This has been the most amazing week. There have been so many incredible achievements and learning opportunities, absolutely brilliant.

Science Technology Engineering & Maths (STEM)

We teamed our STEM week with National Science Week. Mrs Marie Clare Duffy (STEM extraordinaire)  organised a whole range of amazing activities all designed around STEM and aimed at Developing our Young Workforce (DYW). Our pupils, and staff, have been fully engaged in exciting, unique teaching and learning. We launched our STEM week at Monday morning assembly:

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Throughout the week we’ve had visits to the Science Centre, a range of workshops from Motherwell Heritage Centre, presentations from Scottish Power, a range of scientists, a variety of engineers and a plethora of parents/carers all presenting to our pupils providing practical expertise. THANK YOU to everyone who contributed. This was an inspirational way to encouraging our pupils to think of themselves as young adults in the world of work. A triumph of organisation and innovative practice from Mrs Marie Clare Duffy, outstanding work.

Here’s a flavour of how much our children learned:

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In the midst of all of our DYW work through STEM our cross country pupils excelled themselves at the finals on Tuesday with the teams winning two second places and one third. Brilliant work from our budding athletes, huge thanks to Mrs Margaret Mary Murphy and her trusty team, excellent work. Here’s the teams:

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Also on Tuesday our wonderful choir won first place in the Glasgow Music Festival in the Hymn Singing category. Our choir was also awarded the Ian Barrie Certificate for being awarded the highest mark out of both Hymn Singing Competitions, a wonderful achievement. Huge thanks to Mrs Campbell who was our official accompanist on the day. Here they are on stage in The Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow with our wee OLGA proudly seated in the front row cheering them on.

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On Tuesday evening our Primary Three pupils celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation, this was a beautiful, uplifting service held in OLGA Cathedral Church. Fr. Chromy, Fr. McPhail and Canon O’Mahony all commented on how well the children had prepared to receive the sacrament. Our Primary Three pupils looked angelic on the night and they sang like a host of angels, well done to all in Primary Three so ably led by Mrs Gillespie, Miss Cawley and Miss McAlinden.

Thursday evening saw Primary 6a perform in Motherwell Concert Hall. This concert was the culmination of an excellent Song Writing Project for P6a & Mrs McCulloch. The children have had opportunity to work with a range of musicians and artists to create their own song, both lyrics and melody. And what a song it was. The concert, entitled, ‘All our Tomorrows’ focused on our children’s aspirations for the future. Our school decided to concentrate on our planet, they sang of the importance of taking care of our planet and protecting it for the future of all. A truly beautiful, lyrical performance. Well done to all in P6a & Mrs McCulloch their very proud teacher.

Friday was our second Lenten Charity event, Crazy Hair Day and Motherwell Foodbank Appeal. Thanks to all for the fabulous generosity. The food will be collected and distributed around the locale on Monday, a true example of ensuring charity does indeed begin at home.

Please remember Lenten Mass every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in our school library at 8.15am.

Meanwhile down in the nursery the STEM work continues:

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The children and staff have thoroughly enjoyed this busy week.

The children have participated in a range of S.T.E.M. activities this week please have a look at the photographs to see how hard they worked. Below is a list of what the children did this week

Bubble experiment.
Volcano eruptions.
Stretchy playdough.
Kinetic sand.
Gloop.
Shaving foam.
Bubble painting.
Sinking and floating
Explored movement using magnets, magnetic numbers and straws.
Feely tub predictions.
Magnetic fishing game to catch the letters in their name.
They made jelly exploring solid to liquid to solid.
Rainbows from Skittles.
Made healthy smoothies using technology (Nutribullit)
Made crispy cakes melting the chocolate in the microwave. Solid to liquid to solid.
Polar Bear hands.
Robotic Rabbit.
In the forest they explored movement using the ropeswing and built a fire to make cheese toasties. (Melting)
Popoid building challenge.

A magnificent week, thoroughly enjoyable and such great learning.

Let me know what you think.

Mrs Shields

 

 

 

The Grand Opening Ceremony………

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And now the real learning begins:

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We have Primary Seven making the most of this wonderful space, whilst they can!

Primary Five becoming one with nature.

Primary Two enjoying French cuisine as they transformed our outdoor classroom and playground into Cafe Papillon.

What wonderful additions to our school, we look forward to lots of outdoor learning to come.

Meanwhile our nursery pupils are, as always, very busy…..

This week in nursery we have moved on to learning all about our bodies.

In art the children painted self portraits using a mirror to look closely at their facial features. These have been displayed in the art area so please take a look.

Outdoors they have been using the stethoscope to record their resting heartbeat and their active heartbeat after vigorous exercise. The weather was very kind to us this week and all children were out in the garden exploring the numbered stepping stones, using their balancing skills and drawing themselves with the large chalk.

In numeracy they have been using their brains to help them match colour and number to quantity using the coloured vehicles. They have been exploring the big skeleton floorpuzzle helping them to name the different bones in the body.

In the watertray they have been taking turns to hold up the number while the children used a range of tongs and fishing tools to count and match the number of dinosaurs they found.

Snack has been busy this week as the children discussed and recorded on a mindmap ‘What makes them healthy’

They used a range of food, fruit and vegetables to make their own snack people.

In Literacy they having been reading the story of ‘Funny Bones’ and sequencing the events in the story. They have used the smartboard to learn the names of different parts of their bodies through a range of action songs such as Funny Bones, Dem Bones and the Skeleton Dance. Active learning is a fabulous way to get healthy and learn at the same time.

How lovely are the new Pic Collage photographs, Mrs Little is educating us all with her photography skills.

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Our Burns competitors did us proud on Tuesday evening; a most successful outcome.

Our children secured First Place in P4/5 verse speaking, Third and First place in P6/7 singing, Overall P6/7 winner and our school was awarded the Schools Trophy for Overall Cchampions on the evening. Absolutely fantastic, we are so proud of our young performers they were truly magnificent. Big thanks to all parents/carers who came along on the evening to cheer them on and to our staff, Miss Cawley and Mrs Shevlin who have been coaching the children. Thanks also to Mrs Campbell for providing the musical accompaniment on the evening.

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Thanks to Mrs Mary Little for taking our photographs.

This week in our school our nursery parents have enjoyed informative pre-school workshops which detail the work we will be doing next term to ensure our youngest pupils are all ready for ‘the big school’. Both workshops were very well attended, thanks to all who came along. Thanks also to Mrs Marie Clare Duffy and Mrs Margaret Mary Murphy for their preparation and presentation of the workshops.

Throughout this week our pupils across all stages have enjoyed spectacular author visits and story telling sessions in our lovely new library. Mrs Tominey and her trusty librarians, working with Mrs McGuire and Firpark librarians organised a wonderful array of events for everyone to enjoy and to further promote reading for enjoyment. We have been motivated and inspired by our author visits.

Friday of this week we held our grand opening of our outdoor classroom and al fresco orchestra. Mr Alan Blakley and Mr Charlie Millar from Forgewood Holdings joined us for the official opening. We were also delighted to welcome Mrs Anne Munro, chairperson of our Fabulous Fundraisers and Mrs Mary Frances Verrecchia, treasurer of our Fabulous Fundraisers and our Parent Council. Invited guest also included Mr Bulloch and Mrs Josephine Duffy, our wonderful janitors.

We enjoyed a magical morning with representatives from across our school and nursery all delighted to be a part of this exciting event. Mr John Wilson was on hand to photograph the event, photographs will be published on the App as soon as we receive them.

A HUGE thanks to everyone involved on the day with particular appreciation to Forgewood Holdings, our fabulous Fundraisers and EVERYONE IN OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY. Every single person has been involved in raising funds to secure these new elements to our yard. Both will bring great opportunities for diverse, exciting learning and loads of fun.

Friday of this week we were honoured to participate in ‘Thinking Day’ with all of those in our school who are Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. They proudly wore their appropriate uniforms on Friday, well done to all participants.

Meanwhile, when not attending official openings our nursery children have been very busy…..

As we come to the end of our ‘People Who Help Us’ topic the children transferred the Police station into a Hospital and have been role-playing the job of the Doctor, Nurse and Paramedic. They have used the stethoscope to listen to their own and others heartbeats. They have recorded their temperatures using the thermometer strips.

In Science they have been exploring a range of body part x-rays on the lightbox and from this have been learning the names of different bones inside their body.

In art they created their own handprint x-rays and make an ambulance from junk. Throughout the week the children have been using their senses as they explore different smells in the water tray and have used the playdough to make their own stethoscopes for the Doctors.

In Literacy they have been scribing their own life experiences of visiting the Doctors surgery, clinic or hospital. After telling their own stories they had the opportunity to visit the music area to use the props to sing some songs and rhymes relating to medical emergencies. Such as ‘Miss Polly, Humpty Dumpty and 5 cheeky Monkeys jumping on the bed’.

Outdoors they made a hospital bed from Quadro for the hospital and they created their own nurses and Doctors from the dress up collage.

The Smartboard has been put to good use as the children participated in a range of ‘Funny Bones’ stories and action songs.

Wednesday was the start of the 3rd Forest Kindergarten block. Look out for their adventures in the Forest floorbook and in the cloakroom.

On Friday all children had the opportunity to listen to a story from the author Lizzie Finnegan as part of our Library Launch. The children had fun participating in the story telling.

And here we are proudly presenting our brand new outdoor clothing, catwalk models in the making!

Final thanks to Mrs Mary Little, our brand new ‘photographer’.

As always, thanks for taking the time to read the Blog. Please leave a comment or two.

Mrs Shields

This is a very short week for our pupils, however, within those two days there’s been lots going on.

Our avid birdwatchers have been busy looking at different ways to look after their little charges. Birdwatching is a unique afterschool club (on Thursdays) which offers an opportunity for our pupils to be at one with nature. Here’s what some the children think of their birdwatching club:

Grace, Kacper and Samantha

During the winter it is hard for birds to find enough food. In our birdwatching club we put out food for the birds and then we watch them through our binoculars. We’ve seen robins, blue tits, magpies, blackbirds, starlings and black-headed gulls in our yard. Our favourite part was making our own bird food with lard, seeds and dried mealworms, all mixed together! It sounds really weird but the birds love it and we still liked making it.

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A huge thanks to all who attend the birdwatching club and to Mrs Carr, Mrs Findlay and Mrs McAllister who guide and encourage our children to engage with nature.

Not so sure Mrs Duffy was ‘keen’ mixing the birdfood BY HAND!

Meanwhile, our Playground Patrol are busy planning lots of springlike activities to encourage all of our pupils to play together and to use all the wonderful resources available in our yard. Here they are at their weekly ‘boardmeeting’. Thanks to Miss Love and her team of enthusiastic patrollers, they do a fabulous job.

Following on from their great success at North Lanarkshire Council’s Euro Quiz, our team continue to prepare for the National Final to be held at Holyrood in May. One thing they noticed at their NLC heat was that many schools had a mascot (and we didn’t). They wrote to Mrs Docherty, formerly one of our office ladies and an EXPERT knitter and asked if she could help……Meet OLGA! How lovely is our little mascot?

OLGA was designed by the Euro Quizzers and created by Mrs Docherty, isn’t she fabulous? OLGA will accompany the Euro Quizzers in May and I’m sure she will also become a mascot for all of our pupils who are involved in so many competitions, leagues, quizzes all around North Lanarkshire and beyond.

Mrs Docherty has also created and designed some superb outdoor cushions for our outdoor classroom, they are all weatherproof and in true nature colours. A HUGE thanks to Mrs Docherty (and Mr Docherty, because we know he helped too). The official opening of our Outdoor Classroom and our Al Fresco Orchestra is this coming Friday, exciting.

Our youngest pupils have been very busy this short week, here’s Mrs MM Murphy will all the gossip….

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The nursery was full of vibrant colours last week as the children learned all about the customs that take place throughout Chinese New Year. They listened to the story of Nian the Dragon and how the villagers frightened him away with loud noises, fireworks and red flags. From this they created their own version of Nian and took part in the dragon dance throughout the school and garden. They role-played in the Chinese restaurant using chopsticks and wool for noodles. They tasted a range of Chinese food throughout the week. They explored noodles in the art area and went on a red envelope treasure hunt in the garden where the children had to find the special red envelopes that Chinese children receive during this celebration. A fantastic experience learning about different cultures and customs throughout the world.

As always, thanks for reading.

Please leave a comment or two…..

Mrs Shields

 

Our week finished on a very strong note with Primary 4 pupils excelling themselves in their amazing assembly. A magnificent learning journey through Viking times, we learned through song, drama, art and verse. A huge congratulations to all in P4, every child participated throughout. Thanks to all P4 staff; Mrs Murphy, Mrs Cassidy, Miss Love and Mrs Findlay for all their work in preparing the children. Thanks also to our wonderful support staff who assisted with costumes and props. Our assembly was very well attended  and from the adult response it was clear a most enjoyable morning was had by all.

Mr John Quinn (Grace’s dad) came along on Friday a kindly volunteered to photograph this wonderful event. Click on the link below to access the photographs, they are outstanding. Once again, we are indebted to John for all his work.

https://goo.gl/Wi4Eh8

Continuing on a tuneful note, on Monday of this week P6a recorded their entry for North Lanarkshire Council Song Writing Project. Thanks to Fr. Chromy for allowing us to make use of the wonderful acoustic in Cathedral Church.

You can come along and hear the children on Thursday 14th March in Motherwell Concert Hall. Posters with all the details are around the school with one attached to the photographs below.

Our school App has kept you all abreast of the progress of our ‘Big Build’. The outdoor classroom and al fresco orchestra are almost complete, we look forward to the grand opening. Have a look at the App for daily photograph updates.

Tuesday morning was very exciting for our Euro Quiz Team. Finn, Taylor, Emma, Elizabeth, Mya, Miss Donnelly & Miss Forsyth. The team took part in North Lanarkshire Council Euro Quiz and earned a fabulous First Place.  A brilliant achievement, they now look forward to representing North Lanarkshire Council at the National Final in Holyrood later in the year. Photographs have been posted on the App.

Wednesday evening we had our first Fundraisers Meeting of the new year, thanks to all who braved the cold to come along. We are continually looking for new ways to involve everyone in supporting our school community. Why not come along to our next meeting on Wednesday 24th April? A great way to work together to create excellent experiences for our children. Don’t worry about remembering the April date, I’ll remind you nearer the time.

Meanwhile down in the nursery:

This week has been a super busy week in nursery with some special visitors.

As we continue with our ‘People Who Help Us’ topic the children continue to learn about the role of the Police Force. On Tuesday morning we had a special visit from a special Policeman who brought his big Police Van for the children to explore. He showed them some of his equipment and some children were able to name parts of it. He brought some hats for them to wear and let them try on his big helmet. He even put his handcuffs on one of the staff. Don’t worry it was only pretend!
Our afternoon children will have their visit next Wednesday.

As the week progressed the children added a Jail to the Police Station that they had started last week. They have been using the new costumes to role-play the job of a Policeman/woman and using scrunchies as handcuffs. In literacy they have been writing imaginative stories about the Police and some words for display. In art they have made collage Police cars and created their own Police Force from a range of art materials.

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A new day dawned on Wednesday when another set of visitors arrived. These ladies were student nurses from the University of the West of Scotland. They gave a little talk to the children about the importance of keeping our bodies strong and healthy. Each group experienced a fun physical course outdoors using a range of equipment. Afterwards the children discussed the benefits of healthy exercise. The students were very impressed with our children’s participation.

In numeracy the children have been using the ‘People Who Help Us’ matching cards to match the job and the vehicle that goes along with the job. They have been watching a range of short Police videos helping them to understand all the different roles the Police do.

Outdoors they continue to be creative using our new bricks to create towers, cars and of course a Jail.

Finally, a very important message to all:

 

 

NOTICE TO ALL PARENTS/CARERS OF

O.L.G.A CATHEDRAL PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY CLASS

Our children’s safety is being compromised on a daily basis because of inconsiderate parking.

Following multiple on-going safety concerns from our parent forum I bring to your attention parking guidance in and around our school and nursery.

NURSERY CAR PARK:

This is for parents/carers dropping off and collecting nursery children. NO SCHOOL PUPILS SHOULD BE DROPPED OFF OR COLLECTED IN THE NURSERY CAR PARK.

Disabled spaces are primarily for those children who require additional assistance.

TOP CAR PARK:

This is for parents/carers dropping off and collecting school pupils.

SCHOOL DRIVE:

This is ONLY for school transport (buses and taxis). NO PARENT/CARER should park on any part of the drive.

Let’s work together to ensure every child can arrive and leave school and nursery safely and happily.

 

Mrs Shields

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTICE TO ALL PARENTS/CARERS OF O.L.G.A CATHEDRAL PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY CLASS

Our children’s safety is being compromised on a daily basis because of inconsiderate parking.

Following multiple on-going safety concerns from our parent forum I bring to your attention parking guidance in and around our school and nursery.

NURSERY CAR PARK:

This is for parents/carers dropping off and collecting nursery children. NO SCHOOL PUPILS SHOULD BE DROPPED OFF OR COLLECTED IN THE NURSERY CAR PARK.

Disabled spaces are primarily for those children who require additional assistance.

TOP CAR PARK:

This is for parents/carers dropping off and collecting school pupils.

SCHOOL DRIVE:

This is ONLY for school transport (buses and taxis). NO PARENT/CARER should park on any part of the drive.

Let’s work together to ensure every child can arrive and leave school and nursery safely and happily.

Mrs Shields

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTICE TO ALL PARENTS/CARERS OF O.L.G.A CATHEDRAL PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY CLASS

Our children’s safety is being compromised on a daily basis because of inconsiderate parking.

Following multiple on-going safety concerns from our parent forum I bring to your attention parking guidance in and around our school and nursery.

NURSERY CAR PARK:

This is for parents/carers dropping off and collecting nursery children. NO SCHOOL PUPILS SHOULD BE DROPPED OFF OR COLLECTED IN THE NURSERY CAR PARK.

Disabled spaces are primarily for those children who require additional assistance.

TOP CAR PARK:

This is for parents/carers dropping off and collecting school pupils.

SCHOOL DRIVE:

This is ONLY for school transport (buses and taxis). NO PARENT/CARER should park on any part of the drive.

Let’s work together to ensure every child can arrive and leave school and nursery safely and happily.

Mrs Shields

 

Last week I indicated I would post some pictures of our Good Work Wall from our Internet Safety Week on our App. My apologies, due to some on-going technical difficulties with our App I was unable to do so. However, here they are now. Some super examples of work all designed to ensure our children remain safe on line whilst making the most of modern technology. Better late than never!

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We hope to find a solution to our on-going technical App problems very soon.

A snowy week which provided lots of opportunities for great fun and unique learning experiences.

Mrs Duffy has all her classes outside for her STEM  (Science Technology Maths and Engineering) work building snow bridges.

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Meanwhile in the nursery they took to the hills for a sledging experience.

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On Tuesday of this week our Primary Three pupils and their parents/carers marked the beginning of their intense preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Grateful thanks to all who came along in such great numbers. I extend our gratitude to Miss Cawley for providing such an informative workshop guiding parents/carers through the workbook and the Sacrament. Thanks also to Fr. McPhail for such an uplifting Enrolment Ceremony. A wonderful way to mark this important step in the faith journey of our Primary 3 pupils. We look forward to celebrating the Sacrament with them on Tuesday 12th March at 6pm in O.L.G.A Cathedral Church. Please remember our offer of help and support is continuous, we are keen to support and encourage all in our families to be involved in the preparation of all Sacraments for our pupils.

Our nursery pupils continues to enjoy a super week, here’s Mrs M M Murphy with all the latest:

The topic of ‘People Who Help Us’ continues with the children learning the role of the Police Force. The children have been busy making Police cars, role-playing with our new costumes and learning some facts about the jobs that the Police do. This will continue next week when we will have a visit from real life Policemen/women. Look out for the photographs next week of all the learning.

On Tuesday the snow arrived and the children got on their warm waterproof clothes to go and have fun outdoors. They made snow Angels, snowballs and sledged down the big hill in the school grounds. On their return to nursery their cheeks had a rosy glow. They all had great fun.
On Friday we celebrated ‘Burns Day’. The children tasted Haggis, Neeps and Tatties, danced to Scottish music, had a go at Welly Wanging outdoors, listened to the story ‘We’re Gangin on a Bear Hunt’ and made Tartan pictures to take home. A great ending to a fab week!

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As always, thanks for taking the time to read our Blog, please leave a comment or two.

Mrs Shields

Internet Safety Week:

Our Internet Safety Week has been most successful with every class engaging in activities to promote safety on line.

Watch out or some photographs on our App of our Good Work Wall which will be dedicated to Internet Safety Week learning.

Thanks to all who managed to come along to our parental workshop on Friday afternoon, I trust you found it interesting and informative. Some helpful parental leaflets were distributed at the workshop. If you couldn’t manage along on Friday but would like the leaflets please let me know and I will get copies to you.

New Primary One Pupils:

Throughout this week we have been enrolling for our future Primary One pupils, it was lovely to meet some new prospective children and parents and also to welcome back some familiar faces, how time flies!

We look forward to ‘officially’ welcoming our new intake and their parents/carers at our pre-entrant programme scheduled for Tuesday 14th and Tuesday 21st May, final times for each class will be clarified after Easter.

Glasgow Science Centre – Clyde in the Classroom Project:

Primary 4/5. 5a and 5b all enjoyed a very exciting week with a visit on Thursday  to Glasgow Science Centre to launch their Clyde in the Classroom project. Soon we’ll be nurturing lots of little fish and caring for them as they grow. Here’s some photographs of the day. Thanks to our staff and parent helpers who came along on the day to assist with our pupils.

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Primary Three Reconciliation Enrolment Service:

Next Week Primary Three parents/carers and pupils will begin their intense preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation to be celebrated in O.L.G.A Cathedral Church on Tuesday 12th March at 6pm.

To provide support and assistance for our parents/carers we will be providing a workshop in school on Tuesday afternoon at 1.30pm this will be followed by an enrolment service with Fr. McPhail at 2.15pm. Should your child be preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation please make every effort to come along on Tuesday. We look forward to welcoming you all.

Nursery News:

All in the nursery have enjoyed a very busy week:

 

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Our new topic is ‘People Who Help Us’ The children will be learning about the jobs and roles people in the local and wider community do.

The children made a mindmap about people who help us and decided they wanted to learn about Hairdressers and Firefighters this week.

The house corner was changed into a Hairdressers/Beauty salon and the children filled it with a range of resources to enable them to role-play. The children have been busy taking appointments and role-playing the job of a hairdresser and beautician. This has been a very successful enterprise and unfortunately the salon is fully booked for the foreseeable future.

In Literacy the children have been listening to the story of ‘Fireman Piggy Wiggy’ from this they have designed and drawn their own fire engines showing the various equipment that Firefighters use. Over in the music corner the children have been singing some number Firefighter songs. Learning the jobs of the Fire Service while counting forwards and backwards.

In Art they have made personalised Firefighter hats with their own initials on them. They also used handprints to make a whole squad of firefighters.

Construction has been busy this week as the children were introduced to the new remote control Lego. They built their own Fire engines and other vehicles using the tools and used the remote controls to navigate around the playroom. The Smartboard has been working hard this week as the children listen to a range of fun learning stories and songs about the Fire Service.

Outside they designed and planned their own fire engines, they used the Quadro to build a fire engine and as the week progressed they added costumes, a helmet, a hose and some props and role-played the job of a firefighter.

In Snack the children have made Fire Engines from a range of snack. This activity has been very popular especially as you get to eat your creation!
Have a look at all the fun filled learning that the children have been involved in this week.

 

As always, thanks for reading. Please leave a comment or two.

Mrs Shields

A very quiet, calm week to begin our year. We were delighted to welcome all of our pupils and staff back for the New Year. In assembly on Monday we discussed the many successes of 2018 and talked about the exciting opportunities to improve in 2019.

We are delighted to see all of our children in full school uniform and also complemented them on their pro-active approach to keeping our yard litter free, this was most successful in 2018 and we aim to maintain this high standard in 2019.

We also took time to talk to our children about the exciting events coming this next week.

INTERNET SAFETY WEEK Monday January 14th – Friday January 18th

We have decided to dedicate this week to focussing on Internet Safety for all. Throughout the week our pupils will work on a variety of tasks and learning opportunities guiding them through the sea of social media, search engines and research tools. The emphasis will be on making best use of technology and ensuring safety and respect for all.

As parents and carers we aim to keep you fully informed and involved at all times. There will be a daily App message with information for adults, our homework and forthcoming Good Work Wall will focus on Internet Safety and on Friday 18th at 1.45pm there will be a workshop for parents/carers delivered by personnel from SSPCC. Please make every effort to attend, we look forward to a ‘full house’.

Next week is also Enrolment Week for our new Primary One pupils:

 

Welcome New P1 Enrolment

Children who attain the age of 5 years between 1 March 2019 and 29 February 2020 should be registered during the week commencing

Monday 14 January to Friday 18 January 2019.

Enrolment Times

 Monday 14th – Friday 18th  January 2019

1.30pm- 3.00pm

Please bring proof of address, full birth certificate and baptismal information if applicable

Meanwhile in our wonderful nursery…..

This week our final version of Care Inspectorate Report for our nursery has been published. Here’s a few highlights:

All parents and carers said that they were extremely happy with the care that their children received at the
service. People spoke highly of the opportunities that they were given to participate in experiences with their
children at nursery. Parents also highlighted the ‘exceptionally good’ staff and person centre approach, that was
used to meet children’s needs.
We observed children at play and they were very happy within the nursery environment. Children were highly
motivated to play and learn. Some children told us about their time at nursery. They commented that they liked
the garden, the teachers and the music area

The nursery environment was calm, welcoming and inclusive. Families were greeted warmly by staff who showed
a genuine interest in children’s wellbeing. The welcoming cloakroom displayed children’s interpretations of the
staff in painted portraits. This highlighted that the nursery was the children’s, emphasising their feeling of
belonging as soon as families entered the building.
Children experienced warmth, kindness and compassion. They were shown love and affection by staff who
offered cuddles and comfort throughout the nursery session. Staff were responsive to the needs of children and
intervened when necessary, to offer children additional comfort when needed. Children were further supported
through enrichment time which staff used to work with children requiring additional support on a one to one
basis.
Staff knew children and their families exceptionally well. Parents were invited to participate in lots of events at
nursery. For example, forest visits and stay and play sessions. There was also an opportunity for parents and
carers to chat to staff at drop off and collection times. This strengthened relationships, and as a result parents
felt comfortable to discuss children’s needs with staff

Children had access to a variety of play spaces that enhanced their quality of experiences. For example they
played in the garden, trim trail, pitch, soft play area and went for walks around the extensive school
grounds. Children were having great fun in the garden as they played in dens, climbed rocks and explored ‘dino
land’. Resources had been chosen for the garden to allow children to take some positive risks within play. For
example, climbing equipment and rocks. This enhanced children’s quality of experiences and encouraged them
to try new things, building their resilience.

All areas inspected by Care Inspectorate were graded as ‘Excellent’. What a fabulous start to 2019!

Full copies of the report are available in paper form from any member of the nursery/ school team. just ask and you will receive.

Online copies are also available on our school App and on our website.

Should you require the report to be translated, please contact Care Inspectorate and they will be happy to accommodate this.

Here’s to another most successful and productive year for all in our school and nursery.

Welcome back everyone.

Mrs Shields

A fabulous week filled with wonderful performances:

Firstly our Primary 4, 5, 6 & 7 pupils delighted their audiences with their rendition of ‘Witnesses’. A superb display of magical music and perfect poetry, well done to all in our upper school, their performances were exemplary. Here’s a few photos of all the action.

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On Friday of this week our nursery pupils provided highly entertaining performances of ‘The Bossy King’. Both shows were incredible, our nursery pupils were outstanding. A  big thanks to all involved. Special mention to our P6 buddies and our P3 Baby Choir who complemented the nursery pupils aiding and assisting as required.

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This will  be the final Blog for this year.

On behalf of all in our school community I wish everyone a happy and holy Christmas and may 2019 bring prosperity and hope to all.

Mrs Shields

What a week for Primaries 1, 2 & 3 they performed the Christmas story in a unique, fascinating and highly entertaining manner. Every child in each of the first three year groups had a chance to ‘shine’ and WOW how brightly they shone! The pupils gave three magnificent performances, one for their fellow pupils and another two for parents and carers. Each show was outstanding. A HUGE congratulations to every one of our Primary 1, 2 & 3 pupils who gave of their very best at all times. Thanks also to our fantastic staff, both teaching and non-teaching who have worked tirelessly over the last 5 weeks to prepare the children in song, in dance, in costume and in acting. A real team effort. A special mention has to be given to Mrs Brenda McCoy, acting DHT, who directed and choreographed the whole performance. Here’s some snapshots of the performance:

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This coming week we look forward to more terrific performances from our Upper school children and our nursery pupils. Upper school perform on Tuesday 11th December 10.00am & 1.30pm and nursery perform on Friday 14th December at 10.00am and 2.00pm. Both shows are shaping up to be truly memorable.

On Monday of this week all school pupils will bring home their Festive Fun & Frivolities letter, it details all the exciting treats planned throughout this month. Please see below, just in case some ‘get lost’ in schoolbags!:

Festive Fun and Frivolities

Dear Parent/Carer

We have arranged a number of festive treats for our children, which include:

Thursday 6^th December     Infant Nativity – Hope you enjoyed the show!

Tuesday 11^th December      Upper School performance ‘Witnesses’ 10.00am @ 1.30pm

 Friday 14^th December        Christmas Jumper Day – £1 per head for Mary’s Meals

Tuesday 18^th December     Pantomime by Jazz Art 9.30am

Party Time 1.20pm – 3.00pm – Glitz and Glamour time

Wednesday 19^th December Christmas Lunch

Friday 21^st December        Pantomime performed by M&M 1.00pm

At all parties each child will receive chocolate, crisps and juice.  Party prizes will also be provided.  We request each child contribute £5 towards the cost of all of the above. Those families with 2 or more children are asked to contribute £10 per family.

Children should come to school on the morning of Tuesday 18th dressed in party clothes.

Meanwhile, as well as preparing for their forthcoming show our excellent nursery pupils have been very busy. Here’s Mrs MM Murphy with all the latest:

 

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Last Friday all children participated in a Scottish Hoolie to celebrate our fantastic inspection report. Mrs Loose showed them a few Scottish dance steps and the children followed her in a dance. They then made up their own dances with their friends.
They had shortbread, oatcakes and good old Scottish cheddar cheese for snack. They listened to some Scottish stories on the Smartboard..

This week as we move into our Christmas festivities, the children have been busy helping to decorate the playroom. They put up the tree, helped with the decorations and made their own paper chains to hang in the playroom. They also made some Christmas trees using a range of junk and these will be decorated next week.

They have been using the big Smartboard for positional language games e.g the star goes on top of the tree, the presents go underneath the tree and so on.

The house corner has been transformed into a Christmas house with a new fireplace to hang up their stockings. They have been using a variety of Christmas costumes to role-play with.

In Literacy they have listened to the Christmas story and used the nativity figures to re-enact the big event.
By the end of the week the children have been writing their letters to Santa.

Mrs Little our in-house photographer is busy taking photographs of each child in their costumes from our forthcoming show
‘The Bossy King’ These photographs will be made into calendars and will be on sale shortly. A sample will be available next week and orders can be placed then.

Our show practice continues for the big day that is drawing near. Can we ask if any parent/carer is still to hand in the clothes that their child needs for underneath their costume as soon as possible.

Ho Ho Ho Not Long To Go!

As always, thanks for taking the time to read our Blog. Please keep in touch with a wee comment or two.

Mrs Shields