catholic life at

st joseph's

St Joseph’s takes pride in having a strong Catholic ethos which is committed to doing the very best for all the pupils in our care. Here is our mission statement which was written by the whole school community: governors, staff and pupils.

Here at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, we learn and grow through the love of Jesus. Our community is a safe, caring and happy place where everyone is supported and valued. We encourage and challenge everyone to achieve their full potential, spiritually, academically, morally and socially. We inspire others with a love of learning and aim for excellence in everything we do. Through our own faith, we treat one another the way we would like to be treated. We help every child to be gentle and fair: to always do their best. We live out our mission statement by the values that we promote:

We expect these values to guide everyone in our school community to be the best we can be in our everyday lives.

Who was St Joseph?

Who was St Joseph?

St Joseph was the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. According to the earliest Christian traditions, he was a carpenter or woodworker. The Gospel of Matthew calls him a “righteous man,” meaning he was an observant Jew who obeyed God’s law.

The Gospel of Luke tells us that when Jesus was twelve, Joseph took him and Mary to Jerusalem to visit the Temple. They became separated, and Mary and Joseph spent three days looking for him. When they found him, Mary said to Jesus: “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” In reply, Jesus said: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:48-49)

Mary referred to Joseph as Jesus’ father, honouring his role in caring for and protecting Jesus, and raising him in the Jewish faith; the reply of Jesus refers to God as his Father, and introduces a common theme in his preaching: Our faithfulness to God must come before even our closest human relationships.

St Joseph is patron saint of the Universal Church, families, fathers, expectant mothers, the dying, travellers, immigrants, house sellers and buyers, craftsmen, engineers and working people in general. He has two feast days: 19^th March for Joseph the husband of Mary and 1^st May for Joseph the Worker. The 19^th March has been the most celebrated feast day for Joseph, and it was not until 1955 that Pope Pius XII established the Feast of "St. Joseph the Worker" to be celebrated on 1^st May. This is also May Day (International Workers' Day) and believed to reflect Joseph's status as the patron of workers.

On 19^th March, pupils at St Joseph’s attend Mass to celebrate the feast day of our patron saint.

RE/Prayer and Liturgy Policies

Collective Worship and Prayer and Liturgy Policy

Religious Education Policy

Our RE Curriculum

At St Joseph’s we use the ‘The Way, The Truth & The Life’ Religious Education programme from EYFS to Year 6. It is based on the theological foundations of the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Catechism and the revised RE Curriculum Directory. This programme gives children the opportunity to study a different aspect of the Catholic faith at an appropriate level for their age.

It is taught through six topics each year meaning that one topic is taught each half term. Please find below the RE topics studied in each year group:

We follow guidelines, approved by Southwark diocese, to introduce children to other faiths. It is important for them to have an awareness, an understanding of and develop a mutual respect for people of another faith. Therefore, as part of their RE curriculum, pupils also learn about the four major world religions. This teaches them that there are many shared values between the different faiths, and it fulfils our call to love our neighbour.

Please see the RE Curriculum folder for more information.

For further information about 'The Way, The Truth & The Life' Religious Education programme, please refer to the following website:

The Way, The Truth & The Life

The link for the syllabus is as follows:

EYFS, KS1 & KS2

Religious Education & Catholic Life

The attached booklet has been written to provide parents and children with information regarding Religious Education and the Catholic Life of our school.

religious education and catholic life at st josephs bromley.pdf

Our Prayers

Please find below a booklet containing all the prayers that are said at St Joseph's Catholic School. This can also be used for family prayer time.

st josephs catholic school prayer book for pupils.pdf

House Groups

Each child at St Joseph’s is a member of a house group. There are four of these named after English saints.

House Group	Colour	Feast Day
St Edmund Campion	Yellow	1^st December
St Margaret Clitherow	Blue	4^th May
St John Fisher	Red	22^nd June
St Thomas More	Green	22^nd June

Each house group is assigned two house captains from Year 6 who are role models for their team. School staff are also assigned a house group.

Children receive house points for lots of different things in our school e.g. exemplary behaviour, good manners, being polite and helpful, producing excellent work, contributing to class discussions and being positive role models. When a child receives a house point, this is recorded on a chart in their classroom. The house captains count the house points and the weekly results are announced by the head teacher. All children are praised for their efforts and the winning house is congratulated.

Class Saints

Each of our year groups are named after a saint. They are as follows:

EYFS & KS1

Reception Class – St Francis

Year 1 – St Peter

Year 2 – St Abigail

KS2

Year 3 – St Martin

Year 4 – St Bernadette

Year 5 – St Josephine

Year 6 – St Alphonsa

Pupils have enjoyed researching into the life stories of different saints and how through their example, they might become closer to God.

Examples of RE Displays & Work

RE Inspection Report - "Outstanding"

Religious Inspection 2023

Useful RE Websites

Prayer and learning resources:

CAFOD - Catholic Agency for Overseas Development

Archdiocese of Birmingham - Diocese Education Service

Ten different ways of praying online:

Ten Ways to Pray Online

Ways to take part in the Examen prayer:

Daily Examen

Pray weekly with the scripture for the Sunday celebration:

Prego – Praying with Sunday Scripture

An eight week course on the Lord’s Prayer:

The Prayer Course

SS Joseph & Swithun Parish

As a Catholic primary school, we work in partnership with the parish of SS Joseph & Swithun. Fr Saju and Deacon Garry Cullen are regular visitors to our school.