Primary 6 are off to the new visitors’ centre in Bannockburn today. The boys and girls spent much of last term learning about the Scottish Wars of Independence and, as family and friends will remember, presented a fantastic assembly on what they had learned. Today’s trip will be a great opportunity to visit the famous battlefield and consolidate their learning on this important part of Scottish history.

We will be welcoming family and friends of our Primary 5 pupils to St Bartholomew’s this afternoon for their class assembly. The boys and girls have been working extremely hard over the past few weeks on their presentation about the Commonwealth Games. I caught a snippet of the assembly last week and it was already looking great. As usual, the children have done some home-baking for their special afternoon, under the guidance and watchful eye of Mrs Laird. You’re in for a fabulous afternoon!

What a nice surprise to see a banner for the St Bart’s Summer Fayre on the roundabout last night! Please spread the word about tomorrow’s event… all money raised will go directly to the pupils in the form of new SMART Boards. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the amazing team of parents and grandmothers who have worked their socks off over the past month or so organising and preparing for the Fayre. They literally haven’t stopped in weeks. We couldn’t have done it without you, so a HUGE thank you from all of us!

SEE YOU AT THE SUMMER FAYRE TOMORROW MORNING AT 10.00am!!!!

Don’t forget about the Summer Fayre this coming Saturday! There’s something for everyone, so make sure you set that alarm clock ready for the 10.00am kick-off!!!

Primary 1 and 2 are off to the Riverside Museum in Glasgow today. Those of you who have visited the museum will know that the boys and girls have a fantastic day ahead of them. There are trains, buses, trams, cars and bikes to see; boats and aeroplanes to find out about; an old Glasgow street, complete with shops, to explore and even an old underground train to climb inside! Have a super day, boys and girls!

Our good friend and Gaelic football coach, Joe Bradley, dropped by on Tuesday with a beautiful picture he brought back all the way from Lourdes. The picture is both unusual and inspiring and is now the first thing you see as you enter the oratory. Thank you for remembering us, Joe.

We have an interesting day ahead in St Bartholomew’s as a film crew descends on the school to make a short documentary about one of our recent literacy initiatives. The film is being made on behalf of Scottish Government and will be shared at a conference of Head Teachers in the SECC on 16th June. Although focusing predominately on the literacy work we’ve been developing, the film will also include interviews with eight P4-7 children on their ambitions for the future and how their school work is helping them move towards these aspirations. It’s not quite a Hollywood production, but exciting nonetheless!

The parish ‘Pray for our School’ group met in the oratory yesterday morning for the final time this session before enjoying their usual tea and biscuits with our Primary 7 pupils. Please can I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the parishioners of St Bartholomew’s for their friendship, support, kindness and prayers throughout the year. You are a vital part of our school community and very much appreciated. Many, many thanks from the pupils and staff of St Bartholomew’s Primary.

It must have been a wonderful sight for anyone passing the school playground yesterday to see over 100 bikes and scooters circling the playground for Primary 1’s special ‘Cycle to School’ event! Everyone had great fun exercising in the fresh air. Check out Primary 1’s class page for photographs of the event.

If that wasn’t enough excitement for one day, much of the rest of yesterday was devoted to preparing the sorts of healthy snacks that would give energy and the necessary nutrition to Commonwealth Games athletes. The snacks were then shared with neighbouring classes. The delicious, healthy food included fruit salad, healthy sandwiches and wraps, nutrition bars, fruit kebabs and even some tasty smoothies and cocktails! Check out the P1, P5, P6 and P7 class pages for photographs of yesterday’s fantastic enterprise.

Health and Wellbeing is one of the priorities on our 2014/2015 School Improvement Plan. Yesterday’s fun activities have certainly given us a head start on our health-promotion journey!

Primary 1 are running their Cycle to School event today. The boys and girls made two information films about the event and these were shown to the rest of the school at Friday’s assembly. I’m looking forward to seeing lots of imaginatively and colourfully decorated bikes arriving at St Bartholomew’s this morning. Remember those helmets, everyone!

Please remember that our Summer Fayre is THIS SATURDAY (7th). All money raised will go to much-needed new SMART Boards for classrooms, so please support what is sure to be a fun-packed event.

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!