Letters from pupils at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary, Northfleet, advocating preservation of the rainforests, have inspired a high-level response from the Brazilian Embassy; a worthy reflection of our young people’s intrinsic concern about climate change and the protection of our planet.  See the letter of response below!

Six KS1 students from St Joseph's Primary, Northfleet (Antoni, Joshua, Jan, Tristan, Elizabeth and Oscar) attended a football festival at Dartford FC on Thursday, 9 May 2019. These amazing students played exceptionally well in the unpredictable weather conditions. For a team who only had 2 short practices together, they were unstoppable and unbeatable!

 

Congratulations to every single player on the team for scoring: Antoni (5), Joshua (4), Oscar (2), Jan (1), Elizabeth (1) and Tristan (1).

 

The team were a credit to their academy, and their behaviour at the festival was exemplary; the staff at St Joseph's would like to thank the students' parents who provided transport on the day, and without their help, cheering and support, the team would not have been able to take part. Thank you!

The PTFA at St Mary's Primary, Deal organised a 'Donuts for Dads' breakfast this morning (14th June). Pupils attended with their Dads, and enjoyed breakfast and playtime together; what a wonderful way to start the day!

A day of fundraising at St Joseph’s Primary, Broadstairs has raised a fantastic total of £229 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a charity at the centre of the academy's Thanet community.

 

Celebrating the colours of the RNLI, all of St Joseph's children were asked to choose blue and orange themed clothes for a non-uniform day, which saw them learning about the work the charity does to educate, save lives and keep us safe.

 

A volunteer from the local branch of the RNLI gave an assembly to talk about the history of the charity and the tireless work carried out on the beach, in rescues at sea, flood situations and in outreach work by beach lifeguards, station crews and volunteer officers.

 

The assembly was then followed by a trip to the lifeboat station at Ramsgate where some of pupils gained a deeper insight into the work of the lifeboat crew with a hands on tour of the station and boat (see photos below).

 

St Joseph's pupils are very conscious and proud of their maritime heritage and absorbed the messages about heroism, mutual support and safety. We know that the funds raised will be put to good use in their local area and would like to thank Vanessa Ray of the RNLI for an inspiring, interactive talk about the charity.

St Joseph’s was moonstruck last week when lunar rock and meteorite samples landed at the academy courtesy of the NASA educational loan scheme.

 

In a truly out of this world experience, our 210 children marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing with a unique, interactive opportunity to handle and examine a variety of priceless astronomical treasures including a 4.3 billion-year-old meteorite and, the highlight of the educational loan scheme, samples from the Moon itself!

 

Brought back by the Apollo moon missions, the samples travel the country under the watchful eye of The Science and Technology Facilities Council and their Chief Executive Office; Dr Brian Bowsher said “This is a great opportunity for young people to be able to see, touch and really experience such important and exciting messengers from space – turning science fiction into science fact. It’s an unforgettable experience to be able to hold such an important part of science history that has made such an incredible journey over millions of miles to reach us – and one we hope will inspire the scientists of the future!”

 

Dr Kathryn Harriss from the University of Kent gave a series of moon masterclasses, helping to guide the awe and curiosity of the children by giving the samples a context and knowledge base. Neil Armstrong’s small step for man has certainly resonated at St Joseph’s 50 years later with the legacy of those pioneering missions living on in our pupils’ understanding and appreciation of the Moon.

St Mary's Primary, Deal held a 'Family fix-it Day' on Sunday, 9th June. Pupils' parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all took part and carried out odd jobs, gardening and a thorough tidy-up of the academy's grounds.

 

Everyone worked incredibly hard and the results have been amazing, as you can see from the photos below! Staff at St Mary's and at the Trust are very grateful to everyone who took part in the day, it was a real academy-family effort and so much was achieved, thank you!

KCSP's first ever Trust-wide Football Tournaments for primary and secondary academies took place last week at the fantastic 3G facility at St Gregory’s, Tunbridge Wells (Tunbridge Wells Deanery).

 

Formally opened last March with a blessing by Canon Peter Stodart, the facility was the culmination of tremendous partnership work between St Gregory’s, the Premier League, the Football Association, Kent Sports, local ‘grassroots’ football and KCSP.  The £440k+ facility enables all-weather and all-year-round sport for the academy, local community, parish and Trust.

 

The primaries' tournament took place on Tuesday 4th June, and the results were as follows:

Winning boys' team - St Mary's, Whitstable

Runners up - St Margaret Clitherow, Tonbridge

Winning girls' team - St Mary's, Whitstable

Runners up - St Thomas', Sevenoaks

 

The secondaries' tournament took place on Thursday, 6th June, and the results were as follows:

Winning boys' team - St Simon Stock, Maidstone

Runners up - St Gregory's, Tunbridge Wells

 

Winning girls' team - St Gregory's, Tunbridge Wells

Runners up - Ursuline College, Westgate-on-Sea

 

Well done to each and every one of the teams who took part on both days!

 

A huge thank you to Sean, Rob, Noel, Joe and all of the St Gregory's team for their hard work hosting and facilitating the events.

Congratulations to Year 5 pupils Ashna and Charlotte at St Joseph's Primary, Northfleet. The pair won a competition to design a flag for the Cyclopark in Gravesend, and they will be opening the Women's Tour Race being held at the Cyclopark on the 11th June! See their award-winning design below.