St Bartholomews

Primary 1 – Lillie

Primary 2 – Ryan

Primary 2/3 – Ava

Primary 3 – Emily

Primary 4- Mia

Primary 5 – Nathan

Primary 6 – Derry

Primary 6/7 Katie

 

Cool Class Cup: Primary 6/7

Winning House: Lochend

The boys and girls have only had two days in school this week, so Friday has arrived in a flash!

Our six Pupil Voice groups meet after assembly this morning. We haven’t met since before Christmas, so there’s lots for the Forward Together, Eco, Citizenship, Faith in Action, Health for Life and JRSO groups to discuss. Minutes will be posted in the Pupil Voice section of our website after the business meeting next week.

Those of you who keep an eye on Twitter may have already seen the super owl-themed wall display produced by Primary 1 for our newly refurbished library. I love it so much, I want to show it off on today’s blog! Well done, boys and girls!

Welcome back, everyone. I hope you had a great long weekend and managed to enjoy the sunshine that came our way.

Please remember that, due to our whole school show at the end of March, this term’s Parents Evening is slightly earlier than usual. Parents Evening will take place three weeks today, Thursday 9th March, and appointment times will be sent out in due course.

As you know, things have been very tight in the school office this year following Mrs Smillie’s retirement at the end of last session. Thank you to parents and carers for your patience over the past seven months and many thanks to Mrs Clare for all the extra work she has put in to running the office on her own. I’m delighted to say that interviews for a new clerical assistant will take place this morning and we’ll be back to having two members of staff in the office in the very near future.

Last, but not least, a final formal farewell to Mrs O’Neill who left St Bart’s last Friday after twenty-five years in the school. We wish Mrs O’Neill well in her new role as full-time RE Advisor with Motherwell Diocese.

I received some very concerning news at the end of last week. Overall, the condition of the children’s teeth in St Bartholomew’s means we’re in the bottom twenty schools in North Lanarkshire. Given that North Lanarkshire has the poorest dental statistics out of all local authorities, this probably means we’re one of the bottom schools in the whole of Scotland. The dental nurse has been in school every day this week to support us with our daily tooth-brushing. However, tooth brushing alone will not be enough to tackle this serious problem: the main culprit is sugary snacks and both school and home will need to work together to reduce these in the children’s diet. To begin with, please can I encourage all parents and carers to consider replacing some sugary play-piece/packed-lunch items with healthier alternatives and to try to avoid fizzy juice completely. Small changes can make a huge difference.

The children are all set for their February treat. Last month, it was a whole-school samba workshop; this month it’s a visit from the Zoo-Lab team. The boy and girls will have the chance to learn about different creatures and even get to handle some of them. Have a super day, everyone!

Finally, please remember that this is the holiday weekend. St Bartholomew’s will be closed to pupils on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, which is an inservice day. Enjoy the break, boys and girls, and see you on Thursday morning.

Both pupils and staff had the opportunity to recharge their spiritual batteries yesterday as part of our celebrations for Catholic Education Week:

Each Primary 4-7 class was guided in a short period of Eucharistic Adoration in the oratory, which was a really special opportunity for the children to spend some time in quiet prayer. Many thanks to Mrs Morris who brought the monstrance down from the church and stayed in the oratory throughout the afternoon.

Once the 3 o’clock bell went, it was the turn of staff to take some quiet time together. Father Frank Keevans from St Mungo’s Church in Glasgow led St Bartholomew’s teachers, along with some visiting Head Teachers from local schools, in a short reflection on scripture, followed by Mass. Many thanks to Fr Frank for leading such an inspiring and prayerful retreat… it was food for the mind and soul.

The Valentines discos take place tonight. As always, our fantastic team of parent volunteers have been busy in the background over the past few weeks getting ready for this evening’s event. The DJ is booked, the tickets are selling fast, the snack bags are made up, the prizes are bought, the decorations have been looked out ready to transform the hall at the end of the day. A huge thank you to our volunteers for all their hard work, and have a fantastic time tonight, boys and girls. As usual, the P1-3 disco is from 6.00 – 7.00pm and the P4 – 7 from 7.15 – 8.15pm.

A reminder that the Valentine disco is on this coming Thursday and tickets are still available from the office priced £1. Primary 1 to 3 ‘s disco is at 6pm until 7pm and the Primary 4 to 7 ‘s disco is at 7.15pm until 8.15pm.

As always we have a brilliant DJ with a fantastic lights show, party games with  drinks and treats included. A big thank you again to our parent helpers who have organised this for all of our boys and girls. We look forward to seeing you then…

Our netball after school club is on today and I know that the team enjoyed their recent outing. Well done boys and girls. Mrs MacFarlane was very proud of all of you.

Mrs MacIntyre has been busy scheduling all of our classes into allocated time slots for ‘Zoo Lab’ on Friday. This is again, another activity that we have paid for from school funds, through generous contributions and fundraising that our St Bartholomew’s community have created.  This organisation has visited us before and it is something that the children really enjoy – finding out about, looking at and touching ‘creepy crawlies’. I have to admit that I don’t share the children’s enthusiasm for ‘creepy crawlies’ and might avoid the Performing arts studio that day…

Finally,  congratulations to Carlos from all of your friends at St Bartholomew’s for receiving the sacrament of Confirmation last night at St Brigit’s church in Baillieston. We send you and your family love and prayers at this special time.

 Mrs Bolland 🙂

Our two year old’s nursery opened yesterday! The two smiling girls in our picture were very reluctant to leave as they had enjoyed themselves so much. They are very much looking forward to coming to nursery today….well done girls.

The ‘Pray for our school’ group meet for the first time this year in our Get Together room. Thank you ladies and gents for all of your support- we appreciate it.

Running after school club is on today- I hope that the rain stays off so that the boys and girls can enjoy the fresh air…

Mrs Bolland 😀

Catholic Education Week began yesterday, with the theme for this year being ‘Developing as communities of Faith and Learning’. Please make a special point of praying for St Bartholomew’s Primary over the coming week. You may also wish to visit the ‘Faith’ section of the website to find out more about the Catholic ethos and faith dimension of our school.

It was great to see such a high turn-out at yesterday’s Education Sunday Mass. I could see lots of St Bart’s pupils and parents dotted around the church and I very much appreciate those pupils who welcomed people at the door, sang in the choir, did the offertory and read the bidding prayers. You were stars, as always!

Many congratulations to Carlos who received his First Holy Communion during Mass yesterday. Please continue to pray for Carlos as he receives the Sacrament of Confirmation at St Bridget’s church, Garrowhill on Tuesday evening.

I had the opportunity to give the Head Teacher’s address during yesterday’s Mass. The full address will be posted in the Faith section of our website later today. However, I thought I’d share an excerpt from it on today’s blog as our school community embarks on Catholic Education Week 2017.

“If faith is the bedrock which permeates all aspects of St Bartholomew’s Primary and St Ambrose High School, then learning and teaching is our core business, our ‘bread and butter’. Put simply, we have a responsibility – and, for those of us who teach in Catholic schools, this is our God-given vocation and calling – to provide the children in our care with the very highest quality of education. The Catholic Church has a strong tradition of educating the young, from the early monastic schools, to the world-class places of learning run by religious orders such as the Jesuits. Following in their footsteps, St Bartholomew’s and St Ambrose cannot only be about getting along as a caring community or developing the faith dimension of the school, vital as these two things are. We must also be about academic excellence, delivered by teachers of the highest calibre and supported by the absolute best facilities and resources. God, who wants the best for all of us, wouldn’t expect anything less.

This I can say with absolute certainty: St Bartholomew’s staff are collectively the hardest working and most dedicated team of people I have encountered in my 24 years in the job. They set themselves the highest of standards and never fail to go the extra mile to provide a wealth of exciting learning opportunities for the children of St Bart’s. You only need to walk through the corridors and look at our fantastic wall displays, or stand at a classroom door and listen in to one of the creative lessons that fill each and every school day, or cast your eye over Twitter or the school website to see evidence of the unwavering energy and commitment of the St Bart’s team. Please can I express my sincere thanks to the staff of St Bartholomew’s for your dedication, hard work and genuine personal faith. I’m so fortunate to lead such a talented and committed team and I know that Mrs Douglas will have the same sentiments about the dedicated staff of St Ambrose High School.”

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As you can see from the above photographs, Primary 2 have absolutely loved using our new STEM Zone this week. The boys and girls have been busy building a whole range of moving models and took the time to write about their learning as part of their taught writing yesterday.

Primary 4 are all very excited about their class assembly this afternoon. The boys and girls are looking forward to welcoming their parents and families at 2.00pm today to tell them all about the Victorians. I’ve caught a few wee glimpses of P4’s assembly and it looks as if it’s going to be very entertaining, indeed!

Primary 5 and 6 have a real treat in store today. The children are off to Coatbridge library for a Harry Potter workshop, marking 20 years since the first book in the series was published. Have a MAGICAL time, boys and girls!

Please remember that our annual Education Mass takes place this coming Sunday at 11.00am in St Bartholomew’s Church. One of our P7 pupils, Carlos, will be making his First Holy Communion, so it will be an extra special day this year.

Finally, as you will have read in last Friday’s blog, St Bartholomew’s donated £150 to the Apostleship of the Sea at last week’s assembly. Euan McArthur from the charity shared this news with the Catholic press and, as you can see below, we have appeared in this week’s edition of the Catholic Observer.

Primary 1 are off on a trip to Summerlee Heritage Centre today. The boys and girls have been learning about old toys (some of which Mr Young had when he was a boy!) and today’s trip will give them a chance to find out and learn more about how children kept themselves amused in times gone by. Primary 1 have won the Cool Class Cup numerous times, and I know they’ll do St Bart’s proud with their behaviour, manners and enthusiasm when they visit Summerlee today.

I attended the annual Education Mass in Motherwell Cathedral on Tuesday evening. It was great to join with others from across the diocese to give thanks for Catholic education. Two of our P7 pupils, Heather and Olivia, read the bidding prayers; thank you, girls, for representing the school so confidently.

Our own Education Mass takes place this coming Sunday at 11.00am in St Bartholomew’s Church. Please join us if you possibly can.