St Bartholomews

WOW! Primary 7 were absolutely fantastic in their show, ‘Archibald’s War’, last night. The children put on a very professional performance, transporting the audience back to the 1940s when Britain was at war. The children remembered all of their lines, acted out their parts with great enthusiasm and sang out the songs like professional Westend stars! It was particularly lovely to see everyone playing a part (many of the children played several parts!) and working as a team to make the show such a huge success. Well done, boys and girls! Particular thanks to Mrs MacFarlane for all her hard work preparing the children for last night’s performance as well as Mr McGinty and all the other staff for the various jobs they did behind the scenes.

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It’s Primary 4’s turn to take to the stage today as they host their class assembly for parents, carers, family and friends. The boys and girls have been working hard on their presentation about the Victorians and, as usual, this will be followed by an opportunity for guests to enjoy some refreshments and visit the P4 classroom. Today’s assembly begins at 2.00pm.

Finally, today is Mr McGinty and Miss Dunbar’s official last day in St Bart’s. Please can I take this opportunity to thank Mr McGinty for all his hard work with Primary 7 over the past few months and Miss Dunbar for all her hard work in Primary 4. You’ve both been great members of the team and you’ll be missed by both pupils and staff alike. I know today won’t be the last time we see you (we’re not letting you get away that easily!), but we do wish you all the very best in the last few weeks of your university studies.

Sona lá St Pádraig! (Happy St Patrick’s Day!) And I hope that the luck of the Irish will be shining upon you today….

We certainly have a few shining stars in Primary 7, as rehearsals for the ‘World War 11’ show this evening have been going really well . I’ve managed to have a sneaky peak in the hall, over this past few days and we are unquestionably in for a treat! Mrs MacFarlane has asked that children arrive at 6pm and go straight into the ‘Performing Arts Studio’, from the back door. Guests of Primary 7 are welcome to take their seats in the hall ready for a 6.30pm start and it is worth mentioning that there is no charge for this event. Tea and coffee will be available after the show and also an opportunity to look at the wonderful models that the children have been working on. It will be a super evening!

As you know, it’s that time of year again , Parent’s evening is fast approaching and will be on Thursday the 31^st of March. Letters containing your individual appointments will be with you shortly. Our Book Fair will be starting the week before, on Thursday the 24th of March and children will have the opportunity to purchase a book from then. It will be uplifted on Friday the 1^st of April. I know that our Book Fair is very popular on Parent’s Evening as mums and dads usually reward their children for a positive report. I am confident that our parent helpers will be extra busy with selling a huge amount of books to all of our Superstar children.

Mrs Bolland  🙂

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed towards the success of ‘Rich or Poor?’. Approximately £50 was raised for SCIAF, who are a very worthy charity indeed and will greatly appreciate our efforts. Thank you to our ‘Faith in Action’ group who organised this event.

Miss Duffy in Primary 1 has organised a brilliant surprise for her class today! Staff from ‘Pets at Home’ will be visiting the class today at 1.30pm with a whole host of furry friends. The children can expect to see guinea pigs, rabbits and hamsters as well as lots of others animals… what a wonderful treat! Miss Duffy organised this to correspond with the children’s learning in R.E, which has been about ’Caring for others’ and as God’s creatures are  very much a part of this, an event like this is more than appropriate. I will definitely need to pop down to Primary 1 in the afternoon to join in the fun!

Our upper school girls will be well aware of the upcoming ‘Dance Festival’ which takes place on the 23^rd of March at St Ambrose High School from 6 pm- 8.30 pm and have all been given one ticket each. As there are so many different schools taking part, tickets for this event are restricted by fire regulation that coincide with the hall’s capacity. However, there are some extra tickets, although, not enough for everyone. Therefore, Mrs MacIntyre will be organising a ballot and will inform children on Friday as to who has an extra ticket. Fingers crossed….. I think you will agree that this appears to be the fairest way of doing this. Good luck in advance girls!

Mrs Bolland 🙂

Our weekly Prayer Service today will undoubtably have a very special meaning for some of our Primary 3 pupils today. It is a great opportunity for our whole school community to pray for the boys and girls who are receiving the sacrament of Reconcilliation for the first time, this evening.

Primary 3 had the opportunity to pop down to the church yesterday so that they could experience the ‘Confessional Box’ first hand and not be too overwhelmed with such a new and potentially , daunting experience tonight. Each child has been given a time to arrive at St Bartholomew’s church, beginning at 7pm, and the format will be simple, private and reverent. Mr Young and Mrs MacLean will be there to direct and support the children. Our thoughts and prayers will be with the children and their families at this very special and important time in their lives.

Our ‘Faith in Action’ group have organised a SCIAF event today  called, ‘Rich or Poor?’. Children can buy a ticket priced 50p which will then go into a draw. Five  ‘Rich’ tickets will be drawn and the respective children will be able to eat juice and chocolate. The remainder of the tickets will be ‘poor’ which means that the children will be given rice cakes and water. All proceeds are donated to SCIAF, who then distribute the money to very worthy causes that can make a huge difference to people’s lives. It is a very worthwhile cause indeed!

Mrs Bolland 🙂

Primary 3 are now only a day away from making their First Reconciliation. The boys and girls have been preparing both in class and at home, reflecting on the love and mercy of God which leads us to repentance. The children will make the short walk to St Bartholomew’s Church this morning for a class penitential service in final preparation for receiving the sacrament tomorrow. The children will also take the opportunity to see inside the confessional, just to alleviate any worries they may have about this new experience. Please remember Primary 3 in your prayers this week.

The art exhibition/auction was a great success on Friday afternoon and it really was amazing to see just how many pieces Joe McDade painted over the years. It was a moving occasion for Joe’s family, many of whom had travelled all the way from Liverpool, and the event also brought back many happy memories to members of the art group Joe attended each Wednesday. Many thanks to Mrs MacFarlane and the Forward Together group for organising Friday’s event; you did both Joe and St Bartholomew’s proud! One of our parents left a comment on the blog which sums up the afternoon perfectly:

‘Wow, what a great afternoon at the art auction! Seeing all the beautiful works and enjoying a cake and coffee… what could be better! Joe’s family were so gracious and I came away with four paintings that will look fantastic on our walls. Thanks to everyone involved in the organisation.’

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St Bartholomew’s will be a busy place today! We have our long anticipated Art Auction in memory of Joe McDade today in the hall. There is a wide selection of beautiful paintings to choose from and I am sure that Joe’s family will be delighted to see them displayed in all their glory. Doors open at 1pm and all are welcome- even for a wee nosy!

As a result of the Auction, we are having an early lunch today so that we have time to set up the hall. Lunch will be at 12-12.45pm, then interval will also be 10.30-10.45am. We are all excited…

Primary 4 will also be super excited today. They are out of school today as they are visiting ‘Summerlee Heritage Centre’. Mrs McLean has organised  a brilliant workshop with lots of fun activities so that the children can further extend their learning on the ‘Victorians’. We are all looking forward to the pictures. As always, school uniform is worn on school trips.

Mrs Bolland 🙂

A MASSIVE well done from our whole school community to St Bartholomew’s FC. The team played a great match yesterday afternoon which finished with an impressive 5-1 win to St Bart’s. Mr Fowler’s dedicated coaching & the team’s commitment and hard work have paid off! Well done to you all… we’re so proud of you! Here’s a photo of the boys relaxing after the match:

Please don’t forget to support our art exhibition/auction tomorrow. Joe McDade’s family are travelling all the way from Liverpool and filling the hall with parents, parishioners and friends of the school would be a great tribute to Joe, whose talent we continue to appreciate on a daily basis every time we walk past the painting of St Bartholomew. The exhibition/auction begins at 1.00pm.

St Bartholomew’s FC have their next fixture at St Ambrose after school today. Under the skilful coaching and watchful eye of Mr Fowler, the team is going from strength to strength and I’m sure there’ll be a very positive result this afternoon. Good luck, team!

Please remember this Friday’s art exhibition/auction of Joe McDade’s work. The event starts at 1.00pm and it would be fantastic to see a full hall.

As you know, Primary 7 visited St Andrew’s cathedral in Glasgow last Thursday afternoon. Mrs MacFarlane took a photograph of the children in the cathedral’s cloister garden and this turned out to be a fascinating image, due to the reflection in one of the mirrored plinths. Cast your eyes to just below the sunbeam in the top centre of the photograph. Can you see the image of Jesus’ face smiling down on the children???

There has been a change to my days in headquarters this week and I will be in St Bartholomew’s over the next three days, as well as Friday afternoon. I’m looking forward to joining pupils, staff, parents and parishioners for the weekly prayer service this morning at 8.50am.

Many thanks to our Primary 2 pupils for their super assembly on Friday. You spoke out and sang exceptionally well, boys and girls… Thank you for encouraging all of us grown-ups to use our talents wisely!

As Mrs Bolland mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the art exhibition/auction of Joe McDade’s paintings (the artist who painted the image of St Bartholomew which hangs at the main entrance) takes place this coming Friday at 1.00pm. Joe’s family will be travelling up from Liverpool to join us for this special event in memory of Joe, so please can encourage all parents, carers and friends to make a special effort to be there on Friday. It will be a great opportunity to pick up some original works of art at bargain prices and raise money for school funds.

Primary 3 are only one week away from their First Reconciliation. A letter outlining arrangements for next Tuesday will be sent out to P3 parents/carers today. Please remember the boys and girls in your prayers over the coming days.

What a beautiful day! My comments last week about the miserable weather must not have fallen on deaf ears. It looks like Spring is upon us.Thank goodness.

Talking about Spring…. Vicki, our Active School’s coordinator has informed us that as the Easter Holidays are fast approaching, the NL Leisure Easter Camp registration is now open.  This year it will take place at St Ambrose High School. The link posted below contains all the information you need:

http://www.nlleisure.co.uk/holiday-programmes/easter-club

Our long awaited Art Auction in memory of Mr  Joe McDade will take place on Friday at 1pm in the hall. Joe was a member of our well established ‘Community Art Club’ and is sorely missed. There is a super selection of paintings to choose from and would be a welcome addition to many homes!

However, as a result, Primary 3/2’s Assembly will be postponed and another date will be organised soon. Parents/ carers will be informed immediately to allow for a suitable amount of notice. We can’t wait to see it Primary 3/2!

Mrs Bolland 🙂