In September, we were delighted to be visited by a former Catrine pupil, Mrs Margaret Boyd (nee Wotherspoon).  Mrs Boyd’s grandson had been working in the school and had noticed his Nanny’s name on the Dux board.  The Catrine Public School board, containing the names of pupils who were awarded the John Reid JP of Avalon Dux Medal from 1938 to 1965, is proudly displayed in our school hall.

Mrs Boyd was visiting Catrine with her son and it was lovely to be able to show her the board, which contains both her name, as the Dux winner in 1946 and her older sister’s name, Anna Wotherspoon, who was the Dux winner in 1944.

Mrs Boyd’s son told us that her visit to Catrine had prompted his mum to jot down some notes about her Catrine childhood. 

Mrs Boyd started Catrine Primary School in 1937, when the primary school was in the current ECC building. The Headmistress was Miss Begg, who was in charge for many years and was very popular.  Mrs Boyd said the ‘children loved her and would run to meet her on the way to school so they could carry her bag! We would use a slate and slate pencil back then, and would share reading books, with a new reading book being a real treat!’

She attended Catrine Secondary School, leaving school in 1946 to start work in the sewing room of the Bleach Works (where the whisky bond is now).  The cotton made at the Mill was taken to the Bleach Works where it was cleaned, in preparation for being sold. 

As a child, Mrs Boyd lived in the middle of the village, with her father owning a pub called ‘The Crown Inn’ in St Germain Street, which later became a horse and cart business which delivered the coal to the coal miners families throughout the year.

We are very proud that we were able to meet with Mrs Boyd and share a wee bit of Catrine history with her. 

Thanks to everyone who took the time to write a comment for our BIG questions at Parents Night last week. 

We will take your suggestions on board and thank you SO much for the lovely comments – we feel very proud to be part of ‘#TeamCatrine. 

Please click on the links below to read the collated comments.

Parental comments 01.10.25

BIG questions 01.10.25

We held our first whole school Home Circles of the new school session today, welcoming our new P1 pupils.

All of our pupils worked together in their new Home Circle, listening to each other and agreeing on their responses.

Today’s BIG questions were based on ‘Our Excellent Lesson‘ – we asked our pupils to give two examples for each of our five Excellent Lesson essentials:

• an inclusive classroom that is calm and kind
• builds on what we already know
• has clear Learning Intentions (LI) and Success Criteria (SC) that we help to build
• supports and challenges us in ways that helps us most
• gives feedback that helps us move forward in our learning

Check out their awesome answers below …

We are delighted to launch ‘Our Excellent Lesson‘.  Last session, as our Leader of Learning, Mrs McCaig worked with a group of pupils across the school to focus on what makes a lesson excellent.

There was a lot of discussion and debate, and the views of all staff and pupils were sought during our Home Circles.  The group listened to the opinions of all stakeholders and came up with five main statements that would make An Excellent Lesson.

• an inclusive environment that is calm and kind
• builds on what we already know
• has clear learning intentions and success criteria that we help to build
• supports and challenges us in ways that help us most
• gives feedback that helps us move forward in our learning

The new poster contains the CATRINE Values and states that ‘our classrooms are individual learning spaces created specifically for the learners at each stage.  The five statements above are what you will see in every class to ensure consistently high standards of learning and teaching for all.’

Thanks to Mirryn, Blair, Alfie, Braxton, Jamie, Myia and Mrs McCaig for creating such a wonderful ‘Excellent Lesson‘ outline.

What a great first day back at school we had today, in the lovely sunshine too!

Well done to our P2 to P7 pupils – they settled into their new classes so quickly and got straight to work.

Our new Primary 1 pupils had an excellent start to their time in primary school – we are so proud of them all and look forward to welcoming them back tomorrow at 9.30am.

We’ve got a brilliant year ahead at Catrine PS 🙂

Mrs Govans

In our Home Circles today we focused on Article 24 of the UNCRC which states that ‘every child has the right to the best possbile health’.

Our BIG questions today were …

What health services are available to you, both in school and as a family? Who helps us when we are feeling ill or in pain?

What can we do, as a school community and with our families, to keep ourselves healthy and fit?

Check out our awesome answers below 🙂

Mrs Campbell and Blaine popped into the school and made a special visit to Primary 2.  Mrs Campbell would like to thank our P2 pupils and  families for their kind gifts, flowers and warm wishes for Blaine, who is now 10 weeks old and thriving.

Blaine thoroughly enjoyed visiting the class today (although he slept through most of it!)  and Mrs Campbell promised that they’ll be back to visit the school soon.

Today in our Home Circles we focused on Article 15 of the UNCRC, which states that ‘children have the right to meet with friends and join groups’.

Our BIG questions were …

• Can you give some examples of when you meet with your friends and groups, both in school and outwith school?
• Why is it so important that children are allowed time to play and be with their friends?

Check out their excellent answers below!

On Friday 16th May, two Catrine brothers – Alfie in P6 and Jack in P5 – travelled to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow to deliver a presentation at the ASSIST Conference, on behalf of EAC.

Members of every Scottish local authority were present at the conference, which was focusing on how communities can tackle climate change and improve their local environment.

With Alfie being recognised as EAC’s Youth Climate Change Champion at an awards ceremony earlier this month, it was only right that he delivered EAC’s message (and he asked if his wee brother could help out too!)

We are so proud of how well both boys did – speaking confidently and clearly to a packed conference room and then answering questions.  What a credit they are to our school, our community and their family.  Well done!

https://newsroom.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/news/pupils-from-east-ayrshire-wow-at-assist-conference

Well done to Ethan in P2 and Lucie in P6 who were both awarded Second Place in their age categories at Saturday’s Catrine Show Art Competition.  They each received a bag of goodies from the Cattle Show organisers.

Look out for our artwork in the chemist window and in the Cotton Trail – they love displaying our wonderful artwork!

Well done, Lucie (Ethan is off school ill 🙁 )

This week in our Home Circles we were learning about Article 17 of the UNCRC which states that ‘ children and young people should be able to access information, particularly from the media.  They should be able to get information from many places, from their country and beyond’.  This statement prompted a brilliant discussion about what social media is.

The BIG questions were –

What is social media and how do we use it in school and at home?

Why are there concerns about children using social media apps?

All of our pupils have been given their annual Report Card today and I hope you are as proud reading about your child and their progress as we were writing about them! EVERY child in our school has made progress with their own personal learning targets this year and it has been a pleasure to watch them flourish and grow.

The report cards summarise what our pupils have been working on throughout year and also highlights their future learning targets.

We are looking forward to discussing your child’s progress further at our Parents Night next Tuesday, 1st April.

Have a lovely weekend.  Mrs Govans 🙂

Catrine PS  Vision, Values and Aims – the three parts summarise our goals, priorities and standards for everything we do in Catrine PS.

In consultation with pupils, parents/carers, staff and the wider school community, we have reviewed and updated our Vision, Values and Aims over the past couple of years.

We are proud to highlight our new posters which are displayed all around our school building. In our weekly assemblies and monthly Home Circles, we regularly discuss our Vision, Values and Aims to ensure our pupils have a sound understanding of our high standards and expectations.

Our School Captains – Eli, Lucy, Lenore and Hannah – will be happy to have a blether with you about our updates at Parents Night next Tuesday, 1st April.

Click on the link below to see our new poster

Vision, Values and Aims poster

The whole school participated in our Home Circles and we focused on our last CATRINE Value of Excellence.

We also focused on Article 28 of the UNCRC which states that ‘children and young people have the right to education on matter who they are: regardless of race, gender or disability’. 

Our BIG questions were….

• Why is it important that we have Values, Class Charters and Respectful Relationships guidelines in our school?
• What would happen if the Values, Charters and guidelines aren’t followed?

Read our very detailed and responsible answers below. 🙂

Our school football team recently took part in the Bill Shankly Football Festival at Townhead Park in Cumnock.

Although we didn’t win the tournament, Miss Burleigh said the team represented their school and community very well, showing great sportsmanship and teamwork.

We are very proud of them all!

From L to R: Harry, Harris, Darryl (C), Jamie, Brody, Alfie, Steven, Oscar and Finlay.

In our Home Circles on Tuesday we focused on Article 29 of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child.

Article 29 states that ‘a child or young person’s education should help their mind, body and talents be the best they can. It should also build their respect for other people and the world around them. ‘

The BIG questions our pupils answered were …

• Why is it important that we come to school?
• What would an excellent school look, feel and sound like?       

As always, our wonderful Home Circles came up with some insightful and thoughtful answers.  Read them below …

We also focused on our CATRINE Value of Nurture.