We were delighted to begin the new school year by coming together for our first assemblies in the school hall. It was a special occasion where we had the opportunity to listen, reflect, sing, and pray as a school community. The sense of togetherness was felt by all.

As part of our Personal Development and Mutual Understanding (PDMU) programme, we used our assemblies as an opportunity to introduce our character trait focus for September and October: Respect. This important value will be explored and celebrated throughout September and October, helping our children to grow in kindness, understanding, and consideration for others.

To encourage and recognise respectful behaviour, Pebble Points will be awarded within each class as part of our whole-school reward system. We look forward to seeing our pupils demonstrate respect in their words and actions, both in school and beyond.

We are excited for the year ahead and all the opportunities it will bring. Together, we will make this a year full of learning, growth, and joyful moments.

We are pleased to announce that our school has successfully achieved a Certificate of Achievement for participating in the Grow Your Own Potatoes initiative!

Led by our enthusiastic Year 5 Eco-Council members, pupils cared for, nurtured, and harvested their very own potatoes. Through this hands-on experience, they learned about where food comes from, the importance of sustainable growing, and the joy of gardening.

A huge well done to everyone involved – your hard work has truly paid off!

It was wonderful to see all of the children back in school again for a new school year.  Everyone looked so well in their school uniforms and were so well prepared for the year ahead.  There were lots of smiles and friendship rekindled.  A special welcome to all our Nursery and Primary 1 pupils and those who join year groups from new schools.  

We wish all our pupils, staff and parents every blessing, good health and happiness for the year ahead!

A Prayer for our New School Year

Heavenly Father,

We thank you for the opportunity

To begin this new school year.

We ask that you bless our families,

the staff and children

So that we can work together

To make our school a great place.

We pray that You will guide us in all ways

So that we will seek Your will

in everything that we do.

We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord.

Amen

As we begin another exciting academic year at St. Joseph’s, we extend a warm welcome back to our entire school community—pupils, parents, and staff. We are delighted to return with renewed energy and a shared commitment to excellence in education and wellbeing.

In preparation for the year ahead, our dedicated staff have taken part in a rich programme of professional development training including:

• Safeguarding and Child Protection Training
• ‘Being Well, Doing Well’ Cohort 2 Training with Stuart Kennedy (EA Pupil Emotional Health and Wellbeing)
• Beginning of Year Prayer Service
• Mathematics and Numeracy Workshop on developing the teaching of mathematical word problems with Robert Thompson (EA)
• SEND Update – Graduated Response
• Take 5 Wellbeing Session with Lindsey Shaw (Northern Trust)
• Language and Literacy Writing Workshop
• School Development Overview
•  

These training opportunities have equipped our staff with valuable insights and strategies to further enhance teaching and learning, support pupil wellbeing, and uphold the highest standards of care and safeguarding.

We look forward to using this professional development to continue raising standards across the school and providing our children with the best possible opportunities to thrive. Here's to another successful and inspiring year at St. Joseph’s!

And so our Summer Scheme for 2025 has come to a close and what a week it has been. 

Throughout the week, pupils took part in a range of sessions, including a treasure hunt, forest school, and brain games. There were also opportunities to explore ICT, get creative with art and origami, and enjoy some friendly competition through team games, basketball, and football. Children also enjoyed a Lego challenge and lots of different board games. Everyone enjoyed a few rounds of bingo too!  Midweek, the group went on a trip to Lisburn Omniplex to see the animated film Elio, which was a welcome change of pace and a chance to relax together.  The scheme concluded with a fun day featuring bouncy castles, hot dogs, and a visit from Mr. Coco, which brought the week to a light-hearted close.  The Summer Scheme provided an enjoyable environment for pupils to try new things, spend time with friends, and ease into the summer holidays.

A big thank you to Mrs. McDonnell (Summer Scheme Co-Ordinator) and to all our other staff who assisted as Summer School Leaders.  What an amazing job they have done!  Well done to all the brilliant girls and boys who took part  - together we have learned and laughed a lot over the past week.

Enjoy the rest of your summer everyone - we look forward to seeing you all on Thursday 28th August!

Please find below a link to our Summer 2025 SWAY News @ St Joseph's

https://sway.cloud.microsoft/BP9xUxz5BpRzEHCp?ref=Link

We would like to wish our school community a very safe, happy and  hopefully sunny Summer Break. 

School will re-open for pupils in Years 2—7 for an Induction Day on Thursday 28th August and will close at 12.00 noon. There will be no school dinners on this day. There will be no school buses at 12.00 noon. Nursery and Year 1 pupils have been forwarded individual starting dates for the new school year.

We look forward to welcoming everyone back after the Summer Holidays refreshed and energised for the school year ahead.

Best wishes from,

All at St Joseph's Primary and Nursery School!

This summer, we extend our sincere thanks and best wishes to two longstanding members of the St. Joseph’s staff — Ms. Cathy O'Brien and Mrs. Veronica McCullagh — who are retiring after a combined 53 years of dedicated service.

Ms. O'Brien has contributed 25 years to the school as a committed teacher.  Mrs. McCullagh has served as a classroom assistant for 28 years, providing consistent support to both pupils and staff.  We wish them both every happiness, good health, and joy as they begin this exciting new chapter. May retirement bring them the rest, adventure, and fulfilment they so richly deserve.

Thank you, Cathy and Veronica, for your many contributions to St. Joseph’s.

We were delighted to receive the news that we had been shortlisted as a finalist for the prestigious ICT Excellence Awards 2024–25, a highly celebrated recognition of outstanding practices in the use of ICT in schools across Northern Ireland.

Earlier this term, we had the pleasure of welcoming the judging panel to our school. They were impressed by the wide range of ICT Digital Art and Design activities taking place across our classrooms and by how confidently and articulately our pupils spoke about their work. The passion and vision shared by our staff, pupils, and community members left a lasting impression, and their feedback has been featured in the ICT Excellence Awards Summary Report 2025.

Being selected as a finalist from among hundreds of schools is a tremendous honour. The awards ceremony, held at the Merchant Hotel in Belfast on Wednesday 25th June, was a wonderful celebration of the dedication and innovation shown by our entire school community.

We are incredibly proud of this achievement and extend our thanks to Miss Walsh, our ICT Co-ordinator, and all our staff for their inspiring leadership and commitment to enhancing teaching and learning through ICT.

A copy of the ICT Excellence Awards Summary Report 2025 can be accessed by clicking on the link below:

https://content.capita.com/l/824863/2025-06-26/3r6xq3/824863/1750929287zWaoh28M/C2K_ENni_Excellence_Award_Report_24_25.pdf

Today we received our official accreditation for the Being Well Doing Well Project in St. Dominic's GS Belfast where our whole school approach to emotional health and wellbeing was recognised and celebrated.  

This initiative focuses on maximising learning by promoting mental health and well being for both staff and pupils across the school.  

Huge thank you to our DWDW coordinator Mrs. Matthews and out Link Officer Stuart Kennedy for his help and support on our journey as a Cohort 1 Being Well Doing Well school.

Together we are building a healthier, happier learning environment for everyone.