Dear Parents/ Carers,
There have been a lot of exciting activities and events happening in school as we have moved through the Summer term. The holidays are now fast approaching and it’s time to look back and celebrate another successful term here at Our Lady of the Missions.
Mrs Catherine Dillon-Ruddy has been appointed as our new head teacher and we have been delighted to see her in and around the school meeting staff, pupils and parents. We look forward to her taking up post in August.
Our newly qualified teachers were all successful at the recent rounds of ERC interviews. Miss Maria Convery will return to us as class teacher. Miss Holly Breslin Strain and Miss Sarah Hillhouse have secured class teacher posts in St Joseph’s and St Cadoc’s respectively. We wish them well!
Mrs Young, Pupil Support Assistant will be retiring in June. She has been a strong member of the support staff team working with individual pupils and giving great assistance to the teaching staff since August 1993. She will be sadly missed and we wish her a very happy and long retirement.
We would like to say a fond farewell to Miss McGrotty, Pupil Support Assistant who is also leaving in June. She has built up a strong bond with staff and pupils. We wish her every success as she embarks on her teacher training.
Primary 1 Induction Afternoons
We look forward to welcoming our new primary ones who will be joining our school in August. There are two induction afternoons in June.
Pupils in P1 a and P1c should come on Tuesday 6th June at 1.40pm
Pupils in P1b, d and e should come on Wed 7th June at 1.40pm
Mary’s Meals Backpack Appeal
Due to the success of last year’s appeal, Our Lady of the Missions are supporting the ‘Mary’s Meals Backpack Appeal’ again.
The backpacks are sent to schools across Africa, packed with equipment which can better aid children’s learning. For more information follow the link below.
https://www.marysmeals.org.uk/get-involved/the- backpack-project/what-to-pack
Primary 7 – Month of June
After a very busy and successful year, our Primary 7 children will finish with a busy month in June. Below is a list of planned activities.
Day at the Movies Thursday 15th June
A day at the movies has been organised as a celebration for their final year at primary school. The children will come to school dressed as a character from a film or just be an extra (‘own clothes’). The day will include lunch, popcorn and drinks. The Infant Department will have the pleasure of seeing the P7 parade as their favourite character.
Leavers’ Mass St. Joseph’s Church Monday 12th June 7pm
This is our Primary 7 ‘Graduation’ celebration. It is always a very moving occasion, especially for those families for whom this will be their last contact with Our Lady of the Missions. Children will be presented with a bible, funded by our P.S.A. All family and friends are welcome to join us.
Leavers’ Ceilidh Monday 19th June 6.45pm – 9.00pm School Hall
The final celebration for our leavers is a ceilidh to be held in the school hall. The children will be piped into the hall and we ask all parents to come into the Mensa to form a Guard of Honour to welcome the children. A finger buffet will be provided by the Parent Staff Association.
Tesco Bags of Help Appeal
Calling all families and friends. Help us Bag £4,000 in the Tesco Bags of Help Appeal!!!
Voting available May and June 2017.
Follow the link below to find out more.
https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/er/ OurLadyMissions/2017/04/24/tesco-bags-of-help- appeal/
Sacramental Preparation and Celebration
We were blessed with beautiful sunshine this year as the P4 pupils of St Joseph’s, St Vincent’s and Holy Name celebrated their First Holy Communion. Our P7 pupils celebrated their Confirmation in our local parish of St Vincent’s and also in St Mirin’s Cathedral in Paisley. All celebrations were spiritually uplifting. Our thanks go to Archbishop Philip, Bishop John and also to Fr Hill, Fr Burke and Fr Duggan for their continued support in assisting with the preparations and in officiating at the various ceremonies. Our thanks also go to our parents and sponsors who support their children in living out their Faith in their daily lives.
The children will enjoy an afternoon of celebration next Friday . Cake and juice will be provided thanks to the Parent Staff Association who also provided beautiful commemorative certificates for the First Communicants and Confirmandi.
We were delighted to welcome Bishop John Keenan into our school. The Confirmandi were particularly pleased to be given the opportunity to meet and talk to Bishop John directly and we look forward to working closely in the future and continuing to develop strong ties with our local parishes and both diocese.
Primary 4 pupils received a gift from the Primary 7 pupils before their First Holy Communion. A lot of work went into making the crosses and they were very well received by the pupils.
The Primary 2 Stage Mass was very well attended by parents, carers and relatives. Father Jim was very impressed with the pupils responses and singing. A big thank you to the staff for all the hard work that went into teaching the pupils new hymns.
Rosary Group
Thank you to the senior pupils who organised and led the Rosary for pupils, staff and parents. This was a wonderful way to start the day on Wednesdays and supported the school community in placing Mary, Our Mother, at the heart of all that we do in the month of May.
Pope Francis Faith Awards
Congratulations to the majority of our Primary 7s who will be awarded the Pope Francis Faith Award after two years’ worth of work. The Pope Francis Faith Award is an award of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, designed to help children to show “signs of love” in their daily lives and to be active members of their local Church. Some pupils received Parish Commendations from their parish priests after their continued involvement in parish life. Our Primary 6 pupils have already enrolled and are on their way to receiving this award at the end of their Primary 7 year.
Health Week
The Health Committee organised a very busy and highly successful Health Week where pupils took part in age appropriate activities and workshops covering all aspects of Health and Wellbeing. They were given opportunities to engage in cross- curricular learning experiences throughout the week. Visitors and activities included: Giffnock Tennis, GHA Rugby, Celtic FC, East Renfrewshire Cricket, Taekwondo, Karate, Yoga, Children’s Massage, Educational Psychologists, Health Care Professionals, Smoothie Bike, Operation Outdoor Play, Ceilidh Dancing, Health in the City, Heart Start Training, and The Samaritans. Resources were created and shared with teachers and a folder is on the shared staff site for future use. Parents were actively involved during the week, some as visitors and some taking part in family workout sessions delivered by a parent.
Children from Primary 5 were given the opportunity to take part in cooking sessions in the Home Economics Department in St. Ninian’s and Primary 6 were timetabled to use the Fitness Studio. Feedback and evaluations from staff and pupils were very positive – the children especially enjoyed the opportunities to use the facilities in St. Ninian’s.
Children in Primary 1 have trailed the ‘Fit for Friday’ initiative in Term 3. They were grouped into their houses and over 5 weeks got to try out 5 different sports: Rugby, Athletics, Basketball, Yoga and Circuits. Mixing the children for this purpose has helped with the transition of moving into new classes in Primary 2. Thank you, Miss Dunn, for arranging our Health Week!
Developing the Young Workforce
World of Work Week was a great success with a diverse range of organisations and professions visiting the school. The skills planners were used effectively at each stage and the pupils have a greater understanding of how the skills they are developing in school prepare them for the world of work. The cluster working party has created posters related to the DYW skills for each level. It is hoped that they will be displayed in all cluster schools to ensure that all pupils and staff are aware of them and link them to their everyday learning. The pupils especially enjoyed the helicopter fly over from the Police Air Support Team! Thank you , Mrs Neil for co-coordinating these events!
Sports Day
The weather was kind to us on Sports Day. It ran very smoothly and was a great success. The children enthusiastically took part in all the events and especially enjoyed seeing younger siblings and mums and dads joining in. Thanks to Mr McCann for organising Sports Day!
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Celebrating Achievement
Congratulations to Freeja and Zinedine who earned certificates for their fantastic performances at the Robert Burns World Federation Final!
- Well done to the Primary 4 pupils who came 2nd in the tennis tournament!
- Well done to our school choir who sang beautifully at the Primary 7 Mass of Thanksgiving in St Andrew’s Cathedral.
- Primary 6/7 Netball Team have successfully won the ERC final for the fourth year in a row. Great work!
- Congratulations to our Primary 7 Rotary Quiz Team (Mark, Calum, Cailean and Abdullah) who won the ERC Schools Rotary Quiz with the highest score the Rotary Club has seen.
- Christopher and Cooper won the St Ninian’s K’Nex Challenge. Well done!
- A host of pupils represented us well at the Scottish School’s Cross Country Event.
- Well done to Hannah M who did the voice over for ERC catering department DVD for school meals. She was fantastic!
- All pupils enjoyed dressing up as the four seasons in aid of the Sean Batty STV Appeal·
- Our Ski Team represented us very well at the Scottish School’s Snow Sports Competition.
- Well done to the Primary 7 pupils who took part in the Strathclyde University Maths Challenge.
Parent Helpers
This year we have enjoyed the support of many parents who have assisted in school trips, school events, coaching football teams, escorting pupils to Mass and musical events. We couldn’t do it without you!
Date for your diary – June
5th Academy Uniform Sale 6.30-8.30pm
6th P1a and c Induction Day
7th P1b, 1d and 1e Induction Day
8th Election Day- school closed
11th Matthew Carney Tournament 12-5pm, Muirend Playing Fields
12th P7 Leavers’ Mass, St Joseph’s, 7.00pm
13th School Disco P1 6.30-7.30, P4 7.45-9.00pm
14th School Disco P2 6.30-7.30, P5 7.45-9.00pm
15th School Disco P3 6.30-7.30, P6 7.45-9.00pm
15th P6 Bikeability Test
19th P7 Leavers’ Ceilidh, 7.00pm
20th Mary’s Meals Backpack Appeal
22nd Parent Council Meeting
27th School Closes – 1.00pm
