This has been one of those weeks when we can say, “this is why we went into teaching!” It has been amazing here with so much happening both during and after school. On Tuesday Mr Smith took a group of pupils to Old Trafford for the semi-finals of the Table Cricket tournament. Although our team came third they had a fabulous day out and displayed great camaraderie and team work. Well done to all the young people who represented New Bridge.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold practice expedition also took place on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Welsh Mountains. The group trekked across some rather boggy terrain in very cold temperatures, testing their innermost resolve..
Well done to Connor who deserves a special mention for coping really well in a difficult situation – he won’t mind us telling you that he got stuck in a bog up to his thigh. In the past this would have decimated his confidence and he might have given up but not this time – Connor battled on and even went back and put his arm into the bog to find his lost boot!! You can see a quick clip of his efforts here, together with more pictures and details of the expedition.
Tuesday and Wednesday also saw our Hortus students out working hard, not quite as far afield as Wales but up at Rossendale. A very proud Mr Maycock explains..
“Our Hortus students undertook a gardening project on behalf of Rossendale Golf Club this past week, cutting in new shrub beds surrounding the first tee. A range of plants including rhododendrums, azaleas and euonymous were planted at the back and down the side of the tee bed, providing a stunning display for members of the club. The students enjoyed the experience immensely, interacting and chatting with all members, the professional, Steve and assistant professional, Scott.
The students’ behaviour was exemplary and they enjoyed watching members playing golf off the first tee. As a reward, the students were treated to lunch in the club restaurant and will enjoy a session at the golf range with a lesson from the Lady Captain elect in the near future.
Massive thanks to Tony Blackman and Paul Urey for their help and support.”
Those of you who follow us on Twitter may have already spotted the special tweet Hortus received on Thursday: ‘Great job by Roger Maycock (Captain) and team from @newbridgegroup creating flower bed around 1st Tee @RossendaleGC’ with these fabulous pictures..
On Wednesday Mr Howard and Mr Valentine got up in the early hours of the morning to collect our wheelchair basketball players for the long drive down to Worcester Arena to take part in the National Finals. Here’s Mr Howard to report on how they got on…
On Wednesday New Bridge represented the North West of England in the prestigious IZB national Wheelchair Basketball finals at Worcester Arena. Lewis, Jack, Suhan, Aaron, Nathan and Jake set their alarms extra early for the 6am start and the team arrived at the home of the Worcester Wolves basketball team just in time for their first game at 9.45am..
They lost their first 2 games before recovering brilliantly to win their next 2 and secure a place in the quarter finals. Everyone played superbly but unfortunately they were defeated by the South East which meant a 6th place finish out of the whole country – a fabulous achievement considering that our players are relatively new to the sport!
A huge congratulations to the players who were brilliant on the day. They had a fantastic time at Worcester Arena (just ask any of them!) and they were a real credit to New Bridge and the whole of the North West.
I would also like to say a big thank you to Mr Valentine for his fantastic support throughout the long day – despite leaving home at 5am and not returning until 8pm, he thoroughly enjoyed it.
We are so proud of our young people, they actually came 6th in the whole country!! Able bodied youngsters from large high schools also took part and the competition was very high. Well done, everyone!
Wednesday’s Learning Centre meeting for parents about transition from children’s to adult services proved very useful and we’d like to thank everyone who attended. Our very own Michelle Lane stepped up to talk and the areas discussed included the Care Act 2014 legislation, how to make referrals to adult services, at what age and what a referral involves, the difference between children’s and adult services, what is provided within adult services and what is available through voluntary services. If you were not able to come but would like to discuss any of the issues raised, please don’t hesitate to contact Michelle Lane at the Learning Centre. A special thank you needs to go to thank Fahad for helping with the refreshments – he is always keen to help out, not just front of house where his efforts are visible but also cleaning up behind the scenes.
On Thursday Mr Hanif took Year 8 pupils to the Imperial War Museum where they had a fantastic day out..
Whilst at the museum they followed a timeline of wars, starting with World War One. They tried on costumes and hats..
.. and smelt the smells from the trenches – phew!
The museum had interactive stations that were manned by trained staff in period costume and the pupils looked at the first artillery gun from the Battle of the Somme..
On Friday Mrs Lamb went to Preston with Mrs Chappell to receive the prestigious Arts Mark Gold Award. There were lots of schools there from across the North West who had worked really hard, just as Mrs Chappell and her Performing Arts team have done, to secure this amazing award. That reminds us, watch out for letters coming home soon with details of how to buy tickets for our Summer show!
This week our curriculum focus is on Maths. Mr Newport’s group have been working on different activities relating to counting including giving, taking, counting along and saying numbers up to 100. To help them learn this, they have been counting out dinosaurs, playing games on the whiteboard and singing lots of counting songs..
Mrs Brierley’s group have been looking at their topic of ‘Under the Sea’..
They have made fish using tissue paper, following their own pattern designs, learnt songs about fish and jellyfish and mastered the signs for fish and jellyfish. On Friday they made jellyfish and counted the tentacles..
Year 7 have been working on column subtraction with exchanging (or borrowing as we know it!!). They have been using cubes to help answer questions..
They have also had fun trying to beat the clock on the interactive whiteboard..
The Pathways groups have been working hard this week, some of them have sat their Entry Level 1 accreditation and they have then have been looking at positional vocabulary..
The Pathways have worked so hard this academic year and all that effort is paying off as they sit their accreditations. They have been busy putting in revision and discussing possible outcomes to homework and practice questions and Mrs Millard is very proud of all the Pathway pupils and how they have managed and coped with their accreditations. They have used the computers to access a range of Maths resources to help further their ability and understanding. Good luck to everyone with their exams!
Mr Handrick’s group have been working on money this term. They have been sorting out coins and matching them to the right amounts of money. They have started to add the totals up to make small amounts of money..
Mrs Fitzsimon’s group have been working on time and sequencing events. They have been sequencing days of the week and ordering activities within their day..
Mr Goup’s groups have been working hard on their exam preparation. They have been revising past papers and looking at ways that they can pick up those extra couple of marks..
Mrs Potts’ Year 10 group also sat their Entry Level 1 accreditation this week and have done really well with it. Year 9 have been working on column subtraction and they have been using cubes to help them do the calculations..
Year 11 have been working hard on improving their number formation, identifying coins and making different amounts. They have also been looking at the properties of 3d shapes..
The boys in the Nurture Group have been working hard on recognising and making different amounts of money and finding change. Jayden and Will have been busy using their place value understanding to help them when adding and subtracting. Callum and Omar have been using their timetables knowledge to help them understand the formal method of short multiplication using the expanded method. They have been multiplying a 2-digit number by a 1-digit number and have impressed Mrs Millard greatly!
Mrs Peacock’s group Year 12 group have been practising using analogue clocks..
Mr Jackson’s IB group have had a LOT of fun in their Maths lessons – we are running out of room to show you so please click here to find out what they have been getting up to on their travels to the Galapagos Islands!!
Miss Allison has been truly spoilt this week and treated on two occasions by our students to a delicious plate of sausage, mash and onion gravy – she assures us it was indeed as lovely as it sounds! She sampled both the traditional pork sausage and the helal lamb sausage; if forced to choose the helal came out in front on taste but the onion gravy was the real star of the show. Thanks to Umah for this week’s offering, Miss Allison will definitely need to be going to the gym at this rate..
We hope you have a great Bank Holiday weekend, see you on Tuesday.
Judith and Dawn
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