Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School

Primary 6 hosted another successful coffee morning on Friday 16th January. As always, it was great to see the hall filled with families and friends enjoying a catch up over coffee and cake. The event raised a fantastic £719.59 for school funds.

Many thanks to Primary 6 and the Fundraising Committee for organising and running the coffee morning.

This week in Cathedral Nursery, we were delighted to welcome new boys and girls, with our pre-school children acting as buddies to help them settle in. Our learners led their own learning through exciting discoveries across numeracy and health and wellbeing.

In numeracy, the children enjoyed hands-on activities sorting and matching objects into equal groups and counting totals, helping to build early confidence with numbers. We also explored how to look after our bodies, discussing the importance of handwashing and brushing our teeth to stay clean and healthy.

A fun paint activity helped the children understand how germs spread and why washing hands with soap is so important. They practised washing their hands thoroughly, learning how long to wash, why soap matters, and the importance of drying hands properly.

With Rabbie Burns Day approaching, we have also been learning about Scottish traditions, exploring Scottish words, traditional clothing such as kilts, and enjoying Scottish rhymes. The children loved sharing their knowledge and discovering more about Scotland’s rich heritage.

Our Primary 1 learners have reached an exciting milestone — writing their own sentences independently! On Thursday 15th January, these two enthusiastic writers were eager to share their work. This wonderful achievement highlights their growing confidence and understanding of how words come together to form sentences. As you can see, they are already experts at using capital letters and full stops!

Excitement filled Primary 6b on Wednesday 14th January as this year’s Minecraft Build Battles officially got underway. Supported by the NLC Digital Team and Minecraft Education Esports, Cathedral learners will take part in structured gaming sessions designed to develop problem‑solving, creativity, teamwork and digital skills.

In the coming weeks, pupils will work together to tackle a series of build challenges within Minecraft worlds, becoming part of the wider Build Battle learning community. Cathedral’s young designers are eager to showcase their talents and aim for a place in the NLC Build Battle Final 2026.

A fantastic opportunity for our learners to collaborate, think creatively and have great fun along the way.

Cathedral was delighted to welcome almost fifty Head Teachers, senior leaders and teachers on Tuesday 13th January, including Michael Roache, Head of Education in Inverclyde, who attended with all of his primary Head Teachers. Following the publication of Cathedral’s inspection report, colleagues travelled from as far afield as Greenock and Edinburgh to learn more about the school’s innovative Active8 approach.

The morning opened with a presentation from Mr Young, who explored the educational thinking behind Active8 and its place within modern Scottish education. The real highlight, however, came when visitors moved into learning streets and classrooms to see Active8 in action. Cathedral’s enthusiastic, confident and highly engaged learners quickly became the stars of the morning, showcasing Active8 far more powerfully than any presentation could.

Many guests left inspired and eager to consider how they might bring elements of Active8 into their own schools.

Children who turn 5 between 1st March 2026 and 29th February 2027 should be registered for primary school during the week commencing Monday 12th January 2026.

Here at Cathedral Primary, registration for our August 2026 intake will take place from Monday 12th to Friday 16th January 2026, from 1.30 – 2.45pm each day. Parents and carers should come to the main entrance and will be directed to the dining hall.

A birth certificate and a current council tax notice must be produced at the time of registration.

Information for parents/carers about registering their child for Primary 1 can be obtained by visiting https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/school-admissions/primary-school-registration-p1

Information on submitting a placing request can be obtained by visiting https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/school-admissions/placing-requests

Information on submitting an early entry request can be obtained by visiting https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/school-admissions/early-entry

These eager young learners were very keen to show off their achievements to Mrs Duffy on Friday 9th January.  Not content with learning INSIDE school, these pupils are learning new skills outside of school such as team work, commitment and effort.  Well done!  Remember to add your achievements to your Rose Trainer Achievement record card.

Cathedral finished the first week of the new term with a flurry (albeit  a very small one) of snow.  Not put off by the lack of snowflakes, these young learners worked together and showed true teamwork to build this miniature snowman!

Cathedral’s Primary 3/4 learners have been delving into the world of money, exploring how it works and why it plays such an important role in everyday life. To bring their learning to life, they set up their very own shop in the Learning Street during the first week of term, complete with products, price labels and daily opportunities to practise buying and selling.

Taking their understanding even further, the children also designed a secure vault to store their earnings, paying close attention to safety and how well their structure would hold up. Ingenious, real-life learning!