Today is World Water Day.  World Water Day has been held every year since 1993 and this year's theme is all about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis. Water is a precious resource and we can all make a difference by changing the way we use, consume and manage water in our lives.

Today our Eco Council were delivering a presentation to share this important message with all the classes in our school.  They also delivered the presentation to Mr Traynor and Mr McMullan in Mr Traynor's office.  Also as part of their class topic our Year 5 pupils joined schools across the UK for a Virtual Teams Live World Day Assembly. 

Congratulation to our wonderful Primary 3 boys and girls who celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation with Canon Colm today, Wednesday 22nd March, in Mater Dei Church.  They were just amazing - a real credit to their families and their school.  Well done boys and girls.

Following First Confession the pupils celebrated as a year group with cake and a party on their return to school.

A great display of skill, determination and team spirit on display today at the Allen Park 7-a-side Football Tournament.  Well done boys and girls.

On Wednesday 22^nd March, two firefighters visited our Year 5 children to complete our annual Fire Safety Talk.  The children participated in discussions and educational conversations about how to prevent fire in the home.  In addition, they discussed with the Fire service, what measures to take in the event of an emergency fire situation.

The firefighters gave the children TWO challenges:

• To make sure they could remember their home address incase they had to make a 999 call and request the help of the Fire Service.
• To make sure all smoke alarms were tested at home and were working properly.

All children received a ‘Safety Team’ pack to discuss with adults at home.

The Engineers Ireland STEPS programme gives children the opportunity to discover engineering with the main aim being the promotion of engineering.  Today our Year 7 pupils were fortunate to have Carly and Cleona in school to complete a series of workshops and highlight the importance of the profession to the children.  Many thanks ladies - much appreciated.

Today we celebrated the Feast Day of St Joseph in school.  St Joseph is the patron saint of our school.  Our Faith Group prepared an assembly for our whole school - it told the story of St Joseph.  We all got to view the assembly virtually in our own classrooms.  Thank you to the Faith Group and Mrs Loughran for sharing this with us today.

Many congratulations to our 4 Year 7 pupils who travelled to St Dominic's Grammar School in Belfast for the latest round of the Sentinus K'Nex Challeges.  Using K'Nex pieces the pupils had to design and build three exciting playground attractions.  Their drawn plans were very impressive and their models met all the requirements of the challenge set.  Well done boys and girls - future engineers in the making!

Year 7 and Year 8 met in Crumlin Integrated College for a Spanish lesson with Mr Tracey. We learnt lots of names of our pets in Spanish and described their colour and size. It was lovely to see our friends again. We got to go to the canteen and buy our break. Next we will be visiting to talk to the Year 8 students about moving to a new school.  We look forward to that visit.

Today we celebarted the feast day of our patron saint, St Patrick - there was an amazing sea of green throughout the school and much fun had!

Happy St Patrick's Day from Everyone at St Joseph's!

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit!

We were delighted to welcome our visiting staff and pupils from Denmark, England, France and Spain to St Joseph's this week as part of our Erasmus project on 'Respect and Recycling'.  Fifteen families within our school community agreed to host the visiting children.  We are indebted to these families for their generorsity in helping us with this project.

Day 1 was spent in school.  There was an opportunity to have a tour of the school and nursery unit, listen to traditional Irish storytelling, view the Year 2 St Patrick's Day Show and Irish Dancing, deliver presentations, complete workshops with IZAK9, take part in some traditional Irish sports and have a stroll around the Crumlin village.

On Day 2 pupils and staff travelled to Clandeboye Estate in Bangor to take part in a variety of Forest School activities.  They experienced the four seasons in one day whilst outdoors but still thoroughly enjoyed the range of activities.  Once back, with the pupils safely away with the host families, the staff came together to enjoy a meal out in Belfast.

Day 3 of this busy schedule saw everyone head to Belfast.  Here everyone was treated to a bus tour to highlight the different aspects of 'Respect' in relation to Northern Ireland including a visit to the Peace Walls and Stormont.  Then it was on to W5 and a visit to the Science museum.  The day was finished off by returning to school in order to allow everyone involved with the project the opportunity to celebrate with a traditional Ceili and some homebaked treats.

Day 4 and it was time to head back home.  Thank you and goodbyes said, everyone headed their separate ways to begin the journey home.  We wish all our visiting friends safe travels and thanks everyone involved with the project most sincerely for all their hardwork. commitment and time!