Today is Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of Lent. Our whole school community will be attending the 10.00am Mass at St Bartholomew’s Church. All parents and carers are very welcome to join us.

Please remember that the weekly prayer service takes place in the oratory this morning at 8.45am. This would be a great way to begin Lent and, indeed, a positive way of spending every Wednesday morning over the coming weeks.

As from yesterday, our Music Room was given its official new name: The Mark Millar Performing Arts Studio. This is special tribute and a small thank-you to Mark, who is such a good friend and generous benefactor to St Bartholomew’s. I was passing the room yesterday morning and came across a group of trumpeters using our newly refurbished facilities. They even did part of their lesson using the new SMART Board!

Finally, the next instalment of the Head Teacher’s address from last Sunday’s Education Mass:

” ‘It’s Friday…. but Sunday’s coming!’ What do I mean by this? Well, on Good Friday, we experience something of the loss, the heartache, the confusion and the fear of those first disciples. They’d lost everything. If only they had listened more closely to Jesus and realised that Easter Sunday was coming and that it would change everything! That’s what Christian joy is about: it’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!

As Christians, then, we can offer a very different way of looking at life: the assurance of a God who sticks with us, the hope of better days to come, the promise of an infinite love which went to the cross and will never leave us.”

The painters finished the gym hall over the weekend and this space has been given a whole new lease of life. New roller blinds will be fitted today which will further transform the hall (keep an eye on the blog tomorrow for photographs). As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, some of our pupils will be working with St Ambrose High School art department to create two stained-glass panels for the front of the hall which will add the final finishing touch. Along with the new lighting and sound system, it’s certainly going to be a hall to be proud of!

As promised, here’s the second extract from the Head Teacher’s address from last Sunday’s Education Mass.

“Our faith in Jesus Christ reveals a different path, one which the world can sometimes find difficult to understand.

Pupils, staff and some parishioners will know that I walked one hundred miles of a pilgrimage route in the north of Spain over the summer. Known as the ‘Camino’, this ancient path ends at the tomb of St James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The third day of the pilgrimage found my friend and I on the road at 7.30am, trudging through the pouring rain. It was at this point that my friend questioned me on the actual purpose of a pilgrimage. Amongst other things, I emphasised to him that the destination is key to every pilgrimage (in our case Santiago de Compostela). If we know where we are heading, then it gives meaning, purpose and joy to even the most difficult and painful of steps along the way. Sometimes on the Camino, it was simply a matter of finding the energy to put one foot in front of another. However, even the most reluctant of steps took us a little closer to the tomb of St James!

And that is what Christian joy is about. It’s not that we escape the hardships and tragedies of life – you only need to read the book of Job in the Old Testament to see this isn’t the case! However, what we do discover is that God is alongside us throughout even the most difficult times of our journey.”…to be continued!

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!

The children had a great time at the Valentine Disco last night. Everything ran like clockwork thanks to the fantastic team of parent helpers who organised and supervised the event. A HUGE thank you to you all for your dedication, enthusiasm and hard work. We’re so lucky to have you!

I spent a focus day in Primary 4/5 yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the boys and girls so engaged in their learning. The entire day’s work was related to their Romans topic and included writing a newspaper article, using Roman numerals in maths, writing secret messages using the old Latin alphabet and redrafting their writing in the computer suite. I spent part of the day with a small ‘focus’ group finding out the children’s thoughts and views on their learning, their classroom and the school. They were a very articulate and (as you can see from the photo below!) enthusiastic bunch!

Please remember that there will be no hot meals served at lunch today as the painters will begin work in the hall immediately after this morning’s assembly. Despite being a huge job, the hall will be finished by the end of the weekend, ready for the new roller blinds to be fitted on Monday.

Next week is Catholic Education Week and this will begin with the annual Education Mass on Sunday. This Mass will take place in St Bartholomew’s Church at 12 noon and all pupils, parents, carers and friends are very welcome to attend. It would be wonderful to see a good crowd on Sunday to celebrate the special partnership between our school and parish communities.

Finally, if you weren’t in the school building yesterday, here’s a little taster of our gleaming new entrance area…

Welcome back! I hope you had a fantastic long weekend.

The painters worked tremendously hard during the three days the children were on holiday and have utterly transformed the central area of the school as well as the P4-7 corridors. It is literally like walking into a different building! The infant corridors will be painted today and tomorrow before a large team of painters tackle the main hall and kitchens over the weekend. To allow for preparation work to take place in the hall and to free-up time on Monday to get the kitchen back up and running, there will be no hot meals tomorrow or Monday. However, packa-snacks will be available for those pupils who do not wish to bring their own packed lunch. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause, but the hall/kitchen area is a huge job and it’s essential the painters complete the work before the children return to school on Monday.

The Valentine discos take place this evening in the main hall. The P1-3 disco takes place from 6.00 – 7.00 pm and the P4-7 disco from 7.00-8.00 pm. Tickets are available from the school office, priced £1.50. This includes refreshments.

Thankfully, I was in a good mood yesterday, because a certain young lady from Primary 2 made me feel very old indeed!!! I met her on the way up the corridor with some writing she had done on her whiteboard during a history lesson. I must say, it’s the first time I’ve thought about the 1990’s being a historical era!.. but then it was quarter of a century ago, I suppose!

It was a real team effort getting the Music Room back to normal yesterday. Well, ‘normal’ isn’t really the right word because the room now looks so different from the way it did before. The walls have been painted, a new SMART Board sits proudly inside the door, the backboards have been replaced with new whiteboards (including five-line staves for writing music) and, perhaps most exciting of all, we have unpacked our fifteen brand new keyboards and set these up around the walls. It really is a fantastic space for music, drama, dance and a whole host of other activities. To celebrate the room’s refurbishment and all its new resources but, most importantly, to formally recognise the huge support Mark Millar is to the school, the music room is to be given a new name. A sign will appear over the next few weeks welcoming pupils, staff and visitors to THE MARK MILLAR PERFORMING ARTS STUDIO. An impressive name for an impressive room recognising an impressive man!

It’s Friday, which means the usual trophies and Pupil of the Week certificates. Check out the website later on today to find out the winners.

Finally, please remember that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are all holidays for pupils. We’ll see you back bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on Thursday morning! Have a great loooooooong weekend once it arrives!

Given that faith is central to the life of our school, it is perhaps fitting that the oratory is the first space in the school to be completely finished and put back together as part of our refurbishment. The photograph below gives a glimpse of this beautiful space, but it has to be visited in person to be truly experienced!

I spent a ‘focus day’ in Primary 4 yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed observing the children and talking to them about their learning. I spent part of the day talking directly to pupils to find out their thoughts and views on St Bartholomew’s and how they think we could make the school even better. I’m delighted to say that 100% of the children said they enjoyed school in their questionnaire! Please take the opportunity to log onto Primary 4’s class page to get a wee taste of the super day I had with Mrs O’Neill and the children!

Although most of my day was spent in Primary 4 yesterday, I popped into Primary 1 Rockets at just the right time… The boys and girls were doing Music and were using their new SMART Board to sing a fantastic action song all about a repeating parrot. I just wish I could have stayed longer to join in the fun!

The painting in the Oratory was finished yesterday and, with the new feature ceiling and background lighting, it is now more beautiful and peaceful a space than ever. The altar backdrop and stations of the cross will be placed back into the oratory today and the tabernacle, donated by the Passionist community, will be placed in its new home over the coming weeks. Finally, new wooden benches are currently being made and these will add the finishing touch to this most special of spaces in a few weeks time.

The painters will begin work on the corridors today and are likely to get as far as the hall door. This means that there will be some minor disruption over the coming days in terms of pupils, staff and visitors only having access to half of the corridor. However, given how well everyone coped with the disruption of the rewiring, I have absolutely no doubt that we’ll take this new phase of work in our stride.

Today is St Blaise Day, the patron saint of sore throats! Mass-goers today will have the option of having the priest bless their throat with two candles held in a cross shape. Given the number of croaky throats around St Bart’s at the moment, the first week of February seems the perfect time for St Blaise Day to fall!

The painters made a great start to the Music Room and Oratory yesterday and both these rooms will be more or less finished today. There will obviously be some degree of disruption as the painters move into the corridors, foyer and offices. However, I will provide daily updates via the blog on the progress of the painters, including any rooms affected on that day.

Please remember that next Monday and Tuesday (9th and 10th) are holidays and that the school will also be closed to pupils on the inservice day on Wednesday 11th February. The Valentine’s disco is on the first day back after the break (Thursday 12th), so please make sure you grab a ticket from the office this week (£1.50).

A group of our nursery parents will begin basic first aid training this morning in the ‘Get Together Room’. This is a fantastic opportunity which I’m sure all who take part will find extremely worthwhile.

Last, but by no means least, we welcome the parish ‘Pray for our School’ group to St Bartholomew’s at 11.00am this morning. Unfortunately, the oratory is being painted today and our P7 pupils who would normally join them for tea will be in the middle of a ‘Divided City’ rehearsal. However, we’ll manage to find a peaceful room for the meeting and will send some of our P6 pupils for tea (I don’t think the boys and girls will mind!).

Although we were expecting the painters to begin last Monday, they will actually make a start today. The Music Room and Oratory will be the first rooms to be painted before the contractors make their way through the central area of the building. To minimise disruption, I’m hoping the hall will be painted during the three days the children are on holiday next week.

The Primary 4 class assembly was absolutely super on Friday and the new lighting and sound system made a huge difference to the performance. Check-out the P4 class page for photographs of the children’s presentation, along with comments from the audience.

A Pupil Voice Business Meeting took place on Friday. The chairperson from each of the six groups had the opportunity to chat to me about their group’s current work and the plans they have for the weeks and months ahead. The minutes from the meeting will be posted in the Pupil Voice section of our website at some point today. Please take the time to read about the exciting work the boys and girls are doing to improve St Bartholomew’s.