St Bartholomews

As you know, yesterday was an In Service day for staff, and the teaching staff all attended North Lanarkshire’s Learning Festival in Motherwell and Coatbridge. There was a variety of speakers to listen to and seminars to take part in and from what I have heard so far, staff thoroughly enjoyed this experience.

Our nursery staff took part in ‘Big Chef, Little Chef’ training yesterday as part of  their In Service. Thank you to Mrs Kelly for organising this which then allowed for this training to take place in house.  The purpose of this is to develop skills in food handling and to cascade those skills down to others. A very worthwhile exercise!

Today is a big day for Primary 2/3 as they are presenting their class assembly to parents/ carers at 2pm . As always, guests will be invited to the main hall, where they will be entertained by the class performance and then along to the class where refreshments will be served. I know that our boys and girls are very excited and can’t wait to show off their fantastic skills and knowledge. I am looking forward to it…

Mrs Bolland 🙂

It’s that time of the year again – Beat the Street is back and starts today! At assembly on Friday, children were given their own pack, which included a letter for parents and carers on how play the game. Everyone was given their own green fob, with a unique code , which allows for activities to be recorded and points gathered. The children are always enthusiastic about this and it  is a great way to learn more about your local community, just by being out and about, walking or cycling in order to gain points from travelling from one box to the next. We hope that St Bartholomew’s , as a whole team, achieves success!

North Lanarkshire Council learning festival starts today and there are lots of exciting seminars and activities for teaching staff to take part in . Our staff will be taking part in seminars in order to increase their professional development  on Thursday of this week as it is an In Service day. This means that children do not attend school on this day.

Mrs Bolland 🙂

Welcome back after the long weekend. What a difference that extra day makes…I think it might have something to do with the additional hour or two in bed on Monday morning! I hope that everyone took full advantage of the sunshine, did something nice and are well rested and ready to get back to working hard. I know that the Primary 7’s had a fabulous time in Kilbowie and will have been recovering from their adventures over  the long weekend – we are glad to see them back in school!

The ‘Pray for Our School’ group are having their monthly meeting in our school today. We truly appreciate the time and effort that the ladies and gentlemen from this Parish community put in to St Bartholomew’s Primary school. The power of prayer is a wonderful thing and something that we do not underestimate. Thank you for all of your support!

Claire form our community dental team will be in St Bartholomew’s today, helping our pupils take care of their teeth. The boys and girls know how important it is to have healthy teeth and gums and Claire is a big help with getting that message across.

Mrs Bolland 🙂

There has been a recent craze for ‘Fidget Spinners’, which were initially produced to help with children who fidget. However, they are reasonably heavy and if spun out of control, can cause damage if they make contact . As the health and safety of our pupils is of paramount importance to us, we ask that children do not bring them to school. Thank you in advance for your co operation with this matter, it is greatly appreciated.

Our boys and girls have all been working hard this week, as have their teachers, and a big thank you to everyone for producing such wonderful work!

It is primary 2’s allocated time in the STEM zone this week and I have witnessed the excitement and enthusiasm of the boys and girls for myself. They have also created some brilliant models through some very creative work with their partners. I know that a number of people have commented on them and admired this work! Well done boys and girls.

Primary 7’s adventures in Kilbowie continue and today is the last day – I can’t believe how fast this week has been. It has been jam packed with activities and fun. I am sure that mums and dads are particularly looking forward to all the ‘fragrant’ washing that will need to be done! Mrs Dunn and Mrs Clare will keep parents/ carers up to date with an arrival time at St Bartholomew’s, although it is usually around 2pm.

Mrs Bolland 🙂

As you can see from our Twitter feed on the right of the HT blog, the boys and girls from Primary 7 are having a wonderful time in Kilbowie. Mr Fowler and Ms Duffy have both been in touch with daily updates to let me know how our children are enjoying themselves. Last night, the children walked into Oban and had the opportunity to investigate the surrounding area. Most of our pupils were out on safari and orienteering activities with their various instructors. Great fun was had by all! The weather was a little windy at one point in the day and the scheduled canoeing would have potentially been postponed, however the change in weather allowed for the canoeing activity to remain on the timetable. The children loved  it…

I know that gorge walking is on the cards today and yet again, will be another new experience for the children and one that they won’t forget in a hurry! I have been hearing that healthy appetites are very much in evidence and I am sure that mums and dads will be delighted about that. You certainly need lots of fuel to be able to keep up with all the activities that are on offer. Well done boys and girls for giving everything a go  – you are a credit to St Bartholomew’s and your families. We are all proud of you!

Talking of being proud…the nursery extension for our  2 year olds has come on leaps and bounds. We are receiving more and more applications and are filling up fast. Our very talented staff have made this such a beautiful space for our youngest children and I am sure that we will be the envy of many nurseries in North Lanarkshire Council. Thank you to all of our staff for contributing to this wonderful learning environment.

Mrs Bolland 🙂

Primary 1 had a fabulous time at the Science Centre yesterday! They didn’t stop – between a forces workshop, magnets workshop and then exploration activities, there wasn’t much time left.It is a jam packed trip and as there is so much to see and do, many children go back with their families to catch up on the things that they may have missed…

A huge thank you to our parent helpers for volunteering their time to help and support our pupils. We couldn’t do it without you!

I spoke to Mr Fowler today to ask about how our Primary 7 children are doing. He couldn’t have been more positive- the boys and girls have been enjoying activities all day and were up bright and breezy this morning. There is a wide variety of photographs on Twitter so make sure that you are share in their adventures by following our Twitter feed. As the signal is very weak in Kilbowie, Mr Fowler and Ms Duffy tend to take pictures and post them at specific times. We are very lucky to be kept up to date as readily as that- thank you Ms Duffy and Mr Fowler.

Mrs Bolland 😀

Our very first ‘Tea with Mrs B’!

Six out of our eight classes were represented today at the ‘Pupil of the week’ reward. It was a great opportunity to catch up with the children and hear about their news, especially some of their adventures over the holidays.The two pupils who couldn’t make it had very good reasons- one of our pupils was in Kilbowie and another was sick, but I will make sure that they don’t miss out on cakes and juice when they return.

As promised, a text went out earlier this afternoon to all the Parents and carers of the children who are currently in Kilbowie.They all arrived safe and well and enjoyed their stop at ‘The Green Welly’. Everyone is settled in their rooms and have been out and about enjoying the many activities that Kilbowie has to offer. I don’t think that there will be many boys and girls being reminded about getting to sleep tonight!

Please remember to keep your eye on Twitter in order to be kept up to date with the latest adventures in Kilbowie. I am sure that mums and dads will be relieved to see happy and smiling faces and not have to worry too much…

Mrs Bolland 😀

Our Primary 7’s leave for Kilbowie today! I hope that the beautiful sunshine continues and is also shining in Oban, and especially for the rest of the week. Boys and girls should report to the music room first thing this morning with mums and dads. I appreciate that some children and their parents may be anxious as some may not have experienced 4 nights away from home before. I promise that Coatbridge will be a dim and distant memory for everyone when the activities and the meeting of new people begins. Enjoy yourselves everyone!

Mrs Dunn in the school office will send a text to all the Primary 7 parents to let them know that the children have arrived safely. I will be in regular contact with the centre for daily updates and will obviously pass this on via the blog.

Friday’s ‘Pupils of the week’ were posted under ‘This weeks Superstars’ on the blog and will be having ‘Tea with Mrs B’ today – I am looking forward to this immensely!

Our Parent Council meet tonight at 6pm in the staffroom to discuss current issues that affect our school community. We appreciate the hard work and dedication from our members. Thank you for all of your help and support.

Mrs Bolland 🙂

Primary 1 – Orlaith

Primary 2 – Jayden

Primary 2/3 – Corey

Primay 3 – Darragh

Primary 4 – Keira

Primary 5 – Gary

Primary 6 – Annie

Primary 6/7 – Leigha

Cool Class Cup: Primary 4

Winning House: Joint Winners –  Lochend and SummerLee

We will welcome Claire from the Coatbridge dental team to St Bartholomew’s today. The importance of looking after our teeth and dental health is crucial to our general health and wellbeing.Thank you Claire for your input- we all appreciate your help and support.

Vikki from NLC active schools will be another welcome visitor to our school and will be in to meet with Mrs MacIntyre to discuss exciting future activities…watch this space!

Primary 4 have invited their parents/carers in to St Bartholomew’s today as part of First Communion preparations. The children are very excited about sharing their experiences with their families and I am sure that mums and dads feel the same.Receiving the Eucharist for the first time is a very special experience and one that the children will remember for the rest of their lives and the appropriate and relevant preparations that lead up to this special event are also very meaningful .We are delighted that mums and dads can share in this alongside their children.

I am looking forward to meeting all of our visitors today!

Mrs Bolland 😀