St Bartholomew’s has been gifted three very special and precious items by the Passionist priests from St Mungo’s Church in Glasgow. The beautiful crucifix, tabernacle and sanctuary lamp which formerly adorned the Holy Cross and Passion Sister’s chapel in Pollock have been very generously donated for use in our oratory. We will need to seek written permission from the bishop before the Blessed Sacrament can be reserved in the tabernacle. Nevertheless, we are extremely grateful for the kindness, thoughtfulness and generosity of the Passionist community in Glasgow. Thank you from all of us.

Primary 1 are organising a very exciting event this coming Monday as part of their Commonwealth Games topic. All pupils in the school are invited to decorate their bike and cycle to school. A ‘bike parade’ will take place around the playground to give everyone a chance to see the decorated bicycles. Primary 1 have made two films about their special event and these will be shown at today’s whole school assembly.

Wow, wow, WOW!!! Last night’s Summer Arts Festival concert in Motherwell was absolutely fantastic and our Primary 6 pupils were total superstars! The boys and girls did their best performance yet and made mums, dads, grandparents, family, friends and staff very, very proud indeed. Well done, everyone! All that hard work certainly paid off.

Today is Ascension Day. Our school community will join the parish for Mass in St Bartholomew’s Church at 10.00am. All parents and carers are very welcome to join us.

We welcome our new Primary 1 boys and girls to St Bartholomew’s this afternoon (all 38 of them!) to give them a wee taster of what ‘the big school’ will be like in August. The children will spend some time in class with Mrs Carlin and also try out some different activities in the playroom. While they’re busy being big P1s, the mums and dads will be doing a workshop with Mairi Brady. The afternoon kicks-off for both adults and children at 1.30pm in the Music Room.

And finally (although nothing to do with school), a very happy 70th birthday to my dad! If you’re reading this, hope you have a great day!

Primary 1 had a wonderful morning at Drumpellier Park yesterday. They found out lots about our local plants, trees and animals and particularly enjoyed seeing the ducks and swans (including some cygnets). As always, the children were beautifully behaved and did St Bart’s proud! Keep an eye on Primary 1’s Class Page to find out more about their trip to the park.

After months of dedication and hard work, the big day has finally arrived for twelve of our Primary 6 pupils. This group of boys and girls, under the instruction of a professional coach, have developed into very talented dancers and will perform their routine at Motherwell Concert Hall this evening. The final dance rehearsal, together with several other schools, went extremely well yesterday and the performance is sure to be a wonderful addition to tonight’s annual Summer Arts Festival. Many thanks to Mr Hughes for all he has done to support the boys and girls in preparing for the show, to Mrs Dolan for the wonderful costumes and to Mrs Smillie for lots of practical help and organisation behind the scenes. What a team!

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you had a great long weekend.

Primary 6 are now only a day away from taking to the stage of Motherwell Concert Hall with their dance routine for this year’s Summer Arts Festival. There is a final rehearsal in St Bartholomew’s today and we welcome the other schools who are taking part in the dance, including our good friends from Buchanan High School.

Our Summer Fayre takes place a week on Saturday (7th June), with all money raised going to new SMART Boards. Sports Day is scheduled for Monday 10th June. Please pray for good weather for both events!

A talented group of Primary 6 pupils have been working with a professional dancer over the past three months on a routine which will be performed at Motherwell Concert Hall next week. The boys and girls have put a huge amount of hard work into learning and perfecting their dance and have also had the valuable experience of working with pupils from Buchanan High School. They will join a number of other schools in Motherwell today for a dress rehearsal. Special thanks to Mrs Dolan for making the costumes for the dancers – they look fantastic! I can’t wait to see the show next Wednesday night!

Please remember that St Bartholomew’s will be closed to pupils tomorrow, Friday and Monday. Enjoy the long weekend, everyone!

I’m delighted to announce that the great work and fantastic pupils and staff of St Bartholomew’s have been brought to the attention of someone at the highest level of education. Mike Russell, Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, has expressed his intention to visit St Bartholomew’s in early June (final date still to be confirmed). I know the boys and girls will shine as bright as ever and leave a lasting impression on our special visitor.

Primary 7 arrived back in Townhead safe and sound on Friday evening after an absolutely fantastic week away in Yorkshire. A string of smiling faces filed off the coach on Friday, each with their own highlight of their time away. Mrs Bolland and Mr Hughes had an equally enjoyable week and were both extremely complimentary about the children’s behaviour, manners and enthusiasm throughout the excursion. Thank you for being great ambassadors for St Bartholomew’s, boys and girls!

Now that the exterior of the school has been repainted, I’m delighted to say that a new sign (see photograph below) will be fitted to the building in the next week or so to direct visitors towards the main entrance. As you can see, the new sign has been designed to tie in with our red doors (and, of course, our school colours) and will be the perfect finishing touch to our newly refurbished building.

It’s a sad day here at St Bartholomew’s as we say say goodbye to Mrs McBride, one of our Classroom Assistants. Mrs McBride has been a valued member of staff for many years and a well-loved helper and friend to literally hundreds of boys and girls. The playground just isn’t going to be the same on Monday morning. We’re really going to miss you, Mrs McBride, but we wish you all the very best in your new job. Keep in touch!

There’s not much to say about Primary 7’s day at Flamingo Land yesterday apart from…. THEY HAD A BLAST! The boys and girls had an unlimited ticket for all of the rides, so it was fun, fun, fun from beginning to end! (See photos below).

The boys and girls will be leaving Scarborough at 9 o’clock this morning and heading north to Newcastle. The original plan was to visit Old Trafford, but the timings just didn’t work out. However, we managed to get a lunchtime booking for St James’ Park which I’m sure will be an equally exciting trip. Once they leave the football ground, the boys and girls will have around a 3 hour journey home , so should be back in Coatbridge between 5.00-5.30pm. The exact arrival time will be sent out by text and posted on the blog around 3 o’clock this afternoon.

Primary 7 had another fantastic day yesterday (despite the alarm clocks going off at 7.00am!!!). They spent the whole day in the historic city of York where they began with a ghost tour… lots of spooky and gruesome stories about some of York’s past residents! Just as well the tour was during daylight hours!!!

The children then visited the Castle Museum where they found out about the history of York. The beautiful sunshine meant that the boys and girls could spend a relaxing lunch on the grass outside the castle.

The children then headed off to the Yorvik Centre where they discovered lots of fascinating facts about the Vikings. There was even a virtual tour through Viking York and the chance to see a real Viking skeleton!

As if all that wasn’t enough, the boys and girls finished off the day with a trip to a military adventure park. Two hours of climbing, swinging and crawling made them more than ready for their beds…. those batteries needed recharged for the fun-packed day they have ahead at Flamingo Land! I think it could be the highlight of the week!

Mrs Bolland and Mr Hughes have reported that the children’s behaviour and manners have been excellent. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Bart’s pupils! Well done, P7, and enjoy Flamingo Land!

Primary 7 arrived safe and sound in Scarborough yesterday without a single pupil (or teacher!) being sick. They had a fantastic time at Eden Camp (see photos below) where they learned lots of new information about World War II. The boys and girls settled quickly into their hotel and enjoyed their first dinner of chicken nuggets and chips! Last night was spent having lots of fun along the promenade, as well as a walk up to the castle. Fresh sea air, of course, is the perfect thing for a good night’s sleep!

The boys and girls are off to the city of York today. Read all about their adventures tomorrow! Don’t forget (parents, teachers and pupils) that you can leave comments and messages for the children on the blog.