I am absolutely delighted to announce that, following recent interviews, four permanent members of staff have been appointed to St Bartholomew’s, including our very own Mrs McLean and Mrs Keirnan! This is very welcome news for our whole school community and will bring much needed stability to St Bartholomew’s in the years ahead. We will have four brand new faces in St Bartholomew’s in August: Ms Natalie Connor, Ms Aikida Maclean, Ms Jade Duffy and Ms Kayleigh Brennan. A warm welcome to St Bart’s! I am now in a position to send out letters about new classes and these will be with you no later than Monday.

P2 are off on a trip to Drumpellier Park today. Have a great time, boys and girls!

As part of their Japan project, Primary 6 made their very own sushi yesterday. I’m a regular customer at Yo Sushi in Glasgow and can confidently say that Primary 6’s sushi could be proudly served-up in any restaurant without a single customer batting an eyelid! Here’s a photo of the children’s culinary skills, but please check-out Twitter for more.

Finally, please can I apologise to all P7 parents and carers for the wrong time being printed for next week’s Leavers’ Mass and awards ceremony. The Mass has always been scheduled for 1.30pm on Wednesday afternoon. However, I found out yesterday afternoon that a different time had been printed on the list of diary dates sent out a couple of months back. I’m extremely sorry for this misprint and for the inconvenience it has caused.

Primary 4/5 are off to Glasgow Science Centre today where they’ll be finding out more about the amazing human body. Have a super day, boys and girls!

Primary 3 had a lovely party with baby Otto yesterday. The boys and girls (as well as Otto and Mrs Duncan) each received a certificate to show that they had participated in the ‘Roots of Empathy’ programme. I pointed out to the children that, although we need to say goodbye to Otto for the time being, we can look forward to meeting him again when he starts in the nursery in a couple of years’ time. Once again, many thanks to Otto and Mrs Duncan for giving so generously of their time this year. We’ve loved having you in the school and will really miss you!

Please pray for Aidan Di Caccia as he prepares for his move to St Ambrose High School.

Baby Otto and his mum have been working with Primary 3 throughout this year as part of the ‘Roots of Empathy’ programme. The boys and girls have watched Otto grow over the months and have learned lots from him about building relationships and caring for one another. Today will be Primary 3’s last session with Otto, so the boys and girls will be hosting a celebration party as a special thank you and goodbye. Many thanks to Mrs Duncan and Otto for giving so generously of their time throughout this year; it is very much appreciated. Thanks too to Agnes, the ‘Roots of Empathy’ tutor, for all her work and input with Primary 3.

We’ll be welcoming Val Corry to St Bartholomew’s later today. Val Corry was closely involved with St Bartholomew’s last session during her work with the Scottish Government. She recently heard about the major work that has been done to the building this year and contacted me to ask if she could have a look around. Scott and Heather from Primary 7 showed Val around on her very first visit to the school back in February 2014 and both pupils have very kindly agreed to stay after school to give Val a guided tour of our newly refurbished building. I’m sure she will be very impressed indeed!

A very imaginative Primary 3 pupil was busy yesterday afternoon with the ‘K’nex’. Here’s just one of his super creations!


Please pray for Heather Meechan as she prepares for her move to St Ambrose High School.

We welcome Karen Glen from Curriculo Solutions back to St Bartholomew’s this morning. Karen will be completing her work with Primary 7 on the world of work. Interviews today!

Don’t forget that the penultimate prayer service of the year takes place in the oratory this morning at 8.50am.

Please pray for Tia Speirs as she prepares for her move to St Ambrose High School.

Twenty-four of our Primary 4 pupils spent Friday at the Primary Games. The children had a fantastic time participating in the various events and also walked away with the winning prize for the best school banner. The prize is a free block of after school sports activities next session. Many thanks to Mrs Dolan for helping the children with the banner. We’re all delighted with your achievement and the prize you won for the school!

I realise pupils and their parents will be keen to find out who their teacher will be after the holidays. Personnel plan to inform me of new members of staff by the end of this week and I will pass this information onto you as soon as I possibly can. At the very latest, a letter will be sent out along with report cards on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

Please pray for Catherine O’Neill and Chloe Foy as they prepare for their move to St Ambrose High School.

Primary 1 had a super trip to Drumpellier Park yesterday. Here’s a picture of the children meeting the cygnets, but please check out Twitter for some more photos of their visit.

Primary 1 Rockets and Stars will be welcoming parents and other guests to their classroom at 2.00pm this afternoon for a special Sunflower Tea. This will include an opportunity to see some of the children’s recent work. What a perfect day for it!

We will also be welcoming Karen Glen from ‘Curriculo Solutions’ to St Bartholomew’s today. Karen will be working with our P7 pupils all morning on some new materials about the world of work. I had a sneak preview of the materials and I know the children will thoroughly enjoy today’s activities on job adverts and interviews. Karen will be back on Tuesday to lead Session 2.

Joe Bradley visited St Bartholomew’s yesterday afternoon to present awards to pupils who have shown particular qualities during this year’s Gaelic football coaching. Here’s a picture of those pupils who particularly impressed Joe during the course of the year, all very well deserved! Well done, everyone!

I happened to pop my head into the computer suite yesterday and found Primary 6 not only busy on the computers but actually doing some basic computer programming! Maybe we’ll see these clever-clog children working in the technology industry a few years down the line!

Please pray for Blair Melvin and Euan McMahon as they prepare for their move to St Ambrose High School.

Primary 1 are off to Drumpellier Park this morning. The children had a visit from the ranger earlier this week and I’m sure they’ll have a great time following up on the ranger’s input in the park today… especially in this fantastic weather!

Sports Day was a huge success yesterday. The sun shone, the children did fantastically well and the crowd were full of enthusiasm! This year’s winning House was Drumpellier. Well done, boys and girls!

Many thanks, once again, to Mrs McLean for all the hard work she put into organising and co-ordinating this year’s Sports Day. It ran like clockwork! However, a HUGE thank you also needs to go to all of the Primary 6 pupils who worked their wee socks off getting the field set-up for the afternoon. Mature, responsible, organised and reliable are just four adjectives I could use to describe them! As a special thank-you treat for all their efforts, Mrs McLean is organising a picnic for the boys and girls in Drumpeillier Park tomorrow afternoon. Very well deserved, boys and girls!

Another bunch of St Bart’s superstars are the team of P6 and 7 pupils who took part in yesterday’s Gaelic football tournament. Mrs McFarlane reported that the boys and girls were model sportsmen and women and a real credit to the school. The girl’s team reached the finals and lost by only one point. In recognition of the children’s outstanding efforts, attitude and behaviour, the entire team will receive an extra playtime this morning. You can enjoy the whole grassed area to yourselves!

Please pray for Vhairi Bradley and Murray Rea as they prepare for their move to St Ambrose High School.

We have a very busy day ahead of us here at St Bartholomew’s.

A group of Primary 6 and 7 pupils are off to St Ambrose this morning to participate in a Gaelic football tournament. Good luck, team!

Our new Primary 1 pupils will be paying us another visit today. The boys and girls will receive a full tour of the school with their parents before enjoying their very first school lunch in the hall. P6 and 7 buddies will be ready to begin tours at 11.00am prompt.

Of course, the main event of today will be Sports Day which kicks-off at 1.15pm. According to the forecast, we’re going to be blessed with glorious sunshine throughout the afternoon to accompany our various sporting events. Many thanks to Mrs McLean who has done an absolutely fantastic job planning and co-ordinating this year’s Sports Day (Mr Hughes’ trainers were big shoes to fill!!!).

Please pray for Peter Collins and Kai Kelly as they prepare for their move to St Ambrose High School.

Our weekly prayer service takes place at 8.50am in the oratory today. There was a great turnout last week and it would be wonderful to see the same again this morning.

Primary 7 have a special treat today. They’re off to St Ambrose High School to enjoy the dress rehearsal of this year’s show, ‘Annie’. Have a great time, boys and girls!

Throughout this year, we have been using an innovative music programme called ABC Music. The children have loved the songs and activities on the interactive smart board and the resource has also built the confidence of staff across the school in teaching what can sometimes be a daunting area of the curriculum. An ABC Music tutor will be in St Bart’s all day today to work with the children. I know for a fact that the tutor will be delighted with the brand new SMART Boards which have been fitted since their last visit!

Please pray for Brandon McLaughlin and Jai Corner as they prepare for their move to St Ambrose High School.

I managed to have a quick catch-up at the end of Friday with one of our former pupils, now at St Ambrose High School. I was very impressed indeed when I saw the personalised pencil case he had made for his wee brother and I promised I’d post a picture of his handiwork on today’s blog.

The weather is looking settled for the week ahead and, as you can see below, sunshine is forecast for Sports Day on Wednesday. Great news!

Finally, the ranger from Drumpellier Park will be visiting Primary 1 rockets and stars this afternoon in preparation for their trip to the park this coming Thursday.