Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School

As part of our Family Learning programme, Cathedral pupils had the opportunity to enjoy some fun reading activities with their parent/carer during the week of World Book Day.

For Primary 1 – 3 pupils, ‘Stay and Read’ sessions took place in the school building, with parents and carers (and grandpas and grannies!) being able to read a book alongside their child.

Primary 4 – 7 pupils made the short walk to Motherwell Library where they had the opportunity to read a book with their parent/carer as well as visit the library’s exciting new immersive room. This unique pod within the library is a fully immersive, 360-degree environment with sound, smell and interactive elements. Our young learners and their parents absolutely LOVED the experience!

Our current Smart School Council focus is celebrating diversity across our school, nursery and campus. House Captains updated our Action Board on Monday 4th March to help move things along to the next stage.

Lots of recipes for our campus cookbook have been submitted and House Captains will go through these and select the winning entries in the next week or so.

A link to this week’s Smart School Council meeting has also been sent out to all classes: Cathedral pupils and teachers will be invited to give their ideas and suggestions for our Diversity Day, which will take place next term.

A number of Primary 6 pupils went through their Buddy interviews on Friday 1st March. The children submitted an application form a number of weeks ago outlining their skills and qualities and were then invited to interview. The boys and girls answered the questions confidently before being accepted for the role of buddying our nursery children. The boys and girls will now be given training in preparation for beginning in the nursery playroom and outdoor area.

An audience of family and friends were transported to sunny Brazil during Primary 5’s Learning Showcase on Friday 1st March. The performance was jam-packed with fascinating information about the South American country and included signing, dancing and (as always) lots of humour throughout. There were chuckles around the audience when one pupil took to the front of the stage to play the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer! The audience left with their feet tapping when the showcase concluded with vibrant music and dance from the Rio carnival.

Well done to Primary 5 on such a fantastic Learning Showcase and many thanks to Mrs Irwin, Miss Degnan and Mr McMullan for all their hard work preparing our young learners for their big day.

Our three Primary 2 classes visited Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral during the week beginning 26th February to find out more about the interior of a Catholic church. Among other things, the children found out about the altar, the stained glass windows, the Stations of the Cross and the bishop’s chair (the cathedra). The children also visited the sacristy to see the vestments the priest wears to celebrate Mass. Many thanks to Fr Lamb for taking time out of his busy schedule to show our young learners around the cathedral.

Following a rigorous verification process, Cathedral Primary has been awarded Gold School Sport Award 2024 – 26. This is the third time Cathedral has been awarded gold.

The Gold School Sport Award is in recognition of Cathedral’s achievements in putting sport at the heart of our school’s planning, practice and ethos. The Gold Award also highlights that Cathedral has shown excellent practice across the core areas of the award and demonstrated an on-going commitment to increase Cathedral pupils’ opportunities and engagement in physical education, school sport and leadership and that we provide clear pathways to life-long participation in sport.

Many thanks to Mrs Duffy and our Active Schools Co-ordinator, Fiona Russell, for their ongoing work co-ordinating Cathedral’s various sports opportunities and helping our school community achieve Gold.

March’s wellbeing indicator is RESPONSIBLE. Please use the prompts below to talk to your child about this indicator. This will help them complete their wellbeing wheel in school.

Primary 1

• I can name some jobs in my local area.
• I can talk about the rewards of having a job. 
• I can help my teacher and other adults in the school. 
• I can control my behaviour in school. 
• I take responsibility for my actions. 
• I can find ways to solve problems.

Primary 2 – 4

• I can set and work on my own learning goals.
• I can talk about the skills needed for different jobs. 
• I can talk about the skills I have. 
• I can talk about the world of work. 
• I take responsibility for my actions. 
• I can recycle waste responsibly. 
• I can make decisions and explain them.

Primary 5 – 7

• I know how peer, media and other pressures can influence my decision making.
• I can describe what my rights and responsibilities are at home, in school and in my community.
• I know how to reduce and recycle waste.
• I am given opportunities to make connections between my own skills and the world of work.
• I can use my investigative skills to find out about different jobs/careers.

As we continue to look ahead to our inspection from HMIe, which is likely to take place between now and the summer holidays, this week’s Friday Focus is on Family Learning.

Each and every parent and carer plays a vital role in helping their child maximise their potential and flourish in school. To support them in this, Cathedral Primary offers a range of opportunities for parents and carers to get involved in their child’s learning and the life and work of the school. These are published in our Parental Engagement & Family Learning leaflet, which is sent out twice a year. The leaflets for the 2023/24 session can be accessed via the links below.

Aug-Dec-2023-Family-Learning-programme

Jan – June 2024 Family Learning programme

“I can show how to care for others”

This week, our young learners have been beginning to understand why caring and sharing with their friends is so important. They have been helping each other rearrange the physical area outside and have chosen their own equipment to improve their gross motor skills. Meanwhile, in our kitchen area, the children have been preparing their own delicious snacks which has developed their fine motor skills.

“I am becoming aware of simple cause and effect e.g. What happens when things are pushed and pulled.”

Some of our children have been exploring how various resources can or cannot balance whilst learning about the science behind this.  It has sparked their curiosity to experiment with a wider variety of objects such as feathers, sticks and stones.

“I can listen, watch and show interest while other people present and perform.”

Following the children’s interests , we have further developed our role-play area, creating a stage with show lights and curtains to perform to an audience. The children have enjoyed being part of a show and have also listened and watched with interest as part of an audience.

And, finally, let’s not forget our beautiful new nursery welcome sign!