Cathedral’s ‘Active8’ approach to organising learning and teaching is now into its third year. However, news of the approach – which maximises pupil engagement, challenge and personalisation and choice – has now filtered out beyond the walls of Cathedral and has even reached a school in far-flung Falkirk!
Following an initial visit on 25th October, two members of staff from St Andrew’s Primary in Falkirk were paired-up with Mrs McCarthy and Mrs McLaughlan and they were both back in Cathedral on Monday 6th November to spend an entire day teaching in an ‘Active8’ classroom. Mrs McCarthy and Mrs McLaughlan will visit St Andrew’s Primary on Monday 13th November to offer Mrs Adams and Miss Gray their support and expertise as they begin to introduce Active8 in their own classrooms.
Cathedral Primary is absolutely delighted to have this opportunity to share good practice and support change and improvement in another school… and we are equally keen to look outwards to St Andrew’s Primary (and other schools) to support ongoing improvement here in Cathedral.
As part of Our Lady’s cluster Primary – Secondary transition programme, Primary 7 pupils recently had the opportunity to work with the high school’s science department. The input was in two parts: one session took place in the science labs at OLHS, where the children were able to choose an experiment to carry out (Lava Lamp or Skittle diffusion), and a further session was here at Cathedral, where the children had the opportunity to conduct a chemical reaction experiment.
Cathedral Primary is committed to ensuring the highest quality of learning and teaching across all classes. As part of our ongoing Quality Assurance, classroom learning visits got underway on Tuesday 31st October. Over the course of the next three weeks, the Leadership Team will visit all twenty classes to observe lessons and engage in dialogue with pupils about their learning. This round of visits will focus on the teaching of Writing, which is Priority 2 in the 2023/24 School Improvement Plan.
Although our discos took place in the first week of term, Halloween made an entertaining return to Cathedral dining hall on Tuesday 31st October. Cruella de Vil and her fantastic team of Dalmatians served up a spooktacular Halloween menu for pupils and staff, including a starter of ‘blood soup’! 
After dedicating an incredible eighteen years to Cathedral Nursery, Mrs Murphy waved a sad goodbye to children, staff and parents on Friday 27th October. Literally hundreds of Cathedral Primary pupils have passed through the nursery during Mrs Murphy’s time and each and every one has appreciated her kindness, nurture and commitment to helping them reach their full potential. Mrs Murphy was never without a smile!
Primary 4 hosted another successful coffee morning on Friday 27th October. It was great to see the hall filled with families and friends enjoying a catch up over coffee and cake. The event raised an incredible £686.00 for school funds.
This Primary 3 learner was so inspired by her recent Vikings topic in school, she decided to make a model of a Viking longship at home. She was able to talk to Mr Young about the skills she used to build the ship and describe the various materials she used, which included cardboard and lolly sticks. Well done on extending your learning at home and creating such a precise and realistic model!
As well as a relentless focus on high attainment, Cathedral Primary is also passionate about celebrating wider achievements. Lucas McDermott, one of our Primary 5 pupils, was very proud to appear on the pitch of Celtic Park on Wednesday 25th October prior to the kick-off of the UEFA Champions League group stage Celtic vs Atletico Madrid game. What a great experience for Lucas… and smiles all round at the 2-2 draw!
There was a FREAKISHLY good atmosphere in the hall on Tuesday 24th October for our Halloween discos. Costumes across all stages were absolutely fantastic and the boys and girls had a great time showing off their spooky dance moves. Three ghosts were even spotted lurking in the Leadership Team office!
As part of Come Clubbing @ Cathedral, Primary 7 pupils recently completed Young Leaders training with our resident Active Schools Co-ordinator, Fiona Russell. The Young Leader Award is a great introduction to leadership, giving young people aged eleven and over the knowledge and skills to organise and lead small games and activities that can be used as a part of club sessions. Primary 7 engaged in a three-week training programme and were awarded certificates on completion of the module. 