It’s hard to believe we are now into the final week of the year.  

The nursery graduation for children starting Primary 1 in August takes place tomorrow.  The graduation Mass for our Primary 7 pupils is on Wednesday afternoon.  I look forward to seeing parents and friends at these two special events.

I had been hoping to send out information on next year’s classes today.  Unfortunately, I still do not have final information on our staffing for August, so will be unable to put this information together until tomorrow at the earliest.  Please accept my apologies for the delay.  

There are, however, several pieces of staffing information I am in a position to provide.  Miss Lee will be taking up a new teaching post in sunny Portugal after the holidays.  Miss Lee has been a huge asset to St Bartholomew’s this year and will be greatly missed.  We wish her all the very best as she begins at Porto British School.  Mrs Ruddy will also be moving on from St Bart’s.  I know the boys, girls and staff will really miss Mrs Ruddy’s cheery smile and helping hands around the school.  Please keep in touch, Mrs Ruddy!  There will be three new members of staff to say hello to in the new term.  Miss Rebecca Hamill and Mrs Katy McLean will be joining the  school’s teaching staff and Mrs Anne Davidson will be our new Special Educational Needs Assistant.  Welcome to St Bartholomew’s!  We hope you’ll all feel very much at home!

Well, St Bartholomew’s must be the talk of Townhead this morning!  I’m sure all of you who were at one of yesterday’s performances of ‘A Night on Broadway’ will agree that the boys and girls were absolutely fantastic!.. I must be the proudest Head Teacher in the whole of North Lanarkshire!  Every single one of the acts showcased the amazing talent we have across all stages of St Bartholomew’s, from our youngest children in the nursery to our oldest pupils in P7.  A huge well done to every single one of you… you were all absolute stars!!! Many thanks for the encouraging comments about the show that have already been left on the blog. It’s great to receive your feedback!

Report cards go out today.  Please take the time to discuss the report with your child and return the form which is enclosed in the envelope.  Thank you.

Have a great weekend once it arrives.

The big day has arrived!  It will be curtains up at 1.30pm today for the first performance of ‘A Night on Broadway’, with the evening performance beginning at 7.00pm.  The children and staff have worked extremely hard to get everything ready for our show and every single child in the school (Nursery – P7) will be performing on stage today.  You really are in for a treat!

Please take the opportunity to look at our ‘Night on Broadway’ wall displays in the entrance area when you come to see the show today.  The children have produced some fantastic work.

See you at the show!

Please remember to return the slip indicating the arrangements for your child getting home after the show tomorrow evening. Thank you. P1-7 pupils should arrive at 6.30pm, entering through the main entrance. Nursery children should be dropped off at 6.45pm and will be finished by approximately 7.15pm.

I have been asked if parents are permitted to take photographs during tomorrow’s performances. For a number of different reasons, the school does not have permission to photograph all pupils in the school and, due to child protection, we are unable to allow photographs to be taken or videos to be recorded during public performances. However, photographs were taken at yesterday’s dress rehearsal and we will be able to post a selection of these on the website next week. Thank you for your understanding and co-operation around this sensitive issue; it is very much appreciated.

There are several important documents coming out over the coming days:
– P1-7 report cards will be sent out on Friday.
– A letter giving details of next year’s classes will be sent out on Monday or Tuesday of next week.
– A final newsletter will be sent home next week. This will include the five priorities on next year’s School Improvement Plan as well as some important dates for Term 1.
– The 2012/13 School Improvement Report will go live on our website before we break for the summer holidays.

Don’t forget to grab the last remaining tickets for the school show. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

The boys, girls and staff are all really looking forward to seeing everyone in their costumes this morning.  We’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching each other sing and dance over the past week, but now it’s time to bring the whole show together for a proper run-through today, costumes included.  You really are in for a treat on Thursday afternoon and evening!  There are still some seats available for both performances; please contact the school office if you’d like to purchase a ticket.

When you arrive on Thursday, please take the time to look at the class display boards in the main entrance.  These have been transformed to fit in with our show, ‘A Night on Broadway’, with eight fantastic wall displays giving a taste of the musicals which make up our show: Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, The Wizard of Oz, Joseph, Mama Mia, The Lion King, Oliver and Grease.  Well done to the boys, girls and staff for all their hard work on these – they look phenomenal!

Good morning!

It’s the week of our school show and we only have three more rehearsals before the children take to the stage on Thursday for our two performances of ‘A Night on Broadway’.  The pupils and staff have been working their socks off perfecting the singing, dancing and actions and getting their costumes ready for the big day; it’s going to be a real treat for the audience!  

If you haven’t bought your tickets, please contact the school office as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.  For those who have already purchased tickets, there are still spaces available for both performances.  Tickets are now on general sale and there is no limit to how many you can buy… So, if Great Aunt Philomena has been desperate to see the show, her wish can now be granted!!!

A letter dealing with some of the practicalities of the evening performance on Thursday will be sent out today.  PLEASE CAN I ENCOURAGE ALL PARENTS TO MAKE SURE THEIR CHILD ATTENDS THE EVENING PERFORMANCE.  We do not have big classes in St Bartholomew’s and even the absence of two or three pupils will have a major impact on a particular class’s performance.  We’ve worked hard to include every single pupil from Nursery – Primary 7 and we really do need the whole school community to be there on Thursday night to ensure the show is a huge success.  Thanks for your support.

We were so busy rehearsing for the show this afternoon, we ran out of time to award Pupil of the Week certificates, the Cool Class Cup and the winning House. This will be done on Monday morning.

Well over 300 tickets have now been sold for the show. Make sure you don’t miss out on your chance to see the musical extravaganza of 2013!!!

Tickets are going fast for our summer show, ‘A Night on Broadway’.  Tickets go on general sale today, so if you have not purchased the two tickets allocated to your family, please make sure you pick these up as soon as possible from the office.  Once tickets have been sold, we will be unable to accommodate any more people due to fire regulations.

I am currently reading through all of the children’s reports and writing a comment on each.  It’s been great to read about the fantastic progress the boys and girls have made this year. I’m so proud of them! Reports will go out no later than Friday of next week.  

Final staffing arrangements for next year will be confirmed by the local authority over the next few days and I will then be in a position to let you know who your child’s teacher will be in August.  A letter will be sent out towards the beginning of the final week.

Unfortunately, It seems the sun has decided to disappear for the time being.  However, I hope you all have a great weekend once it arrives, despite the rain.  Don’t forget to check out the Cool Class, winning House and Pupils of the Week at 3 o’clock!

It was like Christmas come early in St Bartholomew’s yesterday afternoon when several very large boxes of brand new books arrived at the school.  These wonderful new books (too many to count!) have been very kindly donated to our school library by our good friend, Mark Millar.  They will provide a fantastic boost to our current stock and will be enjoyed by pupils across the school for many years to come.  Thank you so much, Mark!  We are extremely grateful and look forward to seeing you at our P7 graduation Mass in a couple of weeks time.

Today is your last chance to pick up your guaranteed two tickets for the school show before the remaining tickets go on general sale tomorrow.  Don’t miss out on the musical event of the year!  It’s going to be great!

It was fantastic to welcome our new intake of Primary 1’s to St Bartholomew’s yesterday morning.  We hope you enjoyed meeting your buddies, having a tour of the building and tucking into your first St Bart’s school lunch!  Enjoy your last couple of weeks in nursery, boys and girls, and we look forward to seeing you again in August.

I’ve been so impressed at the quality of the children’s performances during this week’s show rehearsals.  They’ve been working really hard on their songs… you’re in for a treat on the 20th!  At the moment, tickets are restricted to two per family.  However, additional tickets will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis from Friday morning onwards.