Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• Heartstart UK Schools Programme

  Mon 23 Feb 2026

  Our Primary 7 pupils have begun their Heartstart training under the guidance of Mr McCarthy. The Heartstart UK Schools Programme, coordinated by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), teaches essential Emergency Life Support (ELS) skills that can help save a life in a critical situation.

   

  Through a series of practical, hands‑on sessions using resuscitation training mannequins, pupils learn how to recognise a life‑threatening emergency and take appropriate action while waiting for professional help.

  During the programme, pupils will learn to:

  • carry out a safe approach and initial assessment
  • make an effective 999/112 emergency call
  • open an airway and check for breathing
  • place someone in the recovery position
  • perform rescue breaths
  • check for signs of circulation
  • carry out one‑rescuer adult CPR
  • manage choking in adults, infants and children
  • support someone experiencing a suspected heart attack
  • respond to incidents involving serious bleeding.

   

  The training is delivered in age‑appropriate sessions to ensure pupils develop each skill confidently and safely. Our Year 7 pupils are enthusiastic about the programme and look forward to successfully completing their Heartstart certification.

  

• St. Joseph’s Nursery Achieves the TinyLife Tiny Learners Award

  Fri 20 Feb 2026

  We are delighted to announce that St. Joseph’s Nursery Unit has been awarded the TinyLife Tiny Learners Award, recognising our commitment to supporting children who were born too soon, too small, or too sick.

   

  This award reflects the dedication and care of our nursery team, led by Mrs McCann, Nursery Co‑ordinator, who guided our staff through the full Tiny Learners programme. Through this training, our nursery has strengthened its ability to understand and respond to the unique needs of children born pre‑term, ensuring that every child is nurtured, supported, and truly seen.

   

  We were delighted to welcome Catherine from TinyLife to our nursery today as she presented the award to our Nursery Team. During her visit, she spent time meeting the staff and learning more about the work we do each day to support our young learners. It was a lovely opportunity to celebrate the team’s hard work and reaffirm the importance of creating an environment where every child can grow, thrive, and feel supported. Well done to everyone involved!

  

• 'This Is My Place' Online Art Workshop

  Fri 20 Feb 2026

  As part of Children’s Mental Health Week, our Year 5–7 pupils had a wonderful opportunity today to take part in an inspiring online art session led by Sinéad from The Art & Design Factory.

   

  Art is one of the most powerful tools we have for supporting pupil wellbeing. Purposeful Art & Design allows children to step away from the noise of the world, regulate their emotions, and find their natural “flow.” Today’s session offered exactly that—a calm, creative space for pupils to express themselves freely.

   

  Sinéad led our pupils through her vibrant “This Is My Place” workshop, where the learning intention was to design an architectural happy place—a space to be their true selves. Inspired by the colourful, imaginative work of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the children used his style to shape the buildings and trees in their own happy-place designs. Throughout the session, Sinéad encouraged them to think about what helps them feel calm, strong, and well in both mind and body, creating a meaningful creative “breathing space” as part of Children’s Mental Health Week.

   

  Well done to all involved!

  

• Little Minds, Mindful Moments

  Thu 19 Feb 2026

  As part of Children’s Mental Health Week 2026, our Year 1 and Year 2 pupils enjoyed a fun, calming, and uplifting wellbeing session led by Mrs. Loughran.

   

  They discovered the “three friends” in our brains who work together to help us stay calm and in control. The children played engaging games, practiced relaxing breathing exercises, shared positive affirmations, and stretched their bodies to unwind. To finish, they lay down, closed their eyes, and melted into a soothing guided mindfulness meditation.

   

  It was indeed a peaceful and joyful experience for everyone!

  

• Ash Wednesday Prayer Service

  Wed 18 Feb 2026

  To celebrate this special time in the Church’s year, Canon Colm led a Prayer Service in the school hall for pupils in Year 4–7.

   

  The children had the opportunity to reflect on how they can prepare their hearts and minds during Lent, thinking about small actions, prayers or sacrifices they might make. After the reflection, Canon Colm distributed ashes to pupils and staff.

   

  We welcome this season of Lent as a time to grow, reflect and prepare ourselves for the joy of Easter.

  

• LifeSkills Training for Our Year 7 Team

  Wed 18 Feb 2026

  Our Year 7 teachers — Mr McCarthy, Mrs Matthews and Mrs Lawlor — have recently completed specialist training provided by Barnardo’s to deliver the internationally recognised LifeSkills Programme. The timing of this training aligns perfectly with the work we are undertaking during Children’s Mental Health Week 2026, ensuring our pupils benefit from an approach that strengthens emotional health and promotes positive choices.

   

  The LifeSkills Programme is an evidence-based initiative shown to improve pupils’ wellbeing, build resilience and confidence, and support them in making safe, informed decisions as they grow. It also helps foster positive relationships and contributes to improved engagement and attainment in school.

   

  We are extremely grateful to Barnardo’s for offering this full day of high-quality training. Our Year 7 team now has access to all the resources needed to deliver the programme in the coming weeks, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on our pupils.

  

• For Arts Sake - Creative Photography and Collage Work

  Tue 17 Feb 2026

  Primary 5 pupils in Mrs Campbell’s class have been fully immersed in the For Arts Sake project exploring both photography and creative collage over recent sessions. Their work in photography introduced them to the concept of capturing motion, where they experimented with torches to produce striking light trails and discovered how changing shutter speeds can dramatically alter the look and feel of a moving subject. This hands‑on experience helped them understand how photographers use technique to create different visual effects.

   

  Alongside this, the pupils took part in a vibrant collage activity, designing their own unique masks or posters using magazines, newspapers, stickers and markers. Their creativity truly shone, with each piece turning out completely individual.

   

  Together, these activities have given the children a rich blend of artistic and technical skills, encouraging imagination, experimentation and confidence in expressing themselves through visual art.

  

• Children’s Mental Health Week – Sound Bath Experience

  Tue 17 Feb 2026

  During Children’s Mental Health Week 2026, our Year 3 and Year 4 pupils took part in a calming Sound Bath experience led by Ms Blease. Using soothing sounds and gentle vibrations from instruments such as chimes and singing bowls, the session created a peaceful space for pupils to relax and reset.

   

  The children thoroughly enjoyed this unique wellbeing activity and left feeling calm, refreshed, and ready to learn.

   

  Sound baths can help children to:

  • Reduce stress and anxiety through deep relaxation
  • Improve focus and concentration by creating a calm mental space
  • Support emotional wellbeing and help regulate big feelings
  • Enhance mindfulness by encouraging stillness and present-moment awareness
  • Promote overall relaxation and a sense of inner calm.

  We are delighted to offer experiences that nurture positive mental health and wellbeing across our school community.

  

• Camlin Credit Union Quiz 2026

  Mon 16 Feb 2026

  Congratulations to all those boys and girls who represented our school at the recent Camlin Credit Union Quiz.  This year we had three teams representing our school, 2 A Teams and 1 B Team.  We are delighted to announces that Team A (Year7) and Team B finished in first place and Team A (Year 6) finished in third place.  Both of the winning teams will now progress to the next round will be held on Sunday 8th March at 2.00pm in Stranmillis College Sports Hall (Belfast).

   

  Team members were:

  Team A (Year 7): Kate Brady, Orla Hamill, Eoin Lawlor and Hannah Lin

   

  Team A (Year 6): Clodagh Bell, Cillian Bunting, Nicolaj Lewis and Christopher McCafferty

   

  Team B (Year 7): Aoibhinn Benstead, Hannah Rose Docherty, Ciara McCullagh and Noah Peoples

   

  Well done girls and boys - super representatives for St. Joseph's!  

  

• Wear It Red Day 2026

  Fri 06 Feb 2026

  We were delighted to celebrate Wear It Red Day in school on Friday 6th February. The children enjoyed a fun non‑uniform day and came to school proudly wearing red—whether through clothing, accessories or creative touches!  We also enjoyed a special Valentine’s Day menu in the canteen—huge thanks to Rick and his wonderful staff and our Year 1 and Year 2 pupils were presented with their weekly Headteacher Awards, recognising their hard work, kindness and shining efforts.

   

  This year 'Wear It Red Day' was for St. James' GFC Aldergrove.  We are pleased to be supporting St James’, who work so closely with our school throughout the year. Their team provides invaluable support in developing children’s fundamental movement and games skills, as well as offering coaching and after‑school clubs free of charge for all pupils.

   

  'Wear It Red Day' was our way of giving something back as they begin their fundraising campaign to improve facilities that will benefit both our school and the wider community.  Thank you, as always, for your generous support.

  
  We wish all our families a safe, restful, and enjoyable half‑term break.