St Bartholomews

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.

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As you can see from the above photographs, the art club had a thoroughly enjoyable and productive time at Kelvingrove Art Gallery yesterday morning. There were smiles all round when the group returned and Mrs Carlin was delighted with the children’s behaviour and enthusiasm.

Please remember that the prayer service takes place in the oratory this morning at 8.50am. All pupils, parents and parishioners are welcome to join us.

Finally, if you haven’t already picked up the news on their class page, Primary 1/2 have decided on a name for their goldfish. After a class vote, the wee fish has been named Bubbles. We hope you’re feeling at home in St Bart’s, Bubbles!

The children from the art club are off on a special visit to Kelvingrove Art Gallery this morning with Mrs Carlin. The boys and girls will have the chance to view some of the beautiful works of art on display as well as take part in a workshop. Here is one budding artist who is really looking forward to getting some fresh inspiration from today’s art club trip. Have fun, everyone!

As intimated last week, the annual sponsored walk, scheduled for this coming Thursday, has now been cancelled due to the visit from athlete, Chris Bennett.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with each of the classes last week on their songs for our end of term show, ‘Welcome to the Sixties’. The boys and girls were sounding fantastic and really impressed me with their energy and enthusiasm. Performances will take place at 1.30pm and 7.00pm on Thursday 8th October; tickets will go on sale later this week.

Finally, I was delighted to see one of our P1/2 pupils being an extra special helper at the end of his class’s song practice on Friday. I promised I’d post a photograph of him carrying Mrs Carlin’s bag for her… what a great attitude and what super manners!

PUPILS OF THE WEEK
Primary 1: Ryan
Primary 1/2: Ellie
Primary 2: Jim
Primary 2/3: Arron
Primary 4: Aiden
Primary 5: Adam
Primary 5/6: Leigha
Primary 7: Ava

COOL CLASS CUP: Primary 4

HOUSE TROPHY: Monklands

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It has been an absolute delight watching this year’s Primary 7s rise to the challenge of being the oldest pupils in the school. They have been enthusiastic, responsible, hard-working and reliable from day one and have been perfect role models for the younger boys and girls. In recognition of their outstanding attitude and behaviour, a special P7 tie has been commissioned. This is now with the manufacturers and will be ready for the beginning of Term 2. You can see one of our House Captains proudly wearing the prototype in the photographs above and I know every other P7 will wear their new tie with the same pride once it is presented to them. Very well-deserved, P7. We’re really proud of you!

It’s Friday which means assembly, certificates, trophies and tea with Mr Young! Now that our new website has been launched, certificate and trophy awards will be posted directly onto the Head Teacher’s blog on a Friday morning. I wonder who the proud winners will be today?

IMPORTANT NEWS!

An opportunity has arisen for GB Hammer Thrower Chris Bennett to visit the school on Friday 2nd October. Chris was born and bred in Glasgow and began focusing on hammer throw in 2005. Chris is 4th of Scotland’s All Time Rankings and 7th in the Commonwealth. Chris will be leading a sponsored fitness circuit with all pupils and will follow-up with a talk and question & answer session. The aim of the event is to inspire St Bart’s pupils to take up sport generally as well as encourage them to discover and pursue their passion in life. Due to Chris’s visit including a sponsored event, I have made the decision to cancel this year’s sponsored walk which was scheduled for a week today. However, I’m sure you’ll agree this is just too good an opportunity to miss.

John Wilson photographers will be in St Bartholomew’s today to take individual and family photographs. The boys and girls always look ultra-smart in their St Bart’s uniforms, but I’m sure a few pupils will be taking a wee bit extra time with the hair gel this morning, brushing those shiny teeth for a few extra seconds and making sure their tie is absolutely perfect!

It’s only two weeks before Primary 7 head off to Oban for an action-packed week at Kilbowie. An information evening for pupils and parents/carers will take place this evening at 6.00pm in the Performing Arts Studio.

Finally, I noticed on Twitter last night that Primary 1/2 have a new addition to their class. This individual, however, won’t be donning a St Bart’s tie or lining up with the rest of the class as he’s actually a goldfish! I’m looking forward to meeting him (or her?) today and finding out their name. What a great opportunity for the children to learn how to care for one of God’s amazing creatures! St Francis, the patron saint of animals, will be very pleased indeed!