As a Catholic school, prayer is central to our daily routine. St Bartholomew’s also greatly appreciates those faithful individuals who regularly pray for the needs of our school community, particularly the parish ‘Pray for our School’ Group which meets in our oratory on the first Tuesday of each month. The latest edition of our school Prayer Diary is now available in the ‘Faith’ section of the website – just click on ‘Pray for our School Group’. This resource is aimed at supporting anyone and everyone who would like to pray for St Bartholomew’s on a regular basis and contains a school prayer focus for each month, along with the Pope’s monthly prayer intentions. We have an amazing bunch of pupils and a fantastic team of staff here at St Bart’s… but we still need all the prayers we can get!

The new term got off to a great start yesterday. The boys and girls returned with their usual huge smiles and settled down quickly to their work. Well done, everyone!

We have a busy term ahead, including our P4-7 show (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) just before the Easter holidays. Primary 6 and 7 pupils will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation next month and P3 will have their First Reconciliation in March. Catholic Education Week falls within this term (week beginning Sunday 24th February) and we will also be hosting our P7, P6 and P2 class assemblies. Keep an eye on the school website for up-to-the-minute details of our various events.

Welcome back, everyone, and a very Happy New Year to you all! I hope you had an enjoyable and relaxing Christmas break and are returning this morning refreshed for the term ahead.

“Look toward the new year in a spirit of gratitude for that which we have received, repentance for that in which we have failed , and resolve to work with God’s grace to better our lives, our communities and ourselves.” (Pope Francis)

Enjoy the first day back!

On this final day of term, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all pupils and staff for their phenomenal hard work since the October holidays. You only need to look back through the October, November and December blog entries to see how much has been squeezed into this term. Well done, everyone!… WHAT A TEAM! Please can I also thank parents, carers, parishioners and friends for supporting our various events. It’s very much appreciated.

On behalf of the whole St Bartholomew’s team, have a very
MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

School reopens on Monday 6th January… See you in 2014!

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today, in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.” (Luke 2: 10 – 14)

Our final Christmas parties take place today. There will be nursery parties in both the morning and afternoon which will include a special visit from Santa himself! Parents and carers are welcome to pop along to the Music Room to meet Santa for themselves!

Primary 1, 2 and 3 also have their party today. They’ve been practising their party games and are set for a fantastic afternoon. Of course, Santa will be paying them a special visit too!

Our whole school community will gather together in the hall this morning to celebrate our end of term Mass. It’s been a hectic few weeks so this will be a wonderful opportunity to find a peaceful space to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and give thanks for the successful term we’ve had. Joe McAvoy, our school’s Quality Improvement Manager, will join us for Mass, along with Miss Smith and some 6th Year pupils from St Ambrose, the parish ‘Pray for our school group’ and Fiona Pollock, one of the local authority’s Development Officers.

Finally, we have our final set of Advent reflections from Primary 6:

It was a real pleasure bringing some festive cheer to some of our parishioners after morning Mass yesterday. A choir made up of P4-7 pupils popped up to St Bartholomew’s church hall to sing a selection of popular Christmas carols and they received an enthusiastic reception from the audience. Many thanks to Mrs Morris and Mrs Casey for rewarding us with juice and some Christmas treats! We’re glad you enjoyed the concert. Here are a couple of snaps from yesterday:


Primary 6 and 7 have their party this afternoon. Have a great time, everyone!

And, of course, we have our next selection of Advent reflections from Primary 6:

Primary 4/3 visited Blair House yesterday to do a bit of carol singing. It was a great opportunity to reach out to our local community and bring a bit of Christmas cheer to the residents. I know from speaking to Indie that the class really enjoyed their visited. Well done, boys and girls!

Today, it’s the turn of the P4-7 choir who sang at last week’s jubilee Mass to do a bit of festive entertaining. They’ll be popping up to St Bartholomew’s church after the morning Mass to put on a concert for the parishioners.

The Christmas celebrations continue into the afternoon with our Christmas dinner. The turkey’s cooking away in the oven and the brussel sprouts are peeled and ready for the pot! P4 and 5 also have their Christmas party this afternoon – have a great time, boys and girls!

Here’s our next set of reflections from P6’s Advent wall display:

Blair and Peter from Primary 6 arrived at my office with great excitement about ten minutes before the 3 o’clock bell on Friday. They wanted to show me their class’s Advent display and, once I’d seen it for myself, I understood why: it’s fantastic! There’s a picture of the display below and, throughout this week, I’ll be sharing with our blog readers close-up shots of the various phrases which appear on the display. Well done Primary 6 for giving us so much food for thought in the lead-up to Christmas.

There was a wonderful atmosphere throughout last night’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations at St Bartholomew’s Church. The Mass, celebrated by Bishop Toal, was beautiful and the children’s wonderful singing added so much to this special celebration of the Eucharist. Numerous people complemented the children on their outstanding singing and behaviour and I was one very, very proud Head Teacher!.. and I know that the rest of the St Bartholomew’s staff were equally proud of our fantastic pupils. Well done, boys and girls!!! There was an equally special atmosphere in the hall afterwards and it was great to chat to parishioners and people connected with the parish over a cup of tea and cake. Thank you to the parish for your wonderful hospitality!

Here are two photographs from last night’s Mass.

Well done to the nursery children for their wonderful Christmas concert yesterday. You looked and sounded fantastic! Well done!

Although we don’t have an assembly today, Pupil of the Week certificates will still be awarded, along with the House Trophy and Cool Class Cup. Don’t forget to check out the website later today to see who’ll be popping along for ‘Tea with Mr Young’!

The children had a fantastic time at the pantomime yesterday afternoon and did St Bartholomew’s proud with their behaviour and enthusiasm. Well done, boys and girls, and many thanks again to Mark Millar for providing the children with this fantastic opportunity to experience the excitement of live theatre. It is VERY much appreciated!
(scroll down for some photographs of our trip to the pantomime).

Today, it’s the turn of the nursery boys and girls to take to the stage for their Christmas concert. The children have been practising hard on their Christmas songs and parents and carers are in for a real treat later today. Performances are at 10.30am and 2pm in the school hall. I look forward to seeing you there.

St Bartholomew’s Church celebrates its 60th Jubilee this evening with a special Mass at 7.00pm. The main celebrant will be Bishop Toal and a choir of St Bartholomew’s pupils will play a lead role in the music. I would encourage as many parents and carers as possible to bring their child along to tonight’s Mass. St Bartholomew’s Primary is an integral part of the local parish and Fr Doherty and many of the parishioners make a huge contribution to the ongoing work of the school. Please join us for tonight’s Mass if you possibly can (there’s tea and a cake in the church hall afterwards too!).

A few pics from yesterday’s trip to the panto: