Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School

Cathedral’s nursery learners returned to the forest on Thursday 4th September to explore and learn in the natural environment. The children prepared well for their first adventure and carried out their forest duties confidently, including following the safety rules while using the hammock and tree swing. The new pop-up shelter to eat lunch in was a huge hit! Some children chose to climb up and down the trees before the session rounded off with a game of hide and seek with the Gruffalo, followed by a bear hunt.

Cathedral’s Primary 7 learners made the short journey to Carfin Grotto on Thursday 4th September to join pupils from all over Motherwell Diocese for a special Mass to mark the Year of Jubilee. Celebrated by Bishop Toal, the thousands of young worshippers were blessed with glorious sunshine for the uplifting liturgy of faith and hope.

Many thanks to those parents and carers who accompanied the children on their pilgrim journey.

Pupils in Primary 3/4 were very keen to show Mrs Duffy what they’d been learning in class on Wednesday 3rd September. Inspired by their reading book, ‘The Twits’, these Primary 4 learners from Mrs MacDonald’s class discovered that the Muggle Wump and his family came from Africa.  They set about using their digital technology skills to research an African country to produce a fact file and then extended their learning by creating PowerPoints. Amazing learning!

Mr Young began his secondment with the new Centre for Teaching Excellence, based in the University of Glasgow, on Wednesday 3rd September. His first day saw the official opening of the centre by Jenny Gilruth, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills.

Mr Young looks forward to networking with schools and teachers across the country in the coming months to translate research findings into practical strategies which will make a real difference to learners in Scottish classrooms.

The first of this year’s targeted Family Learning workshops, focussing on IDL Literacy and Numeracy, took place on Tuesday 2nd September. IDL Literacy is a multi-sensory computer programme which supports learners to increase their reading and spelling ages. IDL Numeracy provides similar support to learners struggling with mathematics.

The workshop began with a presentation from Mrs McMichael and Mrs Murphy, followed by the opportunity for parents and carers to use the programme alongside their child. Evaluations confirmed the workshop was successful in equipping parents and carers with the skills to use IDL with their child at home.

Our first ‘universal’ parent workshop, for all Primary 1 parents and carers, takes place on Tuesday 9th September. This will provide information on Cathedral’s approach to phonics and literacy and will include a live lesson with some of our learners.

Cathedral’s August – December Family Learning leaflet can be accessed via the link below:

Aug – Dec 2025 Family Learning programme

Each month, Cathedral Primary focuses on one of the wellbeing indicators displayed in the above wheel. In class, learners reflect on and assess their own health and wellbeing and complete their individual wellbeing wheels.

September’s wellbeing indicator is SAFE. 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 feel safe in my classroom.
• I feel safe in school. 
• I feel safe when I’m not in school. 
• I can name the emergency services. 
• I know what to do when I need help. 
• I know how to help others. 
• I have people who help me when I am sick, in danger or need to learn. 
• I can work safely when using different equipment. 
• I know that medicines can be harmful. 
• I know how to cross the road safely. 

Primary 2 – 4

• I feel safe in my classroom and in school.
• I feel safe when I’m not in school.
• I know how to contact the main emergency services.
• I have people who help me when I am sick, in danger or need to learn.
• I can handle equipment safely.
• I know how to safely store different types of food.
• I know that medication can be used to help with illness but can be harmful too.
• I know how to cross the road safely.

Primary 5 – 7

• I feel safe in my classroom and in school.
• I can perform basic First Aid procedures.
• I know how to contact the emergency services and give full details of the incident and location.
• I know about the risks associated with the use of substances, alcohol and cigarettes.
• I know that taking risks can affect my life in different ways.
• I have someone that I can talk to if I am worried about my safety.
• I am learning about respect for my body and know what behaviour is right and wrong.
• I can handle food and kitchen equipment safely and hygienically.

HWB 0-44a I am aware of how friendships are formed and that likes and dislikes, special qualities and needs can influence relationships.

Our young learners have had a great week, forming new friendships, building on their existing knowledge and learning new things. We have welcomed back our returning children as well as welcomed some brand new learners. This has been a great opportunity for our pre-school learners to take on “buddy” roles, giving them a sense of responsibility and helping our new-starts feel welcomed, nurtured, respected and included within our nursery community.

As part of our daily nursery routine, we have introduced a soft start/end to the day both in the morning and afternoon. Children are invited to join in “nurture” time, gathering a cosy blanket and collecting a healthy snack which a group of our young learners have prepared. This has helped each child feel a sense of connection with their keyworker and group and has given the children the opportunity to share important news with one another, as well as talk about what they have learned in nursery that day.

This Primary 5 learner approached Mr Young recently with a thoughtful and inspired suggestion. There has been a large Pope Francis picture and quotation in the main stairwell for a number of years and he wondered if we could have a similar Pope Leo XIV picture and quotation in one of the other stairwells. Mr Young got straight onto it and shared the design with the learner on Friday 29th August. It reads:

“Dear young people, aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less.”

The design will be sent for production and installed in the coming weeks.

Our first Cathedral Pupil Parliament theme of the session is Our Learning & Teaching, with a specific focus on pupils co-designing learning spaces with their teachers. At their Class Council meetings on Monday 25th August, pupils across the school were asked ‘What changes or improvements would you like to make to your learning street?’.

House Captains met on Wednesday 27th August to discuss the results and update our Action Board which helps Cathedral continually drive forward change and improvement for all of our learners. Our Cabinet Secretaries for Learning will carry out an inspection of learning streets with Mrs Mellon and Mr Young next week to agree on how Cathedral learners’ suggestions will be actioned.

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/

This athletic Primary 3 learner ran the North Lanarkshire 5km in Strathclyde Park on Sunday 24th August and was very proud to show off his medal to Mr Young. Well done on your fantastic achievement! It’s definitely one to add to your Rose Trainer Achievement Award record card!