A very warm welcome back after the Easter Break, we hope you all had a peaceful time. Our holiday club ran smoothly with the young people taking part in a wide variety of activities. The art work they produced looked fantastic and some of the finished creations are being displayed in school on the staircase. The very popular ‘didi cars’ were brought back after making their first appearance in February and the timetable offered something for everyone, from swimming to crackle foam.
We are always impressed with the quality and appropriateness of the offer all our young people receive and we’re sure you’ll agree it’s great value too! Letters have gone home to families today with details of our next holiday club so please make sure you return the forms by next Friday 22nd April if you would like to book a place for your child.
Everyone has come back in this week raring to go (even the Activ8 students who went over to Halifax RLFC during the holidays) and our Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award group seem to have fully recovered from their practice expedition along the Monsal Trail..
The practice expeditions that all 3 groups (Bronze, Silver and Gold) have to complete before they can undertake their qualifying expeditions have been keeping our staff on their toes – this week saw the Silver group spend 2 days canoeing and hiking around Macclesfield and Poynton while the Gold group will be heading off to the wilds of North Wales next week for their adventure! The Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards remain very important within the world of work, with employers recognising the personal commitment, achievement, skills and growth of the young people who take part in the scheme. Although our groups have returned absolutely shattered after their expeditions, they have also come back with a real sense of achievement and we are extremely proud of them.
Our New Bridge Scouts are also venturing away from home this weekend to the Scout Centre in St Anne’s. The activities, accommodation and food provided there are amazing and we know they will have a fantastic time. As part of the volunteering section of their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, 3 of our older students will be supporting the Scouts along with Luke Flanagan, our former pupil, who has been invited as an honoured guest. We’re really looking forward to hearing what they all get up to!
Today’s assembly at the Learning Centre was a celebration of last term’s Calvert residential. Students (and staff!) were presented with certificates along with a DVD of photographs to provide a lasting memory of their experiences. They shared words of encouragement for our Year 12 students who will get the opportunity to go to Calvert next year. It was also a real pleasure to see Leah and Mohammed receive their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards and badges – well done!
We would like to highlight the dedication of our staff who accompany, lead, educate and support our young people on all these expeditions and residentials. We are very grateful for their hard work and commitment which make these opportunities possible for our young people.
Pupils at the school site have also been receiving certificates after earning their way onto ‘Mrs Lamb’s Wall of Fame’ by gaining more than 10 bonus points in a week through their work and attitude. This scheme is proving to be a great motivator for our young people and a record number received a certificate or a prize in our whole school assembly at the end of term. We wonder which names will be going up there this time…..
Our head boy, Matthew, has beaten us to it with his blog this week – if you’ve not seen it yet you can read it here.
Transition visits for our Year 14 students will begin next week, starting with Oldham College. The young people are very excited (and slightly nervous!) although we know they’ll be absolutely fine.
We have exciting news of a new weekly drop-in group for past New Bridge students who are now between the ages of 21 and 30. These ‘Medtia Meet Ups’ will take place every Tuesday from 10.00am until 12.00pm at our Medtia Square site in the centre of Oldham, starting on 26th April. Parents and carers are welcome to attend – if you know any former students who might be interested, please feel free to pass on the details below:
Please could we finish with a request for you to ensure that chewing gum is not brought into school as it is not allowed. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
We hope you have a lovely weekend,
Judith and Dawn
You can find our full blog here
If you missed hearing what our IB classes got up to for Sport Relief click here to find out about their ‘Hungry Hippos’, and our report we promised you on our amazing ‘Festival of Colour’ is here.
Click here for Graham’s blog
