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

Click HERE to RSVP before 9am on Wednesday 19th June.

Children should wear school uniform (shirt and tie) for the Mass/Ceremony and can bring a change of clothes for the celebrations afterwards.

We are looking forward to our Health and Wellbeing Week for 2024!  This is always a week packed with fun activities which focus on the various areas of physical, social, emotional and mental health.  We will have various visiting coaches and sessions planned.

We ask that the children wear their PE Uniform every day.  This means:

• Black shorts/joggers/leggings
• School Polo Shirt
• School Sweatshirt/cardigan/jumper
• Trainers – more and more children are wearing Crocs to school for PE.  They will not be permitted to participate if wearing crocs!  This is not suitable footwear.

Children should not wear other garments or football strips/track suits during this week.  PE Uniform only.

FOR EVERY CHILD WEARING PE UNIFORM A BONUS HOUSE TOKEN WILL BE AWARDED – Every day.

• Children will be working both indoors and outdoors and should have an appropriate jacket in case it rains!
• Children should bring a water bottle with them each day.
• Children are encouraged to eat a Healthy Snack during Health Week.

FRIDAY 7TH JUNE IS SPORTS DAY: 

• Weather permitting, Parents/Carers will be invited to attend our Traditional Races in the afternoon. 
• These will commence at around 1:50pm. 
• If the weather is not looking good, we will have our races inside, which means there will be no space for Parents/Carers.
• We will update you ASAP regarding any changes.  Please keep an eye on our text system and social media platforms.

Relationships & Moral Education (God’s Loving Plan)

During Health and Wellbeing Week the children will participate in their annual God’s Loving Plan Lessons.  Information regarding this is below…

Please read over the introductory letter:

God’s Loving Plan (Whole School) March 2023

Below, you will find some further information which you may wish to read through regarding the content of lessons, etc.

GLP Parents 1

GLP Parents 2

God’s Loving Plan (Vocabulary Guide)

We have received a complaint from the factor company which manages Heather Gardens.  Residents are complaining about children using their property at the flats as a thoroughfare, which is causing damage to the grass and the shrubs in their communal grounds.  Children are also pressing the buzzers both in the morning and at the end  of the school day.

The children will see this as fun, but they have no idea if the person is elderly, unwell, on night shift, or whatever!  I have spoken to all of the children and asked them to let me know if this continues.  I have asked them to remember that we are all about Respect – of others, ourselves and property!  This extends to before and after school when they are wearing our uniform!

I will be monitoring the area from time to time to ensure that the children do not cut through the private grounds.  It is not a short cut and involves them climbing over the wall/fence to get back out and onto Laburnum Road.

If your child walks in this direction, please ask them to kindly stay OUT of the grounds of the flats and to refrain from buzzing the residents doors.  We have no idea what distress this could be causing.  They have walked through the shrubs so much that they have cause irreparable damage to them, with some of them dying.

Please let me know if you see children not adhering to these instructions either before or after school.

Thank you for your support with this.

Mr Thomas.

This session our Pupil Reports will be sent digitally using the Parents Portal website. In order to access your child’s report you will need an active Parents Portal account. If you do not already have an account, please see below for information and advice on how to set up an account.

A Parents Portal account allows you to:

• make online payments for school lunch, trips and visits.
• report your child’s absence, without having to call the school
• complete the annual data check online
• update your contact preference details online
• electronically sign permission slips
• book your parent’s evening appointment
• access your child’s pupil report online

Please note that when creating an account the information you use for your Parent Portal account must match the information held in the school system.  This really means the way you registered yor child’s name for Primary 1!  We can help you with this either over the phone or in person.

To create an account go to parentsportal.scot and click Create an account!

TO HELP YOU SORT YOUR ACCOUNT, WE HAVE PROVIDED THE FOLLOWING HELPFUL HINTS AND GUIDES:

INTRODUCING PARENTS PORTAL

Please click the link or picture below to view a video introducing Parents Portal. https://youtu.be/c9GgNJw5zms

To register successfully, you must insert your child’s name exactly as you did when you registered them for Primary 1.  Contact us for support with this.

REGISTER FOR PARENTS PORTAL

Click this link or the picture to view a video which shows how to register for a Parents Portal account. https://youtu.be/ULlf7GqBkFk

Further advice on creating and using a Parents Portal account can be found here on the North Lanarkshire Council website.

https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/nl-digital-school/parents-portal

Help, Support and Frequently Asked Questions can be found here:

https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/nl-digital-school/parents-portal/parentsportalscot-help-and-faq

REPORT AN ABSENCE USING PARENTS PORTAL

Parents Portal can also be used to report your child’s absence. Please click the link or picture below if you would like to learn how to do this. https://youtu.be/SrWci9GnNF0

P7 LEAVERS’ HOODIES

Please see the attached letter for P7 Parents/Carers.  Click on the link below.  Whilst the letter may refer to Cardinal Newman High School and the information that they have provided us with, it reflects the uniform information for all High Schools in North/South Lanarkshire.  We are aware that not all of our children will be attending Cardinal Newman!

Leavers’ Hoodies 2024

We ask that you complete the acknowledgement form ASAP.  This form allows you to request replacement shirts and ties (free of charge) should your child require them.

Access the acknowledgement HERE or through the downloaded letter.

P7 VISIT TO STRATHCLYDE PARK

During the Week Beginning 22nd April 2024, the children will be attending Strathclyde Park for their Outdoor Education Week.  You have previously been given the information about what will happen.  We will send some reminders towards the end of the week just in case you have missed this.  However, Page 5 of our March Newsletter has the reminder we sent our before Easter.  Click HERE to access this information.

Can I ask you to ensure that:

• We have sufficient medication if your child requires this.  You must have completed a Medical Form for us to have permission to give medication.
• Read over the information and ensure that your child brings what they require.
• If your child requires a Packed Lunch from school, we will order these in advance.
• Payment should be made ASAP.  If you require any support with this, please do contact Mr Thomas.

This is the last week of term! Here are a few wee reminders!

🔵 School closes for the Easter Holidays at 2.30pm on Thursday. Please ensure you have made arrangements for your child to be collected at this earlier time

🔵 We are on Week Three for lunches

🔵 Lenten Morning Mass on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8.20am

🔵 Join us for our End of Term Service on Wednesday at 11.15 in the school hall (detail on pic below)

🔵 Our Lenten Fun Day is on Thursday. See picture below for all info

We are looking for shop bought, individually wrapped sweets, crisps, cakes, biscuits and treats for our Cake and Candy.  Please hand them into the school office ASAP

🔵 School closes for the Easter Holidays at 2.30pm on Thursday. Please ensure you have made arrangements for your child to be collected at this earlier time

BOOK FAIR

Thank you to everyone who managed to purchase something from the Book Fair.  We really appreciate it.  We have made of £400 in commission, which will be put towards new books for our School Library.

PARENTS’ NIGHT

It was so good to see so many of you at our recent Parents’ Night.  There was a lovely buzz about the school and there were so many positive comments made about the children’s work.  It was great to hear and see them all reading them the morning after!

Thank you all for your continued support of the school.  We wish you a very Happy Easter when it comes.

From 5pm today (21st March) there will be a system outage on our school phone, network and wifi systems.  This is to allow for maintenance work.

This means that you will not be able to contact the school from 5pm.  We realise that we sometimes get calls asking for appointment reminders for Parents’ Night, but we will not be able to receive these!  If you are unsure, please call before the system outage.

Many thanks!

In our last newsletter, we issued a SAVE THE DATE for all Parents/Carers and P7 Children who are transitioning to Cardinal Newman in August 2024.

The staff of Cardinal Newman invite P7 Children and their Parents/Carers to attend a Parent Evening on Monday 18th March 2024 from 6pm – 7pm.

The event will take place in the school theatre and will consist of a Presentation from:

• the School Leadership Team
• Support for Learning
• Pupil Support Team
• Future Fridays
• Some S1 Stars

Information will also be given about the 2 Day Visit in May.

Day 1:  Thursday 16th May (9am to 3pm) followed by P7 Disco at Cardinal Newman (6pm – 7:30pm)

Day 2:  Friday 17th May (9am to 3pm)

Here is some information about our after school clubs.

1. Due to staff training there will be no Mini Vinnies or Athletics after school this week
2. All after school clubs will finish this week
3. Exception – Drama Club. This will run until the end of term.

Letters about new after school clubs will be issued after the Easter Holidays.

At our Lenten Mass on Friday our very first “Mini Vinnies” were enrolled.

Mini Vinnies are groups of primary school children who take for their example the work of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. This entails them meeting together to find ways in which they can help other people. Every year they make a promise to engage as well as they can in their work as Mini Vinnies.

Well done children, we can’t wait to see the positive impact you all have on our community.