Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School

Our first Family Learning workshop of the year, for parents and carers of our new Primary 1 pupils, took place on Thursday 22nd August . The workshop focused on Primary 1 literacy, particularly Cathedral’s approach to teaching phonics.

Mr Young opened the workshop by talking about Cathedral Primary’s holistic approach to Literacy:

• a rigorous synthetic phonics programme to give children the tools they need to read and write
• the use of decodable reading books during phonics lessons to give children instant success and build their confidence
• exposure to non-decodable reading books to develop vocabulary and comprehension
• access to ‘real’ books through regular visits to the school library
• daily opportunities for the children to apply their phonics and reading in meaningful ways across the curriculum

The remainder of the workshop was led by Mrs McCoy who gave a presentation on ‘Read Write Inc. Phonics’, followed by a live phonics lesson with a group of Primary 2 pupils. The children were absolute superstars and parents and carers were amazed to think that’s where their own child will be in just a year’s time.

Our August – December Parental Engagement & Family Learning leaflet can be accessed via the link below:

Aug – Dec 2024 Family Learning programme (1)

As you will have read in a newsfeed item posted earlier this week, Provost Duffy paid a visit to Cathedral Primary on Tuesday 19th August ahead of the Papal Nuncio’s visit to Motherwell next week. The Provost’s visit to Cathedral has been shared on North Lanarkshire social media, including the council’s website:

Pupils prepare for Papal Nuncio’s visit | North Lanarkshire Council

Cathedral school community was very proud to read what Provost Duffy said about his visit:

“It’s inspiring to see the enthusiasm and dedication of these young people as they prepare for such a significant visit. 

“The school has such a warm and friendly environment, and I’m grateful to all the staff and pupils for extending such a warm welcome when we visited. The pupils are wonderful representatives of their community.”

As a ‘Laudato Si’ school, Cathedral pupils are invited to respond to the call to be good stewards of God’s creation. On Wednesday 21st August, a team of enthusiastic Primary 5 pupils, under the direction of an equally enthusiastic Mrs Findlay, donned high-vis vests and tackled the litter that had blown into and accumulated in the school grounds over the summer holidays. As you can see from the photograph, the children filled numerous bags with litter and had our yard looking spick and span once again by the time they were done. What a team!

Cathedral Primary received a special visit from the Provost, Councillor Duffy, and the Convener of Education, Councillor McBride, on Tuesday 20th August. Claire O’Neill, Primary RE Advisor, was also in attendance.

The Provost and Convener met with our twelve House Captains ahead of the Papal Nuncio’s visit to Motherwell Diocese in just over a week’s time. Our captains shared a whole host of information with our guests about His Excellency Archbishop Miguel Buendia, including their thoughts about being part of the special Mass which takes place in Motherwell Cathedral on Friday 30th August. There was then the opportunity for the children to ask the Provost and Convener about their particular roles and responsibilities within North Lanarkshire Council.

The Provost and Convener finished their visit to Cathedral with a tour of the school and were both exceptionally impressed by our learners’ manners, behaviour, engagement and high standard of work.

Cathedral pupils spent part of assembly on Monday 19th August learning more about the important topic of mental health from local charity YAMS (You are my sunshine). The children learned that many different things can impact on our mental health, the importance of having someone they trust whom they can talk to and how vital it is to reach out to anyone who looks down or upset.

Mr Young reminded the children how important our first two school values of Love and Connection are to positive mental health.

You can find out more about YAMS via the link below:

https://www.yams.org.uk

OLGA Cathedral Primary School, Firpark Primary School and Clydeview Primary School are privileged to share the same campus. Our ‘Ca-Fi Connections’ programme (‘Ca’ for Cathedral and ‘Fi’ for Firpark) has provided regular opportunities over the years for Cathedral, Firpark and, more recently,  Clydeview pupils to come together, build friendships and engage in meaningful learning activities. However, with the relocation of Clydeview Primary to the campus, the three schools have decided to rebrand this important part of the life and work of our schools ‘Campus Connections’, complete with a brand new logo.

You can read more about Campus Connections by clicking on the link below:

Campus Connections | (glowscotland.org.uk)

Cathedral’s new Primary 1 pupils reached the end of their first week of school on Friday 16th August, and what an incredible start they’ve made! The boys and girls have settled in incredibly quickly to school life and are already confidently navigating their way around the school building. And, of course, they’ve embarked on their learning journey and even learned their first sound: ‘m’… MAGNIFICENT!

We’re absolutely delighted the boys and girls have joined the Cathedral family and are so proud of each and every one of them!

Cathedral received a very special delivery on Friday 16th August: our very own ten pin bowling alley! It was an instant hit and offers another fun activity for Cathedral learners to enjoy during morning break and lunchtime.

Cathedral Nursery Class introduced ‘Loving Lunches’ at the start of term: a new way for our young learners to enjoy their hot meal together. Rather than eating in the dinner hall, the children now head to the beautiful Cathedral Café in the corner of the playroom to check out the menu, catch up with friends and tuck into their delicious lunch.

Thursday 15th August was the Feast of the Assumption and our school community gathered to celebrate the first Mass of the year. The 15th August was also our first wet playtime of the year and, to keep himself busy during lunchtime, this Primary 3 learner created a fantastic model of a church, complete with Fr Lamb celebrating Mass and a parishioner sitting prayerfully in the pews. Well done for combining Technology and Religious Education in such a creative way!