Welcome back!  I hope you all had a lovely week off.  It was great to welcome the children back to school this morning.

I am writing with some information for the beginning of term.

AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS:

The following clubs begin this week:

Monday:  Netball (P6/7)

Tuesday:  Cross Country (P5/6/7)

Thursday:  Drama (P4-7)  and Football (P6/7)

THE FEAST OF ST. JOHN PAUL II

On Wednesday 22nd October, you are invited to join us for our school Feast Day Mass in the Assembly Hall.  This will take place at 11am.  Our school Feast Day is an important annual celebration for our school community, and it would be amazing to have a good representative of Parents, Carers, Grandparents, etc. at our Mass.  Our new P6 Pope Francis Faith Award Candidates will also be enrolled during this Mass.  All Welcome!

In the afternoon, the children will celebrate further with a Cinema Afternoon and sweet treats.  All children should wear full school uniform on Wednesday, as there will be no P.E. lessons that day.

DOES YOUR CHILD STRUGGLE WITH THEIR ATTENDANCE DUE TO THEIR EMOTIONS?  PARENT/CARER ONLINE WORKSHOP:

A free 45 minute webinar for parents and carers on 23rd October 2025.

Kooth is a charity that works to support young people with their mental health.

Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance, or EBSNA for short, refers to young people who struggle to attend school because of a range of emotional factors.

These can include struggling with issues like low mood, anxiety and loneliness. The impact of EBSNA can range from the young person experiencing an occasional reluctance to attend school, to complete non-attendance. It can start suddenly or develop gradually over time.

Kooth has developed this free webinar for families to explore EBSNA as a complex issue and will give guidance on how digital mental health support can help.

Click HERE for more information on how to join.

CAR PARK AND BUILDING SITE:

I know that many of you will have noticed that there has been some movement in the planned works to build houses directly opposite our school campus on Laburnum Road.

I met with the Site Manager, as well as representatives from North Lanarkshire Council this morning and they shared the plans with myself and Mrs Martin.

It goes without saying that having such a site in close proximity to the school will be challenging, but I am assured that those associated with the project will do everything they can to ensure that things runs smoothly.  We hope to build a positive relationship with the Site Manager.  The aim is that all deliveries will be co-ordinated out with busy times (i.e. 9am and 3pm).

As with all projects such as this, there may be teething problems to begin with, but we will work together to ensure these are kept to a minimum.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR CAR PARK USERS?

• There will be 20 fewer parking spaces in the overflow car park whilst the building work takes place.
• Once the site has been completed, we will return to having the full use of the car park, with some additional spaces created.
• Once completed, the new access road will be the only way into the car park.
• In the meantime, space will be tighter and people will need to be more considerate and patient when using either of the car parks.
• It also means that more people will want to park on Laburnum Road

HOW CAN I HELP?

• If at all possible, do not drive your child to school!
• If at all possible, park elsewhere and walk the final bit of the journey.
• If at all possible, use the church car park and walk round.
• Our neighbours in Heather

THIS WILL MEAN THAT MORE DRIVERS MAY WISH TO USE THE SCHOOL CAR PARK, SO PLEASE TAKE EXTRA CARE.

Information will be circulated by the builders to neighbouring properties in the coming weeks.  As soon as we receive this, we will also share it through our usual channels.

In the end, all we can do is be patient, show courtesy to each other and make safe choices in the Car Park space that we do have!

Many thanks,

Mr Thomas.