Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School

With the arrival of the colder weather and darker nights, Cathedral’s Play Zone has has been filled with lots of engaging activities and resources linked to autumn and the farm. Mr Young came across these two Primary 2 learners enjoying some autumn-themed finger painting on Monday 6th October before he took a wander to see what the rest of Primary 2a were up to. Activities included creating autumn farm landscapes in the loose parts area, cooking a hearty stew with harvest vegetables, a fun farm animal puppet show and some independent writing with the help of a farm word-bank. One pair of learners were even carefully selecting autumnal coloured bricks to create a Lego fallen leaves collage. How creative!

I am developing a sense of size and amount of by observing, exploring, using and communicating with others about things in the world around me. MNU 0-01a

I am able to show awareness of the tasks required to look after a baby. HWB 0-51a

This week, our young learners have been comparing the size of objects in different ways using the vocabulary small, medium and large. They have continued to identify numbers around them and some learners have been able to match numbers to the corresponding quantities.

Our young learners have been finding out about different ways to keep themselves healthy and have had fun being active with ‘Jumpstart Johnny’. The children have began to observe and describe the changes that happen to their bodies when they are active such as their hearts beating faster and then slowing down when they rest.

As a few of our learners have recently welcomed new babies into their family and this had led to discussions about how we care for them. In our tuff tray, we created a bubble bath experience and some of our learners took the time to carefully dry and dress their baby doll.

Our current Cathedral Pupil Parliament theme is Our health & wellbeing, with a specific focus on refurbishing the space used by our school counsellor. At their recent Class Council meetings, pupils across the school were asked: ‘What changes could we make to the Visiting Services room to make it a more homely space for counselling and quiet meetings?’. Given that our school counsellor is originally from Denmark, the children were asked to consider what might give the room ‘hygge’.

Our Pupil Parliament action board, which helps Cathedral continually drive forward change and improvement, has now been updated and our two Cabinet Secretaries for Health will lead and oversee the current priority over the coming weeks. They have already agreed on the colour of the walls, contacted the painter and ordered furniture and lighting from Ikea. Watch this space to see the transformation!

You can find out more about Cathedral Pupil Parliament by clicking on the link below:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/nl/olga/smart-school-council/

October’s wellbeing indicator is HEALTHY. 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 eat in the dinner hall (or ‘Cathedral Café’ in the nursery) with others.
• I can talk about foods that are healthy. 
• I can talk about foods that are unhealthy. 
• I can make and eat foods that are new to me. 
• I can make food from simple recipes. 
• I know how to be hygienic around food. 
• I drink water to keep me healthy. 
• I can look after my teeth. 
• I know when I need to wash my hands. 

Primary 2 – 4

• I can show good table manners.
• I can choose, make and eat a range of foods that are new to me. 
• I can follow a recipe to make healthy food for different events. 
• I know that my dietary needs change as I get older. 
• I know how to be hygienic around food. 
• I can sort foods into the main food groups. 
• I can explain my food likes and dislikes. 
• I know why water keeps me healthy. 
• I can look after my own personal hygiene. 
• I know how much sleep I need to stay healthy. 

Primary 5 – 7

• I have strategies to help manage and control my emotions.
• I take care of my own personal hygiene. 
• I can prepare and select a variety of foods for a range of situations. 
• I can describe and prepare a healthy eating plan. 
• I am aware of current healthy eating advice. 
• I can list the 5 nutrient groups. 

North Lanarkshire Council have now finalised term and holiday dates for the 2026/27 academic year. These are detailed below:

August 2026

• Monday 10th August 2026 (Return date for teachers & In-Service Day)
• Tuesday 11th August 2026 (In-Service Day)
• Wednesday 12th August 2026 (Return date for pupils)

September 2026

• Friday 25th September and Monday 28th September 2026 (September weekend)

October 2026

• Monday 12th to Friday 16th October 2026 (October Week)

November 2026

• Monday 16th November 2026 (In-Service Day)

December 2026 – January 2027

• Schools close at 2.30pm on Friday 18th December 2026
• Monday 21st December 2026 – Monday 4th January 2027 (inclusive) (Christmas holidays)

Schools return on Tuesday 5th January 2027

February 2027

• Monday 15th February and Tuesday 16th February 2027 (Mid-term break)
• Wednesday 17th February 2027 (In-service day)

March 2027

• Friday 26th March (Good Friday)
• Monday 29th March (Easter Monday)

April 2027

• Friday 2nd April (Schools close at 2.30pm)
• Monday 5th April – Friday 16th April 2027 (Spring break)

Schools return on Monday 19th April 2027

May 2027

• Monday 3rd May 2027 (May Public Holiday)
• Thursday 6th May 2027 (In-service day – Scottish Government Elections)
• Friday 28th May 2027 and Monday 31st May 2027 (May Weekend)

June 2027

• Schools close at 1pm on Friday 25th June 2027

Primary 2 learners and parents enjoyed a family learning workshop in Cathedral school library on Wednesday 1st October. While teachers read a story to their class and spoke about the rules of the library, Mrs McCoy provided parents and carers with some practical ideas to help them support their child’s reading at home. Parents then had the opportunity to chose and read a book with their child.

Our next family learning event, for Primary 6 pupils and parents, takes place on Tuesday 7th October. The individual class workshops will give parents and carers the opportunity to learn about how we are supporting Cathedral learners to develop creativity skills and then work alongside their child in our new Investigation & Innovation Hub.

Please click on the link below to access our August – December family learning programme:

Aug – Dec 2025 Family Learning programme

Mrs McMichael and Mrs Murphy from Cathedral’s Attainment Team hosted a targeted family learning workshop on Wednesday 1st October at which parents and carers had the opportunity to learn alongside their child using the Read Write Inc. Fresh Start programme. The Attainment Team also provided parents and carers with learning packs to further support their child’s learning at home. There was a great buzz around the room and parent/carer feedback on the sessions was exceptionally positive. One parent said:

“Axel sees the Attainment Team as a very positive experience. He loves and thrives with the additional attention and focus.”

These P4/5 learners were very proud to share a maths ‘Milestone Moment’ with Mrs Duffy on Tuesday 30th September. Their maths group have been using different methods to develop their understanding of place value and they demonstrated their recent learning by using Numicon to represent larger numbers. Impressive!

If you’re wondering who the rather grown up looking Primary 4/5 is, he’s actually one of our S6 Our Lady’s High School helpers who visit Cathedral each week to work alongside our learners!

I understand positive things about friendships and relationships but when something worries or upsets me I know who I should talk to. HWB 0-44a

This week, the children have revisited who we can talk to if we are worried about anything or feeling sad. This has included important discussions about what we should do if we find ourselves in situations where we feel unsafe or need help.

Our young learners have been expanding their knowledge of numbers, finding and identifying them in the nursery environment and beyond. Some of the children have began to record numbers using a variety of mark-making tools such as stampers and loose parts.

The magnetic shapes have ignited curiosity and imagination amongst the children and they have had lots of opportunities to create simple patterns. This has included learning about what comes first, next and last and then continuing these sequences.

In the arts and craft area, the children have been enjoying messy play, measuring and following recipes. Our young learners particularly enjoyed the gloop tuff tray for mark making. The messier it got, the more fun was had!

Cathedral’s current group of nursery learners enjoyed their final day in the great outdoors on Thursday 25th September, and parents and carers came along to see them graduate from their forest adventures. Over the last few weeks, our young learners have gained many new skills and knowledge in the forest including working as a team to set up the forest area, safety skills while exploring, climbing and fire building. During the final session, parents and carers had the opportunity to make autumn crowns with their child and complete a scavenger hunt. Many congratulations to our forest graduates!