We can’t believe we’re at the February break already. This week we have continued with our China theme. Primaries 4-7 were involved in workshops to make Lanterns and Kites and these can be seen during our open morning on 27th February. I do hope as many of you as possible will be able to come along and see for yourselves the fabulous work the children have produced.

Primary 1-3 had a visit from Zoolab who brought with them animals related to the Chinese New Year. The children were able to hear about the animals and even touch some of them. They thought the snake would have been more slimy!

Our Chinese lunch event on Thursday of this week was a huge success, we had more children attending cafeteria than ever before and everyone loved their chow mein and spring rolls. All children in the school received Fortune Cookies and loved reading their messages.

We have had a great time so far studying about China and our materials for silk painting are now nearly all in so we will be able to get started on this and on ‘the Great Wall’ when we return from our February break. A huge thanks to Room Five for giving such wonderful information from this topic at their assembly today. Well done Primary Five.

Meanwhile in Primary Five our trout eggs are thriving and Room 10 are doing a wonderful job keeping these little eggs healthy and well in order for them to be released shortly into the River Calder. Well done Primary Five.

Our Choir has been very busy this week preparing for their Disney Evening on Tuesday 18th February. If your child is in the choir you may wish to come along and hear them sing with the other local schools.

Please remember that school reopens for pupils on Thursday 13th February.
We hope you all have a great long weekend.

We have had great fun this week focusing on the Chinese New Year – Primary One tasted some Chinese food and opened their fortune cookies. Today we all came to the hall to celebrate with a traditional Chinese Dragon Dance. Primary 2/3 led us in the first Dragon Dance with children from other classes taking a turn to make the most interesting dance.
Primary Seven told the rest of the school the story of the Chinese Zodiac and two traditional Chinese tales. They also brought with them their dragons which has been their homework activity over the last two weeks. What an impressive set of dragons we now have on display!
This coming week we have our cultural day when we will be making kites and lanterns and on Thursday we have our Chinese themed lunch in the cafeteria.

We have also had a very busy week in other areas of the curriculum. Following our Enrolment Mass on Tuesday evening pupils in Primary Four attended Newmains Pastoral Centre on Thursday for their retreat in preparation for the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist. Primary Three have also started their preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation in March.

Six pupils in Primary Six attended the Euroquiz in Cumbernauld on Thursday. They had done lots of research into European facts and did a great job representing our school. Well done boys and girls!

We also had our meeting in preparation for our Primary Seven visit to Kilbowie. It was great to see so many boys and girls attending the meeting and even though they have to carry their own luggage up the stairs when the reach the centre they still want to go!!

Please remember that your child’s interim report has been issued today. If you wish to make any comment, or if you have any concerns please contact us at the school.

The choir have been very busy since returning in January. We have two events coming up. Firstly we have been invited to attend an evening in South Wishaw Parish Church along with three other local schools. This will be a Disney themed event and all schools will sing together and also perform their own pieces. Tickets for this are available from the school. In March we will be participating in the Glasgow Music Festival and I would like to thank Mrs McGregor for preparing the children for this performance. She has now left to have her baby, Mrs Drysdale will be taking over from her in the coming months.

We will arrange a school performance so that everyone can come in an hear how good our choir are this year.  We have also been fortunate to be selected to work with a music group called Sounsational!  They will be in school on Mondays for the next few weeks working with the choir – who knows maybe a recording contract will come our way!!

If you have been in and around the school you will see that our China topic is already taking shape. Our infant department have ‘built’ the Great Wall of China in their purposeful play area and they are scaling its heights regularly!
On Thursday of this week everyone in the school enjoyed a ‘Tai Chi’ session which introduced them to this ancient Chinese tradition. Around the classes we have Chinese writing and much evidence of research into traditions and customs of this fascinating country.
Mrs Donnelly has been very busy with children from a range of classes in creating a Dragon for us to celebrate Chinese New Year. Children in Primaries 4-7 will be involved in Lantern Making and Kite Making with Chinese Specialists.
Thank you to all of our parents who have provided us with Chinese artefacts, costumes, information etc. We are very grateful.
On February 6th we are having a Chinese Themed Menu in our dinner hall – we will issue the menu in advance so that the children are aware of what food is being offered.
I am sure if you ask the children which animal they represent they will be able to tell you. We will be inviting all parents into school for an open session at the end of February – this will give everyone an opportunity to look at all of the fantastic work which has been done over the term.

To other things and this week Primary Six had a very successful visit to St. Aidan’s High School as part of their transition programme.
They were working with ‘Seafood in Schools’ group and they cooked some seafood dishes in Home Economics and then worked with the Geography Department to look at fishing around Scotland.
In addition Primary Seven had a visit from Mrs Mullen in the English Department and they were looking at poetry. She was very impressed with the quality of their work.

Our pupils in Primaries 3,4, 6 and 7 are also busy preparing for their Sacramental Enrolment Mass which will be held in St. Aidan’s Church this coming Tuesday at 7:00pm.

Our choir are also busy two lunch times per week preparing for a Wishaw Schools festival event. They will be performing in South Wishaw Parish Church along with three other schools and the music for the whole evening will have a ‘Disney’ theme. I do hope as many parents as possible can come along and enjoy this event.

Coming up also this week – if your child is in Primary Seven please remember that the meeting for Kilbowie is on Wednesday at 6:30. If your child is going on this trip please come along and hear lots of important information.

Welcome back and Happy New Year

All children have returned safe and well and glowing from their Christmas break. It was a delight to see everyone at our assembly on Monday, so excited to be back and eager to learn.

We have introduced our China topic throughout the school and it is wonderful to see so much pupil work already evident throughout the school. All children are very eager to learn about Chinese customs and culture and I must say a huge thanks to the parents who have provided resources for us to see and use.

We have arranged a number of events to support this topic and our first is our Tai Chi day which is later this month. All children will get the opportunity to participate in this ancient Chinese art and we are already looking forward to celebrating the Chinese New Year at the end of this month.

This month also sees us begin preparation of Sacraments in Primaries Three, Four, Six and Seven. Our Enrolment Mass will be held on Tuesday 28th January at 7:00pm. Please remember that all children in these classes should attend this Mass with family members. Sponsors for Confirmandi are also welcome to come along if they wish to do so.

We are now beginning our preparations to send Primary Seven to Kilbowie in March. Please remember that there is an information meeting for parents on Wednesday 29th January at 6:30pm.

On Wednesday of next week Primary Five are off to the Science Centre in Glasgow to begin their Clyde in the Classroom programme. We are not charging pupils for this visit and I know that Primary Five will love being involved in this project.

As our term draws to a close I would like to commend all of the children for their very hard work throughout this year. Our Christmas shows were a huge success and all involved had a great time performing for both shows. Packed houses each time meant that the children had a great audience for each performance. Many thanks to all parents too for their commitment in sourcing costumes, materials, props etc. We couldn’t do it without you either.

Parties were great fun and we had a very special visitor to our infant party too! Many thanks to our Parent Council for providing us with gifts from Santa.

We have now packed away all of the tinsel and glitter until next year and are looking forward to returning on 6th January to resume our very hard work. We will be focusing on China and already we have lots of activities planned to bring Chinese life and culture to the children. As you know this will tie in very nicely with the Chinese New Year so be prepared for lots of Dragon Dancing and Lantern Making!

It’s now time for everyone to have a well-earned rest. We all hope that you have a very happy and relaxing Christmas break and I look forward to hearing of Santa’s exploits in the New Year.

Happy Christmas!

This week saw everyone heading out to the Lion King and Wizard of Oz. Primary One pupils loved their visit to Motherwell Civic Theatre – we even saw Max on the stage during the show. A great visit for their first out of school activity.
For the rest of us the journey to Edinburgh Playhouse was outstanding. The breathtaking spectacle of the Lion King had everyone on the edge of their seats and everyone was mesmerised by the show. All of the children were outstanding in their behaviour and this was commented to us by several members of the public. We are very proud of them as ever! A theatre experience that will stay with all of the children for a very long time. Thank goodness we went on Wednesday and not Thursday as we would have had to consider the safety of everyone had it been that day.
Back to this week and, of course, we have our shows – I hope that you are all looking forward to seeing these performances. The children have put such a lot of work into this they are eager to now show you how good they are.
Please remember that lunch on Tuesday is 11:45 – 12:30 to let us get ready for the shows.
I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday and Wednesday.

December
We begin this week with our Advent Service, for the next three Mondays we will prepare for the Christmas Season with a weekly prayer service. Primary 5/6 will lead us this week as we begin ‘The Road to Bethlehem.’
Primary Six pupils were involved in a joint event on Monday with Calderbridge Primary School – Bubblegum and Fluff drama group presented a morning of Christmas craft and activity to begin preparations for the Christmas Season.
This week sees everyone going out to the theatre. It doesn’t seem ten months since I consulted with parents to see if there was agreement about going to the forthcoming production of ‘The Lion King’. Well this Wednesday all of Primary 2-7 will head to the Playhouse in Edinburgh to see this wonderful production – a memory I am sure will stay with the children for ever.
Primary One will visit the Wizard of Oz at Motherwell Civic Centre – I am sure they will love this too.
Please remember that we currently have tickets on sale for our Christmas production on 10th and 11th December. Primary Six and Seven will present the tableau ‘Hosanna Rock’ and Primary One, Two and Three will treat us to their version of Rock the Baby. All of this puts us straight into the Christmas Spirt.
Primary Seven have had a very busy time. They have now completed their Forest School block and have enjoyed their learning in the outdoor environment – despite the cold and the rain! They also attended Ravenscraig Sports Centre on Thursday along with Primary Six to participate in Sportshall Athletics – everyone reported that they had a super afternoon.
Primary Five will begin their swimming block this week – they will spend every Tuesday morning having a swim session and a dry session in Wishaw Sports Centre. I know they will do us proud.

This week we were treated to Primary Four’s wonderful assembly on ‘The Vikings’. They had such a lot to learn and they delivered all of their lines with real confidence. Great information and super singing all round made this a wonderful assembly. Well done Primary Four!

Primary One, Two and Three are sounding great with their Christmas Nativity songs and already I can see that they are going to do a great performance on the night.
Primary Six and Seven know all of their lines and songs for Hosanna Rock and are looking forward to being the support act this time!

Can I remind everyone that now winter is upon us all children should have a warm jacket at school every day – some Primary Sevens were going up into the woods today as part of the Forest School day and even though it was minus 4 degrees some of them hadn’t brought their jackets to school.

Following our in-service day on Monday we will be introducing more outdoor sessions for PE. All teaching staff were engaged in an outdoor session on Monday morning working with a visiting specialist whilst we all had great fun we also learned about a variety of teaching approaches for using the outdoor environment. Even though it was November we were all too warm! We will be increasingly using the outdoor area for all children as the year goes on.

Well done to all of our Primary Sevens who attended St. Aidan’s High School Partnership Evening this week. This is the first major step in their transition process for high school.

This coming week Primary Six will visit St. Mark’s Church with Calderbridge Primary School for a Christmas Drama workshop with the ‘Bubblegum and Fluff’ group. We are very grateful to Mr Austin and St. Mark’s Church for inviting us along to this.

On Thursday of this coming week all pupils in Primary Six and Seven will visit Ravenscraig Sports Centre for a Sportshall Athletics Day where they will experience a range of physical activities. All children should wear casual clothes for this (no football colours please).

As we approach December we are in the midst of preparing for our Christmas Show. Primary Six are excelling themselves with their singing for Hosanna Rock and already all of Primary Seven know their lines. Well done to all of you. The infant classes sound great in their practices!

Primary Two attended a Play Festival in Ravenscraig Sport Centre this week and enjoyed trying out lots of activities with pupils from a number of schools in our area. They had a great time.
Our bakers during Golden Time have been making super cup cakes – smells are delicious in our kitchen area.
In the upper area Rooms 12,13 and 14 have now completed their display of Henry VIII and his six wives – their collage work is wonderful and shows us the order of these wives during this turbulent period in history.

This week coming we have our Partnership Evening in St. Aidan’s High School. All pupils in Primary Seven are invited along on Tuesday evening at 7:00.
Also we have anti bullying week this week and pupils will explore this topic during Health and Wellbeing lessons. Please remember that Monday is an In-service day for staff.

If you are free this evening why not come along to our Parent Council quiz night. It promises to be a fun evening and all money raised will be used to help all children in the school.

Well we have had another very busy week in school. All children are enjoying their respective social subjects topics. All things Egyptian are already emerging in the infant department and Primary Four and Five have created stunning artwork on the Vikings. In the upper area we are being treated to Henry VIII and his six wives! Along with this topic Rooms 12, 13 and 14 were able to link Guy Fawkes, the Gunpowder Plot and the persecution of Catholics back in the day.
Primary Seven presented their ‘inventions’ assembly and gave us such a great walk through the ages with lots of reflection on inventions which still impact on our lives. The consensus from everyone was that the ‘wheel’ was the most important – I think the mobile phone came a close second!
On Tuesday of this week Mrs Duffy hosted a regional Eco Meeting. This involved pupils from at least ten other school visiting our grounds, discussing all matters relating to Eco and assisting us in working in our garden area. The Eco team from North Lanarkshire Council who were represented at the meeting commented on how articulate and engaging our pupils were. Well done Rebecca Smith and Iona Durno.
This Monday we will be observing a minute of silence at 11:00 to allow the children to acknowledge the contribution of our war dead. Many children have been buying poppies over the past two weeks.
We have also been gathering in our annual shoebox appeal. We are hoping to top last year’s 140 boxes! This is a tremendous charity and our children love making the boxes up – many thanks to all parents for their assistance with this.
Finally – we know that when our backdrop goes up for our nativity/Christmas show that rehearsals are in full swing. Primary Seven all now know their roles and are busy learning their lines. Primary one, two and three are in great voice during their practices. I do hope you enjoy the finished product in a few weeks’ time.