We welcome ‘Royal Rockstars’ to St Bartholomew’s today and the children are set for a really exciting week! Further information will be posted on tomorrow’s blog and make sure you keep an eye on Twitter (@bartholomew_st) from today onwards to keep up-to-date with the children’s progress. You’re guaranteed to see lots of smiles!
Snow is forecast for Coatbridge later this week. Although this is not predicted to be particularly heavy or prolonged, it is, nonetheless, best to be prepared. It is very, very rare for schools to close as a result of snow. However, should there be heavy snowfall in the coming weeks, please make the North Lanarkshire Council website, the Head Teacher’s blog, Twitter and local radio your first ports of call. Announcements will be made on all of these if the school has been forced to close due to adverse weather. Please can I ask that, if at all possible, you avoid telephoning the school office to ask if the school is open as it is vital we keep the lines free to receive and make essential calls. If there’s no announcement on the Head Teacher’s blog, Twitter or the North Lanarkshire website, the school is open.
Should heavy snow force the school to close, suggestions and ideas are available on the school website to help keep your child busy at home with meaningful learning activities. These can be accessed in the ‘News’ section by clicking on ‘Severe Weather Arrangements’.
Different schools have different rules when it comes to snow. My personal view, however, is that snow is a fun and exciting treat for children (and grown-ups too!) and should be seen as a fantastic opportunity for learning. We buy in clay every year to teach the children to make models and sculptures; how much better to get the chance to build and sculpt from snow! We give regular input in class on teamwork and cooperation; what better opportunity to teach this than splitting into teams and building the biggest snowman! Water in the form of a liquid, solid and gas is part of our science curriculum; snow gives children the opportunity to see, touch and experiment with this for themselves. The possibilities are endless! For this reason, should there be substantial snowfall (and it’s not the yucky, slushy stuff!), I will be encouraging all teachers to venture outside with their class to play in the snow. On a snowy day, therefore, please can you ensure that your child comes to school with appropriate clothing and footwear (wellies, jacket, hat, scarf, gloves, etc) to allow them to play in the snow without getting wet and cold.
We will, of course, keep your child safe at all times. We have a very strict ‘no snowball’ rule, with the punishment for any pupil throwing one being a complete ban from being outside in the snow. However, if you would prefer your child not to be involved in outside activities on a snowy day, please could you drop the class teacher a short note. Thank you.
