WHEN you walk through the doors of John Paul II Primary School on the Whiterock Road you are quickly aware that you are in a safe and nurturing environment for the 270 pupils at the school.
Out in the playground the youngsters are talking to teachers and classroom assistants, whilst in the reception area some of the older children are working on ipads around a table.
In the second of our four-part feature on the school we met up with a number of pupils to find out what it’s like to attend John Paul II Primary School. Along with principal Melanie Collins we chatted to them about their favourite subjects, their interests and their future ambitions.
Primary Seven pupil Ella says all the teachers at the school are her friends and admits that Ms Collins is her favourite teacher. She says Maths is the subject that she looks forward to the most.
“I love multiplication and division,” she adds. “I find it easy to do.”
Ella says Ms Hand is the teacher who inspires her the most at the school. “Ms Hand is really kind,” she adds.
When out of school Ella likes to play football with her friends out on the street. “I play centre-midfield for Newhill and I would love to be a professional footballer when I grow up.”
Her favourite movie is Home Alone and if she could be an animal for a day, she would be a cheetah “because it runs so fast”.
Primary Three pupil Ben says his favourite thing about John Paul II Primary School are the teachers.
His favourite subject is Numeracy and his looks forward to seeing his friend Mason each day. “I go to his house and we play Fortnight,” he says.
“When I’m not at school I watch TV, especially Jurassic World. I like dinosaurs because some can be fast and scary. “
Ben says he would like to be a tiger if he could be an animal for a day because they are big and strong. And when asked what job he would like to do when he grows up, he took a deep breath and replied, “A palaeontologist. I want to dig up fossils.” I kid you not.
Primary Two pupil Darren loves coming to school to play with his friends “because they be nice to me”. He says he loves Maths “because it’s fun”, while his friend Mason is one of the people at the school who inspires him the most.
Outside of school Darren enjoys playing with his friends, especially ‘piggy-in-the-middle’. “You have to try and catch the ball and my sister always gets me to go in the middle,” he adds.
Darren’s favourite book is Jack And The Beanstalk. He would also like be a cheetah for a day because they run very fast.
When he grows up Darren would like to be a rapper.
Katie from Primary Seven says her favourite thing about coming to John Paul II every morning is seeing her friends and teachers.
“I really like writing and I love writing stories and I read a lot of books,” she says.
When asked who inspires her the most she said her class teacher Ms Fitzpatrick. “Ms Fitzpatrick is really nice and caring,” she adds.
In the house when she is not at school, Katie likes to do some art and colouring-in. Her favourite film is The Christmas Chronicles which she says “is really funny and entertaining”. “I like getting presents at Christmas and seeing all my family.”
She adds: “If I could be an animal for a day it would be a giraffe because they are really tall.”
When she grows up Katie wants to be a teacher. “I like being around and helping kids and I like the teachers here.”
Principal Melanie Collins
Teagan is in Primary Six. “My favourite thing about the school is coming in and not knowing what you’re going to learn and you just learn everything new," she says confidently. "Literacy and Writing are my favourite subjects because you just take a break from reality and just wander in your imagination and use you creativity.”
When asked who in school inspires her the most, she replied that it is Ms Collins because “I really want to grow up and become a teacher. I just love kids. I’m really good around kids. I help my wee cousin with her homework.”
She says principal Ms Collins is very approachable. “Personally I know that she is one of my safe people who I know I can go and talk to in the school and I just feel safe around her.”
She adds: “I play Roblox on my ipad and I play PlayStation too when I’m not at school with my friends. I really like Hannah Montana and my favourite books are the Harry Potter series because even though I’ve read them four times I still wonder what’s going to happen next because it’s been so long since I last read them.”
Teagan would like to be a unicorn if she could be an animal because “I like the thought of being magical and whimsical”.
As well as wanting to become a teacher when she grows up, she hasn’t ruled out being a singer or an actress.
When asked what her favourite thing about school is, Lily from Primary Five answered: “Just seeing my friends and teachers makes me really happy.
“I prefer Literacy because I enjoy practicing my joined-up writing."
Her teacher Ms Ross is the person in school who inspires her the most, Lily says because “she is always so kind and she is funny”.
Outside of school Lily likes nothing better than playing Roblox with her cousin and sometimes calling her on her phone for a chat.
“My favourite book is The Tallest House On The Street. If I could be an animal it would be a bird because I like their singing.
“When I grow up I want to be an Olympic Gymnast,” she adds.
Maddison from Primary Five says her favourite things about school is her teachers, friends and doing Maths. “I like Maths because it’s fun and I like challenges and I’m good at solving questions.”
She says her friends and teachers inspire her the most at school. When not at school she likes to play football with her daddy.
“I play football with my daddy in the back garden. He’s a good footballer and used to be a footballer. I like to score against him, but I don’t like to do nets that much.”
Maddison’s favourite movie is Parent Trap. “I like it because it’s so funny because they get mixed up because they’re twins,” she says.
If she could be an animal for a day it would be a Sausage Dog, which is not surprising considering she has a Sausage Dog of her own called Buddy. “I like them because they are just cute and cuddly.”
She adds: “When I grow up I want to be a famous footballer.”
If these children are anything to go by, it's obvious that the staff and parents of pupils at John Paul II Primary School are doing a great job and the future is bright for the Whiterock school.
