REMEMER REMEMBER: Parent Evening Tuesday 17th March – All appointments issued last Thursday.
Another busy week in school. On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week our Primary Three children recieved the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. Primary Three should feel very proud of themselves, for children so young they demonstrated their understanding of Gospel stories and the importance of saying sorry in such a mature fashion, Fr Millar and Canon O’Mahony were most impressed.
Primary Three teaching staff should also feel very proud as their young pupils showed great respect and reverence in church during their reception of the sacrament. Well done to all involved and a huge thanks to Mrs Gillespie, Mrs McDerment, Miss Couper, Miss Love and Mrs Duffy who all worked together to ensure a deep spiritual learning experience for our children and ensured all enjoyed two beautiful celebrations of the Sacrament. Fabulous work.
Tuesday morning Primary 6 & Primary 7, our confirmandi walked to Mass to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Saint John Ogilvie. Bishop Toal celebrated the Mass and spoke most highly of our young pupils. They participated full throughout the Mass, sang beautifully and behaved impeccibly – I couldn’t ask for any more. A big thanks from me to our senior pupils and their teachers. Thanks once again to Mrs Campbell and Mrs Murphy for their musical input.
Wednesday morning was very busy in school. We were delighted to be chosen as the host venue from which to lauch the 2017 Transplant Games. In previous months our children have been involved in assisting North Lanarkshire in their bid to host the games, and, they won! Therefore our school was chosen as the venue for the launch. Our Primary 7 pupils excelled themselves in their excellent manners and sporting participation. A big thanks to Mrs Loose and her wonderful Health Committee who prepared all the activities in the gym hall and assisted on the day. All who came along to our school commented on our well mannered, happy pupils who clearly have great pride in their school. I am delighted with the feedback and look forward to seeing them in the press.
Also on Wednesday morning we welcomed representatives from SCIAF who came along to talk to our children about the importance of Alms Giving and to explain how necessary their help is. Once again (I know I’m repeating myself), both visitors were amazed at the attentiveness and the quality of questions from our pupils. They could not believe such a big school has such a high standard of behaviour. Well done, once again, to our wonderful pupils.
Thursday morning I welcomed Mr Robert Dalzell, our Quality Improvement Officer. Our meeting focussed on the ongoing developments within our school and nursery. As always Robert was delighted with the innovative practice within our school and nursery – his words were ‘ do your staff never sleep? As always – amazing work in this school’
Friday was our Sponsored Bunny Bounce – Once again huge thanks to Mrs Loose (who at 7 1/2 months pregnant was not allowed to bounce)and her Health Committee who organised all the activities – photos coming next week. Thanks to you as parents for your continued support for our Lenten Alms Giving.
In the nursery this week there’s been lots going on. Here’s the gossip from Mrs MM Murphy (last seen up a tree in the forest)
Our nursery rhyme theme continues this week with Jack and Jill. The children have been discussing the patterns of language through rhyming and have been listening out for words that sound the same.
In the literacy area they have made their own nursery rhyme booklets containing their favourite ones. The music area has been updated and the children have been using a variety of the new instruments to listen to the rhythm and beat of the songs/rhymes. A listening station has also been added to the music area to give the children a quiet area to listen to rhymes and to play listening games.
In numeracy the children have continued with postional games using Jack and Jill and have been playing these games on the SmartBoard.
In the art area they have created their own Jack and Jill display using a variety of collage materials. This is displayed in the far end of the playroom. They have been using the playdough to create characters and the hill that Jack and Jill went up. The children continue to role-play Humpty Dumpty on the opposite wall.
Outdoors the children have been role-playing the story of Jack and Jill on the hill in front of the nursery and they have used the big bucket in the garden as Jack’s pail and used the fort as the hill. They continued to use the indoor climbing frame to explore positional language.
In snack they have been choosing their own healthy snack and preparing it.
The group activities this week continued with the following.
A floating and sinking activity in the art area.
How to do the laundry in the home corner.
Feeding the birds and looking after the garden outside.
Listening for words that sound the same in the literacy area.
Identifying 2d shapes in the maths area.
Forest Kindergarten sessions continue each Wednesday evidence of the learning can be seen in the cloakroom in the floorbook.
Friday was full of fun as the children took part in the sponsored Bunny Bounce. They had the choice of two bouncy castles, trampettes and used the big mats to practice their tumbling skills. Great fun was had by all.
A wee reminder Parents Night is on Tuesday 17/3/15. All times have now been distributed any problems please speak to a member of staff.
Thanks for reading, please comment if you wish.
Mrs Shields
As always it’s a pleasure to read the blog and hear about all the great things going on in our school. I just wanted to say a big thank you to the staff who were involved in helping the children produce the lovely Mother’s Day cards and gifts it really was a surprise.
Many thanks to all staff involved in preparing Primary 3 children for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It was a beautiful service, very spiritual, and the children were marvellous. Congratulations to all.