PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THERE WILL BE NO HOT LUNCHES SERVED TODAY. THOSE PUPILS WHO DO NOT BRING THEIR OWN PACKED LUNCH MAY ORDER A SCHOOL PACKA-SNACK FROM THE DINING HALL.

St Bartholomew’s Primary marks Catholic Education Week over the next five days. This year’s theme is ‘Proclaiming the Joy of the Gospel’ and we will be seeking, as a school community, to remind ourselves of the Good News each one of us is called to share and renew our efforts to live-out our faith in practical and authentic ways.

A huge thank you to all those pupils, parents and staff who turned out for the annual Education Mass at St Bartholomew’s Church yesterday. There was, as always, a lovely atmosphere in the church and the children did the school proud with their singing, reading and St Bart’s manners and behaviour. Well done to you all!

I had the opportunity to give the Head Teacher’s address during the Mass and I thought it might be an idea to post sections from this on the blog throughout the coming week.

“Catholic Education is about partnership: the three dimensions of home, school and parish working together to ensure the very best for our pupils. On this Education Sunday, I would like to take the opportunity to thank those numerous individuals who support the work of St Bartholomew’s in so many ways and who faithfully pass on the faith to our children. To the staff for their dedication, hard work and their genuine personal faith. To our parents and carers for coming today to show their commitment to Catholic education and for their ongoing support of all that we do in St Bartholomew’s. To the parish for being such an enthusiastic, supportive and spiritual bunch of people. To Father Doherty for the support he gives us as chaplain to the school. Of course, my biggest vote of thanks goes to the pupils of St Bartholomew’s. We must never forget that they’re the reason why we get up in the morning! Particular thanks go to those pupils who have joined us for Mass this morning.

The theme for today’s Education Sunday, and for the week ahead, asks us to consider how “Proclaiming the Joy of the Gospel” is the mission of every Christian. Pope Francis has made great efforts to remind us that the life of a Christian should be joyful. We should not look like mourners coming back from a funeral, he tells us, or like people “whose lives seem like Lent without Easter”. He encourages us to rediscover our enthusiasm for the Gospel (the Good News) and to share it joyfully with others.

We all have a great capacity for joy and celebration, but sometimes we can get stuck in a rut of negativity and pessimism. We can often feel engulfed with bad news – stories of tragic events, natural disasters and inhuman acts. Such events can cause us to be confused by life’s uncertainties and by human frailty and to question our faith in God. They appear to leave no room for joy whatsoever. However, this is where our faith in Jesus Christ reveals a different path, one which the world can sometimes find difficult to understand.” … to be continued!