Caritas Commissioning Service
Before the October week, around 60 of our S6 pupils gathered along with many other S6 pupils from the diocese for the Motherwell Caritas commissioning Service. We have always had a good record of pupils working on the Caritas award, serving the school and Parish, and are delighted once again with the numbers participating this year. It was a lovely service led by Bishop Toal.
St Andrew’s Hospice
Following the 6K run in September we were visited by a representative from St Andrew’s Hospice to pick up a cheque from the school for £1426 from sponsorship at the event. There will be a number of pupils involved in the Santa Dash for the Hospice this weekend to raise funds, which will also include me and some pupils heading over the loch on a zipwire!
Halloween Dance
Our S6 pupils organised a very successful Halloween dance for our S1 pupils. There was dancing and games organised and there were many excellent outfits on display. Well done to S6 pupils for arranging this event for the S1 pupils!
The Feast of All Saints is a holiday of Obligation and we had the opportunity for the first time in several years to have a whole school Mass. Fr Bobby Kane was good enough to help us out and celebrate the Mass for us. The participation and behaviour of pupils was excellent.
Primary Schools
We do a lot of work with our Primary Schools to ensure the transition from primary school to secondary school is a smooth one for the hopping people. As part of this programme, Mr Lang and I visited Cathedral, St. Brendan’s and St Bernadette’s primary Schools and had the opportunity to speak with parents and pupils, to pass on information about the school and outline the work that will be done over the coming months as part of that transition process.
S1 Parents Evening
After online Parents evenings, we were delighted to welcome parents back into the building for our first face to face reporting evening for a while. It was a great turnout and feedback from staff and parents was positive. Forthcoming evenings for some of the other year groups are listed below.
Bannockburn trip
Our annual S2 trip to Bannockburn resumed again this year and around 60 pupils attended. They had the opportunity to participate in a virtual battle which included a 3D projection of the Battle of Bannockburn in a state-of-the-art digital theatre. They handled weapons and armour from the period, participated in a role-play workshop, and visited the battle ground and surviving monuments. Pupils had a great time and once again staff were impressed with the way in which they represented the school.
Parent Council
Th AGM took place recently where office bearers were appointed. Gerry Bonnar has stepped down as the Chairperson and we thank him most sincerely for his great work for the Parent Council. The Vice-Chairperson, Ian Munro, has stepped up as Chairperson with Stuart Angell as Vice Chairperson. The Catholic rep will be Elaine Fitzpatrick. I would like to thank them all for their contribution to the Parent Council and to everyone who forms this group, who have been very supportive to me and the school over a number of years. If you are interested in joining the Parent Council, please contact the school. Currently it only involves 5 meetings a year which usually last no more than an hour.
Forthcoming Events
Monday 14th November – Inservice Day (holiday for pupils)
Thursday 17th November – S4 Parents’ Evening
Wednesday 23rd November – Christmas Fayre
Thursday 24th November – Diocesan Education Mass
Thursday 1st December – S5/6 Parents’ Evening
Friday 2nd December – Main diet of S4 Prelims begins (practical exams take place beforehand)
Wednesday 7th December – Christmas Concert
Thursday 15th December – S4/5/6 Ceilidh
Friday 16th December – S1/2/3 Ceilidh (in the afternoon to replace Future Fridays)
Thursday 22nd December – last day of term
