We were thrilled to welcome pupils from Crumlin Integrated Primary School for the second face-to-face session of our 6-week Twinning Programme, delivered in partnership with Sport Changes Life and fully funded by Clanmil Housing.

This initiative continues to promote friendship, inclusion, and teamwork through sport and shared learning experiences.  Our Primary 6 pupils took part in a dynamic day of inclusive sports, icebreakers, and values-based workshops exploring empathy, respect for difference, disability awareness, and collaboration. It was inspiring to see pupils from both schools connecting, learning together, and building lasting friendships.

A huge thank you to Scott and the Sport Changes Life team for delivering such an excellent programme that truly celebrates equality, respect, and excellence.

Today, our Year 4–7 pupils were treated to a spectacular performance by our talented school musicians and orchestra. From classic melodies to festive Christmas favourites, the hall was filled with music and joy!

A huge well done to all the boys and girls who entertained us so brilliantly. Your hard work and talent shone through every note. Special thanks to Mrs. McDonnell, Mr. Heron, and Mr. Tohill for their dedication and guidance throughout the year – what an achievement!

What a wonderful way to celebrate the season and showcase the incredible musical talent in our school!

A huge thank you to all the children and families in Years 2, 4, 5, and 6 who contributed items for our Christmas Class Hampers. The response to this appeal was truly fantastic!

Today, Maria visited the school to collect the hampers and was delighted with what she received. These hampers will now be distributed to support members of our own community who are vulnerable and in need during this difficult time.

Your kindness and generosity are deeply appreciated, especially as we approach the Christmas season.

“For it is in giving that we receive.” – St Francis of Assis

As part of the For Arts Sake project, Primary 5JC  have spent the past six weeks working with artist Sinead McDermott on exciting art and design activities.

They began by exploring their Ancient Egyptian topic, creating impressive 3D masks of Tutankhamun and designing detailed sarcophagi.

With the festive season approaching, the focus shifted to Christmas-themed art. Pupils used watercolours to bring vibrant images of Santa and robins to life, learning how line and shape form the foundation of great drawings. They also discovered techniques for blending and shading with water to achieve beautiful effects in their paintings.

Their Santa paintings were transformed into Christmas cards, which have been posted to our link school in Spain. Feliz Navidad!

This has been a wonderfully creative experience, and the children have developed new artistic skills they will carry forward.

A huge thank you to Sinead McDermott for sharing her talent and inspiring our pupils throughout this project!

We were delighted to welcome Mr Damien Barkley from Essential Life Support Training to St Joseph’s recently to deliver training for a group of our staff on how to use a defibrillator. A defibrillator is a simple, life-saving device designed to help restore a normal heartbeat in an emergency. While we hope it’s never needed, having trained staff and the right equipment gives us peace of mind that we can respond quickly and confidently if the situation ever arises.

Thanks to a very generous donation, we are now fortunate to have a second defibrillator in our school – an incredible resource that enhances safety for everyone in our community. Congratulations to all staff who successfully completed the training and received their certificates, and sincere thanks to Damien for sharing his expertise.

Today, pupils and staff enjoyed their Christmas dinner together in the school canteen. It was a lovely opportunity to share a festive meal with classmates, colleagues, and friends.

A big thank you to Rick and the canteen team for preparing and serving such a delicious meal for everyone. It was certainly appreciated and enjoyed by all.

The perfect recipe for festive joy: good food, great friends, and lots of laughter!

Join us for our final Tots and Tea session before Christmas on Friday 12th December, from 10:30–11:30am in the Minor Hall at St Joseph’s.

All parents and carers are welcome with children aged 0–3 years.

We’ll have festive fun, warm company, and a very special visitor… Santa Claus!

We can’t wait to see you there. Ho Ho Ho!

We were delighted to welcome Canon Colm to our school today as he celebrated Mass with our Year 5-7 pupils and staff in the school hall. This special occasion marked the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, an important date in the Church calendar, observed each year on 8th December. Thank you to Canon Colm for joining us and helping our school community come together in prayer and reflection.

Our nursery pupils were delighted to meet the children from Crumlin Integrated Pre-School for the very first visit as part of our new Nursery Shared Education Programme. The meeting took place at Crumlin Library, where everyone enjoyed a magical, interactive Christmas storytelling session led by Claire, the librarian.

The children also had the chance to introduce themselves and chat about what they’ve put on their Santa lists this year!

We’re looking forward to lots more meetings and adventures together, with the next get-together planned for the New Year.

Today, Friday 5th December, St Joseph's joined hundreds of schools from across Northern Ireland to take part in the Daily Mile Santa Run.  The Daily Mile currently has over 3 million children running a Daily Mile across 13,500 schools.

The children had a great time and puts lots of energy into ensuring they had a good workout.

#healthybody #healthymind