This week was a particularly exciting week down on the school site as our Friday assembly saw the launch of our competition to design the school tie. For those of you who may not be aware, our School Council meet every term with the Head of School and representatives from our Governing Body to discuss issues raised by our pupils. This year, our pupils have made it very clear that they would like the option to wear a shirt, blazer and tie as part of their school uniform. This request was taken to the Local Governing Body meeting last term and it was agreed, so this term, the School Council decided that we would hold a competition to design the new school tie. Pupils across the school will be able to enter their design by the end of next week. Our Local Leadership Team will select a number of designs to create a shortlist and there will then be a vote decide which one will become the official school tie. Democracy in action!

On Monday afternoon the Learning Centre hosted another Parents’ Group meeting. It was lovely to welcome Shamin Akhtar (our Home School Liaison Officer) to the meeting for support and translation where required. Once again the meeting was very well attended and parents talked about a range of topics pertinent to them. A big thank you to our ‘oracle’ Michelle Lane who was able to answer a wide range of questions. Mr Barker went to teach half way through the meeting, safe in the knowledge that he would not be missed!

We have pencilled in the next Parents’ Group meeting for Monday 11th June from 2pm to 3pm at the Learning Centre. There will also be a visit from Katie Morgan of Shared Lives on Monday 9th July, again from 2pm to 3pm at the Learning Centre. This is an organisation that are about sharing lives, families, homes, interests, experiences and skills with people who need support to live their lives to the full. Everyone is welcome to both meetings!

Our curriculum focus is on Maths this week and Mrs Needham has an update for us..

The New Bridge Group has had the pleasure of working with the Maths Hub during this academic year. As a school we have been looking at the use of concrete manipulatives in Maths lessons to help aid understanding of Maths topics. The concrete manipulatives have helped engage our young people within their Maths lessons and bridge the gap between the concrete and the abstract world of Maths. Throughout the school and Learning Centre, the concrete Maths resources are being embedded within Maths lessons and it’s great to see the young people enjoying their lessons and formulating their own ideas in Maths..

Maths is a very broad and multi-dimensional subject that requires reasoning, creativity, connection making and interpretation methods; it is a set of ideas that help illuminate the world and it is constantly changing. Our young people are now starting to see Maths as a hands on subject in which they can communicate their own reasoning and not just an abstract subject in which there are only right or wrong answers. I hope you enjoy looking at some of their learning within Maths just as much as I do..

Monday mornings begin for the Key Stage 4 pathways with Maths … a great way to start the week! Miss Dickson’s group have been using a range of concrete manipulatives and interactive resources to develop problem solving skills. The group are fantastic at working together..

In AB1, Adam and Raihan have been exploring the story ‘George Saves the World by Lunchtime’ about a boy who learns how to recycle things. Adam and Raihan have been learning about 2D and 3D shapes..

..and making some amazing junk models in their Maths lessons..

Students at the Learning Centre have been preparing for their Entry 3 Functional Skills Maths exam with Miss Morris. They have been revising topics they have covered previously and making sure they understand the concepts of fractions, number patterns and solving problems using the four operations, ensuring that they know which operation to use and completing calculations efficiently and accurately. They have worked really hard and congratulations are due to Liam, Jake, Ellis, Kevin and Lewis for passing their exam. The rest of the students will sit their exam when they feel that they have had enough practice and feel exam ready! Well done lads and well done to everyone else for continuing to work hard..

Miss Silvester’s group’s theme this term is ‘I can see a rainbow’ and so their focus has been on The Wizard of Oz. In Maths they have collected rainbows and yellow bricks, sorted them into groups and counted how many they could find..

They also talked about positioning of the items they were finding; whether they were low or high. Students have worked on their individualised targets which have related to numerical recognition, sequencing and ordering..

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Mr Goup’s Year 10 class have been working on telling the time..

..while Mrs Brierley’s group have been working on number bonds to 10 using ‘Numicon’..

Miss Patchett’s class have been matching and sorting similar objects..

..counting out 3 objects reliably..

..working on their awareness of more..

..and big and small objects..

Mrs Peacock’s class have been using calculators to work out receipts and the change due..

Sarah helped Fahad by reading out the values for him to calculate..

This week Miss Wilson had the pleasure of escorting Sabiha, Will and Sophie to The Atrium Café on their work experience placement. The last time she worked with these young people was during 2011 and they have transformed into confident and inspiring individuals. She watched as they took the food trolley around First Choice Homes offering snacks to the workers. All three of them were able to ask staff if they would like to purchase from the trolley, were able to sort out change and Will made a tally chart in order to put the items through the till once they returned to the café. Sabiha very kindly supported Sophie by encouraging her to use a louder voice and Sophie did an excellent job of cashing up the till at the end of their shift. All three are growing in confidence week on week and Miss Wilson is looking forward to going back soon to see how they are progressing. We’re not sure if she remembered Mr Barker’s cheese and onion pie….

Covy, Joseph and Bobby-Joe have also been working hard at the MIND charity shop in Chadderton – click here for an update on their work experience placement..

Our Year 9 pupils have enjoyed some more taster days with the pathways they are considering joining in September – just look at what the girls got up to with Activ8..

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Our IB students and staff are starting to get excited about next week’s Duke of Edinburgh’s residential trip. We are always delighted when students from our bespoke groups access programmes like DofE – it’s down to our amazing staff team, especially Mr Taylor, that such opportunities are so inclusive. We look forward to seeing all the pictures and we hope that this lovely weather holds. We will share their adventures with you all in upcoming blogs.

As we are get further into the Summer term, we’ve been reflecting on just how far some of our young people have come on their journey with us, preparing for and taking examinations, accessing work experience placements and preparing to join our Bridging the Gap project and our Future Finders supported internship course. We are looking forward to sharing these successes at our upcoming Parents’ Evenings. If there are any families who cannot attend, please contact our Pastoral team who will endeavour to make a convenient appointment.

Have a great Bank Holiday weekend and enjoy the lovely weather,

Gavin and Dawn

For news on our Key Stage 5 pathway groups at Medtia Square please click here

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