Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral Primary School

OLGA Cathedral Primary School and Firpark Primary School are privileged to share the same campus. Cathedral and Firpark staff came together on Tuesday 16th August to begin to reconnect after COVID and explore how the two schools might work more closely in the coming months and years.

Once established, our ‘CA-FI Connections’ programme will provide regular opportunities for Cathedral and Firpark pupils to come together, build friendships and engage in meaningful learning experiences. We will endeavour to ensure all CA-FI Connections activities are:

INCLUSIVE, allowing all Firpark & Cathedral pupils to fully participate.

MEANINGFUL, providing authentic learning opportunities, linked to Curriculum for Excellence Experiences & Outcomes, for pupils from both establishments.

COLLABORATIVE, planned and led equally by class teachers from both establishments.

MANAGEABLE & PROPORTIONATE, avoiding unnecessary workload for staff and protecting time for the children’s other learning.

SUSTAINABLE, able take place on an annual basis.

Staff from both schools are really excited about working together and are looking forward to helping Cathedral and Firpark pupils connect in fun and informal ways during the course of this term.

As Cathedral Primary arrives at the last day of the school year, with the summer holidays stretching ahead of both pupils and staff, our school community also bids a sad farewell to Mrs Munro. Mrs Munro has been part of the Cathedral team for twenty years and, as those who have encountered her will know, she never fails to have a smile and a kind word for everyone she meets. We will miss Mrs Munro a great deal and wish her a very long and happy retirement.

Cathedral also bids farewell to Miss Campbell, who has taught P6a this year, as she moves on to a new post at St Bernadette’s. We thank her for being such a great member of the team and wish her all the very best in her new school.

To everyone connected to Cathedral – pupils, staff, parents, parishioners, friends – HAVE A GREAT SUMMER! See you in August.

Primary 7 pupils gathered in Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral on the evening of 22nd June to celebrate their Leavers’ Mass and Graduation. In his homily, Fr Mark spoke of the children being at an important crossroads in their lives and encouraged them to have the courage to follow Jesus in the years ahead. The music was led beautifully by the school choir, accompanied by Mr John Pitcathley on the organ.

At the beginning of the graduation ceremony, Mr Young encouraged the children not to waste their time and energy either trying to stand out or fit in, but to discover the unique person God has created them to be and learn to be happy and content in their own skin. This was followed by the presentation of graduation bags containing certificate, hoodie, mortar board, Pope Francis Faith Award and high school tie before awards for Academic Excellence, Sportsmanship, Citizenship and Wider Achievement were announced.

The children rounded off the occasion with a specially written song to the tune of ‘I’m a believer’. There was then time for photographs and socialising in the cathedral grounds, including mortar boards being ceremoniously thrown up into the air.

Cathedral school and parish communities wish all of this year’s Primary 7 pupils every success in the future.

To mark the end of their time in Cathedral Primary School, P7 pupils enjoyed an afternoon of fun together at their ‘C in the Park’ music festival on 23rd June. A live DJ kept the beats going throughout the afternoon and the children had the opportunity to get their face painted, visit the tattoo parlour, grab a drink at the cocktail bar or just chill with their friends. A pizza delivery kept the children’s energy levels up… just as well as the event finished with a massive water balloon fight!

The photos below give a glimpse into the fun had by all.

The weather was glorious for this year’s sports which took place on 20th and 21st June.

The two-day event began with a vibrant  opening ceremony which included an impressive routine from the school’s cheerleading team before each ‘country’ processed out to the pitch to their national anthem. Leonard the Lion, the main character in a story book written by P7 teacher, Mrs Rimmer, made a guest appearance, and the samba band from St Aidan’s High School entertained the children as they headed off to compete in the various events.

Children across all stages showed incredible effort, enthusiasm and sportsmanship in Day 1’s various events. Day 2 saw the children participate in traditional races including sprints, three-legged and egg and spoon.

The House which emerged as this year’s winner was DOUGLAS. Well done to Douglas House and to each and every pupil for participating with such enthusiasm.

As we approach the end of another school year, I have pleasure in sharing the 2021/22 School Improvement Report with you. This report outlines how we have taken forward the priorities in this year’s School Improvement Plan and the ways we have used our Pupil Equity Fund to improve outcomes for Cathedral pupils. It also sets out some of our next steps as we continue on our improvement journey. An updated Improvement Journey Timeline can also be accessed below, providing a useful visual diagram of the various developments and improvements over the past two years.

Cathedral Primary SIR June 2022

Improvement timeline

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant challenges to Cathedral Primary School and Nursery Class. However, it has also brought opportunities, providing time and space to review and develop our curriculum, including the development of new progression pathways, strengthen our universal offer in literacy and numeracy, and put in place robust systems to gather data on attainment and use this to inform learning and teaching and improve outcomes for pupils. As we emerge from the pandemic, Cathedral Primary and Nursery Class finds itself in a strong position, with a shared ambition across the entire school community to be outward and forward looking in the months and years ahead.

Please can I take this opportunity to thank Cathedral staff for their commitment and hard work throughout this year, parents, carers and parishioners for their on-going friendship and support and, of course, Cathedral pupils for being such engaged and enthusiastic learners. There’s never a day goes by when I don’t feel privileged to be Head Teacher of such a very special school community!

Head Teacher

Our nursery children, along with their parents and carers, had an absolutely fabulous time on their recent trip to Briarlands Farm. The children were so excited to see and name the new born calf (Cathy), feed the lambs, count the newly laid eggs and explore all the fabulous nooks and crannies that the park had to offer from climbing on Nessie, bouncing on the pillows, go karting, tractor ride, mazes, and the fairy trail! Once back in the nursery, the children were full of stories about their trip.

A big thank you to all the parents/carers who left such positive feedback in the floorbook.

The first of our annual football awards ceremonies took place on Thursday 9th June. Resident coach, Willie McBirnie, led the proceedings and this year’s guest speaker was David Clarkston from Motherwell Football Club. David spoke to the children about his own journey from youth to professional football and then onto his current coaching position with Motherwell.

The Primary 5 player of the year went to Matthew, the Primary 6 trophy to Isaac and the Primary 7 trophy to Kaden. Emmanuel in Primary 7 was this year’s winner of the Willie McBirnie ACE Award, with ACE standing for Attitude, Commitment and Effort.

Well done to each and every one of our football players for their excellent attitude and high level of commitment and effort this year and, of course, to Willie for giving so generously of his time each week to coach Cathedral pupils.

As a ‘Laudato Si’ school, Cathedral pupils are invited to respond to the call to be good stewards of God’s creation. As part of our on-going ‘Laudato Si’ work, Primary 7 pupils gave the school grounds a thorough spring clean during the week beginning 6th June. Our playground is surrounded by thick vegetation which is notorious for trapping litter, but the children pulled together to reach even the most difficult of areas. Well done, everyone, on your fantastic teamwork!

All those boys and girls beginning Primary 1 at Cathedral Primary in August had their second induction visit on Wednesday 8th June. While their parents received a presentation on the Cathedral Curriculum from Mrs Campbell and Mrs Duffy, the children enjoyed an exciting adventure trail around the school with their new Primary 7 buddy. This gave them the opportunity to visit lots of different spaces including the dinner hall, the library, the playground and even Mr Young’s office where they each received a gold sticker.

The children finished off in their new Primary 1 classroom where they had their height measured and added their name to the chart. We have absolutely no doubt that the boys and girls will have grown in both centimetres and even more confidence by the time they start the big school on 17th August!