Today it was the boys turn to travel  to Antrim Forum to take part in the Allianz SW Antrim Cumann na mBunscol Indoor 5-a-side Football Tournament. 

Again today there was great team work, determination and skill displayed.  The boys did St. Joseph's proud and reaching the semi-finals of the Cup Competition where they were beaten by the eventual winners St. Patrick's Rasharkin. 

Well done boys - proud of you all!

Many congratulations to our Year 3 children on making their First Confession. The boys and girls were so reverent in the church.  They celebrated the special occasion in school today with a cake party.  We are very proud of you all!

We were delighted to welcome Johnny McCrystal to assembly today to launch our participation in the Sustrans Project this year.

Johnny spoke to the Year 4 to Year 7 classes explaining what the project was about; travelling to school and home as active as we can.  He also spoke about the importance of sustainable travel for the environment as well as for our own mental and physical health.

The Year 7 classes got the chance to do some further activities after assembly with Johnny and we look forward to welcoming him back in January 2024 to carry out our Dr. Bike Day!

#WalkingWheelingAndRunning

Many thanks to all those who came along to our recent Open Evening.  All those in attendance were taken on a guided tour of our school and its facilities by our excellent Year 7 tour guides.  Staff were on hand to answer any questions as our visitors moved throughout the school. Many thanks also to our Digital Leaders  who showcased a wide range of mathematical and ICT topics and skills and to our wonderful choir who sang so beautifully in the main school hall.  We look forward to our prospective new pupils joining our school and nursery unit in September 2025. 

If your child is starting pre-school or primary school in September 2025, you can apply online from  midday Friday 10th January 2025 to midday on Friday 24th January 2025. 

Further information is available on the EA website under the Admissions section at:

https://www.eani.org.uk/parents/admissions

Today Mark from The War Memorial Museum in Belfast visited Primary 4 as part of their topic on World War II.   

Mark was great and told us lots of interesting facts about WW2 and The Belfast Blitz. We saw photographs of the home guard and evacuees. We also saw an aerial photograph of the shipyard in Belfast were boats and bombs that were used to fight in the war were built. Mark brought lots of artefacts too including gasmasks and helmets. At the end we all got the opportunity to wear the helmets, hold the gasmasks and clang the gas rattle. It was amazing - many thanks to Mark for coming along!

Year 6 have been using Just2easy to create some beautiful images in preparation for Advent.  This digital tool encourages the children's creativity and enhances their knowledge of game-based learning and digital literacy skills.  Have a look at some of their wonderful work displayed in one of our ICT suites.

Following on from their visit to meet the Children's Commissioner in November the Pupil Council met with Mrs. Wray and Mr. McGrattan to view a follow-up Webinar on 'Children and Young People's Rights.'

During the webinar he children had the chance to explore and ask questions about their rights; explore issues that affect them, and find out more about how they can improve the quality of their lives.  

One of our parents, Professor Eileen Murphy, came to school to deliver an educational workshop on Ancient Egypt to all of our Year 5 pupils as part of their topic. 

Professor Murphy is a  specialist in Egyptology and all of the children in Year 5 thoroughly enjoyed the workshop which she delivered.  Indeed they are now much more knowledgeable about life in Ancient Egyptian times.  Thank you Professor Murphy for taking the time out of your busy schedule to come visit Year 5.  They thoroughly enjoyed the workshop!

This Sunday 1st December marks the First Sunday of Advent.  Today Canon Colm called to school to bless our Advent Wreath.  During our Prayer Service we had a number of special readings.  To conclude the service our Year 7 pupils sang a beautiful rendition of Silent Night.  

The Advent Wreath was then moved to the foyer of our school.  Afterwards the Year 7 Faith Group met to discuss the proper upkeep of our Advent Wreath and to share responsibilities for delivering our whole school Advent messages to each class during the month of December.