St Bartholomews

Welcome back everyone! I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable holiday, especially with the weather being so beautiful.

A very warm welcome today to Karen Glen from ‘Curriculo Solutions’. St Bartholomew’s piloted the new ‘Curriculo Solutions’ materials last year, which focus on skills for the world of work. The aim of the programme is to build pupils’ confidence and resilience in knowing who they are and what skills and strengths make them who they are. The programme also relates skills and strengths to the workplace, giving an early look at how these help people make career choices and how skills and strengths enable people to do their jobs. Karen will be working with our Primary 7 pupils and I know the boys and girls will gain a great deal from this afternoon’s input.

PUPILS OF THE WEEK

Primary 1 – Bridgit and Maia

Primary 1/2  – Cara and Ellie

Primary 2 – Brodie and Skye

Priamry 2/3 – Daniel and Alisha

Primary 4 – Cian and Stephen

Primary 5  – Stella and Daniel

Primary 5/6 – Lucy and John

Primary 7 – Holly and Elle

COOL CLASS CUP: Primary 2/3

HOUSE TROPHY: Monklands

What an AMAZING show we were all treated to yesterday! The boys and girls were simply phenomenal and utterly blew away the audience with their talent, energy and enthusiasm. From the beautifully coordinated dance moves of Primaries 1 and 2, to the rock-and-roll energy of Primaries 4 and 7; from the flawless vocals of Primary 5/6 to the colourful, vibrant performances of Primaries 2/3 and 5…. every class and every pupil was just brilliant! A huge well done to the boys and girls and an equally huge thank you to the staff for all their hard work over the term. It was a fantastic end to the first term and we can all be very, very proud of what we achieved as a team.

Of course, I mustn’t forget the audiences: you were fantastic too! Thank you for clapping and singing along and for encouraging the children with such massive cheers and rounds of applause; it made such a difference! Many thanks too to the two parents who left comments about the show on the blog last night.

I’m delighted to say that the extremely healthy ticket sales have replenished the school funds and this will allow us to subsidise school trips in the coming year. This money will also allow us to pay for a theatre company to visit St Bart’s at the end of October with a performance of ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’. This is a special thank-you treat for the children and staff for all their hard work with the show. Very well deserved!

Term 1 has flown by and we’re now only a few hours away from the October holidays. Have an enjoyable and relaxing break, everyone, and see you on Monday 19th.

The big day has finally arrived! On behalf of the pupils and staff of St Bart’s, please can I extend a very, very warm ‘WELCOME TO THE SIXTIES!’ to all our parents, carers and friends! Whether your ticket is for the afternoon (1.30pm) or the evening (7.00pm) performance, you’ll be absolutely blown away by the talent, energy and enthusiasm that every class will bring to the stage. You’re going to love it! See you at the show!

Our final two 60’s-inspired wall displays are the handiwork of Primary 1 and Primary 2/3.

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A very, very warm welcome this morning to pupils from Buchanan High School. The young people will be the audience for our ‘Welcome to the Sixties’ dress rehearsal and they’re definitely in for a treat when the St Bart’s children take to the stage. Our morning Nursery children will also be attending the dress rehearsal.

As intimated in the letter that went home to all pupils yesterday, the children should arrive at 6.30pm for tomorrow’s evening performance and collected from their usual doors at 8.15pm. It is essential that the school has written confirmation for all pupils of arrangements for them getting home tomorrow night. Please can I ask, therefore, that all slips are returned to the school by tomorrow morning. Thank you.

Today’s 1960s wall displays are brought to us by Primary 4 and Primary 5/6.

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Our Prayer Service takes place at 8.50am this morning in the oratory. October is the month of the rosary and I would encourage pupils, parents, parishioners and staff to set aside these few moments before the start of the school day to pray this special prayer together. Please note that the mysteries of the rosary are available in the Faith section of our website. Simply click on ‘Faith’ then scroll down to ‘Prayer and Liturgy’.

There are only two days to go before the superstars who are the pupils of St Bart’s take to the stage for, ‘Welcome to the Sixties’! There are still tickets available from the school office, priced £3.00. Today’s 1960’s-inspired wall displays are by Primary 2 and Primary 7.

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Our end of term show, ‘Welcome to the Sixties’, is fast approaching and the next few days will be filled with final rehearsals. All eight classes had the opportunity to take to the stage and perform their songs to the rest of the school on Friday afternoon. They were all fantastic! Tickets are going fast, with evening performance tickets almost sold out. Don’t miss out on your chance to catch what is sure to be a great show!

Each class has produced a wall display in the main foyer to accompany their two 1960s songs. You will have the opportunity to see these for yourself on Thursday, but I thought I’d give you a sneak preview of each display via my blog between now and the opening performance. Today’s fantastic displays are the handiwork of Primary 1/2 and Primary 5.

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There was the usual high turnout at Parents’ Evening last night and it was great to see so many parents and carers leaving the hall with big smiles on their faces…. not surprising, given the super bunch of pupils St Bart’s is blessed with!

There has been a change to the athlete visiting St Bartholomew’s today. We are very privileged to be welcoming Judo 3rd Dan black belt champion, Theo Spalding, to the school. Theo, from East London, competes in the +100kg category all over the world. He is 5 X British Champion, European Cup medalist and a Commonwealth champion. The children will have the opportunity to take part in a sponsored circuit training event and will then be treated to an inspirational assembly led by Theo. It’s guaranteed to be a great morning!

Theo Spalding

Primary 1 and Primary 1/2 are off to the Riverside Museum in Glasgow today. There’s lots to see and explore in this fantastic museum, including the tall ship, so the boys and girls are set for a super day… especially with the weather forecast to be glorious again! Have fun, everyone!

Six Primary 7 pupils were fortunate enough to have their names picked out of a hat on Tuesday and will be off to a special event in Ayrshire this morning, accompanied by Mrs Bolland. The enterprise event has been organised by entrepreneur, Sir Tom Hunter, and will give our pupils the chance to meet boys and girls from Ayrshire schools who have been involved in setting up their own business. Our invitation came about through our good friend, Mark Millar, and will be a valuable opportunity for the children to gather ideas for organising an enterprise event of their own later in the year. Once again, we’re extremely grateful for Mark’s generosity as he is very kindly paying for the transport to and from Dundonald.

Parents’ Evening takes place from 3.15pm onwards today in the main hall, with nursery consultations being held in the Performing Arts Studio. I realise there are lots of new faces among the staff this year, but I’ll be around in the foyer to point you in the right direction of your child’s teacher.

A group of Primary 7 pupils will be inviting you to fill in a very brief feedback sheet about the school when you arrive for Parents’ Evening. Your views and ideas are very important to us, so please take a few moments to tell us what you think.

The Book Fayre opened yesterday and stocks a wide range of books for all ages. As always, this will be open during Parents’ Evening, manned by a dedicated team of volunteers. The Book Fayre always raises a substantial amount of money for new library books, so please take the opportunity to have a browse through the shelves.

I look forward to seeing you later today.

We will be welcoming two of our new Continuous Improvement Officers to St Bartholomew’s this morning. Mr Jim Beers and Mrs Gillian Hanlon will receive a tour of the building before meeting with me to discuss how they can support our school community in ongoing improvement.

Father Doherty will be in St Bartholomew’s this afternoon to celebrate a special Mass with Primary 5/6. The P6 pupils from this class will be embarking on the Pope Francis Faith Award next term and today’s Mass will give the children the opportunity to formally commit themselves to this special venture. The Pope Francis Faith Award is an award of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotand, designed to help children to show “signs of love” in their daily lives and to be active members of their local Church. It invites young people at the Primary 6 and 7 stages to use the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and to see how they can bear fruit in their homes, schools and parishes. It is directly connected to what young people are learning about the Sacrament of Confirmation. Keep an eye on the HT blog and the P5/6 class page over the coming months to keep up-to-date with news on the children’s progress.

Our newly-formed football team plays their first match after school today in the new Coatbridge primary schools’ football league. I know the boys will do St Bart’s proud, no matter the result. Many thanks to Mr Lynch for giving up his time to coach the team.

Finally, please don’t forget to purchase your tickets for our end of term show, ‘Welcome to the Sixties’. These are now on general sale and are being sold on a first come, first served basis. The boys and girls are sounding fantastic, so don’t miss out on your opportunity to see this colourful, toe-tapping show!