Creative Residency Art & Design

Congratulations to Chloe Graham (S5) and Aimee Lowe (S5) who were selected to participate in a week-long residency at Kilbowie Outdoor centre near Oban from 24 to 28 June.

Chloe studied textile and 3D Design and Aimee studied visual arts and painted a range of scenes outdoors.

The girls will then take part in a Masterclass in September with their work then showcased in an exhibition event in Summerlee Museum, Coatbridge. We wish our young people well as they embark on this Creative journey.

Musical Theatre Student of the Year

Budding actress Emma Atkin (S2) has won a top award at the performing arts academy she attends in her spare time. Tutors at the Glasgow-based UK Theatre School named the 12-year-old as the recipient of the school’s annual Junior Musical Theatre Student of the Year for her “exceptional” effort and focus over the past 12 months.

Emma received her plaque and certificate at the UKTS’s annual prize-giving ceremony which recognised their Students of the Year in various age groups and categories. Congratulations Emma!

Success in Music

A number of pupils have recently gained success in music. Finn McKellar from S3 (Trombone), Harris Carberry from S2 (Trumpet) and Mark McKay from S3 (Trumpet) were all successful in passing their Grade 1 ABRSM exams with merit. Melissa McQuillanfrom S3 passed her Grade 3 ABRSM exam for Piano. Laura Hubbard-Pérez (Bassoon) from S2 auditioned and gained a place in the Junior National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. Senior pupils, Magdalena Hubbard-Pérez (Oboe) and Jack Mellon (Clarinet) both auditioned and were successful in gaining places into The WSSO (West of Scotland Schools Concert Band and Orchestra). Laura, Magdalena and Jack took part in a number of concerts with their band/orchestra and played amazingly well.

All of these achievements could not have been accomplished without the hard work and dedication from all of these pupils. Well done to you all and congratulations on your successes.

Cycling Success

Congratulations to Michael Goodfellow (S3) who became the Under 14 Scottish National Track Champion for 2018 at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome on the 30 June.

He also held the yellow jersey for the Scottish Cycling West Series for a time but has the opportunity to win it back by the end of the season.

Michael has just returned from Lancaster having taken part in the North West Youth Tour, a three day stage race. A gruelling experience racing against the best under 14s in the U.K. which was a real learning curve.

Higher Biology STEM event

Higher Biology pupils took part in a DNA fingerprinting workshop this week led by Lucienne McCallum from Timstar.

Pupils caried out PCR and Gel Electrophoresis experiments to produce the DNA fingerprint. Pupils enjoyed the workshop and gained valuable insight into the applications of this procedure in the field of forensic analysis.

Higher Modern Studies Foodbank Visit

Before, the summer, Higher Modern Studies pupils studied 21st Century Poverty, where they discussed poverty rates and the issues facing those living in poverty locally. Pupils became very passionate about this and decided to work together to try to help.

All pupils contributed food and toiletries which we then delivered to a local Cumbernauld foodbank. While there, pupils also learned about how the foodbank works and how it supports local people. All pupils commented that it was a very worthwhile and humbling experience.

China Summer Immersion

10 pupils from Our Lady’s along with Miss Ruddy attended the China Summer Immersion course ran by the Confucius Institute for Scotland. The group visited Beijing and then Tianjin where pupils attended a local high school and became immersed in Chinese Culture.

The group visited a variety of tourist attractions in Beijing including, Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, Beijing Watertown and The Great Wall, and managed to fit in lots of shopping at the Pearl Market and Ancient Culture Street. In Tianjin, pupils excelled in their Mandarin classes and embraced culture classes in Chinese tea making, calligraphy, opera mask making and even Kung Fu and Tai Chi. Pupils also visited Tianjin Museum, as well as our partner school, Tianjin High School and different host families. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed the two week experience and were an absolute credit to the school throughout.

Visitors from China

On Monday 20th August we were fortunate to have a visit from our partner school Tianjin High School in China. 47 pupils and staff travelled to Cumbernauld at the end of their UK trip to visit our pupils and staff. Our senior pupils, who visited China Tianjin High School during the summer immersion, were thrilled to meet up with friends! Pupils visited classes and even participated in a few lessons!

Pupils from China and our pupils enjoyed a traditional Scottish meal of haggis, neeps and tatties together before they set off! This visit undoubtedly strengthened our links with our partner school and we know pupils will certainly keep in touch with their new friends!

The Modern Languages Department have embraced the 21st Century and now have a Twitter account! Please follow us @OLHSModLangs to keep up to date with what’s going on!

50th Anniversary

Session 2018/19 marks 50 years since Our Lady’s High School opened. Back in 1968 Our Lady’s was the only Catholic secondary in Cumbernauld. Originally intended as an all girls school, Our Lady’s welcomed girls and boys for the first time 50 years ago this week.

We will have a range of events this session to mark our 50th Anniversary. Our first event will take place on 7th September, when His Grace Archbishop Tartaglia will be the Principal Celebrant in our Feast Day Mass. We will be joined that day by former clergy, staff and members of the local community as we mark this very important day in our school calendar.

We are also planning some fun activities for pupils on that day…more information to follow !

SQA Exam Success

Once again pupils in Our Lady’s have performed exceptionally well in their SQA exams.

In S4, an outstanding 63% of pupils attained five or more National 5 Awards at Grade C or above. This is a fantastic achievement, and our students should be very proud of this. Congratulations also go to 14 pupils in S4 who attained 7 As in their National 5 awards – a phenomenal achievement. They are Sara Blake, Michael Breslin, Ben Docherty, Rachel Farrelly, Carmina Gray, Magdalena Hubbard-Perez, Rebecca Johnston, Vanessa Liu, Katie Martin, Monica McGee, Megan Murphy, Anna O’Reilly, Rachel Reilly and Skye Richardson

In addition to this, 95% of our pupils attained at least 5 Awards at National 4 or above – again an outstanding achievement. Well done to all of S4, and we look forward to building on this success next session.

Our S5 pupils also worked hard to secure success in their exams. 6 Pupils in S5 attained 5 As in their Highers, which was a fantastic achievement. Congratulations to Caitlin Clancy, Amy Docherty, Matthew Doogan, Matthew Jaffray, Jonathan Reynolds and Andrew Tonner.

Additionally, 45% of our pupils achieved 3 or more Highers, and 67% of our young people achieved at least one Higher in S5.

Our S6 enjoyed outstanding success. 45% of our S6 cohort last year left with 5 Highers, which is a superb achievement. In addition, almost 25% of our S6 students left with at least one Advanced Higher – a very commendable achievement.

Well done to all our pupils in their recent SQA exams, which again this year are amongst the very best performances in North Lanarkshire. We will have an opportunity to recognise this formally at our Awards Ceremony in September.