Today our Year 1–3 pupils gathered to celebrate their February Golden Assembly, beautifully led by Ms Blease’s Year 3 class. The children delivered a vibrant and uplifting assembly all about the season of spring, reminding us that this special time of year is full of new beginnings, new life and new hope.

As part of their assembly, the Year 3 pupils gifted each class a bright bunch of daffodils—a classic sign that spring is on its way and that there is plenty to look forward to in the weeks ahead.

We were delighted to congratulate our weekly Principal’s Award winners in Primary 1 and Primary 2, and to present our Primary 3 Pupils of the Month with their certificates. We also celebrated all of our February birthdays, acknowledged a range of achievements outside of school, and finished the assembly with a beautiful collective song.

Well done to all our boys and girls for another joyful and meaningful celebration. March is nearly here—bring on spring!

This morning, we held the very first meeting of our Knit and Natter group, bringing together members of our school community for a relaxed hour of knitting, chatting and enjoying a cuppa. It was lovely to see this wonderful tradition alive and well, with great skill on display and some beautiful garments already beginning to take shape.

A huge thank you to everyone who came along. All are very welcome to join us every Tuesday from 9.30am–10.30am in school. Whether you’re an experienced knitter or a complete beginner, there will always be a friendly face and a warm seat waiting.

We are also excited to share that later this school year we plan to extend this skill to our Year 7 pupils by offering a lunchtime knitting club—another great opportunity for our children to learn a traditional craft and enjoy time together.

We look forward to many more mornings of wool, warmth and wonderful conversation!

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.

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!

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.