Congratulations and well done to our boys and girls who attended the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Primary Schools' Soccer Cup.  They played with great skill, determination and team spirit showcasing their talents and how well they have progressed throughout the year.  All the after school training has definitely played off.  Well done girls and boys! 

In his newly appointed role as the new Bishop of the diocese, Bishop Alan McGuckian invited everyone to join him in a nine day novena which leads up to the Feast of the Sacred Heart on Friday 7th June. 

During this week in school we have taken some time each day to pray.  This novena encourages us to pray for each other.

To mark the feast day of the Sacred Heart we have created a display in the foyer of school which has a copy of the Novena and drawings by some of Mrs. Loughran's Year 4 children.

'Sacred Heart of Jesus I place all my trust in thee.'

Many congratulations to our 4 Year 7 pupils who travelled to South Lakes Leisure Centre, Craigavon for the 'straight to the final' Sentinus STEM Experience Day. 

Pupils took part in two separate challenges.  In the Primary STEM Challenge Molly and Ryan had to design and build a suspension bridge capable of supporting a model vehicle.  In the K'Nex Construction Challenge Anthony and Adelaide had to use K'Nex pieces to design and build a helicopter with rotating blades and landing helipad.  Their drawn plans from both challenges were very impressive and their models met all the requirements set.  After the challenge the children had an opportunity to participate in a Science Workshop all about space.  The children were indeed a credit to their school.

A special congratulations to Molly and Ryan who after judging concluded were awarded 1st Place overall in the STEM Construction Challenge - a fabulous achievement and another trophy for the cabinet in St. Joseph's!

Well done boys and girls - it's looking like we definitely have future engineers and scientists in the making!

Our Year 5 pupils had the opportunity to showcase their class investigation projects at ESB’s Science Blast in the ICC Waterfront, Belfast. The class projects were:

• How do opticians know which lenses to use for glasses?
• What is the best knot to use for forest school activities?
• How clean is our water?

All three classes presented their work with great confidence using appropriate scientific vocabulary and received lots of excellent feedback from the judging panels.  They were very impressed by the children’s knowledge and skills and how articulate they were in presenting their findings from their chosen areas of study.

Pupils also had the opportunity to view projects from other schools attending and enjoy some amazing workshops including the ‘Physics of Football’ with ‘Mark the Science Guy’.

Great learning and fun was had by all.  Well done Year 5 on being such wonderful science ambassadors for St. Joseph's!

Congratulations to our Year 7 pupil Cahir who represented St. Joseph's when the Glengormley School of Traditional Music performed today at Royal Avenue in the centre of Belfast.  These performances have brought school and young musicians together over the past couple of years and have helped bring Irish Traditional Music to the fore in education, particularly at Primary level. At today's event five schools were participating and Cahir showcased his talent by playing three individual tunes in additional to performing as part of a group.  He was indeed a credit to his family and school.  Well done Cahir! 

A representation of our Year 6 and 7 boys and girls attended the inaugural Gaelscoil Ghleann Darach Gaelic Football Tournament in memory of Jennifer Magee on Friday 23rd May 2024. 

The teams were mixed with both girls and boys and each team played four matches. Our school had two teams entered and one of the teams went on to beat Gaelscoil Ghleann Darach in a very exciting final. 

Everyone was welcomed back into the family centre for the presentation of medals, the winning trophy to our captain Cassie Crane and two Allstar Awards were presented to Charlie Mallon and Isla Mullan.  Keeper of the tournament went to St Joseph's Odhin Getty.   

Many thanks to everyone for such a well organised and community spirited event and the wonderful celebration afterwards in the Ionad Teaghlaigh Gleann Darach where we were all spoiled with lovely refreshments. 

This tournament is indeed a very fitting tribute to honour Jennifer's memory and her love of Gaelic sports!

Well done to all the competitors at our Year 1-4 and Year 5-7 Fun Sports Days held on Wednesday and Thursday this week.  Despite the cooler weather conditions the rain held off and there was great team work and skill displayed with lots of laughter and fun to be had.

Great to see so many family and friends in school supporting the children and cheering them on! 

Well done everyone!

This week we marked the end of another month in school with our May Golden Assemblies.  This month it was the turn of Mrs. McCallum's Year 1 class to lead our Year 1-3 Assembly and Mrs. Campbell's Year 6 pupils to lead our Year 4-7 Assembly.

Mrs. McCallum's boys and girls delivered an assembly on the theme of 'Our Lady; Queen of Peace' and the assembly from Mrs. Campbell's girls and boys enabled us all to focus on the theme of 'Water Wise Challenges'.  All of the children were wonderful representatives for their class and school.

We also had time to sing Happy Birthday to all of our May boys and girls as well as present our monthly awards, celebrate success outside of school and deliver some important messages.  Well done everyone - it's nearly June and the Summer Holidays are getting even closer!

Congratulations to our amazing Year 4 pupils who celebrated their First Holy Communion on Saturday 18th May in Mater Dei Church. 

They all looked fantastic and played their parts so well. 

Thanks to our school choir and staff for their lovely music on the day, to Canon Colm for a beautiful service, to all our staff and the Friends of St. Joseph's who helped with refreshments in the school hall after the service and to our Year 4 team for all their hard work in preparing the children.

A very special and memorable day for our wonderful Year 4 girls and boys, their families and our school community! 

Lord Jesus, come to me.

Lord, Jesus, give me your love.

Lord Jesus, come to me and give me yourself.

Lord Jesus, friend of children, come to me.

Lord Jesus, you are my Lord and my God.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

SEAG Registration opens on Wednesday 20th May at 9.00am and closes on 20th September 2024.  Only pupils who are registered can sit the Entrance Assessment.

Steps involved:

• Register for a parental account online at www.seagni.co.uk
• Register the pupil and select the centre you would like your child to take the test at.
• Upload a passport sized photograph and a copy of the child's birth certificate.
• If required, provide information for access arrangements. (this can also be completed at a later date)
• Make the £20 payment or provide evidence of Free School Meals entitlement.

If you require any support with this, please do not hesitate to make contact with the school.  Thank you.