Catholic Education Week

The Catholic Church in Scotland encourages schools, parishes and other agencies to work closely together in order to celebrate the successes of Catholic education particularly during one week each year.  The purpose of Catholic Education Week is to highlight the significance of education, not only for young people but for society as a whole. Developing Our Faith – Our Spiritual Journey Pupils celebrate Catholic Education Week in Our Lady’s Catholic Education Week 2017 has the theme “Developing as a Community of Faith and Learning” and we celebrated as a community of faith with pupil assemblies led by Caritas students, activities in RE classes and on Thursday 16 February all S3 pupils attended Mass concelebrated by our Parish Priests in celebration of the links between school and parish. Celebrating Our Lady’s Feast Day In September each year the community of Our Lady’s High School celebrates Our Lady’s birthday. This year, Caritas Students led S2 to S5 pupils in prayer reflection services, whilst S1 and S6 pupils gathered for Mass in the Assembly Hall. The beautiful Mass was celebrated by our school chaplain, Father McKay, joined by local Parish Priests Father John Campbell of Sacred Heart and St. Lucy’s Parishes and Father O’Brien of St. Joseph’s Parish Cardowan. Primary 7 Mass of Enrolment Each year in June we celebrate a Mass of Enrolment to welcome our Primary 7 pupils as members of the community of Our Lady’s High School. The Mass this year was concelebrated by our school chaplain Father McKay and Father John Campbell of Sacred Heart and St. Lucy’s Parishes. The Pope Benedict XVI Caritas Award The Pope Benedict XVI Caritas Award encourages and promotes the ongoing faith journey of young people. It recognises that some are already active and committed within their homes, schools, parishes and dioceses and it invites others to respond to God’s call of love. We have 21 S6 pupils working towards their Caritas Award this year and they attended an enrolment ceremony at Motherwell Cathedral. Archdiocese of Glasgow Mass for High Schools A number of pupils also enjoyed the opportunity to visit St. Andrew’s Cathedral to meet with young people from across the Archdiocese to pray, sing and chat together and listen to Archbishop Tartaglia’s address at the recent Mass for High Schools. “Breaking Open” Conferences for RE Teachers To further develop their own faith, teachers in Our Lady’s have participated in the “Breaking Open” Conferences for non-specialist RE teachers exploring the key themes from the Senior Phase of This is Our Faith. These professional learning conferences were organised by the Catholic Church and took place in the Conforti Institute in Coatbridge. Developing Our Faith – Our Faith in Action Interfaith Conference S4 pupils Challum Brown, Caitlin Clancy, David Hughes and Cara James represented Our Lady’s High at the recent Interfaith Conference in Alona Hotel, Motherwell. The theme of the conference was “Religion and the Media” and the students enjoyed the opportunity to discuss the ways in which religious diversity should be celebrated in Scotland. Christmas Hamper Appeal During the month of December all RE classes at Our Lady’s were asked to make a hamper of treats to be delivered to the elderly and needy residents of Cumbernauld. The young people and their families managed to collect enough food to make almost 60 hampers which was a fantastic achievement and demonstrates the faith of our young people in action. Pensioners’ Christmas Lunch In December the students of Our Lady’s hosted a party for 50 elderly parishioners from our local parishes as well as the Church of Scotland and St. Mary’s Episcopalian Church. The VIP guests were treated to a Christmas dinner and a Nativity play.  A wonderful time was had by all! Malawi Last June, 9 senior students visited our partner school St. John Bosco in Malawi. The pupils and teachers were warmly welcomed and the head teacher spoke very kindly about our partnership and highlighted the types of things they have been able to do with the kindness and support from the community of Our Lady’s High School.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Laura Scott from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended our S1-S4 year group assemblies and delivered a presentation on Fire Related Anti-Social Behaviour.

The presentation provided pupils with an awareness of the dangers and consequences of this type of behaviour.

Junk Kouture Competition

Congratulations to the following pupils who have used their artistic talent to design and make dresses from junk! They are:

Caitlin Connor and Kimberly Gallagher (S3) who made the green dress;

Nicole Copeland, Rachel McLennan and Cara Prinsloo (S1) who created the oragami butterfly dress; Catherine Dempsie, John Dunne and Katie Shearer (S1) who created the blue dress.

We wish them luck as we wait to hear if they have progressed to the next round of the competition!

Creative Residency 2016 – “Unfamiliar Elements”

The exhibition of work by creative NLC pupils opened this month in Summerlee Heritage Centre and once again Our Lady’s High School was very well represented.

Marisa Barrack (S5) contributed to the introductory presentation before more Our Lady’s pupils participated in the Drama and Music performances. All in all, the exhibition was a superb showcase for the many talented pupils in our school. Pupils involved were:

Creative Writing – Marisa Barrack, Emma Duncan, Abby McDuff and Aileen Stewart. Digital Photography – Anna Bowyer, Abbie McGinlay and Kelly Thomson. Drama – Erin Campbell, Cara Donaghey, Emma Marsh and Mark Pencovitch.Music – Julie Hamilton, Andrew Noble and Liam Reilly.

Skills Development Scotland

All of our S3 pupils were allocated an appointment with our partners from Skills Development Scotland as part of their preparation for the start of their Senior Phase.

Each pupil met with our Careers Adviser, Rosalynn Robinson, and they were offered advice and guidance about their upcoming transition into S4. Rosalynn and her team will continue to work with our S3 pupils as they progress through the Senior Phase.

SQA Statistics Group Award

Congratulations to our S6 pupils who visited the University of Strathclyde’s Statistics Department on Monday 19 Dec 2016 as part of their work to gain their SQA Group Award.

The class gathered data using a Christmas quiz which was given to pupils from a variety of yeargroups. The purpose of the quiz was to find out if two heads are better than one!

The participants answered the quiz in pairs or singles and under exam conditions so that they couldn’t influence each others decisions. The Statistics class analysed some of this data at the University using MINITAB – a program very familiar to professional statisticians. The class are currently analysing all of our data and preparing a report to feed back to all involved. Well done!

Zombie Science

S2 Science pupils attended a spoof tutorial on the real science behind a Zombie Outbreak on Wednesday 25 January.

They learned how to identify, contain and control the disease should a Zombie epidemic occur. The tutorial featured a multi-media presentation, practical demonstrations and audience participation.

Automated Telephone Answering Service

Unfortunately, the Automated Telephone Answering Service has been withdrawn from use by OLHS due to technical difficulties. You can still notify us of your child’s absence by calling the school office after 8.30am each day.

The next Saturday Study Day is on Saturday 4 February. The times are as follows:

If you would like a printable version of the form please click here.

S4 Course Information – Preparing for the Senior Phase

Click the image below to access the S3 into S4 Course Information Booklet.