Well, the week began with us all sweltering in the hot sunshine and has ended with us shivering in the rain. Why do we bother so much about the weather? On a serious note, it does affect everybody’s behaviour, none more so than our young people. They have, however, coped admirably with the heat and thank you for sending in sun cream labelled with your child’s name and hats.

Whilst the rest of us have been carrying on as normal, our Year 11s were having a fabulous time in Hafan Y Mor, Pwllheli. If you have been following our social media pages you will have been kept up to date with some great photos and comments from Mr Southerington and the staff team. Residential stays are an amazing extra-curricular experience and we are grateful to the staff for leaving their families to support our young people and offer them this opportunity. Mr Southerington will be giving us his account of the residential soon but these pictures might give you a glimpse of how much fun everyone has had..

On Friday we focused the day’s activities at school around the question, ‘What is Charity?’ which we linked to Eid which begins on Sunday and Monday. Eid is essentially about charity and giving, and so on Friday we shared these common values with the school as one community. The day culminated with an assembly as normal on Friday afternoon with a celebration of our achievements and Lumenus performed a Lily Allen song, ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ – it was stunning.

It’s been another busy week at the Learning Centre and whilst some exams are continuing, some are coming to an end. This week the AQA moderator came to look at our GCSE Art & Design Exhibition in the Art gallery. Our Art students have worked very hard for the last two years, culminating in a very successful controlled test. They have all produced artwork of a very high standard, covering a wide range of media including watercolours, silk painting, printmaking, textiles, photography and assemblage. Here is a taster of the work from Kyra..

Brittany..

William..

Hamza..

..and Helal..

Mrs Sheehy and Miss Allison are extremely proud of them all and we are looking forward to receiving their results on Thursday 24th August. If you would like to view the exhibition, please do not hesitate to contact us the Learning Centre.

Our curriculum focus this week is on our Interactive Bases (our IB classes), starting with IB1..

This term we have been really busy in IB1. We have focused on our ‘Good Morning’ routine and tried really hard to choose our own photo for the ‘Who’s in School today?’ board and pressed the switch to say ‘Good Morning’..

With all this nice weather we managed to get outside and pick some leaves..

We used the leaves as a template to create a pattern for our ‘Let’s have a Picnic’ topic..

I think we can all agree that PE has been one of our favourite lessons this year, Mr Lawrence has made it so much fun!! First we did Rounders (I think the staff were a little too competitive at times!) and now we have moved onto Athletics!

Outdoor Ed. has been great too, we have visited lots of different parks and cafes! This fitted in well with our topic as we have been learning all about parks and picnics..

The Fire Brigade visited and Logan enjoyed trying on the Fireman’s helmet..

..and spraying everyone in sight with the hose!!

Logan even managed to fit in a trip to Disneyland Paris and had an absolutely fantastic time with Miss McDonald!

We made some chocolate cornflake cakes for family and friends to celebrate Eid. Mrs Mills had a little accident and dropped the full bowl on the floor!

Luckily we had extra chocolate and cornflakes and managed to make some more and they went down a treat..

IBLC1 have been equally busy..

This term IBLC1’s topic is ‘Stepping back in time’. We chose to visit the Swinging Sixties and celebrated peace and love through various art and cooking activities..

The students have embraced rocking the Sixties look in their pastel colours and peace glasses..

We have created some beautiful art work using a variety of methods, Emanuel especially liked the shaving foam art flowers we made..

As ‘Stepping back in time’ is our theme we visited Portland Basin on Outdoor Ed. which was lots of fun..

We have moved even further back in time now to the dinosaurs, focusing on ‘The Good Dinosaur’ story. We are exploring the different shapes, textures and colours, creating our own dinosaur eggs and practising our roars!

IBLC2 are currently studying the topic ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and have been having a lot of fun making their own Golden Tickets..

Not only have they been making their own sweets in Art..

..they have also thoroughly enjoyed getting to grips with a chocolate fountain..

The class have been working hard on their independence skills.

..which parents will be pleased to hear also includes washing up..

..and sorting the recycling out..

Not content with their Duke of Edinburgh’s expedition, they have been making the most of the lovely weather in their Outdoor Ed. lessons..

Somehow they even found time to fit in some drumming practice!

 

This Thursday our IB students went on a day trip to Blackpool. They all returned to the Learning Centre with a smile on their face, prizes in hand, if looking a little windswept – although they were grateful it was cooler than previous days! Watch this space for a full report next week..

‘Cooking with Hortus’ makes a welcome return this week and Miss Allison would like to say thank you to Ryan from Hortus who prepared an extremely tasty dish. As Mrs Gillett explains, ‘Our Life Skills cooking session is still focused on Back to Basics. This week we have made Paella with Chorizo. The recipe can be adapted by adding chicken or fish or even changing the herbs and spices to make Jambalaya’..

Miss Allison may need to start going to the gym regularly!!

This week we started the process of saying goodbye as Fahad, one of our Year 14 students, finished the term early. Fahad was presented with his Record of Achievement and we wish him all the best for the future. During our Learning Centre assembly Miss Morris talked about moving on – we appreciate the challenges transition can bring for many of our students and we are holding group and individual intervention sessions for those who need additional support.

Parents of the young people who are moving to the Learning Centre in September are invited to a Transition Parents’ Evening on Wednesday 5th July from 5pm to 6pm at the Learning Centre. Although the evening is intended to help parents who are new to the organisation, it is also an opportunity for parents of current students to come and meet the key staff who will be supporting their child after the Summer break. There will be a half an hour presentation by Miss Allison outlining important information about the college day, our curriculum offer, college values and expectations, followed by the opportunity to meet the Learning Centre staff and have a tour of the building. Letters will be going home soon about the meeting but if you would like any further information in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us.

There will also be a meeting in the coming weeks at Medtia Square for families of children who will be moving to one of our Key Stage 5 pathways based there. Again, invitations will be sent home with further details of the meeting shortly.

Mrs Tootill has asked if she can say a few words about the Year 11 residential..

I felt really privileged to be asked to share this experience and Year 11 did not disappoint! We had an amazing week which involved all kinds of activities from land to sea and air challenges. We’ve also had great fun in the caravans (not that we’ve spent much time back at base) with BBQs and making the most of the good weather. A big ‘shout out’ needs to go to Mr Southerington and Mrs Needham who planned the trip and worked tirelessly to give out young people THE best time ever, with the help of our admin and medical team who enable trips of this size to go ahead without a hitch. So thank you Year 11 for allowing me to be part of your New Bridge journey – it’s been fabulous!

Well done to our very own Luke Flanagan who has completed Oldham Sixth Form College’s Olympathon. This event is 26 hours of sport and the students only get a few hours sleep, all in aid of a chosen charity..

Well done to Luke, he really is a fantastic ambassador for sport – we are so proud of his recent achievements which include gaining a place at university!

We would like to wish ‘Eid Mubarak!’ to all our families and staff who are celebrating Eid.

Have a lovely weekend,

Judith and Dawn

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