Our Lady and St. Francis Primary School

I hope all our families have enjoyed the September Weekend.

Thank you to everyone who came to our Curriculum Night on Tuesday.  It was lovely to see so many of our families interested in our curriculum and the feedback received was very positive.  I will be sending out an email soon to gather opinions on our curriculum and Annual Improvement Plan.

We were delighted to receive the North Lanarkshire Enterprise Award on Wednesday.  Thank you to Mr Rankin who led this project and worked hard alongside all the staff to achieve this award.

Looking to next week, we will be celebrating all things maths during Maths Week Scotland.  Our theme this year is Maths in Motion and we will start with a whole school assembly.  Please ask your child what they having been learning specifically in maths this week and keep an eye on twitter for our photographs.

Our lunch menu will change this week.  On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday there are only sandwiches and soup available.  Friday is a normal menu of Fish and Chips, Vegan Nuggets or Baked Potatoes.

Our Assembly last week was packed full with awards and I believe the most Wider Achievers at any one assembly.  We also gave awards for Outstanding Citizens and Workers of the Week – we are so proud of all of you.  Our assembly focus was Roald Dahl Day and many children had an impressive knowledge about some Roald Dahl books.

Thank you to everyone who attended Taylor High School on Monday evening for mass.  Our Lady and St Francis Primary were well represented and it was lovely to see you all there, dressed smartly in our uniform.

The rugby taster sessions went well on Thursday and although the heavens poured, P7 enjoyed Rugby Festival on Friday at Brannock.

Looking towards next week we will start the week with a short assembly for the whole school.

Our Curriculum Night takes place in Tuesday from 4:30, starting with an information session in the gym hall and moving on to Meet the Teacher.  We hope many of our families will be able to join us.

Nursery photographs will be taken on Tuesday 19^th and the school photos will be taken on Wednesday the 20^th.  There will be no PE on those days and children should wear full school uniform.

The Carfin Choristers will meet on Wednesday.

The school will be closed on Friday 22^nd and Monday 25^th for the September Weekend.

Mrs Semple

The Parent Council met on Tuesday for the AGM.  All office bearers were appointed as follows:

Chair – Mrs Gillian O’Donnell

Vice Chair – Mrs Debbie Murphy

Treasurer – Mr Mark O’Hara

Secretary – Mrs Kathryn Mushet

If you are interested in joining the Parent Council, please attend the next meeting on the 24^th October or contact the school office.

Primary 7 had an online meeting with Kooth, a mental health support community.  The children heard about how to login to Kooth and seek support when necessary.

Next week we will start the week with our whole school assembly celebrating Roald Dahl Day which is on the 13^th September.

Our Primary 7s have been invited to Taylor High School on Monday evening for mass along with the current S1s as part of the transition programme.  We hope to see many of our P7s there.

All classes from P1-6 will participate in a rugby taster session on Thursday.  Children do not require an additional gym kit for this.  P7 will then visit Brannock High School on Friday for a Rugby Festival.

I hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.   I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow.

Mrs Semple

We started off our week with a whole school assembly where we looked at our Vision, Aims and Values and reminded ourselves of our school policy ‘Strive to Thrive’.  This policy will be emailed to parents/carers this week.  Please look over this policy, in particular the sections regarding responsibilities.

A representative from Dogs Trust will talk to the children at this week’s assembly about looking after dogs and will then visit P5, P5/6 and P6 to discuss this in more detail.

The Carfin Choristers resumed last week, led by Kevin and Aileen, and will continue this Wednesday.

Mrs Rimmer’s class will lead our First Friday Mass and Coffee morning.  P7a will join them to entertain our guests with a few songs.

If you have not returned your data form, please return it as soon as possible.

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend.

Last week we welcomed our P2-P7 back to school and introduced our new P1s to Our Lady and St Francis Primary School.  The P7 buddies have been amazing and have looked after our new starts during breaks and lunchtimes, showing them patience and kindness.  Our new little ones even managed to join in our whole school assembly on Friday – we are so impressed by them.

This week we will start the week with a whole school assembly, reminding our children of our new Vision, Aims and Values and target setting.  We will also have two additional playtimes for last term’s house winners.  It will be the first whole week back to school so we will expect some very tired children by Friday.

Have a lovely week, everyone.

After many weeks of looking after our fish P5 and P5/6 finally released them into the River Clyde.  They braved the cold and wet (and mud) at Strathclyde Park and relished in the opportunity to be part of and understand river ecology.  Well done, P5/6 and P5, it was worth a new pair of shoes for Miss McCluskey and Miss Ainslie.

Thank you Mr Rankin for organising a very successful STEM Week last week.  All children took part in STEM workshops, presented by volunteers from CommsWorld and TechSheCan.  They were engaging and inspiring, whilst educating our children on all things STEM.

All children thoroughly enjoyed our Fun 31 Day.  Children were painting, building, dancing, playing outdoors (until it rained), completing challenges and topped it all off with a Balloon-a-thon – we think there may have been some tired children by Friday night.

The week ahead…

P5 and P5/6 continue to look after the fish as part of the Clyde in the Classroom Project.  They have shown great responsibility and care whilst ensuring our fish are safe.  Hopefully we will get to release them over the next few weeks.

P1 and P7 had their dental check on Monday.  If your child was absent you will receive a letter detailing what you should do next.

The children went to the church on Wednesday to receive their ashes.  The children have been discussing what Lent means to them and many of them are making positive changes, such as using kind words and being nice to one another.  All children will have the opportunity to say a rosary each morning during Lent at 8:50am in the gym hall.

Mr Maxwell took some P6s and P7s to the Ravenscraig on Friday for a football festival.  Mr Maxwell was delighted with our children who represented our school so well.  Well done, everyone – we are so proud of you.

Looking forward to next week, P1-7 will meet in the gym hall for assembly on Monday at 9:10am.  Monday will also see the GIRFEC Survey Launch.  This involves a survey for all parents, carers and pupils on their knowledge of GIRFEC.  A letter with further information and links to the surveys will be emailed.

Due to industrial strike action, the school is expected to be closed on Tuesday 28th February and Wednesday 1^st March.

Mr Maxwell will take P5-7 Cross Country Finalists to Wishaw Sports Centre on Thursday morning to compete in the finals.  We wish all our children good luck.

First Friday Mass will be led by P7a, who will also host the subsequent Coffee Morning.  P7b will join them for a few songs.  Please come along and support us.