Welcome to another School Update.
Originally we had planned that updates would be sent weekly. It has just not been possible – we will update the blog as often as possible – the school app is our main communication channel and we would urge parents and carers to ensure that this is downloaded. It is possible to set up push notifications on devices to ensure you receive all up to date communication.
No doubt you will be aware of the prevalence of Covid across Scotland and in particular East Ayrshire. We are very fortunate that we have not seen this reflected within our school. We do have a few cases and this has mainly affected staffing. Next week is going to be challenging in terms of staffing and we ask that you are patient if you are waiting on a response from someone. Our staff in St. Patrick’s are amazing and are going above and beyond to ensure the continuity in learning and teaching. All Parents appointments on Tuesday are going ahead as planned.
We ask that you continue to be vigilant of any symptoms and if you or your child is a close contact then LFT testing is carried out each day for 7 days. If you or your child develop symptoms then a PCR must be booked.
St. Patrick’s Day
We had a wonderful day celebrating the Patron Saint of our school. Thanks go to all the pupils, staff and Fr Phillip who made sure this was a joyful and special occasion. We are confident that next year, we will once again be able to celebrate alongside you all in our school.
Please see the link at the end of this blog post to watch the highlights of the day.
End of Term Mass
We hope to be able to attend Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Patrick’s Church to celebrate mass with the parish on Friday 1st April at 10am mass. This is very much dependant on the Covid cases at the time. We will keep you posted.
SCIAF Fundraising
Thank you so much for your continued support with this. Loose change can be brought into school and put into the SCIAF box inside each classroom. Next week is our walk/pedal to school week. We are encouraging everyone to walk/cycle/scoot to school rather than travelling by car. This is one of the Acts of Hope that we can do together as a whole school and help fight climate change. We look forward to seeing as many pupils and staff as possible travelling actively to school. Where it is not possible, we ask that you consider journeys during the week that you can make without the car.
This week pupils can also have a go at guessing the Bear’s Birthday. If you have purchased this through ParentPay your child will be able to choose dates from the calendar. Mrs Bradley will miss the bear when they leave the office but we know that whoever wins will look after them and make sure they are well loved and cared for.
A video of the week 3 fundraising obstacle course can be found at the end of the blog. Thank you so much to P6/7 and Miss Quinn for ensuring that this was so successful! Well done!
Transition Visits
P7 pupils will all visit their respective secondary schools this week. Those going to St. Joseph’s will visit on Wednesday and the visit to Robert Burns Academy takes place on Thursday. Please keep our P7 pupils in your prayers as they embark on this next chapter of the educational journey.
Student Teachers
We have been joined by student teachers from the University of the West of Scotland this term. School placements are a fundamental part of the Initial Teacher Education programme. Due to Covid, placements have been unable to take place until now. We are so grateful to be part of the process of developing the next generation of teachers. We gain so much from their enthusiasm and creativity – it is a two way development process. Miss Farrow finished with us on Friday, Miss Edgar and Miss Ramsay will finish on Friday 25th and Miss Frame and Miss Higgins will finish on 1st April. We wish our students all the best with the remainder of their studies and training.
What’s Happening Next Week
All Week – sponsored walk to school week – donations can be made via ParentPay
Tuesday – P2 DanceFest at Palace Theatre Kilmarnock
Wednesday – P7 Transition Visit to St. Joseph’s Academy
Thursday – P4/5 DanceFest at Palace Theatre Kilmarnock
P7 Transition Visit to Robert Burns Academy
East Ayrshire Heat of EuroQuiz
Friday – School Photographs
P4/5, P5/6, P6/7 Rugby
Guess the Bear’s Birthday (donations via parent pay)
Staffing
We have a temporary classroom assistant post advertised. This can be found on the My Job Scotland website. This is funded through additional Scottish Government Funding. This post is temporary until the end of May 2022. In the coming days we expect to advertise another post which is funded through Pupil Equity Funding. This post will be temporary until the end of June. Please share this with anyone who might be interested. The hours are Monday – Friday, 8.45am – 3.00pm.
We continue to keep our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in our prayers and indeed all who are affected by war in our world. We pray for peace in our world and our own communities.
From all the staff, have a wonderful weekend in the spring sunshine. Don’t forget to view the videos before you go. 
