We were delighted to mark St Brigid’s Day, celebrated on 1st February, which also signals Ireland’s first day of spring. This special occasion is rich with Irish customs and traditions, including the much‑loved practice of making St Brigid’s crosses from rushes.

Thank you to Canon Colm who kindly visited our school today to bless the crosses created by our Year 6 pupils with Miss McCauley last week.  The children were so proud to take their crosses home for the weekend, continuing a tradition that has been passed down through generations.

It was a lovely way to welcome the first signs of spring and celebrate our Irish heritage together as a school community.

January has been a month bursting with curiosity, creativity and joyful learning in our Nursery Unit. From exciting shared adventures with new friends to hands‑on winter discoveries, our children have been fully immersed in meaningful play.

We were delighted to welcome Crumlin Integrated Preschool for a Shared Education Stay and Play session. The children explored winter‑themed activities indoors and outdoors before enjoying a magical puppet show of The Gingerbread Man by Banyan Theatre. Laughter, chatter and new friendships filled the room, ending with a lovely sing‑along together.

Our Winter topic brought plenty of hands‑on fun as the children investigated ice, rescued frozen polar animals and experimented with tools like hammers, warm water and salt. Alongside this, they enjoyed creating beautiful artwork, exploring stories about Arctic animals and completing seasonal jigsaws to support their fine‑motor skills.

We also celebrated our budding Nursery Engineers, who used blocks and magnetic tiles to design all sorts of imaginative structures—from fairy houses to rockets! Through building and problem‑solving, the children developed important skills in collaboration, communication and early STEM thinking.

A highlight of the month was our first Antrim Playball session, where the children practised spatial awareness, batting and aiming skills while learning the importance of teamwork and encouragement.

It has been a fantastic start to the new year, and we look forward to sharing more moments of learning, exploration and joy in the months ahead.

Walk Wheel Cycle Trust are bringing new life to unused bikes and scooters by finding them new homes in local schools through the ‘Recycled Bike Project’.

Through kind donations from members of the public, community groups and local cycling groups, bikes are being refurbished and repurposed as part of the Active School Travel Programme. Participating schools are gifted with a small fleet of bikes and scooters which will remain in school for years to come and will be used to give pupils access to cycle training. This is particularly beneficial to those who might not already own or have access to one at home.

Project Officer, Johnny McCrystal is also running teacher training opportunities to help school staff be able to best utilise the resources by showing staff how to lead cycle skills sessions for children as well as ‘Learn to Cycle’ workshops to help pupils ride a bike for the very first time.

“It’s great to have the support of St Joseph’s PS in this project and for their enthusiasm in seeing children be able to develop safe cycling skills at school. We hope that the bikes will provide opportunities for many pupils to practice these skills and to develop confidence in cycling.” Johnny McCrystal (Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, Project Officer)

Our school choir is working incredibly hard as rehearsals get well under way for Peace Proms 2026. Excitement is building as pupils prepare to take to the stage at the SSE Arena Belfast on Sunday 1st March, where they will join hundreds of young voices in this inspirational celebration of music, unity and joy.

The commitment, teamwork and enthusiasm shown by our choir so far has been fantastic. They are learning a vibrant mix of songs and building confidence each week—all while having great fun together.

We’re very proud of their dedication and can’t wait to see them shine at this amazing event!

We rounded off January with a wonderful P4–7 Golden Assembly, celebrating all the hard work, kindness and achievements shown throughout the first weeks of 2026.

A real highlight was the official introduction of Stella, our brand‑new school mascot to the Year 4-7 pupils.  The Pupil Council proudly led the presentation, sharing the story behind Stella, the work they have done to help create her, and how she represents everything we value at St Joseph’s. Stella will help shine a light on our school motto “Everyone matters, every moment counts” and remind us daily of the values we live out—Care, Trust, Respect, Honesty, Forgiveness, Inclusiveness, Acknowledgement and Perseverance.

We celebrated pupils’ efforts and achievements through the presentation of Pupil of the Month certificates, Accelerated Reader awards—including the exciting announcement of two new Word Millionaires and two new Multi‑Word Millionaires—and the collection of this month’s Pebble Points for showing our focus value of Honesty. It was lovely to recognise not only learning in school, but also the fantastic accomplishments pupils achieve outside the classroom across a wide range of extra‑curricular activities.

We finished our assembly by joining together in prayer to give thanks for a positive and hardworking first half of the school year and looking ahead with hope and excitement for the weeks to come.

A bright and joyful way to end January—well done, everyone!

Our Girls' Soccer Team embraced their opening five games in the first round of the Antrim and Newtownabbey Girls’ Soccer League with enthusiasm, sportsmanship and skill. Over five hard‑fought matches, our determined strikers scored a total of five goals, securing two wins, one draw and two losses. A special mention to Hannah-Rose our top scorer of the day.  Well done girls — we look forward to Round 2!

A heartfelt thank you to all our Year 3 grandparents, extended family members and friends who joined us in school today. It was a joy to welcome so many special visitors to share in the beautiful singing, storytelling and poetry performed by our talented Year 3 children.

Our guests enjoyed some light refreshments before being invited into the classrooms, where they spent quality time with the children, chatting, exploring their work and sharing special moments together. The smiles and conversations filled our corridors with warmth and joy.

A special word of thanks goes to our Year 3 teachers and classroom assistants, who helped the children create the wonderful handmade gifts for their grandparents — thoughtful keepsakes that were very much appreciated.

This celebration was a fitting conclusion to our Catholic Schools Week events.

Congratulations to our Girls' Gaelic Football Team who travelled to the Antrim Forum to take part in the SW Antrim Indoor 5‑a‑side Camogie Tournament.

The girls showed fantastic teamwork, determination and skill throughout the competition. They did St Joseph’s proud and finished as runners‑up in the Allianz SW Antrim Cumann na mBunscoil Shield, missing out in a hard‑fought final.

A special word of congratulations to Moneynick Primary School, winners of this year’s Shield.

Well done, girls – we are very proud of you!

Today we were delighted to welcome back our friend and former teacher, Miss McAuley, who visited St Joseph’s as part of our Catholic Schools Week celebrations. Since her retirement, Miss McAuley returns each year to work with our Year 6 pupils, teaching them the traditional Irish craft of making St Brigid’s Crosses — a skill she is passionate about passing on to the next generation.

The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience, learning about the significance of Saint Brigid while carefully weaving their own crosses. As a special surprise, Miss McAuley also gifted every Year 6 pupil a beautiful medal.  We are very grateful for Miss McAuley’s time, talent and generosity. Her continued connection to our school community is a blessing, especially during Catholic Schools Week.

Next week, Canon Colm will visit the school to bless the St Brigid’s Crosses before the children take them home to celebrate the Feast Day of St Brigid on 1st February.

A warm thank you to all our Primary 1 parents who attended our Year 1 Curriculum Morning. It was wonderful to welcome you into school and share how we support our youngest learners as they continue to settle confidently into life at St Joseph’s.

As we begin Term 2, our focus shifts more deeply into the core building blocks of early learning.  Staff shared practical strategies and examples of how we teach these vital skills in fun, child‑centred and accessible ways, and how parents can support learning at home.  We are very grateful to the Primary 1 staff team for organising an informative parental session.