The Traitors has been a huge hit with our pupils and has brought so much excitement to our learning! The children have been working incredibly hard in their writing, oracy and reading sessions to earn a shield. Winning a shield is a big achievement- it gives them the power to either save a teacher or cast a vote at the round table.
The competition has been intense! Although everyone has put in a fantastic effort, the Traitors are still firmly in control- not a single Traitor has been banished so far! The suspense is building and the strategy is getting sharper by the day.
We cannot wait to see what happens next… Will the Faithful finally uncover the truth and catch a Traitor? The game is most definitely on!
🏀🥇 What a result! 🥇🏀
We are absolutely delighted to share that St Joseph’s CVA Matlock won the Small Schools District Basketball Festival yesterday and are now through to the County Finals!
A huge well done to our fantastic team who finished joint 3rd overall. They played brilliantly throughout the tournament and made us incredibly proud with the way they supported one another and represented our school.
An amazing achievement all round – well done, team! 🌟👏
#Basketball #Winners #ProudSchool #Teamwork #Champions
Something very exciting launched in school on Monday… 👀✨
We’ve kicked off our own school version of The Traitors 🛡️ and the excitement is already building!
Pupils and staff will be working together in teams, taking on fun challenges that build confidence in speaking, a love of reading and strong writing skills – all while earning shields along the way. 🏆📖
🔥 Today the game started to heat up! 🔥
Our Faithful children won a variety of shields🛡️ this week and gifted them to selected staff to protect them from elimination. One clever pupil even used their shield as a vote in today’s Round Table assembly!
That strategy paid off — when the Traitors met last night to eliminate a staff member, they didn’t realise their target was shielded!!
The Faithfuls are growing stronger… and the Traitors need to seriously up their game!
Today’s Round Table saw us lose a Faithful 😢
Mr Hill was voted out for being too involved and working hard to protect the Faithfuls.
Who can we trust next? 👀🔥
👑 Our Queen of the Jungle has been crowned! 👑
Huge congratulations
To Miss Lemon – you were definitely our Queen in every way! 🌿✨
A massive thank you to all of our amazing St Joseph’s staff who were up for absolutely anything to bring joy, laughter and unforgettable memories to our children.
And the biggest shout-out goes to Miss Taylor, our creative genius – you are simply the best! 💛👏
What a team. What memories.
❤️🤍💛
✨ Pure Christmas magic ✨
The Nativity, performed by our wonderful St Joseph’s children aged 2–7, was truly heart-warming. ❤️
They sang their hearts out and filled the room with festive cheer – putting us all firmly in the Christmas spirit 🎄🎶
A huge thank you to Miss Taylor, Miss Ambler, Miss Montgomery, Mrs Higgins and our incredible TAs for making it so special.
What a beautiful reminder of why this time of year is so magical at St Joseph’s ✨
🎉 What a truly inspirational afternoon at our school today! 🎉
We were honoured to welcome the incredible Nigel Vardy — better known as Mr Frostbite — to support the first topic of our Resilience Reaps Reward programme: Heroes.
Nigel’s story is nothing short of heroic. After facing unimaginable adversity on the slopes of Mount McKinley and suffering severe frostbite, he turned his experience into a powerful message about resilience, courage and the strength of the human spirit. (mrfrostbite.com)
Throughout his presentation, Nigel reminded us that heroes aren’t just those in capes — they are people who face challenges head-on, choose hope over despair and keep moving forward. He encouraged our pupils to believe in themselves, embrace the bumps in their journey and understand that resilience means getting back up, even when the path ahead seems frozen.
We were so proud to see our children engage — asking thoughtful questions, listening intently and showing how enthusiastic they are about this new programme. Today was more than a talk; it was a moment of connection, inspiration and planting seeds for the rest of our year.
A huge thank-you to Nigel for sharing his story with us and for helping our children understand that heroes come in many forms — sometimes it’s the quiet, persistent self who doesn’t give up.
Here’s to a year of growth, resilience and reward! 💪✨
#ResilienceReapsReward #Heroes #Inspiration
🌟 How lucky are we at St Joseph’s?! 🌟
We truly have the best team in the world — a group of people who want the very best for every single child and who go above and beyond time and time again ❤️🤍💛
Here they are, after school, creating even more space on our school field so our children can enjoy the most incredible OPAL lunchtimes imaginable 🛝🌿⚽️
OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) is our whole-school approach to play — it transforms lunchtimes into rich, creative, active experiences where children learn to take turns, take risks, problem-solve, and most of all, have fun!
At St Joseph’s, we believe a play curriculum is just as important — it builds confidence, friendship, imagination and joy 💫
#StJosephsFamily #OPALPlay #BestTeamEver #StrongFoundations
💛 World Mental Health Day 2025 💛
Yesterday we celebrated World Mental Health Day by wearing yellow and making a promise to “protect the mental health of others by being kind.” 🌼
Miss Taylor led a fantastic assembly to start the day, setting the tone beautifully for reflection and kindness. Throughout the day, children took part in thoughtful activities to reinforce how small acts of kindness can make a big difference — and even carried out their own acts of kindness across school. 💫
A huge thank you to Miss Taylor for organising such a meaningful day for everyone.
We are most definitely #ProudToBeStJosephs
❤️🤍💛
#WorldMentalHealthDay #HelloYellow #BeKind #StJosephsFamily
✨ We were truly privileged to host Emma Hookey’s book launch here at St Joseph’s! 📚🌿
We are so proud to have such a talented and passionate member of our team inspiring our children and community every day.
❤️🤍💛
#StJosephsFamily #InspiringAuthors #ProudMoment
⚽️ Great Effort, Team! ⚽️
Our season opener ended in a narrow 1–0 defeat, but we couldn’t be prouder of the performance.
It’s a strong start and a solid foundation for the games ahead.
👏🏻 Well done, everyone! ❤️🤍💛
Miss Taylor ⭐️
