St Bartholomews

I hope that everyone enjoyed reading their handwritten invitations that the boys and girls have written, to join us in celebrating St Bartholomew’s day in church at 10am and afterwards, in school for a cuppa and an opportunity to meet Fr James, on a more informal basis. We look forward to seeing you all on Thursday!

The children will enjoy a ‘fun’ afternoon in class and will be supplied with juice and popcorn in order to add to the celebrations.We have also taken up the kind offer from Bannan Fitness to supply a range of sporting activities for the children and have arranged for this to take place on Friday. Pupils are permitted to come in to school, dressed in their gym kits and keep them on all day, no uniforms are required on that day.Again, this is part of the celebrations to mark St Bartholomew’s day.

Mrs McGuiness will be visiting Primary 4 – 7 today, to deliver the first lesson in food preparation.Primary 1 – 3 will receive the same lesson next Tuesday. Thereafter, children will begin to learn about health and nutrition and then progress on to making a variety of delicious dishes. We will require parent helpers to assist with this initiative, and it would be appreciated if you could contact the office to volunteer an hour or so of your time.

Our first Parent Council meeting takes place on Monday the 4th of September. It would be great if a healthy number of parents/carers could come along , get involved and contribute to making positive changes for the pupils of St Bartholomew’s. Councillor Bill Shields will be in attendance and I know that he would love to hear the views and opinions of the parents and carers of St Bartholomew’s. Please contact the school office or member of staff to let us know if you can attend, or simply pop along to the meeting.

Mrs Bolland

I am looking forward to our first full week back at school, however, I suspect that there was a few tired boys and girls on Friday , who were perhaps in need of an early night. I am sure that they will be well rested over the weekend and ready for learning.All of our pupils, without exception, worked hard and behaved very well on our first few days back. Well done boys and girls- keep it up!

Please remember to look in school bags today- the children have been working on something special and I wouldn’t want you to miss out!As you know, it’s St Bartholomew’s day on Thursday and we will be attending mass in St Bartholomew’s church at 10am. We need extra supervision on such occasions, and I would appreciate some help from parents/carers in order to safely escort the children during the walk to church. Please call Mrs Dunn or Mrs Clare in the office to volunteer your services.

A few of our parents reported concerns about inconsiderate and potentially dangerous parking near the school.Two Police Officers were in St Bart’s on Friday on an official capacity, related to another matter.I reported this issue to them and they will endeavour to monitor the parking situation as best they can.I also spoke to them about the criminal damage to our roof that has occurred over the summer holidays.A number of our classrooms in the infant department have had water leaking as a result , this has, however, now been rectified.This situation is totally unacceptable and not the environmental that I want for our pupils. There are also has financial implications for the school and we would like to avoid spending money unnecessarily on repairs that are avoidable. Could I respectfully ask that parents/ carers from the surrounding houses, please keep an eye on this situation , and don’t hesitate to report any suspicious behaviour around the school grounds. Thank you for your support in advance, with this matter.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our parents/ carers for ensuring the children’s high standards of appearance . On Thursday and Friday, all of our pupils looked super smart and felt very proud of themselves in their St Bartholomew’s uniforms.

Mrs Bolland

What a wonderful start to the new term, I firmly believe that St Bart’s pupils are truly the best! Our Primary 1 boys and girls confidently waved goodbye to family members this morning and listened very well to instructions from both Mrs Carlin and Ms Duffy. Both teachers were very impressed with their new pupils and I am sure that this confidence will be maintained, well done boys and girls!
I was equally impressed with all of our pupils today, especially with regards to their smart appearance. Lovely white shirts , school ties and smart trousers/ skirts were clear to see in every class and I feel it’s important to acknowledge that the children are a credit to themselves and their families.A huge thank you to parents/carers for supporting our uniform policy. It is very much appreciated and I am a firm believer in the adage ‘ Look smart, think smart’.
We were very fortunate to have a special visitor today and the boys and girls were delighted to see Fr James, who popped in to every class in the school to introduce himself. He was very impressed with how well behaved and smart our pupils are, and is very much looking forward to seeing them at mass on Sunday. A big thank you to Fr James for taking the time out of his busy schedule to visit our pupils.
Finally, some of our parents have reported concerns over ill advised parking outside the school at 3pm. It is worth mentioning that the health and safety of our pupils is of paramount importance and extra time and thought should be given to ensure that cars are parked safely. Thank you in advance for your support with this important matter.
Mrs Bolland

A very warm welcome to all pupils, staff and parents/carers of St Bartholomew’s Primary and especially, to our new Primary 1 pupils. In addition, I would like to extend an equally  warm welcome to Fr James, who has been recently appointed as Parish Administrator of St Bartholomew’s R.C Church . We are all looking forward to working collaboratively with Fr James to enhance the pastoral care of our Parish community.
I hope that everyone has enjoyed a restful, relaxing break and our pupils are now ready to work hard in school again! I know that our Primary 7 pupils will be particularly looking forward to wearing their new ties, which will be given out today. The ties help distinguish our senior pupils and allow them to be recognised as boys and girls with additional responsibilities. The first of which is ‘buddying’ our Primary 1 pupils. This is a wonderful opportunity for both year groups to learn from one another and collectively enhance their school experience.

As always, we appreciate how well turned out the children are at St Bartholomew’s and look forward to seeing the boys and girls in white shirts and  school ties. Could I please remind parents that leggings are NOT part of the school uniform and it would be very much appreciated if this request was adhered to. Thank you in advance for your support with this matter.
Thursday the 24th of August is the feast day of our Patron Saint, St Bartholomew and we will mark this important occasion with celebrating mass at St Bartholomew’s church at 10 am and and then continue the celebrations with a ‘fun’ afternoon in class. Children will be working on a special invitation to parents and carers with this regard – keep an eye out for something nice inside school bags on Monday please!
We have many new and exciting initiatives happening this year and one that I know the children will especially enjoy, involves our plans for the ‘Get Together Room’. A refurbishment of the kitchen area is underway in order to deliver cookery lessons throughout the year. We will keep you posted on progress and would encourage parents/ carers to volunteer their services on a Tuesday to help facilitate this. I look forward to hearing from you…
The start of a new session is always extremely busy, however, we continue to have an open door policy and ask that you do not hesitate to contact myself, or the senior management team if there are issues that you wish to discuss. We are very much looking forward to working with you.

Mrs Bolland 

This can sometimes be a time of year of worry. There are many changes afoot and it is natural to respond to change with some trepidation. I was reminded in yesterday’s Gospel about Jesus’ reassurance to us that everything is in his hands and we should not worry. Perhaps we need to get into good habits of working alongside Jesus and be safe in the knowledge that we have done our best in a given situation and then entrust it to him. And every time we start to feel worried, we must offer it to him again , in the certain knowledge that he will look after that person, that family member, that friend who is suffering. God is our Father and he loves those who are dear to us infinitely more than we do.

Friday’s nursery graduation was a great success! The children were wonderful and many parents and carers thought it was the best graduation show ever. I remember when these children starting in our nursery 2 years ago, some of them very anxious about leaving mum for the first time! The graduation show certainly demonstrated that those days are well and truly over…. the children all performed with confidence, sang beautifully and remembered all of their lines. What a bunch of superstars! We wish them all the best of luck in Primary 1 and look forward to seeing many of them again in August.

Mrs Bolland 🙂

Primary 1 – Gabrys

Primary 2 – Maia

Primary 2/3 – Cara

Primary 3 – Harrison

Primary 4 – Sean

Primary 4 – Connot

Primary 6 – Stella

Primary 6/7 – Rebecca

Cool Class Cup: Primary 4

Our Pre- School children in St Bartholomew’s nursery are graduating today!  I vividly remember these children starting our nursery two years ago, many of them not used to spending time apart from their parents.  There is now a huge difference in confidence, maturity and ability which is largely attributed to our fantastic staff. A huge thank you to all of the St Bart’s nursery team – they are such a dedicated bunch and have the children’s welfare at the core of everything they do. I know that the children have been practising for some time now and will put on a fantastic show for all of our parents and carers – you are certainly in for a treat! Well done boys and girls and we look forward to seeing many of you again in the ‘big school’ in August.

Final school reports and letters regarding what class your child will be in next session will out on Monday of next week. I know that many children and their families will have cause for celebration due to some of the lovely comments that have been written – very well deserved!

Mrs Bolland 🙂

As the summer holidays are very nearly upon us , some of our mums and dads may need some ideas and inspiration for keeping the children busy! Our NLC Active School’s team popped in with a flyer that details the types of activities that are on offer across the authority. Please have a wee look at it and consider some of the interesting options that are available.

We should really all start praying for good weather now- St Medard is the relevant Saint that we should send our petitions to. Hopefully, the children will get a chance to be out and about during the holidays and take advantage of all that the local area can provide.

There are no after school clubs in the diary for today. Thank you to all of our dedicated staff who organised these clubs for the childrens’ enjoyment and also to Mrs MacIntyre and Vikki from NLC Active Schools for organising sporting activities.

Mrs Bolland 😀

This photograph was taken a number of weeks ago and I forgot to post it! Apologies to this wonderful young man, who had made such a fantastic effort with his art work. As you can see, his enthusiasm knows no bounds and his polo shirt is evidence of that. Well done for creating such a fabulous piece, we could have a potential artist in our midst…

Our Primary 1 pupils are working hard on presenting at a ‘Farewell Tea’ on Friday for parents and carers at 2pm in the Primary 1 classroom. They will have the opportunity to showcase some of the wonderful work that they have produced over the year. The fantastic amount of progress that the children have experienced will be very obvious and I know that we will have some very proud parents and carers on Friday afternoon!

I know that Mrs Carlin is very pleased with the progress that the boys and girls have made and also the fact that many talents and gifts have been cultivated in this time.Thank Mrs Carlin for all of your efforts and I know that our parents and carers truly appreciate it.

A reminder about after school clubs – both ballet and cookery after school clubs are on today.As always, Please remember appropriate kits etc.

Mrs Bolland 😀

Thought for the day…
The philosopher Richard Taylor offers this thought experiment: A man goes for a walk in a forest and stumbles across a translucent white ball. The sky and earth he ignores, but this ball full of mystery? He circles it, wondering, and finally comes to the conclusion that only someone, some being, could have placed it there. What he doesn’t notice, Taylor says, is that he could just as easily have circled any tree, any rock, and wondered at its existence. As we get older our capacity for wonder dims. The world becomes gradually predictable and ordinary. Only occasionally do we wake up and behold the utterly inexplicable givenness of the world around us and in our very lives. “We appeal to you,” Paul urges today, “not to receive the grace of God in vain.”
2 Corinthians 6:1–10
Psalm 98:1,2b,3ab,3cd–4
Matthew 5:38–42

After school club reminder- our Jewellery making club, very generously organised by Mrs MacFarlane is on this afternoon. Our parents and carers, who join their children/ grandchildren report that this is a very worthwhile class and an opportunity for some nice relaxing time with the youngsters.

Mrs Bolland 😀