Primary 7a  9.00- 11.00
Primary 7b 11.00- 1.00
Primary 7c  1.00 – 3.00
On Wednesday 12^th March we have arranged a visit to Cartsbridge Evangelical Church to take part in their annual exhibition on Christianity. It is always a very interesting session, which the children really enjoy.
Primary 7b should either bring a packed lunch or children may purchase a cold lunch.

For Primary 7a and Primary 7c, lunchtime arrangements are as normal.
SCHOENSTATT RETREAT CENTRE – CAMPSIE GLEN
On Tuesday 18^th March, we shall visit the Schoenstatt Retreat Centre in Campsie Glen. This will be an opportunity for all children and staff to take “time out” from our busy lives and reflect upon our relationships with those who are important to us. Further details about the centre can be found on their website.
http://www.schoenstatt.co.uk

Packed lunch required
Full school uniform
There is small gift shop and if you wish your child to buy a small souvenir I would suggest a maximum of £3
If there are any changes to medical conditions / medications from the medical consent form you completed at the beginning of this session, please inform the school office.

Father Duggan will celebrate Mass on Thursday 30^th January here in the school at 1.45pm. The children in Primary 5 are looking forward to organising and participating in the Mass and cordially invite their parents / families / friends to attend

 Primary 7 classes will attend a ceilidh in St. Ninian’s High School, joining classes from St. Cadoc’s School and St. Joseph’s School.
Children should bring school PE kit: school polo shirt, trainers or sandshoes, dark shorts and dark joggers. We shall walk to St. Ninian’s through Eastwood Park wearing PE kit, therefore suitable outdoor clothing must be worn.
Classes will have an early lunch, leaving school at 12.45pm, a hot lunch will be available, if required.

As stated in our previous letter, a deposit of £50 per child is required to secure the booking for Lockerbie Manor by the end of January.  This can be paid online via the school website (payment for schools) or in school, by cash or cheque made payable to East Renfrewshire Council.
IN ORDER TO SECURE A PLACE FOR YOUR CHILD, THIS BALANCE MUST BE PAID BY END OF JANUARY
Money will be accepted any day from now until the end of January.

P2b and P2c           Tuesday 21^st January 2014
P2a and P2d           Wednesday 22^nd January 2014
As part of our Social Studies project ‘The Rainforest’ we have arranged a visit to Amazonia in Strathclyde Country Park.
The children will leave the school by coach at 9.10am and return at 1.45pm.
School uniform should be worn
Packed lunch required
Cost of the trip is £5 to include the cost of the workshop and part of the transport, the remainder being subsidised by the PSA
There is a small gift shop at the venue, if you wish your child to buy a souvenir we would recommend a maximum of £2
If there is any change in medical conditions/medication/contacts, from information given at the start of term, please inform school office
We would be delighted to welcome parents with PVG/East Renfrewshire Disclosure to accompany us.  Please let us know if you are able to help on the tear off slip

Weather permitting; Primary 7 classes will attend Mass in St. Vincent’s Church, Thornliebank this Friday at 10am.
We shall leave from school at 9.30am accompanied by members of staff and will return at 11.00am.
The children will walk to/from church via a local route alongside Woodfarm High School and through parkland, thus avoiding any major road crossings.
Full school uniform, shirt, tie, school shoes
Children to dress appropriately for the weather conditions of the day.
Parent helpers with a Disclosure Scotland certificate are welcome to assist. If there is any change in medical conditions / medication, from information given at the start of term, please inform school office
Please phone the school if you are able to help.

Saturday 7th December 2013   1pm-3.30pm
WEEK 2
Thank you so much for the contributions so far, the Fayre is nearly upon us so all donations are very much appreciated.
This week we are looking for Bottles – (anything unopened!) such as wine, beer, miniatures or even champagne!
As a recap the stalls we are looking for donations are;
Books, DVDs, Computer games and Tombola items. There must be lots out there looking for a new home. Grown up and children’s books in good condition and DVDs and computer games. Also fancy goods – unwanted beauty care sets, fancy goods, jewellery.  Please also hand in any gift bags you have – these can be any type of gift bag.
Toys – w/c 2^nd Dec in good condition please, with any boxed games/toys sealed.
Home-baking – Donations on Friday evening (6^th December) or on the day of the Fayre  
Donations of any kind can, of course, be handed in at any time and also on the evening of Friday 6^th December (until 8.30pm), while the stalls are being set up.
GRAND PRIZE RAFFLE
Also enclosed are the tickets for our Grand Raffle.  We already have some amazing prizes, however donations are always welcome, so if you have any contacts then please let us know.  Each family has been allocated 2 books of tickets.  If you require additional tickets please contact the school or return any unwanted tickets.
Please check the school website and Twitter for regular updates regarding the Fayre.
Finally, PLEASE DO GET INVOLVED, we still need lots of helpers for both the Friday night set up (6th) and on the day itself.  If you can spare a couple of hours please do contact me : Joe Shaw 07813 015 742, or at joeam_shaw@yahoo.co.uk  We have some past pupils at secondary school who have offered to come and help and if there are more it would be great!
Joe Shaw   OLM PSA Chair   (Scottish Charity SC041564)

Reminder:
There will be a short Rite of Enrolment for Confirmation during all masses on the weekend of 23^rd/24^th November in St. Joseph’s Church, Clarkston.
All children who will be receiving the sacrament of Confirmation in St. Mirin’s Cathedral on 1^st May 2014 should attend one of the Masses.
Parents should bring their child to any Mass and ideally sponsors, if they live locally.
Children should wear their own clothes, NOT school uniform.
The children will present their letter to Fr Jim to be passed onto Fr. David Boyd, Diocesan Administrator, asking to receive the sacrament.
Please remember to take it with you to Mass.
Reminder of Mass times in St. Joseph’s Church – Vigil 6pm, 10am 12pm and 6pm

To finish their studies of Victorian times, P6 will have a Victorian Day in school. Children should wear school uniform to school and bring clothes to change into.
We hope that, following our visits to the David Livingstone Centre, the children should be able to create a simple costume from items of clothing they already have at home. We look forward to a variety of Victorian related activities during the day!

Our House Day will now be on Friday 29^th November. This will be a non uniform day where children are invited to wear their house colours Please do not buy anything special, wearing their own clothes with a scarf or small item of clothing in the house colours would be sufficient. No donation is required on this day.
St. Margaret  red
St. Mungo      yellow
St Mirin          green
St. Conval      blue
St. Andrew     purple
Primary 7 Christmas Enterprise Day
Congratulations to our school Badminton Team members who have won through to the final of the East Renfrewshire Badminton Tournament on Monday 16th December.  Therefore our Enterprise Day will now be Thursday 19th December.  Again, this is a ‘Come as you please’ day when we do ask for a donation for our Advent charities.  Our Primary 7 children are working hard preparing Christmas  crafts and planning fun activities for the day. Further information to follow.

Following on from a successful event last year, we have been invited to take part in the festive family fun day in Clarkston Halls Car Park this Saturday. We shall join with other local schools to entertain shoppers at the Farmers’ Market. A leaflet was sent home last week with details of all the attractions.
We have been given a performance time of 1.10pm and would ask you to arrive at 12.55pm. Due to the size of the event on site car parking will not be available on the day, please see their website for further information, http://www.iloveclarkston.com/Once again, I am sure the children will be great ambassadors for Our Lady of the Missions and I hope to see you there.
Full school uniform should be worn (shirt & tie, black shoes, navy tights for the girls. Blazers if possible or school navy fleece)
Meet staff members close to the stage at 1.55pm
The performance should last approx 10 minutes

Confirmation completes Baptism, unites us more firmly to Christ, confers the special strength of the Holy Spirit for the witness of Christian life, and imprints a spiritual seal or indelible character on the soul such that, like baptism, this Sacrament is received only once.
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
In the Rite of Confirmation, the bishop implores God to send the Holy Spirit with his gifts on the candidates who are to be confirmed:
Wisdom, understanding, right judgment, courage, knowledge, reverence and wonder and awe.
Fruits of the Holy Spirit
The Fruits of the Holy Spirit are listed in Sacred Scripture as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Candidates for Confirmation are to be led to understand that the Holy Spirit comes in Confirmation to make them more like Jesus Christ and to help them, as children of God, give witness to the Lord.
Confirmation Name
It is customary for children to choose a saint’s name for Confirmation as a sign of the new birth and identity they receive in Christ. This custom is to be encouraged since the saints are those, who, having received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, have shown the fruits of the Spirit in the witness of a good and holy life. Towards the time of Confirmation, the saints chosen by the children will be invoked regularly as part of a “Litany of the Saints” in class prayer times.
Sponsor
Candidates will choose a Sponsor for Confirmation. The Sponsor, who represents the whole Church in the faith formation of the candidate, must be over 16years old and a practising Catholic in full communion with the Church.
The immediate preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation should include the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Families are encouraged to take the children to the sacrament. We hope to take the children on a one day retreat to allow a time for reflection.
It is especially to be borne in mind that the centre of the Sacraments of
Initiation is the Eucharist. One of the marks and obligations of the fully initiated Catholic is full, active and conscious participation at Sunday Mass. Young Catholics must fulfil the serious obligation to participate at Sunday Mass so that the Eucharist will be at the centre of a full Christian life.
Further information will be sent home during our preparations for this great sacrament. Please look at the school website for a reflective power point from Mary O’Duffin, RE Advisor for primary schools, Glasgow Archdiocese.