St Bartholomews

As is so often the case here in St Bart’s, yesterday’s visitors couldn’t resist asking for a tour of the building. They were ultra-impressed with everything they saw, from the fantastic wall-displays to our impressive resources and facilities. Of course, it was our phenomenal pupils who impressed our visitors the most. Primary 7 performed their two songs from the show (tie-dyed t-shirts and surf boards included!) and some friendly P3 pupils even gave our Head of Service, Isabelle Boyd, an unexpected hug! Everyone felt very welcome indeed!

Our newly-formed football team have their next fixture at St Ambrose High School today. Mr Lynch has added some additional players to the team and I know the boys will do St Bartholomew’s proud by being great team-players and sportsmen. Good luck, team!

The new term got off to a great start yesterday and there was a settled, productive atmosphere right across the school. Well done, boys and girls!

Many thanks to those parents and carers who indicated at Parents’ Evening that they would like to help out with school events or would be interested in joining the Parent Council. The next Parent Council meeting takes place a week today, Tuesday 27th October, and the next opportunity to help out in the school will be our Halloween disco on Thursday 29th. We will be in touch by letter with those who volunteered their help. Many thanks again.

Finally, St Bartholomew’s will have a number of visitors to the school this morning as our Staff Development Base is being used as the venue for a local authority meeting. A very warm welcome to our guests.

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