St Joseph’s School, Launceston is extremely proud to announce its 2010 Key Stage 2 results and, again they were significantly above the national averages.  

All our Year 6 pupils sit the Key Stage 2 exams and 100% achieved Level 4. With nearly 60% achieving a Level 5.  Over the last 4 years about 60% of results have been at the upper Level 5.

It should be noted that St Joseph’s aims to achieve excellent results, in a non-selective environment, in the firm belief that pupils should have time not only to enjoy what they learn, but to enjoy a wide range of extra-curricular activities too.  

Headmaster Mr Graeme Garrett said:“This outstanding news consolidates our position as one of the Southwest’s most successful independent schools.  We’re very proud of all the hard work which has made these fantastic results possible, our staff are to be congratulated as are the parents, but the day belongs to the pupils, it is wonderful to see them justly rewarded for their commitment and endeavour.  It is a privilege to have been part of their success.”    

For more information please contact Rebecca Walker, Registrar & Marketing Co-ordinator01566 772580, registrar@stjosephscornwall.co.uk  

  The musicians of the Senior school have had a very busy time over the past term.The summer season began with the ever-popular Music for a Summer Evening, in which our most experienced  soloists had a chance to perform to an appreciative audience. Highlights as ever, were performances of the girl’s GCSE compositions, and this year was no exception.   Heather Sampson’s Remember, for SSA choir and Polarity for clarinet and piano, together with Josie Kane’s Cascades and Contrasts,  were stunning -and would not have been out of place at an ‘A’ level performance evening.  Our soloists in our two private pupils’ concerts (Years 7 and 8, and Years 9 –11), were also every well received and over £96 was raised at these two concerts for our ‘Piano Appeal’.Members of Cantabile and Canzonetta enjoyed a day at the Royal Cornwall Show… and managed to gridlock the area by the School stand several times as they gave performances of their most popular pieces.   This was swiftly followed a day later by a concert at Altarnon church (so much warmer this time round!) in which over £400 was raised for the local church, and last week saw our annual concert in aid of the Children’s Hospice South West.  We were delighted to welcome Judy Pride, the CHSW area coordinator  to our concert this year. The Chamber Choir as always, excelled themselves, and Canzonetta had a chance to perform their pieces before their appearance at the National Festival in Birmingham. During this concerts – also our Leavers’ Concert,we thanked our superb outgoing Head Chorister (Josie Kane) and her Team (Natasha Routly, Amy Marks and Anna Tetley) and welcomed our new Leaders for 2010/2011:   Head Chorister – Grace Waterhouse, Deputy Head Chorister – Abi Logg and our new Team Leaders – Bethany Hulme-Teague, Amy Marks and Mary-Ann Screech.      

Team Leaders – Bethany Hulme-Teague, Amy Marks and Mary-Ann Screech.   Our soloists were also fantastic in both the Altanon and CHSW concerts and deserve a mention: Bethany Hulme-Teague, Lily Robinson, Heather Sampson, Josie Kane, Penny Tilsley, Estelle Langthorne, Katy Benyon, Grace Waterhouse and Abi Logg.

Although it’s nearly the end of term, we still have performances at the National  Choral Festival, the Launceston Show and the Whiteford Festival to come – no doubt this concert on Saturday, 17th July, will be a highlight for another extremely successful year for the Senior Chamber Choir in which over £3,000 has been raised for local charities and churches.   Very well done, everyone - and many thanks too, to all the parents who have made it possible for the girls to attend these concerts this season.  

  On Monday 14th June, Years 5 and 6 travelled to Plymouth Pavilions to see ‘BBC Concert Orchestra Learn’, a program designed to introduce the orchestra to students in Cornwall and Devon. The orchestra played some pieces of music that many of the children recognised; such as the theme tune for the Simpsons, the Imperial March and the theme from ‘Merlin’.  They also played some slightly less well known pieces such as ‘Spin Round Moscow’ composed by Demitri Shostakovich and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons played on the electric guitar. All the pupils thoroughly enjoyed their trip out.  Seeing and hearing Kirstin O’Brien introduce and explain each piece was a treat for everyone. We learned a lot about the music and the instruments that the orchestra played.  Hopefully after our wonderful experience many children will start to play an instrument or practise even harder if they already play one. We would like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Smith for organising our trip. Pearl Bamford and Annie Westlake. (Year 5) 

CONGRATULATIONS

Children Win The Inter-School Swimming Gala.

Below are listed the positions of each child taking part.

         Event                   Name of swimmer        Place    PB

Girls Open 50m F/S     JESSICA YOUNG      1st       

Boys Open 50m F/S     TORIN GILLIES         3rd       PB

Yr 6 Girls 25m BC       AMY SEARLE            4th       PB

Yr 6 Boys 25m BC      EDWARD CLARK     3rd       PB

Yr 5 Girls 25m BR       PEARL BAMFORD    2nd      PB

Yr 5 Boys 25m BR       JIM LUCKHURST      3rd       PB

Yr 4 Girls 25m FS        BETH CHADBURN    3rd       PB

Yr 4 Boys 25m FS       ALEX HELLYAR        1st       

Yr 3 Girls 25m BC       AVA McDIARMID-HALL     3rd       PB

Yr 3 Boys 25m BC      SAM LUCKHURST   2nd      PB

Girls Open 50m BR      JESSICA YOUNG      2nd      PB

Boys Open 50m BR     JIM LUCKHURST      3rd       PB

Yr 6 Girls 25m FS        MADDY BENYON    4th      

Yr 6 Boys 25m FS       TORIN GILLIES         2nd     

Yr 5 Girls 25m BC       ANNIE WESTLAKE  2nd      PB

Yr 5 Boys 25m BC      JIM LUCKHURST      1st        PB

Yr 4 Girls 25m BR       BETH CHADBURN    4th       PB

Yr 4 Boys 25m BR       ALEX HELLYAR        1st        PB

Yr 3 Girls 25m FS        AVA McDIARMID-HALL     2nd      PB

Yr 3 Boys 25m FS       SAM LUCKHURST   1st        PB

Girls Open 50m BC      JESSICA YOUNG      1st       

Boys Open 50m BC     JIM LUCKHURST      2nd     

Yr 6 Girls 25m BR       EMMA GILLARD       2nd      PB

Yr 6 Boys 25m BR       EDWARD CLARK     3rd       PB

Yr 5 Girls 25m FS        LAURA SANT            1st        PB

Yr 5 Boys 25m FS       JIM LUCKHURST      2nd      PB

Yr 4 Girls 25m BC       BETH CHADBURN    3rd       PB

Yr 4 Boys 25m BC      JAMES LAW  1st        PB

Yr 3 Girls 25m BR       AVA McDIARMID-HALL     2nd      PB

Yr 3 Boys 25m BR       ARCHIE SPARROW  1st        PB

Girls Open 50m FLY    JESSICA YOUNG      2nd     

Boys Open 50m FLY   JIM LUCKHURST      3rd       PB

8 x 25m Cannon           AVA,       HALLIE,      LAURA,      JJ                       

                                   

Girl/Boy yrs 3-6           SAM,         ALEX,        JIM,        TORIN         

The children all performed so well on the day. Their personal best times being smashed showed how much they wanted to win.

 

It would be great to see all these children and many more joining the swim club with John Rhodes at the local swimming centre.

Please speak to the office for further details.

 

For St Joseph's School current bus routes and prices please look under 'About St Joseph's'

St. Joseph's Junior Netball team has ended the season on a high by successfully beating St Stephen’s School in a nail biting cup final. The team, along with their supporters, travelled to St. Stephen’s on Monday 21st June to play the last match in the knockout tournament. Both teams played extremely well with the half time score 5-5. St.Joseph's managed to raise their game in the second half to win 9-6. The team have trained hard all year and have been well led by their team captain Amy Searle. Congratulations to the team for their well deserved success.

Team: Emma Gillard GA, Jessica Young GS, Zola Courtney-Bridgey C, Edward Clark GD, Amy Searle GK, Lisa Barton WA, Jim Luckhurst, Olivia Thornton, Lauren Bryant WA

Thank you for visiting our stand at the Royal Cornwall Show 2010. If you would like to visit the school please contact Rebecca Walker to arrange an appointment.

Paper Plane Challenge
The Paper Plane Challenge was a simple and fun-filled fundraising event.

Children contributed £2 each in order to design, construct and decorate their own paper plane.

Once the planes were ready it’s “chocks away” and time to hold your very own air show.

Certificates and a range of other prizes were presented to the children in each class or group whose planes flew the furthest, and the prettiest or have the most exciting design also received a prize.

The Challenge was open to children of all ages taking part as a class, year group or with the whole school

We would like to thank all the parents for their support.

A massive thank you to all the year 4's who helped organise the event. (Mrs. Ferguson too)

Mr Newton

The uniform shop will be open in August 2010 by appointment only contact the school office on 01566 772580 to book your appointment.

Click here to download the latest issue of our veritas newsletter.

Congratulations to Year 9 who successfully completed their Training Day for their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.  They endured a rather soggy day at Minions but came through relatively unscathed.  Everyone enjoyed themselves and they are all now looking forward to the real thing!

In the ISA Art Competition, Natasha Routly (Year 11) won 1st Prize in the under 16’s Textiles category. Her felted and stitched 3-d landscape incorporates a variety of techniques and is based on her own photograph. Well done Natasha!

St. Joseph’s School in Launceston has taken delivery of a new 17 seat Ford Transit mini bus supplied by local Ford dealership, Tregoningford of Wadebridge.

The purchase of the new mini bus is but a small part of exciting plans at St Joseph’s School which includes the expansion of teaching and recreational activities to include the admission of year 7 boys from September 2010 and plans for a brand new Sixth Form facility in the future.  St Joseph’s School is a private school currently catering for a mixed age range of boys and girls from pre-school age upwards. The School Bursar, David Mitchell said “ The School Governors have sanctioned a plan for the School to include an upgrade and expansion of facilities to enable us to move forward whilst still providing an environment in which our young people can develop both academically and socially. Included in our plan is the replacement of our current mini bus fleet. Having previously dealt with Tregoningford on a personal and professional level over many years I had no hesitation in contacting them again. We were able to agree on a joint sponsorship arrangement whereby Tregoningford have contracted to replace our current fleet of vehicles with a Ford Transit mini bus fleet and to also provide servicing and maintenance. Tregoningford have provided us with excellent service and peace of mind – there is always somebody on hand to answer and deal with any questions we may have”. 

St Joseph’s School runs its own mini bus fleet covering, not only local transport needs, but wider educational needs to include an annual trip to France for its students and attending other venues and events, notably in connection with its award winning choir.

Chris Hawke, Director of Tregoningford responsible for commercial vehicle sales, said “Tregoningford is pleased to assist St Joseph’s School in provision and servicing of a mini bus fleet. It is evident that St Joseph’s is a forward thinking school with big expansion plans and we are pleased to play a part in those plans. The School has impressed us all at Tregoningford as a progressive educational establishment where emphasis on social skills and values is paramount alongside educational excellence. St Joseph’s is a great school with a lovely atmosphere where all children are actively cared for in a safe, friendly but challenging environment.”  

Pictured above is St Joseph’s School award winning choir, which has been featured on BBC Spotlight, with proud Director of Music Elisabeth Mann standing next to a new Ford Transit 17 seat mini bus just delivered in St Joseph’s School livery with Tregoningford sponsorship logo.

Please contact Rebecca Walker for more information about St Joseph's School or contact Chris Hawke on 01208 812026 for more information about Tregoningford or visit www.tregoningford.co.uk

Senior Chamber Choir raises £2,175 in one week!

The Senior Chamber Choir has been very busy over the past week and has raised a staggering amount for charity and a local church.   The first concert of the season saw the choir ‘in concert’ with the Plymouth Area Police Choir and as always, was tremendous fun! Singing to a full house at Central Methodist Church, the choirs complemented each other superbly and joined forces to sing Jerusalem, Let there be peace on Earth and Morte Christe.  £1,750 was raised for Cancer Research UK which was a great achievement for an evening’s work.  

The second concert, a week later in Tresparrett Methodist Church, saw the choir in fine voice again, this time ably supported by soloists Kate Marks, Bethany Hulme-Teague, Natasha Routly, Josie Kane and Lily Robinson. The acoustic in the church was fantastic; we welcomed Alice Waterhouse and Ellie Robertson back into the choir; we were served a sumptuous feast afterwards and raised £425 for church funds.  What more could any choir want?! Many thanks once again to all the girls for their extremely hard work, and to the parents for all their support and commitment too.

SPORT RELIEF MILE RUN

Children, staff and parents had a fantastic time helping those in need by running a mile at St Joseph's School on Friday 19th March 2010. Most children just kept going!! We all had a great time and are now looking forward to next year.

Please keep donating!

Thank you all for your support!

 

World Book Day

Thursday 4th March was World Book Day and everyone dressed up as book characters.  Members of the Junior School watched World Book Day authors reading online. These authors included Kaye Umansky, Darcy Bussell and Dan Freedman, not forgetting the Fat Controller from Thomas the Tank Engine! We raised around £70 to send to Book Aid and will also be sending the senior’s book mark designs to enter into the national competition. 

Quiz and competition results

Senior Character Parade 

1 Mia Parnall - Year 7 - Northanger Abbey

2 Holly Fanshawe and Georgia Harding Year 8  Red Riding Hood and Granny 

3 Grace Hocking - Year 10 Alice in Wonderland  ( Mock Turtle)

Commended

Rosie O’Connell Year 8 Poirot, Abby Logg Year 10 Alice in Wonderland( Jack of Hearts), Anna Tetley and Penny Tilsley Year 10 Alice in Wonderland (Tweedle dum and Tweedle dee)

Junior Character Parade  

Nursery - Charlotte Wilson - Cat 

Reception - Catherine Finn - Witch on a broom 

Year 1 - William Heard - Peter Pan 

Year  2 - Nico   Gruzdev - Beast Quest 

Year 3 - Ava McDiarmid Hall - Puss in Boots 

Year 4 - Hallie Richards - Oliver Twist 

Year 5 - Annie Westlake - The Wizard of Oz ( Tin Man) 

Year 6 - Torin Gillies - Wolf Brother (Torak)

Favourite Authors Quiz

Sophie Jarvis   Year 8 and  Mary-Ann Screech  Year 10  

Book Character Colouring Competition

Nursery - Woody Watson 

Reception - Samanta Age

Year 1 - Darcy  Courtney-Bridgey  and  Yael Lyshkow 

Year 2 - Izabella Turner 

Year 3 - Sam Luckhurst 

Year 4 - Isobel  Fisher

Year 5 - Gisele  Parnall 

Year 6 - Jessica Young

 

Mr Colin White, Head of Maths here at St Joseph’s, is holding the letter inviting him to be Chief Examiner for OCR Specification B. Colin is already Principal Examiner for this specification and now he will be responsible for the quality of all the examination papers for this specification as well as setting the Higher paper throughout the World. Well done Colin.

On Tuesday afternoons the year 10 and 11 pupils take part in a fitness session led by Launceston Rugby Team member Ryan Westren. The idea is to enhance and promote levels of fitness within the pupils. They are all working very hard and although on occasions getting muddy they are determined to achieve what Ryan has set them to do. It has been fantastic to watch pupils working so well and getting fitter over the last 3 weeks. The sessions will run over the next half term so that all the pupils will have time to increase their endurance. Keep going everyone.  

On a very wet Wednesday afternoon the year 10 netball squad played against Shebbear College. They all played with determination and focus. Getting off to a winning start. The score after the first quarter was 4 – 1 to St Joseph’s and the goals just kept coming even though the players’ fingers were getting colder and colder!! In the end St Joseph’s team was victorious; the final score was 18-6. Cups of tea and muffins soon made the players warm again. Well done  

Over £1000 pounds was collected in one day at St Joseph’s School when Senior and Junior pupils joined together to raise money for the victims of the devastating Haiti earthquake. The day was planned by the pupils who came to school in mufti or fancy dress in return for giving a donation to the appeal. The parents and pupils also made cakes and biscuits which were sold during the morning break and this added to the amazing total raised. The £1151.35  has been donated to the Shelter Box Appeal which is actively involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of the many children and adults who are without food, water and shelter in the earthquake area. It is hoped that the money from St Joseph’s will enable two more fully equipped boxes to be sent to Haiti.  

Many of you will no doubt have seen the Senior Chamber Choir perform on BBC Spotlight in the days leading up to Christmas.   You may even have seen us on The Big Screen in Plymouth during late night shopping prior to Christmas!   We had been invited  to record some of the music we had been preparing for our Carol Service and on the day before the end of term, we went to the church of St Peter and the Holy Apostles in Plymouth to take part in the recording session. What an amazing church – and what an acoustic!    We had the most fantastic time exploiting this acoustic to our advantage and wallowing in the beautiful sound reverberating around the church.    Following run-throughs for sound and camera positions, we recorded a number of carols –  The Holly and the Ivy, Away in a manger, Fanfare and A Coventry Carol.   We also recorded Let there be peace on earth with the Plymouth Area Police Choir with whom we have sung on many occasions – our next being at Central Methodist Church, Launceston on Friday, 5th March. Without a doubt, this was a fantastic experience for the girls and one which they will remember for many years to come:  the excitement of the cameras and the experience of recording, the friendliness of all the BBC staff and the amazing acoustic all made a wonderful and memorable impression upon all of us.

 

Well done to Nursery, Reception, Years 1 and 2 for the fabulous production of 'Whoops-a-daisy Angel' which took place in the school hall. As always these special events can only take place with the help and support of many different people, so the Early Years Team would like to thank all the parents who responded so positively to requests for costumes and props. The children have really loved wearing their costumes and were sure you will agree they look superb in their finery. We would also like to thank Mrs Hayward for her kind assistance with the lighting. Of course, such a musical undertaking would be impossible without the able leadership of our talented Musical Director Mrs Nicki Smith. Thanks also go to our junior colleagues who often helped with the heavy job of setting up the stage. All the members of the Early Years Team Mrs Budden, Miss Davey, Mrs Kemp, Mrs Bourner, Mrs Worden, Miss Clemence, Mrs Wright and myself have played their part, with ideas for staging, costumes, creating props and other things too numerous to mention. But the final and most important mention must go to our wonderful children who have worked so hard over the last few weeks learning the songs, words, the dances, the moves and how to cope with an audience. We have all had such fun and hope you enjoy watching the performance as much as we did preparing it. We would also like to thank Coombe Valley Nursery and Treetops Nursery for attending the performance. Mrs Marks (Early Years Co-Ordinator)

St Joseph's School raised £389.90 this year for children in need. The children and staff are pictured above making penny lines in the playground to see which group could make the line the fastest! Of course all the pennies were donated to children in need. The children also held a cake sale and dressed up in aid of the charity. Well done to all.

Everyone at St Joseph’s School would like to say a huge thank you to The Friends of St Josephs who organised the most fantastic Christmas Fayre last week raising an amazing £2,188.The day started at 8am when the hall was a hive of activity as the stallholders arrived to set up everything from the most delicious Baileys Brioche pudding tasting to jewellery stalls and tombolas galore.  The Junior choir entertained everyone with their rendition of Christmas Carols while the Seniors Wii bowling caused many giggles and not too many strikes !  A fantastic morning was had by all, thank you to everyone who supported the Fayre, and thank you to everyone who gave their own time to ensure it was a success.  

Smile! A very big thank you to MR and Mrs. A. Crighton who helped organise an educational visit for years 2 and 3 from St. Joseph’s School to their Dental Practice ‘Dental Dimensions’ for a dazzling dental dimensions denticulation day.  The children were split into three groups and given a range of tasks to complete. The first group had to search for dental abnormalities using small observation mirrors while carrying out dental charts in detail. The children loved wearing the masks and using the very expensive equipment. The next group had to look closely at a range of different teeth; wearing gloves and masks, they discussed why the teeth had to be removed. Drawings of these teeth helped children to understand the structure in greater detail. They also learnt about gums, dentine, roots, enamel, nerves and many other dental terms. Lastly, children had their toothy grins photographed using some of the very latest technology in dentistry, after chewing on disclosure tablets of course. They then learned how to brush their teeth and keep their gums healthy.  Mr. Newton, year 3 teacher, had his teeth cast with a moulding compound called Alginate. He looked really funny and it was great when he couldn’t speak! Thank you to all the staff for your help. We all had a first-class visit and hope that in the future we may come back to you again. Mr E Newton - Year 3 Teacher

On Tuesday 20th October, Year 5 visited Buckland Abbey to study Sir Francis Drake as part of our history topic this term.  When we arrived we were amazed at how beautiful it was and although it was raining hard, the buildings were still breathtaking.
The barn was the School Room, as well as the clothes room and after putting our stuff away we met our guide June.  June asked us lots of questions before we had our snack. 
Because it was raining we when into the clothes room first and tried on some beautiful Tudor dresses. We wore shifts that are like long white skirts that go under your dress and jacket.  Ladies wore stockings under their dresses as well as hats and bonnets on their heads.  Boys would put on baggy puffy shorts with a jacket and a lovely long cloak.
The big barn was our next stop.  It was huge with a massive cider press.  The monks would store their food and carts here.  Next, after lunch, we visited to the house were Sir Francis Drake lived.  We watched a video about his life and travels, it said that he died of the Bloody Flux and was buried at sea in a lead coffin. We also saw his drum and his treasures.  In the Great Hall were some spy holes high up on the wall were the monks use to watch people.  The second floor had been made to look like a ship with the food the sailors would have eaten.
The strangest thing we saw was a portrait of the last of Drake’s family to live in the house.  Where ever you walked the eyes of the lady followed you.  Despite this spooky lady we all had a great time at the Abbey and learned lots about Sir Francis Drake.
Amber, Gisele, Pearl , Holly, Imogen, Kate, Grace F, Grace W and Tanna,
Year

Many congratulations to the girls who have just passed their Royal School of Church Music Dean’s and Bishop’s Awards.  The following were all successful in the ‘Dean’s Award’: Holly Macartney-Filgate; Freddie Bowden, Abi Logg, Mary-Ann Screech, and Penny Tilsley all passed with Merit,  whilst  Bethany Hulme-Teague, Amy Marks and Grace Waterhouse, passed with Distinction.   

The following girls were successful in the prestigious ‘Bishop’s Award, Natasha Routly:  Josie Kane and Heather Sampson both passed with Distinction.   The eleven girls were presented  with their distinctive green and purple ribbons by the Dean and Bishop at a special service held at Truro Cathedral.    Not only did the girls have to prepare up to four pieces of music to sing,  perform aural  and sight-singing tests,  but they had to undertake a rigorous viva-voce exam and had to answer questions on the Church’s calendar, liturgy, suitable music for the different services and seasons within the church, compare, contrast  and analyse anthems and discuss their musical  experience and contribution within the choir too – no mean feat!   Well done to them all.

St Joseph’s school show jumping teams have been out and about again and have been competing against schools across the whole of Devon and Cornwall.
This year we had two teams, Team A: Alex Reeve, Lucy Bruton, Charlotte Parnell and Lauren Jasper. Team B: Lauren, Charlotte and Alex again on different horses and Sophie Webber.
On The 3rd October both teams went up against the schools in Cornwall. On the day it was a bit hectic trying to get everyone organised but we all preformed really well under the pressure. Unfortunately Team A just missed out on being placed in a qualifying position but Team B came 5th and qualified for the next round again Devon and Cornwall.
The final night was held on Friday the 9th October. In this round the jumps were bigger and we would be competing against the top 12 teams in Devon and Cornwall. After having some coaching with our team trainer Andy Reeve we were all really exited about the finals. Everyone was nervous but all rode excellently. We got placed 7th overall and everyone had a great time. Well done to all. By Lauren Jasper Year 10 at St Joseph's. Pictured above (Left to right) Sophie Webber on Holly, Lauren Jasper on Falco, Charlotte Parnell on Hazel and Alex Reeve on Tally

The year 7 and 8 hockey teams played Shebbear College earlier this term, the Year 8 team lost 2 -0 but it was a very close game and the year 7 team drew 0 - 0 a great start to their hockey fixtures. Both teams learnt a lot from the afternoon and they have continued to improve their skills and develop their understanding of the tactics used. well done to the girls and thanks to the parents who supported the teams.
 
Next hockey matches are v Launceston College on Wednesday 18th November 3.30-4.30pm at the college

Year 4 had a fantastic day learning all about the Egyptians and their way of life. It was very exciting when Ceri Bryant was transformed into a mummy. Children looked on in amazement to see the body cleansed and prepared for the afterlife. The children all looked very realistic in their costumes. A very special thank you to Exeter Museum for being it all to life.

On the 29th, 30th and 31st of August Amy Meeson competed on her horse Celtic Bay at the Junior Show Jumping Championships of Great Britain held at David Broome’s event centre, Wales. The 1st day saw Amy competing with the Follett Stock show jumping team in the team event where they won a very respectable 4th out of 39 teams. On the 2nd and 3rd day Amy competed in the 2ft 6in horse class and got 10th and 8th which well exceeded her expectations as not only did Amy have the largest horse there at 16.3hh but has also only owned her horse for a relatively short period of time (8 months).  Amy would like to thank her Mum, Dad, Luke and Katie for giving up their bank holiday weekend to support her. Thank you.

Last Friday, Year One and Year Two stepped back in time at Lanhydrock house to investigate their class projects for this term. Year One explored the Children’s Wing of the house and found that life experienced by Victorian children of more than one hundred years ago was very different from that of children today. However, many of the toys seen in the Day Nursery were recognised by the children and modern versions of them still played with by our children today.
Year Two explored the domestic side of Victorian life, with special reference to the type of  food that would have been eaten then, how it would have been preserved and prepared for the table. Life without a fridge and a freezer was actually seen to have been possible, at least for the more affluent Victorians! Our thanks go to Mr John Carter and Mrs Nina Bryan for driving the minibuses and accompanying us on our visit around the house.
Mrs Sue marks

South West I.S.A swimming

On Tuesday 29th September a squad of 22 swimmers travelled to Penzance Pool to compete in the South West I.S.A. Gala. The pupils warmed up thoroughly, Josie Kane, Sammy Rivers and J-J Young gave excellent advice as well as motivating the whole team so swim their best. Everyone who swam did very well and their where many improvements of personal bests during the day. Congratulations to J-J Young, Amy Searle and Tanna Rundle who came first in their races.

On Wednesday 30th the Junior netball B team played Shebbear. Fortunately we won 2-1 well done B team. Everyone played brilliantly!

Explosions, coloured flames, shattering frozen objects and copious amounts of foam were just some of the spectacular demonstrations witnessed by students and staff.

On Tuesday 22nd September pupils and staff of all ages gathered to watch the lecture "A Pollutants Tale", given by Dr Tim Harrison from Bristol University.  The demonstrations illustrated information about the atmosphere's composition.  They included the properties of liquid Nitrogen, the effects of Carbon Dioxide on solution pH and the combustion of Hydrogen.  All the students and staff enjoyed the informative and humorous lecture.

Harriet Dawson, Yr8

Superb Science Day

The whole school were privileged to welcome scientists from the Chemistry Department of Bristol University visit us for the day to give children from the early years up to year 11 and truly magnificent science day.

The children watched in amazement as colourless liquids were mixed turning them yellow; as igniting dragster fuel fumes caused jets of powerful blue flames; they saw the scientists make their own oxygen;  eggs being “fried” in liquid nitrogen; as well as freezing flowers, rubber tubing and  bananas.  We observed bubbling liquids changing colour through a spectrum; we even held the most coldest substance causing it to heat up and make a gas. But what the children enjoyed best of all was seeing individuals jump out of their skins when the hydrogen explosion resounded throughout the school hall.

Year 5&6 also spent time experimenting in the lab mixing liquids to make solids and mixing exact quantities of liquids to predict the timing of a colour change.

We are delighted that Tim, a lecturer in Chemistry at Bristol University and Ben, a research scientist, were able to spend time at St Joseph’s in between their busy schedules.

A very big thank you to Mrs Marks, Junior Science Coordinator, for organising the visit.

The Romans Invade St. Joseph's School!

Exeter Museum brings history to life in a fantastic educational day for years 2 and 3.

The children and staff all had a fascinating day and learnt so much about their way of life.

We tried on clothing and jewellery, wore armour, held shields and swords, smelt a variety of oils and spices then enjoyed crushing them to make the most delicious aromas.

Sam was wonderful at the sling shot! The children then went on to fight the Britons on the school field. There was some debate about who won the battle. Mr Newton, Chief of the tribe suggested that the Romans definitely won.

A very big thank you for all the parents who joined in with the battle and helped support the children.

Winning Team

On Wednesday 23rd September the Junior A netball team played St Petroc’s. We won 9—8. Everyone played brilliantly. Well done.
Amy Searle, Captain.

An Inspired Day at the Tate, St Ives

As part of the introduction to their Art GCSE fifteen year 10 pupils visited the Tate Gallery in St.Ives.  They looked in detail at artists such as Katy Moran, Carol Bove, Lucie Rie and Alfred Wallis. The Critical Thinking Workshop lead by Steven Paige, himself an acclaimed and successful artist, inspired and motivated pupils. They all engaged with the artworks and used their sketchbooks to record and draw as they explored the galleries. After lunch the pupils visited Barbara Hepworth’s home and garden making their own sketches of the very impressive “larger then life” sculptures. A great day was had by all and the pupils’ use of descriptive language throughout the visit demonstrates a sound and exciting start to the course. Well done!

Well Done to St Joseph’s students who took Associated Board of the Royal School of Music exams in piano and singing, about a week after the summer term had ended.  Lily Robinson was required to act as well as sing in her Music Theatre exam for the London College of Music. Despite a very hectic schedule at the end of last term, quality preparation time was found enabling all the candidates to be successful.  Their teachers Mrs Jones and Mrs Barclay congratulate the following:
YR 6  Zola Courtney-Bridgey Pianoforte  Grade 3Distinction
  Rosie Hellyar   Pianoforte    Grade 1 Merit

YR 7  Summer Dunscombe  Pianoforte Grade 2   Merit

YR 8  Elizabeth Maunder  Singing Grade 3 Pass
  Lucy Jones   Singing Grade 2 Merit

YR 9  Florence Pillman  Singing Grade 4 Distinction
  Lorna Marshall  Singing Grade 1 Distinction

YR 10  Lily Robinson   Music Theatre Grade 5 Distinction
Holly MaCartney-Filgate Singing  Grade 4 Merit
  Hannah Hockin   Singing Grade 4 Pass

YR 11  Natasha Routly  Singing  Grade 4 Merit

St Joseph's School, Launceston, celebrates exceptional GCSE results

St Joseph’s School, Launceston is extremely proud to announce its 2009 GCSE examination results and, again they were significantly above the national averages.

Of all our Year 11 pupils to sit the exams 100% achieved 5 or more grades between A* and C, (including Maths and English). Our top grades A* and A reached nearly 60%, an unprecedented high.

It should be noted that most children at St Joseph’s take about 10 GCSEs; the school aims to achieve excellent results, in a non-selective environment, in the firm belief that pupils should have time not only to enjoy what they learn, but to enjoy a wide range of extra-curricular activities too.

Headmaster Mr Graeme Garrett said:

"This outstanding news consolidates our position as one of the Southwest’s most successful independent schools. We’re very proud of all the hard work which has made these fantastic results possible, our staff are to be congratulated as are the parents, but the day belongs to the pupils, it is wonderful to see them justly rewarded for their commitment and endeavour. It is a privilege to have been part of their success."

For more information please contact Rebecca Walker, Registrar & Marketing Co-ordinator - 01566 772580, registrar@stjosephscornwall.co.uk

Canzonetta do St Joseph's proud at Birmingham National Choral Festival in July 2009 and the Senior Chamber Choir went on tour to Spain this summer.