Covid 19
We have not had too many positive cases of Covid 19 confirmed in the school over the last few weeks, which is great. We would like that to continue, especially as we approach the S4 prelims and the Christmas holidays. A way of helping this stays the case, I would encourage pupils to test regularly, at least twice a week. There are plenty of lateral flow tests available and pupils can collect these from the school office.
Virtual Parents’ Evenings
We have now managed to have two virtual Parents’ evenings, which have been fairly successful. We are aware that there have been issues for some parents getting logged on and hopefully these can be ironed out as we go along. I believe there have been similar issues being seen across all the schools using the same system. However, it has been good to have that opportunity to report to parents again, albeit on a digital platform.
Good Luck!
Good luck to all our S4 pupils who begin their prelims on Monday 6th December. They have been working hard and so here’s hoping it has all paid off!
Visits to Primary classes
Preparation is ongoing for the transition for our new cohort of S1 pupils who will be joining us in August 2022. There are a number of different things going in the background to help us gather as much information as we can. Recently, Mr Lang and I had the pleasure of visiting the Primary 7 pupils in our associated Primary schools (Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral, St Bernadette’s and St Brendan’s) to introduce ourselves and answer any questions. Mr Lang has set up a group on Teams and this can be used to answer any questions that the pupils or parents may have.
Young Enterprise
Recently a group of S3 pupils had the opportunity to take part in a Young Enterprise Scotland Challenge. This was a great day that pupils got a lot out of. Once again, our visitors to the school were very impressed with the participation of our pupils.
Christmas Activities
Once again we are having a Christmas Activities Day this year on 16th December, consisting of a Quiz, a Christmas Film and a Walkathon. We are hoping to raise £2000 for our charities chosen by the pupils (St Andrew’s Hospice, St Margaret’s Children & Family Care Society and Teenage Cancer Trust). A Just Giving page has been set up and we would be grateful for any contribution you can make:
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kathleen-smith-5?utm_id=60&utm_term=ANPEVB7Qd
Police visit
We were recently visited by a community Police Officer who came to the school to give a talk to S1 pupils on the dangers of social media and also the language we use with each other. We have had a similar talk form a local lawyer given to S2 pupils on the dangers of uploading pictures and videos to social media. These talks have been very informative and hopefully our young people will take on board any advice given.
Prisoner Officer visit
S3 and S4 Modern Studies pupils were in the lecture theatre recently, speaking to an officer from HM Low Moss. There was an excellent discussion surrounding the causes of crime and how the prison tackles this issue through various initiatives and programs… and what prisoners got to eat for dinner!
Catholic Education visits
As part of Catholic Education Week this year we were once again able to go out to our local parishes where one of our S6 Caritas pupils gave a talk on the benefits of Catholic Education and the work going on in Our Lady’s HS and our associated Primary Schools. Thanks to the parishes for welcoming us and allowing us to speak at the Masses.
St Andrew’s Day
The Feast of St Andrew was celebrated on 30th November. Mrs. Connor and pupils from Andrew House organised a stall at interval and lunchtime to help raise funds for St Andrew’s Hospice. Thanks to all who helped raise over £100 for the hospice, a very worthy cause.
MSP visit
The S6 Politics class recently had an enjoyable and informative session with our local MSP Claire Adamson, who visited the school.
Friday afternoons
Mr McGurk continues to work on ensuring there are offers available for pupils to engage in on a Friday afternoon and uptake continues to be high in the school. Pupils should sign up each week using the form available on the Team that has been set up by Mr McGurk. Updates can be found on the twitter account @FridayOlhs
As part of the Friday afternoon activities we had a group of pupils participate in a dance showcase event in Taylor High School involving other local schools. They performed well and congratulations to Rachel and Emily for their winning performance! Thanks go to our S4 dance leaders, Emily, Katie and Eva for all their hard work!
School App
Just a reminder that we have a school app that has a calendar of events, a link to the twitter account, website and blog as well as many of the messages that are sent via email. Just search for ‘School App for Parents’, download and add the school. If you already have the app for another school, go to the top right of the home page and add another school – search for ‘Our Lady’s High School, Motherwell’.
Forthcoming Events
Monday 6th December S4 Prelims begin
Thursday 16th December Christmas Activities Day
Wednesday 22nd December School closes at 2.30pm
Monday 10th January School reopens
Tuesday 18th January S3 Parents’ Evening
Monday17th January S5/6 Prelims begin
Thursday 27th January S4 Parents’ Evening
