Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School

On Thursday 6th November, Primary 7 learners were set a STEM Challenge of creating a fully functional zip line.  Using K’Nex, these budding engineers planned, solved problems, built and modified their design to allow Bob to take the leap of faith down the zip line.  Their next step is to design a safety harness for Bob!

On Wednesday 5th November, Primary 7b explored chemical reactions by creating their own mini fireworks. Our young scientists carefully investigated variables and reflected on their learning to make sure their experiments worked perfectly and produced the much-anticipated “BANG!” It goes without saying, they had a blast in the process!

These talented Primary 4 artists showcased their impressive skills on Wednesday, 5th November by creating stunning portraits of the infamous Guy Fawkes. Using pencil, they expertly explored pattern, tone, and detail to bring each portrait to life.

Cathedral’s Investigation & Innovation Hub family learning sessions continued on Tuesday 4th November. Each session began with a presentation from Mr Young on how activities within the hub fit naturally into Cathedral’s overall Active8 approach. Mr Young went on to explain the importance of Cathedral Primary helping learners develop skills for life and work in the 21st Century, including creativity, collaboration, adaptability and persistence/grit.

Following the presentation, parents and carers worked alongside their child to get a feel for the types of exciting, open-ended projects which take place in the hub.

You can read more about Cathedral’s Investigation & Innovation Hub my clicking on the link below:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/nl/olga/investigation-innovation-hub/

The final family learning sessions, for Primary 3 parents and carers, take place on Tuesday 11th November.

Over the past few weeks, Primary 6b have been busy trialling Marty the robot as part of their Computing Science. Learners had the chance to bring Marty to life through coding, tackle problem-solving challenges, and work together in teams to design creative tasks that showcased his impressive abilities. This hands-on experience not only strengthened their understanding of robotics and programming, but also helped them develop vital skills such as collaboration, resilience, and critical thinking.

The class were so inspired by how Marty can enhance learning that they decided to take action, writing to Mr Young to request a full set of Marty robots for the school. With such passion behind their plea, Mr Young didn’t need any convincing at all!

November’s wellbeing indicator is ACHIEVING. Please use the prompts below to talk to your child about this indicator. This will help them complete their wellbeing wheel in school.

Nursery and Primary 1

• I can ask my teacher for help when I need it.
• I have people around me who help with my learning.
• I have people who help me to do things on my own.
• I can speak out in class.
• I am eager to learn.

Primary 2 – 4

• I can ask my teacher for help when I need it.
• I have people around me who help with my learning.
• I have people who help me to do things myself.
• I can speak out in class.
• I am eager to learn.
• I can overcome challenges and work to achieve success.

Primary 5 – 7

• I am making progress in all areas at school.
• I can set targets for my learning and work independently towards them.
• I can overcome challenges and work to achieve success.
• I have opportunities to reflect on my achievements.

Cathedral hosted a football tournament with teams from Our Lady & Saint Francis, St Teresa’s, Keir Hardie, St Patrick’s, St Brendan’s and Christ the King on Friday 31st October. As you can see from the huge smiles, Cathedral emerged as tournament champions! Well done to all our players and coaches!

The team was cheered on by a fantastic group of cheerleaders, who planned and organised their very own lunchtime club. Go Team OLGA!

Cathedral parent and international trade specialist with the Scottish Space Programme, Andrew Dickson, delivered an exciting presentation on space to our Primary 5 learners on Friday 31st October. The children learned how satellites and rockets are designed and launched right here in Scotland, and even had the chance to hold a satellite prototype from Skyrora and touch part of a rocket that has actually been to space!

A huge thank you to Mr Dickson for bringing Cathedral pupils’ learning to life — it was truly OUT OF THIS WORLD!

As part of this term’s World War II topic, Primary 7 learners had the opportunity to choose an area of interest to delve deeper into. On Friday 31st October, our young historians showcased their learning to other classes in an impressive range of ways including models, Power Points, posters, leaflets and displays of authentic artifacts.

Well done, Primary 7, for being such enthusiastic leaders of your own learning!

This week in Cathedral nursery, our young learners have been diving into the wonderful world of pumpkins! We discovered where pumpkins come from and enjoyed getting hands-on with the inside — scooping, feeling, and talking about the different textures and smells. There were plenty of giggles (and a few enthusiastic “ewwws!”) as we explored together.

The children have also been busy creating beautiful black-and-white self-portraits. Using mirrors, they looked carefully at their reflections and shared their thoughts and feelings. We talked about how our emotions can change in different situations and reminded ourselves that all feelings are okay — whether we’re happy, sad, excited, or even a little grumpy.

Throughout the week, we’ve continued to celebrate our nursery values, with a special focus on Love and Friendship. It has been heartwarming to see these values shining through in the children’s play, conversations, and everyday interactions — showing kindness, care, and respect for one another in everything they do.