St Bartholomews

Primary 1 – Ava

Primary 1/2 – Ava

Primary 2 – Emily

Primary 2/3 – Emily

Primary 4 – Harvey Jo

Primary 5 – Des

Primary 5/6 – Olivia

Primary 7 – Wiktoria

I got a lovely surprise from Primary 1/2 yesterday when I was handed a whole pile of colourful, beautifully-written invitations (see below) asking if I’d make a special visit to their classroom next Tuesday. I accepted straight away, of course! If that wasn’t enough of a surprise for one day, Primary 2/3 wrote me persuasive letters, asking if I’d come to see some of their learning next Friday. The boys and girls’ letters were so compelling, I was persuaded in an instant! I’m very much looking forward to my visits to P1/2 and P2/3 next week.

If you’re reading this today, you’re probably a regular blog reader. However, are you remembering about our class pages? They’re packed with photographs and information about the children’s recent learning and there’s also the facility to leave a comment. Simply click on the link on the right to start exploring!

Mr Fowler and I were so proud of our football team last night. They played fantastically well, working as a team and staying positive throughout the match. Unfortunately, a controversial penalty resulted in St Bart’s being beaten by one goal rather than the match ending in a 4-4 draw. However, a HUGE well done to the team… you did us all proud!

The fruit bags sold by the Health for Life group were a huge success last week and orders are being taken for next week’s delivery. The Health for Life group are committed to seeing St Bart’s pupils eating lots more fruit and these bargain fruit bags (5 pieces of fruit for only 50p!) are sure to bring a huge health-boost to the school.

The date of our whole-school trip to the pantomime at the Pavilion Theatre has now been finalised. Our special day away will take place two weeks today, Thursday 3rd December. Further details will be sent out in due course.

Throughout the remainder of this week, Miss Connor and Primary 2 will be running a ‘guess the number of sweets in the jar’ fundraiser in aid of Mary’s Meals. It will be 20p for one guess and representatives from the class will locate themselves in the open area outside the gym hall during break times.

An exciting whole-school project reached an important milestone yesterday. Every single St Bart’s pupil drew a miniature self-portrait last week and these have now been carefully arranged and stuck down by Mrs Ruddy and Mrs Dolan. The finished collage, which you can see below, will be sent away today and turned into a fantastic tea towel! A total of 200 will be produced and these will be available to purchase in time for Christmas. Watch this space!

Welcome back everyone. I hope you had a great long weekend, despite the atrocious weather!

Our prayer service takes place as usual in the oratory this morning at 8.50am. All pupils, staff, parents and parishioners are most welcome, especially as we pray for the many innocent people caught up in the terrible events in Paris on Friday.

Flu vaccinations, in the form of a nasal spray, will be administered by NHS staff today. Last year’s vaccinations ran like clockwork and I’m sure today will be no different.

Pupils of the Week

Primary 1 – Olivia

Primary 1/2 – Rhys

Primary 2 – Charlie

Primary 2/3 – Sarah Louise

Primary 4 – Nathan

Primary 5 – Amy

Primary 5/6 – Heather

Primary 7 – Daniel

I’m delighted to announce that P1/2’s cake sale on Wednesday raised the fantastic sum of £122 for Mary’s Meals! A huge well done to P1/2 and Mrs Carlin for organising this fundraiser and to the Faith in Action group for helping man the stall.

As announced on Wednesday’s blog, the boys and girls are in for a special treat today. ‘ZooLab’ will be in St Bartholomew’s and all eight classes will have the opportunity to view and handle some exotic animals. You can see photographs below from several other schools, but keep an eye on Twitter today to see photographs of our own pupils enjoying finding out about some fascinating creatures. You can find us at @bartholomew_st

Although there’s no whole-school assembly today, Pupil of the Week certificates, House points and the Cool Class Cup will be awarded as usual. Keep an eye on the website for names of our proud winners!

Poor Miss Connor and Primary 2 have had to put up with a very tatty classroom carpet, long past its best. However, that’s all about to change today when a brand new carpet is fitted. The boys and girls have been decanted to the Performing Arts Studio for the day, but they can look forward to returning to their posh new classroom tomorrow morning!

Primary 1/2’s cake sale attracted a massive number of customers yesterday and the Faith in Action group raised almost £80 for Mary’s Meals during morning break alone. The stall was opened again over lunchtime, raising even more money for Mary’s Meals. Well done P1/2, Mrs Carlin and the Faith in Action group! The grand total will be posted on the blog later today.

Today, 11th November, is Armistice Day, when we remember those who gave their lives in the two World Wars and more recent conflicts. Our school community will pause to mark a one-minute silence at 11.00am.

Please remember Primary 1/2’s cake sale this morning, in aid of Mary’s Meals. Many thanks to Mrs Carlin and the Faith in Action group for organising today’s event.

You may have noticed scaffolding around part of the building yesterday. This is in place to allow contractors to fit solar panels to the roof today. This is great news for the Eco Committee and will greatly reduce the school’s energy consumption (as well as our electricity bills!).

Finally, the BIG announcement about the BIG surprise which I know all St Bart’s pupils have been patiently waiting for: I’m delighted to announce that Zoo Lab will be in St Bartholomew’s on Friday to work with all 202 Primary 1-7 pupils. The children will have the opportunity to see and handle (optional!) some exotic animals as well as take part in a workshop. Primary 1-3 will be learning about autumn while P4-7 pupils will be finding out how they can be more Eco-friendly. It’s another well-deserved treat for our phenomenal pupils! Keep an eye on Twitter for photographs of our special day.

The rain that suddenly appeared just before the 9 o’clock bell yesterday morning was like something out of the story of Noah and I’m sure many of our pupils and parents would have appreciated an ark to get them to the front door! Primary 5’s new wall display (below) made me smile when I saw a line of soggy pupils trudging past it on the way to class!

Primary 1/2 are holding a cake sale in aid of Mary’s Meals tomorrow (details on the poster below). Please support this very worthwhile cause.