This week we had a taste of China in the school, as pupils and staff celebrated the Chinese New Year. Pupils and staff were invited to wear red as this is regarded as a lucky colour in China. The school was bedecked in beautiful, traditional Chinese decorations. There was a full timetable of activities but the whole day was launched by performances of  ‘fan’ dances by Taylor from P3 and some of the boys and girls from P4 and P5. There were Chinese challenges in the school hall and the playground, including the Chinese Dragon obstacle course! In the kitchen, the children prepared and cooked traditional Chinese cuisine including dim sum, noodles, spring tolls and chicken feet!! There was also freshly prepared mandarins, Asian pears and lychees for dessert! In the classrooms the children were learning about the Chinese language and practised writing characters to create their own messages. To round off the day, the children were given a lucky red envelope containing sweets. It was a fantastic learning experience and I would like to thank Mrs Wong for organising and overseeing the day, as well as the rest of the staff who manned all the activities. Videos and photos from the day have been posted on the school Twitter page. I would also like to thank you for your contributions to our first Lenten Fundraising event.

On Thursday the 8th of February, we had a wonderful celebration of our faith, when 15 of our senior pupils were confirmed by Bishop Toal. The whole community of Our Lady & St. John’s parish gathered together to make this a very special occasion. Special thanks must go to Bishop Toal, Father Stephen, Mrs Seagrave, Mrs Macneil and Mr Lynch, the musicians, the choir from St. John’s, the altar servers, our parents and carers, sponsors and members of the parish community. Thank you to the staff who came along to support our children, with particular thanks to Mr Hall, for preparing the children so well for this important sacrament. However my biggest thanks goes to the pupils, who were a credit to themselves, their families and the school. The children participated so well in prayer and song, which was commented on by many. A huge well done to Caitlyn and Noah who sang the psalm so beautifully. I hope our young people now find the strength from this sacrament to continue to live their lives in faith and be an example to those around them.

As you will have probably noticed the Mobile Teaching Unit has arrived! It is almost up and running and we hope to arrange a time soon for you to come and have a look. It will be used as break out space for the classes until work on the extension begins and we have to decant the classes.

Finally, the Partnership Group have organised another drop in for a chat and a cuppa on Friday 23rd of February at 2.00 pm in the school. Please try to pop along if you are free.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Mrs McCart

This week was Catholic Education Week in Scotland. Our pupils have been discussing the theme, Serving the Common Good, in various ways within their classes. At our Feast Day Mass on Monday, we displayed the beautiful icon, Jesus our Teacher, which was commissioned to celebrate 100 years of the 1918 Education Act, when Catholic schools came under the auspices of local Education Authorities. In their classes, the children have been learning the story of what the icon depicts and were given a small prayer card of the icon as a keepsake. Our appeal for the local food bank is going really well and you have until Tuesday this week to make a donation if you wish. We were also joined by staff and many of the pupils from St. John’s Primary and Holy Cross High school at the 12 o’clock and 5 o’clock Masses, to celebrate Education Sunday. Thank you to the children from P5/6/7 who represented the school by reading the Prayers of Intercession at both Masses. The focus of our faith turns to our senior pupils in the forthcoming week, when the Primary 6/7 pupils celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation this Thursday evening at 7.00 pm in the church. They have prepared very well and we keep them in our prayers as they get ready to celebrate this most important sacrament.

Unfortunately the delivery of our new Mobile Teaching Unit was delayed but it was confirmed this week that it will definitely arrive on site, on Thursday 8th of February at 9.15 a.m. It will then be hooked up to the existing services within the school and should be ready for use after the February mid-term break. Once this is in place, it is planned that work to the new extension will begin at the end of February/beginning of March. Exciting times ahead!

On Wednesday we had our first Partnership Group meeting of the new year and hoped to set a date for the Annual General Meeting, to elect new office bearers. However as only 4 parents came it was unfeasible to do this. I know we have lots of parents and carers willing to help and participate in school events and as volunteer helpers. The the role of a Parent Council/Partnership Group is a vital aspect of school life and I am very keen to get as many families involved as possible. The Partnership Group have arranged a drop-in session for Friday the 23rd of February in the school and are keen to get feedback on what is the best day and time to hold our meetings, in order to allow more people to attend. If you have any suggestions, you can also contact me directly at the school.

In the classes…

Primary 1/2

The boys and girls have enjoyed learning about life in the Scottish Islands through their Katie Morag topic. They have been comparing and contrasting the differences of life on the islands and living on the mainland.

Primary 3/4

In Numeracy, the children have been focussing on division and Money. They are also enjoying their new reading books and learning new reading strategies.

Primary 5/6/7

In Numeracy, the children have been working on Time, including reading 12 and 24 hour times as well as calculating durations. The children are enjoying their novel studies of ‘Dragonfire’ and ‘The Borrowers’. They have been focussing on various reading strategies to explore plot, character and setting. In their Social Studies topic, the boys and girls have been  learning about the earth’s structure and plate tectonics.

Thank you for reading my Blog.

Mrs McCart