John Paul II Primary

John Paul II primary school has been created as a result of the amalgamation of St Columba's and St Gabriel's primary schools. The new school is situated in Viewpark, approximately one mile from Bellshill and is part of North Lanarkshire Council's public private partnership (PPP) initiative. The accommodation comprises of 20 teaching bases with adjacent activity areas. Situated within the building is 100/100 place nursery centre and a community education wing.

During the past two years there has been a tremendous amount of work and effort put into the amalgamation process by members of both school communities. School staff have worked co-operatively preparing for the move by merging programmes of study, becoming familiar with pupils in both schools and providing opportunities for pupils to get to know each other. Parents from both schools were involved in the process of selecting a name for the school. This process was taking place in April 2005 just as Pope John Paul II died and the declaration of the school to the late Pontiff was decided by an overwhelming majority of parents.

Pupils from the two schools were involved in deciding the colour of the new uniform. The school badge was designed as a result of a competition among pupils. The design of the badge was an amalgamation of ideas from three P7 pupils. The badge is a blue background and the gold cross and letter M taken from the late Pope's Papal Coat of Arms. The symbols in the corners represent  the two amalgamating schools. A Celtic Cross to represent St Columba's  and an angel to depict St Gabriel's schools. The motto of the school is 'un nuovo inizio per tutto' which is Italian for ' A new beginning for all', a most appropriate motto for the school as we come together in our new building.

Pupils have also been involved in keeping a pictorial record of the construction of the building and have designed a friendship bench for the playground in partnership with the architectural team.

In John Paul II primary school we will embrace the North Lanarkshire Education Department's policy of Raising Achievement, which is a strategy of raising achievement for all by supporting young people and adults in achieving their individual potential. We aim to raise achievement and attainment in our school by creating an ethos of achievement this supporting all pupils in reaching their individual potential by recognising and rewarding success and achievements in a broad spectrum of activities and by setting high standards and expectations for all.

Parents who entrust their children to us can be confident that staff are very much aware of the tremendous responsibility we have in developing each child to achieve their maximum potential in a caring secure and happy environment.

We value each child as an individual and hope that experiences gained in our new establishment will give your child a positive self image, confident in their valued contribution to the school and the wider community.

The aims of John Paul II are:

To provide high quality teaching and learning in a safe, secure, trusting environment  by consolidating, developing and implementing the 5-14 programme through provision of appropriate resources and learning programmes that make high by realistic demands of pupils.

Through the promotion of our Catholic ethos we aim to show how our religious and moral values such as honesty, tolerance and respect for others, permeate both life in the school and wider community, where each plays a vital role in developing the moral, spiritual and social values of each pupil in preparation for their roles as responsible citizens.

To raise achievement in all areas of the curriculum by building self esteem and developing an appreciation of self worth and respect of individuals in an ethos of achievement where success is recognised and celebrated.

To continue to develop our relationship with parents and wider community by promoting the concept of active partnership in the education of their children. To foster independence and the development of positive attitudes and self discipline within an accepted code of conduct.

All classes in the school from primary one to primary seven work a maximum contact time of 25 hours per week.

Pupils normally transfer from primary to secondary between the ages of 11.5 and 12.5 so that they will have the opportunity to complete at least four years of secondary education. Pupils from Holy Family primary normally transfer to Cardinal Newman High School.

School roll for session 2007/2008

Pry 1	Pry 2	Pry 3	Pry 4	Pry 5	Pry 6	Pry 7	Total
50	49	55	63	57	45	62	381

Pupil roll statistics from Scottish Goverment census at September 2007.  Rolls are subject to change throughout the school session. 

National Test Results 5-14

Percentage of pupils attaining at least the appropriate level for their stage in P3, P4, P6 and P7 defined as:

P3 - Level A
P4 - Level B
P6 - Level C
P7 - Level D

	2007	2006
Reading	78.1	65.5
Writing	65.4	56.1
Mathematics	78.9	73.1

Percentage attendance (%)

	2007	2006
Attendance	92.1	93.5

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