Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School

Our Primary 2 learners impressed Mrs Duffy with their fantastic numeracy skills as they explored the world of odd and even numbers.

Using an active and engaging approach to maths, the children worked together to sort numbers into odd and even groups, using movement and practical activities to help them find and explain solutions. They acted out their mathematical thinking, discussed their ideas with one another and demonstrated excellent reasoning skills.

It was wonderful to see our learners thinking mathematically, working collaboratively and confidently explaining how they knew whether a number was odd or even.

This week, Cathedral Primary is proud to recognise Challenge Poverty Week, an important opportunity to raise awareness of the realities of poverty and the impact that financial pressures can have on children, families and communities.

At Cathedral, we believe that every child should have the opportunity to learn, thrive and achieve their full potential, regardless of their circumstances. We are committed to creating a school community where everyone is treated with dignity, kindness and respect and where families know that support is available when they need it.

Challenge Poverty Week reminds us that poverty is not always visible. Families can face a range of pressures, including the rising costs of food, heating, clothing, transport and everyday essentials. It is important that we continue to challenge stigma and ensure that asking for support is always seen as a strength, not something to be embarrassed about.

As a school, we will continue to work closely with our families and partners to signpost support, reduce barriers to learning and ensure that our children have the opportunities and experiences they deserve.

Most importantly, we want our Cathedral community to continue to look out for one another. Small acts of kindness, understanding and compassion can make a very big difference.

This week, let’s continue to build a school community where everyone belongs, everyone is valued and everyone has the opportunity to flourish.

Together, we can challenge poverty and make a difference. The North Lanarkshire Tackling Poverty Team will attend Cathedral’s Parents Evening on Thursday 8th October for any information or advice. Please click on the link below for further information.

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/nl/olga/pupil-equity-fund/

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. 

Cathedral Nursery learners have had a wonderful week exploring the changes that autumn brings and developing their understanding of the world around them. Learners have been busy noticing the changing colours of the trees and discussing why leaves change colour and eventually fall. They have also been exploring the different types of weather experienced during autumn and discussing the routines and choices that help them to stay safe, warm and comfortable as the seasons change.

The Nursery’s Autumn Challenge invited learners to collect three different coloured leaves and share their findings with their friends. Learners thoroughly enjoyed comparing their leaves, describing what they noticed and developing their vocabulary as they explored differences in colour, shape, size and texture.

Creativity has been in full flight within the art area, where learners have been experimenting with collage and recycled materials. Through this, they have explored how everyday items can be reused rather than discarded, encouraging an early understanding of how to care for the environment and look after God’s wonderful creation.

Early engineering skills have also been evident, with learners designing and constructing a range of imaginative creations, including detailed submarines, castles and favourite play parks. Throughout this process, learners have been planning, building, problem-solving, testing ideas and making improvements, developing creativity, perseverance and collaboration.

Learners have also been developing their knowledge of their bodies, naming different body parts and discussing their functions. They are building an understanding of how to look after themselves and are making healthy snack choices as part of their daily routines.

This has been a fantastic week of learning, discovery and creativity in Cathedral Nursery. The staff are incredibly proud of the curiosity and enthusiasm shown as learners explore, investigate, create and learn together.

Good attendance makes a significant difference to your child’s progress and attainment. Every school day really does count!

Cathedral’s overall pupil attendance currently stands at:

95.0%

We have hit our target!  Well done to all pupils and families for supporting this rise in attendance.

We are very grateful to all parents and carers for helping us sustain high levels of attendance across the Cathedral school community. A helpful leaflet explaining attendance percentages is available via the link below.

Attendance table

As the month of October approaches, a special display has appeared in the school library dedicated to Black History Month. We hope the books on this display will highlight the achievements of the black community, celebrate their many contributions to our country and help Cathedral pupils learn about key black historical figures who have helped make Britain and the world what it is today.

A group of Missio Champions representing Cathedral Primary School attended the Missio Commissioning Service on Wednesday 30th September, celebrated by Bishop Toal, at Saint Francis Xavier Parish, Carfin. The children were proud to represent our school and join with others in prayer and celebration as they begin their important role as Missio Champions.

The Missionary Children’s Prayer reminds us:

May all children in the world
share love,
share friendship,
and live in the peace
of God’s love,
now and forever.
Amen.

It was a wonderful opportunity for our children to deepen their faith, grow in their understanding of mission and support the work of Missio.We are very proud of our Missio Champions and look forward to seeing them share God’s love and friendship within our school community and beyond.

Parents and carers of our Primary 5/6, P6 and P7  learners joined us on Tuesday 29th September for our second Family Learning session this year, exploring how we teach Mathematics at Cathedral Primary School.

The session began with an insightful presentation from Mrs Duffy, who shared how we are developing confident and resilient mathematicians through real-life applications, problem-solving and the Concrete–Pictorial–Abstract (CPA) approach. Families learned how our Active 8 approach provides a balanced mix of teacher-led, independent and collaborative learning, alongside differentiated numeracy and mathematics experiences.

Following the presentation, parents and carers had the opportunity to visit classrooms and work alongside their children, seeing first-hand how practical experiences, mathematical reasoning, discussion and problem-solving are woven into everyday learning. It was wonderful to see our families engaging so positively with their children’s mathematical learning and gaining a deeper understanding of the skills and approaches we use to build confidence, resilience and lifelong mathematical learning.

A huge thank you to all our parents and carers for joining us and getting involved. Family Learning at Cathedral is all about working together to help our learners thrive.

Our next Family Learning takes place Tuesday 20th October for P5b, P4b and P4/5. 

Please click on the link below to access our August – December Parental Engagement & Family Learning leaflet:

Click to access Final-August-to-December-Family-Learning-2026.pdf

Our P3 learners have been developing their knowledge and understanding of Viking life and this learning has truly come to life through creativity, imagination and an impressive range of skills. Mrs Duffy has been particularly impressed by the wonderful Viking longships and Viking warrior illustrations created by our learners.

The high standards, effort and attention to detail evident in these pieces of work have been fantastic. From designing and constructing their longships to creating detailed Viking warriors, our learners have demonstrated skills in research, design, creativity, problem-solving, fine motor skills, perseverance and presentation.

It has also been wonderful to see so much learning continuing at home, with families supporting our learners to extend their knowledge and develop their ideas beyond the classroom. This partnership between home and school makes such a positive difference to our children’s learning experiences.

There is so much to celebrate in P3! Their work demonstrates not only what our learners know, but also the pride they take in their learning and their willingness to challenge themselves and produce work of a high standard.

Our little learners have been developing their early numeracy skills as they explored their environment and became number detectives, searching for numbers all around the nursery indoors and outdoors. They have been making important connections between numbers and their written numeral forms, helping to build confidence and develop their early mathematical understanding. Using a wonderful range of loose parts, our children then got creative, finding different ways to represent numbers. This provided fantastic opportunities for problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity and collaboration as they shared their ideas and learning with their friends.

Out in our garden, messy play has been a particular favourite. The children have loved exploring shaving foam, enjoying the different textures and sensations while developing their mark-making skills in literacy. These experiences encourage children to experiment, make choices, express their ideas and engage in meaningful conversations with one another. It has been wonderful to see their curiosity and creativity shine through as they learn through play.

Health and Wellbeing has also been a key focus this week. We have been learning about healthy food choices, safe ways to travel and how to cross roads safely. The children have been confidently sharing their own daily routines and talking about the things they do to keep themselves safe both at home and within our wider community. Some of our wonderful role models have also been demonstrating how to use safety equipment correctly and reminding their friends about the importance of keeping ourselves and others safe while developing new skills.

We are incredibly proud of the enthusiasm, curiosity, confidence and teamwork our children have demonstrated throughout the week. From discovering numbers in their environment to getting messy in the garden and developing their understanding of keeping safe and healthy, our Nursery children continue to show us just how much they can learn through play, exploration and shared experiences.

What a fabulous week of learning, discovery and fun!