton, Mrs Hudson and suppor�ve GCSE

students using the laser cu>er, vacuum former and cuJng machines to

create key rings.

Later in the term, they used 2D design soNware to laser cut beau0ful

Christmas boxes for their Christmas cakes. Inside the box they used a

mould to vacuum form a plas0c tray to hold the Christmas cake. On the

last day of term, with the support of Mrs Holmes, the session was spent

making and decora0ng their Christmas cakes ready to package inside

their boxes and send home to loved ones for Christmas. They looked

amazing, well done Blue Sky Club.


12 EXETER CATHEDERAL TRIP

On Wednesday 6th March Year 10

Religious Studies students and Year

11 History students were

accompanied by Mr Duff and Mrs

Sweeney to visit Exeter Cathedral.

History students completed

individual studies of the Cathedral

exploring the many examples of

Norman architecture and reflected

on the role of religion in society

during these 0mes.

RS students inves0gated the role the

Cathedral plays in the wider society

and how the Cathedral is organised

to aid believers in their worship.

All students were taken on an

excellent guided tour, which gave

the opportunity for individual

ques0ons to be answered. A great

day was had by all!


PANCAKE CAFE 13

Mrs Kemp’s best day ever…..

ANer enjoying ‘Pancake Cafe’ with Miss May, Reuben

very kindly made a delicious pancake for Mrs Kemp.

‘Lemon and sugar, my favourite!’


14 WORLD BOOK DAY

A wonderful World Book Day was held at the

school on Thursday 7th

March. In addi0on to

celebra0ng the rich and varied world of books,

the day also gave us the opportunity to raise

funds for the charity Book Aid Interna0onal.

We managed to raise £180 for books which

will be sent to schools in Africa and medical

books which will sent to Clinics in the sub-

Sahara regions.

The week began with an “author in residence”

in the Library. A.C.Winfield shared her story

wri0ng skills and the Junior children enjoyed

an interac0ve workshop. Many of the children

were so enthused that they are now reading

from the selec0on of her books that that we

have bought for the Library. On World Book

Day itself, parents and students alike had

worked hard to produce a stunning array of

costumes depic0ng many different characters

from their favourite books.

The Senior Class Effort prize went to Year 9

Stella for The Mr Men. Mr Knight dressed as

Mr Messy being an integral part of the display.

Runners up were Year 7 Maris with their

collec0on of Where’s Wally costumes.

Individual prizes for Best costume for the

Seniors went to:

Catherine Tipton Mary Poppins

Charlo@e Standing A Young Lady from the

academy of St Trinian’s

Jem Hanbury-Tenison Voldermort

It seemed, at first, that it would prove to be an

impossible task for the judges to choose a winner

amongst the fabulous costumes worn by the Junior

children but eventually, it was decided that the

prizes should be awarded to the following:

Recep0on: Angus Ramsden and his sister Isla as

Lucy and Peter from the Chronicles of Narnia

Year 1 Sebas0an Stone The Jolly postman

Year 2 Dexter Willingham Dobby

Year 3 Lili Shaw Fantas0c Mr Fox

Year 4 Lillie Every in her amazing

Captain Underpants ouXit

Year 5 Marlon Bha: and Kobe Pearce as Asterix

and Obelix (complete with enormous boulder)

Year 6 Erin Dickson Billy the Kid - Michael

Morpurgo

Sam and Josh Thomas also received a prize for their

amazing Thing 1 and Thing 2

Finally, we all felt that Mrs Hampton deserved a

prize for her wonderful hat (Cat in A Hat)

Once again, many thanks to all parents who assisted

with the crea0ng of the wonderful costumes.

Ms Warren and Mrs Hawke


ST PIRAN’S DAY 15

To celebrate St Piran’s Day some of our Year 8 students got involved with a

community event which celebrated the na�onal day of Cornwall.

Primary schools from Launceston joined in with St Joseph’s students in a

parade throughout the town, interspersed with Cornish songs and

dances. Our students really enjoyed singing along and waving their flags to

the members of the public who all came to see the parade. The event

culminated in a small concert held in Launceston Town Hall. Each school

sang a song or read a poem to celebrate St Piran’s Day. Our Year 8s chose to

perform a piece of African Drumming music which imitated the sound of the

Cornish 0n mines. Well done to all those who were involved!


16 CULTURAL AWARENESS

Last term, Mrs Paton’s Year 9 Cultural Awareness classes produced

some art work aLer studying some European painters - Miro,

Kandinsky, Klee and Mondrian.

They had to make a pain0ng that would represent the style of the ar0st

they researched and adapt to make it their own. There were 4 teams

who competed to get the chance to have a cooking lesson. The whole

school got involved (staff and pupils across Juniors and Seniors) and

voted for their favourite .

The winners were announced in assembly at the start of this term. The

winning pain0ng was from the team that had Mondrian.

Well done to Mary Dowling, Tallulah Thomas-Stacey, Alice Amankwah

and Will Collings!


EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA 17

Our annual Easter Eggstravaganza took place on Friday 22nd March.

The Junior School was buzzing with children trying to work out the Easter code to win

their Easter prizes! Using their Easter passports they travelled around the Junior School

searching for le@ers and taking part in egg-ci0ng ac0vi0es. Once they had successfully

cracked the code they headed to the dining room to create their own crowns.

We also held an Easter bonnet

compe00on at school, the bonnets

were fantas0c – well done to

everyone.


18 PRE-SCHOOL SPORTS DAY

Thank you to all the wonderful Nursery, Pre-School and Stay and Play

children who a>ended Sports Day on 19th March.

We saw some fantas0c running, jumping and most importantly lots of very

happy children. Thank you also to our group of Year 6 children who

demonstrated races and helped to look aNer our young visitors.


NEW PLAY EQUIPMENT 19

On the first day back following half term the children enjoyed playing

on the new equipment during their lunch break.

Thank you to the PTA and former Friends of St Joseph’s for fundraising

for the new playground equipment.


20 POETRY OF WW1

In English Year 8 have been studying the poetry of World War 1.

We have looked at a range of poems in class through the mediums of

discussion, storyboarding and drama. Students have been able to choose their

favourite poem to complete their end of unit assessment on.

The class have been divided in to ‘apples’ ‘pears’ and ‘bananas’ tables

depending on the skills they need to focus on to improve their work.

Mrs Read has been in suppor0ng the class which has been a fantas0c help.


If you went down to the woods …… you would have

found Recep0on Class, Year 1 and Year 2 enjoying their

Teddy Bear's Picnic! Jam sandwiches, bubbles and a

wonderful selec0on of Teddy Bear's (including dogs,

rabbits and unicorns)!

TEDDY BEARS PICNIC 21


22 MICROSCOPES

During Science our Year 4 pupils were looking at different

samples under the microscopes in the Junior Science Lab.

The pupils were looking at the sample, then imagining what it might

look like under the microscope before focusing the microscope to see

what it actually looked like.

There were some fascina0ng results. Great work Year 4!


YEAR 11 CHEMISTRY 23

The Year 11 Single Award Chemistry class had a great

prac�cal lesson making nylon.

This is part of the organic chemistry sec0on of the syllabus with nylon

being formed from 1,6 diaminohexane in water and sebacoyl chloride

in cyclohexane as part of a condensa0on polymerisa0on reac0on.

It is a really tricky prac0cal and the nylon needs ‘teasing out’ of the

layers between the two chemicals to form long strands of nylon which

can be collected on a glass rod. Some food colouring was added to give

the red polymer.


24 YEAR 6 DINOSAUR HOMEWORK

Mrs Hudson was very impressed at

the effort the Year 6 class put in to

their recent topic homework on

dinosaurs and fossils!

The children created masterpieces

from lego, impressive cakes, clay,

print and a variety of artwork.

Children also created films,

presenta0ons and anima0on. Great

work Year 6 what enthusias0c group

of palaeontologists!


ISA NATIONAL FOOTBALL 25

The under 14's performed very well on our annual trip to

NoJngham for ISA football this term.

Staying overnight at the University of No:ngham prepared the

students well. They were well mo0vated for the tournament

despite half of the squad being a year younger than most

opponents. The team made their way to the Shield Final, where

they lost 2-0 but had some fantas0c performances along the way

and many goals scored.

Well done to Daniel, Robert, Callum, George, Will, Harry, Robin

and Henry for represen0ng the school so well.


CORNWALL AIR AMBULANCE 27

On Monday 4th February our whole

school assembly was led by volunteers

from the Cornwall Air Ambulance and

saw everyone from Recep�on to Year

11 come together in the hall to hear of

the many successes of the air

ambulance since its incep�on.

We have supported the Air Ambulance

for the past two years as the school

charity, and it is great to see the work

they do.

As they are requiring a further

£2.5million to reach their goal of £7.5

million for the new ambulance they are

looking to bring on line by 2020, we will

be doing all we can in school to support

their outstanding work.


28 PRE-PREP SCIENCE CLUB

The Pre-Prep Science Club had fun

with chromatography on Thursday

aNer school.

The children used marker pens on

filter paper to draw pictures and

make pa@erns. They then

suspended their work over a cup so

that is just dangled into the water.

We watched the water make it’s way

up the paper taking the ink with it.

The results made beau0ful

bu@erflies once they had dried .

The Pre-Prep aLer school Science Club experimented by mixing bicarbonate of

soda and vinegar also coke with mentos!

The children had lots of fun crea0ng explosions and were fascinated by the

reac0ons. The children then made their own play dough volcanoes and made

them erupt with bicarb and vinegar!


YEAR 3 RAINFOREST 29

Year 3 have had a fantas�c �me learning all about The Rainforest as part of their topic this term.

They have learnt what they are, where they are, what they contain and who lives there! They enjoyed

making Kayapo tribe style headdresses and press prints footprints of rainforest animals.

The class also presented a wonderful

assembly about how we should all look

aNer the rainforest and even made

delicious ‘Rainforest Cookies’ with the help

of Mrs Houghton and the Year 9 Food

Prepara0on and Nutri0on students.

To finish off our exci0ng topic, Year 3

visited the Eden Project and became

Rainforest Rangers for the day. They

discovered what it takes to survive in the

Amazon Rainforest and embarked on a

quest of discovery through the Rainforest

Biome.

Well done Year 3!


30 SCIENCE PROJECT 500

Always keen to promote wider opportuni�es

for the children here at St Joseph’s, our

librarian Ms Warren has been a keen

par�cipant in the exci�ng Science Project 500

this year.

Our excited and mo0vated Year 4 cohort have

been hard at work designing science-themed

bookmarks, and they have been so successful

that they have caught the expert eye of one of

the project’s key organisers. The renowned

Ruth Jarman of Queen’s University, Belfast,

wished to expressed her gra0tude for the

contribu0on that St Joseph’s has made

towards the project by offering to have the

twelve most impressive designs professionally

printed.

St Joseph’s were delighted to hear that the

twelve talented students whose designs were

chosen were Cecily, Isobel, William, Harrison,

Harry, Harrison, Coco, Genevieve, Henry, Josh,

Dominic and Tristan. Very well done to this

delighted dozen, each of whom were very

excited to hear of their success.

The University kindly sent three copies of each

bookmark, one each for parents, grandparents

and the designer to keep for themselves. In a

lovely act of altruism, Harry insisted that he

would like to give one to his twin sister: well

done Harry, a lovely thought.

Ms Warren, Librarian


ISA CROSS COUNTRY COMPETITION 31

St Joseph’s pupils were very

excited to be taking part in the

annual ISA South West Cross

Country event that took place on

Wednesday 23rd January at Haldon

Forest, Exeter this week, a fantas�c

opportunity for our talented

runners to really show their worth.

The pres0gious event is a showcase

for many of the region’s best

runners from a host of ISA schools,

and an excellent opportunity for

children from Years 4 to Year 10 to

tackle the challenging course, with

a chance to qualify for the ISA

Na0onal event for those who finish

in the top ten in their event.

St Joseph’s athletes ran fantas0cally

well with a total of 11 pupils

finishing in these prized qualifying

posi0ons.

As a sign of the squad’s strength in

depth, our Year 7 and 8 girls, 7 and

8 boys and the 9 and 10 boys all

won their team events, highligh0ng

the sense of community and

teamwork that is central to the

school’s ethos. All agreed this was a

fantas0c team effort.

Special congratula0ons must go to

Harrison Shaw in Year 4 and Arlen

Morrell-Davies in Year 10, both of

whom came 1st

place in their races.

Well done to both boys for

outstanding individual

performances and to everyone who

took part for their contribu0ons to

the team’s success.


32 EASTER BINGO

Thank you to Mr Ma>hews and our parent volunteers, Carrie Brent, Laura Crowder and

Caroline Willingham for helping put on the Easter Bingo on Thursday lunch�me.

It was a great event, and raised at least £62 for the PTA. It is one of a series of PTA events

we are looking at, including the Christmas Fayre which will be on the 23rd of November

(an early Save the Date for you) and a planned summer BBQ - 3rd May 2019.


ISA SOUTH WEST FOOTBALL 33

Well done to all 8 teams who par�cipated in the ISA

South West Football Tournament which was held at St

Joseph’s this term.

Mr Ma@hews and Mr Cardoo were impressed with the

enthusiasm, football skills and team spirit from all the

children. Well done to all.


34 DANCE FESTIVAL

Well done to everyone who

par�cipated in the North

Cornwall Dance Fes�val

during February half term at

St Joseph’s School.

Well done to St Joseph's

School pupils Ella Hodgson,

Holly Shute, Freya Head,

Olivia Shute, Bronte Stevens,

Sapphire Bha: and Lili Shaw

on wonderful performances.

Congratula0ons to Lili Shaw

on her silver medals for her

Solo Song and Dance and

Solo Character dance in the

junior 7-8 classes.

Congratula0ons to Bronte

Stevens and Sapphire Bha:

for their Silver medals in the

Intermediate Group Classical

class.

Congratula0ons to Olivia

Shute for her Bronze Medal in

the Intermediate Group

Classical class.


CHARLIE BEARS 35

On Thursday 14th February Recep�on and Year

One had a fantas�c aLernoon exploring the

gallery at Charlie Bears.

As Freddie Nelstrop commented on seeing so

many bears, “Mrs Kemp, this is EPIC!”.


36 YEAR 6 GLIDERS

Year 6 designed and

made gliders in

recent Science

lessons.

They flew test flights

in the glorious spring

sunshine!

Great work Year 6.


Our Year 7 & 8 girls enjoyed a great aLernoon of football

with pupils from Launceston College.

A posi0ve performance for our first compe00ve matches.

The girls a:tude and effort was fantas0c. Stand out

performances from Issy Cox and Megan May.

Well done to you all.

SENIOR FOOTBALL 37


38 YEAR 7 TEXTILES

Lots of fun was had in Year 7 Tex�les this term.

The children were learning marbling techniques with Mrs Grigg.

Year 7 had lots of fun and made a lot of mess but created some

really wonderful results.


AUTHOR VISIT 39

As part of World Book Day we welcomed A .C Winfield

to our library at St Joseph's on Tuesday 5th March.

She held interac0ve workshops during the morning for all

classes in the Junior School which was thoroughly en-

joyed by all children from Recep0on Class to Year 6. We

have also purchased a selec0on of her books for the

school library.

Thank you for visi0ng us!


TRURO MUSEUM VISIT 41

Year 6 had a great �me in Truro at The Royal Cornwall Museum.

They spent the morning in the varied exhibi0ons which enabled them to

further their studies and interest in their current topic 'Dinosaurs and

fossils ' and their recent science lessons which have focused on the

classifica0on of living things.

During the aNernoon, the children took part in a workshop en0tled

'Digging up the Past' where they made cast fossils and learnt about the

chronology of palaeontology and archaeology.


42 FOOD PREPARATION TRIP

Year 9 Food Trip:

Tesco in Launceston

On Wednesday 6th

March the year 9 Food

Prepara0on and Nutri0on group went to visit

Tesco in Launceston to learn about ethical

foods, food labelling and the work Tesco in

par0cular is doing to support our vulnerable

food system.

Students have studied various topics linked to

the food system and the current global

challenges. Topics have included levels of

hunger and obesity, food wastage, the

environment, our consump0on of food and

water, the strain on natural resources and our

limita0ons in rela0on to the types of food we

consume. They have looked at the advantages

and disadvantages of ea0ng ethically, the impact

this has on the environment, the nutri0onal

value of food worldwide and its economic

impact.

By the end of the trip, students were well

informed in respect of the work Tesco is doing

to support the food system and its many

limita0ons.

Tesco has a goal to improve responsible

produc0on and consump0on of food. They are

part of an interna0onal group working to

accelerate progress towards achieving the UN

Sustainable Development Target to halve all

global food waste by 2030. Our students know

this is a major concern with 1/3 of all food being

wasted. Students are also aware that by 2020

our popula0on will have grown so much that we

may well be limited in terms of the food

available, so tackling this problem now is a

responsible course of ac0on.

Shelly was able to talk about the work Tesco is

doing in store and beyond as a result of their

commitment to the sustainable development

target. By selling their ‘Perfectly Imperfect’ food

range, which is flying off the shelves, they are

suppor0ng food wastage and offering food

security for customers, especially those on a

smaller budget. Currently all surplus food and

that donated by customers is collected at the

end of the day by homeless chari0es and the

food bank. They weigh the food that goes out to

the food bank and give a standard rate per KG of

food and donate 20% to these chari0es.

The trip was extremely informa0ve, it not only

underpins the topics studied in the classroom

but allows them to consider their place in the

food system and make their own responsible

choices when it comes to food.


Year 4 were very lucky to have Mrs Hills in to talk about

o>ers and river animals on Thursday 21st March.

We were able to stroke a stuffed o@er and a mink and talk

about their life on the river banks. We also looked at the

skulls of different animals.

Thank you for visi0ng us Mrs Hills.

OTTERS AND RIVERS 43


Congratula�ons to Year 6 pupil

Hollie who swam at the Cornwall

County Intermediate Gala at

Penzance.

In her 8 races, she achieved 8

amazing personal best 0mes and

won 4 medals! Three bronze and

one silver.

Congratula0ons Hollie on this

brilliant achievement.

44 SPOTLIGHT ON...

A successful weekend for Year 8 pupil Theo who competed at the Cornwall County Intermediate

Gala at Penzance, represen�ng Caradon Swimming Club.

Theo swam the 200m freestyle and the 200m IM. A strong PB in both races resulted in 2 silver medals

and that all important county qualifying 0me. Well done Theo.

Year 9 pupil Thomas Greet swam in the 200m bu@erfly, 100m breast stroke and 200m back crawl he

gained gold medals in all 3 and achieved a PB in all strokes. A fantas0c achievement for Thomas.

Finally congratula0ons to Year 8 pupil Liam Brent who played Hockey for Launceston Hockey club and

in a recent tournament won Gold.

Well done to Theo, Thomas and Liam.


SPOTLIGHT ON… 45

As a sign of the many talents that students at St

Joseph’s possess, Year 7 student Phoebe Pascoe

recently had great success in her chosen sport of Pistol

shoo�ng.

Having been a keen shot for many years, she is now

really showing just what she can do when she has

success in her sights. Everyone here at St Joseph’s was

very excited to hear that Phoebe spent a weekend in

Edinburgh as part on the Under 21 England Squad, where

she took part in the pres0gious Sco:sh Open

Pistol Championships.

With only small squad selected, Phoebe’s achievement

was all the more remarkable as she was the youngest

member ever to be chosen! Keeping nerves very much

under control, Phoebe performed in the 10m pistol event

and achieved an outstanding result when coming 5th in

her class. To top off a very successful weekend she came

an amazing 15th overall in the junior category.

Well done Phoebe, this is a huge achievement and

everyone is very proud indeed of all you have achieved!

Congratula0ons to

Year 6 pupil Tabatha

who was awarded her

green belt at her

Karate grading. Well

done Tabatha, keep

up the good work.


Congratula�ons to Year 9 pupil Thomas

who has had more success in the pool.

Thomas competed in the County

Championships in Penzance on Saturday

12th January & won a bronze medal in

the U14 Front Crawl.

A huge achievement, well done Thomas.

46 SPOTLIGHT ON...

Congratula�ons to Year 7 pupil Olivia

who has been busy compe�ng in 14 races

in two weekends she qualified for at the

2019 Cornwall County Championships.

At Penzance Olivia qualified in her age

group final of the 100m backstroke and

won a silver medal with a personal best

0me.

In Bodmin, Olivia qualified again for the

final and won the Gold medal in 50m

backstroke 13 years age group, again with

a personal best 0me of 34.31.

Olivia is now the County Champion in the

50m backstroke for the age group 13

years girls! Congratula0ons Olivia.


TASTER DAY 47

On Friday 25th January children from Year 6 spent the day in the Senior

School experiencing a day as a Year 7 pupil!

Our current Year 6 class were joined by children from other schools to

enjoy this taster day. Art, Science, Music, History, Maths, PE, Tex0les and

Computer Science are some of the subjects on offer. They all had a

fantas0c day, produced some wonderful work and made new friends!


48 TENNIS UPDATE

The spring term has seen a good spell

of weather with very few sessions

diverted indoors which is great for

our tennis players at St Joseph’s

School.

It is fantas0c that the tennis coaching

is so well supported by pupils of St

Joseph’s and not only is it a game for

life but it will give you skills for life.

There are just a few spaces remaining

next term for juniors and seniors a like

and will be given on a first come first

serve basis, please get in touch asap if

interested.

There are compe00ons coming up

over the Easter break at many venues

across Devon and Cornwall including

tournaments at Launceston, Bude and

Wadebridge in which I will be involved

in running. There are compe00ons for

players of all ages and stages so please

get in touch if you would like more

informa0on as these compe00ons are

on line entries via the LTA website.

On a final note I was awarded

Cornwall coach of the year for 2018,

an award which I am delighted to have

achieved in associa0on with my

fantas0c venues where I currently

teach. My many thanks to all the

brilliant pupils at St Joseph’s school,

Launceston tennis club and

Wadebridge tennis club.

James Brobin

Picture: James receiving his award

from LTA County representa ve Sue

Eames


RED NOSE DAY 49

On Friday 15th March a fantas�c £614.50 was raised for Red Nose Day.

Thank you to everyone who wore red to school on Friday. Thank you to

the star bakers and thank you to those who purchased yummy treats at

the bake sale.


50 SCIENCE WORKSHOP

St Joseph’s school is commi>ed to working with

local partner primary schools.

On 29th January our outreach was lead by our

wonderful Year 4 teacher and Lead STEM

Educator Mrs Skerry, who delivered a Science

Workshop to children from many local schools

based on Rockets. The 70+ children took part in

a round robin of different ac0vi0es, with each

ac0vity promp0ng the children to apply their

logic and intui0on to think about how their

rockets would move and launch.

Our fantas0c Year 4 class independently ran

each ac0vity for their younger peers,

demonstra0ng excellent science knowledge,

enthusiasm and understanding for the children

they were working with, while at the same 0me

adding depth to their own learning.

One visi0ng pupil described one ac0vity as ‘It’s

actually magic’ as they succeeding in launching a

rocket using alka seltzer!

A huge thank you goes to the enthusias0c

budding scien0sts found in the Year 1 and Year 2

pupils from St Giles on the Heath Primary, South

Petherwin Primary and O@erham Primary.

Everyone at St Joseph’s hopes to see you soon

at another primary outreach event!


STUDY SKILLS 51

Year 8 have been honing their deba�ng skills in

their Study Skills lessons, considering the

rela�ve merits of both homework and uniform.

They have displayed such a mature and

respecXul a:tude, listening to each others’

points of view with pa0ence and good humour.

Well done Year 8.


50


PSHEE DAY 53

Thursday 17th January was St Joseph's second

Year 9, 10 and 11 PSHEE Themed Day,

introduced to ensure the very best experience

for the children of the Senior School.

Year 11s spent an ac0ve and thought provoking

day visi0ng Exeter University with their tutors

Mr Duff and Mrs Diffey, an inspira0onal visit as

they prepare for Post-16 educa0on. They were

able to explore the campus, learn about the

courses on offer and gain an understanding of

university life and one possible path in their life

aNer St Joseph's.

Year 9 and 10 remained in school and took part

in The St Joseph's Appren0ce challenge -

designed to draw out many different skills that

will be essen0al in the future lives. They were

set the task to design a new facility for St

Joseph's, and had many focused tasks to

complete throughout the day. These included

persuasive wri0ng, event planning, design and

construc0on and even crea0ng a radio

adver0sement.

The day encouraged team work as well as

developing skills that are essen0al when looking

at future employment. The final task of the day

was to present their idea in the boardroom to St

Joseph's Headmaster Mr Sco@ and school Bursar

Mr Barton, both of whom were very impressed

with the crea0ve ideas the pupils came up with.

Pupils stood up very well in the face of some

tough ques0oning as their ideas were tested in

this challenging environment.

The groups spent a great amount of 0me and

effort on their projects and constructed some

impressive models to support their ideas. Well

done everyone!


54 DRAWING DRAGONS

Year 1 have enjoyed a very special start to their day… a

lesson in drawing dragons from fantasy ar�st

Peter Pracownik. As part of their topic on castles, we

have been reading stories about dragons. Thank you

Peter for inspiring us with your amazing artwork!


Thank you to all the Grandparents who a>ended our

Tea Party on Tuesday 12th March.

We hope you all enjoyed spending 0me with your

grandchildren and touring the school.

GRANDPARENTS TEA PARTY 55


56 INNSBRUCK SCHOOL VISIT

St Joseph’s, Cornwall had a fantas�c

interna�onal feel last week as Senior pupils

welcomed their counterparts from Innsbruck

School in Austria.

A total of 22 pupils spent 0me at St Joseph’s,

enjoying the opportunity to see a typical school

day, from morning lessons through to lunch.

The visit was organised by Deputy Head Mr Sam

Ma@hews together with the school’s Modern

Foreign Languages department. The department

have this year started teaching German to Year 7

and Year 8 – with excellent uptake to date. Mrs

Sco@, the school’s German teacher, spoke of

how posi0ve it was to welcome na0ve speakers

to the school, and how this helped enrich St

Joseph’s pupils’ opportuni0es to prac0ce their

conversa0on skills. The lead teacher from

Innsbruck complimented the English pupils on

their accents, which was very well received.

Year 8 pupils Robert and Libby were excep0onal

in taking the lead suppor0ng the school’s

visitors, making sure they got to the right

lessons and ensuring – perhaps most

importantly of all - that they enjoyed lunch in

the school canteen. The visitors commented on

their school uniform – a notable difference to

the Austrian system, with a number of pupils

wan0ng to have uniform at their own school.

The visit, together with the new Cultural

Awareness course that all Year 9 pupils at St

Joseph’s study, are just one part of the school’s

commitment to ensuring pupils are provided

with every opportunity to learn about and

engage with the wider world. The Austrian visit

was another building block in the firm

founda0on for life the school aims to provide for

every pupil.


MEET THE GOVERNOR 57

Introduction Katherine Sco@ Flashman

Kitson grew up in East Cornwall, was educated

at Keble College Oxford, got a First in Law and is

a Director at Parnalls Solicitors based in

Launceston where she has worked for almost 25

years figh0ng and defending disputes for clients

and ge:ng them compensa0on. She has

recently been named in the March edi0on of

Cornwall Life as a Leading Lady in the world of

business in Cornwall to mark Interna0onal

Women’s Day.

What are your connec�ons to the school and

area? My sister a@ended the school in the

1980s and thoroughly enjoyed her 0me. My

elder daughters Mia and Gisele Parnall a@ended

from 2000 to 2010 and also enjoyed their 0me.

I have been a Director here at Parnalls now for

almost 25 years and I am commi@ed to my firm,

the town and its ins0tu0ons. Parnalls has been

in existence since 1780; many of you will know

that the school has been in existence since the

early part of the 20th

century. Launceston has an

amazing history and heritage and I am

extremely proud to be part of that.

Why did you become a Governor? I am a

strong believer in the power of educa0on. I

myself am the product of a very good educa0on.

My daughters have benefi@ed and con0nue to

benefit from an excellent educa0on.

I believe I bring various quali0es to the

governing body here, obviously my legal

knowledge and legal experience and that of my

firm Parnalls, my local knowledge, my

experience of running a long standing business

here at Parnalls, my experience as a parent for

the last 20 years plus, and my own experience of

educa0on, both my own and that of my

daughters. My daughters benefi@ed and

con0nue to benefit from an excellent educa0on.

Mia and Gisele, who spent many years at St

Josephs, are now at Oxford and Cambridge

respec0vely, living their dreams.

What personal achievement has made you

most proud? Easy ques0on to answer - my

three daughters, Mia (21), Gisele (18) and

Minnie (7). Parenthood isn’t an easy road and

tests us all. The journey is difficult and the

results unpredictable! I believe we facilitate the

journey that young people take, help and

support them along the way. Good paren0ng

and the right school goes a long way to help

each young person hopefully achieving their

dreams.

What advice would you give to the children of

St Josephs? Gosh, there is so much advice I

could give although not all of it may be

welcome. A good place to start is always do

your best. It may not be the best but if it is your

best then in my view it is good enough.

Which teachers have most inspired you and

why? That’s a brilliant ques0on and I will pick a

teacher from each of the three schools I

a@ended. From my first village primary school,

Ms Lawson. She made learning magical and

ins0lled in me an intellectual curiosity that has

stayed with me my whole life. I believe every

day I will lean something new and I usually do.

My second primary school, then St Michaels in

Tavistock, my amazing Headmistress Miss

Watkins, a wonderful woman with old fashion

values but standards of academic excellence.

Under her care I began to believe that there

were no limits to what I could achieve in life.

Mr third school, St Dunstan’s Abbey in

Plymouth, again my Headmistress, Miss Abley.

Another formidable woman, great intellect, a

great character and a great wit. A superb role

model for us as teenage girls and she con0nued

to foster my belief that there were no limits to

what I could achieve.


58 LAWRENCE HOUSE MUSEUM

The Recep�on Class had a lovely trip to The Lawrence House museum in

Launceston on Friday 18th January.

Their topic this half term is Toys and they went to visit the toy room. The children

learned about old and new toys and had lots of hands on fun exploring the

museum’s lovely collec0on. The children behaved beau0fully and we were invited

upstairs to look at a lovely exhibi0on of costumes that had just been set up. Many

thanks to Mr Jackson for looking aNer the children and teachers so well!


PE UPDATE 59

We have had many spor�ng fixtures this term. The Senior boy’s have played in football fixtures with

Kingsley, Shebbear, Trinity and Holsworthy. The U11 football team took part in the ISA South West

Football tournament here at St Joseph's and finished a fantas0c 3rd overall.

The Senior girl's have played many netball fixtures at Okehampton, Kingsley, Sir James Smith and

Shebbear. Launceston College have brought year 7 and 8 girls to play football matches on our astroturf.

We have also had football inter-house events for Junior and Senior in which all pupils par0cipated in.

Well done to St Catherine's (Junior School winners), Cothele (Senior School winners)

Year 1 and 2 pupils visited Launceston College to take part in a con0nuous cricket fes0val and had lots

of fun!

We are looking forward the summer term with lots of striking and fielding and athle0cs.


60 GALETTE DES ROIS

On Friday 11th January, Mrs Paton’s Year 10 class

celebrated the epiphany by making the Gale>e des

Rois cake in their lesson.

They had previously studied the recipe in French and

followed French instruc0ons to make the cake.

In their next lesson,

they will have to write

in the past tense to

report on what they

did.

It was a great lesson

that added some real

experience to a very

important part of

French culture. We all

had fun and the

gale@es were delicious!


BIG SCHOOL BIRD WATCH 61

Well done to all Year 4 children who too part in the

Big School Bird Watch.

They designed posters for the RSPB Big Garden Bird

Watch and also put on an assembly to inform the

Junior School all about the Big Garden Bird Watch.


62 EASTER BAKING

Every Monday our Recep�on Class and Year 1 children experience

cooking club with Mrs Hampton and Mrs Kemp.

On Monday 25th March they were joined by School Governor, Mrs

Holmes to create some Easter treats. The children enjoyed learning how

to bake chocolate chip shortbread and made some wonderful Easter

shapes to take home to share with their families.


YEAR 8 ART 63

Year 8 art pupils had great

fun making their paper

people in the style of ar�st

Malin Koort.

They have been thinking

about “what people do all

day?”

Great work Year 8!


64 NAMASTE

As part of our topic on India, the Year 2 children enjoyed a visit from Miss Vet.

Miss Vet had spent some 0me in India she was was able to give the children a first-hand

account of what it is like there. She talked to the children about a range of topics, from

the temperature, to the clothes worn, the street children she met and she talked about

visi0ng the Taj Mahal, which has been of par0cular interest to the children.

The children also enjoyed tas0ng Mango. They learnt that in India the mango fruit is

known as ‘the king of fruits’ and that it is used to make Indian ice cream.

Well done Year 2, it has been great to see you so enthusias0c during your topic this term.


ALADDIN 65

A total of 9 children from across the Junior and Senior School are taking part in the

upcoming Sterts produc�on of ‘Aladdin’. Tickets are available now from the box office

and website.

Mair A@well, Ella Hodgson, Oscar Amankwah, Phoebe Blatchford Cooper, Isobel

Willingham, Rhys Leeson, Lili Shaw, Fenella Blatchford Cooper and Jonah Hodgson would

love your support for what is bound to be another amazing Sterts show.


64 NAMASTE


FARM VISIT 69

On 27th March Recep�on Class, Year 1 and Year 2 enjoyed an idyllic

walk on the farm in the spring sunshine.

It was wonderful to meet all the new arrivals, including a one day old calf.

Thank you to Mrs and Mrs Hawke for showing us around. Happy Easter!

St Joseph’s School Spring Term 2019...trout cooked on an open ﬁre in our outdoor school: top...

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