This week marked our first full week of the season of Lent. Well done to all who have managed to come along to our morning Masses, Monday through to Thursday at 8.15am, a very healthy turn out each day, but still space for more. This week Fr. Millar also began his programme of Class Masses for our sacramental children from Primary 3 & Primary 4. P3a were first, and all said it was a beautiful, unique experience. P3/4 and P3b will have this wonderful opportunity this coming week.

I hope you managed to have a look at our Good Work Wall this week which is filled, indeed, is overflowing with a huge range of activities all relating to Catholic Education Week on the theme of Learning to be Merciful. If you haven’t had the chance to come along and have a wee look, we’ll leave a range of work up around the outside of the library for you to see.

Wednesday of this week we had our first Lenten Charity Event – Pyjama Day! A very snowy day to come to school all dressed in PJs, dressing gown, slippers and carying the obligatory teddy bear. Great fun as you can see below.

 

 

However, remembering the reason why we are having these events, I am delighted to say, as a school community, we have raised £512.80, a superb amount. £53 was raised in the nursery with the remaining £459.80 coming from school pupils and staff. Thanks to all who contributed. I’ll keep you up to date on a weekly basis of our fundraising success. We also text our whole school community on a weekly basis to let everyone know of our Lenten Alms Giving. Huge thanks to Miss Stack and The Enterprise Committee for organising this great day. We look forward to our Sponsored Beat The Goalie this coming week.

Friday of this week we celebrated Mass as a school community in Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Church, given the poor weather forecast we opted to bus all of our school P1 through to P7 to and from Mass ( although this actually takes longer than going by foot) however with the current weather it was our most sensible. practical option. Mass we celebrated by Fr. Martin and Deacon Tom. Fr. Martin was most impressed by our children’s learned responses to his questions during the Homily. Well done to all of our pupils for their excellent behaviour and respect in church and their active participation in the Mass, they are a credit to our school and to you as parents. Be Proud.

Primary Three used this opportunity to learn all about the inside of the church, the sanctuary, the altar and they even had a wee peek in at the confessional boxes. No ‘down time’ in our school, every minute is used as a learning experience. Brilliant.

Also on Friday we cheered our Cross Country Athletes off to their trials in Coatbridge. I am so grateful to the army of parent helpers who came along to assist with supervision and (more importantly) to cheer our children, supporting their efforts. Huge thanks to Mrs Margaret Mary Murphy (usually found in the nursery) to Mrs Kirstie Harrison, one of our classroom assistants and to Mrs McCarthy, class teacher, who brave the weather each week to train our runners. Grateful thanks also to Mr John Quinn (Grace & Amanda’s dad) who came along snapping a plethora of fabulous photographs, go online and have a look – they are magnificent all 200 of them:

http://johnquinn.zenfolio.com/p85778925

Here’s a wee sneaky peek at a few:

Primary Seven this week have been taking re-cycling to a whole new level. Mrs McLaughlan reported:

Primary 7 gathered old toys, books etc that were in good condition. They brought them in with a small donation for charity and displayed them on a table outside of the classrooms. The children’s names were put into a virtual fruit machine and as the names were selected they then chose an item from the display.The leftover items will be bagged and given to a charity shop.

Here’s a couple of photos of the event. What a great way to ensure maximum usage of toys and games whilst helping others. I love the sound of the virtual fruit machine!

 

Meanwhile, the nursery, as always, has been busy, busy, busy……

At the beginning of the week the children set out on a nature hunt with magnifying glasses and animal charts. They found a whole family of worms and a variety of other mini beasts in the garden and around the school. They used a chart to record and draw their findings. On one trip out they discovered a poor injured puppy with an old bandage and rope tied round its mouth. Miss MacMullen and the children brought the puppy into the warmth of the nursery and a huge discussion took place. The children discovered that he/she wasn’t wearing a collar so decided to name her Rosie (AM) Jake (PM) they got a blanket from the pet shop and wrapped him up to keep him warm. They thought about what we could do to help the puppy and how to contact the owner. Some children thought the vets was the best place to take the poor injured puppy.
So the children quickly turned the pet shop into a vet’s surgery to help the puppy. They made lost posters and placed them around the nursery.
In expressive arts they made doggy treats using playdough and made a bed with a pillow to make the puppy comfortable. They also made a collar with his/her name on it.
In literacy they made signs for the vets surgery and told stories of their visits to the vet with their pets.
The discussion continued about where is the puppy’s mummy and all these ideas have been recorded on a mindmap which is displayed in the nursery.
This discussion led to children wanting to know the names for other baby animals and they played a matching game in the numeracy area to help them learn all about a range of animals and their young.
In the vets role-play got well under way with the children waiting with their sick pets in the waiting room and other children taking on the role of the vet.

With all this going on the children still managed to take part in pyjama day and they brought in their own soft toys which they used as customers for the vets. Some of the children have being bringing in their stuffed animals with plasters and bandages on. A great homelink.

Block 2 of the Forest Kindergarten continued this week. Please take a look at the floorbook in the cloakroom and the photographs on the Forest Kindergarten wall. This is the first forest adventure in the snow. The children worked together in a team to make Mr and Mrs Snowman. Their cheeks were glowing and they had a BALL!

And, as always, here’s the photos…

A VERY busy, picture filled Blog this week, we’d love to hear what you think, please leave a comment.

Mrs Shields