Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School

It’s been a very busy week in Cathedral nursery. During the course of the week, our young learners created their own Christmas lists, which they posted in Santa’s basket. In the outdoor area, the children selected baubles to decorate the Christmas tree. Of course, the highlight for the children was their Christmas party on Wednesday 13th, which included an entertainer and a visit from Santa.

Cathedral’s Primary 3 pupils have been very busy this week preparing and sorting candy-grams for delivery to our four learning streets next week. There are going to be lots of smiles come Monday when pupils and staff from Discovery Drive to Ambition Avenue receive their festive messages!

Andrew Dickson, a Cathedral parent and international trade specialist within the Scottish Space Programme, along with his colleague, Derek Harris from Skyrora, delivered an exciting presentation on space to Primary 5a, 5b and 5/6 pupils on Friday 15th December. The children learned about satellites and rockets being launched right here in Scotland and found out how satellites and rockets are built. They also had the opportunity to hold a prototype of the satellites being built by Skyrora and even touched part of a rocket which had been successfully launched into space! Many thanks to Mr Dickson and Mr Harris for bringing Cathedral pupils’ learning to life… it was OUT OF THIS WORLD!

Our Cathedral family were treated to a fabulous festive feast on Wednesday 13th December at the annual school community Christmas dinner. There was a choice of turkey with all the trimmings, steak pie or the vegetarian option, rounded off with ice cream and a chocolate treat. The occasion was made all the more special with table cloths, napkins and even table service from the teachers! And, of course, there were lots of carols to sing along to and Mr Young’s usual dreadful Christmas jokes!

Many thanks to Kristina and the rest of the catering team for preparing such a delicious Christmas dinner for Cathedral pupils and staff!

The week beginning Monday 18th December is the last week of term and there are a number of Christmas events taking place.

MONDAY 18th: an opportunity for Primary 3 – 7 pupils to enjoy this year’s infant nativity, ‘Gabriel’s Big Break’.

TUESDAY 19th: morning and afternoon performances of our infant nativity, ‘Gabriel’s Big Break’ (9.45am and 1.45pm).

WEDNESDAY 20th: Christmas parties in the morning (the children should come dressed in their party clothes); ‘Beauty and the Beast’ pantomime performance in afternoon for all Cathedral pupils.

FRIDAY 22nd: Movie-Duvet Day… an opportunity for pupils to come to school in their pyjamas or other comfy clothes, curl up with a blanket or teddy and enjoy some movies together.

PLEASE NOTE CATHEDRAL PRIMARY WILL CLOSE FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS ON FRIDAY 22nd AT THE SLIGHTLY EARLIER  TIME OF 2.30pm

Two Cathedral parents, Mr Purser and Mrs Cowan, appeared at our nursery on Friday 8th December like Mr and Mrs Claus! They are both members of a local community-run group called ‘From the Street (FTS)’ and turned up with toys and books for all of our nursery children as well as additional books for the school library. Local company ‘Murray Landscaping’ also donated a Christmas tree for the nursery playroom.

A HUGE thank you to ‘From the Street’ and Murray Landscaping for their generosity. You’re the sort of people who make Motherwell such a special place to live and learn!

Coach Willie expects three things from Cathedral footballers:

• A – Attitude
• C – Commitment
• E – Enthusiasm

The above seven children have shown all three ACE attributes throughout this term’s football training and, on Friday 8th December, each received a certificate in recognition of their endeavours. Well done to all of you and many thanks to Coach Willie for his ongoing commitment and input to Cathedral Primary

Primary 3 – 7 brought Christmas magic to Cathedral Primary on Friday 8th December with their performance of carols and poems. The choir opened the concert with ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ and ‘Of the Father’s heart begotten’ before each year group took to the stage to sing two carols and perform a spoken piece. Carols included ‘Walking in a winter wonderland’, ‘Somewhere in my memory’ from Home Alone, the well-known ‘The Angel Gabriel’, a gospel-style ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ and a vibrant finale of ‘Merry Christmas everyone’. Well done to the children on their amazing performances and many thanks to their teachers for preparing them for the concert and to support staff for decorating the hall so beautifully.

These five Primary 4 pupils approached Mr Young earlier in the term to ask if they could make and sell loom-bands for charity. The orders came flooding in and the children managed to raise an incredible £120 pounds, all of which will be donated to St Andrew’s Hospice. Well done, team!