On Wednesday 28th January, we were delighted to welcome families into school for our Scots Celebration Showcase, a wonderful afternoon celebrating Scots language, culture, and creativity. It was a joyful, proud occasion and so well attended – thank you so much to all families who came along to support our pupils. In the lead-up to the showcase, pupils took part in three Scots competitions:✍️ Handwriting – writing their Scots poem
We were delighted to welcome the Soundtrap team into our P5–7 class for the first of a series of music sessions on Tuesday 20th January and it was a huge hit! 😊 During the session, pupils were introduced to Soundtrap, an online music and audio platform that allows them to create, record, and edit music digitally. We started by working together as a class to create a shared song. Pupils
At the start of the week, P1–7 pupils at St Joseph’s Primary took part in the RSPB Big School Birdwatch, enjoying time outdoors and connecting with nature right on our doorstep. Wrapped up in the fresh air, pupils carefully observed different birds and worked together to tally how many they spotted. The children showed great focus and enthusiasm as they identified birds, counted sightings, and discussed where birds live and
P1–4 pupils from St Joseph’s Primary and Portpatrick Primary had a fantastic STEM-filled day at Stranraer College, where we looked into the amazing world of the human body, animals, and genetics. We began by learning all about our bodies and what they are made up of. Pupils explored bones and organs, discussing their important jobs and how they help keep us healthy. Working creatively, the children built their own human
This week, pupils from P1–P4 enjoyed an exciting outdoor maths learning session as we began our new topic on money. Making the most of our playground and wildlife area, children were put into mixed-age groups and given a real-life challenge , to set up their own shop using natural resources. Each group worked together to design their shop, using items such as sticks, stones, leaves and cones as products. Pupils
Senior pupils from Portpatrick Primary School and St Joseph’s Primary School enjoyed an action-packed residential experience at Barcaple on 12 and 13 January as part of the West Rhins Partnership. The pupils took part in a wide range of challenging and enjoyable outdoor activities, including wall climbing, orienteering, archery, abseiling, crate climbing and bushcraft. The residential offered valuable opportunities for pupils from both schools to work together, build new friendships
Today our Primary 5–7 pupils took part in a fantastic clay workshop as part of the Dumfries and Galloway wide FLOCK project, led by visiting artist Frances Ross. The session began with pupils being given time to explore and play with the clay, learning how it feels, how it moves, and how to shape it. Everyone created a small practice piece first, with many choosing to turn their clay into
We had a fantastic (and very muddy!) winter morning in our school grounds as Norval Dampney from Incredible Edibles came to visit and help us care for our orchard 🌱🍎. It was our first orchard visit of the season, and we were excited to spot the fruit tree buds beginning to fatten up. The children also noticed hazel catkins and tiny red flowers, which led to some brilliant questions –
Today, our school community came together for a very special send-off as we said goodbye to Mr Nisbet after 16 years of loyal service as our much-loved lollipop man. For so many pupils, parents and staff, Mr Nisbet has been a familiar, friendly face at the school gates—always there with a smile, a kind word and, most importantly, keeping everyone safe. The celebration was filled with warmth and gratitude. A
St. Joseph’s Primary School enjoyed a joyful and memorable annual Christmas show at the Ryan Centre, celebrating the talent and spirit of our school community. This year’s production, “Who Took All the Loo Roll?”, delighted the audience with its humorous take on post-lockdown Christmas antics, as aliens from outer space watched our very human behaviour with amusement. The children impressed everyone with confident acting, singing and excellent comedic timing. The
