Many thanks to all those children and their families in Years 2, 4, 5 and 6 who brought in items to create Christmas Class Hampers.  There was a fantastic response to the appeal. 

Today members of the Crumlin Community Residents called at school to collect the hampers and were delighted with what they had to take away. 

These hampers will now be distributed to help those in our own community who are vulnerable for many reasons and require support at a difficult time. 

Again many thanks - your support and generosity is very much appreciated especially as we approach the Christmas season!

The Blessing of the Bambinelli is a tradition that began in Rome by Pope John Paul II.  The word 'Bambinelli' is the Italian for 'little baby boy' and is the name for the Baby Jesus of the Christmas Crib. 

The tradition is that each year on the Third Sunday of Advent the Pope invites children to bring the Baby Jesus from the family Christmas Crib at home to St Peter's Square for a blessing, so that families may carry that blessing home with them in preparation for Christmas.

Today in school, as we approach the Third Sunday of Advent, Canon Colm called in to bless the Baby Jesus from our school Christmas Crib, so that all within St Joseph's may carry that blessing home with us in preparation for Christmas.

What a lovely Christmas tradition to mark. 

Today our Year 4-7 pupils were treated to a fabulous performance by Mr. Herron/Mrs. McDonnell and their pupils.  'Santa's Silly Strings' and 'Santa's Silly Strummers' performed a number of Christmas classics.  

Well done to all the girls and boys who entertained us today and to Mr. Herron and Mrs. McDonnell's pupils for all their hard work

A massive congratulations to our Year 1 and 5 pupils on their Christmas show performances this week. Year 1 performed 'Simply Nativity' and Year 5 performed 'The Ordinary Ox'.  Our Christmas shows epitomise the family atmosphere we all enjoy within our school.

The children performed to the whole school over two shows and to parents on Thursday.  They sang, acted and danced with such great enthusiasm. A really beautiful occasion for all who attended – the children were quite simply outstanding, giving such a wonderful message about the true meaning of Christmas and putting us all in a wonderful Christmas spirit.

Many thanks to the Year 1 and 5 teams for all the hard work in preparing the pupils with their many roles.  Our Christmas show is indeed very much a team effort and we thank our entire school community who helped or supported us to ensure another sterling performance!

We were delighted to receive so many new books to support our Year 5 - Year 7 pupils with the Accelerated Reading Programme.  We were able to purchase these books with the commission we received from our latest Book Fair purchases. 

We would like to thank all those who supported the Book Fair which had enabled us to acquire these additional reading resources.  They will certainly be put to good use.  Many thanks to Mrs. Kinnaird for all her work in organising the books. Members of our Pupil Council will showcase the new books purchases to all the pupils at our next school assembly.

Today our pupils had their Christmas Dinner in school.  Pupils enjoyed a lovely Christmas meal in the school canteen with their classmates.  Many thanks to Mrs. Darragh and all the canteen staff on catering for such a large number - over 500 pupils -  and serving up a great Christmas treat!  It was certainly enjoyed by all who attended.

Nursery Session: The Power of Play

Today our Nursery morning and afternoon parents/guardians attended an information sharing session ‘The Power of Play’ delivered by Mrs. McConkey, our Year 2 teacher and qualified Play Therapist.  Within the sessions the key principles of setting up and managing play sessions within the home environment as well as the importance of regular play time with their children was shared.

Thank you to all who attended the session.

The Dairy Council for Northern Ireland came to visit our Year 6 children today.  They talked to the children about Food and Fitness.

The aim of this programme is to help pupils explore the concept of balance within their diet based on eating a variety of foods from the five food groups and balance within their lifestyle focusing on the importance of being active. The children also took part in activities and learned about the different dairy foods.

Many thanks to the Dairy Council for coming along today and for working with our Year 6 children.  

Friends of St Joseph’s Annual Christmas Raffle 2023

Our Pupil Council visited each classroom to help promote the Friends of St Joseph's Christmas Draw.

£1.00 per ticket.

Draw will take place on Thursday 21st December 2023.

1st Prize – Children's Bike from Hicklands cycles donated by Oaktree Day care.

2nd Prize - £30 Ballymac Voucher

3rd Prize – Omniplex Voucher and Nando’s Voucher

4th Prize – The Chip Factory Voucher Glenavy

5th Prize – Fiddlers Inn Voucher

6th Prize – 3 Months Membership (The Little Gym)

7th Prize – Crooked Glen Voucher

8th Prize – Christmas Hamper

9th Prize – HP Printer (Tesco)

10th Prize – Christmas Bouquet ( The Flower Bee Crumlin)

If you're not in, you can't win!

A magical Christmas experience for our Nursery children - what a treat it was for the children.

Our nursery girls and boys had a wonderful time walking though our magical forest to collect the fabulous work they had made for their families, having stories read and songs sung with Mrs. Claus & her helpers, decorating gingerbread men, dancing in the courtyard with some Christmas characters, toasting marshmallows, creating artwork & collecting reindeer food, visiting Santa in his grotto and finishing with refreshment in minor hall.

Many thanks to all who helped in any way with the Trail - a special shoutout to all the Nursery team for their fantastic efforts in planning and hosting this special Christmas event!