St. John Paul II Primary School & Nursery Class, Viewpark

Apologies for the late notice, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the netball after school club is cancelled tomorrow! I’m so sorry!

Also, drama and martial arts clubs will not be on this week due to Parents Night and the holiday weekend!

Normal service will resume next week!

This is the schedule for the photographer next week. Children should wear full school uniform for pictures as pictures should not interfere with PE days. Thursday is the day for sibling pictures for those who have requested these. Children should also wear full uniform even if it is their PE day.

Please click below for information about the works planned for our overspill car park.  There will likely be some disruption for us and especially for those who normally use the car park.

HERE IS AN APPROXIMATE PLAN, ALTHOUGH WE KNOW THERE CAN BE DELAYS AT TIMES WITH BUILDING WORKS.

Works to the car park will be phased. Phase 1 will commence on Monday 9^th November 2026 at 0800hrs and will last approximately two weeks. Phase 2 will commence on Monday 23^rd November 2026 and last for approximately 2 weeks.  During this time, access may be limited or restricted and this could change on a daily basis.

Traffic management will be in operation in the form of a full road closure from the roundabout at Old Edinburgh Road to the roundabout at Laburnum Road, at the school entrance. This road closure will be in place over the weekend of 28th/29^th November 2026.

All works will be complete for Tuesday 1^st December 2026 (This is the plan, anyway!)

During this time, and to avoid an issues, please park in the St. Columba’s Church Car Park, which is a 2 minute walk away from the school.  The link below shows the site in more detail and explains what we can expect.

Letter to residents – Laburnum Road Carpark

PHOTOGRAPH PERMISSION

We take photographs of the children in various learning situations throughout the school year.  However, we are aware that not everyone is comfortable with their child’s photograph being used in certain situations (on social media for example).

Each year, we update our records with your preferences and permissions for taking and using photographs/videos of your child in school, in publications and on our socials.  You only need to click the link below if you DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION for your child’s photograph to be use.  Otherwise, you can ignore this!

Please respond by 5pm on Wednesday 26th August 2026.

Click HERE if you DO NOT give permission for us to use your child’s photograph.

HOMEWORK OPT IN

This year, we are asking you to seriously consider if you would like your child to receive homework.  We have started asking parents and carers to opt into this, rather than us sending out blanket homework to every child in the school and then very few actually participate and hand it in.

• We know that life is busy and children have more and more clubs to attend these days!
• We know that life is busy and homework is difficult to fit in.
• We know that homework can cause stress at home.
• We know that some parents and carers are very keen to have homework for their child.
• We know that not everyone is keen!

Last year, we had over 100 requests for homework, but in some classes, the returns were in single figures.  We are discussing the future provision of homework at St. John Paul II and will be in touch regarding this.  However, Class Teachers will monitor returns for those who have opted in for homework, and if there is not a decent return rate, they will contact you to ask if you still wish your child to receive homework.  If, for some reason your child cannot complete their homework one week, or only some of it, please simply let the Class Teacher know.

Please respond by 5pm on Wednesday 26th August 2026.

Click HERE if you would like your child to receive homework.

ACTIVE8 INFORMATION SESSION FOR PARENTS/CARERS

Please scroll down and click on the link to let us know that you will be attending the Active8 Information Session, which takes place this coming Thursday 27th August at 7pm in the school.

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHER

The photographer will be in school on 15th, 16th, 17th September.  We will issue a timetable of who is being photographed on what day and when siblings photos will be taken.

FLU VACCINATION

This will take place on 4th November.  Unfortunately, there was a delay in the the paperwork being delivered.  We hope to have this with you in the next day or two.  There is a quick turn around for the return of the permission slips, so please do send them back into use ASAP.  Thank you in advance for your help!

SCARAMENT MEETING FOR PARENTS

If your child is making one of the Sacrament during this school year, then please save the date!  Tuesday 15th September at 7pm in both churches.  You should attend the meeting in the church which is in your parish.  We will only have ONE meeting for all sacraments (P3 – First Reconciliation, P4 – Holy Communion and P7 – Confirmation).

It is important that you (or another member of the family) attend this meeting, as this is the only stipulation our Parish Priest have in place for registration.  It will only last about 30 minutes.

We are in the process of setting up new class Teams and resetting passwords. Please bear with us and we’ll get all the information to you next week. Please don’t attempt to login until we have sent out new details.

Please have a look at the information below and pop the dates in your diary!  We are looking forward to welcoming you into school for various events throughout the school year!

The information below relates to our School Improvement Priority for this school year.  There are lots of new and exciting things happening in our classrooms as a result of our collaboration with Cathedral Primary School, Motherwell and a Pilot being offered by North Lanarkshire Council and the Head Teacher of Cathedral.  Cathedral received an EXCELLENT grading for Learning, Teaching and Assessment in their recent HMIe Inspection and so their sector leading approaches are being rolled out to other school across the authority.

To let us know you will be attending the above meeting, please click HERE.

PE Days will start from next week!

Below is some information we previously sent out about PE Uniform.  It is still relevant, especially at the beginning of term!

We hope you have had a lovely summer!  It is almost time for the start of the new school year!  Please see the link below for some information to help you prepare for the beginning of term.  We are very much looking forward to welcoming everyone back on Wednesday 12th August 2026.  Please see the information for P1 start times as well as some other reminders for all parents/carers.

Back to School Info August 2026

In the new school year, we are participating in an exciting pilot programme which will revolutionise the way our classrooms operate and our approaches to learning and teaching.  This is called Active8.  More information will be provided as part of our work to involve Parents/Carers in this exciting area of school improvement.

WE NEED SOME HELP THIS WEEK

We are looking for some volunteers -Parents/Carers/Grandparents/Older Siblings – to come into school and help us prepare resources for our Active8 Launch in August.   There are lots of things we need to have ready for our classrooms.  This would involve:

• Cutting up signs and labels
• Laminating them for use and display in class
• Organising these into class sets

We will provide as much tea/coffee and as many biscuits are required!

If you can spare some time, just let us know by calling the office so that we know when you are coming.  You can come pretty much any time and we will set you up in a room with all you need.  Bring a friend too if you like!  Just let us know so that we have the space prepared.

Reports being issued on Parents Portal

We will issue reports this afternoon.  As I have mentioned in previous newsletters, these are delivered through Parents Portal and you must be registered with this if you want to receive your report.  If you have any issues with signing up, please contact the school office next week and they will assist you.

The Week Ahead

We remind you of some of next week’s events:

Tuesday:  

• Children will have their second Meet the Teacher at 9:45am.
• P7 Graduation Mass and Ceremony begins at 6pm on Tuesday evening.

Thursday:

• St JPII Nursery Graduation

Friday:

• Mass at 10am in St. Columba’s with P6 tie presentation, Pope Francis Faith Award and P5 Mini Vinnies certificates will also be presented.  ALL WELCOME!
• There will only be Snacks to Go for lunch on Friday.
• SCHOOL CLOSES AT 1PM.  PLEASE ENSURE YOUR CHILD IS COLLECTED
• P7 will be dismissed slightly after the bell to a guard of honour from the staff.  Please remember – limos, etc should not enter the school grounds and should stay away from the area until about 1:15pm so that the traffic is cleared!

Finished Jotters

At the end of term, you will receive your child’s jotters home.  The only jotters which may not come home are ones which have just been started as we will keep these for next year.  You can look out for these!

Please click HERE to RSVP and claim your initial 6 tickets.