St Bartholomews

Our P1 Prayer Service, held in the hall on Friday afternoon was a great success. All of our Primary 1 boys and girls gathered from both classes to wow their family members with their wonderful gifts and talents. It was very clear to see the fantastic progress that all of the children have made since August. The theme was obviously a collaboration of their learning in R.E, which was made up of daily prayers, songs, hymns and art work. Most importantly, the boys and girls all worked beautifully together, as a year group, and this is very much attributable to the hard work and dedication from Mrs Carlin and Ms Duffy. Senior pupils supported their younger counterparts with readings and prayers, this help is very much appreciated.Family members also got the opportunity to visit the classrooms where they could see a variety of the children’s work. Proud mums and dads couldn’t praise the children and their teachers highly enough!Thank you to everyone who came along and we look forward to seeing you again soon.
At the other end of the school, our Primary 7 pupils returned home safe and sound from their time away in Kilbowie. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and will have many happy memories to recall, for many years to come. Well done boys and girls. Thank you to Mrs McLean, Mrs Crielly and Mrs McKibbon who volunteered their own time to supervise the children.We appreciate your help and hope that you enjoyed a very well deserved and restful weekend.
Our Parent Council meet this evening at 6pm in the staff room, and as always, we extend an invitation to all of our parents and carers to join us and contribute to the life of the school. We look forward to seeing you.
Mrs Bolland

Primary 1 – Harris

Primary 1/2 – Ciaran

Primary 2/3 – Ava

Primary 3 -Kalvin

Primary 4 – Kaitlyn

Primary 4/5 – Emily

Primary 5/6 – Danile

Primary 6/7 – Ciaran

Cool Class Cup: Primary 1

As you can see from the images above, Primary 4/5 and Primary 5/6 have been working hard in class . Primary 4/5 have been studying pop art and the techniques that originated in the 1960’s that contributed towards this style of art.The children loved created these pieces and have demonstrated great talent and a good eye for colour. Primary 5/6 have been researching Scottish history, in particular, the Scottish wars of independence. This is a very important part of Scotland’s heritage and one that the children have thoroughly enjoyed learning about. Well done to both classes!

Our Primary 7 pupils will return this afternoon, from Kilbowie. We will send out a text to parents and carers and arrival time  should be around 2pm. I will be in touch with Mrs McLean to ascertain a reliable arrival time. The children have had a wonderful time and gained many new skills and enjoyed a wide variety of experiences  that will stay with them forever. We are all looking forward to having you back!

It’s P1’s prayer service this afternoon! The children have been working hard to show mums and dads just how many new skills they have acquired and all incorporated within the very special theme of prayer.I have heard some very beautiful singing voices coming from the hall and I know that you are all in for a treat! As always, after such events, tea, coffee and goodies will be available outside the classroom. We look forward to welcoming you to St Bartholomew’s.

Mrs Bolland

As you can see from the images above, Primary 2/3 and Primary 4 have been working hard to produce some wonderful art work ! The displays are located in the main foyer and are a snapshot of the learning that goes on in class. Our entire school community is very lucky to have beautiful examples of children’s work in a central space, that we can all enjoy. Thank you boys and girls for producing this lovely work.

Our Primary 7’s are having a ball in Kilbowie! As expected, our senior pupils are taking advantage of all the fun and opportunities that this wonderful outdoor advent can provide. This is all the more evident in our Twitter pictures. Please remember to keep up to date with how the children are doing. I am sure that some very tired boys will be arriving back in Coatbridge tomorrow afternoon. As always, we will inform parents and carers of an arrival time,back in school. A big thank you to Mrs McLean, Mrs Crielly and Mrs McKibbon  for volunteering their time to support our pupils. It is very much appreciated.

I appreciate that there has been some teething problems with our new online booking system for parents evening, however, most people have been readily accommodated. If you have experienced difficulty and are not booked in with your child’s/ children’s teacher, please get in touch with Mrs Dunn or Mrs Claire in the office .They are both very happy to help with ensuring that you have time to keeping up to date with your child’s progress.We all look forward to welcoming you next Thursday.

Mrs Bolland

The images above depict the wonderful work that is going on in Primary 1 and Primary 1 / 2. This illustrates a common theme in both classes, related to Religious Education , where the children examined and appreciated the creation of themselves and their loved ones. What a fantastic activity, and I know that it would have been one that produced insightful discussion,that both supports and contributes towards our Catholic ethos.

Our Primary 7 pupils set off for Kilbowie just after 9 0’clock yesterday morning. Mrs McLean has phoned to say that all the children and staff, arrived safe and well in Oban around lunch time. It wasn’t long before the boys and girls were gathering up equipment and suitable outdoor clothing in order to start their first activity. I am sure that it would have been early to bed for everyone! It’ll be an early alarm call this morning, with a full day of fun activities scheduled. Please keep up to date with the children’s progress on twitter and, of course, the blog.
Thank you to many of our parents who have responded very positively to their children’s interim report. This report simply provides a sense of how children are settling in to class and responding to their learning environment. Long may this great success continue for many of our pupils!

Mrs Bolland

I hope that the break for September weekend has provided a nice relaxing break for all of our pupils, parents and staff and now feel refreshed and ready to get back to work! The end of the first term is upon us, although we have lots of exciting plans, before the last day of term. Parents evening takes place on Thursday 5th October and although there have been teething problems with our new online appointments booking system, I have also received positive feedback on how convenient it was. I always appreciate feedback  from our parents and carers and look forward to keeping informed with how we are doing!

Our Primary 7 pupils will be setting off for Kilbowie this morning, and will be looking forward to three nights away from their familiar routines and surroundings. As always, we will keep parents and carers up to date with progress on Twitter and the daily HT blog. Could I ask that parents and carers please remember to provide children with travel sickness medication in plenty time before the journey.Thank you for your cooperation in advance with this important matter.

Mrs McGuiness will be in today and the pupils from our junior department are looking forward to their cookery lesson. I suspect that some very tempting aromas will be wafting out of our kitchen today, and will need to ensure that I am in the vicinity when the finished products come out of the oven. We also extend a warm welcome to Lesley McSherry from Community Learning and Development,who will be visiting our nursery today and look forward to catching up with her.

Mrs Bolland

The photograph above illustrates our first ‘ Business Meeting’ from the Pupil Voice groups. The meetings from all six groups were a great success ,and  teachers commented on how well the P7 leaders conducted themselves. The purpose of the meeting is for the Chairperson and Secretary from each pupil voice group to report on the content of meetings and specifically, what actions will be taken. I am looking forward to the  impact that our pupils will make, so that St Bart’s becomes  an even better learning environment.

Please remember that school is closed on Friday and Monday for the September weekend, we look forward to seeing you all again on Tuesday of next week. I hope that all of our pupils, parents and staff enjoy a well deserved break. It has been a very busy start to the first term.

Mrs Bolland

We had a visit from our numeracy support officer, from NLC, who was very impressed with all the procedures and resources that we have in place. So much so, that we will be used as an example of good practice and teachers from other schools will be visiting us shortly. Our visitor was blown away with the wonderful learning environment that the team at St Bartholomew’s has created. Naturally, our boys and girls demonstrated wonderful manners and were true ambassadors for St Bart’s . Thank you boys and girls.

Pupil Voice groups start today, for the first time this session and we are all super excited! This is a wonderful opportunity for all of our pupils’ voices to be heard in a meaningful way. As always, our Primary 7’s will fulfill the roles of secretary and chairperson for each group and will offer support to our younger pupils. I am looking forward to hearing about the great ideas that come from each group at our ‘Business Meeting’, later on in the afternoon.

Mrs Dunn has recently typed a letter, explaining a new system that NLC has put in place to provide online appointments for Parents Evening. Mrs Dunn has also sourced an instruction booklet that will be  given out to our parents and carers, to provide some initial support to access this new system. This should make the process of organising appointments more efficient and appropriate to individual preferences.

Our weekly prayer service will start at 8.45am, and as always, be lead by the children. This service provides a lovely start to the day and I would encourage as many people from our parish community to attend.

Mrs Bolland

I thought it was worth sharing  a very poignant gospel reflection from Matthew 18:21-35;

God’s mercy towards us is strictly linked to the mercy we show others. In fact, there are many people whose relationship with God is at a complete standstill because they cannot or will not forgive someone who has upset them or offended them in the past.And our relationship with God will remain at a standstill until we have the courage to reach out the hand of forgiveness to our ‘enemies’.The reason that it is difficult or even impossible for some to forgive is because we are trying to do so with our own strength, when it can only be done with God’s help.

We need to pray for the opportunity to make things right with our brothers and sisters and for the grace to recognise and accept the opportunity when he offers it to us.

Mrs Bolland

Maths week went very well last week, with lots of exciting and new activities organised for the children and then topped off rather nicely with the ‘Family Maths Quiz’. Thank you for your support and for all the positive comments on feedback forms. It is much appreciated.A huge thank you to all of our staff who organised their own events in class, whole school events and those involving parents and carers. There is a selection of photographs on Twitter to illustrate this.

Please remember to keep up to date with everything that is happening in St Bart’s through Twitter and class pages. There is always a nice selection of photographs and text about about the children’s work.

This week ,and next week are four day weeks, as the school is closed on Friday and Monday for the September weekend. I am sure that our new Primary 1 boys and girls will be looking forward to the rest! They have coped really well with the transition from nursery to Primary school and are all working hard, thank you to Mrs Carlin and Ms Duffy.

Fr James will be popping in today to give out letters to our sacramental classes. We look forward to welcoming him in St Bartholomew’s and I hope that many of you have had the opportunity to meet him at mass.

Thank you to all of our parents and carers who have appreciated the importance of allowing the children a bit of space in the morning, and not standing too near the lines before 9 o’clock. This means that the boys and girls can  properly prepare for the day ahead . It is much appreciated.

Mrs Bolland