Our Lady and St. Francis Primary School

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.

Monday’s assembly was all about our new Strive to Thrive Policy.  This will replace our Promoting Positive Behaviour Policy and will be emailed to all parents/carers this week.

Our fish were delivered to P5 and P5/6 this week and they have shown great responsibility looking after them. Our children are thoroughly enjoying the Clyde in the Classroom project.

The children took part in The Big Question on Friday in their classes, where they decided on their Lenten Charities and Fun Days.  These will be included in the February Newsletter.

All classes will start preparing for our Financial Education days next week.  This year children will be responsible for spending a budget in a way that benefits the community.  They will take time this week to generate ideas, which will be put into practice the following week.

We hosted another successful Coffee Morning and Primary 6 wowed us with singing, dancing, a violin performance and a poem written and recited by one of our P6 girls.  Thank you to all who came along.

First Friday Mass was held in the afternoon and the children heard about the Holy Guardian Angels.  The singing was beautiful from all our children and we were delighted to see so many of our friends and family at the mass.

Primary 7 had their second transition visit to Taylor High School.  There was an air of excitement when they returned and it is clear they have been enjoying the activities prepared by the staff of Taylor High School.

Next week is Children’s Mental Health Week.  Our assembly on Monday will look at ways we can improve our mental health and the children will participate in discussions and activities throughout the week.  We will also place a focus on Internet Safety, as 7^th February is Internet Safety Day.  This year’s theme is ‘Want to talk about it?  Making space for conversations about life online’.

We have three Out of School Hours Learning Clubs this week: football, netball and The Carfin Choristers.

Tickets for the St. Valentine’s Disco will be on sale this week.

P5 and P5/6 were given an introduction to the Clyde in the Classroom project, which involves them hatching fish eggs and looking after them, before releasing them into the wild. A hatchery has been installed in each class and the children are using ice bottles to create the perfect temperature for the eggs, which will be delivered this Wednesday.   The children are very excited about the project, which provides a variety of learning opportunities and requires the children to show great responsibility.

The Parent Council met on Tuesday evening to discuss the latest events and future fundraising ideas.  There are still plenty of space on the PC for anyone else who would like to join – just turn up.

Our Committee Groups met on Friday to create their mission statements and to brainstorm ideas for moving forward.  The children have a good sense of what their groups are trying to achieve and hopefully we will see the final outcomes soon.

Looking towards next week, the children will come to assembly to go over our new school policy –Strive to Thrive.  The policy will be sent to parents/carers this week, please check your emails for this.

Kevin Cameron will lead a hymn practice on Wednesday to prepare the children for First Friday Mass, which is at the later time of 1:45.

Primary 7 will also visit Taylor High School for the second time as part of the transition programme.

The children learned about Chinese New Year at assembly this week.  I was very impressed by the children’s previous knowledge and their interesting questions.  We also had many Wider Achievers, Outstanding Citizens and Workers of the Week.  These photos will soon be uploaded to twitter.

We were delighted to welcome the parents of our new Primary Ones at this week’s enrolment.  We met some familiar faces and some new families.  It will be lovely to see you all at our inductions and even more so in August when you officially become part of our OLSF community.

Looking towards next week, the children will meet in their Committee Groups on Friday to discuss their aims and mission statements and the Parent Council will meet on Tuesday at 6pm in the school.  All welcome.

Thank you to our P7s who led our second Advent Service on Monday.  The P7 are doing a fabulous job leading our whole school through Advent.

We all participated in Christmas/Odd Sock day on Monday.  We had all sorts of colours, designs and patterns and I don’t think we had any duplicates.  Well done, everyone.  We also had our Christmas Lunch, Christmas Jumper Day and Movie Day this week.  We ae grateful to the Parent Council for providing the snacks for Movie Day.

P7 went to the Regent Shopping Centre on Tuesday to perform Christmas Songs.  Thank you to everyone who went to support them.  We are still sitting in 9^th place, so if you haven’t voted there is still time.

Our first live Nativity since 2019 was performed by P1-3.  They were amazing and made all of us very proud.  Each performance was very busy and the audience really contributed to the atmosphere.  Thank you to everyone who came along and also to the families who made it to the evening performances, particularly when it has been so cold and dark lately.

On Monday we celebrate the Third Sunday of Advent. Our service will be led by P7.

Tuesday is Pyjama Day and Enterprise Day.  Our children have each made a craft for our Enterprise Day and these will be available to buy on Tuesday.  Each class will be given a time to visit our enterprise stalls and make any purchases.

Our Digital Leaders will participate in an event organised by North Lanarkshire Council.  Most schools across the authority will participate in this event, where children will learn some fundamentals about ICT and development in schools.

P1, P2, P5, P6 and P7 all have their parties this week.  Children can be picked up from 12:15pm at the school office.

Thank you to our P7s who led our first Advent Service on Monday and a special thank you to Father Morris who blessed our new wreath.  It was a very positive start to the festive season.

P7 represented our school at St. Teresa’s Church on Wednesday at the cluster mass.  This is an annual event to mark the end of Catholic Education Week and to prepare for the transition to Taylor High School.  P7 started the transition on Friday afternoon where they participated in STEM activities, home economics and health and wellbeing.  The children spoke positively about their experience on Friday and are looking forward to their next transition event.

The children also gathered for a special assembly on Wednesday to mark the end of Catholic Education Week and St. Andrew’s Day.  We introduced our new Vision, Aims and Values to the children, based on the feedback from all stakeholders over the last few months.  These have been emailed to parents/carers and put on the school website.

Primary 4 lead our special mass for the Feast of St Francis Xavier and performed some Christmas songs at the Coffee Morning.   Our Christmas Crafters also sold products which they have been making at their after school club for the last few weeks, led by Miss Kane and Miss McLaughlin. Thank you to everyone who came along and supported us.

Our second Advent Service will focus on Peace as we light our second purple candle on Monday.

Monday is our annual Christmas/odd socks day.  There is no cost for this event.

P7 will make a trip to the Regent Shopping Centre on Tuesday and will perform a medley of Christmas Songs at 11:30.  Please come along and support them if you can.  This is part of The Regent Shopping Centre Competition where 10 schools compete to win vouchers for the centre.  Our Lady and St Francis were holding on to 8^th position but have slipped to 9^th.  Please vote for our choir if you have not already.

Our Christmas Lunch will take place on Tuesday.  This is pre-ordered by children.  If you have not pre-ordered your child’s dinner, please do this by Monday or provide your child with a packed lunch on this day.

Our Nativity will be performed by P1-3 on Wednesday and Thursday (1pm and 6:30pm each day).  Tickets are now on general sale.

Friday is our annual Christmas Movie and Jumper Day.  Our Parent Council are generously providing snacks and drinks for all children.

Taylor Cluster Catholic Education Week Newsletter 2019