Well, it has been an amazing (and very busy!) week here at New Bridge – if you follow our Facebook and Twitter pages you may well have noticed rather a lot of posts, tweets and photos!

This week Activ8 were invited to lead at MCFC’s ‘City in the Community’ inclusive sports event at the Manchester Velodrome. The GB Paralympic cycling team and the captain of the amputee football team were a fantastic inspiration to all the boys. They even managed to spot Freddie Flintoff, who stopped cycling to talk to them ( ‘he came off the page’, as one of our lads commented) and even posed for a picture..

That particular picture has reached over 3,000 people on Facebook so far – the only post more popular than our Head Boy’s Monday blog which is always seen by over 1,000 people! (we may need to up our game…..)

On Friday the school site had a visit from a young lady with Down’s Syndrome who is a Special Olympic swimmer. Hannah Payton gave a presentation to our whole school assembly and then went on to help out through the day in the swimming pool. Our warmest thanks go out to Hannah and her family for coming in to school and inspiring us – and for these lovely pictures..

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”37″ gal_title=”11th March Hannah Payton”]

Thanks also to Mr Fieldhouse for inviting Hannah, these visits have such positive ‘spin-offs’ for our young people and show them what it is possible to achieve.

Talking of achievements, Mr Smith took members of IB3 to a Boccia tournament in Stockport to represent New Bridge. These young people are very rarely able to compete in local and national competitions and it was a brilliant visit for everyone involved..

Two of our pathways, Lumenus and Digit4ll, took part in the nationwide BBC News School Report day on Thursday. The students worked very hard researching, gathering, writing and presenting the news of the day. It gave them the opportunity to experience what it is like working to a deadline, as they needed to complete the news report by 2pm ‘live-to-air’ on the school and BBC website..

They found the experience really enjoyable, getting to use the new video production equipment at Medtia Square and exploring the facilities at our new town centre base. Jordan, a member of Digit4ll, said, “I can’t wait until I get to come here every day…the tech here is awesome!”

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”38″ gal_title=”School News Report”]

We are very proud of the effort all our pathway students put into the work and we are very grateful to Mr Bright and all the staff who helped make the day such an enjoyable and valuable experience.

Next week is Autism Awareness Week and you can find lots of resources and ways to get involved on the National Autistic Society’s website here. At the Learning Centre, students will be learning about how Autism impacts on the lives of young people who have it, and what we can do to help them. Our E-Base team will be sharing the work they do through posters and displays to communicate what our Autism Base students are achieving. Watch this space to find out more next week!

As promised, we have some pictures from the Calvert Residential trip to the Lake District to share with you…

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”39″ gal_title=”11th March Calvert”]

..and now we’re going to hand you over to our young people to hear a selection of the experiences they have been sharing with their fellow students during our weekly assembly:

“I enjoyed the activities at Calvert. Biking was best for me. I also liked the canoeing. I helped David because he was a bit nervous. We went for a night walk, it was really dark because the torches weren’t very bright. I shared a room with Reece. It was great being away from home for a few days. I would definitely go again.” – Daniel

“I enjoyed Calvert Trust doing the different activities like the night walk because when you turn the torches off it is pitch black and creepy. It was good helping others when we went shopping in Keswick. I enjoyed helping out at meal times, getting the drinks for my table. The food was delicious, I tried everything. The bedrooms were brill! Disco night was great and I could dance all over the place. I also enjoyed going swimming. On the zip wire we went through the trees. It was great. Rock climbing was so good. The staff all said I made the best brews at Calvert. I got 20 out of 10 from Miss Morris!” – Matthew

“My journey to Calvert Trust was fantastic. I enjoyed the meals and the snacks. The rooms were good and I enjoyed staying with Faisal. I enjoyed the activities like canoeing, cycling, ghyll scrambling, night walking and walking up the mountain. The activities were good and I enjoyed them. It was funny when Sophie fell out of the canoe. Me and Paul laughed also Tom and Terry fell in as well. It was funny. I got home safe and sound. I had a good time with the instructors and my group and the journey was 120 miles to Cumbria. I think I should go again because I love Calvert Trust because the meals were good and this time I am going to save my money for Calvert Trust for a hoodie and some Calvert Trust stuff like pens or note pads or any other stationery. I want to go again in Year 14.” – John

“It was good at Calvert. Canoeing was great. I enjoyed going on the cart at horse-riding. It was great being pulled up nearly to the ceiling on ropes. The food was great. I had a good time with my friends and the staff.” – Hamidur

Amazing stories and photos – again, a massive thanks to all the staff who made the trip so successful and memorable for our young people! Same time, next year?

We hope you have a lovely, peaceful weekend – the weather looks like it might be warming up…..

Judith and Dawn

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