St Bartholomews

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you all had an enjoyable September weekend.

We have a busy week ahead of us here at St Bart’s. Amongst other things, the first Parent Council meeting of the session takes place this evening at 6.00pm, tomorrow sees the first fixture of the new Coatbridge Primary Schools’ football league and Thursday, of course, is Parents’ Evening.

There was a great turnout at last Thursday’s Primary 1 Prayer Service. The boys and girls led a beautiful service and were also fantastic hosts during the classroom reception afterwards. Many thanks to Mrs Carlin and Miss Duffy for preparing the children and to Mrs Ruddy, Mrs Dolan and Mrs McNaughton for organising the refreshments.

There has been a slight mix up in the arrangements for the delivery of our Book Fayre, so this will not begin today as originally planned. However, the fayre will be open for Thursday’s Parents’ Evening and will then run into the beginning of next week. Apologies for any inconvenience, especially to those parents who have volunteered to help man the fayre.

Primary 1: Amy
Primary 1/2: Marysa
Primary 2: Brogan
Primary 2/3: Grace
Primary 4: Katie
Primary 5: Stephen
Primary 5/6: Sophie
P7: The whole class for being absolute STARS at Kilbowie!

Have a great weekend, everyone! Mr Y 🙂

Primary 7 will arrive home from Oban this afternoon after a fantastic few days in Kilbowie. As you can see from the photographs above, the boys and girls have been kept busy with a whole range of exciting activities and their huge smiles show just how much they’ve loved their time away. Once again, a HUGE thank you to Mrs McLean and Mrs Smillie for giving up their time to accompany the children… if anyone has earned their September weekend, it’s you two!

Primary 1 pupils will be welcoming parents and other invited guests to their special prayer service this afternoon to give thanks for the great start they’ve made to school. The children will play a lead role in the service with prayers, songs and a presentation of photographs of their learning; it’s sure to be a very special time. The prayer service will take place in the main hall at 2.00pm and guests are invited to the P1 and P1/2 classrooms afterwards for refreshments. Here are the P1s after yesterday’s rehearsal… they’re looking forward to seeing you later today!

Please note that the first Parent Council meeting of the session takes place this coming Tuesday at 6.00pm in the Staff Development Base.

It’s hard to believe that the September weekend is upon us already. It’s been a great start to the year and I’m so proud of the children for their enthusiasm, hard work and manners. Well done to you all! Please can I also take this opportunity to thank staff for all their hard work. The school show has made it a particularly busy term for all members of staff and starting in a new school has made it especially hectic for our six new teachers. I know the whole St Bart’s team will welcome the arrival of the long weekend – have a very enjoyable and relaxing few days, everyone.

I got a lovely surprise when I walked into St Bartholomew’s yesterday morning. I was greeted by a colourful line of footprint prayer cards, leading all the way from the oratory door, to mark International Day of Peace. Many thanks to Mrs O’Neill, Mrs Carlin and the Faith in Action group for organising this special event. Donations of £1 are still welcome, with all money going to SCIAF.

I noticed a misprint on the tickets for our school show yesterday. The correct time of the evening performance on 8th October is 7.00pm rather than 7.30pm. New tickets have now been printed, but old tickets will still be valid. Apologies for any inconvenience this error may have caused.

Primary 7 had another great day in Kilbowie yesterday and I have heard nothing but praise for their behaviour, manners and level of enthusiasm. Mrs McLean summed it up in a short text last night: ‘They’re amazing kids!’. I agree!

Primary 7 had a fantastic first day at Kilbowie yesterday. I left the children around 8.00pm in the very capable hands of Mrs McLean and Mrs Smillie, with the boys and girls still enjoying an energetic treasure hunt in the fresh air. Photographs have already been posted on Twitter (@bartholomew_st) and more will be added during the course of the week.

I received an email yesterday confirming that St Bartholomew’s is on the current list of schools to be fitted with solar panels. Great news for the Eco Committee!

Finally, please remember to grab your tickets for our end of term show, ‘Welcome to the Sixties’. Although tickets are restricted to two per family at the moment, all remaining tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis after the September weekend.

Today is the International Day of Peace. The Faith in Action Group have organised a ‘peace pavement’ art event which will involve all pupils making a footprint prayer card for Syrian Refugees. Donations of £1 would be most welcome, with all proceeds going to SCIAF.

Primary 7 are off to Oban this morning for an action-packed week in Kilbowie. Along with pupils from St Kevin’s and St Augustine’s, the boys and girls will have the opportunity to take part in a whole variety of activities, including kayaking, gorge walking, climbing and mountain biking. I will be travelling up on the bus with the boys and girls, but will return to Glasgow this evening and be back in St Bart’s tomorrow morning. Please can I take this opportunity to thank Mrs McLean and Mrs Smillie for giving so generously of their time to take the children away for the week; it is very much appreciated. Have a super time, Primary 7!

All class pages, including the Nursery, are now up and running on our new website to help keep you up-to-date with your child’s learning. The pages can be accessed by clicking on the links on the righthand side of the screen. There’s always something exciting going on in St Bart’s, so don’t forget to check out class pages regularly.

PUPILS OF THE WEEK
Primary 1: Jayden
Primary 1/2: Monique
Primary 2: Skye
Primary 2/3: Amy-Leigh
Primary 4: Molly
Primary 5: Annie
Primary 5/6: Lauren
Primary 7: Mairead

COOL CLASS CUP: Primary 1

HOUSE TROPHY: Summerlee

Don’t forget to grab your tickets for our end of term show, Welcome to the Sixties. Although tickets are being restricted to two per family at the moment, they will go on general release after the September weekend…. don’t leave it too late!

Many readers will know that we use ‘It’s time to take your jotter to show Mr Young’ stickers in St Bartholomew’s. These are placed randomly through the children’s jotters, creating a regular stream of pupils appearing at my office door to proudly show off their work. This week has been no exception and I’ve absolutely loved flicking through the pages of so many beautifully presented jotters, filled with fantastic work. Of course, you will have the opportunity to see your child’s work for yourself at Parents’ Evening on Thursday 1st October.

It’s Friday, so please check the website later this morning to find out this week’s winning House, Cool Class and Pupils of the Week.

Finally, Primary 7 are off to Kilbowie first thing Monday morning. Happy packing, boys and girls, and make sure you get a good night’s sleep on Sunday!

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Many members of our school community enjoyed a very healthy final fifteen minutes to lunchtime yesterday. Every boy and girl in St Bart’s had the opportunity to participate in ‘Race to Rio’, an initiative organised by North Lanarkshire Active Schools which challenges pupils to take part in a brisk 15 minute walk a total of forty-one times! There will be prizes in store for those pupils who complete the challenge.

It was great to see our Primary 6 & 7 pupils working with their P1 buddies yesterday afternoon. The boys and girls enjoyed reading a storybook together and our older pupils even helped the younger ones self-assess their work and set new targets. What a great school family we have here in St Bart’s!

Tickets have now been printed for our end of term show, Welcome to the Sixties. These will go on sale tomorrow morning, priced £3.00. The show takes place on Thursday 8th October, with performances at 1.30pm and 7.00pm. Due to the seating capacity of the hall, we will initially restrict tickets to two per family before releasing any remaining tickets on a first come, first served basis.

Pope Francis offered some wise advice yesterday via Twitter:

‘God loves the lowly. When we live humbly, he takes our small efforts and creates great things.’

There’s a lesson in these words for each of us today, no matter how young or old. Sometimes we may not feel important, strong or able. However, when we humble ourselves and offer our efforts to God, no matter how small, he transforms them into something beautiful and great. Let’s hold onto this thought as we face the challenges and uncertainties of the day ahead.