St Bartholomews

We welcome Mrs McConnell, Principal Teacher of English at St Ambrose High School, to St Bartholomew’s this morning, along with a member of staff from their maths department. They will be meeting our Primary 7s to see and hear about some of the literacy and numeracy work the children have been doing in recent months. This is a great opportunity for our P7 pupils to do a last bit of transition work before heading off to high school in August.

On that note, please can I remind P7 parents and carers that the Leavers’ Mass and Prize Giving takes place on Tuesday afternoon at 1.30pm. Mark and Lucy Millar will be awarding prizes and Joe McAvoy, our former Quality Improvement Manager, will also be attending.

As mentioned in last week’s blog, Councillor Michael McPake visited St Bartholomew’s on Thursday to have a look at the various improvements to the school building and to see the remaining work needing done, particularly the flooring in the upper school corridor. I’m delighted to say that Cllr McPake has progressed things very quickly and that the original 1950s flooring in the top corridor will be replaced next session. We’re absolutely delighted!

Finally, please note that report cards will be sent out today. Check those school bags at 3 o’clock!

Our Primary 1, Primary 1/2 and Primary 2 children had a lovely picnic in the park yesterday and although it wasn’t particularly sunny, the weather was decent enough so that the children could play and eat outdoors. Good fun was had by all and it was perhaps a nice end to a very busy year! Primary 3 also had a fabulous day out at Summerlee on Monday and our parent helpers were very impressed with the  children’s excellent behaviour. Well done boys and girls!

A reminder to all parents and Carers again that both the gardening and reading after school clubs will NOT be on due to preparations for voting. Children will not attend school this Thursday as St Bartholomew’s Primary will be a polling station for the elections.

Craig from North Lanarkshire Active School’s was speaking to the children on Monday and Tuesday of this week at assembly about Summer Sport Camps. All of our pupils have a leaflet with all of the necessary information which is pictured below An important link to obtain further information is: www.nlleisure.co.uk

I had a lovely visit from three wonderful pupils today! One of our Primary 4 girls has achieved great success at a dancing competition and she brought in a fabulous selection of photographs. There were so many that she needed help from two of her friends!

Our talented dancer is on the right!!

Mrs Bolland 😀

We are very lucky to have Bannan Fitness in our school tomorrow. They will take each class from Primary 1 through to Primary 7 for a fun fitness session. We are hoping for good weather as the sessions will be held outdoors if weather allows. Children are asked to come to school in their PE kits and can then keep them on all day as a special treat, especially as we are very near the end of term. Could I please ask that children have a bottle of water with them and if the sun is out, put sun cream on. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

I am sure that the young gentleman in the photograph below will thoroughly enjoy the fitness sessions tomorrow as he has already proved himself as a worthy sportsman! He passed a recent Tae Kwon Do grading and is now the proud owner of a  new green belt with blue tags. Well done from all your friends at St Bartholomew’s…

Mrs Bolland 😀

Primary 7 have a special visitor this morning, linked to the project they did on World War II earlier this year. Paula Fraser from the Anne Frank Trust UK will be delivering a whole-day workshop on Anne Frank. The children were fascinated by the story of this remarkable Dutch Jewish girl who died at the age of fifteen in a Nazi concentration camp. Today will give the boys and girls the opportunity to learn more about her life.

P5 are off to Edinburgh Castle today. The weather forecast is looking dry for the capital, so there will hopefully be good views from the castle out over the Forth estuary to Fife. The children are having a guided tour of the famous castle and are particularly looking forward to the one o’clock gun! Have a fantastic day, Primary 5!

Meanwhile, Primary 3 are heading a little bit closer to home with a visit to Summerlee Heritage Museum. Enjoy your trip, boys and girls!

Primary 1 – Amy

Primary 1/2 –  Luke

Primary – Eva

Primary 3 – Grace

Primary 4 – Carlo

Primary 5 – Kai

Primary 6 – Nathan

Primary 7 – Daniel

Winning House: Summerlee

Cool Class Cup: Primary 4

Today has been a red-letter day in my diary for a number of weeks and the special invitation on my desk has helped me count down the days. It’s the day of Primary 1’s Bumble Bee Tea, a summer-themed event in the children’s classroom which is sure to be a real treat for mums, dads and other invited guests. It’s going to be a HIVE of activity at 2.00 o’clock!

Counsellor McPake will be visiting St Bartholomew’s this morning, along with Dennis Fallon, Chair of the Parent Council. Counsellor McPake has been a great supporter of the school over the years, particularly in campaigning for the various renovations we have had done to the school building.

The nursery have their fun day today, complete with bouncy castle! Have a great day, boys and girls (and the grown-ups!).

Finally, keep an eye on the website later today for this week’s Pupils of the Week, Cool Class and House Trophy.

The parish ‘Pray for our School’ group will be visiting St Bartholomew’s this morning to share a chat and some refreshments with our Primary 4 pupils, who received their First Holy Communion last month. We greatly appreciate and value this faithful group of parishioners who meet to pray for our school every month.

Please remember that St Bartholomew’s will be closed to pupils a week today, Thursday 23rd June, due to the European Referendum. The school will open again as normal on Friday 24th.

I am currently in the process of reading and writing a comment on all 200+ report cards. Despite being a mammoth task, it’s a real pleasure reading about the progress and achievements of our fantastic pupils. What a clever and talented bunch they are! Reports will go out a week tomorrow, Friday 24th June, so please check your child’s school bag on this day.

Our primary 5/6 pupils had a wonderful trip  to Stirling Castle yesterday, where they enjoyed a wide variety of activities and had great fun learning about Scottish history.Follow us on Twitter to see for yourself! Primary 7 also had a fun morning at St Ambrose where they enjoyed being part of the audience for the dress rehearsal for the end of term show,’Grease’. A big thank you to all of our parent helpers who volunteer their time to escort our pupils to these events.  I know that the children are eager and excited to start their new journey at St Ambrose High…

Remember that both our Gardening after school club and Reading after school club is on today  and that next week is the final date. Well done to all the boys and girls for contributing their gifts and talents and to parents and Carers for their support.

Mrs Bolland 😀

As always our prayer service is on today in the Oratory. I would encourage our entire school community to pop along as there is now a limited opportunity to meet because school is closing on the 29th of June for the summer holidays.

P5/6 are going to Stirling today for an educational trip to the castle. There are many activities lined up for the children to enjoy and I am sure that they will have a super time. Fingers crossed for sunshine. A big thank you to our parent helpers for volunteering their time to escort the children. I am looking forward to seeing the fabulous pictures on Twitter…

Our Primary 7 children are also out of school this morning as they have been invited to attend the end of term show at St Ambrose. It is always a fantastic event with lots of talent on display and I’m sure there are a few St Bart’s pupils amongst the cast.

Mrs Bolland 😀

I’m absolutely delighted to welcome our new Primary 1 pupils and their parents to St Bartholomew’s this morning for their final induction event. The boys and girls, along with their parents and carers, will receive a full tour of the school, led by our Primary 6 pupils who will be next year’s ‘buddies’. The children will then have the chance to try out their very first St Bart’s school dinner in the dining hall. What a treat!

We have two other important visitors to the school this morning, both of whom will become familiar faces over the coming year. A warm welcome to Ms Allington and Ms Seggie who will be joining the teaching staff for the 2016/17 session.

With confirmation of our staff for next year, I’ll be in a position this week to inform pupils and parents of class teachers for next year. Letters will be prepared and go out on Wednesday or Thursday.