This Sunday 30th March is Mother's Day.  Today we marked this special event to honour those special ladies in our school community by hosting a Coffee Morning in school. 

Many thanks to the Friends of St. Joseph's who sponsored the treats and to Rik in the canteen for baking the delicious fresh scones and many traybakes on offer.

A Very Happy Mother's Day from all at St Joseph's!

Congratulations to our girls and boys in Primary 1 and Primary 2 who received the weekly Headteacher Award during the month of April for a variety of wonderful traits.  We are very proud of them all! 

National Scribble day is based on the book 'I'm Not Just a Scribble' by Diane Alber.  The book has a great moral about kindness, while encouraging children to create art regardless of their artistic ability.  After all, 'Great art starts with a Scribble!'.  

Today on National Scribble Day our Nursery and Year 3 children listened to the story 'I'm Not Just a Scribble' which introduced them to the character of Scribble.  The children were then encouraged to create their very own scribble characters artwork.  Have a look at some of the wonderful characters they have created!

Belfast City Marathon ran a design a T-shirt competition and pupils from our school entered.  Pupils had to design a T-shirt with a running theme.  We had hundreds of entries and the standard of designs was excellent.  Olivia Lee from Mr McCarthy's class was awarded 3^rd prize from all entries in the entire competition.  She will receive a £50 voucher for Sports Direct and she will also choose £50 worth of sports equipment for our pupils to use at lunchtime.  Well done Olivia! 

P1 are learning all about the Construction Site this term and we were lucky enough to have a visit from Fintan’s daddy Declan Reynolds who works for McLaughlin and Harvey in the construction industry.  He told us loads of interesting facts about safety on site, jobs, tools and equipment and we had lots of questions for him.  Thank you so much to Declan for preparing such a fabulous morning for us all. 

Today Noel from Arc21 (the waste management group for 6 councils in the eastern part of Northern Ireland) returned to our school to complete a series of talks and crafts workshops which centred on waste and recycling, this time with our Year 6 and 7 pupils.

The children found the workshops very interesting and informative and were thoroughly engaged in the arts and crafts which involved making flying saucers in Year 6 and some bridge building in Year 7.  Many thanks Noel for your informative and fun workshops!

Today Year 4-7 marked the end of another month in school with our March  Golden Assembly.  Mrs. Campbell's Year 5 pupils led our assembly today.

Mrs. Campbell's Year 5 class chose the theme of promoting our physical and mental health by taking part in the Parkrun.  Parkrun is a free, community event where people can walk, jog, run, or volunteer in a 5km event every Saturday morning. Their assembly today highlighted the numerous benefits of participating in Parkrun, such as improved Physical and Mental Wellbeing, Social Connections and Personal Growth.  Their assembly also included testimonials from those who have participated in Parkrun, to encourage a healthier, happier lifestyle for all.

We also had time to sing Happy Birthday to all of our March girls and boys; present our March Pupil of the Month Awards, Accelerated Reading Certificates; celebrate lots of success both within and outside of school and deliver some important messages. 

Well done everyone - it's nearly April and Easter is getting closer!

Today Year 1-3 marked the end of another month in school with our March  Golden Assembly.  Mrs. O'Doherty's Year 3 pupils led our assembly today.

Mrs. O'Doherty's Year 3 class chose the theme of Spring for their assembly.  This theme enabled us all to celebrate the arrival of spring and explore the themes of renewal and growth. It included activities and discussions about the changes in nature, such as blooming flowers and baby animals as well as incorporating poems, songs, and stories that highlight the beauty and significance of spring. It did indeed provide us with an opportunity to reflect on new beginnings,  All of the children were wonderful representatives for their class and school.

We also had time to sing Happy Birthday to all of our March girls and boys; congratulate our Year 1 & 2 pupils on their weekly Headteacher Awards; present our Year 3 March Pupil of the Month Awards, celebrate lots of success outside of school and deliver some important messages. 

Well done everyone - it's nearly April and Easter is getting closer!

Thank you to all who supported our Annual Book Fair which was held in our school to help mark World Book Day.  Any commission money received from the purchase of books will be used to order additional books to support our Accelerated Reading Programme!  Our total commission raised to follow! 

A Book is a Dream You Hold in Your Hand!

Our Girls' Soccer Team were in great form this week and embraced their four games during this round of the Antrim and Newtownabbey Girls’ Soccer League with enthusiasm, sportsmanship and skill!  This resulted in four great wins for the girls from St. Joseph's and not one goal conceded. Roll on the next round - well done girls!