St Bartholomews

The boys and girls in the photograph are our first ‘Pupils of the week’ from the new session. We had ‘Tea with Mrs B’ to mark this occasion and is part of the reward that the well deserving pupils from Primary 1 to Primary 7 receive. Good fun was had by all!

Our Primary 7 pupils have been working hard over the past week, in preparation for House Captain nominations. Each pupil had to prepare a speech, in support of their application, in front of primary 7 pupils. This is a daunting task, and many adults would find this challenging .However, our senior pupils coped very well with this task and their teachers had the pleasure of experiencing many confident and well prepared presentations.A big thank you to parents and carers for supporting the children in this endeavour.All of your friends at St Bart’s are very proud of you and I am looking forward to announcing the names of our House Captains on Friday, during assembly.
The position of House Captain comes with many responsibilities and allows the children to cultivate a more independent and mature attitude. Our new House Captains will also have a number of opportunities to represent the school on a number of occasions throughout the year. This is obviously great preparation for High School and indeed, general future success. Good luck everyone!

It is with great regret that I inform you of recent reports that dogs have been brought into our playground at 3pm. Could I please ask that this stops. The main reason for this request is to protect the health and safety of our pupils. Some children are frightened of dogs and the more serious and important issue of fouling in the playground and on the grass,could potentially result in adverse health risks for our pupils. Thank you for your support with this important matter and I would appreciate it if you could pass this information on to others.

Mrs Bolland

Primary 1 – Zara

Primary 1/2 – Leyla

Primary 2/3 – Bridget

Primary 3 – Ellie

Primary 4 – Rhys

Primary 4/5 – Amy Lee

Primary 5/6 – Cameron

Primary 6/7 – Aiden

Primary 7 – Jennifer

Last week was a very good , although, very busy week in St Bart’s. I am sure that the children and staff will be happy to settle down to lessons, without interruption. The variety of organised celebrations for St Bartholomew’s day was largely the reasons behind the disrupted timetable. Our parish community mass, fun afternoon and Bannan Fitness day were all very worthwhile events and great fun!

Our Primary 7’s are looking forward to fun activities in a few weeks time in Kilbowie . This is an annual excursion that our senior pupils look forward to every year and a fantastic opportunity to meet future classmates that will be joining them in St Ambrose. I will keep parents and carers posted on the time and date for the information evening that always precedes this trip.

Our first Parent Council meeting for session 2017-2018, will take place a week today in the school at 6pm. It is important to have your say and contribute to future decisions that affect the pupils at our school. Please come along if you can, and inform the school office of your intent to attend.
We are still looking for parent helpers on a Tuesday morning to assist with cookery lessons. Practical lessons will commence next week and it would be very much appreciated if you could spare an hour or so to help facilitate this. Thank you in advance for your support with this important matter.

Mrs Bolland

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of St Bartholomew’s feast day yesterday. It was wonderful to see the church packed, almost to capacity, and how respectfully our pupils conducted themselves. Mrs MacFarlane led the choir in beautiful singing and Mr Morgan contributed a superb guitar accompaniment, which added a fantastic dimension to proceedings. Fr James was incredibly impressed with some of the thoughtful responses from our pupils , related to his questions about the gospel. They were a credit to themselves, families and the school. Well done boys and girls.
It was great to see so many of our parents and carers, both in church and afterwards in school. Mr Lynch, our janitor and Mrs Dolan, one of our classroom assistants, transformed the dining hall into a lovely space for extending some hospitality to our guests. Furthermore, we couldn’t have done it without the help of four generous parents, who were kept very busy, making teas and coffees and ensuring cakes and biscuits were available to all. Thank you.
A number of parents told me that they gained inspiration from Fr James’ lovely interaction with the children during mass, and would make sure that they made a visit to St Bartholomew’s church on Sunday. This is great news! A thriving Parish community is key to the success of both the school and the church and we appreciate your support in contributing to this.
Remember that Bannan Fitness are visiting St Bart’s today and we are very grateful that they have donated their time and expertise . I know that the children are very excited about it and especially about coming to school in their gym clothes. Thank you Bannan Fitness.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Mrs Bolland

HAPPY ST.BARTHOLOMEW’S DAY!

A huge thank you to all of our parents and carers who volunteered to escort the children, on the walk to 10 o’clock mass this morning and also for helping out with organising tea and coffee, back at school . We have also had a superb response from our invitation to join us at church and thereafter for tea and cakes back at the school. I know that Fr James is delighted and is very much looking forward to meeting everyone. A big thank you to all of our staff, who contributed a variety of suggestions to make today very special.
Our pupils are very excited about their ‘fun afternoon’ and we have organised cartons of juice and popcorn for everyone. We want to maintain our healthy eating policy, but still give the children a treat. I think I managed to clear out a well known supermarket of their entire stock of popcorn- there wasn’t a kernel left on the shelves!
Mrs Dunn typed up a wee note to remind parents and carers that pupils are permitted to come to school dressed in their gym clothes to take part in fun fitness activities. As always, no football colours please.

Mrs Bolland

This young lady appeared in my office today, armed with an impressive trophy , in recognition of her talents at a dance competition. I think it looks like she is following in her very talented sisters’ footsteps. All of your friends at St Bartholomew’s are very proud!

Some parents have been asking about the dress code for Friday, as it is non uniform day and Bannan Fitness are hosting a number of fitness activities. As I mentioned before, children are permitted to come to school dressed in their gym clothes.It would be practical to wear jogging trousers and t-shirts, although if the weather is nice, then shorts would also be acceptable.As always, no football colours please.

Thank you to all of our parents who have replied to our invitation to join us at mass and thereafter back at school for a cuppa.We are looking forward to welcoming you.

Yesterday,Mrs McGuiness  prepared our pupils from P4-7 on food handling, kitchen rules and health and safety. This was carried out in preparation for cookery lessons, which will start within the next two weeks. Mrs McGuiness thoroughly enjoyed her time in St Bart’s and reported that all of our pupils were very well behaved and enthusiastic. Well done boys and girls!

Mrs Bolland

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 