Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School

As part of our Campus Connections programme, a group of Cathedral pupils joined their friends from Firpark and Clydeview Primary Schools on Tuesday 1st October for ‘Beats of Brazil’. Learners from across the campus had great fun trying out the drums and enjoying a bit of limbo dancing. What a fantastic way for Cathedral pupils to live-out our second school value of ‘Connection’!

You can read more about Campus Connections via the link below:

Campus Connections | (glowscotland.org.uk)

As the month of October begins, 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.

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. 

Two new Head Choristers and three Assistant Head Choristers were recently appointed by NSSP Choral Director, Mr Greechin. The appointments are not only in recognition of these five pupils’ singing ability but also of their commitment to the choir and their strong leadership qualities. Many congratulations to you all!

Our new Primary 1 pupils were formally welcomed to Cathedral Primary School at a special Mass in the cathedral on Thursday 26th September. Following the opening hymn, ‘Jesus loves me, this I know’, Fr Lamb said a prayer of blessing over the children, asking God to be with them throughout their journey through Cathedral Primary.

Our ‘Ignite’ junior chaplains were commissioned during the course of the Mass and each received a Blessed Carlo Acutis medal and prayer card. Cathedral teachers also renewed their commitment to their vocation as Catholic educators in the presence of the school and parish community.

Pupils raised the roof with the closing hymn, ‘If I were a butterfly’, specially picked for our Primary 1 learners.

For you gave me a heart

and you gave me a smile;

you gave me Jesus

and you made me your child.

But I just thank you, Father,

for making me ME!

As we reach the end of another exciting week of learning here at Cathedral, please make sure you’ve checked your child’s school bag for our ‘Talking to your child about their learning’ leaflet. An electronic copy can be accessed via the link below:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/nl/olga/talking-to-your-child-about-their-learning/

At their Smart School Council class meetings on Monday 9th September, pupils across the school were asked the question: ‘What can we change about or add to our learning street wellbeing areas to better support our wellbeing?’.

In response to the children’s suggestions, wellbeing baskets have now been added to learning streets. These include an MP3 player to listen to calming music, a worry monster, stress balls, mindfulness colouring books, fidget toys and a book of prayers. We hope these wellbeing baskets will be really helpful on those occasions when one of our learners needs a wee bit of space and quiet time.

Mrs Tominey, Mrs Irwin and two Primary 7 learners visited St Andrew’s Primary in Falkirk on Wednesday 25th September. Cathedral Primary is now into year two of working in partnership with the Falkirk school. Last year, Cathedral teachers supported several teachers in St Andrew’s to introduce our Active8 approach to their classrooms. This year, pupils and teachers from the two schools will be collaborating to further develop and improve learning spaces which support high-quality adult-led, adult-initiated and learner-led learning.

Part of the visit on 25th September involved our two Cathedral learners carrying out a learning walk with St Andrew’s pupils and their Head Teacher, Mr Short. Drawing on the way we’ve developed and improved learning spaces here in Cathedral, our learners provided St Andrew’s Primary with some helpful feedback and several new ideas to try out.

Cathedral looks forward to welcoming staff and pupils from St Andrew’s Primary after the October holidays for a similar learning visit.

As readers will be aware from our regular newsfeed posts about Smart School Council, pupil voice is central to continuous change and improvement here at Cathedral Primary. One of our House Captains, along with Mrs Duffy, had the opportunity to represent the voice of Cathedral pupils beyond the school building on Wednesday 25th September by attending the North Lanarkshire Pupil Conference in Airdrie Town Hall. The Children’s Commissioner, Nicola Killean, was the keynote speaker and the various activities gathered the views of pupils from across the local authority on things that matter to them about school. This information will be used to help shape North Lanarkshire’s ongoing work on the curriculum.

Well done to House Captain, Oliver, for being such a great ambassador for Cathedral Primary!

Primary 2a (the first of our three Primary 2 classes to pay a visit) made the short journey to Motherwell Heritage Centre on Tuesday 24th September to enjoy a workshop related to their current class topic, Knights & Castles. The children learned about the different jobs and roles in a castle, tried on a variety of medieval costumes, found out about the various foods eaten at a banquet, handled chainmail and armour, and discussed the features of different castles. The children were very eager learners and showed their usual Cathedral manners and behaviour.