Thursday 23^rd January will go down as a very special day in the history of St. Joseph’s Primary School and Nursery Unit as we were joined by the biggest prize in all of Irish sport - The Sam Maguire Cup; the most iconic trophy in Gaelic football,

On what was a truly unforgettable day, the atmosphere in our school was electric as we welcomed Sam with a guard of honour from representatives of our school’s Gaelic teams, members of staff and representatives from St. James’ GAC.

We would like to thank Roise’s mum for arranging the visit which has enabled us to create and capture many special moments and lifelong memories.

#WhereWeAllBelong

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

There was great team work, determination and skill displayed and the girls did St. Joseph's proud and won the Allianz SW Antrim Cumann na mBunscoil Shield.

A wonderful achievement on the day the Sam Maguire Cup came to visit St. Joseph's!

Well done girls - Congratulations!

Today we welcomed back to school our friend and former teacher Miss McAuley.  During Catholic Schools Week Miss McAuley has visited our school each year since her retirement to work with groups of Year 6 children making St. Brigid's Crosses.  Today she also gifted each child in Year 6 a beautiful medal medal and rosary beads.  The children had a very enjoyable time and learned a very traditional Irish weaving skill.  Many thanks for your time Miss McAuley!   

Many thanks to our Primary 1 parents for attending the Year 1 Curriculum Morning and to the Primary 1 staff for organising a very informative session for all in attendance.

A great afternoon of Gaelic football at Week 1 of the 'Football for All' Boys' Gaelic football league held at Allen Park, Antrim.

Our Year 7 pupils and staff had a very enjoyable morning attending Antrim Grammar's production of Les Miserables.  It was lovely to meet some of our former pupils and see many of them shine on stage.  A great morning indeed - thank you Antrim Grammar for the invite and congratulations on a wonderful production! 

Catholic Schools Week runs from Sunday 21st January  until Saturday 27th January.  The purpose of the week is to promote the contribution that Catholic schools make to our society. 

The theme for Catholic Schools Week 2025 is: ‘Catholic Schools: Alive in Christ’.  Today our pupils gathered together in assembly to recognise and celebrate the unique contribution our Catholic schools make to the well-being and flourishing of our pupils, staff, parents and wider school community.

Our Year 1-3 assembly was led by Mrs. McDonnell's Year 1 class and our Year 4-7 assembly was led by Mrs. Matthews' Year 6 class. 

At both assemblies the children delivered a lovely message which focused on how we can use the gifts of love, honesty, forgiveness and respect within our family, friends, school and parish communities.  Indeed, when we do so, we are alive in Christ!

We also used this as an opportunity to mark achievements gained both in and outside of school and collect Pebble Points as part of our whole school reward system. 

Well done to all the boys and girls.

#catholicschoolsweek #aliveinChrist

Today we launched our Paired Numeracy Programme.  Our Year 4 pupils have been paired with a Year 7 pupil for the duration of the programme and will engage in a number of sessions to reinforce a range numeracy concepts.

Today they explored activities related to the 2 and 5 times tables, use of the 100 Square and completed some numeracy problem-solving using 'Hit the Button' on their chrome books. 

We look forward to all children involved with the programme having an enjoyable and rewarding numeracy experience

Congratulations to our Primary 6-7 hurlers who fought hard to reach the semi-final of the Shield Competition at the SW Antrim Cumann na mBunscol Allianz Hurling Tournament. They played outstanding games displaying great skill, teamwork and determination.  Well done boys!

Our soccer team embraced their three games during this week’s round of the Antrim and Newtownabbey Boys’ Soccer League with enthusiasm, sportsmanship and skill!  Over three hard fought games our hard-hitting strikers scored 3 goals in total securing two draws and a narrow loss in their final match.  Well done boys - we look forward to Round 2!