I took the opportunity yesterday to find out the Confirmation names some of our Primary 6 and 7 pupils have chosen. A huge range of saints have been selected, from the popular to the largely unknown. The Mass at which the children will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation is just over a month away, so please remember the boys and girls in your prayers in the coming weeks.

Today is the final day for Primary 1 enrolments. Mrs Smillie and Mrs Clare will be on hand to assist with paperwork from 1.30pm onwards.

Finally, I read a quotation from Pope Francis last night. Food for thought for us all:

‘The Lord is knocking at the door of our hearts. Have we put a sign on the door saying, ‘Do not disturb’? ‘

Have a good day, everyone, and a relaxing weekend once it arrives.

Primary 6 continued their work with Chinan, our professional dance coach, yesterday. Once again, I was extremely impressed with the children’s concentration and commitment – they achieved a phenomenal amount over the two hours. As mentioned in last week’s blog, the children will work alongside pupils from Buchanan High School later in the term and the project will culminate in a large-scale performance in Motherwell Concert Hall in May along with a number of other schools. Well done, Primary 6!

Our whole-school assembly takes place a day early this week, so make sure you check out the website later today to find out our Pupils of the Week and trophy winners.

Finally, I’m delighted to announce some further improvements to the school building. New vinyl flooring will be fitted in the corridor leading round to the music room and also outside the Get Together Room. The oratory will be repainted before the end of this week and the office will be re-carpeted in the coming weeks. Additional signs will also be fitted to the building to help direct visitors to the main entrance. Great news!

We had a special visitor to St Bartholomew’s yesterday morning. Val Corry, who works for Scottish Government and Education Scotland, had heard so many great things about St Bart’s, she just had to see the school for herself! Scott from P6 and Amy-Leigh from P7 helped show Mrs Corry around and she was extremely impressed by what she saw in every single classroom, from the Nursery to P7. Our phenomenal pupils really caught Mrs Corry’s attention… ‘smart’, ‘friendly’, ‘well behaved’, ‘enthusiastic’, ‘eager to learn’ were just some of the comments Mrs Corry made about them. Our dedicated staff didn’t go unnoticed and also received deservedly high praise. Well done, everyone, for doing St Bartholomew’s proud… not just yesterday morning, but every day of the year. I’m really proud of you!

P1 enrolments continue today, from 1.30pm onwards. We had a steady stream of parents enrolling their children yesterday and it was exciting meeting some of the nursery boys and girls who will be St Bartholomew’s P1 pupils this coming August.

Finally, some GREAT news: I’m delighted to announce that Mrs Brown from our nursery gave birth to a beautiful baby girl yesterday morning. Many congratulations to the proud mum, dad and big sisters! We look forward to seeing you soon.

Primary 1 enrolments for this coming August take place over the next three afternoons. If your child is due to start school in August 2014, and you stay within St Bartholomew’s catchment area, you must register your child at the school office this week. Even if you intend to make a placing request for another school, your child must still be registered at St Bartholomew’s if this is their local school. Parents and carers should note that a birth certificate and current council tax notice must be provided in order to complete the registration.

Mrs Smillie and Mrs Clare will be on hand from 1.30pm each day to assist with registration and will be able to guide prospective parents through the process. I very much look forward to meeting our new Primary 1 parents over the next few days!

Enrolments for Primary 1 take place this week; exact details will be posted on tomorrow’s blog. I look forward to meeting many of our new Primary 1 parents during the course of the week. Welcome to St Bartholomew’s!

Today, 13th January, is the feast day of an important local saint: St Mungo. St Mungo (or St Kentigern) is, of course, the patron saint of Glasgow.

St Mungo arrived in Glasgow around 540 AD and was consecrated Bishop of Strathclyde. Glasgow’s medieval cathedral is the fourth to be built on the site of Mungo’s original seventh century wooden church and St Mungo’s tomb remains in the crypt of the cathedral to this day. Part of a sermon by St Mungo provided the words of Glasgow’s motto: ‘Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the Word’.

The photographs below show a statue of the saint in St Mungo’s Church, Glasgow, and the tomb of St Mungo in the crypt of Glasgow Cathedral.

It’s hard to believe Friday has arrived already. It’s been a great start to the term, with the boys and girls settling back into the routine of school like ducks to water. Well done, everyone!

Of course, Friday means assembly… and assembly means Pupils of the Week, Cool Class Cup and the House trophy. Log onto the website later today to find out this week’s winners!

Primary 6 embarked on a very exciting project yesterday afternoon with the inspirational support of Chinan, a professional dancer all the way from Nepal. Many of the children weren’t overly excited when they first heard about the dance project. However, the boys and girls had a fantastic afternoon and really impressed Chinan (and themselves!) with what they achieved in such a short space of time.

Chinan will work with Primary 6 every Wednesday afternoon for the next few months and, later in the term, the children will also work alongside pupils from Buchanan High School. The project will culminate in a large-scale performance in Motherwell Concert Hall in May along with a number of other schools. Last year there were sixteen schools involved in what was the sixth year of the Summer Arts Festival.

This is a great opportunity for St Bartholomew’s pupils to develop and share their talents. Well done, Primary 6, for getting off to such an impressive start! I’m really proud of you!

As a Catholic school, prayer is central to our daily routine. St Bartholomew’s also greatly appreciates those faithful individuals who regularly pray for the needs of our school community, particularly the parish ‘Pray for our School’ Group which meets in our oratory on the first Tuesday of each month. The latest edition of our school Prayer Diary is now available in the ‘Faith’ section of the website – just click on ‘Pray for our School Group’. This resource is aimed at supporting anyone and everyone who would like to pray for St Bartholomew’s on a regular basis and contains a school prayer focus for each month, along with the Pope’s monthly prayer intentions. We have an amazing bunch of pupils and a fantastic team of staff here at St Bart’s… but we still need all the prayers we can get!

The new term got off to a great start yesterday. The boys and girls returned with their usual huge smiles and settled down quickly to their work. Well done, everyone!

We have a busy term ahead, including our P4-7 show (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) just before the Easter holidays. Primary 6 and 7 pupils will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation next month and P3 will have their First Reconciliation in March. Catholic Education Week falls within this term (week beginning Sunday 24th February) and we will also be hosting our P7, P6 and P2 class assemblies. Keep an eye on the school website for up-to-the-minute details of our various events.

Welcome back, everyone, and a very Happy New Year to you all! I hope you had an enjoyable and relaxing Christmas break and are returning this morning refreshed for the term ahead.

“Look toward the new year in a spirit of gratitude for that which we have received, repentance for that in which we have failed , and resolve to work with God’s grace to better our lives, our communities and ourselves.” (Pope Francis)

Enjoy the first day back!