Today was the second of our Year 4 Come Dine With Me days.  Many thanks to all the family members who joined our boys and girls in Mrs. Fenton's Year 4 class for a beautiful meal in the canteen.

As always Rick and his staff had prepared a beautiful feast for everyone to celebrate and eat together before we celebrate the Sacrament of First Communion together on Saturday 16th May in Mater Dei Church.

Mrs. Wray’s P6 class had a visit from our Tiny Teacher Freya today. This week we focused on the theme of Safety.  We discussed how babies are vulnerable and require constant supervision.  We learnt that new milestones, such as crawling, rolling and walking, bring new risks. The key learning from this visit is that our P6 pupils are beginning to develop an awareness of responsibility for safety, both for others and themselves.

St. Joseph's enjoyed a very successful Take 5 Wellbeing Event, filled with positivity, engagement and fun across the school. As part of our continued commitment to pupil wellbeing and our journey towards Take 5 Level 2 Accreditation, pupils took part in a wide range of enjoyable activities designed to support positive mental health.

Staff and children explored the five key Take 5 actions — Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give — through carefully planned, hands‑on activities that encouraged movement, reflection, creativity and teamwork.

All pupils received a certificate to recognise their participation and to celebrate the importance of looking after their wellbeing. It was a lovely event  for everyone and a wonderful reminder of the value we place on wellbeing as part of daily school life.

The new Northern Ireland wide Resource “Let’s Explore Behaviour” has been launched at the Northern Area Stronger Together event.

Please click on link below to access the Parent Guide:

https://cypsp.hscni.net/download/443/lets-explore-behaviour/47769/naog-lets-explore-behaviour.pdf

Congratulations to this group of girls who represented St. Joseph's at the SW Antrim 7-a-side Football Blitz. 

The girls played their hearts out getting to the semi-final of the football shield.  Great team work, determination and skill on display today.  Well done girls!

Our Nursery children were excited to welcome their friends from Crumlin Integrated Preschool and enjoyed a fun day together.

Activities included a picnic, Forest School exploration and outdoor play in the nursery playground, with Cherry Blossom potions, ballroom dancing, sand, water and construction play.  We were delighted to welcome James from Fun with Drums, who entertained the children with a lively music and rhythm session.

It was a lovely day in the sunshine, enjoyed by all!

Today was the first of our Year 4 Come Dine With Me days.  Many thanks to all the family members who joined our boys and girls in Mrs. Haughian/Miss Ayre's Year 4 class for a beautiful meal in the canteen.

As always Rick and his staff had prepared a beautiful feast for everyone to celebrate and eat together before we celebrate the Sacrament of First Communion together on Saturday 16th May in Mater Dei Church.

Congratulations to Arlo (Year 2), Nevaeh (Year 5) and Nora (Year 6) on their fantastic achievements in the recent Missio Ireland Colouring Competition.

Missio Ireland shared that they received thousands of entries, making the task of selecting winners extremely difficult. However, the entries submitted by our pupils stood out from the crowd and were chosen as winners in their respective age groups.

• Arlo was the winner in the 4–5 age group
• Nora and Nevaeh were winners in the 8–9 age group

Each winner received a £20 book token in recognition of their wonderful work.

Well done Arlo, Nora and Nevaeh — a fantastic achievement that we are incredibly proud of!

Congratulations to the boys and girls in Year 7 who celebrated their Service of Light on Tuesday evening.  It was a beautiful service which added so meaningfully to the final preparations for the Sacrament of Confirmation which will be celebrated on Tuesday 28th April in Mater Dei Church.

'Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.'

The excitement is building!   A fantastic 52 pupils from Years 5–7 stepped up to the board to compete in Round 1 of our Chess Tournament, and the competition is heating up.

Today, the draw for Round 2 was completed, where 26 determined competitors will battle it out to become 13.  There has been a real buzz around school, with pupils squeezing in extra practice at lunchtime and sharpening their skills at home, all eager to make their next move count.

The focus, strategy and enthusiasm on display have been wonderful to see.

We wish every competitor the very best of luck in Round 2 – let the games begin!