Primaries 5,6 and 7 thoroughly enjoyed a Superhero Science show on Monday delivered by Timetastical Productions. The presenter praised the attention of our pupils and their ability to ask some searching questions!
We welcome Miss Sandra Bogan, Quality Improvement Officer for Health and Wellbeing to our school on Tuesday. Miss Bogan visited Primaries 4 and 7 and was most impressed by how our children could discuss their learning about the wellbeing indicators and how this impacted on their daily lives. Developing knowledge about the wellbeing indicators is an important aspect of our improvement plan this session.
Primary 6 had their final rehearsal for their Artsnet performance Safe and Sound on Tuesday. We look forward to welcoming many family and friends this coming Tuesday to the sharing of their learning.
On Thursday this week Mrs Collins, Early Years Team Leader, and myself conducted interviews for the position of Primary 6 Buddies in our nursery. Almost all our Primary 6s applied for the posts and we were both impressed by the confidence and strength of answers from our young people. The successful candidates will be informed this week and presented with their buddy badge. The buddies will begin their visits on Wednesday of this week. I am sure that this will be a valuable learning experience for both our primary 6 pupils and nursery children.
We welcomed Mrs Reid from John Ogilvie on Thursday afternoon as she began the ‘Journey to Ogilvie’ work with our senior pupils.
This week Father Bogan is hosting three important meetings on Wednesday evening for parents of children receiving sacraments this year. These meetings will be held in the church. On Thursday evening our Primary 7 parents are invited to an Open Evening at John Ogilvie High School.

Thank you for reading my blog,
Mrs Hendry

It is hard to believe that we are in the month of already November already.
This was a very busy week in school however, they all seem to busy this year!

We were delighted to host a CPD event for teachers on behalf of Motherwell Diocese on Thursday evening. Father Stephen led the session with teachers preparing children for their First Reconciliation.
We also welcomed colleagues from CAMHS on Thursday who used our wonderful Literacy Den to host a session for children and parents in the Hamilton area.

Wednesday was our Flu Vaccination day for all our children in school. This went extremely well with the nurses, once again, complementing our children’s behavior, manners and high standard of uniform. I hope that children and their families experience the benefits of this programme during the winter season.

On Tuesday evening there was a Crime Scene Investigation in Primary 7 as the staff took part in a training session using GLOW. It was called Fun with Forensics. Primary 7 were most upset when they witnessed Miss McKendry unpacking the box in preparation for the session. However, they were happy to learn that they will have the opportunity to participate in the session later this term.
This session highlights the commitment of our staff to continuing to improve their knowledge and skills in order to enhance the learning for our pupils.

In the classes this week ….
Primary 1 have been learning to tell the time on analogue and digital displays. They have also been evaluating their individual targets in their learning journeys and started their new topic, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch. I look forward to the return of the pesky seagulls in the bottom corridor!
In Primary 2 the children have been learning about the five senses. They had the wonderful opportunity to use glasses to help understand the challenge involved when having a visual impairment. They are able to name the parts of the eye and the ear and went on to do a sound experiment to understand how the ears work.
In Primary 3, the theme of senses continued as they had another visit from the Guide Dogs. This time Mrs Hamilton came with Isla to demonstrate the work of guide dogs. The children thoroughly enjoyed this session and then used their experience to write a thank you letter to Mrs Hamilton and Isla.
In Primary 4 the focus has been on direction, identifying left and right using both the English and Spanish language.
In P5/6 this week Primary 5 designed a method of transport for Glasgow and built models of their designs. Primary 6 moved onto their new IDL, Japan.
An important week for Primary 6 and 7 pupils as they started their preparation for Confirmation.
In Primary 7 there was a topical discussion around firework safety and the legal issues surrounding use / misuse of fireworks.
Many classes this week have been using the Big Maths strategies that many members of staff were trained for during the last development day. A further session will be held in school next week to ensure this approach is used throughout the school. The teachers who have introduced this have been overwhelmed by its impact on pupils’ confidence at mental calculations.

In the nursery the children have been busy learning about the emergency services. There is a fantastic painting of a fire engine on the wall. Number 9 is a big focus, for obvious reasons, in the numeracy area!
We look forward this week to a visit from the Fire Service and also a paramedic.

A busy week ahead as preparations for Christmas are well underway. We look forward to a visit from Miss Sandra Bogan, Quality Improvement Officer, to discuss our approach to raising awareness and understanding of GIRFEC in our school.

I hope everyone has a good week and thank you for reading my blog,

Mrs Hendry

Autumn is definitely upon this week as we return to school. The weather has certainly changed. This change has been fully embraced as many of our children have been out and about learning about the season. Please make sure your child is appropriately dressed each day to come to school with waterproof jackets.

All classes have been working on their Christmas Card design. The templates will come home this week for you to order. This was a great fundraiser for the school last year and we look forward again to your support this year.

In Primary 1 this week, the boys and girls are now ordering numbers to 10. They were also out and about in the school identifying 2D shapes. They are continuing to learn about their body and the important organs in science.
There was great excitement in the yard on Friday as we welcomed fire fighters from Hamilton station. Miss Prentice organised this as part of the class IDL People who help us. The boys and girls thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the appliance especially when they got to sit in the driver’s seat and sound the siren. Miss Prentice was very grateful that Primary 2 were impeccably behaved and did not follow the fire fighter’s instruction to ‘soak the teacher’ with the hose. Well done Primary 2!
Following on from the visit from the Dog’s Trust in Primary 2, the children and Mrs Hall have organised a raffle to raise funds to adopt a dog. The boys and girls have organised this enterprise activity and we are all excited to find out the winner this Friday at assembly. I have my tickets ready! In numeracy this week the learning focus has been money so the children have used the raffle as a super way to handle and work with real money.
Primary 4 have been developing their creative writing skills this week. I was working with Primary 4 for a short session and was very impressed with their use of adverbs and adjectives to develop their writing. We look forward to reading their completed stories about the happenings in a haunted house!
Writing remains a focus in P5/6 with pupils developing skills in sentence openers and the use of similes.
Primary 6 began their participation in the Artsnet programme. The tutors were very impressed with the pupils’ application and talent and it’s only week 1 – well done!
Primary 6 have also been learning to tell the time in Spanish. This week their learning about famous scientists culminated with individual presentations.
Primary 7 have been learning to write discussion texts with effective sentence openers. The have also been interpreting and creating databases and using ICT to support this part of their learning.

In the nursery ….

Autumn has arrived in the nursery too! The boys and girls have spent time outside experiencing the change in weather. Discussion then took place so the children could explain how they feel and develop their vocabulary. Miss Jones worked with the children picking up the leaves and talking about their shape and colour. In numeracy this week the focus was on number. Some children were matching and identifying numbers and our older children are able to correctly order numbers to 5 and some beyond!
Mrs Cassidy and Mrs Reilly provided opportunities for the children to develop their pencil control and hand / eye coordination.
The boys and girls thoroughly enjoyed making spiky hedgehogs in the creative area.

A very busy week back full of learning opportunities for our children.
This week we look forward to celebrating mass on Friday at 11.15am for All Saints Day. Mass will be held in the school hall and all are most welcome.
Thursday is also our Hallowe’en Disco for the school. P1-3 at 6.30pm and P4-5 at 7.45pm. Further details have been provided by letter.
The nursery Hallowe’en Party will be on Friday.

I hope everyone has a good week and thank you for reading my blog.

Mrs Hendry
Head Teacher

Focus this week in St. Cuthbert’s was most definitely on food. The Healthier Scotland cook bus arrived on Tuesday morning. The team on board Gary, Sarah and Jems got everything organised very quickly for a superb week of learning for staff, pupils and parents. We also welcomed staff and pupils from Glenlee Primary during the week too.

Due to restrictions regarding numbers not every pupil was involved but representatives from every primary and our nursery class participated. Food is a key development for our school this year and the food bus visit has provided training for teaching and support staff to take this forward. We received a fantastic cooking kit to take forward cooking in our school. Mrs McCart and myself spoke with Jems and got good advice about purchasing equipment for our food room. We will be using money raised at the Summer fayre to purchase these items.
I was immensely proud of all our children this week as the cooking bus staff recognised our enthusiastic, well-mannered pupils and their positive attitude throughout the week. Our pupils once again excelled themselves. Well done! A big thank you too, goes to Mrs McCart for coordinating the whole event and also our helpers Mrs Brokas and Mrs Hunter for washing many dishes over and over again!

In the classes this week …..

Primary 1 started to learn about the season of Autumn and took their learning outside to collect a variety of leaves from the school garden. Primary 2 were also learning outside as they visited Glenlee Woods to go on a minibeast hunt. Primary 3 all visited the cooking bus making lunchbox pasta and cheese parcels. They have also been working on their fact files about pets and writing letters to invite speakers to their class. Primary 4 all visited the cooking bus on Wednesday morning. They then returned to class to write recipes for their salads and beetroot and herb parcels. Vegetable samosas we on the menu for primary 5/6. In art they have been creating beautiful Rennie Mackintosh inspired drawings. In primary 6 the focus this week has been on shape in mathematics. Pupils have been drawing isosceles and equilateral triangles and identifying right angles in the shapes.
All of primary 7 visited the cooking bus making twice baked cheesy bean potatoes and tomato and basil salad. In science the pupils have been investigating magnets and how a compass works.
The nursery has been focussing on our changing world and autumn. They have been collecting signs of autumn, leaves, pine cones and chestnuts. Lots of discussion has taken place about colour and texture.

For four days last week we have been incredibly busy!

This week we prepare for our first parents’ evening on Thursday. Pupils will have times sent home on Tuesday in homework diaries. The nursery staff will use this opportunity to discuss and set individual learning targets for children with their parents.

Next week is our October holiday so no blog. I hope everyone has a very good break and hope the weather is kind.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Mrs Hendry
Head Teacher

The sun has shone all week and the boys and girls of St. Cuthbert’s are continuing to develop their knowledge and skills in a variety of ways.

This week I had the privilege of visiting many classes to observe the children as they settle into their new classes. Children were motivated and enthusiastic as they engaged in a variety of learning experiences.

On Wednesday of this week we had a visit from Reach for the Sky basketball for pupils in P4-7. The basketball skills were then further developed in PE lessons and some pupils are considering joining the club held on a Saturday in Glenlee PS.
On Friday we welcomed Tony Gilhooly our Active Schools Co-ordinator to assembly. Tony came to share some highlights of the very successful Commonwealth Games – the best games ever! The children thoroughly enjoyed watching the images and sharing their own experiences. Tony then spoke about the importance of sport and encouraged our pupils to seek and try new sports. Tony and I have set ourselves the target of getting all pupils
this year to try a different sport through taster sessions and after school clubs. Remarkable we are already over 50% there! Please encourage your children to try the various sports we have on offer.
On Wednesday evening we held our annual Primary 1 parent workshop. This was a well attended event with evaluations showing how successful our whole induction programme is. It is so important to develop positive relationships for our parents and we are delighted to welcome many new families to our school this year.

In the nursery ….

PE started this week and children were learning all about the space around them. To enforce this we played a few games of traffic lights. They also enjoyed balancing on benches – a first for many of our children. A new piece of apparatus will be introduced each week.

Autumn has arrived and the children all enjoyed using the outside learning class to explore the world around them. We found red and black berries and many different coloured leaves. Bulbs have been planted and we look forward to seeing them bloom.

Daily routine has been reinforced at snack time and children were discussing healthy and favourite foods. Weekly shopping list was also discussed with bread being a must as children have requested to make sandwiches.

The children continue to learn many skills using Nursery Rhymes. Mary, Mary is looking great in our nursery cloakroom!

This week we have three days with our pupils as Thursday and Friday are Staff Development Days.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Mrs Hendry
Head Teacher

The highlight of our week had to be our election day on Friday. The pupils in Primary 7 excelled themselves with their participation in our annual house elections. Many thanks to Miss McKendry for supporting the children and assisting with organisation. The school was transformed into a polling station for each house and I willingly accepted the role of returning officer.

The votes were cast, counted and verified and I am delighted to announce the successful candidates:
St Andrew House Captain: Matthew Anderson
Vice Captain: Ryan Rae
St Columba House Captain: Myah Lyall
Vice Captain: Cameron McDougall
St John Ogilvie House Captain: Kaih Coggans
Vice Captain Ellie McGovern
St Margaret House Captain: Amy Sinclair
Vice Captain: Ross Murray
St Ninian House Captain: Robyn McPherson
Vice Captain: Mia Houston

Congratulations and good luck each and every one.

Meanwhile in Primary 1 the boys and girls have enjoyed their first full week at school. They have attended their first assembly and enjoyed going for lunch. Primary 2 began their Kerbcraft programme on Thursday leaning how to keep safe when walking in the community. Primary 3 have been thinking about their rights and responsibilities as they work on their class charter. All classes have been revising their Spanish greetings and prayers.
Primary 5/6 have been learning about debating skills and hope to put their newly acquired skills into action very soon.
Mr McLaughlin from John Ogilvie High visited Primary 6 this week to discuss linking with a Spanish school. He was very impressed by the knowledge and skills of our pupils. Muy bien!
In art this week the upper school have been learning about perspective and Primary 3 completed some amazing shaggy dog drawings using oil pastels.

In the nursery you may have noticed that the children’s work is beginning to appear on the walls in the nursery and corridors. Most children have produced their first drawing or painting – feel free to come and have a  look at their hard work. Humpty Dumpty is popping up everywhere.

The children have had great fun learning new rhyming words this is something you could be encouraging at home.

Most children have taken part in  the preparation of  snack with cheese and pickles being the favourite this week.

Next week the children have chosen the nursery rhyme Mary Mary  Quite Contrary to be focussing on. Plenty of opportunity for outdoor learning –  lets hope we have some nice weather.

This week we look forward to our feast day mass in the school hall tomorrow at 11.15am. Please come and celebrate with us. We also have our first Parent Council meeting at 6.30pm. It would be great to see some new faces!

I am attending a conference on Thursday and Friday of this week so there will be no blog next week.

Many thanks for reading.

Mrs Hendry
Head Teacher

Primary 7 have been working extremely hard this week preparing for the annual house election taking place on Friday 29th August. Good luck to all the candidates and I am looking forward to hearing your fabulous speeches.

Primary 1 have been busy learning to self register and order their lunch this week. On Friday we welcomed a large number of parents to the Primary 1 lunch. The boys and girls and mums and dads thoroughly enjoyed their lunch!

All the classes were busy this week establishing their new routines and enjoying new learning experiences. Primary 3 took themselves outside to measure the yard and Primary 6 have been learning the Hail Mary in Spanish. Primary 5/6 were learning about different styles of thinking. They worked together to evaluate our school using their new skills.

Our school travel coordinator, Marion, facilitated Kerbcraft training for our parents on Thursday morning so we are all ready for Primary 2 to start this important piece of work on Thursday mornings come rain or shine!

We had a little mix up with Primary 5 swimming this week. Unfortunately the dates of our sessions had been doubled book so we had a few sad faces return to school on Wednesday morning. The swimming block will begin in March and the weather, I hope, will be kinder than it can be in the autumn.

Primary 4 welcomed back Mrs Cochran on Thursday. Mrs Cochran has been appointed to our school for the coming year and will teach Primary 4 on a Thursday and Friday.

Nursery News!

Welcome to all our new children who have settled in very well. That’s all our new starts started now until January.

This week the children and staff have been taking time getting to know each other and learning the new daily routine.

We had a few dry days which enabled lots of outdoor activities , the children enjoyed digging for treasure in the discovery pit.

Next week we will be starting our new topic which is Nursery Rhymes and looking forward to starting  with Humpty Dumpty.

Good luck to Primary 1, and Miss McLaughlin, as we have our new children with us for the full day. Expect some tired children come Friday! All children will receive an envelope this week with annual permissions and yearly calendar. Please update information accurately and return as soon as possible. Many thanks for your cooperation.

Thank you for reading my blog,

Mrs Hendry
Head Teacher

A warm welcome back to my weekly blog. I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing summer, enjoying the sunshine and the Commonwealth Games.

All staff returned last Monday invigorated after their holiday ready to begin another busy year in St. Cuthbert’s. We are delighted to welcome new members of staff Miss Speirs in Primary 6, Mrs Stark and Miss Jones, both Early Years Workers in our nursery class and a new Support Assistant Mrs McLean. The staff have all commented on the very positive ethos and warm welcome they have received from all involved in our school.

P2-P6 returned at 9am on Wednesday morning. They have all grown so much during the holidays. Primary 7 looked very smart, proudly wearing their P7 ties. I must thank and congratulate all our pupils and families for the very high standard of uniform on our first day back. It is greatly appreciated and contributes greatly to the high standards we now have in our school.
The sun was shining for our 24 Primary 1 pupils as they stepped through the door at 10am. Such an important time in their young lives. Miss McLaughlin welcomed them all as they embarked their learning journey. They all eagerly returned on Thursday and Friday – long may it continue!
On Thursday we had two fire drills, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In the morning we set a new time record and I did tell the children their behaviour was impeccable! A fantastic start to the year.

We welcomed Father Bogan to school on Friday to celebrate mass for the Feast of the Assumption. It was a beautiful celebration enhanced by many of our parents, grandparents and friends joining us. A perfect end to a very good first week back!

In the nursery our returning children settled well into the extended hours and we were joined this week by one our new boys. New children will continue to start nursery this coming week. Next week we will have a full report of all going ons in our nursery from our newly appointed Early Years Team Leader, Mrs Collins. Watch this space!

The diary is filling up quickly as always. This week we have the Hamilton Advertiser to photograph our new intake on Wednesday, P5 start their swimming block on Tuesday and their music initiative on Wednesday.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable week as we settle into our new classes and enjoy the many exciting learning opportunities ahead.

Thanks for reading my blog,

Mrs Hendry

Welcome to my final blog of the academic year 2013-2014 and what a year it has been! St. Cuthbert’s Primary has enjoyed an extremely successful year and everyone associated with our school should be rightly proud of what we have achieved.
The highlight of our week had to be our Leavers’ Assembly on Friday afternoon. The sun was shining outside and the stars of Primary 7 shone brightly in the school hall as we were joined by staff, pupils and family members to celebrate the achievements of our senior pupils.
This particular group of pupils were the first primary ones in the present school building. On Friday afternoon we were entertained using words, song and dance and the theme of ‘I’m a St Cuthie get me out of here!’ shared with us the memories of the current P7s. There was much laughter and many tears as we listened attentively to the super story of their experience in St. Cuthbert’s. Many thanks to Miss McKendry for masterminding this event.
All primary 7 pupils received their John Muir Certificates and Miss McKendry and Mrs McCart proudly presented pupils, for the very first time, their individual learning journey folders. A fantastic record of the plethora of learning taken place this year.
Kaila read her poem Welcome All beautifully and this piece of work will live on in St. Cuthbert’s for a long time to come as it is now our official school poem.

In the nursery, the boys and girls are busy rehearsing their final concert that will be performed to parents on Monday of this week. We look forward to hearing their special memories of their time at St. Cuthbert’s nursery.

Congratulations to Mrs Hewitt and Miss McLaughlin who successfully completed the St. Andrew’s Hospice Midnight Walk on Saturday night. The ladies represented the staff and have raised money to donate to the hospice, one of our business partners.

And so to our final week. Our final celebration of faith will take place on Tuesday at 10am in the school hall. Everyone is welcome to join us for this very special mass. After mass we will have our presentations of the House Shield, the Commonwealth Cup and the Miss McMurray Endeavour awards. We are delighted to welcome Mrs Ann O’Neil, our Quality Link Officer, and Mr Tony Gilhooly, our Active Schools Coordinator, to join us for mass and to present our awards along with Fr Bogan.

May I take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy, safe and relaxing holiday and I hope the sun shines wherever you are. It has been an absolute privilege to be Head Teacher of St. Cuthbert’s Primary this year and I look forward to another very productive year of learning next session.

Mrs Hendry
Head Teacher

Preparations are well underway for the many activities that bring our school year to a close. It’s a time of goodbyes and new beginnings for pupils, staff and parents but always one to celebrate the many successes of our school community.

On Wednesday of last week our P7 induction programme continued with the now annual Elaine Ross Public Speaking event at John Ogilvie High School. Our school was represented by Holly Airlie and Kaila Gallacher. Both girls delivered superb speeches and I am delighted to say that Kaila was awarded second place overall. A huge achievement. Well done girls and congratulations on your speeches. Both girls have already been invited to join the public speaking club next year.

I was delighted to meet our newly qualified teacher on Wednesday morning, Miss Lauren Spiers. Miss Spiers was thrilled to be appointed to St. Cuthberts, as was I, as she is another Spanish graduate and plays the piano! We look forward to Miss Spiers enhancing our superb staff in the coming session.

Following on from this news on Wednesday, Thursday was our whole school Spanish celebration day! As you know Spanish has been taught from nursery to primary 7 this year and almost all staff are now trained to deliver teaching of the Spanish language and culture. Grateful thanks to Mrs Hewitt who organised Thursday – a whole school showcase of what we have learned about Spain. Pupils, and staff, came to school dressed in red, yellow and flamenco style dresses! Pupils participated in Spanish activities in class, including Spanish PE, and then everyone went to the hall at 2pm for songs and tapas. We were joined by many, many parents, standing room only, and our pre school children from the nursery. The children performed superbly well, speaking and singing in Spanish! Muy bien! Spanish will continue next term and we will also look to introduce our pupils to some French and German.

Friday morning was our Primary 1 induction morning. 21 of our 25 families joined us for this event. The new intake impressed Miss McLaughlin by enthusiastically participating in many activities in the class. Parents and carers were given a whole range of information by myself and also many of our partners.
We look forward to Wednesday the 13th Aug at 10am when our new starts will official start school – how exciting but tissues at the ready too!

The coming week focuses on our P7 leavers as we have their treat on Thursday evening and their final assembly on Friday afternoon – cue more tissues! The nursery children, too, are busy completing Learning Books and practising their songs for there leavers’ ceremony.

Primary 1 are patiently waiting for the arrival of their first butterfly. They have been caring for five caterpillars over the past weeks and we really hope this will be the week that our butterflies say hello!

And so to the final full week of this term….! Thank you for reading my blog.

Mrs Hendry
Head Teacher