St Joseph's N.S.

Keep in touch with all the goings on at St Joseph's throughout the year.

Sports and Fun Day - Wednesday, June 23rd.
There was great excitement today at our annual Sports and Fun Day. Thank you to our past pupils who returned to help out on the day.

Basketball Blitz - Tuesday, June 22nd.
The girls from 4th to 6th Classes took part in a Basketball blitz in Kilkenny.

School Tour - Friday, June 18th.
Picturesque Lismore was the destination for our school tour this year where the students took part in art, science, history and nature activities. An enjoyable day was had by all.

Hurling Match v Littleton N.S. - Thursday, June 17th
The St Joseph's hurling team were invited to Littleton to compete for a shield and a set of medals. In an entertaining game our players just came up short and lost by 4 points. Their runners up medals were presented to them by Littleton principal Mr Christy Clancy.

Soccer Match v Slieveardagh N.S. - Wednesday, June 16th.
St Joseph's N.S. lost 4-0 to local rivals Slieveardagh at the school in a challenge match today. The match was attended by Irish International striker Shane Long who was impressed by the level of skill on display.

Parish Hurling Blitz - Tuesday, June 15th.
Students from the four parish schools descended on O'Sullivan Park for a fun hurling blitz today. Our thanks go to Andy Ryan and James Logue and their team of helpers for organising such a wonderful event.

Moving On Ceremony - Friday, June 11th.
Fr Breen celebrated the Moving On Ceremony for the children of our outgoing 6th Class today in the Prefab in front of a large group of parents and friends.

Science Experiments - Wednesday, May 26th.
Students of 2nd to 6th Classes spent the afternoon conducting various experiments based on the Curriculum strand 'Heat'

Used Clothing Collection - Monday, May 17th
Lenrec collected 27 bags of used clothing from the school this morning. Many thanks to everyone who supported the collection which provides a useful form of supplementary income for the school.

Noel McGrath - Monday, May 10th.
Tipperary All-Star hurler Noel McGrath paid a welcome visit to the school to talk to the children about healthy eating and healthy living. If his advice is headed then maybe St. Joseph's may have a future All-Star of our own.

Cumann na mBunscol - Friday, May 7th.
With both teams already out of the competition todays game against Moyglass was played as a 13-a-side practice match.

Dale Treadwell - Wednesday, May 5th.
St Joseph's had a very special visitor today when TV ecologist Dale Treadwell arrived to plant trees with the children and to talk to them about the wildlife in their own locality.

First Communion - Saturday, May 1st
Congratulations to the students of Second Class who made their First Communion today.

Cumann na mBunscol - Wednesday, April 28th.
St Joseph's came up against a vastly superior Lismakin side at The Ragg today. The result was never really in doubt and dispite never letting their heads drop our young hurlers succumbed to a heavy defeat.

Cumann na mBunscol - Wednesday, April 21st.
St Joseph's were unlucky to lose to Littleton 6-3 to 6-5 in a fantastic game in O'Sullivan Park.

Swimming - Monday, April 12th.
Our students returned to school with a splash for the first of their eight sessions in Clonmel pool.

Easter Holidays - Friday March 26th.
Never were students more deserving of a holiday after all the hard work of the past few weeks balancing school work and rehearsals.

The Big Night - Monday, March 22nd.
At long last the big night arrived and the people who filled the Community Hall in Ballingarry were not disappointed. I think its fair to say that our young performers exceeded all expectations on a wonderful night filled with song, dance and colour.

Wizard of Oz Dress Rehearsal - Friday, March 19th.
Anyone passing through Ballingarry today would have been forgiven for double checking the colour of the road as Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion and a host of colourful characters made their way down to the Community Hall for their dress rehersal.

Wizard of Oz Rehearsals - Friday, February 26th.
Our budding thespians went down to the Hall to try out the stage for size today. Evelyn Quinlan was at hand to offer advice and tips to the actors.

Indoor Ground Hurling Blitz - Tuesday, February 23rd
Fifth and Sixth Class boys and girls travelled to Thurles Sarsfield Sports Complex to take part in a non competitive ground hurling blitz.

Wizard of Oz Rehearsals - Monday, February 22nd
Miss Crowe made a welcome return to St Joseph's today. She will be lending her musical expertise to our production.

Eco Environmental Clothing Collection - Friday, February 12th
In accordance with our Green-Schools effort another clothes recycling drive was held at the school this morning.

Miss Kerwick's Last Day - Wednesday, February 10th.
Today was a very sad day for everyone connected with St Joseph's N.S. Cutbacks in Education meant that today was Miss Kerwick's last day with the school. Having worked as an SNA in St Joseph's for almost three years Miss Kerwick will be deeply missed by staff and students alike. We wish her the very best for the future.

Parents Computer Course - Thursday, February 4th
The six week basic computer course given by Patricia Commins began today.

Drumming Workshop - February 3rd to February 12th
With an impressive array of drums which she got on loan from the Kilkenny Education Centre, Mrs Egan began her daily drumming workshops with all the students.

Bill O'Dwyer - Tuesday, February 2nd.
Local man Bill O'Dwyer visited the school today to speak to the students about farming down through the years. Mr O'Dwyer gave a very interesting and informative talk which was much enjoyed by the students of 2nd Class and upwards.

Silly Sock Day - Wednesday, January 27th
The students and staff of the school raised €278 for the earthquake victims in Haiti just by wearing silly socks into school.

Wizard Of Oz Rehearsals - Thursday, January 21st
Rehearsals for our production of The Wizard of Oz began today. We hope to be able to perform the play before the Easter break.

Christmas Open Morning - Tuesday, December 22nd
St Joseph's N.S. threw its doors open to parents this morning. A packed library witnessed a delightful nativity play performed by the Junior Room followed by a whole school Carol Service. Parents were invited to have a look around the school before partaking of some Christmas refreshments in the Parents Room. Our traditional musicians kept them entertained all the while and Santa Claus even found time to deliver presents to our very well behaved students. The Parents Council Raffle added even more excitement to a hectic day.

Christmas Cookies - Monday, December 14th.
Fifth and Sixth Class students put their culinary skills to the test in the Parents Room this morning. Shortbread cookies were the order of the day and by all accounts they were just lovely.

Green Flag Prize-Giving - Monday, December 7th.
Students Aiden Mullally, Jack Kealy and Cormac Maher travelled to Clonmel this evening on behalf of the school to receive a cheque for €100 from South Tipperary Co Council. The prize giving was in recognition of all our hard work in obtaining the Green Flag

Confessions - Wednesday, November 25th.
With Christmas fast approaching Fr. Breen helped our students prepare by hearing their confessions this morning.

INTO Work Stoppage - Tuesday, November 24th

Nurse's Visit - Wednesday, November 11th.
The Health Nurse came to the school today to ensure that all those eyes and ears are in perfect working order.

Samaritan's Purse Christmas Shoebox Appeal - Wednesday, November 4th.
Despite the recession the students and parents of St Joseph's still dug deep to help out those less fortunate than ourselves. In all thirty four shoe boxes of goodies were collected from the school to be distributed to needy children in time for Christmas.

Halloween Fancy Dress - Friday, October 23rd.
The last day before the Halloween break was a terrifying one at St Joseph's. Countless witches, monsters and pirates attended the school for ghouls. Just to make sure that there were to be no tricks the Parents Council laid on some treats for our scary students.

School Game Playing Day - Friday, October 23rd.
The students got the chance to bring in their favourite board games and play them with their friends at school. School Game Playing Day raised €39.50 for school funds.

Khan's Book Fair - Tuesday and Wednesday, October 20th and 21st.
Our students enjoyed great choice and value when Kilkenny and Thurles based bookstore Khan's brought their book fair to the school.

Parent-Teacher Meetings - Tuesday, October 20th.
The annual Parent-Teacher Meetings were held after school today.

Parent Enrichment Workshop - Thursday, October 15th
Ms. O'Sullivan welcomed nine parents to the Parents Room for the first session of the Parent Enrichment Workshop run by Sueann O'Donnell.

GOAL Jersey Day - Friday October 9th.
The generous St Joseph's N.S. students raised €60 for GOAL by wearing in their club or county's colours into school.

Used Clothing Collection - Friday, October 9th.
The St Joseph's N.S. Green-Schools Committee in conjuction with Eco Environmental Ltd. organised a used clothing collection from the school this morning.

Cross Country Running - Wednesday, September 30th.
Twenty nine young athletes from St Joseph's took part in the Co Tipperary Cross Country Championships in Thurles today.

Julia Walsh - Monday, Septembr 28th.
South Tipperary County Museum Education Officer, Julia Walsh visited the school today and spoke to the children about the local heritage project that the museum are running.

GAA Training - Monday, September 28th.
We welcomed James Logue back to the school today as our new GAA coach. James will be training all students from Second Class up every Monday. We would like to thank our new Games Promotion Officer Andy Ryan and Ballingarry GAA Club for organising these training sessions.

Tadgh Vaughan - Wednesday, September 23rd.
Local athlete Tadgh Vaughan came to the school today to give our budding young athletes some advice before the upcoming Cross Country Championships. Tadgh spoke to the children about warming up, cooling down and how to prepare for a race. He also reminded the children that Coolquill Athletic Club holds training sessions in the Commons at 6pm each Wednesday.

Garda Walsh's Visit - Thursday, September 17th.
Locals may have been surprised to see the 'squad' parked outside the school today but there was no cause for alarm as Ballingarry's new Garda, Pat Walsh had just dropped in to meet some of the young people of the village. Garda Walsh visited all three classrooms and spoke to the children about road safety. He also spoke of his own experiences as a Garda and delighted the children by passing around his handcuffs and asp for closer inspection. We are delighted to welcome Garda Walsh to Ballingarry and we look forward to his future visits.

Harvest Time - Thursday, September 10th.
Mrs Noonan led all the students and staff around to the raised beds to harvest what had been sown earlier in the year. The was great excitement as turnips, spinach, lettuce and the occasional carrot were shared out amongst the students. The teachers got nothing...(cutbacks!!!)

Music Lessons - Tuesday, September 8th.
Ms. Martina McGarry made a welcome return to St Joseph's after the summer break and will continue to teach music every Tuesday.

Tiobraid Arann Abu - Friday, September 4th.
The students wore in the Blue and Gold in support of their Tipperary heros and decorated the school in the Premier County colours. Here's hoping...

New School Year - Monday, August 31st.
St Joseph's opened it's doors for another year today. Seven Junior Infants started today so a warm St Joseph's welcome goes out to Eimear Dunne, Orla Ivors, Andrew Hayes, Billy McGrath, Fionn O'Brien, Michael Blake and Kieran Murry.

New Teacher - Monday, August 31st.
St Joseph's also welcomed a new teacher to its staff. Ms Catherine Shanahan is the new Learning Support teacher at the school. We all look forward to working with her.

Summer Works Scheme - Monday, August 31st.
The school was looking well when we returned thanks to the work carried out on it over the summer. The school is now wheelchair accessible thanks to tne new ramps that have been installed. Our flat roof has been repaired and a lick of paint given to the areas in need of as freshen up.