The end of summer was celebrated this week at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School with our annual Harvest Festival, where our pupils mark the end of the growing season and give thanks for a fruitful summer. Contributions of food were brought in and will be sent to food banks organised by St. Austin’s and St. Gregory’s in Margate.

We were able to re-affirm the fruitful links with our parish church, Our Lady Star of the Sea, by hosting a Harvest Tea for the elderly of the parish.  An afternoon tea of scones, cakes and sandwiches was provided for twenty of our senior parishioners, grandparents and friends, all prepared and donated by our school lunch supplier Chartwells.  Entertainment was provided by each year group who had prepared special songs, poems and dances.

The coming together of parish and school underlines the true generosity of spirit that is the hallmark of this joyous festival.  Our Harvest Festival is always an opportunity within school to reflect on what we have, but also the need for generosity and compassion for those who are unable to share in this fruitful season.

It embodies all our values ‘Belonging’, where we all share together and are part of something bigger. ‘Respect’ for those who do not have, ‘Caring’  understanding abundance and lack, ‘Teamwork working together to achieve something bigger than we could have separately and ‘enjoyment’ acknowledging how lucky and grateful we are for the harvest.