July 2015
Dear Parents
As another academic year draws to a close I would like to begin by thanking all parents, staff and pupils for their
continued support over the year. We have been exceptionally busy but looking back, it has been enormously
productive and all for the benefit of our young people.
As always we are about to say farewell to some of our staff this year.
Mrs M Harris has been at St Joseph’s Catholic School for 29 years. She has been a very dedicated member of
staff who has witnessed the changes over 3 decades. Her drive to improve pupils learning, grades and life
chances is extremely admirable, and something I will always remember her for. We wish Mrs Harris a very happy
retirement, she will always be welcome to come and pay us a visit when she is not playing hockey or abroad on
holiday.
Mrs E Trythall is leaving our English Department after securing a promotion in another school. She has been
at our school since 2014 and thoroughly deserves her promotion.
Ms Z Blythe-Lord our only Art teacher has secured a job in another school which has some pastoral
responsibilities as well as continuing with the teaching of Art. The Art work and displays around the school have
always been impressive and often commented upon by visitors to our school.
Miss J Briggs, after being at the school for many years, has also secured a job at a school more local to home.
The time and support given to the pupils by Miss Briggs was always appreciated.
Mrs L Matthews-Keel has worked as a TA, and more recently as a cover supervisor at our school, for 2 years.
She has successfully supported such a broad range of our young people over this time. She will be missed for her
continued support with our choir. Interviews for a replacement TA will occur before we break up for the
Summer holidays as Mrs Matthews-Keel’s replacement.
We are also welcoming some new staff to our school in September. Some, as you will read below, are to replace
the staff that are leaving but we have employed more staff for September as our school increases in size. This
ensures that we keep our class sizes to a minimum.
Mrs F Nobis, who has, by her own admission, wanted to work at St Joseph’s for a number of years and has
‘kept an eye’ on any opportunities that have arisen, is joining us as our new Assistant Head teacher. Her
responsibilities will include the design and implementation of the Personal, Social, Health Education curriculum,
Head of the Humanities Faculty and academic progress of particular groups of pupils such as Gifted & Talented
and Pupil Premium.
We are very excited about her arrival in September as we continue our drive for an outstanding educational
experience for all our young people.
Miss A Goulding is joining our PE team from another school within Wiltshire. She will be a very valuable asset
to the department and, of course, will offer many new and exciting activities and clubs for the girls.
Mr S Sibley who is our new Food Technology teacher, is also employed to bring Design & Technology into the
21st century. This is beginning with the introduction of Product Design into the KS3 curriculum in September
2015 and planning is in place to offer a variety of subjects at GCSE in the near future. We will keep you
informed of these very exciting developments throughout the year.
Miss K-L Mallows is joining our school to teach Art. She is also very experienced in teaching Design &
Technology which will support our plans to expand this in our curriculum offer to all pupils.
Mrs S Barratt is joining our languages department and will be teaching both French and Spanish.
Mr S Grant who has been working at our school for a term now within the English Department is continuing
until Christmas. We will be advertising for a 2nd in charge within the department to start in January to ensure our
excellent results continue over the coming years.
Miss K Lowe is one of the additional members of staff to teach Humanities.
Miss A McKenzie has been with us for a few months now but will officially be starting in September as a
teacher of English.
Mrs Fran Phillips has been employed on a part time contract to teach Music at Key Stage 3. This will be
organised in activity days throughout the year. Mrs Phillips is also setting up a ‘Funk Band’ as an afterschool club
on a Wednesday.
We are also delighted to inform you that we will have a new Pastoral Support Assistant starting in September to
work with Miss M Stanistreet our Pastoral Manager. This will enable us to continue supporting our young people
in achieving their full potential.
It is also appropriate at this point for me to inform you that:
Mr Richard Rooney has been internally promoted to Assistant Head teacher and has been in post since Easter
2015. His roles and responsibilities will include the academic and pastoral progress of pupils in Key Stage 3
(Years 7, 8 and 9) as well as staff Career Professional Development/Newly Qualified Teachers and Community
Partnerships.
Mr K McGuinness who is an existing member of the Senior Leadership Team will be the academic and pastoral
progress strategic lead for pupils in Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11). He is also Head of the ICT Faculty and
Vocational Education.
Mr P McHale who is our Deputy Head teacher will concentrate on the standards of Teaching and Learning and
developing our curriculum to match the needs of all our pupils.
As you are aware, the Governors of our school work tirelessly to support us in creating a school at the heart of
our community which provides a rounded education for all. I would therefore like to pay tribute to Mr John Say
who has given 22 years of service. He has taken the decision to ‘step down’ this year and we would all like to
wish him health, happiness and a restful time over the coming years.
Over the Summer holidays, I am delighted to inform you that we have a significant amount of the school being
refurbished and upgraded. One of the projects that we are thrilled about is the creation of a brand new Science
laboratory. This will enable all pupils to have a greater access to experiments, ensuring that learning is both
practical and taught in state of the art classrooms.
There are other major development projects that are planned throughout the next 12 months and I will keep you
updated on what we have titled ‘Project Future’. Clearly, we are all very excited about providing pupils with 21st
century facilities that will enrich their experiences.
Before the break up on Wednesday 22 July at 1pm I would like to remind you that the lost property is on display
in the entrance hall. Any remaining items will be donated to charity once term ends.
To celebrate the vast array of activities that have occurred over the year we have produced a Summer 2015
Newsletter which can be found on our website: http://www.sjcs.org.uk/?page_id=3765 . Please do take the
opportunity to witness the tremendous amount of enrichment activities that have been offered to all our pupils.
The new academic year will start on Thursday 3 September 2015 and we look forward to welcoming your
children back and of course celebrating the arrival of our new Year 7’s.
Have a peaceful break.
Yours sincerely
Mrs R Ridley
Headteacher