Please note that today is the last day for Primary 1 enrolments. Mrs Smillie and Mrs Clare will be available to assist prospective parents with paperwork from 1.30pm onwards.

The children conducted themselves like absolute professionals during the recording of their Royal Rockstars CD yesterday. The CD will be on sale at next Tuesday’s concert which begins at 6.00pm in the school hall (tickets are £5.00 and are available from the office). The children should arrive at 5.45pm prompt and make their way to the Music Room.

I’m delighted to say that our new state-of-the-art sound system will be installed in the hall in around two week’s time (thanks to the grant from Education Scotland). This, along with our fantastic new stage lighting, will provide St. Bartholomew’s with a performing space which will be the envy of many other schools. We have also managed to find enough money to replace the tired old hall curtains with slick new roller blinds which will be fitted immediately after the hall has been painted. There’s no doubt about it: St Bart’s hall is going to look FANTASTIC!

There will be no assembly today. However, Pupil of the Week certificates will be awarded as usual, along with House points and the Cool Class Cup.

It’s time for the children to bring all their hard work with Royal Rockstars together this morning as they record their very own CD! The children’s singing was sounding fantastic yesterday and I’m sure the CD will sound equally slick and professional. Copies of the CD will be available to purchase at next Tuesday’s Royal Rockstar’s concert and one lucky St Bart’s pupil will even have their very own design used on the cover.

We are just over a week away from the re-wiring being completed. The final job for the electricians next week will be to fit our brand new stage lighting. It’s been an epic journey, but the difference the new ceilings, lighting, sockets, etc have made is remarkable. Once the interior has been painted, the school really will look as good (if not better!) as the day it opened way back in 1950. As they say: the best things come to those who wait! Thank you to everyone – pupils, staff, parents and friends – for your patience during the work.

P1 enrolments continue this afternoon from 1.30pm onwards.

It’s day 3 of Royal Rockstars… and what a fantastic week it’s been so far! The children have worked really hard to learn all the new songs and have shown great enthusiasm adding in actions and dance moves. We even had Mrs Polsinelli and Miss Jackson doing a bit of rapping yesterday! Make sure you check out Twitter (this can be accessed by clicking on the icon on the website homepage) to check out photographs of our adventures with Royal Rockstars.

Please remember that the children will showcase their work with Royal Rockstars at a special concert next Tuesday evening. Tickets are available from the school office, priced £5.00. It’s guaranteed to be a great night!

Primary 1 enrolments take place every afternoon this week. Mrs Smillie and Mrs Clare will be ready to welcome prospective parents from 1.30pm onwards each day.

Primary 7 are off to Townhead Primary this morning for their first proper rehearsal for ‘Divided City’. As mentioned in last term’s newsletter, this is a fantastic opportunity for the boys and girls to work with a professional theatre company (Citizens Theatre, Glasgow) as well as to form new friendships with children from our neighbouring school.

The children (and staff) had an absolutely AMAZING time during their first session with Royal Rockstars yesterday. The boys and girls learned two fantastic new songs (‘I’m glad to me!’ and ‘Don’t give up’), including some great dance moves and even some authentic rock band ‘head-banging’!!! There were some great photographs posted on Twitter yesterday (@bartholomew_st) and we’ll continue to keep you up-to-date via Twitter throughout this week. Please remember that the children will perform a concert with Royal Rockstars next Tuesday evening. Tickets are available from the school office, priced £5.00. We can’t wait to find out what songs are in store for us today!

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.

An exciting competition has been organised by North Lanarkshire catering who provide our school meals. All P1-7 pupils are invited to draw an A4 picture with a spring/summer food theme. The winning entry will be used for the cover of the spring/summer menu leaflet and the winner will also be able to choose a bicycle to the value of £200 from Scotcast, Coatbridge (what a fantastic prize!). The picture can be created using coloured pencils, felt pens or paints but must be the pupil’s own work. All entries should be handed into the school office no later than Friday 16th January.

Our whole-school assembly takes place this morning. Pupils of the Week, the Cool Class and the winning House will be posted on the website later today.

Finally, Primary 1 enrolments take place next week. We look forward to seeing many of our existing nursery parents/carers as well as some new faces who have decided to choose St Bartholomew’s as the school for their child.

As announced on the blog back in December, St Bartholomew’s has been awarded £5000 from Education Scotland to further develop the performing arts. I was assured over the telephone yesterday that this money will be with us within the next week or so. These funds will be used to buy a new sound system for the hall and also to purchase a set of electronic keyboards and guitars. Amongst other activities, these instruments will allow us to offer parent-child after school clubs (probably in February/March) for P6 and 7 pupils to learn some basic keyboard and guitar skills along with their mum, dad or other adult. Places for these clubs will be limited, so will be offered on a first come, first served basis. Please keep an eye on the blog for further details and look out for a letter in your child’s school bag in the coming weeks.

A very proud Primary 2 pupil appeared at my office yesterday. She was keen to show-off a really impressive trophy that she had won at Girls Brigade for being part of the best squad. Well done! We’re really proud of you!

Please can I remind all parents/carers of P1-3 pupils that their child is now entitled to a free school meal. This is a new Scottish Government initiative which has been launched across the country.

We welcome Fiona Pollock to St Bartholomew’s today. Fiona is currently based at Headquarters on Kildonan Street and is doing some work for the local authority on the features of good learning and teaching. Fiona will be working with our Primary 6 pupils this morning to find out what the boys and girls feel are the things that make a really good lesson, an effective teacher and help them reach their full potential. I’m sure the children will offer Fiona some really valuable insights and provide her with great information to take back to HQ.

It was a great first day back yesterday. The boys and girls were extremely settled and focused throughout the day and I’m delighted that 2015 is off to such a super start. Well done everyone!

As intimated in the letters sent out before the Christmas break, a special concert will take place in St Bartholomew’s two weeks today. This will be an opportunity for the boys and girls to showcase their singing talents with a real-life rock band! ‘Royal Rockstars’ will be in St Bart’s from Monday – Thursday next week teaching the children a variety of songs and (most exciting of all!) recording a CD which will be on sale at the concert on the 20th January. Keep an eye on the blog and Twitter next week to stay up-to-date with this very exciting project!

Although it was celebrated in Scotland on Sunday, today is the Feast of the Epiphany, the day we remember the visit of the wisemen to the Baby Jesus. My own parish priest, Father Joe Walsh, reminded parishioners that each one of us, like the wisemen, should persevere on our own personal journey in search of Christ. Wise words, Father Joe!

This wee Epiphany cartoon made me smile last night 🙂

A very Happy New Year to you all! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

As from today, all Primary 1-3 children across Scotland are entitled to a free school meal. St Bartholomew’s has been preparing for today for some time and I’m sure that, even with the increased numbers, things will run like clockwork in the dinner hall.

I’m sure many of you will have already made (and are hopefully managing to keep!) some new year resolutions. Pope Francis met with Vatican employees just prior to Christmas and spoke some valuable words. One of his nuggets of wisdom offers good advice for the whole St Bart’s team, young and old:

“Look after your work, doing it with enthusiasm, humility, competence, passion and with a spirit that knows how to thank the Lord.”

Have a great first day back, everyone!