This is my second monthly Blog, last month our inaugural May Blog received very positive feedback, thanks to those who took the time to leave a comment or to have a chat with me about it.

This month, once again, our pupils have been involved in a whole range of learning opportunities in class, in the playroom and all around the school.

On Tuesday 4th June all of our Primary One to Primary 6 pupils enjoyed a ‘Moving Up Afternoon’. Each pupil had opportunity to meet their new teacher and spend time in their new class.

One slight change to our original plan. Miss Antonia Robb has now been appointed to our school, she will overtake class duties from August in Primary 2a. Mrs Devanney will now cover teacher Non-class contact time, with the focus on music across the school.

Nursery Bonanza Day, where our PM pupils experienced a whole day at nursery, on Wednesday 5th June was a great success. Our thanks to all of our nursery staff and our Primary 7 teachers who all enjoyed a wonderful day.

Primary One Assembly was AMAZING! A fabulous journey through recent Primary One learning, all about Water. The pupils excelled through their performance in song, dance, rap and verse. It was a joy to see our youngest school pupils be so confident and successful in their learning. I’m sure as parents you must be very proud of your children’s achievements over their first year at school. Fr. Chromy came along to the dress rehearsal, he was taken aback by the quality and quantity of learning on display. He loved being represented on stage!

Kilbowie week was a triumph. Our Primary 7 pupils had a wonderful week filled with a huge range of new learning opportunities.

Here’s a wee taster of their week in photograph, a previous blog gives the link to all 840 photos!

BNF Healthy Eating Week took place whilst P7 were in Kilbowie, well done to all who tried so hard to ensure a ‘healthy snack’ became their snack of choice. Please continue to encourage healthy snacks each day. Fruit and veg are a fabulous choice. Our Health Committee and our Playground Patrol joined forces to marry together healthy eating with a healthy heart. On Thursday 13th all of our pupils had opportunity to ‘have a go’ at all the active resources available each day in our yard. A timely reminder that PLAY time is for PLAYING! Great fun was had by all. Our thanks to Mrs Loose and the Health Committee and Miss Love and the Playground Patrol. Thanks also to Karen, our cook  and all the dining staff who provided a fabulous plate of healthy fruit and veg for each class.

Staying on a foody  theme. Madame Ali organised a ‘French Brunch’ for a number of our pupils:

Here’s all the info from Madame Ali:

After a month of Mad May Language Challenges, pupils were desperate to find out who was going to be invited to attend the French brunch hosted by our Language Ambassadors. Ancillary staff judged the art challenge entries while the Ambassadors calculated the scores on the various general knowledge quizzes. Finally at the beginning of June the winners were announced and over 20 pupils from P3-P7 received a personalised invitation to brunch in our teaching kitchen. Croissants, pains au chocolat, brioche buns, as well as baguettes with a selection of French cheese and fresh mango juice were all on the menu. But not for long! Délicieux!

Nursery Graduation took place on Friday 14th June, what a fabulous day we all enjoyed. Our pre-school children delighted everyone with their singing and dancing. We were also greatly entertained by their interviews where they inspired us with their hopes and dreams for their future careers. It’s never too early to develop our young workforce in Cathedral!

A HUGE thanks to all in our nursery for their on-going excellent work, what a team!

A separate App message gives a link to all 92 photographs.

We are always in the business of continuous improvement and are very keen to hear what you think, here are the thoughts of our nursery parents/carers:

P5 have been involved in some innovative learning opportunities.  Table Top Presentation!

Here’s what Mrs Carr and Primary 5b thought about their learning:

To finish off our topic on Europe, the children worked with partners to research a country of their choice. On Monday, they had the opportunity to share their new knowledge and understanding with their classmates and children and staff from other classes at our tabletop presentation. Although a little nervous at first, they were soon confidently discussing many interesting facts about their country.

Here is what some of P5b had to say:

I loved everything about the topic, but the thing I loved most was writing all the facts for our folder and talking to others about it. Maya

I liked the presentation because it helped my confidence and my general knowledge grow. Jonathan

I enjoyed this topic. I was encouraged by my team so I was not nervous at the presentation. I learned that Germany has the largest economy in Europe. Jude

I liked when the P7s did our Finland quiz. Matthew

I liked talking to the people that came to our table. They were interested in hearing about Greece. Zofia

I was a bit scared at first, but I really liked it when we did our quiz and lots of other people enjoyed it. Logan

I enjoyed researching and learning about Greece. Lots of people came to our table. Amelia

We are ending our term focussing on our Primary 7 pupils. As they prepare to leave us for High School we are seeing them off in style!

On Tuesday 18th June we all danced the night away at our Leaver’s Disco. On this occasion our P7 pupils also enjoyed pizza and ice cream. A delicious an delightful evening was enjoyed by all. HUGE thanks to our Fabulous Fundraising Group who provided this wonderful opportunity for our Primary Seven pupils.

On Thursday 29th June we celebrated our P7 Leaver’s Mass & Graduation. This was indeed a very proud day for all in P7 and their families. Our whole school community came together in prayer to celebrate Mass, a beautiful, spiritual occasion. Our sincere thanks to Fr. Chromy and Canon O’Mahoney for coming along to concelebrate Mass for our school. At the end of this Mass we presented our annual Charity cheques to a wide range of charities.

Throughout the year, most specifically during the season of Lent, our whole school community come together to raise funds to help those less fortunate than ourselves. Our children and families are renowned for their generosity and this year is no different. Throughout the year we have donated a tremendous amount of money – in excess of £6500

At our Leaver’s Mass with all of our children in attendance we gave cheques to a number of our recognised charities.

• SCIAF ~ £1500
• St Andrew’s Hospice ~ £1500
• Missio ~ £1500
• Gorsilaure ~ £1000
• Let the Children Live ~ £200
• Lepra ~ £200
• Wayside Club ~ £200
• Lanarkshire Cancer Care ~ £200
• Cathedral Kitchen ~ £200

In addition we have contributed to Christian Aid through our choir singing at a local concert which raised over £1700, our staff raised £500 for McMillan through a staff coffee morning.
Our school is also now a partnership school with our local foodbank sending a huge range of required food stuff & toiletries to our locale.

Wow! Well done boys and girls, what fantastic citizens you are helping those less fortunate both at home and abroad.

Friday 21st June we launched our annual Three Day Event. This year, like every other year, this was a spectacular event. Mrs Marie Clare Duffy organises all of this work and what an incredible job she does!

Our cheerleading teams from Primary 6 and Primary 7  entertained us to a fabulous display of gymnastics. Following this our team captains led their teams out to the pitch proudly waving the flag of their chosen country. All 12 teams were made up of pupils from across the whole school. Throughout our 12 sports stations the teams supported and encouraged each other to try their best! The atmosphere was superb, such a  great sense of community. During all of the events we were entertained by a live Samba band. Well done to St. Aidan’s Samba Band who were magnificent. I hope we didn’t disturb the local community too much!

Photographs of the Leaver’s Mass, Graduation and our Three Day Event will follow soon.

As we come to the end of another very successful year may I take this opportunity to say thank you to all of our staff, pupils and parents/carers who contribute to every aspect of our school community.

Living to Learn, Learning to Live

Have a lovely summer.

Mrs Shields